Antigua

We've been to Antigua. We arrived back last Sunday but it already seems so long ago what with all the washing and ironing, and then looking after Jack on Wednesday and Thursday, we were straight back into the routine. It's our fifth trip to the Caribbean and the fourth island we've visited. We hadn't intended having such a big holiday this year, we had thought about having a week away in May but with Daniel And Jasmine's Wedding Day being at the end of the month, we decided we'd go away in June instead. Then we got talking about having a fortnight away instead of a week and before we knew it, we'd booked a Caribbean holiday.

We stayed at The Verandah Resort & Spa, a fabulous adult-only all-inclusive property. We were there for the rest and relaxation and boy, did we get it. It was paradise.

The resort is set over thirty acres with hillside, waterview or waterfront suites. The hillside suites have views over the tropical gardens, the waterview suites have a partial ocean view, usually with other suites inbetween you and the ocean, and the waterfront suites are literally by the side of the ocean. We stayed in a waterview suite, we were up bright and early on our first morning and this photo was taken at 6am from our balcony.

Our suite was very well situated, very close to the main pool and restaurants. Each suite is semi-detached. I'm not sure if we had any neighbours, we certainly didn't see or hear anyone. This is the front of the suite.

The back of the suite has a veranda where you can take in the views. There's a partition on the veranda between adjoining suites, but there's a door which can be opened if you're holidaying with family or friends. I thought that was a good idea, it made it private but with the option to open that door if you wanted to.

At the back end of our holiday, we were asked if we'd mind moving suites as there was a water leak somewhere around the resort and our suite was going to be left without water. It wasn't ideal but at least they upgraded us to a waterfront suite. They also allowed us a complimentary late check-out on our departure day which should have cost $50USD and waived part of the resort fee totalling $72USD, so that was something. This was the view from our new room.

We tried to keep up with our walking while we were on holiday and the resort was the perfect place to do this. It could be a little hilly in places but there were good roads around the property and plenty of space to stretch our legs.

Those views spurred us on in the sweltering heat.

The accommodation is set out around the thirty acres so we were lucky to get a suite so central to the amenities, however, those in a suite further away could take advantage of the shuttle service. These buggies whisk you around the resort to wherever you want to go. There are designated stops but they'll pick you up or drop you off anywhere you want, the drivers were always so friendly. We only used them a couple of times preferring to walk around the beautiful location.

Devil's Bridge is a National Park in Antigua, less than a square kilometre in size. It's basically a rock formation where the limestone has been eroded creating an arch with surrounding blowholes powered by the ocean. There were organised trips to this area but as it was so close to our resort, less than a mile away if you know where to take a shortcut, we walked there ourselves. We got up early one morning hoping to avoid the main heat of the day, it was a lovely walk there and back before breakfast.

The resort is built on two beaches, the first, main beach, is called Lovers Beach and was a short walk from our suite.

This beach was the most popular, though it was never crowded. I never had to wait to use one of those sea hammocks, there was always one available when I felt the need to lounge around in the sea. I have to tell you, it's a great way to cool down, and they're so relaxing. It was to one of those suites on the left hand side of the photo that we were moved towards the end of our holiday.

You can find the water sports here too. I'm not a fan really but Mick loves anything to do with water so I did go on a kayak with him to show willing, and he spent quite a bit of time kayaking alone too. He went right out of the bay. There were Hobie Cats too, lightweight catamarans, but we didn't go on those.

Mick's been wanting to have a go a paddle boarding for a long time so he took the chance here. He was really good at it, falling in only once when he first got on the board but after that he was away. He paddled all around the bay. It was something I was going to arrange as one of his monthly surprises for his birthday this year but there's no need for that now he's given it a go. He really enjoyed both the kayaking and the paddle boarding and was a regular visitor at the water sports throughout our holiday, I relaxed on the beach and watched.

Rasta Beach was further away from our suite, we could have got a shuttle to it but instead we walked, it wasn't that far. It was always very quiet here, the perfect place to get away from it all, we loved it. We could be sat there the whole morning and find we were the only ones using this beach.

Just outside our resort was Long Bay Beach, another beautiful expanse of fine white sand and crystal blue waters. This beach didn't belong to our resort so you had to pay for sunbeds and umbrellas here but it's nice for a change of scenery if you want it.

I think that's given you a taste of where we stayed and what the resort was like, I'll be back to tell you a little more about our holiday in my next post.