Antigua, Carlisle Bay

We were given a short tour of the main block by Tamara, who took us to see the suites. The first was an Ocean suite, and these rooms are fantastic and bigger than most London one-bedroom apartments. These suites are located in blocks built with two suites on each floor, so the bathroom is at the back, and has a separate w.c., shower (both have infra red activated fans) and a huge bath, as well as two wash-hand basins. There are two massive cupboards, a coffee-making machine and safe. The suites are split level with a very large bed, and two sets of drawers. Fruit is changed every day in your room. Other furniture within the room includes a three-seater divan, a lounge chair with foot rest, coffee table and a desk in the corner with telephone, and several lamps dotted about the room. Outside the door is a basin where you can wash the sand off your feet, together with a towel. Another lovely neat touch is the conch shell with “Do not disturb” in it.

There are two other types of rooms; one is the Carlisle Suites which are apartment-style with three bedrooms, all having en-suite bathroom facilities. The other is the Beach Suite, which is the same size but these have an extra bedroom/study which makes the sitting room slightly smaller. All three types of rooms have balconies.

Carlisle Bay is a unique hotel in many ways. I would say it is not a Caribbean hotel, but a hotel in the Caribbean. As it is owned by the same people who own One Aldwych (a cocktail bar at, well, 1 The Aldwych, London) you can expect it to be different. And it is, in very many ways. The main décor is Balian minimalistic, using a lot of grey and beige. The use of wood is very prominant and very effective. The gardens are tropical and lush, brilliantly landscaped and the overall effect works brilliantly.

Lovely rooms are just one component of a good hotel. The food, drink, character, service and atmosphere are all equally important. This hotel has a number of delightful touches that I have not seen before which create a quite different appreciation of what a customer wants. On the table in the Indigo lobby, you’ll see daily copies of major papers from the UK and USA.

Some other examples of the personal touches are, for example, the beach is raked daily, and there are beach huts where the beach attendants welcome you and dress your beach lounger with a special covering as well as giving you a towel, and a bottle of cold water. Beach loungers are situated either under palm trees or umbrellas. During the heat of the day, you are provided with cold towels and fruit, morning and afternoon. A waiter discreetly asks you if you want something from the bar, where the prices are cheaper than the main bars. You can also have complimentary Afternoon Tea on the beach if you wish. Marlon and Denney were very attentive to us during our stay. As with any hotel when they are full, you need to get to the beach early to get your favourite position!

As soon as you sit down for lunch or dinner, you are asked if you want sparkling or plain water. The wine list is excellent and although you will pay more than in London, you must remember that it has a long way to come and this is a 5* property. Another nice touch is that if you are having white or rose wine, you get a chilled glass. All food is silver service, no buffets. The menu choice is particularly good with great combinations of traditional food as well as many tasty dishes in every course for all meals. The main restaurants are the Indigo on the beach and East, situated just off the lobby. East has a delightfully calm feel about it, decorated in red and black. Room service is quite popular for both breakfast and dinner, as well as afternoon tea. You can also have a romantic pier dinner for two! A decision on where you are going to stay may be reflected in what other clientele use your hotel. We heard American, Irish, Italian and Spanish accents during our stay in addition to English.

As in my home country (Ireland), you always need character with service. The Carlisle service standards are extremely high but once in a while, you may have to ask twice, so please be patient. After all, you are in the Caribbean! You’re here to relax. If you do have to ask again, you get a wonderful apology and the girls give you the infectious little Caribbean chuckle, which all seems part of the service.

So what’s wrong? Very, very little. I did find a few things that weren’t perfect. They all applied to the wine list where some wines weren’t listed accurately as to vintage or region.

In summary, The Carlisle Bay is superbly professional, an international hotel which really should be the last of three when you visit the Caribbean for fourteen nights. My recommendation would be to do a St Kitts & Nevis combination for seven nights where you’ll experience quite traditional Caribbean hospitality, perhaps a British property, for example the Montpelier or Nisbet, an American choice such as Ottley’s Plantation, and then the international one with considerable choice ~ none other than Carlisle Bay!

To read the report on their other destination, Ottley’s Plantation in St Kitts, click here.