Antigua and Barbuda / Accommodation

Antigua has a large number of places to stay in all sorts of styles, from very comfortable private villas overlooking the island’s secluded bays, through guest houses and apartments, to a huge number of large, mid-price resorts and then to a small clutch of hotels that measure among the finest in the Caribbean. Of course many of them are set on the island’s glorious beaches, some on the well-known, busier stretches, others on their own isolated cove well away from the action.

The island’s traditional tourist hot spot is Dickenson Bay, just north of the capital St John’s, which is backed along its length by large hotels, apartment complexes and beach bars. With so many good beaches around the island however, you will find hotels on their own strips of excellent sand all the way along the west and south coasts of the island (even a few, in coves protected from the Atlantic, on the east coast of the island). The other major gravitational centre of tourism is the south-east, around English Harbour. This has a completely different feel from Dickenson Bay. Life there is centred more on yachting and private villas. You will find a number of smaller hotels (including some with a historic atmosphere like the Admiral’s Inn), private villas and also self-catering cottages. The accommodation itself tends to be lower key and more laid back, but the area itself is extremely lively, particularly when yachting events are underway.

Many of the hotels in Antigua are ‘all-inclusives’. The formula brings lower prices but it also tends to bring a certain uniformity of style and experience for the holidaymaker, robbing the Caribbean of some of its romantic charm. However, a few of the all-inclusive hotels do manage to reach beyond the limitations of the formula and have their own strong character or style.

There are few places to stay on Barbuda, currently just a couple of all-incusive hotels and the very simple West Indian guest houses in Codrington.  The island has even more spectacular beaches than Antigua and so development is surely on the way.

For more information and our accommodation recommendations please select an accommodation category below or from the menu bar.