Driving into the Long Bay Hotel you know something special is waiting for you. Catching a glimpse of the beach as you drive to reception ensures you’ll soon be walking back through the shady gardens as soon as the formalities are done.

Chris appears and welcomes you to his hotel, it’s a warm and friendly welcome, relaxed as it should be, we are taken to see the rooms which are charming. Reminiscent of a time when life was more simple the chalets provide all the comfort you need minus the electronic distractions you don’t.

Strolling back through the gardens, we pass the tennis courts and reach the beach. We sit in a grand gazebo for rum punch, served with style by David the hotel manager. He chats for a while and then leaves us to enjoy the view. Feeling relaxed we walk the few yards to the beachside restaurant where we are served a wonderful lunch by discreet and trained staff. The food is comparable to anything on the island, which is quite a compliment, and fairly priced.

A couple of drinks later and we are ready for the beach just six steps away. The whitest sand in Antigua greets us, warm crystal clear turquoise water, which is protected by an inshore coral reef, refreshes and cools. The sunbeds beckon and we obey. Partial shade induces a snooze and we wake as relaxed as we ever could be and feel obliged to try just one more rum punch.

Another perfect day in paradise. The amazing thing was that more people were not there to experience it, Long Bay is a great find which from a selfish point of view I hope stays a secret for another 40 years. Somehow though, I doubt it.

We had a LOVELY week at this small hotel. Our room and porch overlooked the bay and had delightful breezes that kept us cool. The complimentary breakfast was perfect; delicious Antiguan coffee served in a French press, a plate of fresh fruit, and toast and jam. Everything was set up to make us feel comfortable and at home: an honor bar for beverages day and night, good books in the library, a basket of sun hats, all kinds of boats and snorkel gear at our disposal, and lighted tennis court. The staff were incredibly friendly and warm and took great care of us. Dinner at the restaurant was delicious (so good that we ate there every night!)... great cold soups, freshly prepared fish and especially good vegetables.The beach had both sunny areas and shady spots and great chairs for lounging. What more could one ask for?!

We just completed our 4th trip to Long Bay and were as pleased as ever. The staff is so welcoming and accommodating. The food delicious and plentiful. We love the "old world" feel of the whole resort. Our room was spacious, clean and very comfortable. The low key, relaxing atmosphere is exactly what we enjoy for our holiday. Long Bay beach is a warm, clean swimming/snorkeling area. We are looking forward already to going back next year. (Thanks to Chris, Dave and the rest of the staff at Long Bay!)

Oh this place was just awful. It was old, with a dirty bathroom and a smelly sewage problem. It was not welcoming to our families (two families traveling together with toddler boys). The rooms were incredibly expensive for what they were. The rooms appeared clean, but the boys got tons of bug-bites in the room when sleeping. The bathrooms were not updated since the 50s at least. Incredibly tiny bathrooms--door of bathroom was splintering apart. Just sort of yucky. Not what I expected for the price we paid (which was already a 'deal' less than the posted rate). We were placed at the very end of the hotel: clearly not welcome with kids. The walk to our rooms (water view of the non-beach side on the lower level) went over broken tiles and wood and past a really really really smelly sewage smelling pump house of sorts. No efforts were made to accomidate kids at the dining table (would it really have been hard to let us sit down to dinner 30 minutes early or bring chicken without sauce, for the price we were paying?).
The resort was very isolated, so not much to do on our small strip of beach. Antigua beaches? Eh, only so-so. Yes, it was warm. But honestly, Florida beaches are much wider and just as pretty. Next door the resort was much larger sort of full-service noisy resort. Sounded like fun from what we could hear. Pools, playground, etc. at the other resort next to Long Bay. On the other side of our resort was an area that was considered a public access beach. Neat on the weekdays to be able to interact with locals, but on the weekend? Cars pulled up almost to the beach and played their radios really loud. Not really much fun for us. So, I definitly don't reccomend this place. The staff was not welcoming to families with kids. They repeatedly got on our case about the dining room 'dress code' which we were not informed about before flying in (women in skirts, men need kahkis and colored shirts). Small beach with calm waves with sailing an option but otherwise very unremarkable (Yes, you can go 'snorkeling', but it wasn't anything to write home about. This isn't the Caymans). Staff really not welcoming. Very very pricey (from what I hear, this a problem on the whole island). Yucky bathrooms. Annoying dining service. Isolated, so not a whole lot to do.