Me and my girl friend stayed at the blue heron for two weeks 15 june to the 29,i had my 25th birthday there and on our arrival they upgraded us to what i think was the best room in antigua (111).

our stay there was great and all the staff were very helpfull and polite they would always smile and ask how you are and have a chat , and by the end of the holiday felt like they were our friends.the rooms were nice and big and cleaned every day and the food was nice and plenty of it.

I think the beach at the blue heron has got to be one of the best beaches in antigua the sea is crystal clear and the sand is like powder you could sit out there all day and relax.there are afew venders on the beach but they are friendly and once you take the time to say hello will not hassle you and greet you with a big smile every day like evey one else at the the resort.

the blue heron is a very relaxed and friendly resort, we met some of the nices people there and at the same time could just sit by our selfs and chill out.on my birthday the staff set up a dinner for me and my girl friend next to the beach with champagne and lobster which was perfect and i cant thank them enough.It was the little things like this that made our holiday so special.overall i would say that antigua was one of the nices places i will ever go to, a real piece of paradise and i would recommend this resort to anyone and have started saving for next year so they better have room 111 ready lol.

My wife and I decided to celebrate our anniversary at Antigua and Barbuda. We stayed at this calm hotel. We stayed from July 15 to July 23. Our days at this hotel were great. When we were not in beach we were touring the entire island. People at Antigua were nice and polite. Our budget kept us away from eating in the hotel. Therefore we ate and bought all of our needs at St. John. We were aware that these was not a 5 star hotel, we were pleased by the worked done by our cleaning personnel.
Our wonderful experience at Antigua took an unexpected turn when the receptionist that was working there the night of July 23, 2008 called our room at 22:40pm, that we had to pay $70 US dollars for two international calls we made around 6am on July 20th and 21st. I was shocked because we only contacted our family per email in St. John internet at Kangaroo Express. I told her we were not going to pay anything that we didn't do. We never used our room phone. We went to the reception to clarify this unexpected event. She started threatening to call the authorities and hold our passports. I said, call them, we are innocent. But my wife decided to pay because unfortunately she was scare to death. I told them we were being robbed big time. That if I would have made the phone calls I wouldn't have any problem paying for them. The lady looked very corrupt and totally the opposite of 99% of the friendly people we met in the island. We are planning to call
management in the upcoming days, since the incident took late at night. If you are going to go to this hotel, and you are not planning to use their phone, tell them to block your phone line, and take plenty of mosquito repellant.

If it wasn't for the wonderful beach on its doorstep there is no reason to stay at the Blue Heron. Its facilities are limited, the rooms are shabby and worn and the staff, though very friendly and welcoming, are fairly ineffectual.

That said, the beach (Turners Beach) is the reason to go there and it is a wonderful beach. We travelled a bit round the island and while there was some beautiful sand, Turners was still hard to beat.

On balance, if you can get a bargain and don't mind staying in a very basic hotel, this might be the option for you. There are some nice hotels nearby though and it may be worth spending a little extra - you can always visit Turners Beach but have the benefit of going back to a lovely hotel at the end of the day.

This was our second visit to the Blue Heron, our first being in year 2000 for our honeymoon. We were initially a little apprehensive about returning to a hotel where we had enjoyed a fantastic holiday - we weren't sure whether it could still live up to our expectations. Needless to say our fears were unfounded, the Blue Heron is even better than before!

The main reason for this is the staff. The hotel managers, Carleen Adams and Sandy Francis really seem to bring out the best in the people that work for them, and everyone at the hotel is devoted to ensuring that your stay is a pleasant and enjoyable experience.

The food is varied and of a good quality and is either served in the inside restaurant or outside in the seabreeze restaurant which overlooks the beach.

The bar is run by Errol and Andy who strive to out-do each other in the strength of their rum punches! When these two guys work together they are an extremely funny double act - get onside with them while you are there and they will make you laugh and get you drunk in equal measure.

The beach is beautiful and clean and is well served by sun-loungers and little beach canopies (the sun -loungers posed a particular problem on our last visit to the Blue Heron when we had to get up at 4am to reserve them - no early rises needed this time). As the beach is public, you will be approached by many of the sellers who ply their trade. While nearly all of them are genuine be on guard for some who are simply trying to get you to hand over money for spurious 'sponsorships' or the like. People like Joseph who sells excursions and Pet, the lady who owns a stall on the beach are warm and friendly. Most will happily move on if you are not interested.

We stayed in a beachfront room which was spacious and clean - the air conditioning units have been re-newed since 2000 and are much quieter and more efficient. The room was cleaned every day and fresh towels also supplied daily. There was plenty of hot water at all times despite what some reviews have said about this hotel. The mosquitoes will not bother you in your room as long as you take a decent plug-in repellent - a plug adaptor was supplied at reception upon request.

The hotel grounds and gardens are beautifully kept - the gardens are also fumigated on a regular basis to help ward off unwanted mozzies and sand flies although put mozzie spray on at night, just in case!

While many reviewers have said (unfairly in our opinion) that the hotel is a little tired looking and in need of re-decoration, it would appear that while we were there renovation work was getting underway.

We cannot fault the hotel or its staff in any way, however The Blue Heron is promoted as an adults only resort, yet guests from other Rex hotels are free to visit and visiting children were allowed to use the pool and restaurant facilities. Screaming kids jumping in and out of the pool when all one wants is a bit of peace and quiet gives a black mark against those at Rex Resorts who mislead you into thinking that this is a child-free hotel.

Overall we had an amazing time and met some very nice people along the way. Antigua is a stunning island and the Blue Heron is a little jewel tucked away in the southwest corner and if you get clear skies at dusk, you may be lucky enough to see the best sunset on the island.