Hotel heaven in awesome Antigua

One of our favourite Caribbean islands, Antigua has hotels ranging from the luxurious Curtain Bluff, with its 25,000-bottle wine cellar, to all-inclusive hotels, or those offering meal-less packages, allowing visitors to try the excellent beach restaurants scattered around its 365 beaches.

Now is traditionally the Caribbean's low season, and prices can drop from winter highs by as much as 30 per cent. There are at least 20 hotels competing at the fourstar end of the market, but which are the best - and why?

Allegro Pineapple Beach

www.allegroantigua.com/ index.phtml
Which brochures? British Airways Holidays, Cresta, Thomas Cook Holidays, Kuoni.
One week in August: £1,225pp with Thomas Cook Holidays.
Best for: partying couples.

On a white-sand beach (Long Bay), Pineapple Beach is a series of Caribbean-style two-storey buildings with wooden terraces and verandas and steep-sloping roofs in bright colours with either garden or sea views.

The resort seems smaller than its 180 rooms, partly because many are hidden on the hillside, so families with young children should specify a ground-floor room to avoid the steps and staircases. There are two restaurants serving variations on Creole/ international cuisine, three bars and poolside music and entertainment, including beach volleyball with the staff every afternoon. No specific facilities for children, but young couples will appreciate the good-size gym, tennis courts and watersports centre on the beach.

Cocobay

www.cocobayresort.com
Which brochures? British Airways Holidays, Hayes & Jarvis, Virgin Holidays.
One week in August: £959pp with Virgin Holidays.
Best for: romance.

Built in the style of a Caribbean village on a hill looking along Jolly Harbour Beach, accommodation is in 40-odd self-contained " cottages" with bathroom, bedroom and veranda. Simplicity is the keyword - stained-wood floors, whitewashed walls, a hammock and lounging chairs, but no TV, phone or air-conditioning to disturb the sound of the sea breezes.

There is one restaurant (a second is planned), a small "wellness cottage" (extension planned) offering massage, aromatherapy, reflexology and body scrubs, small infinity pool and access to two beaches - Big Fry and Small Fry - with watersports. Excellent value - feels very exclusive. No children under the age of 12.

Jolly Beach

www.jollybreachresort.com
Which brochures? Cresta, Thomas Cook Holidays, Hayes & Jarvis, Kuoni.
One week in August: £1,339pp with Hayes & Jarvis, children £669.50 (ages two-12).
Best for: families.

With its children's clubs, sports facilities, constant daily activities and a disco, Jolly Beach is popular with party animals and families with teenagers. Refurbished last year, it is a sprawling resort of 462 rooms of three-storey, whitewashed blocks named after Caribbean islands. The beach is long (almost one mile) with lots of shade offered by parasols. Plenty of interconnecting rooms. Kids' club (two to 12) has daytime activities ranging from dance classes and table tennis competitions to nature trails (trained staff). There are four restaurants (Greek, Italian, seafood and buffet: Creole/ international), a cricket pitch (this is where the test cricket teams stay when playing the West Indies in Antigua) and, close by, the timeshare apartments and shops of Jolly Harbour. There are two swimming pools - one quiet, one for party games with a waterfall, Jacuzzi and regular water volleyball. Babysitting also available ($US5 per hour).

St James' Club

www.antigua-resorts.com
Which brochures? British Airways Holidays, Cresta, Hayes & Jarvis, Kuoni, Thomas Cook Holidays, Virgin Holidays.
One week in August: £1,335pp with Thomas Cook Holidays; children £549 (ages two to 12).
Best for: active families with younger children.

A short drive from the tourist attractions of Falmouth and English Harbour ( site of the restored Georgian Nelson's Dockyard), St James' Club is an excellent choice for children, especially those keen on watersports, with free tuition every morning from the watersports centre on a quiet bay, one of the resort's two beaches.

A kids' club (ages two to 12) offers every other type of activity (including tennis instruction), with trained staff. Good-size rooms, mostly under three years old, have air-conditioning, fans, satellite TV and fridge. One end of the resort is "the beach club", exclusive to Virgin Holidays guests, who make up the majority of British visitors.

Rex Blue Heron

www.rexcaribbean.com
Which brochures? British Airways Holidays, Cresta, Hayes & Jarvis, Thomas Cook Holidays.
One week in August: £699pp with Kuoni.
Best for: couples on a budget.

The Rex Blue Heron has wicker chairs, colourful floral detailing, ceiling fans and whitewashed walls. The 68 rooms are in two-storey blocks, some with garden views, some with terraces right out on to the white-sand beach at Johnson's Point (plenty of parasols reserved for hotel guests and watersports centre).

The resort appeals to a British crowd who like their pleasures simple: there's just one restaurant serving fresh fish and salads, though for those on the room-only option, two of Antigua's best restaurants, OJs and Turners, a re within walking distance along the beach.

All prices are per person based on two sharing and are the lowest for an all-inclusive week in August. They include return flights with either British Airways, Virgin Atlantic or BWIA and transfers. All-inclusive means all food, all drinks (including alcohol) and complimentary watersports unless otherwise stated.

British Airways Holidays (0870 442 3815); Cresta (0870 1610930); Hayes & Jarvis (0870 8989890); Kuoni (01306 742222); Thomas Cook Holidays (0870 4434441); Virgin Holidays (0870 220 2784).

Way to go

Tom Otley flew to Antigua with BWIA (020 8577 1100; www.bwee.com). Fares start from £522.80; children (aged two-11 years) £308.80; infant (under two) £84.40. For further information, contact the Antigua and Barbuda Tourist Board (020 7486 7073/ www.antigua-barbuda.com).