The Escape at Nonsuch Bay

Arrival after around 16 hours travel, reception staff warm and friendly ,then they hit you with the dreaded on-line check-in, do not despair the staff are great and understand you are tired and are there to help. Off to our rooms with the help of Randy ,we are in ground floor Room 3504 with a lovely Garden view. Downside for me certainly was a slope and steps to reach the room, something i think needs highlighting on website and with whoever you book with, FOR PEOPLE WITH MOBILITY ISSUES. The room itself was spacious, super-king bed, large shower area, his and hers sinks ,mirrors and w/c. Little kitchen area had a fridge, milk ,tea and coffee all supplied and replenished on asking. Wardrobe with hangers and shelves also low down was your digital safe(some might say too low) TV but no channels as was a smart TV so you use your own Netflixs ,prime etc,etc. Beyond the double sliding doors was your outside bath tub and your very own plunge pool(big enough for a couple of strokes) No problems with the pools cleanliness (many previous reviews say they are dirty) not Surprisingly we spent a fair bit of time in our 'pond' as we called it. The main pool are was clean with enough sun beds for the amount of people using the pool , on quite a few days there was only 4 maybe 6 people around during the day. Bar area was again clean with plenty of tables and chairs , again the only downside was the constant mossies and midges (understandable as hotel built next to a mangrove) .The hotel did their best to alleviate this problem by twice weekly FOGGING the entire area. The beach was accessed via a short speed boat ride from the hotel dock ,good fun . Whilst the beach was very quiet and water warm and safe , the weed or Sargasum did spoil the beauty of it.The beach was part of our All inclusive so that went down very nicely. The speedboat goes to the beach twice a day09:30 returning at 12:30 or 14:30 returning 16:30, you can walk but this is up quite a steep incline and will take around 15 - 20 minutes. Food, the a la carte all inclusive was great at least 4 choices of mains every night , meat ,fish and veggie and every night the Drift Burger, normally 2 starters and sweets changed daily ,also ice cream. Lunch was as the evening meal 3 courses . Breakfast was also very good, fresh fruit salad, yoghurts, croissants etc and then the cooked options ,bacon , eggs 3 or 4 different ways ,sausage .hash browns , tomatoes(any 4 from the above) then toast .coffee or tea and juices. Anyone who moans about the quality and quantity of food needs to get a life . The restaurant manager Maudrina is a lovely person and treats her staff fantastically ,she runs a tight ship, the bar team also are very friendly and good at what they do, name a cocktail and they will make it brilliantly. Nothing is too much trouble for any of the staff. Reception team also deserve a mention, sorting out taxis ,car hire , maintenance issues, housekeeping issues all done with a smile. All things considered this was a fantastic holiday, great little hotel, fantastic staff. Yes it is a way out but we knew that and accepted that, getting a taxi was never a problem, we did our research prior to arrival ,so for all the moaners out there do your research before hand. Would i go back yes in a heartbeat. L Read less

The property is beautiful and the honeymoon suites with private pools and nice views are definitely the highlight—we really enjoyed the room during our stay. However, the rest of the experience was disappointing. The beach was relaxing but not convenient to get to. There were only two scheduled boat rides per day, and we weren’t informed about them when we arrived. That led us to walk a long, tiring path multiple times, which was difficult especially since my daughter has a foot issue. Service was not good. Staff were not attentive, never went above and beyond, and even forgot a floating tapas and champagne service I requested for our private pool. We skipped lunch that day waiting for it, and all we got was an apology and a few small appetizers. We were also wrongly charged $90 for a taxi ride we never took and had to dispute it at checkout. The food overall was very disappointing—we skipped several meals because we didn’t like it. The room was not thoroughly cleaned, especially the tea and coffee area which was dusty with old sugar and expired teas. The bed was hard, the pillows were uncomfortable, and the comforter was too thin for how cold the AC made the room at night. The drinks at the beach were good, but there weren’t many options, and the beach had a lot of seaweed and felt isolated with nothing much to do nearby. While the property looks great, the poor service, bad food, and lack of comfort made the experience very underwhelming. Read less

Just had a week stay 10th - 17th May We had a great time even though there were things that could be improved. Our room was brilliant, probably the best hotel room we've ever stayed in. The room was clean and the plunge pool amazing. Food choices were limited, for example 2 choices for starters, 3 for main (1 of which was a burger every day). With such limited choice, you would expect that the food would be exceptional. The food was edible, I would say average. The feta salad came without and feta. The bacon salad was the same. The Antiguan pork rice bowl had bones in it and I nearly broke a tooth. Be careful with the salad in general if you have a weak gut. I think it was washed with tap water. 4 days of "eye and needle" followed for me, but not my wife, who obviously has a stronger constitution than me. Check in was fine, we didn't mind scanning a QR code and doing it that way. We were given rum punch whilst we did it, whats not to like. Service for meals and at the bar was largely fine. There were 2 members of the team who clearly didn't want to be there (possibly agency as we only saw them a couple of days), they'd clearly missed the memo about being in the service industry. They couldn't smile. I think our second lunch, we'd booked for 1pm. By 1.50pm we'd been served our starter only and had waited 30 minutes for a drink, all whilst watching other guests come and go having eaten a 3 course meal in the same period. What they really need is a maître d'hôtel to take the lead/control of the restaurant and bar staff, give them some direction. Maurdina, Naisha, Maxine, Charles and one of the younger waitresses were particularly brilliant and should be acknowledged as being so, not to be tarnished by the 1 or 2 that let the side down. I think the bar was meant to stay open until 10.30pm. One evening I went to the bar at around 9٫20 to get a drink and was told all the glasses had been packed away and it was paper cups only. I went back for a refill at 9.35pm, my two paper cups were filled to the brim with prosecco and I was told the bar was now closed for the evening. Take bug repellent with you. They do sell it, but I didn't twig until the last day. Research when you go to Antigua, as in when is the best time to go. I think there had been a massive growth of sea weed (outside the hotels control obviously). The clear blue waters were missing sadly. With regards to the mosquitos, I did read something about fumigation. One Friday I think it was, I thought that the grounds maintenance pick up truck had a broken engine. The deck beside the pool filled with smoke. None of the guests knew was going on. Turns out it was the fumigation, it would have been nice if the team on the front desk had told us what was about to happen so we could have temporarily moved. We loved the isolation of the location, but to get a taxi anywhere was $160 USD. We decided not to take any outings. If you want to do more than arrive and flop, have a think about whether this is the best location for you. Its about 30 to 40 minutes to get to any of the tourist destinations we were told. This could be an excellent hotel, and it would be if the service and food matched the quality of the location and quality of the rooms. Read less

My wife and I just spent the most relaxing 7 day vacation we have ever had. All the staff (Maxine and Charles, especially) was wonderful to interact with on a daily. The plunge pool outside our room was a wonderful place to relax after hiking over to the beach and back. The hike to the beach was not too bad, approx 16 mins up over the "hill" between the resort and the residency side of the property. The meals were well coordinated and menu changed daily for all meals. I would recommend mosquitoe repellant (just in case). The mosquitoes were not bad on a daily but a couple nights were a little annoying. I would also recommend meeting "Captian" Devon (from Heaven - his words. LoL) and booking the Snorkel with the Sea Trutles over at Green Island. The Reggae Rum Cruise with him was also very enjoyable for a couple (Champagne, Rum Punch, a Fruit Tray were included) Overall, wonderful experience and I would highly recommend The Escape at Nonsuch Bay if you are looking for a relaxing adult only all inclusive resort. Read less

Just returned and only didn’t 2 night out of seven not what we were expecting and BA are clearly unaware of the issues here. We have stayed at Nonsuch residences 3 times 2016-2019 and had a wonderful time the food was amazing, staff were very friendly and the beach was beautiful and we learned to dinghy sail. In 2019 the Escsoe had opened and we were encouraged to eat at the The Escape, some of the staff had moved there snd it was lovely and had the same vibe as the residences. Sadly Covid came and the residences were no longer offering All inclusive and the focus was on the Escape. We finally booked to go to this delightful quiet tranquil hotel early May. We arrived on 3rd May very excited to be back. Our excitement was thwarted on check-in. Miserable front of house told us to scan a code and the details will be sent by email about the hotel! That was it no orientation no how was your journey, she just wanted us to disappear as soon as possible. The room was as expected and nice but things are starting to need repair. Then we went to the plunge pool on the balcony. The pool was dirty no filters took and slime on the side walls. It’s a health hazard and we did not and could not use it. We went to get a drink after a long flight snd had to wait for the one member of bar staff to finish her rant about someone to a colleague on the restaurant before her turning and saying “ what do you want” we were taken back by the rudeness and how this lovely hotel has become an unpleasant place to signs your holiday. We then walked to the beach, well we were shocked by the smell and the brown thick seaweed that has overtaken the bay. It was once a beautiful bay we swam and sailed in but now a smelly unusable beach. Dinner our first and only dinner was rushed, poor quality of food and again rude staff. We left not eating much and very disheartened. First morning we went to the main pool but could not use the pool as it was so murky you could not see the bottom of the pool. Pools should be clear and smell of some chlorine, yet again no filtration. Breakfast is awful, who wants a full English every day ! You can also only pick 4 items! There is no fresh fruit and it feels like they are cutting back on costs. We had lunch and only one choice of a dessert! This is meant to be a 5 star boutique hotel!! I asked if there was ice cream and got a sharp “No” by a waitress that was literally dripping sweat on the table and her uniform was dirty. A few minutes later another staff member came over and offered white chocolate I cream which I was very grateful for. Rooms are now only cleaned every other day! Again cutting costs! Not what we paid for! If you want to keep your room on if you need a late check out there is a cost which we accept but no offer of changing facilities if not. Having soent only 18 hours at the hotel we made a complaint and asked to see the manager she was not in until later in the afternoon but did her research and then came to our room to meet with us. She is new and clearly not aware of the previous standard of service and how it used to be managed back in 2019. All the staff that were previously there all but one have left. The staff make the hotel and right now it’s not a hotel that can deliver a service., quality food or indeed a clean pool or a beach. We had to pay to go to another hotel as BA did not have anything available other than one hotel which would have been another £1400 when we had already paid thousands for our all inclusive holiday. We wasted hours trying to sort out the issue and then the cost of moving to another hotel. The transfer cost was not even offered by the hotel. BA and the hotel agreed to refund our unused nights but that would take a few days. So another expensive outlay on top of us now having to pay for our food and drinks. We did find a lovely hotel which was room only on Dickenson Bay, not a lot was available. We were very lucky as the front of house used to work at Nonsuch residences and the warm welcome and upgrade and complimentary late check out was just so kind. That’s what you call customer service! Please be cautious when looking to book at The Escape, it’s not the hotel it used to be and honestly we are sad that it has fallen from being such a wonderful hotel to being so poorly run and the staff need to learn customer service skills. We do hope it will put right all the issues. Sadly we will not return. It was our 18th visit to Antigua and if you visit do go and eat at The Hut on Little Jumby and go to prickly pear island too. Both beautiful. The manager that used to run The Escape at Nonsuch now owns her own restaurant Fox House near Jolly Beach. We had an amazing meal there and the service was exceptional of course because her team followed her ! So it’s a must if you want authentic Caribbean food I would like to finish this review by praising the manager for her professionalism in the way she dealt with our complaint. We hope she can turn the hotel around back to its glory. Read less