Emily Ashwell, TW's community editor on maternity leave, has just returned from a week in Antigua. Due to technical problems Emily did not get these posts and pictures on the site, so here they are
Post #1
I am staying at The Verandah Resort and Spa in Antigua (pictured).
It is part of Elite Island Resorts, a hotel group that also includes St James's Club and Galley Bay on Antigua.
The rooms are big, with a kitchenette area including a fridge and microwave. The hotel's kids' club was created by celebrity designer Linda Barker. It has a fantastic wooden climbing frame with huge towers and yellow tubes.
Post #2
It's raining in Antigua, so its 365 beaches - one for every day of the year - are empty. So what do you do in the Caribbean in the rain?
Most of the guests at The Verandah Resort and Spa are spending time around the pool bar, drinking cups of tea and chatting. It's an all-inclusive hotel and capacity is quite low at the moment as it's not peak season, so people get to know each other very quickly. In fact, after a couple of days it's easy to become completely institutionalised , as has happened to me - I can't imagine not having a buffet breakfast now.
Activities away from the black clouds include the hotel cinema - The Devil Wears Prada and Little Miss Sunshine are on this week, there are board games at the bar, people are working on their lap tops and there are organised activities such as walks, beach Olympics and beer drinking competitions. Otherwise there are excursions, such as shopping in St John's, the capital.
Post #3
Today we went to the English Harbour area of Antigua, visiting Nelson's Dockyard.
In the 18th Century the dockyard was Britain's main naval base in the Eastern Caribbean. The Caribbean islands were important producers of valuable cargoes including sugar.
Just down the road is Falmouth Harbour, which has a converted wharf area with cafes and restaurants. This is a great place to stay if you want to eat out every night, rather than in a hotel. The area is filled with fish restaurants, pizza and pasta bars and traditional Caribbean restaurants.
Post #4
What's up with Virgin Atlantic at the moment? Fellow holidaymakers are reporting long delays on flights home from Antigua. My flight out to Antigua was delayed by nine hours - I departed on October 4. Has anyone else had this problem?
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