[RumRita]

Today I got a great deal at Galley Bay - a nice all-inclusive in Antigua. Half off their rack rate for the first week in March. Their website is not the easiest to navigate, but searching from this link should get you to the rates. For now the price is listed as good through Nov 11. Who knows perhaps they will extend it. It certainly wasn't well publicized. When I priced thorugh Expedia it was still full rack rates.

[eileen]

That's a great sale. It's only good for bookings through today though and travel until mid-April so anyone interested should act fast! Last year for the first week in March we got about 25% off and were happy to get it. (Even though I loved Galley Bay, I still thought at our sale price it was overpriced by about $100 - $150 a night, but overall Antigua in high season tends to be expensive. It's a great value at 50% off) The premium beachfront rooms are the way to go and there are now many many more rooms in that category than the others since they have recently added about 24 more of those rooms so I expect there will be more sales. They are also offering a triple upgrade deal(pay for a Gauguin Cottage, get a premium beachfront). It's one of our favorite resorts. Have a great trip and thanks for the info.

[RumRita]

Glad to hear you enjoyed Galley Bay. We were initially planning on St. James Club, which is bigger and doesn't seem quite as nice as GB, but is generally about a third less expensive. When I called to check rates at Elite Island resorts, the reservations agent was astounded that I could get 2 premium beachfront suites at GB for a little less than the 2 bedroom Villa (not beachfront) at SJC. We are looking forward to a great week on Antigua.

[eileen]

When are you going? And would you mind telling me if they required payment in total or just accepted a deposit? It says online requires full payment with a cancellation penalty, last time I booked through an agent and only needed to put down a small deposit, since our plans aren't set trying to avoid penalties. Thanks!

[RumRita]

We are going the first week in March. They required a 3 day deposit, with the balance due 60 days prior to arrival. To cancel, one must notify them more than 30 days prior to arrival or the entire cost of the stay is defaulted. Outside of the 30 day window - they will refund, but keep $50 per room as an administratitve fee.

I was keen to know the terms, because I booked the airfare separately. Unofrtunately there are no direct flights from Philly, but USair does have a a one stop through Charlotte.

[eileen]

Thanks for the info. If you haven't already booked your flights, there's a great direct flight on Continental from Newark, we took it in March and flight time is only four hours. Since we live 30 minutes from the PHL airport and 90 minutes from Newark, it was worth it to go to Newark because PHL connections were not that great.