Galley Bay Resort & Spa

Just returned from my 10th stay (last time last a year ago). I thought it was the most idyllic place and was beyond perfect; however, after this stay, I was amazed at the changes that have been made that make perfect even more perfect. As usual, every member of the team is kind, gracious and simply can’t do enough to ensure you enjoy your stay. They are truly the heart of this resort and deserve only the highest praise. In my opinion, you can find beautiful beaches and great food elsewhere, but the reason I keep returning is the team. During the week, I didn’t encounter one person who didn’t smile, wave and offer a friendly greeting or a chat. It was great to see staff members that have been there over the years (Cedric, Alfred, Lynette, Stuart, Sade, and Andrea) as well as new faces (Jessica and Sandy G). While I hate to praise individual members, I must send a special thank you to Inez, who coordinated medical care, and Joan, who made sure I received the needed medication timely, in guest services who were so kind during an unexpected medical situation. My premium beachfront suite had everything you could want. Lovely furnishings and a comfortable bed, all kept immaculately clean by the housekeeping staff, and a mini bar full of sodas, beers, wine and lots of bottled water that was refreshed daily. So glad to see they swapped out the down duvets with much more comfortable cotton blankets. Also love the new maid call / do not disturb button. What more could you want than to step out of your room directly onto one of the most beautiful beaches anywhere? Galley Bay has the most serene atmosphere, in which you can fully escape the hustle and bustle of life at home. No waking up at the crack of dawn to throw your towel on a beach lounger: every room has their own assigned loungers, palapa and table (brilliant). The resort now offers beach and room service. At least every few hours, a kindly waitstaff passed by, happy to bring you the beverage of your choice. The lunch and dinner menus at both Seagrape and Gaugin have been updated with some really delicious new dishes, like the brie, cranberry, chorizo and roast corn tart is a must and the line caught, grilled snapper was amazing. Thankfully hey have not given up old favorites like jerk chicken wings and goat curry. Even Ismay’s menu, which had remained unchanged for several years, has been updated (the pan roasted scallop appetizer and salmon entrée were incredible). And the desserts, those wonderful desserts. I’m not usually a sweet eater, but I just couldn’t resist the wonderful new confections on offer and tried something new after each meal. I heard that they will be expanding service at Gaugin to include breakfast as well as a beach bar! The Upscale Café (coffee shop) has the most delicious cookies; don’t miss them. My only request is to get rid of the out-dated dress code. Let the staff and guests wear more comfortable clothing! As for the staff, I was there during the breast cancer awareness day when the team wore lovely pink t-shirts and casual bottoms, while still looking very professional. It was nice to see them out of the polyester uniforms for a change. I agree that appropriate attire must be worn, but it is hard to watch the men wearing long pants to dinner and sweat uncomfortably throughout their meal. Let the guys wear tailored shorts at dinner year-round. Read less

Sensational food, views, beach, accommodation & company! Super calming, total relaxation, perfect to unwind and get away from the hustle and bustle of a hectic city life. A choice of 3 restaurants, all day bar snacks & coffee shop; you won’t go hungry! Plenty of local entertainment if you do feel the need to leave the resort - stingray city, giant tortoise sanctuary, Shirley Heights, boat hire, helicopter hire, harbour restaurants. A holiday of a lifetime! Read less

Actually, a double review as we stayed here for 9 nights in July and 6 nights in September-October. Notes below are mainly from our latest trip -- We obviously enjoy spending time here. If you are looking for a true relaxing, stress-free getaway this is the place. We hope the staff enjoys repeat guests, because we truly enjoy seeing them as well. I could go on and on naming them all, but it's a special place with special people. We especially loved the Lunch at the Beach Grill, specials every day on point. Nikki at the Rum Bar had some new rum for us to try this time around, she knows her stuff. We also always enjoy the special return guest night and live steel drum music- just a nice touch. We didn't think the food was as good as July, maybe just lack of choices with mostly just the Seagrape menu. The short rib night is always a treat. Housekeeping was great. As was the beach service and room service option. We love riding the bikes back and forth from our room, and around the property. We were disappointed that the Tee Pee bar would close at 7pm due to low occupancy, and we did relay that to the management, I think many did. The Bar inside the Seagrape was extremely hot and not the best spot for pre/post dinner drinks when the Tee Pee has the ambiance. Thanks again to everyone at GB for the wonderful hospitality, we will be back again in 2025. Read less

We got married here 25 years ago and always intended to return, so thought our anniversary was a great time to do it. Because we had such a fantastic experience before and have such happy memories, we worried that our expectations were too high, but in fact they were exceeded. I should say this will be a long review so that I can do the hotel justice. There have been quite a few changes since we were last here, such as a new restaurant, a coffee shop, a rum shack, a spa and extra rooms. The Teepee bar was also the only bar and was bigger, but it has now been joined by the Seagrape bar, adjacent to the Seagrape restaurant. However, whilst these are welcome additions, fundamentally nothing has changed and it is still the same beautiful serene place where we got married. From the moment we arrived and were greeted with a rum punch and were taken in a buggy to our room by the ever helpful Kenya, we had a perfect stay. The food, which is all a la carte is still amazing, and the staff are all brilliant. There were only 2 staff members who were there 25 years ago, one of whom is the now head chef, Nathaniel, who told us he helped with breakfast when we last visited! His menus are fantastic and of a high standard, all executed with flair by his talented team. He also took time out of his busy day on several occasions to speak to us and we noticed him going around the tables a few times, which is a lovely touch. The main restaurant is the Seagrape, where breakfast is served every day. This was our favourite as it somehow managed to combine the best of indoor/outdoor dining. It is open to the beach, but it has a beautiful interior. The Gaugin is also lovely, but we did prefer it when the Seagrape was open. As we stayed out of season, both restaurants were never open at the same time and took it in turns for lunch and dinner but we liked that as we never had to choose. There was entertainment every night in the Seagrape bar, which was very enjoyable. Two very welcome additions were the Barefoot Grill and the coffee shop. We had lunch at the barefoot grill on several occasions and found it excellent. We visited it on the first occasion as we could go straight from the pool/beach in coverups. However, we found the food so good that it was our first choice for lunch most of the time. There were daily specials and the catch of the day was always good. We didn't get the chef's name but she is very talented and desrves the same career trajectory as Nathaniel. We also liked that we could eat the food from there at the Teepee bar and have our food and drinks brought to us. A very welcome addition. The coffee shop also became a favourite, and we went there most afternoons for tea/ coffee and treats and sometimes ice-cream. The rum and raisin is the best we've ever tasted. The resort also offers afternoon tea between 4 to 5.30 pm in the Seagrape Bar, with a selection of sandwiches, scones and pastries, and a selection of teas which we found very refreshing. We went to this a couple of times but later switched to the coffee shop The staff in general are all hard working and friendly, but special mentions go to Bri at guest services, who helped with all our requests and was very welcoming. Also Pearl, Samantha, Lynette and Sadi who always made us smile and were so helpful. We only went to the rum shack once, as it was only open twice during our stay, but Shawntay had a great knowledge of rum and we enjoyed all her suggestions. We took 2 trips while we were there. One was a half day sailing trip with Captain Sean, which was great fun and we would highly recommend it. His rum punch and lunch were superb, especially the potato salad. He also has an encyclopedic knowledge of the island, which was very interesting. He also offers an evening cocktail trip, which another couple told us was also brilliant. We also did a half day taxi trip around the Island, visiting Shirley Heights and Nelsons Dock. We also drove to Jolly Harbour and through the rain forest and had a great time. Our driver was Dori, who gave us some fascinating information and was very friendly and made us feel comfortable right away. This, together with other excursions, can be arranged via guest services. As returners, we were invited to a special drinks reception and dinner by the manger, Cedric Henry and it happened to fall on our anniversary, which was a lovely gesture. We had a lovely time and had the opportunity to speak at length to Cedric, who was always very approachable and obviously loves the resort. Every time we met him he always stopped to say hello. We also met other returning couples, one of whom got married 2 days after us. The food there is even more delicious and we felt is worth the supplement of $50 per person. Our room was beautiful and really large, with loungers on the balcony with amazing views overlooking the beach, and chairs at the back. The bathroom and shower were huge and there was a large walk in closet which had plenty of storage space and contained a safe. They even had provided snorkeling equipment. There were also bath robes in the bathroom, together with soap, shampoo, conditioner and shower gel. 2 beach towels were also helpfully provided and there were linen bins scattered around the resort to place your wet towels into. Fresh towels could be picked up at any time from the desk at water sports. There was also a mini sewing kit and a shower cap. There was a mini bar with soft drinks, water and beers, which was replenished every day by very friendly staff, who happily left any requested favourites. The air conditioning unit was excellent and could be adjusted easily. Sadly, we never met the lady who cleaned the room, but it was cleaned every day to a very high standard. There was also an evening turndown service, which was a lovely touch and they lifted any empty glasses that were lying about. We didn't use the spa as we were already extremely relaxed. There is also a pool table, which we used on several occasions, and a tennis court and table tennis, which we didn't use. There are bikes available to ride around the lagoon, which we enjoyed a couple of times. Try to do this in the morning before it gets too hot. There is a water sports centre, which we also didn't use but we enjoyed watching the more energetic guests using the hobicats, kayaks and paddle boards on a daily basis. All this is included in the package. There is a yoga class every weekday morning at 8.00am in the pavilion beside the water sports centre overlooking the beach. I only made it once but it was brilliant and would highly recommend. The resort takes pride in its wildlife and plants, which are all well looked after. We were very lucky to witness the hatching of baby sea turtles, whose nest was protected on the beach close to our room. The fantastic team helped them to make their slow way to the sea, and we have some precious photos and videos. What a privilege that was. All in all, we would absolutely highly recommend this hotel to anyone thinking of visiting the island. The surroundings are breathtaking and beautiful, the team, led by Cedric, are excellent and the food is high end. Despite the long review, it is difficult to find words to do Galley Bay justice. Put simply, it is Heaven on earth. Read less