We spent the first 9 nights of our Barbados holiday at Almond Casuarina and had a Superior Deluxe Room with Ocean View. These rooms were located in Block 1 which does not accept children under 12 years of age, the rooms had recently been refurbished and had a nice modern feel to them.

After a comfortable journey we arrived into Punta Cana airport which unusually has thatched roofs giving it a very Caribbean feel; after clearing immigration we set off to our first hotel, Dreams Punta Cana.

After visiting Sandals Royal Caribbean and Sandals Whitehouse Jamaica resorts within the last 18 months, I was intrigued to see how Sandals Grande Antigua would compare.

We booked four nights at the Galley Bay Resort & Spa, Antigua in a Premium Beachfront Suite. Having received so many positive reviews from clients and staff we arrived in anticipation of something special. From experience, arriving at a resort with such high expectations is usually a mistake. In Galley Bay's case we were absolutely elevated to a high satisfaction level in minutes!

When it comes to foreign holidays living just 10 minutes from Birmingham Airport is a real bonus; except when duration and destination of a holiday dictate you have to fly from Manchester, which is exactly what happened with our recent 10 day Egypt holiday.