A perfect setting for Caribbean R&R, but Ocean Point's Italian soul can wear a bit

Companies talk a lot about exceeding expectations. The older I get, the more I'm convinced that the secret to success lies in setting them properly in the first place.

For exhibit A, I give you Ocean Point, Antigua.

The 69-room resort hotel on the North coast of this Caribbean island provokes a variety of reactions (both on Trip Advisor and during chats at the bar) ranging from delight to disappointment. Our expectations were modest. We were looking for a quiet place that offered complete relaxation. We were operating on a budget big enough to get us some winter sun, but not luxurious enough to reach 5 star. (Given that our beach holidays since marriage have been a Viking Cruise, the Maldives and Mauritius, we were tightening our belts significantly.) Given all of the options that fell out of my spreadsheet as too expensive, I thought Ocean Point looked the best for our budget at offering the R&R we wanted, but I expected it to fall below those other beach holiday experiences. And that's pretty much what we got.

Ocean Point is a small, adults-only property with pretty gardens, an enormous pool and two small, essentially private beaches. (Technically, all beaches in Antigua are public. But because access to both of these is through private property, you're unlikely to see anyone but your fellow guests here.) It's owned and run by an Italian family; in this lies both strength and weakness. The constant presence of the owners and their drive for quality ensures that the place is spotless, the service is cheerful and the whole experience has a cozy, personal feel. But Italian-run also translates to 50% or more Italian guests who are organised, Butlin's style, by perky and ever-present tour operators. Insipid Italian pop blares too loudly and too often from the bar's audio system, English is definitely the second language and the buffet is unremittingly Italian ... which may sound great but gets boring quickly.

If you believe, as I do, that a perfect beach holiday is built around working your way through a large stack of paperbacks, alternating your reading location from pool to beach to the porch of your room, with opportunities for view-filled swims between chapters, a source of rum-based cocktails nearby and ... of critical importance ... minimal noise to interrupt your contemplation, you will be happy here. Even though they were operating at full capacity throughout our stay, you could always find empty sun loungers (though the five umbrellas near the pool were always snapped up by 9am). Two beaches, neither more than 50 metres long, each curve behind breakwaters that calm the sea. There's no snorkelling off the beach and the sand gives way to see grass pretty quickly, but these are nice areas if you want a quick dip. I preferred the smaller crescent to the West of the bar and restaurant, its

20(ish) loungers rarely more than half full.

I was often one of only three or four people on the beach, and got into the habit of pulling a lounger right into the surf to let the waves lap at me while I read. Bliss. There's a third beach area that juts out into the water like a small peninsula between the two, amusingly decorated with three cannon facing out to sea. Given that the name of the bar behind is The Black Pearl, topped by a skull and crossbones and a cheerful statue of Long John Silver, one suspects they're meant to keep authorities away rather than pirates. The restaurant is also on this beach level, two of its sides open to the air.

Climbing a ramp, or taking a staircase through the open-air spa, brings you to the pool deck at the heart of the hotel, with an arched bridge across the water. The main hotel buildings curve around this space, recessed balconies gazing down like boxes in an old-style European opera house. The buildings wear bright Caribbean colours and are fronted by climbing bougainvillea, rambling hibiscus bushes, palms and other tropical delights. The gardens are exceptionally well maintained, with the crew amongst them constantly to trim aggressive ramblers and remove dead leaves and branches.

The main check-in area, rising once again to road level, is built around an old sugar mill. These round stone towers are a constant in Antigua. Most have been left to go to ruin but some, like this one, have been given a new life. The ample lobby behind this is full of comfortable bamboo furniture with beautiful tropical fabric-covered cushions; it's almost a shame that it sees so little use. People wait here for taxis or excursion pick-ups, but the real focus is the water, bar and restaurant beyond.

The rooms are basic, in a pleasant beach style. Tile floors, double bed, desk and chair of traditional style in pale wood, TV. Nothing special but the bed is comfortable, the air conditioning works well and the wi-fi, though not great, was good enough to stream Netflix for after-dinner entertainment. Most importantly is a balcony with a table, two chairs, a drying rack and a lovely view of the pool and the sea beyond. Unless there was a live band or a big party (which only happened once or twice a week), our room didn't pick up any sound from the restaurant or bar below. Prohibiting children helps to keep things quiet, but I think having the only bar next to the beach ensures it. The noise stays with the alcohol.

Our biggest frustration was probably the food. Which we expected. "All inclusive" often means low-end mass catering, and buffets naturally limit the quality of what you can serve. Trip Advisor reviews indicated Ocean Point's buffet would be better than average, and it was. But it could have been so much better. I had two main issues.

First, very little variety. Every lunch and dinner had the same range of make-your-own-salad components on one side, mixed cold salads on the other, two "pasta of the day" options prepared fresh at a hatch that led to the kitchen and a couple of steam trays full of protein and hot veg options. One was always a white fish fillet (though toppings would change), another a thinly-sliced meat in some sort of sauce. With the exception of one day of our 12, when someone went wild with some sweet and sour pork, there was no budging from Italian classics with some Caribbean additions. In frugal Italian style, one day's rice, vegetables or pasta ended up as the next day's arancini, fritters or salad. I love roast aubergine (eggplant), but if I don't see any for a month I'll be content. My husband, who can't see the point of cooking veg and then allowing them to go cold, found at least 20% of the offerings to be unappealing. (Though, happily, his tomato allergy proved much less of a problem than I'd feared.)

We've been on holidays where we've enjoyed buffets (admittedly at a higher price point) but they've alternated cuisines to keep things exciting. Indian night, Mexican, Southeast Asian, etc. Without that mix, by day 7 we'd tried everything in the chef's repertoire and by day 10 were bored silly. I understand that Italian is Ocean Point's "thing", and perhaps the Italian guests want the regularity, but the lack of variety is the main reason we wouldn't return to this resort.

New Year's Eve buffet

Getting really picky, I'd also point out that once you get past the cold salads, Italian isn't a cuisine that works naturally with buffets. The best Italian food is cooked quickly and goes from preparation to plate in seconds. It doesn't sit around. So while they tried their best, the reality is that mass-cooked pasta re-heated before serving is never going to taste as it should, and scallopini cuts of meat with sauce, while delicious straight out of the pan, turn into shoe leather when lingering on a steam table all night. The latter, sadly, meant that most of the meat and fish was pretty tasteless. Our first meal upon returning home will be a rare steak.

The irony of these culinary quirks is that I probably ate more healthily here than on any holiday inyears, with a daily diet heavy on roast aubergine, roast courgette and heart of palm salads. Whatever benefit I gained there, however, I suspect I lost at the bar. The all-inclusive wine was average and unmemorable (again, to be expected at this price point), but easily quaffable and the bartenders soon came to anticipate our nightly request of two plastic pint glasses of white wine to take to our room fridge, along with our full dinner glasses, to libate our evening's in-room entertainment. More notable for its flavour profile was a wide-ranging cocktail menu, all made fresh with generous pours from the alcohol bottles.

And what was the price point for this experience? Approximately £500 per day per couple. (It's hard to break out exactly, since we bought a package and Ocean Point doesn't publish a standard "rack rate".) Seeing that in cold print makes me wince, as that seems a lot for what we got. A Viking Cruise, however, is more like £750, while five-star resorts like those in Mauritius and the Maldives hover around £1000. We probably could have found more various food and a more central location but, at least on Antigua, that means being in enormous resorts that lack the quiet intimacy so essential to getting rest. Hiring a holiday home would no doubt be cheaper (and was an excellent option for us two years ago in Puerto Rico), but Antigua's not a great island for that and daily cooking and cleaning takes away from the R&R. There's always skipping the all-inclusive for restaurants, but ... again ... Antigua doesn't appear to be a great island for this and Mr. B and I can quickly destroy budgets when menus and wine lists get into our hands.

In summary: Sun, quiet, attractive surroundings, decent if unremarkable food, free flowing alcohol. For Brits, it also features the convenience of direct flights from London. If you're looking for a lazy retreat, Ocean Point is a decent option for Christmas sun and relaxation at a moderate price point.

A more pertinent question is probably: would we return to Antigua. Thoughts on that in my next article.