Travel Weekly Blog

How can you say "this will hopefully all blow over" and that the island of Antigua is safe !! The security is obviously well below par which has cost two young people their lives.Ben was in the same school as my three children, a nicer or sincerer person you could not wish to meet.His father Cynlais and mother Maralyn are both Godrergraig local people, very quiet and sincere. This has obviously ruined their life and their family,...but dont forget the main thing in your report is not to lose the tourism in Antigua....

Many thanks for your comment, Pamela. As Penny is away I will respond.

All of us at Travel Weekly recognise the impact that this tragic incident will have on the family and friends of Catherine and Ben Mullany and our hearts go out to them.

The safety and security of visitors to Antigua is of paramount importance and it is now up to the Antiguan tourist authorities to ensure that resorts provide the necessary levels of security. Without this action travellers will choose not to visit.

I am a british citizen who for 11.5 years have been visiting Antigua.,.and now have a home very close to were these terrible murders happened, so close i can see the hotel from my garden,this incident is aweful but it is not how Antigua is, crime has increased in the last year but,i as a woman still feel safe to drive around at night with my windows down and my doors unlocked.99.5% of people in Antigua are very friendly and would give you their last cent if you needed it, they are also a very religious country and this would have upset them as much as it would the people of the uk.,and i would say more so.Violence is done by the very few, and usually none antiguians,so i am going back to my adopted homeland asap to give my support to all my friends who work at cocos,who i know are devasted about the lost of "2 beautiful people"that is their words,and it will be 2 women alone travelling,.My heart goes out to the families of the 2 people who died on such a paradise island,please do not blame the island for this tragic event but blame someone who is out for his own personnal gain at what ever cost.

I would just like to add how horrified I am at this awful nightmare. I simply cannot get myself to accept that this young couple were enjoying a romantic and luxury honeymoon and then they were no longer alive. It is too horrible.I keep looking at the press pictures and feeling such incomprehension about it all.
I am taking my whole family (including my only grandson)to Antigua in a week's time. Obviously it was booked before this horrific event. I tried to ask about security at the place where we will be, but the so-called holiday 'help-line' doesn't help. They gave me a phone number to call the hotel so that i could ask them directly. What are they going to say? "Oh, security is not that important to us". I don't think so! Anyway, wasn't it reported that people being questioned over the murders were 'security' guards?
I have nevertheless decided not to cancel, as it is true that these things are perpetrated by a very few evil people, but I will insist on no ground floor rooms for any of us if possible.I must admit that I am nervous and will feel a sense of relief when it is time for us to move on to the next stage of our holiday.