Antigua - where to stay?

[karen.texas]

My friend and I decided to go to Antigua instead of the Caymans this year. We are looking at the Grand Pineapple, but were told it's far from everything. Our plan is to lay on the beach most days, but would like to explore a little of the Island at least one day. We are also thinking of taking a ferry to Barbuda for the day. We are considering renting a car - driving on the left could get tricky for us.
Any suggestions would be great.
thanks
karen

[Carib Mark]

Plenty of beaches (365?) make any resort a place to lay in the sand. I stayed on the farthest point from the main town of St John a few years ago, and would recommend staying a bit closer to town, but not too close. As far as driving on the left is concerned, once you've made two right turns and see cars coming at you, you never make a mistake again. But seriously, if you think at each intersection (and that means parking lot exits as well) of what lane you need to be in, it gets easy. And the taxis (aka pirates) are no bargain on Antigua. Also, check my post in reply to your Grand Cayman question regarding Shirley Heights on Sunday afternoon. A must do!

[karen.texas]

We are planning on the trip to Shirley Heights on Sunday afternoon! We are booked into the Grand Pineapple and are excited about our trip. We aren't that worried about how far we are from towns - we are beach slugs and spend most of our time basking in the rays and cooling off in the ocean :).
We plan to leave the resort for a few things and maybe take the trip to Barbuda, but for the most part we are there to relax.
We will be in Antigua May 16-23 and we can't wait!