I can tell you that I think Antigua (and neighboring islands/countries) are a great alternative to BVIs. I have been sailing in the US/BVIs for over 20 yrs and while I think its great for many, I've become less enchanted with the BVIs over the years. Last year in May and June my family and I sailed through the Leeward Islands from BVIs to Guadeloupe and back.

Antigua and Barbuda (as well as Martinique and Guadeloupe) were some of our favorites. Barbuda was awesome and while the country has been devastated since our visit, we spent nearly all of our time there on the beaches that were absolutely incredible - I expect that nothing would have changed that since Irma, other than losing some trees possibly. So, personally, I'd go back to Antigua and sail there long before I would return to the BVIs. But, everyone has there interests/preferences and so mine may be different than yours. (FWIW, our favorite part of the BVIs is Anegada - that's a place that I'll always be interested in returning to - and if you like Anegada, you'll love Barbuda.)

If you want to see our experiences you can check out our Youtube video of our 2 month trip and scroll through to the parts (countries) of interest to you. (See here: https://youtu.be/171WKy10NE4)