Sandals Royal Bahamian Spa Resort - Bahamas

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I will not return. Visited: April 2009 Posted by betts I just got back from Sandals Royal Bahamian, and wish I had read reviews before going. Transportation was not a Rolls or Mercedes, as promised, but a shoddy van one way, and filthy old bus returning to the airport. The room was not at all as described. I could see the ocean, but the mini-bar was a small fridge with liquor bottles that were refilled from half empty ones from other guests' room. Dining was a joke. Be sure to make reservations, or you eat in a venue more fitting a shopping mall cafeteria. The pool was nice enough, but I felt like we were on spring break. It was filled with loud drunken NASCAR fans. Tatoos were de'regeur. Secure your lounge chair in the middle of the night, or you won't get one. The beach was a joke-small, short and dirty. There were nice enough surroundings, but felt like I was in 1947-very dated. For what I got, it was very expensive and not worth it. 4 users found this review helpful. 1 found this review unhelpful. Did you find this helpful? Think "roadside trucker's motel"! Visited: March 2009 Posted by dmcmilla38 It took one hour to check in, yet another full hour to get my luggage. The room was filthy. There was large machinery on the beach blocking the view. It was impossible to get a drink in the bar - or for that matter a glass of tea with a meal. They served liquor I have never heard of. The employees were rude, impossilby slow, and distracted. I called the manager three times, and never recived a call back. I will never return to any Sandals - at any price. 4 users found this review helpful. 0 found this review unhelpful. Did you find this helpful? We will not go to this resort again. Visited: February 2009 Posted by lindac We just got back from a five-day stay at the Royal Bahamian Spa Resort. The Resort was beautiful in many ways, but the inner workings paled by comparison. We paid for a Manor Deluxe Ocean Front Concierge Room. The pictures looked beautiful, but the reality was something all together different. There were sand fleas all over, the bathtub was nasty, and the commode hardly ever flushed. Also, the water pressure was non-existent, and the hot water was at a premium if you could get it. We had no balcony, just a sliding window with no screen. Our agent had told us all the ocean front rooms had balconies, but this was not so. We asked to change, but were shown only one other - which was the same room only on a different floor. The concierge service was probably the biggest joke of all. The people acted like they had no time for us, and when we did get to sit down to talk to them, they were abrupt and not helpful at all. They acted like we were keeping them away from something much more important. The food was good, and the drinks were adequate enough. The Sandals Cay was great. You pretty much had to go there to get a place to sit. At the resort, I believe people got up in the middle of the night to put a towel and the odd book on the lounge chairs so that they appear occupied. By 7 am you were lucky if you found a vacant seat. Ironically enough, most of the "occupied chairs" sat empty most of the time. I was very disappointed in this experience, but will try another Sandals next time. I do like the all-inclusive idea, and think that there may be another one that I will like better. In their defense, I will say that one of the staff told us that 115 employees had been laid off recently. This might have been why the room service was so bad. We actually had to call down for towels every day, and were never given bath mats. 8 users found this review helpful. 0 found this review unhelpful. Did you find this helpful? Luxury was not found here. Visited: August 2008 Posted by nicolecpa I have been to other all inclusive resorts, but since I paid almost double for Sandals, I expected to get more than before. When we arrived, our door didn't lock. It took 3 1/2 hours to get it resolved, so we were pretty much stuck in the room, right off the bat. We didn't have any robes in the rooms, so we had to ask. The mini bar was never restocked, and we had to ask and continue to leave notes of what to restock. Our breakfast room service never showed up on one of the days. Our spa service that was booked in advance ($446 for two 80-minute massages) was "on sale" when we arrived for only $298. We didn't receive any adjustments or further credit towards spa services. The rooms were old. We stayed in the Windsor Grande Luxe Oceanview. The water was impossible to regulate. It would be warm one second, scalding the next, ice cold the next. Also, the bugs are horrible. We both have welts all over our bodies. In addition, the beds were so uncomfortable. We woke every morning with a backache. On a positive note, the food was out of this world. The drinks were also superb. I would consider going to a Sandals again, but never back to the Royal Bahamian. 7 users found this review helpful. 0 found this review unhelpful. Did you find this helpful? Five-star prices for a two-star resort. Visited: December 2007 Posted by jp_canadian This resort was way over priced. THE GOOD - The weather, beach, and suite were all nice. I enjoyed the free alcohol, but the wine wasn't great. THE BAD - Our VIP pick up at the airport was half an hour late. I thought "VIP" meant that they were waiting for you - not the other way around. Our return to airport was also late, and in a Town Car (not a Rolls or Mercedes). The butler service was inconsistent (ie. never managed to get breakfast to us on time or with our order; always put towels at the pool, even though we asked for the beach; took them three days to get us a fruit plate). The gym was small, cramped and had no cleaning supplies for equipment. Overall, the property looked tired and needed paint. In addition, we ordered tea at the tea room, but it never arrived. Even pick up of our luggage was 45 minutes late from the agreed upon time of departure. THE UGLY - For what we paid (over $1000/day), we expected gourmet food. It was virtually inedible. The Italian restauarant reminded us of a cafeteria, "romantic" Gordon's on the Pier had five-day-old fish (even the fish was not fresh), and steak at the Pub was shoe leather. Coffee tasted like dirty dish water, but there was a good Starbucks down the beach. I only wish that I had read reviews before booking! We would have gone elsewhere. 18 users found this review helpful. 3 found this review unhelpful. Did you find this helpful? It took a day for us to get our room - what a hassle! Visited: December 2007 Posted by jkshipp@yahoo_com Okay, I'll admit I had a great time - that is after we finally got our room! We arrived on Tuesday - Christmas day. We were taken into the little lobby where they tell you how wonderful it is to have you as guest. Then, they gave us drinks, and blah, blah, blah. We wandered around the place until three, and then they informed us that our rooms were not ready, so they upgraded us into a butler's suite for that night. The next day, we had to leave that room, and for the next four hours we had no room. We also had no idea where our luggage was. My wife and I finally turned into a couple of jerks and demanded a room. I hated to do it, but it was getting ridicuous. We lost almost the whole day of our vacation because of the room ordeal. We then met other people who were also mad because they had the same thing happen to them. Sandals is a great deal, and we always have a good time, but this overbooking has to be addressed. That is not a small issue, it is a large one. I had a great time, and we will go back, but I will always be a little wary from here on. By the way, my wife and I are the kind of people who never complain, but this time we had to. I actually felt bad about it, but after a day of roaming around with no room something had to be done. 17 users found this review helpful. 0 found this review unhelpful. Did you find this helpful? I had an excellent experience at Sandals. Visited: October 2007 Posted by gemini134 This was a first time visit a "resort" style hotel. This was a great experience! Don't be too picky, and you will have a wonderful time! The grounds are gorgeous (five stars), the food is good (three stars), the service is excellent (four stars - the grumpy ones really stand out here because overall the service is excellent). The room, a basic "deluxe" - was clean, large and comfortable (three stars - mildew on grout in tub and dirty corners in the bathroom, bed was very comfortable). It really is all-inclusive, you will not need to touch your wallet. We went scuba diving with the resort, and it was a good experience It's also included in the price if you are certified! This is a wonderfully romantic experience, and I would certainly recommend it. A little piece of advice - make your reservations immediately, bug spray for the Cay is essential, and the beach in the evening is overrun with folks selling their "wares". 17 users found this review helpful. 0 found this review unhelpful. Did you find this helpful? We encountered watered down beer and dirty glasses here. Visited: May 2007 Posted by cm The beer served here was Kalik in a can. It tasted like watered down Bud Light. Also, they didn't wash their glasses - they just dipped them in ice water! I suggest you ask for plastic cup! 11 users found this review helpful. 6 found this review unhelpful. Did you find this helpful? This Sandals was not quite all-inclusive. Visited: May 2007 Posted by cm We stayed at this resort for our anniversary. This was the fourth Sandals resort we have stayed at. We have stayed at the Grande St. Lucian (loved it, and would go again); Montego Bay (absolutely hated it, transfered); and Negril (was okay, but wouldn't go again). We picked the Bahamian because it had shortest flight and drive time. We bought the butler service. Our car was not there when we landed, and we had to wait. The Roles Royce was very old and dirty. My personal vehicle is nicer, and a US taxi would probably be nicer. The rooms were old (we expect when you pay that much money for a room, to have separate tub and shower at least). The resort, in general, needs to be upgraded/refurbished. I also found it personally insulting that, upon arrival, I was given a letter encouraging us to tip our butlers. The main reason we booked all-inclusive was so that we did not have to worry about tipping. It took away some of the enjoyment of having a butler because we had to wonder if they were expecting a tip for every little thing they did. I did like having the butler service, though. I just was not expecting - nor did I want - to be asked to tip them. In my opinion, the price of purchasing butler service was pricy enough to include tips! I also found it very annoying to be presented with a wine list at every meal that was available for purchase. Again, we purchased all-inclusive! I don't want to pay more money for wine. It would be fine to have an upgraded wine list, but leave it as something that could be requested, not something pushed on you at every meal. At that point it just seemed like Sandals was trying to squeeze every penny they could out of us. We had already paid approximately $6,000. After that much money, I didn't want to pay more for tips or wine. We did really like the off-shore island. It was beautiful, and the water at the resort was the prettiest I have seen at any of the resorts. The food and setting at Gordon's restaurant was very nice - as was the food at the French restaurant (the sea bass was great!). However, the bar service was absolutely terrible. Bartenders ignored us, and made us wait for no apparent reason. The drinks were terrible, too. For the price, I would expect frozen drinks to be made from fresh fruit. However, they were made with mixes. Plus, I asked a bartender for a Mojito, and he just told me "this is not the states" and walked off! Again - for the price we paid, I would expect the resort to serve drinks such a Mojito - which is very common drink. Your choices of frozen drinks were basically strawberry daiquiri, pina colada or a mudslide (and not very good ones at that!). Be prepared to wait a long time to get a drink, and expect very rude bartenders. Enjoy the beautiful water if you go, though. It was quite breathtaking. 21 users found this review helpful. 5 found this review unhelpful. Did you find this helpful? awful Visited: August 2005 Posted by jimandamy97 Rooms where not kept up, cracked tile, no caulking, chipped furniture, no hot water, water pressure low, food was low end, drinks watered down, hotel was dirty. Broken hanging lights down the hallway. We could go on, and on. For the money we paid we got ripped off.Never will go back, and will tell everyone not to waste their money.When we complained to the manager he rolled his eyes and said he'd look into it, and never got back to us. Like it was a bather to him.He also said he would give us a $70 credit on our bill.What a joke that is after spending $6000.00 and they did not give us what they advertise. 12 users found this review helpful. 4 found this review unhelpful. Did you find this helpful? This is one of our favorite getaways! Visited: August 2005 Posted by uni52 We have been to Sandals Royal Bahamian seven times over the past few years and have enjoyed it every time. True, they occasionally have had a problem or two, but it has always been corrected as soon as possible. I would rate the food as good, but it is not gourmet. I personally have found the bottled water to be less tasty than water (tap?) served at the various restaurants. The entire staff, from general manager down, have been extremely pleasant and concerned with our total happiness. As far as the Royal Cafe goes, the menu is somewhat limited, but it does go beyond a hamburger. There are other options available for lunch (Casanova's, Spices and Cafe Goombay) which are normally a buffet at any resort. For those of you who did not like your Sandals experience, I am sorry. For those who did, join their free Signature Guest Club which offers small discounts on future visits and gives you a free week's stay after 70 paid nights at any of the Sandals or Beaches resorts. 14 users found this review helpful. 3 found this review unhelpful. Did you find this helpful? 5 Star Price 2 Star Quality... Visited: June 2005 Posted by sheri1 We had to wait 4 hours for our room in the lobby which reeked of vomit & another 4 in our room for our luggage. The room smelled like mold, we couldn't open the screen door because the screen was torn & the mosquitoes were terrible!The furniture was ripped & stained, carpet torn, thermostat was broken,the shower water would randomly switch from hot to cold & you had to force the door shut. We had to switch rooms & both rooms were in the same condition. The food in every restaurant tasted as if it was from a frozen dinner. The English pub only served 4 types of beer but had ads for 15. The alcohol in the "fully stocked bars" in the rooms were watered down. The freshly squeezed oj came from cans. The resort staff was rude & unapologetic for any issues. The snorkeling was a joke. They take you out in the ocean about 100 yards away for 15 minutes & tell you its too rough. I tried three times & they used the same lines exactly. Trying to eat lunch or dinner at the "private" Cay Island is a joke too unless YOU want to be the main course for the mosquitoes. It doesn't matter what time of day you go they are terrible little needles sticking you. The resort will sell you a 7 ounce bottle of repellant for $40 from their gift shop. They do not have any netting or protection from the bugs so you get all the extra protein you need included with your food. There were things that were "included" in the "all-inclusive" resort that were additional deposit fees required which you did not receive back. This place is a complete rip off! 11 users found this review helpful. 4 found this review unhelpful. Did you find this helpful? It was amazing, amazing, amazing! Visited: April 2005 Posted by karyn_ro This resort was like paradise. It was beautiful, immaculate, and well-kept. The people were so friendly - everything was "no problem". I can't wait to go back! 7 users found this review helpful. 4 found this review unhelpful. Did you find this helpful? Yuck! It was not worth it! Visited: January 2005 Posted by gregdavid The Sandals was not elegant and not worth the money. The scenery and architecture looked okay, but entirely contrived. It reminded me of a Busch Gardens ride (“Escape From Pompeii” in Williamsburg, Virginia, to be exact). The resort advertised three high-end restaurants. But watch out -- they didn't let us make reservations before we arrived, and when we got there, no reservations were available for any of our three-night stay. If I had not complained vociferously, we would have been relegated to the buffet or more casual dining experience. I understand this was a busy weekend (New Year's Eve), but it was nonetheless entirely unacceptable. And, one night that I did manage to get a table (after complaining), the manager of the restaurant rudely told me that my Birkenstocks were unacceptable dress. Yes, this was the dress code, but I was not happy about the blunt and ungraceful manner in which I was handled. In general, the staff was friendly and courteous. The problem is that Sandals seems to be trying to cut costs at every turn. Let me give some examples: limited dinner reservations forcing you to eat at the buffet (which saves them manpower and money), cheap liquor (aristocrat brand), threadbare towels, poor water pressure, drinks at the bar served in small plastic cups with no garnish, lots of trash around the pool not promptly cleaned, etc. The Sandals promises high end, but fails to deliver. 8 users found this review helpful. 3 found this review unhelpful. Did you find this helpful? This is a fabulous resort. Visited: March 2004 Posted by jon_yatesy We spent a great week at the Sandals Royal Bahamian. The food/restaurants were probably the highlight of the holiday. We ate at a different restaurant for dinner each evening - the quality was very good (superb in a couple of the restaurants). Accommodation-wise, our room was lovely and very spacious with a separate sitting area. The best rooms were in the Windsor block on floor three or above. The weather was fine, although a couple of the days it was fairly cloudy which made the pools seem chilly. If it were not for our wish to visit other islands, we would definitely return in the future. 6 users found this review helpful. 3 found this review unhelpful. Did you find this helpful? We had an outrageous time. Visited: February 2004 Posted by valstiger My husband and I came home two weeks ago from Sandals Royal Bahamian we had the best time. We got married February 11th. My husband lost one of the rings an hour before the ceremony and guests turned it in ten minutes ahead of time. My husband was so unglued he read the wrong wedding vows, but that was okay. The love and understanding of everyone at Sandals was extraordinary. We want to thank both Beverly and Gary for standing up for us. And the photographers took just fantastic pictures that we could not get over how good they came out. We had the best time we have ever had in our lives. Everybody at Sandals made us feel like royalty.We had dinner at the Crystal Room on our wedding night and it was okay. But what was extra special was when the waiter put our dessert on a tray, put a sparkler in it and put it on top his head and brought out. Everyone clapped and congratulated us. That put me into tears that they cared so much for people they never met before. We also had dinner at Kimono's. It was the best restaurant there in our opinion. We have never had Chinese cooking like that before - it was great. Also, the party they had on Valentine's Day was also great. The guys and girls were all dressed up and walked around dancing. It was a dream come true for both my husband and me. We hope to be coming back in the near future. 3 users found this review helpful. 3 found this review unhelpful. Did you find this helpful? extra ordinary Visited: February 2004 Posted by prettygalval We both would like to thank you all for all of your sweetness & kindness on our stay with you. We have not stopped talking about the kindness of everyone there since we got home. Our Wedding Day was over & beyond anything that I expected. You took a day that I thought would never happen & made it come true Better then either of us imagined. Then the kimono restaurant was better then anything we have had before .I dont think we could find a restaurant like that home here & the crystal room on our wedding night was great with the guy holding the sparkler on his head in our cake was something else & the way that everyone congratulated us that night was a memory that I will never forget.We both wanted to thank Beverly again &let her know that she made a girls dream come true Thankyou again for calming valarie ann down on our Wedding day .I dont think anyone home would have been so sweet.We also wanted to thank the cassanova restaurant for making the fish that we caught so good. Thank you all again so much for a vacation & wedding day to remember for a lifetime SINCERLY YOURS, MR VALARIE ANN&SANDRA BRAUNSCHWEIGER 2 users found this review helpful. 2 found this review unhelpful. Did you find this helpful? not at all like stated in brochures and website Visited: October 2003 Posted by 8doherno Visited in Oct 2003. Resort very disapointing and not up to 5 star standard. Rooms and main area had very musty smell and cleanliness of complex not good. Also food not great though staff are very friendly and nice. I would not recommend nor visit again 1 users found this review helpful. 2 found this review unhelpful. Did you find this helpful? TERRIBLE, OVERPRICED RESORT Visited: October 2003 Posted by ferraroe My wife and I just got back from a 5 night stay at this "resort", and we were ready to leave after day 2. The poor service is matched only by the poor food selection. Only 2 restaurants were available for either breakfast or lunch- one was a cafeteria style place with some decent food and the other had the same menu and music every day. I hope you enjoy Natalie Coles' "Unforgettable"- you'll hear it 500 times during breakfast alone if you make the mistake of staying at this place. We've traveled to many different islands, but this by far was the worst. When we complained about the service we were told to "relax, we're on island time here". My question is- who is on this "island time", the customer or the service industry? In just a few hours at this resort, you will learn the answer- it's the staff. Pretty sad for a place who's #1 economic resource is tourism. Our room was not available until 3 hours after we arrived (at noon). They told us to "relax by the pool" until the room was ready. 90+ degrees with no bathing suit- you get the idea. When we finally got to our room, we were disappointed as it looked like a Days Inn room at best. The floors were all tiled and you can hear every noise from the rooms next door to you. Use your imagination on that one. Most of the water sports advertised were "unavailable", which we learned on check in by a convenient "marker cross out" on the arrival brochure. In addition, there are 3 restaurants which require dinner reservations- we attempted to book them (as soon as we got checked into our room)for any of the 5 nights we were there, and got into 2 of them. Only 2 kinds of beer were available, Coors Light and Kalik, a local piss beer. The other drinks were heavily watered down. Steer clear of the OJ- the funkiest stuff I've ever tasted. The "private island" and cafe Goombay sucked. The lunch menu was "Hamburger, Cheesburger, or Grilled Cheese". $500 a night for this? The highlights were the spa (one of the best massages I've ever gotten), and the fact that the grounds were very well kept (in the main resort area). The bottom line- avoid this place like the plague. Change your plans to go to Aruba- that was our best Island experience. Stay at the Radisson in Aruba- it is 10 times better and less money. Plus there's a lot more to do in Aruba than in the Bahamas and nobody will harass your wife to braid her hair. 4 users found this review helpful. 2 found this review unhelpful. Did you find this helpful? Not as Expected. Visited: October 2003 Posted by hydster007 My husband and I just returned from Sandals Royal Bahamian. My husband and I will probably never return to another Sandals resort again. Our room was not ready when we got there at 3pm. Once we got into the room, it was very plain and we could hear our neighbors on both sides. We stayed in the Manor House in their basic room. The Royal Cafe was not so "royal." They had the same menu every day for lunch. How many times can you eat a cheeseburger? The other lunch option was Spices where the service was not so great, but the food was okay. Our breakfast choices were Spices or Baccarat. My husband got a half-cooked omelet at Spices. Baccarat was much better, but the menu was the same every day. We had mixed reviews on dinner. Kimonos was awful! It certainly was no Benihana! My stomach was not feeling so well after dinner. We enjoyed Casanova, Crystal Room, and Baccarat for dinner. The service and food at Crystal Room and Baccarat were excellent. No filet or lobster, though. We were unable to get dinner reservations at Cafe Goombay. We tried booking as soon as we got to Sandals, but it was already full. The pool areas and pool bars at the resort were nice. There were not enough floats for everyone. Sandals Cay had a nice beach. The pool was small and the service at the bar and lunch at Cafe Goombay was slow. The food at Cafe Goombay was bad. The spa was great. We got a great couple's massage. The room service was slow. We waited 45 minutes and 3 phone calls to get extra pillows in our room. Our remote control was broken and it also took 45 minutes for someone to come fix it. The staff was on island time. The bars and restaurants do not serve bottled water. This seemed strange to me. We requested some and were told that they ran out. The beach at the resort was very, very small. Go over to Sandals Cay to enjoy the beach. Nightly entertainment was limited. We could have done much better for the money that we spent going to Sandals. 3 users found this review helpful. 2 found this review unhelpful. Did you find this helpful?

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