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| Sandals Grande St. Lucian Spa & Beach Resort |
Sandals Grande St. Lucian Spa & Beach Resort: Hotel Reviews |
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| Stay at Sandals Grande St. Lucian |
| Hotel Sandals Grande St. Lucian Spa & Beach Resort |
User Rating:
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Sue & Marv >
1 contribution(s) United States of America |
| Oct, 2009
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Sandals Grande St. Lucian Sue & Marv Weber, owners
Marvelous Travel & Cruise Planners, an American Express agency Plymouth Meeting PA
610.277.6165
August 29-September 5, 2009
We own and manage two travel agencies and we would like to encourage you to do what we did. But, before we review this wonderful resort and island attractions, a few negative words about St. Lucia's antiquated airport, the not so friendly Customs and Immigration personnel, and the pothole-filled roads. Although it's a gorgeous destination, St. Lucia needs to upgrade the road from Hewanorra International (UVF) in the south to Castries in the north.
After descending plane's portable staircase onto the blacktop tarmac (there are no jetways) for the long walk into Baggage Claim, an hour or more may go by before one of the rude guards at Nothing to Declare goes through your luggage then permits you to go to Ground Transportation. Warning before you get off your plane, fill in your Immigration Form completely both sides or you will be sent to the back of the line really! We saw this happen twice and thought we were back in elementary school.
The taxi transfer from Hewanorra to Sandals Grande north of Castries took another hour and a half. Although most of the road going to the north had been paved since we were last there in 2005, several stretches continue to wash out in the rainy season.
You might consider using the St. Lucia Helicopter service ($150 per person) to fly to Vigie Airport in the north, just 15 minutes away the Grande. It will give you a scenic overview of the island as well as start your vacation off on a high note (no pun intended). As an alternative to the helicopter transfer or your jet landing in the south, consider booking the American Eagle flight connecting through San Juan which lands in the small Vigie Airport (aka George Charles or SLU) in Castries.
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| Arrival |
We landed at 2:30 PM but it wasn't until 5 PM that we arrived at Sandals Grande St. Lucian, a four-diamond resort on two miles of the island's best white sand dotted with palm-frond umbrellas. It sits on the spectacular Pigeon Island Causeway with vistas of the bay and mountains on the Atlantic Ocean side and Martinique on the Caribbean side.
Now we will tell you the good stuff!
We were greeted warmly by Unita, the Returning Guest Manager, and escorted to the private Concierge Lounge for a private registration. After a brief orientation, welcome drink and a cold towel, we were escorted to a spectacular Beachfront One Bedroom Suite by Amos, our butler (more about him and his co-worker later).
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| Accommodations |
There are 284 guestrooms and suites with ocean views on both sides of the property with natural-hued furnishings, crown moldings, and granite bathroom counters. The upper category suites are serviced by a dedicated concierge staff working from the Concierge Lounge or British-trained butlers accessible through private two-way telephones when you book in the highest categories of suites and penthouses.
The Beach Rondovals have direct access to private pool decks with outdoor showers, private whirlpools or plunge pools. They feature minibars stocked with premium-brand spirits and access to Gordon’s, the resorts special access, dinner-only, over-the-water gourmet restaurant.
Our oversized suite #2203 on the second floor of the Massade Building was unbelievably convenient to almost everything restaurants, beach, both pools, and the lobby. It had an enormous bedroom, Sandals' signature four-poster king bed with quality bedding and a great mattress, a 32 flat screen TV on a huge breakfront with lots of drawers, and a work desk. The sitting room was as big as the bedroom with a sofa, chaise lounge, three tables, another breakfront with drawers, and another flat screen TV. We had a master bath with a Jacuzzi tub, shower, and two sinks as well as another full bathroom with a shower and a reserved-daily beachfront cabana. This was the most luxurious week we have ever experienced. |
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| Staff and Service |
Drinks on de wheel Latoya lustily announces as she pushes her beverage cart along the concrete beachfront path. She smiles at you, offers her special rum punch among several cold beverages and chats about whatever is on your mind as she makes you feel at home. She is the embodiment of the winning spirit of the entire staff at the luxurious Sandals Grande St. Lucian.
It is the staff's genuine enthusiasm and interest in our well-being that made our week so enjoyable at this hotel built about seven years ago as a Hyatt. Having already visited every resort in the chain Beaches, Sandals, Royal Plantation, and Grand Pineapple, we chose to return to this resort because of its size, the quality of its beach, and its relative young age. But it was the Grande's wonderful staff and their willingness to serve that impressed us most!
In fact, the saying, No pressure, no problem was all we heard during the week and it was absolutely true. We had the pleasure of having dinner with Winston Anderson, one of the best general managers in the Caribbean. His attention to detail and gentle yet efficient management style filters throughout the entire staff. The respect this staff and administration have for each other is amazing.
Amos and Giselle, our fantastic butlers, were at our beckon call from 7 AM to 11PM there was nothing they couldn't do for us. If we didn't need anything or have anything to request, they would make suggestions as to how we could be more comfortable or do more interesting things. It was our first true butlered experience and we can't wait to try it again. |
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| Dining |
Dining at the Grande was very good to excellent. There are five dining options. The open-air Bayside Restaurant provides an international buffet breakfast and lunch as well as an ala carte menu for dinner. Barefoot By the Sea serves mouth-watering Caribbean cuisine and is located directly on the beach. The Olde London Pub serves traditional British pub fare for dinner and late night snacks.
We loved the cooked-to-order breakfasts at Toscanini and Italian cuisine for dinner. We ate three times at Gordon's (the specialty white glove restaurant for guests in suites). You can also order up room service all day long.
Since you have complimentary access to the two nearby Sandals resorts, you can do a Dine Around at a total of 11 additional restaurants. We hopped on the free shuttle two nights for French cuisine at the Regency and northern Italian at Mario's at Halcyon both were outstanding choices. Getting reservations at these venues was not a problem. |
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| Activities |
Every imaginable resort amenity is offered – tennis, modern fitness center with aerobics room, a nine-hole golf course (at the Regency) and the Caribbean's most comprehensive all-inclusive SCUBA and snorkeling program including a resort certification course for first-time divers conducted in the resort's own SCUBA pool. You can also play beach volleyball, windsurf, water ski, sail and kayak.
The Red Lane Spa offers every treatment imaginable and its saunas, whirlpools and steam baths are complimentary to all guests. Nightly entertainment was low key and included live bands, a piano bar, karaoke and theme nights such as Charity Casino Night.
There are many excursions available (soon to be sold through a new branded Sandals program called Island Routes. Whatever you do off of the resort, don't miss the nearby Rain Forest Sky Rides for eco-adventure or the hip/funky Friday Night Jump-up in Gros Islet. There are great water excursions for whale-watching and deep sea fishing. Visit Castries, the island's biggest town just 15 minutes away, for value shopping at the enormous Craft Market. Ride horses at the local International Riding Academy. There are soft adventures doing mountain biking, ziplining, ATV and jeep explorations in and around St. Lucia's majestic twin peaks of the Pitons and the mysterious pools of the Sulphur Springs and the drive-through, active volcano in the south. |
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| Conclusion |
We truly hope that air lift to St. Lucia will become more affordable and more frequent because, if you love the Caribbean, you need to experience St. Lucia, an exotic island paradise. Stay at Sandals Grande St. Lucian. We had a fabulous vacation there and you will too.
Sue & Marv Weber
Marvelous Travel &
Cruise Planners, an American Express Agency
610.277.6165
marv@marveloustravel.com |
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| Old Reviews - Sandals Grande St. Lucian Spa & Beach Resort |
| Sandals Grande Spa & Resort |
Brandon and Lindsay
Ohio
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| November 2008 |
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| We went to Sandals Grande St. Lucian November 2008. We had already been to Sandals Royal Bahamian in Nassau and loved it. We went with another couple who also loved the Royal Bahamian. We all agreed that the scenery in St. Lucia was far superior, but that's it. The staff was unfriendly and even rude at times. The food was awful, with the exception of the Italian restaurant, which had a horrible moldy/musty damp smell to it, as did various other parts of the resort. The bars were understaffed and understocked. They actually ran out of beer more than once. We saw 2 rats by the pool area. The doors in the lower rooms were warped and would hardly close. We heard that a tropical storm had hit recently and instead of closing down for renovation, they worked on the place while people were staying there for top dollar. The actually ripped up carpet in the hallways while we were there to replace it, that smelled good. I could go on, but you get the point. Major thumbs down, we probably won't ever go back to any all-inclusive ever again. |
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| Sandals Grande Spa & Resort |
Rob and Patti
North Carolina
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| April 2008 |
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We stayed at the Grande from Dec. 30,2007 thru Jan. 6, 2008 and had a blast. We booked the conceirge suites category and that is the way to go. A very long trip from the airport, but gives you the opportunity to see the island. Check in was great! In the category we were brought to a lounge and given cocktails, a cloth to wipe our faces and hands and snacks. Our choice was our favorite alcohol was also put in our room in this category. The wine of choice, Beringers, was great. We drank two bottles every night, yum!!
Our room at first was not too nice, seeing that we were overlooking the parking lot, but the ocean was beyond that and beautiful. Our room was changed first thing the next morning. The room was great, everything we needed including the view. Pool was great, beach great. Service around the pool could have been a tad better, but we were on vacation and were not in a rush. New Year's Eve was the best.
We renewed our vows on our 20th anniversary, Jan 3rd. The wedding planner very accomodating, it was wonderful especially since my husband surprised me. The special dinner at Gordons, arranged by Kasheima in the conceirge, was magnificent. All of the food we had was great. Toscaninis at the Grande and the Italian restaurant at the Halcyon were our favorites besides Gordons.
Other than that, I couldn't say much more.......except Imron makes the best cosmopolitains.
Our trip was the best we had, most thanks goes to Kasheima she made sure everything was perfect! |
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| Sandals Grande Spa & Resort |
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Sandals Grande St. Lucian not worth the money!
Sandals Grande St. Lucian looks well maintained and is located in a great spot. The weather was great and the beach was nice but a little short for long walks. Scenery was gorgeous and the grounds were well maintained. We stayed from 17th to the 24th of Feb 2008.
Staff was friendly but robotic, they would say the right things but were not interested if something was wrong. We ran into many people with complaints, the staff was fast in telling you stories but it never got fixed until you raised hell.
The reason we would rate this resort so low is we had so many things go wrong that were inconvenient. We feel the resort could not even deliver the basic hotel functions of towels and bottle water in the room everyday. The room door would not close properly and bathroom door was hard to open.
It was difficult for them to have whole wheat bread for toast. Every morning you had to ask and wait 5 to 10 minutes for them to find it. You could not even get strawberry jam for your toast. They ran out of our favorite alcohol almost every night and always tied to give you alternate second brands.
They tried to up-sell everything room, wine and cigars, they even set up a flea market at pool side. If they were setting up tables for a night event they would just remove your longer and towels and did not care about your vacation time.
Service at the restaurants was terrible. They were very slow and could not get the order correct. Food was also on the poor side. The buffet lunch is great if you like hamburgers and fries every day.
There was so many things wrong I do not know how they got there 4 star rating. We are comparing this to our first time visit and please note we our returning Sandals Signature members.
The thing we disliked the most was having to fight to get anything and the BS stories you were told. They are some are major service problems at the Sandals Grande St. Lucian and we will not be returning.
Premium price for second rate resort! |
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| Sandals Grande Spa & Resort |
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| Stayed between Christmas and New Years Eve 2006. Great place, but worth the cost? The hotel is beautiful, the pool and beach are fantastic, and the service was fine to very good. The food was fine. Lots of selection. I had two memorable meals - a Tilapia dish that I was disappointed in (I've had tilapia served many different ways; the fish in this dish just didn't have the taste and texture of Tilapia) and a pork dish that was melt in you mouth wonderful. I really liked the place and we thoroughly enjoyed ourselves. The problem is that a week's stay at the Sandals Grande is quite a bit more ($2400 more for two people) than recent comparable all-inclusive resorts that we have stayed at, including other Sandals resorts. All of these other resorts had something about the place or the rooms or special touches that stood out compared to each other. Also, you may be disappointed if you pay more for a Beach Front room. The Ocean Front and Beach Front rooms are identical and ordinary. The Beach Front you could argue offers a more picturesque view, but if you are on the ground level, the view can be 80% obstructed by vegetation. The hotel also lacked attention to detail. There were empty plastic Coke bottles scattered in the bushes off of our patio. If top shelf booze is worth the extra cost to you, you may be disappointed that the in room refrigerators are not stock with beer or booze. The place is beautiful, the Island is beautiful. and overall I'd rate the hotel highly except on value for the price. Also, for any considering traveling through Funjet - Funjet reserved our flight, but did not ticket our flight, so we were unable to board our plane as scheduled, instead arriving the next day.
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| Sandals Grande Spa & Resort |
Greg & Leonor
Norfolk, Virginia, USA
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| April 2006 |
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My wife and I stayed at the Sandals Grande for our honeymoon for 10 days in January of 2006. Before going, we read a lot of the reviews on this site, and I promised myself I would write one and send it in to help others. It's been a few months since we came back, but I hope my recollections help.
Which Sandals Resort to stay at?
This was the question I was asking when I took the time to read through the reviews on this website. The short answer is that the Halcyon is probably not worth staying at, so you should either choose the Grande or the Regency, although it should be pointed out that we only visited the Halcyon and Regency one time each. The Halcyon seemed like a very small place with tiny bungalows to stay in and not much to do on the resort grounds. The Grande is the newest one, but I was surprised to see that the Regency appeared to be the bigger and fancier one. The Grande seemed to have a bit of a younger crowd, but that should not be mistaken as me saying that the Grande was the young hopping-nightlife place. My wife and I are 30 yrs old, and I remember an older couple (in their 50s) saying that they wish they had stayed at the Regency, because they had a better "lay around by the pool and relax" atmosphere, and that the Grande was maybe better for the more active couple. Grande seemed to have a bigger and better watersports program, but as for nightlife, it did not appear that any of the resorts had a particularly busy or crazy nightlife (the disco/club at the Grand was half-empty most nights, as it appears that most people who come to this island are couples looking for romantic getaways). If you're looking to golf, stay at the Regency. Finally, the Regency is a more centrally located on the island, so it has less travel time on some of the island tours.
The Accommodations at the Grande
This resort is not that old, so it appeared to be in very good shape and clean. The pools were great (so were the ones at the Regency). The beaches, as others have pointed out, are a bit rocky, but that appears to be the case all over St. Lucia. We thought long and hard about which type of room to stay in, and eventually settled on the swim-up room. The swim-up feature was kind of neat, but the uniqueness wore off pretty quickly. Because of how our room was situated in the shadow of the building we were in, the water in the pool that came up to our room was too cold to jump into most of the time, so we didn't really use it enough to appreciate the extra we paid for it. I suppose each couple has their own preferences as to what's important in their room (view, size, etc.), but I strongly recommend that you get one of the rooms that fall into the category that come with concierge service.....the extra perks that come with concierge service for the room are nice. The expedited check-in/out is nice, and you also get a (somewhat) full bar in your room that gets re-stocked every day. You also get to order room service any time you want included in your room price, whereas those who are not concierge-level must pay extra for room service. Finally, concierge-level rooms get a small army of staff at your beckoning call to help with anything and everything (which is probably more important for you if you're staying for over a week, so they can help you plan, schedule and reserve all the activities you want to do on your vacation).
Extra Excursions
We spent a bundle on extra excursions, but then again we're the active type (as opposed to those who just want to veg-out by the pool with a drink and a book). Others have said it, but I will repeat that the helicopter right is worth every penny on the way in. After being on the plane for so long, it was nice to get to the resort from the airport in 15-20 minutes via helicopter while everyone else off the plane settled in for a 3.5 hour bus ride. We had already checked-in, eaten, and were hanging by the pool with drinks in hand when everyone else arrived dirty, tired, hungry, and frustrated by the long check-in line. The helicopter is pricey enough, however, that we decided to take the free bus ride on the way home....but by that time, you're at the tail-end of your vacation, you're fully relaxed, and you get to see a lot of the countryside that you probably haven't seen.
The horseback riding was fun, although it was the first time riding for both me and my wife. For those who are regular riders, it may not be as fun (there was a girl in our group who was disappointed that she never got to take the horse to a full trot/run). We almost didn't do the ATV Tour, but that probably turned out to be our favorite.....we got to go to some secluded and hard-to-reach areas on the island on our 4-wheelers, and there was a lengthy section of the tour where they turned us loose to ride as fast as we wanted on the beach (what a blast). The deep-sea fishing trip was ok. We caught nothing and had only one bite, and the boat was average at best. But anyone who is a fisherman knows that's the way it goes sometimes, and it's not how many fish you catch but how many beers you drink. The various island tours were confusingly similar. That is, they seemed to all go to the same places, and it was just a question of whether you wanted to go by bus, boat, or both. We went to Castries by catamaran and viewed the "drive-in volcano" (which is not really like a volcano at all, and not that exciting) and the botanical gardens (which were somewhat cool). Ultimately, these types of tours of the island are neat if you value getting to see some of the local land, traditions, and people, but are otherwise not particularly exciting.
The shopping tour is pretty fun and certainly worth the $20/per person....but this fee is really meant to pay for the cab fare, and the 'shopping tour' offered by the resort is only perhaps 3 hours. We found that this was not nearly enough time, and went back later to shop at our leisure. In the shopping district, we went to one large flea-market type place (the best of all the shopping destinations), one shopping mall (very disappointing), and one duty-free shopping center (worth visiting).
The scuba diving was great. If you plan to partake, get your certification as soon as possible, and once you get it you can go as many times as you like while there. We opted for the cheap/short 'resort' certification, which restricts how deep and how long you can dive, but we aren't experienced divers, and this was more than sufficient. The dive destinations vary daily, and depending on the weather and tide, some dives are drastically better than others (it's hit or miss). They really tried to sell us on the full-blown certification (requiring some extra money and training), but we didn't see the logic, since it will only be once in a blue moon that we dive, which would mean we'd have to get re-certified a few years from now the next time we went diving anyway.
Food/Staff/Misc.
From reading the reviews (and hearing other guests' comments while there), it appears that some people are harder to please than others with food. Other than the Friday night street festival (discussed below), we ate only at Sandals restaurants (varied among the 3 resorts), and did not have a bad meal during the entire trip (and had several phenomenal meals). Don't overlook the crepe place at the Grand......it's kind of tucked away and easy to overlook (it hardly looks like a restaurant), but it's a great place to get a quick dessert-like snack. And while they don't advertise it, we found out that they make awesome milkshakes there.
The staff was great, no problems, nothing stolen, no altercations......use common sense and you should have no problems.
The last thing I'll write about (this is getting longer than I intended) was the choice of street parties/festivals. Each Friday night, there are two different street festivals going on. One is in Gros Islet right minutes away from the Grande, and the other is in Castries (45 minutes drive). Unless you're staying a really long time, you'll likely only have the option of attending one or the other. We were told that the Gros Islet street "jump up" is a bigger and younger crowd, with lots of people dancing in the street, and that the Castries festival was more like a low-key casual fish-fry with a smaller and more relaxed crowd. We went to Gros Islet because we'd had a particularly long day and didn't want to take the long drive to Castries. The food at Gros Islet was mediocre (mostly various types of chicken), and the crowd wasn't that big, but the people were nice and there was some street dancing to watch and we had an ok time people-watching. If I had it to do over again, I'd probably go to Castries because I heard the food is exponentially better there (I'm told any kind of seafood you can think of for dirt-cheap, including lobster).
Ultimately, this was the best vacation either of us had ever had. Unfortunately, we subscribe to the theory that we have to go somewhere new each vacation, so it may be awhile until we go back.....but we'll definitely be back some day!
If you want to do the helicopter ride from the airport to the resort (which i highly recommended), you should call ahead of time to reserve your seats.....i saw several people who were turned away because they didn't do this.
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| Sandals Grande Spa & Resort |
Andrew & Trina
Cardiff UK
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| March 2005 |
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We stayed at The Grand St. Lucian for 9 nights in February 2005. We booked with Virgin and saved an absolute packet. Book online via www.virginholidays.co.uk it was even cheaper than Sandals could offer. We flew with Virgin Airways from Gatwick, the flight was just 8 hours 10 minutes thanks to the tailwind.
Helicopter Transfer
Following the recommendation of one of your reviews, we took the helicopter transfer from the airport in St. Lucia to a small airport some 10 minutes drive onward to the hotel. Wow, this was fantastic! We've never travelled in a helicopter before, and Trina (my fiancée), was a little worried because she suffers with motion sickness.
We expected our stomachs to turn over as if we were on a roller coaster ride. But felt no ill effects as we took off. It's a wonderful way to see the island, and saves the 2 hour coach ride which other guests we spoke to said was awful. The roads are in a poor state of repair, and traffic is very slow moving. We paid £55 per person each way.
The helicopter normally lands on the helipad in the grounds of the hotel (which is a very nice touch). But if you are travelling on Sunday after 4pm they will only take you from the small airport some 10 minutes drive to the hotel. Not sure why this is.
Hotel
The hotel met our expectations, it is just as fantastic as it appears in the photographs on the Sandals site www.sandals.com It's only 2 years old, and was purchased from The Hyatt group. We were upgraded as we were returning Sandals guests, to a deluxe lagoon view room.
Pools are great, gardens beautiful.
Rooms
Our room was a little fousty smelt very slightly damp. Trina didn't want to move because she liked the room so much, and i must say we didn't notice any smell the next day.
We saw the lagoon swim up rooms which are an extra £100 per night. They really seem extremely overpriced. The views from these particular rooms, are only of the accommodation block only.
Be careful if you book a sea view room, The hotel has both Atlantic facing (rough with only sea views and Caribbean facing (calm blue with views of coastline) rooms. It's the Caribbean facing one you want.
Staff
Just couldn't do enough for us. Friendly and entertaining, they just made us feel so welcome. Nothing is too much trouble. I injured my shoulder playing water volleyball, Dr. was there within minutes, several staff. Simply a 1st class service.
Restaurants
The Food was wonderful we didn't have a bad meal there. Suggestion, take elastic wasted trousers. You'll need um after the first week! I put on 9 pounds. Make sure you book early if you want to eat at any of the other two Sandals hotels. The japanese is really good fun, don't worry they don't just serve raw fish! They cook chicken and beef, etc. 12 guests sit around the table headed by the chef who cooks infront of you as they sing and entertain. It's really good fun.
Sunsets
Ahh the sunsets, stand on the sunset balcony around 6pm. And watch the sky turn a hundred different shades of tangerine.
This hotel is absolutely amazing, it is by far the best out of the three sandals on the island.
I respect others views, we are all entitled to them and can only comment on our personal experiences. Some peoples expectations are higher than others.
One woman i spoke to at the hotel was very distressed because she couldn't get a limo to take her to a certain destination on the island. Each to there own.
I've had the good fortune to stay at many fine hotels, including the Four Seasons in Egypt, where the service is world class but staff are like robots with no personality. The Grand is the perfect balance, beautiful hotel, great food, friendly helpful staff with warm personalities. I wouldn't hesitate to recommend this hotel.
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| Sandals Grande Spa & Resort |
Ginette & Howard
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| January 2005 |
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My Husband & and I stayed at this wonderful hotel from 12/19/2005 to 12/26/2004. I must say, I don't understand the negative comments that I read in the past about this resort. We had a wonderful vacation.
The resort was very well maintained and clean. We did not experience the musty odour in our room that was mentioned in the reviews I had read. Although I did bring a bottle of Febreeze with me, we did not have to use it. I do however, recommend everyone bring a bottle whenever traveling the Carribean. Since the resorts are on the water, there is bound to be a bit of a musty odor in the buildings. I can't be helped.
As for the food, it was great. We did not have one bad meal. The staff in all the restaurants were great & more than willing to do whatever it takes to make you happy. As for the negative attitude I had heard about, we did not experience it. We did, however, witness some guests trying to treat the staff as if they were better than them, and of course did not quite receive the same friendly service we did. We always try to treat everyone with the utmost respect and a big warm smile when we speak to them. Afterall, we are guests in their country, and just as we like to be treated when we have guests in our home (with respect and dignity), they like to be treated the same. As for the snobbish attitude in the Italian Restaurant, please remember, it is an upper class "white glove" restaurant and therefore have a bit more serious attitude, but were still very friendly.
The beach was my only dissapointment. Although a small one. Since the resort is in a cove, there are a lot of small rocks, broken coral & broken shells that wash up on shore. We brought water shoes, so it posed no problem. The beach was cleaned regularly, but since the waves are very active on this island, this cannot be avoided.
All I can say is that we will definitely go back & highly recommend it to anyone looking for beautiful, quiet vacation.
Thanks so much! |
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| Sandals Grande Spa & Resort |
Bonnie
Ontario, Canada
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| December 2004 |
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My husband and I had and our wedding and vacation at Sandals Grande St. Lucian (Dec 11 - 17, 2004).
We had a 5.5 hrs direct flight from Toronto to St. Lucia. We arrived at the international airport, which is at the south side of the island. We had to take a 1.5 hour shuttle to the resort. The road condition is poor, the ride was bumpy.
The check-in was quick and easy. There were quite a few people on the same flight came to this resort. Instead of lining up at the front desk to check-in, they seated us on a couch in the lobby with a glass of champagne. All we have to do is to fill in a form and leave the credit card information. The lobby is very beautiful and the staff are very nice and friendly.
We had a luxury oceanfront room at phase 3 ground floor, we had a balcony (a walk out area) facing the ocean. It was quite nice. The pools are beautiful and clean. I guess we went at a non-peak season, there wasn't a lot of people. The main pool area was not crowded at all. We spent most of the time at the beach, just relax and enjoyed the beautiful scenery. There were plenty of activities going on, we just chose not to participate.
The food was great in Caribbean standard. For sure you cannot compare 5 star gourmet restaurants in big cities to these restaurants in Caribbean resorts. My husband is a picky person and he likes the food. We tried all five restaurants at the Grande and we went to La Toc and Kimono at Regency for two dinners. La Toc and Toscanini are both fine dining restaurants, the food was really good. My husband likes La Toc better than Toscanini's, I think both are great. Except their desserts are only average. Food of the London pub is good, but don't expect there is wide selection of beers like a real London pub. It only has 2 kinds of beer. We like Josephine, the creperie, a lot. We had few lunches there and we loved it. Sometimes, we skipped lunch and grabbed a snack at Barefoot in the afternoon. Overall, we are quite satisfy with the food quality of all the restaurants.
The excursions are pricey. We went to one whole day excursion ("Land and Sea Experience"), which included a trip to the volcano, botanical garden, lunch at a local restaurant and then a boat trip. I wasn't impressed with the lunch at all. So as the boat trip. They combined a few group of people from different Sandals on the same boat. There are at least 30-40 people on a not very large boat. I felt very crowded. Next time, I would save the money and enjoy the "free" facilities at the resort.
We are very happy with our wedding at Sandals. They are extremely organized. When we checked-in, there was a letter notified us that the wedding coordinator had setup an appointment for us. We met our wedding coordinator the next day, we picked the location we want to get married, my bouquet, our dinner menu, the wedding cake, etc. There was another appointment couple days later with the lawyer, just to sign some documents. Everything was done within the resort and it all took less than an hour. This was easy and completely stress free. If people don't want an elaborate wedding, that's the way to do it. We didn't pay anything extra except a 12 digital photo package and $100 for having our wedding dinner at the Gazebo instead of the restaurant. The photo packages are expensive, but we figured the wedding was basically free, Sandals cannot give everything for free. The photographers are very professional, we are very happy with our pictures. I was reluctant to pay an extra $100 to dine at the Gazebo but my husband wants it. It turned out to be a very nice experience. Our server was fantastic, very friendly and yet gave us a lot of privacy. We got married at one of the three Gazebos. The one we picked, "Paradise", is the most private but smallest. It was okay for us because we didn't have any guest. Be careful in picking the location. The beach and "Ixora" Gazebo are very visible to the public. We saw couples got married at these locations had "uninvited" guests in swimsuits attending the ceremony. I am very glad that I had picked Sandals to have my wedding, I am very satisfied with it.
Our overall experience at Sandals Grande St. Lucian was great. My husband and I enjoyed the vacation very much. We will definitely go to Sandals again. Just a note, among the 3 resorts in St. Lucia, I think Grande is the best. I was debating between Regency and Grande. Thanks to this website, I read all the reviews and I finally picked Grande. I think I made the right choice. If you have read some negative reviews about this resort and hesitate about it, DON'T! I cannot say the resort is perfect, but it is a very nice and beautiful resort. The service is good and the staff are friendly and helpful. I would highly recommend this resort to anyone.
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| Sandals Grande Spa & Resort |
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As my way of saying thanks to others who have taken the time to share their experiences (the Good, the Bad & the Ugly), here's our story. The good far eclipsed the bad in our experience. All are detailed here.
The wife & I spent 8 days at this resort from Monday, 11/29 - Tuesday, 12/7, 2004.
THE TRIP from Chicago started very early & was long. ORD to Montego Bay, Jamaica, to Vuiex Fort International, St. Lucia. Air Jamaica was pleasant, offered meals on both legs, flight staff was pleasant, no complaints.
ADVICE: If possible, book your trip to arrive & depart on weekdays (Tuesdays - Thursdays) when fewer people are travelling to your destination. The flights were practically empty (allowing plenty of room to sleep, stretch out, stow baggage in the overhead compartments, etc.). If you're making a stop or connection along the way, check how long your layover is going to be, and evaluate if the time sitting in some ariport is worth it.
GETTING TO THE GRANDE...
Like many, we took the shuttle van trip from the airport to the resort. It was added another 1.5 hrs. to the trip, but was worth getting to see a lot of the island from the road. By the time we arrived it was early evening and dark.
UPON ARRIVAL, the staff welcoming us was pleasant, offered a glass of champaign, and assisted with the registration. The main lobby is expansive, comfortable, and quite elegant, with impressive views out to Rodney Bay from many vantage points. Yes, if you want to charge spa services or purchases in the shops on site to your room, as well as telephone calls, they'll take your credit card info at this time. It was convenient, and didn't take too long. A Bell Boy handled our luggage & escorted us to our room shortly thereafter.
THE ROOM was an OCEAN VIEW, looking to the north towards the Atlantic. We were in Bldg #6 (which is incorrectly shown to be BLDG #4 on the Sandals web site map of the resort). We had been 'upraded' from a 'Premier' Lagoon Room by the management, which was fine with us. We're not the type of folks who spend a lot of time in our room, but when we do we're probably not looking to be disturbed by loud sounds of other guests partying, or resort activities going on. We could open the sliding glass doors to our balcony & enjoy the sounds & sights of the waves crashing on the rocks just outside the gates of the resort. It was a pleasant place to enjoy the complimentary continental breakfast when we requested it be delivered to our room in the morning.
THE GRANDE....
The resort is beautiful to see. The pools are plentiful and you can find as much seclusion or activities as suits your mood. By choice, we did not attend the orientation nor did we feel compelled to participate in the planned activities where you could garner points that, I believe, could be redeemed for Sandals trinkets. Not of interest to us, and that was fine.
We did not visit the Palladium Club (the disco), nor did we play any billards.
We dined at the Old English Pub our first night. Both our meals were fantastic, the service was terrific, and the staff working there were very pleasant. While that was the only time we ate there, we did go in on other evenings just for desert and a cocktail or two.
Bayside offers breakfast, lunch, & dinner (except one evening when dinner was served on the beach), primarily buffet style. The variety of choices here were excellent, and for the most part, very tasty. We always enjoyed ourselves here, and it turned into our favorite place to have a meal. The staff was always making sure you had plenty of water, cleared your plates promptly, and once in awhile you did have to wait a bit to get a drink order filled. For me it was no problem to get one myself, but that wasn't necessary but once ot twice.
You certainly won't go hungry, and if you like to eat, plan on bringing some clothes that you can comfortably 'grow into' towards the end of your stay. In my particular case I probably gained ten lbs., but then I'm not one to shy away from trying many different things when I've already paid for the all-you-can eat buffet.
Barefoot By The Sea is a casual spot located between the main beach area & the water sports headquaters. The food here was good, but nothing to get overly excited about.
The health club or exercise facility is nicely equipped, and will accomodate most people's exercise training circuits or routines. That is if you're looking for that sort of thing. The site map shows a basketball court, but that's no longer accurate. There is a half court hoop in a parking lot adjacent to the tennis courts, but it didn't see much use.
THE GRANDE STAFF...
With the exception of a select few, ALL the staff at the Grande were exceptional. Always friendly, went out of their way to accomodate our requests and wishes, very helpful with making suggestions, and not overtly seeking ways to intrude on your vacation or 'sell' you additional (not included) services.
One (non-staff related) exception was the upcharge on spa services that was not disclosed PRIOR to my wife getting her hair styled. The published $32 US charge shot up to $52.
The lone exception at the Grande regarding staff stuffy demeanor occurred at the Italian Restaurant. It was probably unique to our experience (or maybe not) that this was a common experience at all of Sandal's restaurants that required a gentlemen dress code; dress slacks, no open toed shoes, & collared, sleeved shirts. The Pier was the same.
One aspect of the dress-up restaurants I found to be less-than-appealing was the pricey wine lists. A fine selection of wines are available in these restaurants, while the house wines leave a little bit to be desired. I felt I'd already paid a healthy sum for the "All-Inclusive" experience, and didn't care for the notion that fine wines in their finer restaurants was NOT INCLUDED. To each his own, but it didn't make points with me.
There were a few 'team' members at the Grande who really went above & beyond the 'call of duty' on our behalf, and are deserving of special recognition. Please forgive that I did not know, ask, or include here their last names.
Al; at the Bellman's station located at the entry to the resort. On our last night there I asked where I could get my hands on a tie (I'll explain why later). Without a moment's hesitation he shed the one he was wearing and put it around my neck. No worries. He was off the next day, so I left it at the front desk for him with a note of thanks. I hope he got both when he returned.
Malaika; primarily works breakfasts & lunches at the Bayside Restaurant. This sweetheart always with a bright smile and an easy laugh, bent over backwards to serve us beyond our expectations.
I mentioned to her my desire to get my hands on a tie the day before I borrowed Al's. She told me she would handle it, asked me what I'd be wearing with it, and have an appropriate tie there for me to pick up the next day. I really didn't expect her to follow-thru, so I never bothered to seek her out the next day. On the morning of our departure (after I'd worn Al's tie the night before), I saw her and she pulled out a lovely tie that she had purchased specifically for me, as promised.
Of course, I felt terrible for doubting her, and her having gone to the extra effort to do this for me. We debated my paying her for the tie for what seemed like five minutes until she finally gave in to my insistance that she allow me to pay for it. I paid her twice what it had cost (for her trouble). What a delightful young lady.
Jennifer, who worked primarily the swim up bar, lobby bar, and free-standing bar adjacent to the Barefoot By The Sea Restaurant. Can't say enough good things about her. Far & away one of the nicest persons we met on this trip, she was incredible. She & my wife hit it off from the moment they met. Jennifer is a wonderful person & terrific asset to Sandals. Too much to mention here about this gem of a lady.
There was also Keisher (pronounced Kee-sher) and Kim, two noteworthy ladies we encountered there, as well as Bertie, the Buffet Manager at the Bayside Restaurant. Raymund was another standout who had worked for Sandals prior to his going to New York to attend college, and then had just recently returned to work again at the resort. He also represents Sandals very well.
In the Water Sports Department there was Irwin & Dean. Both were a lot of fun, accomodating, and congenial in serving our needs. Regrettably I do not recall the name of the gent who attempted to teach my wife scuba. She was a wash-out and didn't finish the class, but it wasn't for a lack of effort on his part.
Two unfortunate incidents that occurred put me in touch with the resort's head honcho, Winston Anderson. I was impressed with how he addressed these situations, and complimented him on his management style. Empowering his staff to serve the guests in the manner that they do is the primary reason both the guests AND the staff truly enjoy the experience of the Grande.
The same compliments can not be so easily expressed for the people we encountered at the other Sandals resorts on the island. In those cases, encountering the same warmth & commitment to serving their guests like at the Grande was the exception rather than the rule. That so many of the Halcyon & Rendevous guests ended up spending a lot of their time at the Grande speaks volumes about this topic, plus the amenities at there.
We had read about making reservations early for the upscale restaurants at the Halcyon & Rendevous, and had no difficulty doing that. Wednesday morning I made dinner reservations at the Pier (Halcyon), and LeToc & Kimono's (Rendevous) for Thursday, Saturday, & Monday, respectively. As things turned out, we cancelled our reservations at the last two because of our less-than-positive experience at The Pier Restaurant. The wife got a bad piece of fish there, and was feeling pretty queezy the next day.
The shuttles running between the resorts were, in all but one instance, on time and very pleasant. In the evening they were also quite packed, especially coming to the Grande.
GOING OFF SITE:
We made a few trips into Castries specifically to shop. There's a spice & crafts, plus the typical tourist fare shopping area right off the bay in Castries. Part of this area is called The Arcade which stays open until about 5 PM. It cost $20. (not including tip) to take a taxi from the Grande. If you're pinching pennies, take the free shuttle down to the Halcyon, and then take a cab from there, especially if you're dining or planning to spend additional time at the Halcyon after shopping.
Around the corner from the Arcade is a two story building that houses a number of duty-free shops and a small casual dining establishment. This building is also the spot where the visiting cruise ships drop of & pickup their passengers. There's another duty free shopping complex across the bay accessible via water taxi, but we did not go there. The duty-free prices appeared to be quite competitive (especially the booze) in the shops we visited. A number of the spaces in the building were vacant, so who knows what you'll find on your visit.
On Friday night we took a cab ($10.) from the resort into Gros Islet on Rodney Bay, specifically to experience a weekly event the natives refer to as JUMP or JUMP UP. It's like a block party hosted by the locals for the locals. There were a number of vacationers there, too. When we visited the event consisted of about five blocks of street vendors preparing & selling food on outdoor grills, selling local trinkets such as jewelry & shells, and plenty of booze, primarily the island's own beer, Piton. Lots of smoke from the outdoor grills and loud, local music. We did not stay too late (about 11:00 PM), didn't try the food (had already eaten at the resort), did a little dancing in the streets, and mingled with the natives. We were told JUMP goes on until about 2:00 AM, but advised not to stay too late. Once again, we were impressed with the outgoing friendliness & warmth of the natives.
We were also told of similar seafood type, native celebrations held on Saturday nights at Anse Le Ray (further south on the west coast), and Dennery (on the east coast), but chose not to attend.
I got up early one morning & 'scaled' the hills at the adjacent Pidgeon Island National Park, which is a short walk from the entrance gates of the Grande. It was very worthwhile & be sure to take your camera. The views were spectacular. Pigeon Island's history as depicted in various posted signs along the trails, and the remains of the buildings still standing was quite facinating.
From another trip site on the web I'd read about The Green Parrot Restaurant, south of Castries near the Rendevous. On Mondays your lady eats for free IF she wears a flower in her hair AND the gentleman is appropriately dressed WITH A TIE (now you know the rest of the 'tie' story). It offers a tremendous view towards Castries and is a $10 cab ride from Rendevous. The food was truly excellent, a four course gourmet, French meal. You won't find any of this faire available at the resort. Our total bill, with drinks, was about $67. which includies a $20. tip.
The MAJOR damper on this experience was the RAT I saw twice during our visit. The first time I did a double take as I saw it scamper along the back of the outdoor patio where we first had drinks. Later, once inside, I saw the same terrier sized rodent scaling the parrot cage near the entrance to the restaurant. I alerted one of the busboys who appeared to be shocked when he saw it for himself. Towards the end of our meal my wife felt something light on her left shoulder. Moments later I saw the largest cockroach I'd ever seen come crawling over her right shoulder. I told her to look away to her left, and 'kicked' the unwelcome visitor off her with my middle finger. Maybe it's no big deal to some of the readers here, and I didn't make any more 'noise' about the incidents, but there's no doubt we would not venture back there for primarily this reason. Too bad, as the food & service was wonderful.
I regret not getting out more on the island for sightseeing excursions, as there are a number of places of interest we could have gone to see. Personally, I feel that the tours available from the booth located on the lobby are a bit pricey. I'd consider doing more research on the net before you depart to determine what sights are worth your time, and prioritze your plan accordingly. You'll run out of time with all there is to do & see without some kind of plan.
THE WEATHER:
We had a total of only two days when it rained. One was quite heavy and lasted a few hours, and the other was just a series of intermittant sprinkles that lasted less than an hour. One cab driver informed us that our timing had been quite good, as it had rained almost every day for two weeks straight PRIOR to our arrival. So, I guess you gotta take your chances on what to expect. Other than the rain already mentioned, days were mostly sunny with the occassional clouds blocking the intense sunlight for short periods of time. Pack the appropriate sunblock for this. We went through a large container of SPF 8 after overkill on SPF30, but that's just us.
I had read elsewhere before our trip that mosquitos were a problem. Except for the evening we spent waiting in the lobby of The Halcyon, we never encountered any. Never had a reason to use the bug juice we'd carted with us.
SOME OF THE "BAD".....& "UGLY"
After the sun went down & until it came up the next moring, the din created by the crickets tucked away in the bushes was unusually loud, constant, and unending. It may not be something that would even be noticed by most people, but I found it to be a negative & distracting. I was ready to leave behind that aspect of our stay. They stars at night away from the lights of the resort were beautiful to gaze at.
On Thursday night in our room, as we were getting ready to leave for dinner at the Pier, we were startled to hear a knock on the door, followed IMMEDIATELY bby someone using a pass 'key' card to begin entering our room. I quickly stepped into the entry way (as my wife was not 'decent' at the time) to intercept whoever was trying to enter our room. The staff member quickly stopped, and backed away from the entrance to our room. He told me that he'd been instructed by someone at the front desk to come to our room and see if the room was occupied. Huh???? We'd only been in this same room since last Monday night, and would it have been too much trouble for the front desk to try calling the room FIRST??? I asked him to tell me again his reason for entering our room in the fashion that he did, and he repeated the same story. To say the least, this was unnerving for us. It just didn't seem to make any sense whatsoever.
The night manager who eventually returned my phone call to the front desk was nice enough, but 'had to get back to me' with an explaination, because she didn't have an plausible answer when we first talked. A short time later she did call back with the excuse that their computer system had been acting up & they were unsure which rooms were occupied & which were not. That 'story' still sounds less than credible to me, and I never got the straight skinny on the 'whys and whatfors' of this incident.
This was one of the topics I later discussed with Mr. Anderson, the Grande's General Manager. He apologized profusely for the error, and told me that the staff is trained to knock no less than seven times, verbally announce themselves, and knock seven times again BEFORE entering a potentially occupied room. Obviously, this protocol was not adherred to in our particular case. I still have no clue as to the actual reasons behind the incident, and am sorry Mr. Anderson did not take the time to get back to me about it. That was not right, IMHO.
I was swimming in one of the roped off areas specifically designated for swimming and stepped on a sea urchin. OUCH! Took two relatively small slivers into my right foot. When my wife was unable to remove them herself, I went to the nurse's station on the resort. The lady on duty was very nice & knowledgeable. She told me that because the I had been stung by a dark colored or black sea urchin, it's spines were very brittle and would eventually disolve under my skin. She went on to tell me that had I been stung by a white one the spines would have remained solid and would have easily been removed. I had no clue as to whether this was true or not, but what were my options. I never had any further trouble or discomfort from the experience after she administered the wounds.
All in all, the GOOD far outweighed the BAD. Keep that in mind if Sandals Grande is a possible destination for you & your other half.
THE RETURN....
Since the first leg of our scheduled departure was at 2:40 pm, we really didn't savor an 1.5 shuttle ride so early in the day to get back to the airport. Plus we wanted to see some of the island from the air, so we booked the helicopter shuttle from Castries Airport to the International airport at the southern tip of the island ($100.00 each). For an additional $10. each you can have the helicopter pick you up at the resort (probably something I would do).
Four of us left Castries in the copter, with a scheduled pick-up of two more people at the Jalousie Resort (another All-Inclusive which is located bewteen the two Pitons), before heading on to the airport. This experience had to have been one of the highlights of the entire vacation. It's been years since I've flown in a helicopter, and the scenery was a once in a lifetime thing. Our pilot took us right between the Pitons, flew close over lush ridges into valleys. I had my video camera rolling the entire trip. If your buidget allows for it, don't hesitate to do it. You won't regret the experience, or the time you save getting to the international airport.
The second leg of our return left us sitting in the MBJ airport for over four hours. So, I wouldn't do that again. And the flight back to Chicago was delayed an additional 40 minutes. That put us back into Chicago after 11:30 PM. That got us home after 1:45 AM. Also, since we were picking up passengers from Jamaica and other islands in the area, this flight was almost completely full. Getting through Immigration & Customs in Chicago (probably because of the late hour) was a breeze. Given doing this again, I'd probably fly to a US hub city that offered non-stop service directly to & from St. Lucia, and avoid Jamaica altogether.
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| Sandals Grande Spa & Resort |
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My husband and I had a seven day wedding and honeymoon trip to Sandals Grande Saint Lucia September 5th - 12th 2004.
The flight was fine. About four hours direct on Delta from Atlanta. Everyone at the airport in Saint Lucia was wonderful. The airport staff was so welcoming, I was definitely impressed.
The ride to the resort was a little scary. I do not believe there are any traffic laws in Saint Lucia. Our driver was very kind, he knew we were all a little tired and did his best to keep the mood on the bus light. Be prepared, the roads are not well developed on all parts of the island, it took an hour and a half to get to the resort from the airport. This is through rough mountain roads. As someone who gets car-sick easily I would have liked to know this ahead of time so I could prepare myself.
I was not impressed with check-in. It does not matter where you left from, you will travel a long way to get to Saint Lucia, most of the couples we checked in with were just as tired as us. The first thing they do is hand you a drink....then the front desk staff hands you paperwork to fill out. The paperwork was so you could charge things at this "all inclusive" resort to your room. The process was taking so long, I finally had to tell the staff I was car sick so they would let me just go to my room. On the positive side, the staff checking us in were professional and pleasant, when I told them I was not feeling well they were very sympathetic and helpful.
We were very happy with the ladies who arranged our wedding. I cannot say enough nice things about them. The wedding cake was not so good, very dry. The photographs were extremely expensive. 12 5x7 prints and CD were $225.00. They would not even let us have the negatives of the ones we did not choose to have 5x7's of. This I do not understand, we paid a lot of money to be there, what harm would it have been to simply load all of the digital photos onto the CD.
Water Sports...or lack of opportunity to participate in water sport activities. Be warned, if you do not plan a couple days ahead and structure your vacation accordingly you will miss out on the activities that are suppose to be free. The water sports staff were rude and unprofessional. The activities filled up very quick. Most were completely booked for days in advance. What really put the sour taste in my mouth for the water sport staff was the comments they made on September 11th. One staff member took the opportunity to point out to a group of about twenty people that American's cannot properly write the date and are ignorant. He went on to say that he did not understand why "they" meaning the Americans at the resort always wanted to do "everything". Maybe that is because we paid to be there on VACATION and want to have a good time.
The man who this was directed at was so embarassed he just walked off.
The tours are expensive, you can get a better deal from the locals. If you go to the water sports area they usually set up on the public beach next door. Every local we had dealings with were great! Told us the best places to go and were usually about $50.00 cheaper per couple for tours than what the hotel was offering.
The food was great. I was happy with everything we ate. The chiefs at all the restaurants do a great job. I did have one bad experience with the wait staff. It normally took over five minutes to get our drinks, but we were okay with that because of how busy the resort is. One night they moved The Bay side restaurant outside for the evening. No one ever came to get our drink order. Along with three other couples, we had to go to the beach bar and get drinks. Most of the wait staff we had dealings with were professional, but some did not seem interested in serving people. One lady walked past our tables no less than five times and never asked any of us if we needed anything. She was not doing anything.
I am writing a long review because I want people to be informed before they spend thousand of dollars. This resort is great if you are going on vacation to drink and be merry with lots of social interaction, and no children. The only privacy will be in your room. The resort is small. If you are planning a romantic get away or even your wedding I would strongly not recommend it. I do not want to seem to trash Sandals because overall we had a good time, but it was not what it was promised to be. Had I know what I know now I would have only spent a night or two at Sandals and then booked somewhere with more privacy for the rest of the trip.
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| Sandals Grande Spa & Resort |
Anne
Nova Scotia, Canada
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| June 2004 |
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OK, so I had to post a review of the Sandals Grande St. Lucian after seeing so many negative comments about it. I was ACTUALLY second guessing our decision to honeymoon there!!!! I'm going to try and keep this short and sweet, but if I had only one thing to say, it would be "GO"....I'm so glad that we decided to.
The resort itself is ABSOLUTELY breathtaking...the grounds are fabulous with hammocks everywhere for quiet time. The resort has a walkway that runs the entire length of the property and around to the other side. Make sure you take some time to walk around and take in all the beautiful colors and scenery...we did it every after noon before dinner. A great way to relax after a day of touring or hanging out at the pool.
The pools are TO DIE FOR...we spent most of our time in the main pool but that's only cause I'm a people watcher...there are other pools that aren't nearly as busy. When you get your first look at the main pool, it will be hard to believe. AWESOME!
The staff is WONDERFUL....so accommodating. Everything I asked for, I got! Within minutes. Cream, Aloe, bottled water, toothpaste, even a needle and thread to fix a broken bathing suit!!!! They make every effort to make sure your stay is worry free and each time a staff members passes you in the hall, you either get a cheery hello or they ask if everything is ok and meets your standards.
The rooms are GREAT...we got the "run of the house" room (lowest category) and it was fine. It wasn't anything over the top but it didn't bother us as we only slept there. We had a marble double sink bathroom and a HUGE king size bed. ALL room categories include room service for breakfast....you can choose the time it arrives and food from a menu consisting of about 6-7 different items...If you want the full spread for breakfast, go to the Bayside restaurant!!! There is literally about 50-60 items to choose from. The fridge was stocked daily with water and pop (soda). If you want alcohol dispensers or room service get a concierge room. We didn't feel the need for room service as we ate so much during the day, we didn't need anything else come night time! The Ole London Pub is an option for those who don't choose a concierge room...they serve food until 3am.
The food was SCRUMPTIOUS......the only restaurant we didn't try was Josephine's (The Crepiere). We visited all of the other restaurants...with NO complaints. The food was great, and I consider myself to be pretty picky in this department. If there is nothing on the menu you want, tell them. They will make you whatever you want. We went out one night with another couple. He didn't like anything he seen on the menu so he asked for a Pepperoni Pizza and they delivered!!! Needless to say, we were there a week and I gained 6 pounds...TOTALLY WORTH IT!
The beach was OUT OF THIS WORLD....the scenery is amazing. The sand is white and the water is a clear blue color...the great thing about this resort is that whatever room you get, you are pretty much guaranteed an ocean view room. The resort is on a peninsula; one side is the Caribbean sea and the other side is the Atlantic.
We did two excursions...the Jeep Safari and the Catamaran Tour. Both great, a little pricey, but great. It's a great way to experience St. Lucia - the banana plantations, the little towns, the rainforest, the volcano, snorkel, meet the locals and have an authentic Creole lunch...all great opportunities for some spectacular pictures...
OH! And if you are trying to decide between the three Sandals resorts in St. Lucia. This one is by far, the best.
We visited the Halcyon - not great. Probably the worst of the three. I would have been pretty upset if we had have chosen it. The Regency is nice but it's interesting getting around. The resort is set on a hill and very spread out so it's a walk to get to anything. A lot of stairs, a lot of climbing...and I don't know about you, but that's not something I want to do in 42C heat!!!
In a nut shell, this is the most spectacular trip we have ever taken...and worth every penny. Please, PLEASE don't let the negative reviews deter you. I can't imagine what anyone would have to complain about at this resort. These people must leave for vacation looking for something to compalin about and are NEVER happy. This vacation was everything I could have ever imagined and more...and my expectations were pretty high considering this was our honeymoon.
Hopefully my post will make your decision easier, but if you have any questions, please feel free to email me, I LOVE to talk about this place. mingoam@gov.ns.ca
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| Sandals Grande Spa & Resort |
Julie & Mark
British Columbia, Canada
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| May 2004 |
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To start my husband and I have been to three Sandal resorts and many other 4 and 5 star resorts! I am writing this review mainly because there was negative reviews posted and I didn’t want people to worry.
The flight was great, we went with Air Canada, on time, landed early at around 2:30 pm, and the airport was clean and pleasant. The one and only real downfall was the long track up the island to the resort, if you have a sensitive stomach like mine, bring Gravol, or I would recommend to take the helicopter which I think you can arrange with your travel agent before leaving, I am sure the cost is well worth it.
Upon arrival, the staff were wonderful, champagne, beautiful lobby, friendly smiles and then we were whisked away to our room which we were upgraded to ocean view for we had paid for a deluxe room which I don’t think would have given us the ocean view. The room was nice but I must admit there was a musty smell, I would recommend to bring candles, or spray, for we did ask to look at a few different rooms and pretty much they all smelled the same, musty! I hear they are going to be doing more renovating for there is carpet in the rooms, which I think for the Caribbean, is a big no no!
The pools and beach was magnificent, truly beautiful and clean, very well kept! There was the large main pool where the swim up bar was and many people partied around there. We enjoyed more of the quiet life by the beach, or there are other more pools around the property that are much more quiet.
The beach is not long but it is private no other resorts on either side, so mainly just the guests of Sandals are wandering the beach. Next-door is parkland with an old fort dating back to the 1700’s, really worth your while to look around.
The restaurants were excellent for Caribbean standards, we even had lobster the first night we were there, just amazing! The Italian restaurant Toscani’s was just beautiful inside and the food was just delectable.
The bars were perfectly located throughout the resort plus a really neat Pub, which we enjoyed a game of pool one night.
There was a lot to do at night if you wanted, but we choose to relax on the beach with a Grand Marnier (yes the premium stuff) with the moon glowing on the ocean.
Oh and I must not forget about the Spa, WOW, I have been spas and I go regularly at home, and the Swedish massage I had (twice) was just excellent! And there is a very large hot tub to relax in after your massage, plus sauna and steam rooms.
To top it all off the staff are unbelievably wonderful, definitely you will always find someone not being over nice but hey everyone has bad days, but overall everyone at that resort was exceptionally friendly! I would go back again, but definitely take the helicopter up the island if you are landing at the International Airport.
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We booked a 'WeddingMoon' here - Wedding and 2 weeks honeymoon....
The resort was fine - a little too spread-out for our liking ... but hey! - the location is idyllic.
The staff were generally excellent - unless you had a problem - then they were next to hopeless, but at least they were next to hopeless with a big happy smile.
The real problem was (and still is) the staff who are supposedly 'wedding Organisers' - and the Senior Management of the resort.
Our wedding happened to coincide with the arrival of Tropical Storm Claudette! - unfortunate, but hardly the fault of Sandals... What we DID find unacceptable however is that the wedding 'Organiser' took it upon herself that the wedding would proceed regardless, no alternative indoor venue was prepared - the wedding went ahead in the midst of the storm - untill WE insisted that it moved indoors - at this point, we were offered that the wedding could continue in 'The London Pub' - having travelled half way round the world to get away from London - you can imagine how impressive that offer was! - but we needn't have worried, since, as soon as we got in out of the rain - EVERY member of Sandals staff simply deserted us! - the Wedding 'Organiser', Videographer, Photographer all simply dissapeared. Bride, Groom and guests were simply left standing in a room, in disbelief!
Our wedding was a 'Half wedding' - and quite frankly the management didn't give a damn! - not so much as an apology, until we complained strongly - at which point the general manager made an offer of compensation, which he telephoned our room later to renege upon! - we are STILL awaiting final settlement of our compensation... and we are STILL waiting for our wedding certificate copies.
The resort will not return our calls or the calls and emails from their London office. In short - by all means do holiday there, the resort is ok - but what ever you do DON'T expect a decent wedding there... The General Manager confirmed that he would be taking no action to avoid a similar thing happening to others in the future, his attitude was very much - 'hey , these things happen' - which is all very well - except this is people's WEDDING days that his staff are ruining - all through a simple lack of organisation and planning...
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