Sandals Royal Bahamian

First time staying at a Sandals resort, and unfortunately, I don’t think we would return or recommend it. My boyfriend and I booked a five-night stay this past week. Due to American Airlines flight issues, we arrived late, so we already had a shortened vacation. The resort itself was beautiful and clean, and the staff at check-in were welcoming and helpful. We stayed on the East Bay side and absolutely loved our room and the view — easily the highlight of our trip along with all of the cute cats around the hotel. Unfortunately, the next two days were extremely disappointing. We were told there was an “island-wide power outage” due to the rain. While our room remained powered, most of the restaurants were closed for almost two full days. For an all-inclusive resort, losing almost two out of five days of included dining was a major issue. We ended up having to leave the resort and pay out of pocket for meals elsewhere in the city. Once the restaurants reopened, we did enjoy some of the food. Butch’s was excellent, Soy had great sushi, and Calico was a great lunch option. Most of the staff were also friendly and genuinely doing their best — special shoutout to Rory the bartender and his incredible coconut espresso martinis! The bigger issue seemed to be understaffing. At Soy, we waited 30–45 minutes to be seated, followed by another 20–30 minutes before anyone took our drink or appetizer order because there was only one server. At Aralia House on the private island, our food took over an hour to arrive, only for my boyfriend to be told afterward that what he ordered was no longer available. These situations felt less like an employee problem and more like a management/staffing problem. We tried to overlook a lot because we were on vacation and wanted to enjoy our time together (and the long lines of people complaining already I’m sure we’re overwhelming for the staff), but eventually the issues became hard to ignore. What was most frustrating was how the power outage was handled. We were initially told there would be no option to add an extra night to make up for the lost time. Then, a few days later, we received a note offering a “complimentary night” — but only toward a future reservation requiring a minimum three-night stay. That really doesn’t feel like compensation when we lost valuable time on a five-night trip and would have preferred to simply extend this stay. We understand that weather and power outages happen and aren’t necessarily the resort’s fault. What is frustrating is the lack of preparation for something that, according to what we were told, has happened before. For a billion-dollar company, I would expect better backup plans, more reliable restaurant operations, and enough staff to properly accommodate guests. We had some great moments and met some wonderful employees, but overall, the experience did not live up to what we expected from a Sandals vacation especially all inclusive. Maybe we simply had an unusually difficult week, but unfortunately, based on this experience, we would be hesitant to return.

Bahamas itself is really beautiful. We are here now. I’m disappointed in the accommodations because it definitely needs maintenance. Our elevator on the 5th floor, closest to our room has been out of order since we got here 3 days ago. The ice machine on our floor doesn’t work. Our air conditioning in our room didn’t work we first got here but thankfully it works now. Our hallway to the other elevator had a severe roof leak with a trash can catching it for a whole day. Even with that we still wanted to extend our stay by one day. We stopped by the Insider Club and booked two future trips to other Sandals resorts on our way to Club Sandals to try to extend our stay. We went to Club Sandals and they first quoted $1000 for 2 extra nights but we only needed one extra night, so they said $800 for one. Same exact price that’s on the Sandals app. No loyalty to us, they wouldn’t even try to give us a better rate. Do better Sandals for your loyal customers!

We booked 3 types of couples massages during the week. One on the private island- yes, a bit pricy, but definitely comparable to NJ/NYC spa costs. And besides, I have never found any other opportunity to receive a massage in a private beach!! the only downfall was the weather, the water was too choppy to leave from the typical location next to the hotel, so they drove us a half hour to the pier- sort of near the cruise ships, and we also had to sign up early to get a time slot to be on the bus. BUT the massage is on the far end of the island, maybe just a few minute walk from the drop off location (the bar and pool). This is absolutely magical! no other sandals resort offers this private island experience. Peggy & McQueen were wonderful and professional- All of the ladies have been permanent workers and very kind. Litesha, Shaniqua, Ann-Marie, and Stephanie were also the other masseuses we had for the 2 other experience and just as relaxing in the building main building. The interior of the spa is clean and spacious- separate changing area for the genders. Since we live on the east coast we can’t wait to fin another long weekend to go back! The only suggestion we would like sandals to incorporate is take out food options— especially during lunch!

My husband and I had a wonderful stay in January at this Sandals resort. Our butlers were excellent! The food was good, pool and bars were nice. Beach beautiful. We enjoyed an all day excursion to the island. Especially enjoyed my facial at the spa from Shakbra. She was highly professional and kind. Did a wonderful job! Hope to visit again !