Disappointment! - Sandals St. Lucia Golf Resort

We enjoyed our trip to St. Lucia. Island was beautiful - natives were friendly. However, we were very disappointed with Sandals St. Lucia Golf Resort. The property was very dated and we, among many others, were disappointed with the small rooms and problems with MOLD. A/C barely worked and was loud! The beach was very small and the undertow was often too strong to swim safely. We traveled to the new Sandals Grande property nearly every day - we should have stayed there!

Unbelievable, Fabulous

Shame to those who are nay sayers. This is a fabulous resort just as it is picutred. The staff is friendly and fun. The food is extodinary expecially LA TOC. Our room which was above the honeymoon suites had a spectacular view. I would definately go back

Sandals Rocks your Word! Love It!

Sandals St. Lucia was the most amazing vacation I've ever had (and I've had LOTS). I am shocked to read that anyone could be unhappy with their Sandal's trip. I have recommended Sandals to many of my friends and family and all have MORE than enjoyed their stays. I have been to 3 different Sandals now and can't wait to keep going back, and will be going back for my honeymoon this Fall.The very best thing about Sandals is their amazing customer service. The people that work there truely love their jobs and it shows! They are the most friendly people you could hope to meet. Sandals ALWAYS makes sure you are happy and are having fun. The last two times we visited a Sandals resort, we received complementary upgrades thanks to our Sandals Signature Membership (like a frequent guest program). The rooms are spectacular (even the Duluxe- most inexpensive ones), the resorts and beaches are impeccably clean. The food is wonderful, delicious and varied. They have many different restaurants to chose from!It's so wonderful not to have to worry about carrying money around for anything. Tipping is forbidden and included in your vacation price. You don't have to spend another dime once at the Resort unless you want to buy souveniers! Another WONDERFUL thing about Sandals is that all their activities are INCLUDED such as Scuba Diving. You won't find that anywhere else. Their divemasters are friendly and knowledgable and are always interested in making sure you get want you want out of your dives.They also have an onsite tour desk in case you want to plan any off-resort excusions, such as shopping trips. The prices are fair and the trips were fun! There are so many other fun (free) activities that are planned throughout the day on the resort- EVERY DAY. Sand volleyball, water volleyball, games, pool, ping pong, shuffleboard, dancing lessons, water balloon toss, entertainment, DJ dancing, bands, fire breathers, karioke nights, and SO MUCH MORE. Never a dull moment unless you WANT there to be.And in that case, you can relax out on the beach or by the amazing pool and sip on your favorite premium liquor drink or have complete solitude in the privacy of your room.I honestly can't think of ONE thing to complain about when it comes to Sandals. And my fiance agrees!If you don't believe me that I Love Sandals St. Lucia Golf Resort and Spa, then check out my photo album on my personal website. http://www.planet-k.com/photos/trips/1101stlucia/Is the scenery not STUNNING? Are the people not WONDERFUL?!Trust me, take my word on this and you will have an amazing vacation!St. Lucia itself has got to be the most beautiful place I've ever visited. The Pitons are spectacular and the wildlife is charming. The diving is amazing!HAVE FUN!

Please Don't Go!

My husband and I went here for our honeymoon last May. I wish that I had researched reviews on this place before booking the vacation. Instead, we took the word of friends who had been here many years prior.

After being crammed in to a tiny mini-van with a bunch of other couples we were wrangled in to a room, handed a rum punch, and told to sign paperwork so that they could get our credit card number to charge items to our room (it's all inclusive-what's the point of that?). My husband flat out refused to sign the paperwork and said that we were paying for everything with travelers checks so there was no need of their having our cc info.

Our room was very small, borderline clean and not worth the $. The toilet overflowed the second day we were there. The food and drinks were just OK. I soon discovered that even though they tried to keep the food covered, birds and bugs were landing on the buffet areas. Get to the buffet before they uncover the food. Waiting in line for a drink at the bar seemed eternal.

From looking at the brochures, we expected the room and the resort to be bigger and I never thought that many of the restaurants would be closed at different times of the day. Only a few are open at a time.

We considered the water sports, but my husband is not a good swimmer and after watching the reckless driving of the waterskiing boat I decided it was not a good idea to drag him on to one of those little sailboats or water kayaks. We were offered drugs on our way down the beach stairs and on our way back up the beach stairs on the other side. I wasn't really appreciative of the fact that I had paid a lot of $ for a vacation and their security let dealers on the beach. Getting a beach chair was difficult on the grassy pool area so you have to head down early.

The shopping was OK. Our best purchases were watches which we bought at the resort. Beware of the man with the big palm leaves who tries to charge you $20 for a basket he weaves in front of you.

After deciding that I was just going to "suck it up" and make the best of our honeymoon I was struck with a stomach virus. We wound up having to leave the resort 3 days early. I was never so happy to be home.

Luckily, our agent talked us in to purchasing travel insurance before we left. She also wrote a letter to Sandals on our behalf after we came home. We wrote a letter as well and received a partial refund for the trip. However, I know that without the travel insurance, we probably would not have gotten anything back.

As for anything good that I have to say about Sandals St. Lucia. The spa was nice, I got a great aromatherapy massage. The bartender at one of the pubs was nice enough to give my husband a 1/2 gallon juice bottle of soda when he found out that I was sick. The people were very understanding and got us a cab to the airport when they found out that I was ill. However, would I go again? Hell NO! In fact, I don't think you could pay me to go to another Sandals.

We're trying for a second honeymoon in Aruba this year. Keep your fingers crossed for us and happy traveling to you!

Wasn't Worth The High Cost

My husband and I were married on June 9, 2001. Immediately afterwards we went on our honeymoon to Sandals St. Lucia Golf Resort. Sorry for the late review. I just happened across this site while planning our upcoming vacation to Cancun (thanks TripAdvisor!!!).

We paid what I consider to be a great deal of money to stay at Sandals St. Lucia. We arrived at the resort after a much delayed flight (as usual with Apple Vacations) and were immediately shuffled into a room like herded cattle to sign paperwork that allowed them to charge our credit cards - without it they wouldn't activate our telephones. Tacky. I found myself scrambling around for a pen to write with because they didn't provide enough. They took us to our room. It smelled musty and moldy from the A/C unit in the window. Oops, guess I expected a SANDALS RESORT to have central A/C. We put up with it for the first night and unfortunately both my husband and I developed sinus infections over the next day or two. We asked to be relocated to a new room, explaining it was our honeymoon. They were snotty at first and refused. I urged the matter and we were finally relocated to an upper level room overlooking the large swimming pool and ocean. It was much nicer, however it came with alot of hassle and inconvenience. Can you make sure the caulk around the bathtub isn't moldy ?

They could have done a better job keeping their beachfront clean (cigg butts and empty plastic cups). The food ranged from decent to very good.

The catamaran excursion we went on was wonderful. We bussed over to Sandals Halcyon for dinner one night. It was a nice change of scenery. Maybe Halcyon is a better deal for the money ?

Watch out for the strangers at the airport that try to whisk your bags away from you to carry to the car just so they can jimmy a tip out of you. They also might try to hand you what seems like a complimentary map of the area and then ask for money. The maps are readily available in the airport lobby for free.

I definitely learned that the beautiful pictures in the brochure are an exaggeration of the real thing. I doubt I will pay for an expensive Sandals vacation again.

Stay On the Bluff or Don't Go At All

We went here on our Honeymoon because it promised to be "The World's Most Glamorous Resort" (2001 Brochure). It most certainly was not. The first room they put us in was comparable to a seedy motel room. The next level up was a little better...not a lot. The food was inedible for the most part (my husband and I now joke about how we lost weight on the Sandals Diet).

After a few days, we figured out that unless you are staying on the bluff, it's not worth the trip. Even if you stay on the bluff, just lower your expectations or don't bother going.

Or, better yet, stay at the Ladera Resort instead. Ladera was paradise...everything I dreamed of, but better.

Sandals St. Lucia Golf and Spa Resort - Nice Relaxing Vacation

My husband and I spent part of our honeymoon (6 days) at the Sandals St. Lucia Golf and Spa resort. We had a great time at the resort and would definitely recommend it as a vacation destination. First off we stayed in a Luxury Ocean View room. While the room was nice and we did have a view of the ocean I recommend saving your money and staying at the cheapest room. You spend so little time in the room why waste hundreds of dollars that you can spend on other services.

I have read other reviews of the resort and people seem to complain about the noise, food, and facilities. We found everything met our expectations. The vacation is fairly priced for the services and amentities you receive.

Here are my criticisims:

The main pool is very crowded and not kept as clean as I would have liked. Plus, the crowd can be a little loud. In addition, there aren't enough umbrellas or shaddy spots to hid from the sun. Use 45 sunblock and you will be fine. But, if you want a fun time that's the place to be.

The beach was a little rough. We enjoyed the calm beach at Sandals Halcyon. We saw a few bugs but nothing out of the ordinary.

Here are my compliments:

The staff is incredibly nice and accomidating. The food is fairly good at most restaurants. Being a vegetarian I had no trouble finding something I could eat. Armando's and Mario's (Italian)offer a selection for vegetarians. The drinks were very good (not watered down) and the service is quick. There is always something to do at night, somewhere to go if you want to be entertained. The bus that escorts you around the resort comes frequently (although the resort is much smaller than it appears on the map) and you can easily walk everywhere.

Enjoy the all-inclusive resort. Take advantage of the games that are offered throughout the day. Order food you've never had before - it you don't like it order something else. Try different drinks - you can always get something else. Try all 3 pools - the sunset pool if a great place to watch the sunset.

We went during the rainy season but saw little rain. We did the day sail and enjoyed it. There are tons of honeymooners at the resort so keep that in mind. There are very few unmarried couples.

Fabulous Trip!

My husband and I just returned from our honeymoon at Sandals St. Lucia golf resort and spa. (7/22/02). We had an awesome time there. After much deliberation we booked a 1 bedroom honeymoon villa on the bluff with a private plunge pool. The room was great. It was clean and it had breath-taking views of the Carribean. Our plunge pool was a bit on the chilly side and we decided if we were ever going to go back we would probably stay in the 1 bedroom suites on the bluff. We didn't get much use out of the pool because the rain made it really cold! I am glad we decided to stay on the Sunset Bluffs because the main hotel rooms were a bit on the crazy side for us. We wanted a quiet room away from the pounding music of the main resort. It was nice to go down and visit for a little while at night but that's about it. The trip was very expensive up-front but it was well worth it in the end. I loved not having to tip or pay for drinks...it was the best feeling being able to just leave the table after you are finished eating and not have to worry about getting the check. The service we received there was top-notch. All the employees went out of their way to make your stay on their island the best it could possibly be. Especially, Dim, the bartender at the Sunset Bar! We never had to wait for drinks and we were served without even ordering after awhile. We went on 2 full-day excursions: the day sail and jungle biking. I highly recommend the Jungle Biking adventure! It was the best. Personally, I could have lived without the day sail but i guess it's good to do the tourist thing while youre there. although the fact that it poured the whole day didn't help either. The food was good, not great! I am a vegetarian and I had some trouble finding dinners at night. We mostly ate at Armando's restaurant on the bluff. the food was pretty good. Our last night we had reservations for Mario's at Halcyon and that food was delicious! Overall, we had a wonderful time and i would not hesitate to do ano

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Most amazing Resort!

This is the most amazing resort. From the time we arrived until the time we left we had nothing but impeccable service, excellent food and a wonderful time. The resort is beautiful, and very clean. The staff is amazingly friendly and always willing to make your stay an amazing time. We were in the sunset bluffs block which are well worth the money. The beaches on St. Lucia are public beaches and you do get locals coming down to enjoy the beautiful beach. They are all very friendly and are of no trouble. Not sure what children the other reviewer saw, but there were no children at the resort as it is a couples only resort. However, the beach does have a few kids, once again as it is a public beach as required by St. Lucia law. Our favortie restaurant was LaToc, the French restaurant. All the restaurants are amazing including Italian, Carribean, Japanese and International cuisine. There are activities to do all day long, though we chose to rest and relax and go on a couple snorkeling trips as well as a trip to visit Soufriere. We highly reccomend this resort to anyone. We have had several friends also visit this resort all with glowing reccomendations! Pack light as you will only need your swim suits and a couple outfits for dinner!

BEWARE OF SANDALS

We went here for our Wedding and Honeymoon and it was awful. Cockroaches, poor food, dirty rooms and hallways. DO NOT fall for the Airbrushed Brochures and empty promises of Perfection. Save your money and go somewhere else. There is nothing about this place that makes it the best all inclusive. There are non-guests roaming throughout the beach and resort. There is nudity and children there (although it says they are not allowed). Restaurants close at 9:30pm and are only open a few hours a day. Entertainment is so-so. Only a handful of staff are polite and only ONE restaurant can be classified as world-class (LaToc). They ruined my wedding pictures, and wedding video. They double charged my credit card and charged more than brochure prices for many services. I would NEVER go to another Sandals if it were the last place on earth.