Sandals Royal Bahamian Review

We were very disappointed, this was a very expensive vacation for us and our expectations were high. Room the first night was just down the corridor from the piano bar, it was very loud and the sing along singers couldn't sing. Also the TV menu didn't work so no info for night 1. We asked to be moved next day and were moved up 3 floors,much quieter. Toilets backed up in this room and the shower flooded the floor. Water in the minibar wasn't replaced, had to ask for it as well as glasses. Staff were either good, or very bad, concierge when asked for help was downright rude apparently I wasn't the right class to receive polite help. The food in general was good. Disappointed that the snack diner was not running.. The island was the best part of the vacation although you can hardly call it private when you don't own the whole island. For me the best part of the vacation was the diving the crew were professionals and the corals and fish were some of the best I have seen in the Caribbean. This was not our first Sandals, but it was our last. Can't justify spending that amount of money when we can get the same luxury for a third of the price from your competitor's. You have lost us as customers.

Staff every unprofessional , check in was the worst experience every. Don't drink the cheap alcohol they offer it will make u feel sick. We also paid and confirm the butler service and never receive it, the only explainsion they had was it must be a mixup I should call the main office in maimi really when your phone service is down! Really bad business!
Earl from queens New York City

TERRIBLE. This is not the Sandals you have heard about. Don't waste your hard earned money. Most employees are not nice and helpful like other Sandals. Very crowded. Not like Sandals should be. Thankfully there are restaurants right outside gate so you can eat on your trip. Alcohol is great and free so get drunk and you will not go postal on everyone there. Every employee acts like it's there first day. I now see why Sandals is in the middle of several lawsuits. Don't waste your time trying to dive with Sandals. They will talk down to you and your Certification card is useless here, Even if your a certified instructor. If you want to dive go to a dive resort. Management did try to fix all this. DO NOT GO TO THIS LOCATION.!!!!!!!!!!!!

The staff is wonderful. We met so many and were treated like family.

Historic. Great restaurants. Charming even in gale force winds.

Gorgeous resort. I would recommend having a butler. The wait for dinner is long without one. The island is amazing. The beach and waters are perfect. The food is really good.

Absolutely disgusting!!!!!
1. One of the people we traveled with had a bug in their salad.
2. The bellhop never came to pick up the luggage. My family had to carry our luggage across the resort.
3. When contacting sandals they did absolutely nothing about any of the issues that we re having.
4. For two days the TV did not work in the room and no one came to fix it.

It was good. Not much to do other than drink, eat, and swim on property. Excursions off property are pricey.

Highly disappointed that all our planned activities got canceled and we were never able to get over to the private island because of the wind. We have one day left and I couldn t be more heartbroken that we spent all this money and havent gotten the experience.

Food was mediocre and service wasn t top notch. There are a handful of servers that saved our trip.

Awesome place &service ..
Except bathroom doesn't have door water Will b everywhere

Money was taken from our room and the head of security, Devon, made sarcastic jokes about it being stolen by a ghost, and accused me of losing the money. Because of the way Devon treated my case I will never book with any Sandals resort again.
The resort was well kept and the food was good. The steak at Gordon's was delicious.
Service was 50/50, sometimes our fridge would get restocked, sometimes not. Sometimes towels would come to our room, sometimes not.
The morning cleaning crew were constantly speaking really loudly in the hallways and would wake me up early every day.
Entertainment by the pool was fun and the room was fine (Windsor penthouse).
Overall I was incredibly offended by Devon and I will never book with any Sandals resort again.

We went to sandals in Barbados for our honeymoon last year , so we decided to try sandals royal bahamian for our 1 year anniversary , it was awful our room view was awful not at all what we were told , we were moved , still not a great view , but better, I guess. Food was absolutely terrible ,you are literally running to the bathroom after you eat , only 2 pools 1 hot tub was actually hot but filthy with oils floating at the top from I guess over use of hair gel and sunscreen. Our bar in our room wasn't stocked for 3 days out of the 6 we spent , water was clear, rained a lot ! Slippery poolside I mean very slippery I saw about 5 couples fall in 6 days , only one small gift shop , ants were in my coffee cups stocked by bar in the room , don't be faked my pics you see online , room service was disgusting !!!!! Eggs are powdered drinks are full of cheap alcohol ,flys and bees all over the bars !!!!! Very long wait for dinner,lunch or breakfast just plan on getting a cheap liquor drink to fill you up, some of the staff was very nice some were very nasty!!! Only one gift shop on resort very small, over priced ! Cheap cheap cheap ! Is all I can say you're better off going through cheap carribean and taking your chance, completely changed my mind about sandals itself , ruined our anniversary !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Beware. JAKEEM THE BARTENDER WAS BOMB THOUGH,DESERVES A RAISE HANDSDOWN! - NEW YORK DAN & ERICA

Nice location and amenities. Good food with lots of options. Service could be little prompt. Right on beach with white sand and private island.

NO day passes are available as advertised. Found this out after a $50 cab ride.

Called beforehand for day passes. I asked to reserve in advance and was told no advance reservations just show up the day of and there will be no problem. After a $25 cab ride to the resort from the port, Sandals decided they were not selling day passes that particular day unless I was a travel agent. Sandals management didn't seem to care about their false representation or the $50 roundtrip I paid to get to the resort. AVOID.

The hotel was beautiful!! The people and the food even better. One amazing and beautiful wedding.

Decent place. Food is so so. Service is hit or miss. Beach is small but the private island is nice.

Amazing couples resort with excellent food and service. They have pickup service from the airport and some of the rooms have Butler service. They have tons of activities for couples and they even have a private Island exclusive to hotel guests. There are also tennis courts and gym facilities for those that like to keep fit while eating and drinking all the wonderful gourmet meals.

Everything was perfect for our Honeymoon. We had the butler service from Levi, Shamal and Kimberly, they were extremely helpful and prompt. When we arrived the room we had originally booked was being worked on (they showed us, it was being re-painted) so the head butler Diane (I believe) told us and actually upgraded it. The room was AMAZING. Loved it, we will be back.

Butler service for the ultimate reward. This was our first Sandals visit, certainly won't be our last. The quiet pool was relaxing and suited my wife and I quite nicely. The room was wonderfully kept. The food was hit or almost miss, depending on the restaurant we went to. Gordons never disappointed though! Great memories, and I can't wait until the next one.

My husband and I booked Sandals Royal Bahamian for our honeymoon this February. Unfortunately, from the time we arrived at the hotel to the time we left, the experience was not at all what the website led on to.
Pros
The pool was clean, easy to access, and had an entertainment option and relaxing option depending on what your preference once
The live DJ was always friendly, energetic, and pure entertainment
The excursion to snorkel with the fish/sea turtles was amazing and the highlight of our trip though no vegan options were made available to me despite our request prior to departure
Easy access to the immediate beach
Cons
Took 4 hours to even get to our room with zero communication/updates from the front desk
The view of our suite, though technically was overlooking the beach, was again not what was pictured in the booking request we originally had made
Dietary needs not met - I myself am vegan, and read on countless advertisements, as well as discussed with the Sandals booking team and front desk, that the resort would be more than accommodating and prepared for my arrival. When I would ask what the vegan option was for me, the employees would say that either there was none or that the "Chef was too busy to talk to me". They use the same plant-based protein the entire time and just change its form. Everything else that was vegan by nature, was carb based and not ideal for someone who would like to remain healthy while on vacation
The resort's front desk never answered our calls when we would have a request. Our fridge was constantly out of water, given my husband and I are both avid water drinkers, and it would take hours to even get a simple request like this to our room. When we would call downstairs, the phone would ring until we finally would give up and have to go downstairs to talk to someone in person with no apologies but another hour delay to get our request completed
Took 4 days and countless requests to honor our honeymoon room package, we were asked to go to dinner so they could throw fake rose pedals and put a swan towel on our bed. Extremely lack luster with zero thoughtfulness to the deed
No apologies, accountability, or desire to make things right

Due to weather, our flights were cancelled and caused our arrival time to be delayed 2 days. We lost our very upgraded room which was understood, but received no credit. Actually we were charged more money and the room was small and no amenities. This was our 8th sandals/beaches trip and no one cared. While there, an outbreak of a virus infected most of the resort. The unsanitary resort tried to act but fell short. Our Butler service was less than accommodating, however friends of ours also had Butler service and theirs were more than attentive to all of us, so this was clearly a personnel and management issue not an overall service issue. We also received impeccable Butler service last year at a sandals in Jamaica. Sandals will still most likely get our money for future trips but we will absolutely shop around now and never trust local staff for "deals" while there. They honor nothing.

Great wedding venue! The property is beautiful and the food is delicious. It is all inclusive so food and activities is included in the cost.

Beautiful place; however not worth the hefty Sandals pricing. Waitresses and servers need to learn much more about friendliness, helpfulness and common courtesy. If you are that displeased with your job at a beautiful resort then perhaps you should be working elsewhere. Really puts a damper on a paying customer's dinner experience.

We stayed in the Windsor honeymoon hideaway for a week with the butler service etc. This was the most expensive room on the property.
Pick you up in a RR, and the drivers literally drive the cars like they re stolen, I think we almost got in two accidents on our way to the resort. However-the cars are sweet. The room is beautiful with that old type of charm. The two things that makes it worth it is the end of the swim out pool so tons of room & the huge bathroom. However, like many have said, you do not have the same butler for your entire stay or even sometimes the whole day. People on other sites have mentioned the butler we were assigned so I thought we would have an awesome experience. No such luck, she or he was absent - meaning when we were at the pool we watched other couples receiving drinks or food and ours was literally no where to be found. Day 2 we were assigned a different butler for that evening who had energy and was awesome .... but while at a dinner he slipped my hubby some weed. Ok, cool, if you re into that sort of thing, which we are not. So that was super awkward! We had no idea of whom to tip because you sometimes don t see the butlers before you leave etc.
Others mentioned that the pub had a funny smell, we did not notice it once. Pub had good food and upbeat service. Gordon s has great food and awesome dinner service. The private island is no longer just a sandals private island so you only have half the beach which is tiny. Pizza place is decent. The crystal room and bakkarat are actually terrible. We had the best luck with calling for room service.

I would say if you can catch a deal the room itself is worth it, but don t expect to have your every whim catered too because that is not the experience we had.

This was the best trip my husband and I have taken together so far in our 6 years of marriage. We had the Butler Walk out Suite and it was beautiful! There was a hot tub right out side our room and the beach less than 20 yards away to wake up to every morning. Our butlers, Ailyn, Paula, and Al-Shane, were top notch and honestly made our trip so special!

First time in Bahamas and first time at a Sandals resort. Was disappointed in the resort. Would not recommend. Old, outdated, a bit dirty. It's a shame because sandals had or has a great reputation. But the jury is still out if I would try another. People have told me this Bahamas location is the worst one. But now I'm a little weary. Water is gorgeous!

An amazing experience. I've been three times and would go three hundred more times. The staff is so nice and hospitable. The private island is cool too. The food and drinks are awesome.

Great hotel with very good service and great food. The rooms are very spacious, nicely decorated and very clean. The complex is very large, well-kept and with two pools a hotel own beach, an offshore island, tennis courts, billiards, water sports and many other offers a lot of variety.

The only thing to complain about is that both the butlers and the guests early in the morning to reserve sun loungers and then sometimes appear only at noon. Here the hotel should do something against, as it for all other guests who do not feel like getting up at 6 o'clock in the morning to reserve beach chairs is very annoying.

Nice resort. Adults only. Dinner reservations are usually booked out, so book early. The food is good but not great. Service o.k.

My girlfriend and I had the opportunity to visit Sandals Royal Bahamian for New Year s 2019, and we had an amazing time. Very relaxing spot with great service. We had the pleasure of meeting some the most attentive and charismatic staff while on our stay. The general manager was even gracious enough to reach out when we complimented the staff. Truly a high bar to set for all inclusive resorts.

The amenities were very nice as well! Take a trip out to the exclusive island, and go to the seafood restaurant. That brings me to the food which was great everywhere we went. The French and Hibachi restaurants were our favorite. Can t go wrong anywhere you go though. Very very convenient as well.

All around a great stay if you re looking to RELAX and forget about some everyday stress. Highly recommend!

A lot of fun very laid back. The staff was great, the food was delicious. The only negative was having a bit a of wait at a few of the restaurants but besides that would recommend this for anyone who wants a great get away for themselves and their spouse

We recently stayed at the Royal Bahamian. As with most reviews most of this is subjective, but I wanted to offer up our take on the vacation and list the pros and cons for those that read these, a few things:

1. The worst part of the trip was that the staff was very unfriendly, almost seemed like they didn't want to be there. When we asked for something we would sometimes get looks from the staff, as if we were inconveniencing them. The off resort folks we met were really nice, it was night and day compared to the resort staff. We met a few staff that were not locals and they were very friendly and the entertainment staff were very nice.
2. The food was subpar in our opinion, most of the food seemed frozen or prepared, and the selection was not great. We ate at the Spices 2 nights in a row and the menu was the same for both nights, we thought each night would offer something different. The quantity was small, we found that you almost had to order 2 meals to get a good portion of protein. There was a lot of fried food, we would have preferred more grilled food or fresh salads and fresh fish. We've stayed at lesser resorts and the food was much better. The breakfast was on point everywhere we stayed. We asked a few times for preparation changes, for example we wanted bacon that was fully cooked, and chicken wings that were cooked longer, and the response for both was that the food was prepared and they couldnt do that. We were like really?? The chicken wings we got one time were cold. we just left them. The bacon was undercooked and greasy. The coffee was hit or miss, it was excellent one morning and horrible the next. We had lobster at the spices one night and it was way over cooked, and disappointing. At the french restaurant we had boiled shrimp and they were luke warm, which made us nervous to eat.
3. The booking process through the sandals website was not good. first of all, the website allowed us to book the flight from the origin airport near our house and return us to a different airport not near our house. This shouldn't be allowed, all major airlines default the return flight to the same airport. I tried changing through the travel company and the airline and they wouldnt touch the reservation. I will never book a flight through the hotel travel agency again.
4. The drinks seem watered down, the mixers used tasted funny, there wasn't much of a selection of beer besides the cricketer pub.
5. The pools were all cold, I could deal with them during the day when it was warn outside, but in the evenings it was a bit cold, my wife couldn't get in them. The hot tubs were nice. I understand it costs money to heat those big pools, but a lot of people wanted to get in the pools, they were just too cold.
6. The ocean was bearable, we did some snorkeling and spent some time in the water. The ocean was absolutely beautiful. We probably would choose a little bit warmer time of the year next time. The beach was well kept and clean, they would rake the beach each day several times to remove the seaweed.
7. we have been to other resorts, and this one was more expensive and seemed to offer less. We were expecting a little bit more hospitality and amenities for the price.

Overall I don't think we would recommend this resort to friends or family, and probably would not come back to this sandals.

I stayed in a room 1618 that had mold or some type of chemical that triggered my bronchitis. The first couple of nights I thought I was coming down with something. It was so bad, I had to be moved to a different room on my last night. As a person who has been exposed to mold, I have a very sensitive reaction. I had to open the patio door to prevent me from coughing all night. Once I would leave the room it cleared up.

Very pretty place but not great food. Staff are so friendly and accommodating!

Truly a romantic place, very friendly staff, if you request a settings on the beach for 2, your wish is their command, just awesome, the private island was so relaxing and romantic...

Awesome. First time Sandals goer and was truly impressed how awesome this place was... staff was friendly and the food quality was amazing. Will never stay at another all-inclusive that isn t a Sandals property.

Beautiful hotel, awesome sea view, good crowd. Wonderful arrangements for water fun and food. Love it.

Went with my wife last week for the first time. Absolutely amazing! Clean beaches, amazing service, food and drink was good. Lots of activities to suit all. Highly recommended.