TripAdvisor Traveler Rating

I have given this resort a 5 star review not because it is strictly deserving of it in all areas but because minor issues don’t really matter from a fabulous well run resort. So let’s start by saying this is the best beach I have been to in the Caribbean let alone Antigua, long white sand, the usual beach stalls and trip vendors but no hard sell and nice to chat to they are only trying to make a living in what’s a relatively poor country. Extensive gardens in immaculate condition very well maintained and truly as you could imagine. Grass manicured to perfection. Cleanliness everywhere…no litter left, pools cleaned daily and given how many especially the main pool is amazing. One idiot was sick late at night in a smaller pool and it was shut, cleaned, refilled and running for the next morning. Bars cleaned down daily and all bottles cleaned and re stocked and set up each and every day. The bar staff work hard and amazing cocktails made to your own tinkering especially Joy and Julian! Food…breakfasts fabulous, yes it’s a buffet but best cakes and pastries I have had again in the Caribbean and great views. Intraday food choice great, waiter service at some, buffet and snack bars for pizzas and burgers were very tasty. Dinner….all restaurants in the evening need to be booked. No buffet which given how good breakfast and lunch were it’s a shame. All British agreed the Drunk Duck English pub was terrible, so dark, food not great but very quick bar service and sit outside pre dining at another place. The rest are ok, it’s not fine dining but in a way it is nicer in groups to not all be up at different times for the buffet. So 5 for everything apart from food in the evening so given that a 4 overall. But like I say overall great resort great location great staff and well run. Would go back and definitely now a sandals convert…

Me and my fiance came here for 9 nights from late November to early December. We stayed in the Mediterranean club level room which was a bit dated but it had charm and was always left clean. They filled up our mini bar with whatever we asked for everyday. I saw loads of complaints about no seats at the pool from 5am?? We went down at different times from 7am through to 11am and always managed to find beds with umbrellas! The food… I thought breakfast and lunch was great across the resort (loved the pizzas and courtyard bistro for lunch). Dinner was a let down in my opinion, we really liked Kimono’s and Soy was amazing!!! It’s worth noting we are from the UK so a lot of the dinner restaurants, we found were so salty which might suit the other palettes a bit more than ours. The entertainment was fine, some was good, some was average. It started pretty early in the evenings so you felt like you had to rush dinner to catch it but they tried. The bars were always super busy, always waiting 5/10 mins for a drink. Especially as people order cocktails etc.. I think there needs to be more staff on the bars as they’re so overworked. Massive shout to Jumaane (I think that’s how you spell it), he was great and he stood out as the best server throughout our stay. One big thing in my opinion that could make this resort more luxurious would be consistent service of drinks round the pool/ beach/ when watching the entertainment, some days we could order but this didn’t happen always! Also potentially doing themed nights or just having a bit more entertainment, we have been to other 5* resorts where they create a really fun party atmosphere in the evening rather than it feeling flat. I also saw comments about rude staff, we had a couple that were a little bit snappy BUT on a whole everyone we spoke to was super nice! Honestly the way we heard some guests speaking to the staff would warrant the staff being rude back in my opinion. As our first sandals experience we enjoyed it, it’s a bit expensive for what it is and we have stayed in more fun/ luxurious all inclusive resorts for less. However, we would return to a few other resorts in the future. We had a great time overall, the location was amazing and would rate it a 7/10 :)

The resort was amazing and my spouse and I both got a massage during our stay and Trecia Thorpe whipper as the massager and she was AMAZING! Only complaint with stay was not having hot water for my daily shower.

We were initially given room 110 - a lovely room close to the beach and next to a quiet pool on the Caribbean side. However, on the first day our toilet was blocked. Asked them to fix it which was duly done albeit after a good few hours. Roll on four days and we were STILL having to complain about our blocked toilet. In total we must have asked them to unblock it 6/7 times. Even though they had managed to get the toilet working temporarily a few times, after four days the smell had got pretty unpleasant- even though we had been using the public bathrooms. By this time I overcome my Britishness and had a ‘proper’ rant and actually got the Manager involved - and even had to show him photographic evidence. He graciously said that he would move us to a much better room. This actually took from 10.30 in the morning until 3pm - so a whole day of our holiday was wasted hanging around. We did have a whinge and were promised a 50% reduction in a couple of trips that we had taken, and a complimentary taxi ride to our next hotel. Anyway - after being told that housekeeping had checked the room, we duly arrived at our new suite - only to find yet another blocked toilet - this time with the previous guests No 2! Livid doesn’t even cover it - this time I called our travel Rep - and ‘quelle surprise’ - not only the original manager arrived within 5 minutes but he was also accompanied by the General Manager. In fairness, the Maintenance guy unblocked it straight away - but the main reason this review is here is for what happened the following morning. Firstly a member of housekeeping arrived and expressed her surprise at the room being occupied - when we explained about ‘toiletgate’ she told us that the blocked toilet in the new room had been reported to maintenance…. And that nobody had told her anyone was in the room. Two hours later, another knock on the door from yet another housekeeping member - to say virtually the same thing…. Luckily as we were checking out shortly we tried not let let the whole episode totally ruin our holiday (even though a functioning toilet should be the first thing you could expect even in a 2 star hotel). However on checking out, the manager hadn’t bothered to instigate the promised 50% credit on the couple of trips that we had booked, or even booked the taxi that he had also said he would definitely take care of. So sorry Sandals - you might work on the basis of big numbers, but your staff training, communication and complaints procedures are most definitely lacking, if not non-existent. And also maybe don’t lie to your guests by saying that rooms have been checked when a reported blocked toilet hasn’t been dealt with….

We had our honeymoon here and were truly spoiled by Sandals! The service was outstanding to say the least! From the airport arrival to the private check in to the constant attentiveness from the staff we felt so well looked after. Overall the resort is dated yes, but some areas are updated, we stayed in the Caribbean side, beachfront, club level, which had all of the renovated rooms. The rooms were beautifully curated, the bed and bedding so comfortable. The beach was stunning, it could be busy at times though, not from Sandals guests but from the cruise ships that drop passengers at Dickinson Bay for the day. The food was overall good, some restaurants were exceptional though, we really enjoyed the a la carte and room service options. Both of us are vegetarians so we stuck to Soy, Kimono and Barefoot Grill as our favourites. The Sandals grounds itself are stunning, we really enjoyed puttering around the club participating in the many activities offered, tennis, the gym, snorkeling, kayaking the games on site. The only negative that we experienced was the 360 power catamaran cruise, not on brand for Sandals in my view, it was really downscale and not what we would expect to be a promoted excursion through Sandals. Overall we had the best honeymoon, an unforgettable trip! Thank you Sandals!!