Sandals Grande St. Lucian Spa & Beach Resort - Luxury All Inclusive

This was our first all-inclusive vacation so we were a bit apprehensive when we arrived. Our first impression wasn't great but after our first dinner at the beach restaurant, our worries about the food were gone! The food was fabulous in all restaurants EXCEPT the main one that was more like cafeteria food. My advice would be to make reservations at the special restaurants and the dinner on the beach was amazingly romantic and the service was exceptional. Overall, we loved our stay! There were opportunities to be social but it was easy to get away and be alone. I highly recommend it!!

Amazing getaway for couples. Perfect atmosphere, good amenities, good staff, good people. Paid items are a little bit of a rip off (like private tours, spa etc..) but the stay is good value for money. Enjoyed the overall experience.

My husband and I have stayed in many resorts throughout Mexico and the Caribbean and by far this was the worst. We splurged a bit bc this was our honeymoon and most of the reviews were positive. The only thing this resort has going for it is the location- beautiful beach and views. We paid xtra for an "oceanfront penthouse concierge" room. Although overlooking the ocean, the room was right smack in front of the hotel (no privacy) complete with full view of the hotel's airconditioning unit/generator, ruining the ambiance with the constant noise. They also decided to put up a wedding tent in front of our room for several days, also ruining our view and was super noisy throughout the night. Very uncomfortable beds and pillows. Housekeeping did not come some days for some reason. The "concierge" was of no use to us except to book a reservation at a restaurant once, which we coul do at the front desk. Useless waste of money. VERY NOISY, VERY RUN DOWN, almost everything was broken and nonfuntional. Visited by cockroaches of varying sizes in our bathroom. CONSTANT noisy lawn maintenance throughout the day, every day...annoying and awkward for guests. Lack of towells for guest use and very limited space. I can't begin to comment on the exceptionally poor service. Friendly people who get absolutely nothing done after telling you they will. This was CONSTANT. We were dying to get home by the 5th day of our week long honeymoon. On the ride home, most people had similar complaints. Please, if you have any expectations, DON't STAY HERE. I'm sure you can find an equally appealing each with decent food and service on this beautiful island with a little searching.

I went to the resort with my wife for our honeymoon and it was amazing! St Lucia was amazing. We wished we were there longer (stayed about 7 days) so we could've enjoyed all the amenities at the resort as well as enjoy the island more. The food was good, the staff was very friendly. The all-inclusive feature helps so much because you don't have to worry about how much you're spending on food and drinks. The service was excellent. The pools are clean and there's a good number of them. The seating space in the main pool was limited (very popular area), but the other (quieter) pool had plenty. The beach is small - probably 10 to 15 feet of sand, but not a problem. The location in relation to the Hewanorra airport is about 1.5 hrs, but the Castries airport is about 20 minutes, so try to fly in from SLU (Castries) - we went home from here. We fly in from Hewanorra and the ride was a bit bumpy with a lot of stop and go. The room itself was slightly above average. We were on the first floor closer to the quieter pool. The bathroom was okay, but felt a little crammed. There was a couch, dressers, a TV and a small table, so there weren't a lot of floor space in the room. Had HBO and Cinemax. We also caught a lot of mosquitoes in the room - ask the front desk to spray the room. It helps a little. Amenities were plentiful and great. The gym was pretty big (didn't use it though) and very well AC'ed - almost too cold. There were a few hammocks and a couple of jacuzzi. There is a tour guide desk where you can book your excursions through. They were very helpful. Ziplining and Snuba were very fun to do - the first time we did it. All of the staff and amenities were great. Will visit again.

We went to Sandals St. Lucia Grande for our honeymoon and couldn't have been happier with everything! Like most people, we spent hours researching our options and reading reviews. We tortured our travel agent with questions and doubts until finally, we decided on this resort. We are so thankful that we did! Reading all of the negative reviews can be very confusing but it's all about the expectations you have, what kind of person you are and what you're looking for in a vacation or honeymoon. We live in Los Angeles (but are both from New York) so we are admittedly spoiled when it comes to food, drinks, travel and entertainment. Our idea of a great honeymoon was something where we could relax, eat and drink. We didn't want to deal with more planning, more budgeting, and more itineraries! This was our first all-inclusive experience, although we have been on one cruise (and hated it). Our expectations were semi-low..... we sort of expected a "cruise on land" vibe, low quality food and cheesy "Sandals" logos everywhere. We were also terrified that we would be the oldest couple there (we are in our mid-30's) or that we'd be amidst a sea of "honeymooners-gone-wild." None of these things were the case! There are all kinds of couples, of all ages there. Most people are there on their honeymoon, so if you're looking to be treated like you're something special just because you're wearing a "sexy little bride" t-shirt then yes, you will be disappointed. Your experience here is really what you make of it. If you want to meet other couples and make new friends, there are plenty of opportunities and friendly people at the bars and the beach who you will meet and talk to. If you want to be alone and focus only on your husband/wife then you can do that, too and that's what we mostly chose to do. There's always an empty hammock, a quiet spot by the pool or a walk on the beach. Getting a cabana one day was our favorite thing we did. "No Pressure, No Problem" was my favorite drink (we made it a point to try all of them and they are all delicious!) The food was all wonderful. We did not go to the other resorts and other than one dinner at Toscanini's, we were happy eating dinner every night at Bayside (breakfast buffet at Bayside and breakfast at Toscanini's are both great!) Our room was lovely. We had a wonderful couples massage at the spa - worth every penny. And thanks to some great advice, we took the Jeep Safari excursion. We truly enjoyed the "Soufriere Jeep Discovery & Waterfall Revelation" tour with our guide Nilan. The volcano, waterfall, banana plantation and fishing village were all beautiful, but it was really the star personality of Nilan that made the experience extra special. He was fun, genuine and funny - giving us a fantastic insight into the island and its true culture. We recommend taking advantage of the natural mud bath near the volcano, but be warned that the sulfur smell and stains from the mud are hard to get out of your bathing suit (so don't wear your best suit or your jewelry). If you're looking for a no-brainer, relaxing honeymoon/vacation and you enjoy eating and drinking then this is the PERFECT place for you! If you don't drink or like to eat (let's face it, that's what you're paying for) or if you are a hard-to-please complainer who thinks the world owes you something because you are on your honeymoon, then..... good luck to your new spouse! We will definitely be looking into other Sandals for future romantic, relaxing vacations!

Great Resort and great staff.

I am pretty easy going, but I have to blow the whistle on this place. My wife and I have been married for 6 years, both in our early 30's and easy to please. We go to the Caribbean two times per year, for the last 8 years, and have Secrets, Barcelo, Hilton, many more- to compare to. This place was extremely disappointing and so were the other Sandals locations on the island; there is a free shuttle to the other two resorts. We spent $6,000 (most of our great vacations have been around $4,000) for the worst food and only a pool to sit by....you cannot enter the ocean, it is so rough that one woman had to be rescued from almost drowning. My wife had a "garage sale" from a wave while trying to get off a jetskii and lost her glasses and headband and spent the next few hours getting out water and sand, which is a little funny, but none the less-dangerous. It was a scary moment because we are talking about an instant 8 foot break on top of you. Sandals is a powerful brand with a good marketing campaign in the USA, and I have to say that I was saddened to see all the newlyweds spending the money from wedding gifts at a resort that only has a few kinds of fruit, and labels itself "all inclusive." I eat more fresh fruit in -20F in Northern Wisconsin than this place had to offer. Apparently all inclusive means guests pay for your snacks, most activities, your wine, your Internet, your hygiene products, your beer (in most rooms), and there is no "top shelf as advertised. No Capt'n, no Grey Goose, no Grand M, nothing. I did complain and one front desk woman laughed in my face, I guess that is because I did not yell and scream like the other guest I saw who were having similar experiences. I got home today and I have a Sandals vacation booked in Jamaica for May, after this review next on my agenda is to change it to a different resort chain. Most of the resort patrons were newlyweds, many out of the USA for the first time and spending up to two weeks in this dump, please vote with your wallet, the resorts are nothing like the Ads they place on TV. St Lucia is a beautiful island and if you go a few pages into google there are so many beautiful resorts and sandy beaches (we took a private, local sailboat, nothing to do with Sandals, so I saw what I missed) that if you look around a bit you will get a great deal in paradise. Just not at Sandals.

We spent a week in the resort and had a great time. It has plenty of restaurants to choose from and we only ate at the same place twice. The activities the resort offers are great as well. We recommend the zip lining and island excursion. Book the island excursion with "Simon Says" rather than through the hotel. He's the tour director of the hotel and does private tours on his days off. Only downside is that the resort is exactly on the opposite of the island from the Pitons, so you'll only see them on your excursion.

The service was "the best possible" at the Sandals grande hotel. The service at the Pier restaurant at Halycon was horrible. Very rude staff. Would not go there again. Food here was not good there either.

It was a wonderful experience