Ok resort

I booked at white sands for $2200 per person and was sent to blue waters the day we arrived. Blue waters was great for what we paid but if I spent $3200 per person, it wouldn’t have been worth it. The service staff is great when they come to you, if you go to them ( the pool bar) the service was awful. You were legit bothering them, it was weird. An exception to this was the martini bar, I had great nights hanging out with Denroy and Radcliffe. The place is under Reno’s so maybe it’ll Imp [... read more]rove but $3200 is best spent elsewhere. $2200 is worth it.

Very nice resort, a little dated.

The grounds are beautiful, pools are amazing. You are directly on beach, which is great! The staff are extremely pleasant and accomodating. The buffet was mediocre at best, with a lot of repeat items. Hunters Steakhouse was our favourite a' la carte. It is not a luxury experience but extremely enjoyable.

I would not recommend Royalton White Sands

This resort has been a complete disappointment 🙁 Shower door would not close Bath tub plug missing and water pressure so low I couldn’t run a bath. Sewage smell in the room at all times Patio door very hard to open/close Beach towels always out so spent most of the days without. Butler service doesn’t answer messages Waiter service disappointing, never cutlery or glasses for water, servers don’t check check on you. When tip is given, receive no thank you or smile. Alway [... read more]s the first to say thank you or good morning. Toilets don’t flush proper, low pressure Toilet plugged all day without assistance

Great Resort

Pros: great service (Kesrene at the beach, Kelan at the Italian restaurant), beautiful weather, we had no troubles getting a chair at the beach or pool, the ocean was great for swimming, the food at the buffet was amazing, we had no troubles getting seated at the buffet, the late night entertainment was great, the resort grounds were clean and beautiful, housekeeping kept the rooms looking great Cons: need more umbrellas, AC didn't work in our room, the pool bar service was bad (they would lo [... read more]ok at you and walk away in favour of a larger group), our room was very small (we joked it was a broom closet that they turned into a room), the bathroom door didn't close, the shower leaked water everywhere, the bathroom had mold in a few places (no working fan/didn't work well), Overall: the pros outweigh the cons and I would go back to this resort in a heartbeat. I've heard through resort staff that the resort is getting gutted and renovated and I look forward to going back once it's completed. I paid 2500$ to fly out of Edmonton whereas my friends flying out of Ontario paid $2000. This resort is closer in value to $2000/trip.

Terrible Hotel and terrible service by Sunwing

First my experience booking with Tripcentral and Sunwing. I was not aware that Sunwing no longer allowed carry on baggage so right away this would have been a deal breaker for me. I had to pay additional fees to bring my carry on with me on the plane. Then there was a price drop and it was honored so this is strike #2. The service on the plane was terrible. Sunwing doesn't even offer a complimentary beverage anymore?. And there was no service the flight attendants stood behind the closed curtain [... read more] at the front of the plane the entire time. Our flight was also 1 hour late leaving Toronto. Then we finally arrive in Montego Bay, first we waited for 2 hours on the bus at the Montego Airport before being transported to the hotel so right away this was not starting off on the right foot. Why am I waiting 2 hours? I didn't pay to be sitting on a bus. I paid to be at the hotel enjoying the hotel services. Now we finally get to the hotel and check in. It is dark and we are starving. This hotel rooms are a disgrace. The drawers are either stuck or don't open, the closet doors don't slide, there is no door handle for the sliding door to go out side. Our toilet didn't flush and we had to have maintenance fix it. Our room was only cleaned 1/2 of the time during the entire week and only got fresh towels half of the time. Our mini fridge and coffee was not replenished at all the entire week. I used some the first day and never had anymore the rest of the week. One day my husband got locked in the bathroom and couldn't get out. I'm pulling from the outside and he's pushing from the inside. Finally we got the door to open. We had no hot water for the first 2 days and no water pressure at all all week. I couldn't even wash the shampoo out of my hair since there was no pressure. When using the bathrooms around the resort there was never any toilet paper, soap or paper towels it was a nightmare and they were always dirty with water all over the floor wasn't sure it was water or pee. On our way back we ended up hiring a private car service to take us back to the airport for $70 since I was not getting back on the Sunwing bus. There was so many other things that were unsatisfactory but I could go on all day. A friend of mine didn't even get clean sheets. There was blood on her pillow case. You complain and no one cares. I will be posting bad reviews all over the internet and I will never return back to your hotel or another Royalton anywhere in the world. I will never book with Trip Central, Sunwing or go to this hotel again. I will be posting many reviews all over the internet on how horrible it was.

Do NOT go to this Resort

The hotel rooms were horrible. Ours had so many problems with broken items. Our balcony door was jammed on an angle and couldn't close or lock! The shows at night were so loud and went late, so we couldn't fall sleep because we couldn't close the door. Our shower hose leaked most of the water so there was not enough water pressure to use it. Our hair dryer was broken. Our fridge wouldn't get cold. Our safe gave us a lot of trouble. A quarter of our curtains were not attached at the top and just [... read more] drooped down so the bright sun would shine in in the morning. The paint job in the room was terrible in so many spots. It looked horrible. I have photos but unfortunately they can't be posted here. Also, the room was the smallest hotel room I have ever had and it was quite a shock. Also, it was not Oceanview as the patio door is on an angle so that when you look out all you see is the patio. To see the ocean, you need to go onto the balcony and be in the far corner. The resort is closing permanently April 30th and they do not intend to spend anything on repairs or upgrades. This was not posted on Royalton's website nor did my travel agent know. They are building a new resort to replace in on the other side of Blue Waters which will open in 2025.

Beautiful Resort

Royalton White Sands was beautiful, grounds were kept clean, people where very friendly and accommodating. Food was good Ocean was amazing, not very big it was very nice. You could walk quite a bit on the shore line. Water slides were fun only 2 open at a time not enough life guards. You will enjoy your stay. Very satisfied, will diffinetly return.

Kid Friendly Resort!

We initially booked for White Sands Resort, when we got to the room we were beyond disappointed. The room was in poor condition, but clean and very small (smallest hotel room we've ever been in). The view was the back of building, only one elevator was working. They gave us two twin beds (for a family of three) even though i requested a king bed. The safe did not work, sliding door was broken, this was a major safety concern with a toddler. We were so disappointed because we spent so much money [... read more], we expected a bit more - this was not worth it at all. Nevertheless, we upgraded to the Blue Waters Resort the very next day! Wow- this decision totally changed our vacation trajectory. The resorts were like night and day. The Blue Waters Resort was so much nicer, everything was better! The room was spacious and modern, the view was amazing (beach view) and the over all building facilities were so much better (newer building). We had some amazing staff that took pride in their work and made our stay very memorable! Shout out to TERRON, SHELLY ANN, TIANA and GEORGE - extremely professional, friendly and polite! They took pride in their work and cared about the guest experience!! THANK YOU guys for amazing consistent service!! Kids Club was a life saver! My daughter loved it, it had so many activities daily for the kiddos which allowed us to get a well needed break, loved it!!

Amazing Beach and Food!

Have been twice in 5 months. Second time around not as good. Resort was much busier this time which affected the service level. Also, couldn't get into the ZEN restaurant as it was booked solid by 7:35am every day. Otherwise the food is excellent. Drinks are sub par and definitely need more options unless you are only into slushy style sugar drinks. The staff overall are very friendly, but be prepared to not get your drinks till near the end of your meal at the buffet. I love this res [... read more]ort, but the service level needs a boost. But if you enjoy the ocean and beach, this is hard to beat!

Tired resort

Covid protocols are sanitizing when entering a restaurant and taking a temperature, wearing a mask to sit down in restaurant. The staff had masks on at all times, but many of the guests didn't when entering elevators or lobby. The staff are wonderful, they are all cheerful and will chat with you if you engage with them. Shout out to Patricia on the Beach who brought us drinks all week. The resort grounds are nice, we didn't use the pools but they are very attractive. Only 1 of the big water [... read more]slides was ever open in the week we were there, and they are not made for large adults (based on the flex in the tubing when an adult went down). If you don't like the smell of Marijuana don't go here - lots of people were taking advantage of the local product throughout the whole resort (balcony's, outdoor seating areas, beach). We found the food was very good, the Caribbean restaurant and the jerk hut were authentic and tasty. When we got to the resort it wasn't full and was easy to get in to the restaurants, but as the week progressed it filled up and became harder to get a table - the restaurants are shared with the Blue Waters Resort next door. Also two of the restaurants listed online were closed all week - Taj and Jade. Calypso and Armadillo alternated opening nights. Asked at the front desk which restaurants are open and they didn't know or told the wrong one - found out part way through the week that there was a desk in the lobby that had a list of openings - why isn't this posted on like the activity board? Now our room - it really needs a lot of work, beyond just the regular tiredness of dirty grout and dinginess. We paid for an Oceanview room, the ocean is only visible if you stand at one end of the balcony and look sideways. Otherwise you just see the balcony's across the courtyard. The room pictures featured by the supplier Sunwing show very little of the room since the room is fairly small. Our room had a King bed and a weird sofa, a desk with fridge and place to put suitcase and that is it. We had looked at the pictures on the Royalton site but they are all for the Diamond club rooms. If you get checked into a room with a connecting door demand another room - unless you like to be woken up when the neighbors come in or have sex. When we checked in the A/C didn't work, our safe needed resetting - these were fixed within 2 hours. The handset on the phone didn't work, but there was a speaker phone on the base unit. The hinges on the bathroom door are damaged, making it hard to open and close, with a horrendous noise. The closet doors are stiff to slide, unless you want try to open the drawers in the closet then they slide back at you. Our balcony sliding door didn't lock at all - the part on the door frame was totally destroyed, so you had to pay attention to make sure it was closed properly. We had asked to change rooms when things weren't working and were told no, even though rooms were available. We have travelled to many islands and stayed in a range of establishments from 1 star to 5 star and got what we expected from the rating. This resort is not a 4 1/2 star in our opinion but a 3 star or because of the restaurants a 3 1/2 star.

Good but could have been better

The beach, pool and water park were great. The food was ok but I have been at better resorts in Jamaica. The room was small for a family of four and the bath and sink didn’t drain . Check in for the Diamond club took forever so we didn’t get to meet our butler until day 4. Butlers did go above and beyond to try to accommodate our requests.

Terrible

This hotel was a huge disappointment. We have been to Jamaica many times and this place does not live up to Jamaican standards. The food was low grade and tasteless not to mention I got food poisoning on the 4th day. The beach and pool area is nice but they don’t clean the pools properly. My daughter got pink eye and an ear infection from the kiddie pool. The Diamond club is a joke and really means nothing. Not worth the price at all. There are much better places to stay in Jamaica, don’t w [... read more]aste you money here.

Exceptional holiday

Our holiday started off amazing with private check in and introduction to one of our two butlers Shawn then Ardley . I have never met two more respectful and professional gentlemen . Our rooms were clean and were kept clean everyday moving forward . We visited for my daughters birthday so both Ardley and Shawn ensured it was a special celebration . All our dinners were booked by the butlers and if we wanted certain lunches they were brought right to us wherever we were . The private diamond [... read more] beach has comfy chairs but we mostly stayed entertained at the adult pool and were treated like queens by Vinessa , Marvin,Sean and Gabriel bringing us drinks and maxwell , Anthony and Romaine making excellent cocktails . Our friendly friend Tatianna at the towel centre made of day with her genuine friendly smile and stories . On our first morning we went to the Taj for breakfast and were looking so forward to ackee and salt fish but it was not available so we just went with something else but we were pleasantly brought our choice breakfast ackee by Karma , this started our holiday with such a warm welcoming jester . We went to all restaurants so our favourite was Calypso and least Italian . Our last night we received a special gift from Ardley with him singing and playing the guitar for us … such a beautiful ending . COVID protocols all in place with temperature checks and sanitizing of all prior to entering food areas , made us feel at ease . COVID test done without problems but had to search out our results just prior to boarding bus back to airport, this created a bit of stress which in end did not allow us to properly say our goodbyes to all that made our holidays so memorable and perfect . I am actually booked to go to different country first week of Jan but wanted to change and come right back to the Royalton white sands . I should of did change while still there when it was available because on my return I tried snd now hotel is fully booked . I have decided to wait till available to return until then I have cancel other trip . Want to return to bring some special gifts for so many amazing staff . Need to note never did we feel unsafe or annoyed for sakes or tipping . We did tip and it was so appreciated but never expected which was so refreshing . I have been coming to Jamaica for over 20 years and stayed in many resorts and I have to say this was the best one to date now !!! Good, drinks, staff , grounds and rooms exceptional . Entertainment team during day very happy and fun Thanks for the memories … we will be returning as soon as possible

Customer Service is Overrated

I would like to start my review off by saying that it was great to be back on a plane visiting an island that is my home away from home. After 18 months of uncertainty around what travel was going to be like, PCR tests (I know only an Antigen test is required), anxiety around potential overcrowding at the airport and on the plane, it was great to land at the Norman Manley airport and see my lovely island again. I would also like to note that I have stayed at the Royalton White Sands and Blue [... read more] Waters multiple times pre-covid/pre-2020. The team at Royalton was able to win me and my family over because of some amazing individuals on the team. I stayed at the hotel the week of September 19th. I was lucky enough to be able to work remotely on the most beautiful island in the world. The team running and working in the buffet and Calypso restaurant (servers, greeters, chefs) and the housekeeping team are AMAZING! Their customer service is exactly what I expected and recall of my times at the hotel. You could tell how passionate both teams were and dedicated to ensuring the best client experience possible. I am accustomed to travelling and dining alone, the team always made sure I did not feel alone or left out. The individual assigned to my room from the housekeeping team was kind, professional and should probably be training teams at other resorts. The front desk staff require training! Their attitudes demonstrate that they believe they are doing the guests a favor. You can tell that they have quickly forgotten that the entire island is still recovering from a pandemic and none of us are guaranteed the roles we currently hold now. To the bellman who secured transportation for me to the airport, when Sunwing decided to send a bus that could not hold everyone, thank you! I appreciate you and although some might say it is your responsibility, you did not have to be so kind and caring. To the bartenders and team, thank you for always being "on". It is not easy to have to be in a position to entertain people all the time, especially when they have had too many drinks. Overall, Royalton you have some work to do to get back to the way things were pre-pandemic. There are a number of hotels that have opened up in the same vicinity and people will go where their money is appreciated.

A great resort but.....

The resort is very clean and well maintained, but....White Sands accommodations are in very poor condition. The rooms are run down and in dire need of work. The decor is the same as 40 years ago!!!! If you go to this resort, spend the extra money and stay at Blue Waters. The rooms are bigger, the staff at the front desk are friendlier and accommodating.

Nice resort

Grounds are nice. Rooms average. Food is good. Pool area is large with 3 pools but Beach is small. Need more seating at pools. Large kids pool and play structures. Good entertainment most nights. EXCURSIONS expensive and most not worth the money. Very friendly staff.

Jamaica: Ya Mon!

Had a great time in Jamaica, awesome culture and weather. Pools and beach areas were great. Rooms a bit outdated at White Sands but good overall. Enjoyed excursion to Dunn’s River Falls - a must do! Food was great lots of selection but very busy and hard to get in at peak times for dinner. Zen was also a great experience. Wait staff and bartenders were great, check-in and customer service could have been better.

Not a 5 Star

Just returned from a week at the Royalton White Sands, this is an in depth and honest review of the “5 star” hotel. 1. Rooms - the rooms are small - we paid for an ocean view and ended up looking at the water coolers and back of buffet, very noisy and we couldn’t use our balcony which my husband loved having a drink while I am getting ready for dinner. Half way through our vacation they moved us to an ocean view, much better although lived out of suitcases all week because it wasn†[... read more]™t worth unpacking for a few days. - we got our king bed, it was pretty comfortable, I think there may have been a comforter on it to make it soft (quite a few people got 2 singles pushed together) - there was a door to an adjoining room, it was a single door and you could hear people in the next room, at night you could see the light in that room so needless to say it was just like a door in your home, at 3:30 when our neighbours came back to room to party we couldn’t sleep. - the bathrooms were tiny, only 1 person could be in there, a large shower but ceiling and walls were in rough shape, they just painted over peeling walls to try and fix, my shower was quick and I tried not to look at the dirty looking corners. - they offer basic toiletries, better than nothing. - our A/C worked good, I heard others had problems. - frig was stocked with a couple beers, some pop and water. 2. Pool & Beach - 3 pools, 1 adult only with a swim-up bar, it was pretty cloudy and slimy on top, not sure if something was broken. The other 2 pools were very clean and clear. The pools are cool but always feels good when you get overheated. - people are up early reserving loungers, or we found they were tipping staff to reserve for them. Not enough loungers around the pools, and not enough shade, only a few umbrellas. - There were more loungers by the beach and more shade with the grass umbrellas. - Employees were raking the beach every morning to try and keep it clean. It was very windy the week we were there and one day a lot of seaweed came in and lingered in the shallow water, once past that it was sandy. - Towels were a free for all, you could take as many as you want at any time so as you can imagine by later in the afternoon there were no clean ones available. - Early in the morning before the LOUD music started you could hear the traffic a bit on the nearby road. - Their were always servers around the pool wanting to get you drinks. - The entertainment team had a few activities to keep people busy, I wish the music they always had around the pool wasn’t so loud all the time. 3. Food & Drinks - the drinks were sweet as in most resorts - no lemons or limes to be seen, just premade lemon syrup - alcohol was cheap, I could have upgraded to Diamond Club, just for drinks it was going to be $30 US/person/day, and we are Canadian so add another 33 percent on that, it wasn’t worth it. Note: for Diamond Club with a butler it was $75 US/person/day, but that was booked up. The wine was better than what we get in Dominican. - Coffee shop only open at 7am so a lot of people were waiting around in the morning to get a coffee, no where else to get one before that. - buffet had a lot of selection, if not made to order for you, food was only warm even when we were first to arrive. It was pretty much the same every day though, we alway enjoy resorts that do theme nights so you are eating something different every night. - A-la-carte restaurants, The Zen was fun, it was more enteretainment from the chefs, food was good, steak was very tough. Jade was very good, our favorite, and food always hot. Hunter, the steakhouse, dissappointed here for the time we spent waiting. Warmish french onion soup, all broth and a piece of bread and cheese thrown in not cooked on top. Steak was overdone. 4. Resort overall - We were told the resort is 60 years old and it shows it, it was very run down, first look seemed OK, but closer look it needs a major renovation - I don’t think we ever really saw people cleaning the resort, usually any resorts we go to they are constantly cleaning and touching up the resort - There is a newer resort beside them they own, Blue Waters, it looks much newer but we were told you had to get the butler service with that, it’s not something we ever want. - Wings A & C are the oceanview rooms, Wing B looked out back and Wing D which we started at looked at all the water towers and back of buffet and it was very noisy. - Beware that your room may have the adjoining door to another room and it’s noisy - We found the weekend we arrived and end of week we left they offer Day Passes to locals, the resort is so small as it is and took long enough to get a drink this just made it even more frustrating Finally, we have stayed at many 5 star resorts and this is definitely does not qualify. Even though we started out disappointed with our room we made the best of our week. Only our second time to Jamaica, we hope to go back but will pay a bit more for a better hotel, maybe back to the Hyatt which is a true 5 star. We would not recommend this hotel to anyone with the expectations of a 5 star

Beautiful Resort

I was there first week of Feburary 2020 Hotel room, sheet/towels were very clean, staff is very nice, food is delicious, beach and pool area is amazing - well kept. My only problem was the closet door in my room was not sliding back and forward - need some one to fix the track - I have mentioned to the front desk every morning and no one came to fix it. Hopefully it is fixed by now.

This was a disappointing resort, much below our expectations

grounds- good public areas -good rooms - crowded, no chairs, .tiny, poor balcony views - in a word. unacceptable dining - good beach - very dirty. plastic all over. an eco disaster pools - floating debris, pumps not working, unsafe to go in, ruined our time furniture - unsuitable for a resort, very uncomfortable