Not worth the extra $2000.00

Hotel was grand, staff fine, grounds wonderful, all the type? not worth it! Disappointing to say the least about the "premium alcohol", no 24 hr bar at ALL! They wouldn't open the bar at the "private beach" until 11:01 am, god forbid 20 people waiting, and staff was slow as heck to accommodate there! ran out of glasses at the bar many times after being opened 20 minutes. Food OK, not fantastic, although breakfast was wonderful, yes, lunch ok, NO good beef, but fruit and vegetables always great.  [... read more]Manager extremely nice, wife from our town in Bolton, nice man, most staff very nice and tried to please, but after reviewing prices, will not go again because it was over-hyped and the RIU was better. Sorry.

Nice Resort

Resort and grounds were nice. Food was good. We had butler service but it was not as good as some of the other Sandals we had stayed at. We were expected to carry our own cooler and drinks back and forth every day. Butlers at other resorts did this for you every day. We didn't see the point of the butler if we were doing that ourselves every day. Also they were overbooked for our beachfront room top tier category. We had a noisy parking lot view the first night of 4. Very disappointing.

Outstanding Experience from Beginning to End

I have never been to a sandals resort and I will admit that I really didn't know what to expect. With that said, my trip exceeded my expectations in every category. Not only was the resort lovely, pristine and well appointed, the food and personnel at the resort were absolutely 5 stars. The resort and rooms were pristine and the facilities were always clean and well kept. The room was beautiful and well appointed and the housekeeping staff kept the rooms cleaned and ready for our return each da [... read more]y. The beaches, while small, were perfect and well maintained. I would note that we never had a problem getting a chair or umbrella at the beach or pools and towels were plentiful. The food at sandals was exemplary. 9 restaurants and all of them were delicious. I have never experienced such delicious food at an all inclusive. Sports and scuba were included and we took advantage of both. All activities were led by amazing staff who ensured our safety every time. All in all, an exemplary trip. We have already booked for a second trip back.

Very good resort

The only very disappointing feature of the resort was the food and restaurant service. The resort did not compare at all with other similar resorts which hold themselves out as high end. The food was adequate at best.

Stunning!!!!!!!

Wonderful staff, amazing food, great views- overall amazing! The beaches were beautiful and the private island was a wonderful getaway- there were no pushy vendors which was a nice treat. We were not made to wear wristbands so everyone was treated the same.

Simply amazing

The Sandals Royal Bahamian did not disappoint us. We had high expectations and they were met and even surpassed. The resort is beautiful, restaurants were excellent and we had no difficulty making reservations to the special restaurants that require them. We enjoyed the private island, snorkelling, sailing, evening entertainment or just sitting by one of the outdoor fire pits with the sound of the waves in the background. Personnel at the Resort is cheerful and always looking out for our best in [... read more]terest. If I had to find one thing on the negative side it would be that the beach extends only in front of the resort so you cannot walk for miles along the beach; the advantage though is that the beach in front of the resort is only for resort guests so the privacy is an asset. There is lots of exploring to do on the private island if you feel you must get away. The resort is a short drive from the airport and a short bus ride to Nassau for a day of shopping if you'd like to go to town. Excellent vacation!

The Casual Tourists, Feb. 18 - 25, 2015

I would call it half a holiday. We landed on a wet runway (tense) then watched 4 days of either wind, cloud or cold eat up our vacation. But when the sun finally came out it was hot, hot, hot. I have never seen water so turquoise but the ocean was just too chilly to enter. Our swimsuits hardly got wet, except for Brian's one brave turn around the pool. So, there was no snorkeling either because that meant getting cold again when the first day of warmth arrived. We did sail, kayak and peddle trik [... read more]e (over-sized tricycle with floating tires) but stopped short of renting a jet ski for $70/half hour. Our boat to the island had 1000 HP so that was exciting enough. Food was good, especially the breakfast buffet, where the smoked salmon, boiled eggs, juicy fresh fruit, grits, cream cheese turnovers and prunes landed on my plate every day. Brian's more of a bacon guy. The only evening entertainment we liked was the piano bar where 8 couples sang their hearts out as big black Dwight hit the keys. Was he good! Boredom was starting to set in by Saturday (the weather) so I insisted we take the #10 bus into Nassau for only $1.25 each (cheapest thing we bought) to explore the straw market (special deal for you darlin'), Bay Street (everything from Gucci to a 125 year-old hat store that hadn't been dusted in 125 years), Anglican church (I wish I had tried the pipe organ) and the harbour where 5 enormous cruise ships were docked. I liked the group of two-wheeled scooters being guided across the street by a guard on a two-wheeled scooter. It looked like a comedy scene from a movie. We were booked for a guided tour the following day to see Fort Charlotte (named after King George lll's wife), the waterfront route (resorts and nice homes), government square (built in 1700's), rum cake factory (white cake soaked in alcohol), 'poor' town (tiny houses), 'rich' town (bigger houses perhaps with a palm tree), T-shirt factory (driver gets an envelope for bringing in the tourists), and back to Sandals for a well-earned marguerita. We dressed up for an evening photo session (to the tune of $57 for 4 shots) but did get one worthy of framing. Pairs of 'butlers' in black tail coats strutted around the resort serving the high-end folk. No worries man; our service was excellent too if you don't count the coffee and dessert coming 5 minutes apart. Hurray! when we found the croquet court, bocci ball, shuffleboard and tennis. Even did billiards before dinner. We tried it all except the karaoke. Brian would not go near that noise. At departure, a steady parade of Rolls Royces and Mercedes picked up folks, some just not fitting the elegant picture with their too casual attire - read 'sloppy'. The staff looked like the celebrities in their spiffy outfits and unique hairdos (wigs on the women) and big gold watches. All in all, a good time had by us both. Photos on request.

Great beach, great food.

The beach is pristine and the food is much better than Mexico or DR. The resort grounds need a facelift but it is clean and the service is fantastic. People are friendly. Snorkeling and boating is included which is nice. Nice wines are additional cost. Best part is it's 2.5 hours away from toronto. Makes for a great place for a getaway.

Paradise in th Bahamas

The Royal Bahamian in the Bahamas was fantastic. The food was top notch. the outside surrondings were well maintained.The staff was extremely helpful and friendly. The buildings required a bit of tender loving care but while we were there they were painting and trying to up keep the buildings. Thats efficiency!!

Amazing resort

We went for our honeymoon and everything was beautiful. The room were so clean. I could not believe that the staff came to clean the room three times a day. The staff was very friendly. The food was delicious. I have never been to a resort where the food was consistently good at each restaurant.

Disappointed Bride

My husband and I chose Sandals Royal Bahamian as our resort of choice when we decided to get married on the beach. It was our understanding that Sandals resorts are 5 Star with amazing service and luxurious hotels; and for the amount that you pay to stay here our expectations were high. Upon arrival to Sandals Royal Bahamian we were extremely disappointed. The information that is advertised on their websites and marketing material s is very different from what you actually experience. We upgrade [... read more]d and paid extra in order to have the room we selected which was an ocean front view with a private balcony and a fully stocked bar in the room. We were also told that millions of dollars recently went into renovating this part of the resort and they boasted that there was mahogany furniture with marble counter tops etc. What we received was a room you could get at any basic Holiday Inn, we were put in a corner room and did not receive the private balcony we had paid extra for. And to top it all off we looked in the bathroom there was black mold going down the wall. At that point we spoke with management who assured us she would move us to a private balcony room and that we needed to pack our bags and have them ready for 11:00 AM the next morning and to meet her at 1:30 PM to pick up our new room keys. So, the next day we cut our day short to do so. At 1:30 we arrived at the front desk and the manager had done nothing, there was no room move for us at all, even after we spoke with management again we learned she had done absolutely nothing to resolve our concerns. Obviously extremely annoyed that we were lied to and that we wasted our time, we spoke to another manager. We were promised once again that we would be moved to the room we had originally requested. So we went through the whole process over again. We didn’t end up in our new room until 3:00 PM. We get in and they had just moved us to the corner on the other side of the building, with no private balcony and now we had a view of the air conditioning units on the condos next door. At this point I would have rather had the first room; at least I could see the resort, not dirty rooftops! So I rushed downstairs to move back to the old room and they had already given it away. Sick of spending more time speaking to management than enjoying my vacation, we just sucked it up. However, this new room was not cleaned properly or restocked from the last visitors, including the bar which was not replenished (or mini bar for that matter) which we had paid extra for. I requested it via phone call, visit to the front desk and by leaving notes in the room, and it never happened. If we ever needed anything the employees would tell us they would do it and then it would never happen. I also asked that our dinner reservations be switched to our new room number and was told this was done, however every restaurant we went to our reservations were not on the list. I was even yelled at by one hostess who was annoyed that I tried to get into a restaurant without reservations….although I actually did, and had the confirmation paper. It was very disappointing for us that we were completely forgotten about and stuck sub-par rooms in the corners. When we would mention that we had come here to get married, they did not care since there were so many other people there getting married or on their honeymoon. Therefore they were not interested in treating you with any special care whatsoever. The wedding: - We had a wedding planner that we dealt with over the phone who was different from the planner we met on site. The planner on the phone told me that I would have someone there that would help me with anything I needed with my wedding for the whole day. I said we were getting married just the two of us so I would need help tying up my dress and she said I would have someone there to do that for me. She also told me that we would receive a dinner at a specialty restaurant (Gordons on the Pier) the night of our wedding. - When speaking with the onsite planner (who was very nice and just doing her job) had to tell me that if I wanted my dress tied up I had to pay an additional $75.00. And that they do not offer dinners at Gordons unless you pay an additional $140. We were also disappointed to find out that if we wanted our wedding on the dock beside the beach we would have to pay an additional $350. - The nickel and diming was getting ridiculous. At this point I was so disappointed and frustrated with everything that I was in tears…..this is not how you should feel on your wedding at all! Around every corner there was another thing that disappointed me. Sometimes just small things like going to billiard room to find there are only three pool cues, 2 of which were broken, and holes in the walls around the resort that were patched up with paint that doesn’t match the walls. There were times where I was the only person waiting at the bar and it would take 15 minutes to get a drink because the staff was too busy having a good time together. There was actually a moment where a guest got behind the bar and started serving because there wasn’t a staff member in site for well over an hour at the swim up bar! There were also events that were planned that we could take part in and I would show up for them and the playmakers would be nowhere in sight, so I gave up on those. I just feel that Sandals makes a lot of promises and didn’t follow through with any of them. Bahamas was beautiful and we will go back, but I won’t be spending $7,000 at the Royal Bahamian again. I don’t know if this is how all Sandals resorts operate, but as of right now I have a bad taste in my mouth. My family is planning an anniversary trip for my parents and it was going to be at a Sandals Resort and I have since told them to hold off and do some more research first.

Disappointed

Hotel is beautiful but the housekeeping is terrible. Had to ask every day for towels and toiletries. Shampoo and conditioner must be expensive on that island because it is hard to get the staff to provide these basic items. They make your bed and for some unknown reason do not replace towels and as I said toiletries. On some days - even after asking the items never came. Food was the best at Baccarat restaurant but to get a reservation was next to impossible. The good was good at the other place [... read more]s but not what we expected. The pool had 10 floating mats and it was a joke how guests had to hoard it once you got one. It was like winning the lottery if you actually got one. The upkeep of removing dirty glasses and plates was not consistent. Very expensive but not so sure I would drop that kind of money again to go back.

A wonderful short break ...

For a 4 day weekend to get away from it all, this was a perfect location. Flight wasn't too long, pick up from the airport was simple and then just a relaxing time - everything is catered for you; food and drinks all terrific. Will definitely come back again

Great resort!

This is our second time there and we had a fantastic time again. The service is friendly and prompt. Food is good as well. If possible try and reserve some restaurants when you first arrive as they fill up quickly. Definitely worth going a couple of times. The beach is phenomenal! Water is always amazing! Also worth going to the private island and checking out that beach for the day.

Dated

Too expensive for what it was. I liked couples resorts better. Entire grounds were well maintained but dated. Was likely amazing back in the 80s. Staff nice, but food was weak. No traditional food. Only americanized stuff for the most part.