Sandals Halcyon Beach

Your Saint Lucia adventure starts with the transfer to the resort. Reviewers often comment unfavorably about the lengthy trip to Sandals after deplaning. The island’s principal airport is diagonally across from Castries, the capital, on the opposite side of the island. The road has many switchbacks and elevation changes and the ride takes about 90 minutes, more if there is heavy traffic. If you are susceptible to car sickness, you might try the ferry or helicopter. If those methods are not appealing, you might consider another island. That said, it is an interesting trip with all the terrain changes and a run through a tropical rainforest. We like having the opportunity to get to know other arriving guests as we travel to the resort. Other criticisms focus on slow service or a lack of response from certain staff members when things go awry. Everyone wants their vacation, especially one at an expensive resort, to be perfect. But having travelled to other Sandals and stayed with different resort chains, including Secrets, Excellence, Iberostar, and Karisma, I can state that Sandals has done a terrific job in tough situations (see my Grenada review from earlier this year). And any issues are likely to be more challenging elsewhere. If you do have a problem, speak up, be polite, smile and stay calm. In nearly every case, staff members want to go the extra mile to help. Vendors can be an issue at any resort. We have found beach vendors especially polite and respectful on Saint Lucia. I can’t say that for certain other islands that shall go nameless. If you’re not interested in a tour, trinket or whatever, a polite “no” generally does the trick. Same goes for the spa ladies. That said, we’re always friendly towards the people on the beach whether we’re buying anything or not. We consider Halcyon Beach to be a special place. Its smaller size makes it more personal and intimate. It takes very little time for servers to recognize guests and provide preferred beverages without being asked. Similarly, because of the compact nature of the resort, you will see the same guests on the beach, at the bars and at the restaurants. We particularly enjoy meeting up with friends that we encountered on previous trips. The warmth of the staff and familiar returning guests make the Sandals “Welcome Home” greeting especially meaningful. We would recommend that guests, especially those staying a week or less, make dinner reservations as quickly as possible. Kelly’s is a favorite and fills quickly. The same is true for popular spots at the Grande and La Toc, such as Gordon’s and La Toc. But be flexible, sometimes you might have to dine earlier or later than you prefer. The food at Halcyon is consistently good. Our favorites on site are Mario’s and the Bayside and it is tough to beat the over the water ambience at Kelly’s. Off site, La Toc is a must for us. One small nit regarding Mario’s, put the risotto back on the menu! People: manager Sharon Fagan is warm, enthusiastic and very attentive. She will happily tell you all the plans that she has in mind for Halcyon, including the long awaited coffee cart. Importantly, when we had a problem with a toilet the morning we were due to leave, she went out of her way to find a nearby room that we could use to comfortably get ready for our departure. Ava, Venicia, Patrick, Kanesha all helped make our stay more enjoyable. Kudos to bar staff, especially Karim at the Irie and everyone at the Bistro. The entertainment was also quite good. In addition to the obligatory fire show and Michael Jackson tribute, individual soloists like Curtis on piano were terrific. Karaoke night was a hoot as was the piano bar in Kelly’s. Mornings at Bayside would be incomplete without one of Veronica’s omelets. Be sure to say Good Morning! One small disappointment was resolved our last day when we saw Berthelina at the Bayside. A regular server, she has been a joy over the years. She had been out ill and her return the day we were leaving really helped make a great stay even better. We look forward to returning and seeing our great friends from the US, UK and Canada next year.

I’ll begin by saying that in 37 years, I have never felt compelled to write a review. Usually, I believe life ebbs and flows—you take the good with the bad and move on. However, our experience at this resort was so disappointing that I genuinely feel the need to warn others before they spend their money: I would not book this resort.

My wife and I booked this trip to celebrate our 10-year anniversary. We have stayed at all-inclusive resorts in the past, but this was our first Sandals experience. Given Sandals’ reputation and the roughly $8,000 price tag, we were extremely excited for the trip and expected a premium experience.

Unfortunately, that was not what we received.

First, the ride from the airport to the resort is not for the faint of heart. That said, I don’t blame Sandals for the roads or driving conditions, so I won’t hold that against the resort.

The problems began almost immediately after arriving at our room.

Room/Maintenance Issues

When we entered our room, we were greeted by a loud beeping noise coming from behind the room that occurred approximately every three seconds. The bathrooms do not have traditional exhaust fans; instead, they have small ventilation slats that allowed the noise to come directly into the room. It was incredibly irritating and difficult to ignore.

I called the front desk and was told maintenance would take a look. Four hours later, no one had arrived. I eventually flagged down an employee, who listened to the noise and also contacted the front desk. The employee believed it sounded like some type of pump alarm and specifically requested maintenance.

Over the course of our seven-day stay, and after four separate calls, the problem was never fixed.

Room 129 was still beeping when we left. Whoever checked into that room after us, I sincerely hope you had better luck.

Next the mini-split AC was leaking. Again we called the front desk who said maintenance would come. Again by 9pm no one came. So we threw 3 towels on top of the puddle on the floor and went to bed. After a second morning call, maintenance arrived and drained a clog in the line which fixed this problem.

Night Life and entertainment.

There was no direction or guide for the nightlife. The daily activities were posted on a wall by the pool. Everyday consisted of 1 thing like name that song or bingo then 3pm volleyball. There was nothing extravagant or captivating here.

Food

The food was another major disappointment.

Aside from Kelly’s Dockside, which requires reservations, we found much of the food poorly prepared or undercooked. My wife was served undercooked shrimp. The pizza truck gave us inedible doughy pizzq. We also paid approximately $200 for a private beach dinner, only to have the meat served undercooked.

For something marketed as a special, premium dining experience, it was incredibly disappointing. Our waiter failed to bring our drinks and honestly seemed bothered to be working.

Then came the photos. Pictures were taken during dinner, which was a nice touch until we learned they were $25 per photo. Four pictures? $100. I can get an entire professional Christmas photo session and Family portrait cards back home for around that price.

The Hibachi dining experience was great. The waiter was very funny and that was also a good meal that we had!

Honestly the best meals were ordered through room service which was a little bit of a head scratcher.

Staff

The bartenders were generally very nice and helpful, and there were certainly some pleasant staff members throughout the resort. Unfortunately, the level of service was inconsistent. Some employees were welcoming and attentive; others seemed indifferent or bothered by basic requests.

Beach & Butler Seating

The beach itself was beautiful and probably one of the better aspects of the resort.

However, every morning blue coolers are placed near certain beach chairs. We received no explanation upon arrival about what these meant. Apparently, those chairs are intended for guests with butler service.

That is perfectly fine—but communicate it to your guests. Something as simple as explaining the system during check-in would prevent confusion and awkward situations.

Vendors & Water Sports

Beach vendors will approach you, but in our experience, they were respectful. If you politely said, “No, thank you,” they generally left you alone. My understanding is that the beach is public, so I don’t necessarily fault the resort for their presence.

What was surprising was the lack of water-sports activities we expected from a Sandals resort. There was no glass-bottom boat experience and no catamaran available during our stay. There was essentially one boat pulling tubes or wakeboards, and the experience consisted of a very short circle before returning to shore.

For a resort at this price point, the included water-sports experience was extremely underwhelming.

The Spa Soliciting Was Unbearable

This was probably the most irritating part of the entire trip.

The constant soliciting by spa employees was relentless.

From morning until the time you finally retreated to your room, it felt like someone was trying to sell you a spa service. Sitting on your private patio? They approached you. Relaxing by the pool? They were there. Lying on the beach? They approached you there too.

It became unbearable.

My wife and I have never gone on a vacation without getting a couples massage, and we had fully intended to get one on this trip. The constant pressure had the exact opposite effect. We eventually decided we would not book a massage simply because we were so tired of being approached about it.

Guests paying thousands of dollars for an all-inclusive vacation should be able to sit by a pool, relax on a beach, or enjoy their private patio without repeatedly being subjected to a sales pitch.

Final Thoughts

This simply was not an $8,000 vacation experience.

We have paid considerably less at other all-inclusive resorts and received significantly more in terms of food quality, service, activities, and overall experience.

I understand that no vacation or resort will be perfect. A bad meal happens. A maintenance issue happens. An employee can have a bad day. But when you combine seven days of an unresolved maintenance issue, undercooked food, disappointing premium dining, inconsistent service, limited water activities, poor communication, and relentless spa soliciting, it becomes much more than an isolated inconvenience.

We booked Sandals because we believed we were paying a premium price for a premium experience. Unfortunately, our experience did not come close to meeting that expectation.

After this trip, we are seriously questioning whether we would ever book another Sandals resort.

I know this review is long, but as I said at the beginning, I have never written a formal complaint or negative review like this in my life. That alone should speak to how disappointing this experience was.

Hopefully, sharing our experience helps someone else make a more informed decision before spending this amount of money on their vacation. I encourage you to look elsewhere and refrain from this location.

The gardens are beautiful and well maintained. Very quiet resort and lacks atmosphere. Some noise from traffic and tree frogs at night. The transfer is not for the faint hearted due to winding roads and distance, about 90 minutes in total. On arrival we were given room 701 which absolutely stunk of mould, damp and the air con was broken and wouldn't turn off! We complained and were moved to room 609 (same room category) with no stench. The pools are very dirty and the tiles very dated and could do with a complete refurb as could the rooms. On a couple of occasions the pool was being 'cleaned' at 10.30 in the morning so not in use for guests, my husband found this out when he entered the pool to cool off and got verbally abused by the pool cleaner, she is so rude. The small sign was around the other side of the pool from where we were sitting so not visible to us. Pool maintenance should take place early in the morning so not to impact guests. We enquired about booking on site for a future trip and were told we would be given a price later that day (3 days ago) but it never came across, probably for the best as I doubt we'll visit Sandals again after this. The food here is ok and not 5 star in my opinion and the service is hit and miss. Some staff are wonderful and an absolute credit and some are surly and indifferent. The last two days we have returned to our room to find no housekeeping had taken place, on both occasions around 4pm so quite late in the afternoon therefore fully expecting it to have been cleaned by this time, I had to contact reception and ask, also had to ask for refills of coffee creamer etc as they were all finished with no sign of replacements, definitely not 5 star at all. We are here until 17th and I hope things improve but I doubt they will. Seems to me like they're getting worse by the way. Disappointed is an understatement.