Royalton Saint Lucia An Autograph Collection Resort

Still Staying Here – Please Fix the Problems Now, Not Apologise After We Leave

We are currently staying at Royalton Saint Lucia in Diamond Club and still have almost another week of our holiday remaining.

I deliberately decided to write this review WHILE WE ARE STILL HERE rather than wait until we return to the UK.

Why?

Because after reading other negative reviews on TripAdvisor, I noticed something concerning. Guests describe problems with housekeeping, service, restaurants and management during their holidays, and afterwards there are very polite responses from the General Manager apologising, saying how seriously the feedback is taken and inviting the guest to make contact.

I don’t want an apology after I leave.

I am here now.

Management has the opportunity NOW to listen to us, address the problems and demonstrate that these TripAdvisor responses mean something in practice.

Unfortunately, our experience so far has been nowhere near what I would describe as a five-star luxury resort.

My wife and I are here with our family celebrating our 20th wedding anniversary and we booked Diamond Club expecting a genuinely premium experience.

Instead, we have experienced problem after problem.

Our room was not serviced for an entire day. At approximately 5pm I informed our butler that the room had still not been cleaned. We then went out for dinner. When we returned later that evening, the room was STILL untouched.

We did not even have toilet paper.

I genuinely cannot understand how Diamond Club guests at a supposed five-star resort, with a butler service, can end an entire day with an unserviced room and without such a basic necessity as toilet paper.

Earlier in our stay we had a 7pm reservation at Hunters Steakhouse arranged by our butler. We arrived on time but the table wasn’t ready.

We waited and waited.

Eventually we were seated, but after approximately 45 minutes in total we still hadn’t even been offered a glass of water.

We had spent the day doing the Pitons hike, our children were tired and hungry, and eventually we simply left without dinner.

The attitude we received when asking what was happening was dismissive rather than apologetic.

Unfortunately this has not been an isolated experience. Service at several bars and restaurants has frequently felt slow and at times unfriendly or rude. Far too often you feel as though you are inconveniencing staff simply by asking for something.

The beach has also been a major disappointment. Parts of the beach and water have been dirty, and swimming is not the relaxing experience we expected because jet skis operate very close to the beach and swimmers. With children in the water, this is something that genuinely concerns me.

Another unnecessary source of stress has been our late checkout.

Our flight back to London does not depart until approximately 8:30pm, followed by a long overnight flight to the UK. We therefore asked for a late checkout until around 3:30pm and raised this with the hotel more than a week before our departure.

We were also willing to PAY for the late checkout.

In other Caribbean resorts where we have stayed, when we have had a late flight the response has normally been friendly and accommodating: the hotel arranges a late checkout, sometimes for an additional charge, allowing the family to shower, change, keep valuables secure and enjoy the final day without stress.

Here, however, we have been told that they will only confirm whether we can have the room one day before departure.

I find this approach very disappointing.

We are existing Diamond Club guests already occupying the room, we gave the hotel substantial advance notice, and we were prepared to pay the additional charge. Yet instead of providing us with certainty and allowing us to relax for the remainder of the holiday, we are left waiting until the day before departure to find out what will happen.

The explanation given is that another arriving guest may be allocated our room.

From a customer’s perspective, that feels as though the hotel would rather potentially reallocate the room to another booking than provide an existing guest — who is willing to pay for a few additional hours — with the reassurance of a confirmed late checkout.

We are travelling with valuable personal belongings, so simply leaving everything around reception or in a general luggage area is not an acceptable solution for us.

After discussing this with the Diamond Club Manager, I have been advised that if our existing room cannot be retained, they will try to provide another private room until approximately 3:30pm. I sincerely hope this commitment will be honoured.

But again, why does something so simple have to become another issue that we need to repeatedly discuss and worry about during a supposedly relaxing five-star holiday?

We have also spent more than US$5,000 directly with the resort on excursions and additional services, including our helicopter transfer. We deliberately booked these through the resort rather than external operators because we expected the reassurance and standard associated with a premium hotel.

I have already complained.

I have already emailed management.

I have already met the Diamond Club Manager.

Yesterday I went personally to Diamond Club reception and specifically asked to meet the General Manager, Sabine Adolphy.

I was refused.

I have also sent an email addressed to Sabine while I am physically staying here at the resort.

So this review is not being written months later, from my home, giving management no opportunity to respond.

I AM CURRENTLY A GUEST AT ROYALTON SAINT LUCIA.

I am therefore very interested to see what happens now.

I have read several responses from Sabine on TripAdvisor apologising to guests after they have returned home and saying that their concerns are being taken seriously.

Sabine, there is no need to apologise to me on TripAdvisor after my holiday is finished.

I am here now.

You know that we are unhappy.

Your management team knows about our complaints.

The hotel has my room details and contact information.

There is still time to speak to us and demonstrate that Royalton genuinely wants to resolve problems while guests are actually staying here.

At the moment, based on the service we have personally received, I cannot honestly describe this as a five-star experience.

The grounds and some areas of the resort are attractive, and there are undoubtedly some very good members of staff, but luxury is ultimately about service, attention to detail and how problems are handled.

For us, so far, the overall service has felt much closer to a three-star experience than the five-star holiday we purchased.

We still have several days remaining.

I genuinely hope I will be able to come back to TripAdvisor before we leave and UPDATE THIS REVIEW to say that senior management finally became involved, listened to us and turned our holiday around.

The opportunity to do that exists right now.

Let’s see what happens.

We did the hydrotherapy was great! Relaxing and perfect for the muscles. Spa was clean! Zandra was welcoming and greeted us with cold wash clothes. Jeffery the spa burly was very gentle and ensure demands were met. 10 out 10. Do it!

Amazing experience, highly recommend to others