Royalton Saint Lucia An Autograph Collection Resort

Our family carefully considered several resorts before choosing Royalton for my mother’s 80th birthday celebration. Because children were traveling with us, we wanted a family-friendly resort that was also conveniently located near the activities we had planned. Sadly, the experience has not lived up to what we expected for such an important family occasion.

I want to be fair and recognize the staff in the specialty dining restaurants. They have been friendly, welcoming, and accommodating, and their service has been one of the positive parts of our stay.

The service in the buffet area, however, has been extremely disappointing. We have encountered employees who were unfriendly and dismissive, including rolling their eyes at guests. Staff have reached across our food while we were eating and have attempted to remove plates before we were finished. Guests should not have to ask for basic courtesy and respectful service at a resort of this caliber.

My greatest concern involves sanitation. I personally saw a mouse in the kitchen area where fruit was being cut and prepared. I immediately alerted an employee working in that area, but the response was very nonchalant. I attempted to return to take a photograph, but by then the mouse was gone. Regardless of whether I was able to photograph it, seeing a rodent in an area where food is being prepared is a serious sanitation concern and should have been addressed with urgency.

There have also been significant problems with our accommodations. We have experienced rodents, mold and mildew, excessive humidity, wet floors, and air conditioning that does not adequately cool or remove moisture from the room. I had to contact the resort to have mold removed from both the shower and the common area. There is also a noticeable mold/mildew smell whenever the door is opened, and the floors remain damp because of the humidity.

This trip was planned around a very special milestone—my mother turning 80—and family members traveled to St. Lucia to celebrate her. Although our family has roots in St. Lucia, that should have no bearing on the level of hospitality we receive. Every guest, regardless of where they are from, deserves kindness, professionalism, dignity, and respect.

We were not expecting everything to be perfect. We were expecting a clean and comfortable room, appropriate food-safety and sanitation practices, functioning air conditioning, and courteous customer service. Unfortunately, several aspects of this stay have failed to meet those reasonable expectations.

I am asking Royalton management to take these concerns seriously and address them appropriately, especially the mouse observed in the food-preparation area, the rodents and mold concerns in the accommodations, the ongoing moisture and air-conditioning issues, and the treatment we have experienced in the buffet.

My mother’s 80th birthday should have been remembered primarily for the joy of having our family together. It is deeply disappointing that so much of our experience at the resort has instead been defined by these issues.

If you’re reading mixed reviews and feeling conflicted on whether or not to pursue this resort - SKIP it and find another resort. My overall experience was just OKAY, at best. A lot of the reviews on the lack of or negative customer service, cleanliness, and food quality is true. We went with this resort as it was to celebrate a family members birthday, however, we heard SEVERAL complaints from different family members (over 30+ people) varying issues such as wrong rooms, mold in rooms, unclean rooms, lack of response, and escalator going up not working. On different occasions, we saw a mouse and bird in the buffet. We got the diamond club and our experience was okay. We requested a bottle of rum and it was never delivered. Unless you want more premium drinks or want a more private beach, it’s not worth it. The best part? The beach. Beautiful beaches. Unfortunately there’s so much more negative than positive so save yourself the trouble and go somewhere else.