Sandals Royal Bahamian

We had a wonderful time at the Sandals Royal Bahamian in Nassau. Our butler team of Andrae and Donard were instrumental to our smooth and relaxing vacation as they took care of all of the details of our stay. They did an excellent job of planning everything from our dining plans to our visit to the private island to making sure we had everything we needed. The resort was beautiful and the food was great!

This was mine & my partner's first time at a Sandals resort. Let me just say that Sandals has the most incredible marketing team because they make you think you are booking a once in a lifetime vacation when in actual fact it's just an overpriced 4.5 star all-inclusive resort. My partner & I have stayed at some pretty incredible all-inclusive (rated 5+ star) for a fraction of the price we paid to stay at Sandals Royal Bahamian. This was my 2nd time to the Nassau...but my partners first time. I was sooooo excited to show him how stunning Nassau is. We had booked 5 nights about 18 months out...it was something we looked so forward to. The weeks leading up to our departure, I received a 'get ready' type of email asking me to provide our flight information so that our transportation would be ready for us when we landed. The way it was presented to us, it sounded like it was a private shuttle...owned by Sandals. Lo and behold, we arrive in Nassau thinking we'll see someone outside the airport exit with a sign with our names on it, but when we couldn't find anyone, I asked someone if they knew where we should be meeting our Sandal's transportation. They pointed us back in the airport to a 'Sandals' kiosk where there was a line up of people. Next thing you know, we're being herded like cattle onto a bus, only to wait 30 minutes (on the bus) for other planes to land. *AT THIS POINT...WE SHOULD HAVE GOTTEN OFF THE BUS & JUMPED INTO A TAXI!* But we did not. Now we get to the resort (only about 20 mins from airport) and everyone gets off the bus...and TOLD TO POINT OUT THEIR BAGS so the ushers can take to our room. We were skeptical...and we were right to be. After that rigamarole, we all get herded into the 'Club Sandals' lobby, where we are told to sit and wait. Sure, we got a mimosa (mostly juice)...but for the amount of time we had to wait, we could have had 5! About 45 mins later, we finally get our booklet & room key...now we head to our room. ***NOTE #1: TAKE A TAXI TO BEAT THE RUSH & GET CHECKED IN RIGHT AWAY! Trust me...it's worth the $30USD to do this!!! We ended up taking a taxi to the airport the day we flew home to avoid the cattle like experience we started with. ***NOTE #2: If you want to get good quality sleep without noise...*DO NOT BOOK A CLUB SANDALS ROOM ON THE 1st floor...that includes the garden rooms* The piano/karaoke bar is literally just down the hall and it sounded like someone having a party EVERY NIGHT. AND...is the throughway for all the drunk people heading back to their rooms in the East building. We had specifically wanted a garden room to have a walk out, but had we known this tidbit, we would have booked a different room. ***NOTE #3: UNLESS YOU HAVE A BUTLER ROOM - GOOD LUCK GETTING RESERVATIONS AT THE 'RESERVATION ONLY' RESTAURANTS...unless you like to eat late. Out of the 5 nights, we were only able to get 1 reservation at the French restaurant. ***NOTE #4: UNLESS YOU HAVE A BUTLER ROOM - GOOD LUCK GETTING GOOD CHAIRS ON THE BEACH OR THE POOL. By sunrise, the butlers have already taken over all the prime spots. Now for the good notes... 1. The majority of the staff was extremely friendly and helpful...very slow, but that's 'island' style. :) 2. Our room was very clean, comfortable and updated. 3. The food was very good. 4. The grounds are beautiful...pools are clean and beach is very well kept (small though). 5. ***SAVING THE BEST FOR LAST*** - the private island was absolutely SPECTACULAR! The island has a restaurant, a pool, 2 bars and access to the South, East and North parts of the island. It's part of the Sandals resort, so the food & drinks are all-inclusive. The boat rides to & from are also included. THIS is what made us feel like we were staying somewhere 5+ star. This review is not to deter you from booking...it's more to give you information to help you decide. If we had known this information beforehand, we still would have booked...we just would have at least gone into it being well informed vs. being annoyed and peeved for half of our stay. ;)

A little late to the game, we visited for our honeymoon in November of 2023. We were so excited to know we were able to afford a week at Sandals! Unfortunately, it's not what we expected. We opted for Butler service for half of our stay to experience the hoopla of it, he couldn't be found when needed, not attentive let alone check in on us. The toilet clogged at one point and it took maintenance a whole day to repair due to no communication from the hotel services, or our butler. The grounds and restaurants were nice. Massage and dinner on the beach was awesome. You really didn't need the extra Butler service, not worth the cost. Everything is pretty accessible on your own.

The Sandals at Royal Bahamian was excellent. We had a series of amazing dives with a personable, safe, and knowable crew: Calvin, Leslie, Sonny, Sam, Taj, Asia, Rina, Captain Cruz(I may have missed names-so everyone!)! They pumped us up to go to the Shark dive which was incredible. I'm so glad we did it!

My wife and I traveled to Sandals Royal Bahamian from 01/18/25-01/25/25. The reason for our visit was because Sandals Royal Bahamian was our very first all inclusive resort we ever went to 21 years ago for our 15th wedding anniversary. We were anxious to see all the changes that have been made to the resort since our last visit. We stayed in the east building on the 2nd floor overlooking the ocean. Overall it was an enjoyable experience, and I have listed some of the pros and cons below. Pros - The food was excellent all the way around. I had read some reviews contrary to that prior to going, but thought all of the restaurants were well done. - The private island is a must see if you are visiting this resort and a real reason to visit this location. - The grounds are well maintained and we enjoyed the pickle ball and shuffleboard courts. - The Sandals shuttle staff to and from the airport were very courteous and polite. - The view from our room was amazing as it faced the ocean. - There was never a lack of towels which is sometimes a challenge at different resorts. We were always able to get some. Cons - When you walked into our room it had a very musty, almost damp smell the whole time we were there. My wife really didn't like this. While I don't recall the exact title for our room it was about the 4th or 5th level of room (Club) on the 2nd floor of the East building facing the ocean. This is our 10th all inclusive resort and the room we were in was the smallest we have ever had. It was simply a bed with two dressers then a well done bathroom. The odd part about this room is that the actual look of it didn't resemble the photos on line at all. When my wife inquired as to if we were in the correct room, the concierge replied that they had updated the rooms recently but not yet the pictures on line. That seemed odd since that is all most people will see prior to booking a room. - While the service in the restaurants was adequate and at times very good, there were an equal number of times when the servers almost seemed like they were being inconvenienced to wait on us. On Gordon's restaurant we waited almost 30 minutes upon being seated before anyone even stopped by our table to greet us. Overall this dining experience was over 2 hours long. - This has nothing to do with the resort, but going to the Bahamas in January is probably not the right decision. The temps were in the low 70's to low 80's, and while sounding warm, coupled with the ocean breeze and cloudy weather, it was quite cool. People were covering up with towels to stay warm. The staff, being honest, said they would recommend coming here sometime after mid to late February as the temps start to get consistently higher. - While there are two large pools on the property, the one by the East building was not heated. It was very cold to get into and for the entire week we were there very few people entered that pool. Since many northern US travelers like to get away during that time of the year, I am surprised they wouldn't have heated that pool. - When we were there two of the hot tubs were under maintenance and when they opened them they weren't heating correctly and were cold. - The hallways in the East building always had an odd, damp kind of smell and I think it may have been a result of the hallways having carpet. With people going back and forth between the beach, pools, etc I believe with carpeting that smell gets trapped and is very hard to eradicate. The rooms had tile which made a lot of sense. - There are a number of cats (very nice, not annoying) on the resort that roam free. At the breakfast buffet you can be seated inside or outside. We always sat inside because we observed a cat on an unoccupied table outside, drinking the milk out of the small milk container used as creamer for your coffee. - The evening entertainment is lacking and is outdoors in a small part of the resort at 9:00 pm. In all honesty we never have high expectations for the entertainment and that is never a consideration for us when booking a resort. I only mention that in case that is something that is impactful to you. Overall the experience was enjoyable. In having visited other resorts we would say that the overall service was less than other places we have visited. If you have been to a resort where they come by asking for your drink or food order, that doesn't happen here. It is very much you get up and go get what you want. That may not be a knock on them as perhaps their intent is to not be overly attentive and to leave you alone. I don't know the reason why, but don't be surprised if you are expecting more responsiveness. The resort is pretty and well maintained. The beach at the resort is small and if you are looking for a beach to walk along this is not the place to go. We knew that in advance having been here once before. I would say our overall experience was positive, but we are looking forward to experiencing other resorts to see what all they offer. If you have any specific questions, I would be glad to respond to them.