Sandals Grande St. Lucian

Having just returned from Sandals Grande, we would like to thank some lovely staff who made our visit extra special. Leona from breakfast and the lovers pool. Gail who also looked after us at the pool. Tyrell and the watersports team. Ivana for helping us at Gordens. Clifford and Kurt for ironing out minor problems. Not to forget Neville from the entertainment department for being an all round good egg.

Sandals Grande St Lucia Here’s a review of our amazing trip and stay at Sandals Grande St. Lucia. We started our trip with a long travel day. All said and done we had been up for 36 hours before arriving at the resort. We chose to use the shuttle and looking back we would have opted for the ferry ride as we arrived during rush hour which turned it into a 3 hour drive. Upon arrival we were escorted to our room which was one of the individual Grande Rondovals with Butler service. The room was beautiful and very spacious, giving vibes of being in a home rather than a room. Private hot tub and plunge pool were amazing and we used them daily. Originally we were settled on the West side of the resort and made a request to be moved to the quieter East side which was accommodated. We love the party atmosphere but prefer to “go to the party” and then retreat to our peaceful room. It was PERFECT! Our Butlers Kersharma, Shevan and Michelle or as I refer to them as the “DREAM TEAM” were just that! They all went above and beyond to surprise us with special lunches and room decorations. Always prompt and accommodating. We rarely had to ask for anything as they were always a step ahead of us. Even securing our same pool chairs everyday. Dinner reservations were made in advance for Gordon’s Over the Water. If you’re a fan of lamb, it’s quite possibly the best I have ever had! Another favorite was the scallops with barbecue brisket and my surf and turf was cooked to perfection. CJ was our server and was an absolute ray of sunshine after a long travel day. Our first full day was quite rainy and actually a lot of our stay it rained, but the resort made the very best of it hosting activities and parties inside the main lobby. Trivia was 11am daily at the main pool and some sort of competition game was done in the afternoon. Pool Bar staff was incredible and greeted us every day with a smile, fist bump or hug and always called us by name. Johnice, Anicia, and matriarch Carol worked their tails off everyday keeping the drinks coming. Their cheerful banter and endless smiles were infectious! We chose to have breakfast delivered daily to the room and it was a beautiful way to start each morning sitting outside in our private yard. Dinner that night was kimonos hibachi Grill. Plan on being hungry as the portions are endless. Also make sure to try their signature cocktail, the “Sake Cruise” Randy was the bartender that evening and with his fun engaging personality became one of our favorite people and we always made sure to ask where he would be slinging drinks in the following days. Quite often at the Pool or Beach Bar. Overall the food was fantastic and we ate at every single dinner restaurant. I mentioned signature cocktail at Kimonos, but here’s a tip….. every restaurant has their own signature and it was fun to start our dining experience by ordering one! After dinner we would often work our way to the main building where we would check out the evening entertainment and karaoke or have Kevin aka Fathead make us a night cap at the Olde London Pub. This is the only place we did not eat. Not because the food didn’t look good but because we were stuffed to the gills already! For activities we scuba dove twice and enjoyed taking a Hobie Cat around the bay. Water clarity was below average due to all the storms and rain but still enjoyed getting under the sea and exploring. Big shout out to Ron, Kernee, Sting Ray and the infamous Peaches our dive guides making sure we always felt safe and secure. The Red Lane Spa was lovely and I was treated to the most amazing massage by Caroline. She turned me into a puddle of goo and it was glorious! Overall this Sandals has been our absolute favorite. The entire staff is beyond friendly and accommodating. I can’t tell you how many times we were told “Don’t worry about anything, you’re on vacation”! …… and worry we did not.

Celebrated our 30th anniversary in paradise!! Beautiful resort; lovely, kind staff; fabulous food & tropical drinks; met lots of people; we had a blast! Pool: We went down around 7am every morning and didn't have a problem finding shaded lounge chairs. There's music, trivia, games, swim-up bar; lots of fun! Food: No problems getting dinner reservations. Our faves are the Italian restaurant, sushi, and hibachi. Never waited long to be served. Favorite server: Shanna! Activities: JJ's Speedboat was fantastic: speedboat ride (and rum punch!), mud baths, waterfall, lunch, so much fun! We hiked Pigeon Island twice ($10 to get in, right next door to resort). We had a couples massage one day. Enjoyed the evening shows after dinner. We didn't bother going to the other resorts; plenty going on at the Grande! Transportation: After reading shuttle reviews to hotel, we booked the ferry both ways. Highly recommend!! Beautiful ride, drinks, snacks, fun staff! We had an amazing week and highly recommend the Grande!!

The service at the resort was amazing, every worker said hello and asked if we were having a good time. If we had a concern, they addressed it immediately. No one ever said No to us and we didn't feel like there were a ton of rules (like no drinks in the pool etc) Our first impression wasn't great...our room overlooks the lagoon pool, which needs to be repainted, but the rest of the resort is very well kept. One annoyance was dress code for restaurants. my hubby asked if he could wear dress shorts to the restaurant that called for Resort Evening clothing. He was told that long pants and closed in shoes were required but when we got there, most men had shorts and flip flops. Note to self, ask forgiveness, not permission. We enjoyed trying new types of food in the various restaurants. The entertainment starts pretty late in the evening for us old folks but no big deal. I would not hesitate to book at Sandals again.

Our stay at the Sandals Grande was our first all inclusive. The setting is beautiful. We found the managers and staff very friendly on the whole. The facilities, food and entertainment were good. We were worried that we would not have enough to do, but the free golf, ability to hike up Signal Peak, and use the gym kept us active, since we do not tend to lie in the sun. We plan to return.