Sandals Regency La Toc

This was our first trip to Sandals and to St Lucia--and we currently have two more Sandals trips reserved. Here, wife and I had a Bi-Level Butler Suite with Private Plunge Pool (Room 802), and we stayed four nights in early February. Why four nights? Given our age, we are much more reserved for watersports and other adventurous activities than we used to be, but we enjoyed watching as well as experiencing so much other beautiful things about St Lucia. We are also not big drinkers, and live in tropical paradise Florida already with pool and Sun, etc. So for us, four nights was perfect. I'll start with pre-arrival planning. We did the private transfer booked through Sandals, both ways, and it was worth every penny. Island Routes tours cars and drivers were simply great--and they coordinated seamlessly with Sandals. Very impressive. We didn't fall for the Skycap support for literally a 50 ft walk after Customs (non-Sandals folks) to the Sandals lounge. That was one of the only times we felt "pressured" by the locals. They introduced themselves in the Sandals Lounge, offered us a cold drink, and coordinated for our driver to come...who was there within 10 minutes. The ride to the resort was breathtakingly beautiful, and adventurous with the steep hills and turns. However, we always felt we were in good hands. We pulled into the Sandals (Yes, tip the driver $20-40 coming from UVF) and the driver had already notified our butler of our arrival. Our butler met us at the sedan, offered the signature wet towel and punch, and we checked in and oriented to Sandals quickly (completed most of check-in on-line). Within 20 minutes we were in our suite getting a tour by another one of our three butlers. We got a cell phone to use to dial the butler immediately for ANYTHING and EVERYTHING we needed or WANTED. Oh boy, I'll get to that. Our fridge was stocked with all of the things we'd asked for in advance, and in addition to the two types of rum we requested (complimentary, requested ahead of time), there was a huge variety of other liquor, as well as some wines, beers, and champagne. Outside on our balcony/deck was our plunge pool...which our butler informed was cold. He was right, but happily, we later found out to be just bearable (83 deg F in early Feb) ! With that, we got some even more helpful info on days our butlers worked, confirmed desired reservations, cabanas, tours, etc, for the week. And we were off! First, the suite. We loved the suite in just about every way. The entry at street level with a huge master suite on the first level, with a walk down a gorgeous staircase to a large living area with mini-kitchen is great. Even better was the plunge pool right outside our living area with two big fluffy loungers and umbrella, outdoor shower, and a view straight out of Heaven. Big screen smart TVs, plenty of places to plug in, and king-size bed where we slept great, and a huge bath with dual sinks, 24 hour room service, and so much more really took convenience/luxury to new level. The room is a pricey one, but we also knew we'd spend at least half our time here in our pool and on our deck--and was perfect for us! A solid 5 stars. Next is the food. We tried most every restaurant (not Kiminos/Soy) and found Pitons to be the most authentic and best food. Napoli Pizza was fantastic for both quality and convenience. We had Armando's for breakfast and found the food to be fairly good. We did room service breakfast our last two days and found it to be fairly good. Now, I'm not a huge seafood fan so I did mostly chicken, beef, and pork dishes at all the restaurants, including Neptune's and La Toc. And all food was presented and "marketed" well on the menu and on the plate. But to be honest, the food taste itself at the seafood and French restaurants was average (at best) to me, with the meat always overcooked, the spices usually off. I often did not finish my meal (which are small portions). So food overall is about a 3 of 5 stars. Maybe if we drank more or smoked?! However, it is now important to comment on the restaurant layout and atmosphere themselves. They are all beautiful, with amazing views, so I suppose amazing experiences and views with some "okay" food is still good...but did drag things down. Service at restaurants? ALWAYS TOP NOTCH! Everywhere we ate, drank, sat, or walked in any restaurant the staff was very professional--ALWAYS so pleasant, knowledgeable, and thoughtful. Wow, the service at all places was so perfect. We really loved the staff everywhere we went. These outstanding employees and Sandals, and then the guests, would all benefit if Sandals sent employees and their partners to visit other places like France or Italy to try their cuisine. And now, those butlers. We were so pleased, and so fortunate to have Jesse, Des (Desmar), and Andrew as our butlers. They were a SIX out of FIVE stars! They did so much that we could see and enjoy but even more behind the scenes--they were always at least a step ahead of us. Would we like a ride to and from dinner? Where should he make reservations and what time? You want a good table? Want some ice cream, pizza, or shrimp cocktail to your room? Need a beach cabana and cooler set up, or maybe some drinks by the pool? Do you need to worry about your ride to the airport before the minute you check out? Nope. We were first met and checked in by Des, who took our bags, made us comfortable, and did a speedy check-in. Her warmth and charm were infectious, and she and Andrew were so helpful in rearranging a private tour with Island Routes Tours for us when our group tour was canceled. Des talked to us about the sights we could see and things to do, and suggested a private tour. She saved the day with that! Her coordination with Island Routes for a private tour a day later then originally planned worked out 10 times better than the plan we made back home! It was Des to the rescue! Jesse the easygoing go-to guy for about anything I could of was super helpful on our first day. I am a 61year old retired aviator and I was agitated I could not get a dang map of the place. Jesse assured us we'd know our way in no time--he was right. But look, for the Sandals Management: You have a gorgeous resort as big as a shopping mall--a dang map is expected! :-) Please put this back on the app! Thanks Jesse, for showing us around and delivering such great things to our suite! And Roger, who somehow got us reservations into Kimono's for dinner, and whom also took care of some maintenance issues we were not even aware of. All of you were so wonderful to talk to and get to know, if just for few days. I need to offer a special mention of our pool cleaner. I did not catch her name but she cleaned our pool on Thursday and we so glad to see her as we left. But we really enjoyed her telling us about St Lucia, about life there, and we even enjoyed talking about pool cleaning for over 20 minutes. I appreciated that very much! Anyway, kudos to this wonderful lady for being so welcoming and professional. We were also impressed by our housekeeper, who always so pleasant and answered our questions about St Lucia and our rooms. Our checkout was as smooth as check-in. The airport was a nightmare to plan for. Glad we did. Fast Pass would have been a waste--save maybe 25 minutes. As for Sandals Butler tips, I suggest $30-$50 per day per butler per any day worked (whether used or not that day). We learned to expect two butlers per day on duty and they rotated their schedules. I was disappointed there was not a way to get cash for tips and would have brought more with me as I prefer to tip in person. But we were able to leave it on the bill at check-out. True or not, we also were told by a local vendor that USD is preferred currency for them, but the bills cannot be worn, torn, etc., because the local banks won't take the bills. So I suggest bringing some crisp bills for tips, etc. All in all, we had a beautiful time at Sandals and enjoyed mingling with the wonderful local people as well as enjoying our time in the resort. Thanks so much for a wonderful stay!

This was our first trip to a Sandals resort, as we struck lucky with meeting Charles , the Sandals host, a truly lovely welcoming man. Whilst the the hotel , weather and facilities at the Regency La Toc are wonderful , the way Charles greeted us and looked after us throughout our 2 week stay made it really special. I would recommend, the hotel but ask for Charles. Fabulous time Thanks Charles

Charles was awesome! He was so friendly and a joy every day. Took care of all our needs including a delivery of chocolate chip cookies right to our room. Anything we needed he took care of. This was a great place to stay. Will be back for sure. Staff fantastic.

Probably slightly better than average rated but definitely not the best Sandals resort. The rooms are tired and require new furniture, beds etc. We had a room with a butler and to be honest we found it more of a hindrance at times. We don’t like being ‘checked up upon’ and have to tell someone where we are etc on holiday . We did hope that the Butler may bring us drinks to the pool etc but this lacked consistency and frequency. One of our butlers did try little touches by putting petals / flowers etc in the room. The Butlers were useful for reserving a bed at the beach , making dinner reservations and bringing a cool box during the day. The majority of staff were pleasant and polite especially ‘Izzy’ in the Pavilion who also had a cheery smile. We found the reception staff quite rude at times especially when warning us that we only had 20 mins to use the courtesy room at the end of our stay. One of the main disappointments of our stay was the beach , the ‘Red Flag’ was up at the beach for our whole two excepts 4 very short periods when the lifeguard decided to give us a little fun and allow us in the ocean. The food at the hotel was good , The Pitons restaurant being the poorest for quality and service. A lack of comfortable seating at the main bar prevents an after dinner drink in the main hotel area. The young pool boys were attentive and friendly. We enjoyed our stay at Sandals St Lucia but probably wouldn’t return .

Highly recommend this resort. Vibe is very chill if that is what you are after. If you can, pay the extra for a butler room. Our butlers Darnelle, Delina, and Titus were awesome and waited on us hand and foot. Food was very good. We ate at all the restaurants but Neptunes was our favorite and had the best quality (even though it is one you don't even need a reservation for.) We did the included snorkeling trip was which a lot of fun but otherwise didn't leave the resort. Didn't need to!