Couples Sans Souci

There's not too much more to say than the title, we had a beautiful honeymoon at Couples San Souci! The property was stunning and very clean, and the staff were so friendly and welcoming. Really appreciated the support from the staff after an overnight delay from our airline. Breakfast and lunch was very good, I loved having local options to try. Dinner did let it down a little as I felt it was catering to an American palette. The kitchen excels when it focuses on the local flavours, the gala dinner on Tuesday night was a highlight! Would highly recommend and can't wait to come back! Thank you!

Some highs and some lows for this hotel— Lows- - I got food poisoning from the Friday night all resort dinner. This made travel home horrible and stuck around for days. Although I’m thankful it happened at the end of our trip, it still made the entire experience end on a bad note. The food in general was hit or miss. - We stayed in a beachfront room which was great for convenience but OH MY GOSH it is SO LOUD at night. It’s like being inside a club. I could not believe it. Our first night they had a disco party until 11pm at the beach club and we just wanted to sleep after a full day of travel. I would not book the rooms again just to get some peace and quiet. We stayed from Tuesday- Friday and the ONLY quiet night was Wednesday. - Additionally, the beachfront rooms were a little more run down than the pictures and smelled musty. The sliding doors don’t close all the way and have gaps so they fog up and you can’t even see out of them. They only have pin locks at the top. Highs -The property is beautiful and well maintained. Many hidden areas that are lush and feel private. -Housekeeping was wonderful -It never really felt busy or overwhelming. We were always able to get a chair at a beach or a pool and it gave off the aura of a small resort even though it has a decent amount of rooms Would we stay here again? No.

This resort exceeded all my expectations! First off, it is not for the faint of heart or limited mobility as there is a lot of walking and steps to climb. My daily average was about 30 flights of stairs and 10,000 steps. The food was excellent throughout the resort. The staff members were amazing, from Kevonne at check in to Taneka at Charlie's Veggie Bar (which we LOVED) and everyone in between, we were very well taken care of. I found this resort quiet as most couples or groups stuck together, much different from the partier vibe I experienced at a Secrets or other type of property. I loved how quiet it was! The vibe was chill but top notch. The food was fresh and delicious. I never felt bloated from food/salt during our stay. The fitness classes were fun too. I absolutely loved the mineral pool.

Probably the best hotel we’ve ever stayed in. From the room with the fabulous view over the beach and sea to the absolutely superb food served in various restaurants, we couldn’t fault it. It was service with a smile everywhere ! In addition there was live ‘easy’ music most evenings, we liked particularly sitting around the small bonfire on the beach listening to the man singing and strumming his guitar. A trip to Dunns Falls was included in the price - a must do for all!! And also a sail up the coast in the glass bottomed boat. Can’t fault anything about this hotel. Just a shame it’s so far from the UK.

I hesitated to write this as I am wondering if we just experienced a series of situations that were mainly down to poor communication at different levels. However I chose this resort based on the reviews so I owe it to others to write it so that things can be improved. Pre arrival - we are new visitors so knew nothing. We had no confirmation of our pick up from Kingston airport, we had no vouchers from our booking with British Airways but it was in the print to communicate with the hotel to confirm, I did this but it took 3 email addresses to get any response ( and that was an email address that I got from a CSS Fans facebook group and was actually someone dealing with repeat clients). On arrival (6.40pm), we ended up waiting 2 hours as the driver said there were 4 couples on the flight. The 4th couple never arrived, I had mentioned to our driver after about an hour that I had talked to a couple while waiting for the baggage who had arranged their own transport (and had told the hotel) but his office was saying we had to continue to wait. We eventually left (probably after the 4th couple had checked into the hotel). A small point is that it is nearly a 2 hour transfer, there is no water offered on the bus which would have been very welcome. On arrival at the hotel we were just given a form to complete (I had registered with with Romance Rewards and given the information already), there was no welcome chat or welcome drink, we were not even told where breakfast was or what time it was. We only came across the breakfast in the morning when exploring the resort the following morning, there is no resort map. Introduction talk - very nice member of staff took us round however in reflection and for a new visitor information on how the 2 gala evenings worked, how to book the snorkelling, where to book the massages, where to find the information on the timings of activities would have been really helpful. Restaurant bookings - there is an app but there were very few spaces left at all over the next 9 days ( I believe if you are a repeat client you can book before arrival which is probably why we were so limited). I have coeliac disease so have to be on a gluten free diet, when I went to Bella Vista to ask for help in advance, they told me to go to resort services and tell them to let the chef know, when I did this they told me to go to Bella Vista. Getting different information from different staff happened a few times. For the gala nights I was told to ask the chef, which I did, the gluten free is clearly marked but then when we got up to go (there was quite a rush) there were so many people that cross contamination with the gluten rich food next to the gluten free and the same spoons being easily used, I ended up with just carved meat. We also got 2 differing opinions which dessert was gluten free (they weren't labelled) so I couldn't risk it. Departure - we had a late pick up for the airport, reception said there were no late check outs available as they were busy (this was totally understandable). I asked if there was a hospitality room to freshen up in the afternoon. I was told no and to use the spa shower, however this is quite a walk away, very small, no privacy or space to get changed unless you did it in the actual shower (bearing in mind there was just a curtain covering it) and no electicity socket or place to put a bag. I spoke with housekeeping who then managed to get us a bedroom to use the following day but then picking up the key at checkout was told that other guests would also be using it, very odd and awkward! Positives - re gluten free. Stick with the main restaurant for lunch (as well as breakfast) but although buffet, it is clearly marked and there isn't a rush so get their first to avoid cross contamination, the chef once made me something from the kitchen. For desserts, there really is only sorbet in the evenings, for gluten eaters desserts were plentiful and lots of variety (I had to watch my husband enjoying lots of different ones). Even at Cassanova's there was only sorbet and wasn't offered anything special. For breakfast nearly everything on the hot buffet is labelled gluten free and the egg station doesn't have anything that can be added to the omelettes that contain gluten so that was safe. Departure - the minibus was on time and straightforward and got us there with just under 3 hours to wait for our flight. Overall the grounds are beautifully kept, some staff were amazing but others although not rude were just doing the minimum. On a constructive level, I think being aware of which guests are new and giving more detail and help rather than assuming they knew everything would be helpful especially with arrivals from Kingston airport. More consideration for late check outs in a 5 star resort is a must and consistency of information at the resort would be helpful