Good friends of ours Laura and Dan took a vacation to the Bahamas, and had the opportunity to experience one of the finest Luxury Included Resorts Sandals Bahamian. Laura being a Travel Agent as well, gave us this excellent review on this property, and we hope that if you have always wanted to visit the Bahamas, possibly this is one for you to experience…
Author: Laura Kay
My husband and I stayed at the Sandals Royal Bahamian and Offshore Island November 28th to December 4th, 2008. We really had a great time. The weather at that time of year was a bit iffy but when it rains there is always something to do indoors or in your beautifully appointed room so it did not hinder the vacation at all.
This was our third Sandals we had visited
Our first was Sandals Royal Hicacos back in 2003. The room, the service, the food were all excellent. The grounds were pretty then but I’m sure they’re even better now that they would be more established. It had been open a year at that time and we were blown away and became confirmed Sandals believers at that time.
Our 2nd one was the Sandals Antigua and the grounds were stunningly beautiful – the rest was okay. The people were very pleasant. This was in 2005.
We wanted to go to another Sandals and we chose Sandals Royal Bahamian. We were tickled pink!! The room was beautiful, the grounds were stunning, the service was top notch and the meals were delicious. There is always upgrading, maintenance, cleaning going on but it is unobtrusive.
The resort is immaculately clean. The Villas have a beautiful set up and if you budget will only allow you this section, you will be thrilled. The concierge rooms where we were located were amazing. The bed was comfortable, the sitting area nice and bathroom conveniently appointed.
We tried all the restaurants except Gordon’s on the Pier and only because it was extra. The service was really very good. We walked into Casanova’s for lunch one afternoon and a gentleman who walked in 20 seconds behind us, asked us if he could be seated right away and led us to seats outside at our request.
We found out later he was Food & Beverage general manager. I’ve worked in hotels before where the manager would never do that. All staff, whether they were working, or in uniform but moving from one place to another, to those just going on shift or coming off shift or even the landscaping crew hired by the resort and the builders working on the new section would smile, nod in greeting or say hello as you walked past them. Absolutely everyone was friendly.
We always have tea before we go to bed. Our first night there after having their brand of Earl Grey tea after dinner and loving it! we took a package back to our room to have later on. The maids noticed this by our 2nd night and made sure we had a few packages in our room. I have to say, it is the best Earl Grey tea I’ve ever had.
Dwayne, the maitre d’ in Baccarat is wonderful and his staff is amazing too. We loved going there for both dinner and a relaxing breakfast. It was sometimes hard to decide if we wanted table service or the varied selection offered in Casanova’s or Spices. The buffets were the best for either breakfast or lunches that I have ever been too.
We never used them for dinner as we prefer table service for dinner. Kimonos was very good and Cricketers was good and a lot of fun!! Cafe Goombay over on the offshore island is great for snacks and excellent for dinner. You absolutely have to try the grouper and the conch, especially conch fritters. It was my first time for either and they are oh-so-yummy!
Speaking of the offshore island…it is really nice to go over there during the day or part or all of the day. It is nicely spread out and you feel, for the most part, like you have it all to yourself.
All the pools were beautiful and all the bar staff very friendly and pour your drinks as you like them, a little booze, lots of booze or none if that is your preference.
The Red Lane Spa…oh the spa!! You feel like you’ve walked into a special place in heaven when you grace their doors. You’ll receive a nice warm welcome. Marisa will give you the massage of a life-time and you’ll want to spend at least a small part of each day there.
Damian, who has a desk near the concierge lobby, will help you book your next Sandals dream vacation and travel agents will get the credit.
From the moment we stepped off the plane and were greeted at the Sandals desk until the time we checked out, there wasn’t a thing to complain about – except for the fact that we had to leave. And we’re definitely going to a Sandals again next year.
Nassau did not have the British feel I had expected at all and I was a little disappointed in that. Bahamas uses the antiquated imperial system so I never knew what the temperature was.
I honestly thought it was only the Americans who were still using that system and everyone else on the planet was metric. I was wrong! I would still go back and I’d probably stay at Sandals again as it was just so wonderful!!
