Sandals Royal Bahamian

We were at the Sandals Royal Bahamian last year in June 2023 and loved it so we booked again. Not sure what has happened there but we will not be back. We were so disappointed in the service along with many other things. Too many to list. We were told by another couple that they have been pushing the Butler Service, which I new nothing about. I really feel violated because we work very hard for our money and really looked forward to our vacation. What a disaster!

We were at the Sandals Royal Bahamian resort for our honeymoon in June, and we had such a good time there. The food is amazing, people are friendly and very helpful. Also, the evening entertainment was nice, and not like the usual disco nights you see at other resorts, but also a view on the culture of the Bahamians with instruments and songs. Next to that we also did a short resort course for scuba diving. Everything was taken care of, up to the lunch on the boat. We were so excited about the dive that we decided to get PADI certified. Sam helped us through this certification process, and have fun while doing it. He was so helpful, and we really felt supported. Big thanks to Sam and his colleagues at the aqua center. We recommend this stay for everyone who likes good food, a relaxed environment and also nice diving opportunities with a nice climate on top of it.

My wife and I went to SRB to get married and honeymoon. We had the best wedding and time of our life.

This resort was in a beautiful location, all inclusive resort with a great view from our room. We were there for 10 days in May and the weather was great, the only rain was about 2 hours one day. The food was plentiful and better than I expected. The menus were varied and there were always places to get food all day long. The grounds were spotless and well kept. The beach was very nice except for the seaweed, which we knew was heavy this time of year. The beach was cleaned everyday though so it was all good. The private island was a great way to get away with a pool, restaurant and bar for convenience. The room was spectacular. We had a suite and it was a quiet respite after a day at the pool or beach. You could hear some noise from the pool area, but it never kept us awake at night. There were two pools, the quiet and the party. It was nice to relax at one or participate in the activities at the other depending on how we felt. The entertainment in Coconut Grove was great and varied, with games for couples, and music or a DJ for most of the day. The resort was so nice we booked it for the same week next year and cant wait to go back.

I have been to this resort at least 10 times. The service at some of the restaurants has lost their touch. At Soy, food was great, service was terrible. After our meal we ordered 1 dessert. After 20 minutes, the table had still not been cleared and we still did not receive our dessert. We actually had to ask Tara at the front desk. At Kimonos, everyone was on their main meal and I had still not received my appetizer. When I finally received it, I then had to remove my own plate and put it on an empty tray nearby for me to be able to start on my main meal. If you’re going mainly for the diving, think again. The staff are great. The boat on the other hand has not worked properly for years, One of these days it is going to break down in the middle of nowhere. It was out of service for a long while and they brought it back when I was there saying that it was fixed. NOT!!! You could almost swim faster then the boat can move. When it moves. So therefore they cannot go far because it takes too long to get anywhere. Captain Cruz is awesome but the other captain puts so much chlorine in the bathroom that no one can go in without getting a mega headache or worst. They call him captain chlorine. We have been told for years that they were getting a new boat or a new motor. It never happens. When it is out of service (which it often is) they bring in a catamaran for the divers but with no bathroom. 4 hours on the boat in the morning after breakfast with no bathroom. My husband and I planned to go back in august but I am definitely going to change my destination to another resort. I will get back to you with a new review in august from a new destination.

My husband and I did our first Sandals trip in June 2024. The highlight was undoubtedly the SCUBA experience. We have never scuba dived before, so we took the Discover SCUBA class with Sam at the dive shop. Sam’s competence, calm, and excellent instruction gave us the confidence to go on our first open water dive the next day. Sam was with us the entire time and guided us through an incredible dive over coral reefs with Caribbean sharks and tons of tropical fish. Before our dive experience, we weren’t sold on coming back to Sandals. Now, we are looking into booking our next trip solely to dive!

This review is all about the scuba diving so read on as appropriate. We choose Sandals because of their great dive programs and dive teams. The team at this Sandals was up to the usual great standard but their boat and equipment were not. The boat was down to one motor and power steering was shot. The captain jumped through hoops to get the boat in motion and stay in motion but we were unable to reach dive sites quickly. The condition of the boat was not explained prior to the dive so instead of being back at 1:00 we were back after 2:30. Second day of diving we did not depart until after 10:30 due to boat problems. The crew made every effort to get us diving but it was a lot of wasted time. Next dive issue was the equipment - we saw 2 catastrophic equipment failures in 2 days. The first happened at about 35 feet where the hose from the pressure gauge blew apart. It was quite scary but the dive master, Tarj, handled it like a pro. The second happened the next day while we were on the boat and again the pressure gauge hose blew while we were on the water. It sounds like a gunshot and the female diver was definitely bruised in the chest. The dive groups over the 3 days we dove ranged from 12 to 22 with a single dive master. This, in my opinion, is unsafe. At all the other Sandals we have dived at the maximum ratio of Dive master to guest is 8 and usually the group size is 6. Again, this is not a reflection on the current staff but on the lack of investment in equipment and staffing at a level appropriate for the groups being taken out. The staff are all apologetic and are aware of the situation. The diving itself was amazing; lots of sharks and a very friendly turtle but make sure you are comfortable with big groups and a slow boat!

We came here specifically because we wanted to dive with sharks. We did some today which was great! HOWEVER, holy-crappy-dive boat. The dive boat they have here is the absolute slowest boat we have ever been on. It takes twice as long to get tot he sites as it should. We spent 5 1/2 hours on the boat to dive twice yesterday. Today, the boat needed a morning repair and we didn’t leave until 11 (which is the time we come BACK from diving at other Sandals). Fine, we understand repairs happen, but once we finally got on the boat, we might as well have rowed to the dive site with the pace the boat goes. We know the crew and captain are just as frustrated. Sandals, you are making a fortune off of these resorts, spend some money to get us good dive boats!! While we loved the sharks, we will 100% NOT come back to Royal Bahamian.

We have been coming to Sandals since their 1st anniversary (1984) at Montego Bays opening making this 13 times (6 in Nassau). Great time, restaurants are really good especially now that they take food allergies very seriously. Butler service is my reason for rating of 4 (see below). Spoke to GM one day, suggesting to have more signs showing where handicap ramps and restaurants. Due to accident before arrival it was important to have access to ramps. A Loyalty Office lady noticed I was struggling with stairs, then showing and telling me where they all were. Restaurants also need signage, eating breakfast and dinner at La Plume we noticed people walking by looking for entrances. While entertaining for us, not so much for them. So looking forward to Butler service due to my limited walking, very disappointing though. We had 3 Butlers so they could have different shifts. First night everything was fine till I asked her to unpack my luggage, from that point on she wasn’t happy with me. Pointing out my foot was swollen and really hurting from traveling. Jackie was my gift from God, first time we met her she showed us what butter’s should be like. Filled ice bucket for my ice pack, brought up beach lounge chair for deck so I could ice foot and enjoy our wonderful deck. She noticed I drank ice tea one day, showed up another day with one at the pool.! Favorite employees: Housekeeping -Joanies (excellent) Tesoro - Rona (what a smile) Darreniqus (always remembered hubby’s allergies-seafood & bell peppers) Sweet n tings -Food Truck- Coffee,pastry, ice cream Arizona (27 years @ Sandals, we are thankful) so nice Thomasina - Sweetie, makes yummy mixed berry crepes for lunches Butler - Jackie Love ya 🥰 Scuba Shop - Sonny - Hubby still talking about his dives with you