We recently returned from our honeymoon at Sandals Grande St. Lucian and it was everything we'd hoped for and more! Everything was amazing. After reading many reviews, I became a bit nervous that Sandals may not be all it seemed, however we were in awe of the resort from the minute we arrived until we sadly had to say goodbye. There is a costant feeling of happiness and contentment throughout the resort and we can't wait to return to The Grande in the future..
I could go on forever, however I'll just highlight some of our favorites..

First and foremost, Brutus! You're a Star!! Brutus can be found most evenings at the outside beach bar and he is the friendliest and funniest bartender in ST. Lucia!

Excursions
Zip-lining in the rainforest with awesome tour guide, George of the Jungle! You have to do it!!

Horseback riding on the Atlantic coast

Dolphin & whale watching (Capt. Mike's)

Adventure Cruise to Suffriere

We had so much fun on these excursions!

Also~ Jardin at Red Lane Spa~ She's awesome!
Neville (the devil) and Junior ~ Entertainment at its best!
If you visit the Sandals Grande St. Lucian, you'll definitely
meet these guys! (Sandals Playmakers)

Have Fun!!!

Honestly - We loved the St. Lucian Grande, the property is beautiful, very well maintained and the people who work there are simply wonderful. We stayed 10 nights, had our wedding there in the enchanted gazeebo and fell in love with the resort. We cannot wait to go back! Some tips: bring sunblock with bug spray in it.. (something bit my legs - but not my husband's legs) and bring plenty of it.. one bottle is $15-$20 dollars! We didn't like La Toc or Kimmonos - but make your reservations before you check-in to go there, if you must. We loved Mario's and the Pier at the Halycon - good food, great staff, close to the Grande unlike the Regency which for us seemed like a hike! Catch the sunset at the Halycon and definately don't wait to climb Pigeon island and plan to spend 3 hours there, with snacks and drinks to picnic at. Also there are some great local vendors at the entrance of Pigeon Island where you can get better deals than in the hotel store. We loved the Rainforest and Soufriere trips but could have skipped Martinique trip as the locals were rude! Our room was the Oceanfront Honeymoon Concierge Suite - beautiful. We loved the music during dinner and Toscannis for our Wedding dinner which they made extra special was the most romantic dinner we had while we were there. We snorkeled and took the hobie cat out every day and my husband did the water skiing. We had a great time - the food was poor at the London Pub, small portions at La Toc, Kimmonos was not worth the cab ride and we left disappointed. The water and beach were great, the drinks mild and not too spiked, but you can ask for more if you want it stronger. We got sunburnt the first few days and headed to the spa for treatments, plus all my wedding day manicures, facials and hair they did an outstanding job on... my hair has never looked that good! So thank you to the staff at the spa which make me look like a model in my pictures (according to my work mates) We want to go back soon.. just how to get away is a problem, minus kids, phones, dogs and that work thing that definately gets in the way... Many happy sunsets -

We stayed at the Sandals Grande St. Lucian Spa and Beach Resort from April 3-10th for our honeymoon. Let's just say that from the minute we landed and went to the Sandals counter at the airport, we were met with disappointment. After our long flight & 2 hr wait at customs, we were told that our lagoon pool room that we reserved and paid for in completion several months prior was not available since the Grande was overbooked. Are you kidding-this was our honeymoon! I never thought this would happen to us. We have never had this experience with any all-inclusive hotel establishment (eg. Apple vacations) vacations that we've been on and they are SO MUCH cheaper than Sandals and just as nice, the only difference is kids. Sandals told us they were sending us to the Halcyon hotel instead, which is a lot cheaper than the Grande hotel we paid for. I can see moving us to a different room but not to another hotel and the least expensive hotel they have at that. (RECOMMEND: Do not book excursions the day after you arrive because you may be sent to another hotel for the first night and the bus transfers may not be early enough for you to make your excursions.) We were so upset and argued for an hour without resolve. When I said we had confirmed & paid for our honeymoon months ago - the lady scolded us and said some people booked a year ago. Does that matter? Then how did they take our money and give us a confirmation # in the first place. Point is: they should know what rooms they have left when we booked and not oversell so others don't get kicked out of their rooms. I had read about this happening to quite a few people on tripadvisor but with getting an upgraded room, not a downgraded hotel altogether. However, an hour into our drive to the Halcyon-Sandals called the driver and crazily enough somehow had our room for us. Maybe because we were extremely upset and said we would take it up with management the next day.

Before continuing, there are many good points and you may have better luck than we did:
Food was delicious, restaurant staff & bartenders were courteous, 3 for 1 hotel system is great, water sports-they teach you how to do all them at specific times of the day (they were wonderful), buffets were the best, loved the beach, room ok, st. lucia scenery & people beautiful & nice

We prebooked our excursions with 1-800-Sandals, but the rep booked it for the wrong date on a day that we weren't even there! We had to spend an hour fixing that mess. RECOMMEND: Waiting until you get to the resort to book excursions and also booking with the guys on the beach - they are about $20 cheaper, reliable, better, and usually offer FREE drinks/snacks.

Breakfast in bed: the Sandals brochure makes it seem so nice & romantic but they did not deliver what they offered. We selected their blueberry pancakes and salmon bagel. First off, it arrived an hour late. Secondly, we received pancakes but NO blueberries and a bagel but NO salmon. RECOMMEND: Although it sounds very romantic, the missing food made us regret not going to the buffet and do not book this if you have an excursion planned early for the day since it can come an hour later than you requested and you may not get to eat.

We wanted one thing (mozzarella sticks) at the London Pub. We were the only couple there besides the big group of Sandals workers & musicians who were more than likely off the clock. They were enjoying themselves a nice spread with lots of food & champagne bottles galore. We have no qualms with workers eating & drinking - they have been working all day and we want them to be fed & happy because they are taking care of us. But please, can we eat as well? That's all we ask! We sat at the middle table being ignored by the working servers for 30 minutes - no drinks/food offered. We went up to the bartender finally and he said we had to order food from the server. Where is the server?!! So we sat & waited, then went up to the server to order a small serving of mozzarella sticks. Some other couple came in and ordered 2 full fish plates. After 15 minutes the couple got their meals - we didn't get anything! We finally had to go up to the server again for our measly order and they finally came out with our 3-piece cold mozzarella sticks. Very poor customer service!!! RECOMMEND:???Maybe going in the kitchen and cooking your own mozz sticks.

Toscanini’s serves dinner between I believe 6-9pm and we arrived at 8pm We heard the calamari was excellent, but they were sold out because we had arrived so late and they did not seem happy to serve us because we arrived an hour before closing. RECOMMEND: Go early to restaurants or they may be out of food and staff is annoyed and wants to go home.

Since it was a honeymoon - we decided to drop the $265 for a private dinner on the beach. We asked for a secluded spot. The lady selling us the meal told us she'd put us at the private secluded spot under the oak tree and actually walked us to the very spot we were paying for. We agreed to this and the contract - didn't know she was actually lying to us. Again, we asked, Sandals promised and then failed to deliver. When we arrived for our dinner - our spot was taken by another couple and we were put by the non-secluded ugly volleyball net - which made us even further upset because it's in all our pictures. RECOMMEND: doing the dinner, confirming the location and make sure your server takes you to your requested spot or comps you somehow at that very moment (if you can - voice your complaints at the moment don't wait like we did, it's hard though because we didn't want to complain & ruin our expensive dinner because it would have ruined the night, but the next day we were mad)

All these things may seem minor, but I was so upset about the room confirmation problem and especially our beach dinner botch-up and the fact that it had been our honeymoon that I was crying and I voiced my complaints to the front desk. I am mad that Sandals dropped the ball on several things and got me to cry on my honeymoon. The lady said I should have spoken to her earlier in my stay and that there's not much she could do except maybe 2 free nights stay on my next trip. I have Sandals emails sent to me all the time and knew they always offer these types of specials so they weren't doing me any favors. So I asked for a massage and they offered the most basic massage for us.

The massage was a nice gesture from Sandals for all that had gone wrong until I got in there and it was cold. I told the masseuse that the room was freezing. She tried to warm it up but it never did. This was the most unpleasant massage I've ever had for the fact that I was freezing my butt off with goose bumps, shivering and my hands were ice when we were all through. The last part of it I could barely stand because it was unbearably cold. Who can enjoy a massage in the freezing cold - all I wanted was out of there and my clothes back on. How ridiculous & how horrible! This did not make things right with me for Sandals- it made me feel taken advantage of.

After our trip when I complained to Sandals via their complaint department, they emailed that they were sorry for our inconvenience at check-in and have met with relevant department heads to ensure no recurrences of our experience (according to recent tripadvisor posts - this seems to continue). They said the manager of the English Pub apologized and the other issues would be addressed. We were not offered anything. So by complaining, they will not offer you anything but they will speak to their people. How does that really help me and why would I recommend Sandals to anyone knowing they may not get the room they booked and paid for? A good business normally makes it up to you somehow, not just saying sorry tough luck. They have not made things right with us yet nor do they intend to and I will not recommend them to family & friends.

Funny thing is, I thought we would love Sandals and be great life customers, but there were so many things that Sandals dropped the ball on - for such an expensive $7000 trip (with airfare) and it being our honeymoon, I had hoped for better hotel organization and follow-through. Shame on Sandals!

Four couples celebrating 20, 25, and 27-year anniversaries just got back from the Grande. The hotel is beautiful but the view towards the bay is spectacular. It’s everyone’s dream of a tropical vacation. The resort was full but you’d never know it – there were plenty of lounges on the beach and at the pool and we always got floats when we wanted them. We’ve traveled extensively and if you’re expecting perfection anywhere you go, you’ll be disappointed. Most staff were nice and made up for the few grumpy ones. Some tips:

The rooms:
Unless you want to spend the money on a rondaval or butler service, don’t bother to upgrade. We paid extra for a room on the 2nd floor while the other 3 couples got the 2nd floor for nothing extra. I would request a building though. For a good oceanfront view request Pigeon Island (#8). Both sides of the hotel have their pluses. We chose oceanfront because we wanted quiet for a late afternoon nap and it was wonderful opening the patio doors and listening to the ocean surf. The road between the building and the ocean only had cars on it on Sunday when the locals went to the beach down the street. Otherwise, it’s empty. The view on the bay side is absolutely beautiful, but we enjoyed it while on the beach and at the pool so we didn’t miss out. The only thing the concierge floor gets you is alcohol in your refrigerator. Since you’ll probably drink more than you planned to at the bars and dinner, you won’t need to have it available in the room as well. The room is one of the nicest I’ve seen at a resort. Just very comfortable.

Converters/Electronics:
There are 3 prong European plugs/voltage plus U.S. 2 prong plugs/voltage near the desk that works great as a vanity table. There’s a large mirror and padded stool there as well. No special plugs or converters are needed. If you have long or thick hair bring your own hair dryer, otherwise the one there works o.k.

Money: If you’re from the US don’t bother to exchange for EC dollars. We did and didn’t use most of them since everything was quoted in dollars. And the rates were generally fair. If you’re coming from another country, convert to whatever’s the best rate or is the most convenient for you. But don’t bring large bills. Most people won’t accept anything over a $20 bill since they have trouble trading with them. It would be like us being asked to change $500 or $1,000 bills since their average income is $5,100 per year.

Getting to the hotel: Spend the money that you saved on not upgrading your room and put it towards the helicopter. SO many people get sick in the van and the ride in the helicopter was FUN besides getting you there fast. You can either book with them directly at http://www.stluciahelicopters.com/ and pay the taxi yourself (they’ll have one waiting) or book through Sandals. I think it works out to be the same price.

Excursions:
I’d recommend booking them towards the end of your stay when you’re tiring of the party/fun/drinking/relaxing and want to get out somewhere. For $90 a couple Simon Says will take you to the volcano (don’t expect much), swimming under a waterfall, a banana plantation, a fishing village, a couple of shopping spots, good views for photos, snorkeling at the Pitons, and lunch at his home. Sounds odd, but it adds to the experience to see how locals live and his lovely wife is an excellent cook. She provided curried chicken, rice, oriental vegetable vermicelli, and a rich and creamy homemade macaroni and cheese that we ate on their veranda cooled by tropical breezes and drinking icy Pitons. It really was better than the food at the hotel. He is totally legitimate and extremely friendly and nice. He’ll bend over backwards to ensure that you have a great time. I mentioned that I love mangoes and he reappeared with a bag of perfectly ripe mangoes that we devoured and washed off under the waterfall. You can email him at [--] or call him when you get to the resort at [--]. You’ll also be able to catch him walking the beach most mornings. He also has a speedboat that can take you out for a half or whole day.

The Restaurants: Attire at the Grande is resort casual which is dress shorts or casual pants. Swimwear must be covered and no bear feet, except for Toscaninis which requires dress pants (chinos) and closed toed shoes. They don’t need to be dressy shoes, Dockers, or boat shoes are fine but no sneakers. Casual sun dresses, skirts, or capris and leather sandals (no flip flops) for women. We never waited more than a few minutes. We didn’t leave the resort because we were so busy during the day we didn’t feel like taking a 20 minute ride to the Halcyon and a 40 minute ride to the Regency. The food was just o.k. Don’t expect much and you won’t go hungry although vegetarian choices are very limited. Avoid the hamburgers at Barefoot by the Sea and something called the chicken pate burger. Both were inedible. The jerk chicken there was outstanding as was the kingfish. Actually all the fish dishes at the restaurants were good. The fish and chips and the beef with béarnaise sauce at the English pub were the most enjoyed there. Based on our experience and everyone I spoke with, skip Toscaninis and go to Mario’s and the Pier at the Halcyon. The Grande just opened a pizza café for lunch and it was o.k. but the crust was soft. They need to fly down a good N.Y. pizza guy to teach the staff how to make one. Josephines is a very quaint café with friendly staff if you don’t feel like a big breakfast every day and they open earlier than Bayside.

The drinks: The house cabernet and merlot were drinkable and you could pay extra for a nicer wine although the prices were high. The Piton was a good lager but it wasn’t very cold at the bars. There was a huge tropical drink selection and they’d mix anything you could think of. They had a couple of good rums – try the Kwyeol (it has a vanilla bean in it) and Chairman’s reserve. They were best sipped or in rum and Coke.

Snorkeling/Diving: We took the resort diving course and would highly recommend it. I’ve always snorkeled and was persuaded to take it by the others doing it and now I’m hooked. It takes half a day and costs $70. The hotel provides free snorkeling/diving each day but make sure you find out what day they plan to go to near the Pitons. They usually take you to areas around the resort that are not that exciting but the Pitons are a whole other level. I believe they go at least once a week.

Sorry it was so long. Hope it helped and feel free to email me with questions by clicking on raven20 (at the top).