We stayed at AMB for 5 days from April 30 to May 5, 2008. We were in St. Lucia for a wedding at the Sandals Grande. Since Sandals properties are adult-only, we could not stay there with our grandson. There were great things about AMB, good things, so-so things, and a couple of really bad things - depending on how you look at them, I suppose.

We arranged our own reservations (through the 800 number) and airport transfers (with Herod's Taxi Service - Great!). Upon arrival at the hotel, we were offered cool towels and rum punch which were both very nice. Our bags were delivered to our rooms promptly.

Our daughter, son-in-law, and grandson had a 1st floor beachfront room and we had a 3rd floor beachfront room, both in the 600s. While our daughter's room was the closest room in the complex to beach sand, it also had a really old mattress with broken springs that nearly came through the mattress cover (more on that later). Our room had an OK mattress - old and sort of hard, but still OK. There are both polyester-fill pillows (old ones) and feather-like pillows (new, large, and not very comfortable). We missed our own pillows a lot! The rooms were kept clean, but sometimes dishes, glasses, or dirty towels were not removed. Sheets were not changed during our stay.

We had made restaurant reservations for the first two nights of our stay, ahead of time, by calling the resort directly. The first night we had 6:30 PM reservations at Bamboo and the second night we had 6:30 PM reservations at Morgan's Pier. We had time to rest a little and have a great drink before dinner. The food the first night was really good .....until about midnight - more on that later in this review.

Overall, the resort is clean, the grounds are beautiful, and the people are SUPER-nice and helpful (more on that later, too). There are some things that are in disrepair and need maintenance, but workers are constantly busy on the property. Most of them are working in the gardens, however, but some need to be doing routine maintenance like fixing walkways.

The food is good, for the most part (again, more later). There is not a shortage of things to eat. The service was good. We ate at Sandals Grande the night of the wedding, and it was not any better than AMB.

Water sports were OK, depending on water conditions. There was too much wind the day our kids wanted to use the paddle boats, and not enough wind the day they wanted to sail, so we didn't really use the water sports. We did see others using them, but only for short periods. The equipment looked to be in good condition and was readily available.

The pools are all saltwater, and that was a bit of a surprise. I'm sure someone mentioned that in a review, but I had forgotten it. The pools were clean and clear with few people swimming or sunning. The deck is very slippery when wet and we did see one pretty bad spill. Others talked about falls that they saw, so be careful or wear boat shoes around that area.

The resort, for the most part, was fairly deserted during our stay. We never wanted for a sun bed, waited in line, or had any issues with large groups. AMB is primarily frequented by British and Canadians who are very polite and amiable. We enjoyed being with them, although we only exchanged "hellos".

OK...here is the bad.
First, the bed in our daughter's room. After the first night, she and our son-in-law complained bitterly about their mattress, saying that it had broken springs. They complained to the customer relations person, who said it would be replaced. They asked three more times that day, to no avail. After a second night and more calls to the office, they made a more pointed complaint ("this mattress is going into the bay") that finally got results. The mattress had more than one broken spring that was almost coming through the mattress cover. My husband said he didn't know how they slept on it even one night. Even the housekeeping manager was surprised. Too had it took 2 bad nights to get satisfaction, since they only stayed 4 nights.

Secondly, I got food poisoning at Bamboo the very first meal I ate at AMB. We compared notes later on, and realized it was the marinated fish and wasabe salad that I ate. That is the only dish that was not eaten by anyone else in our group.

For those of you who have ever had food poisoning, I need not explain. For those of you who haven't, you don't want to know. My husband contacted the resort's nurse the next day and she suggested that I either had indigestion or that I might have over-imbibed (I had 2 drinks). I was still in the room - near the bathroom, at that point. When we later complained to the front desk, that was followed by a call from the nurse, who told me to eat only bread, rice, soup, bananas, and water for awhile. That is not what I go to an all-inclusive to eat or drink!

When we asked to speak to the manager about that as we were checking out, she said that "the rules" stated I should have gone to the nurse or the hospital. She even claimed that the nurse said she told me to come see her and I refused. That is just not true! Although I could not have gotten that far from a bathroom for several hours, I never was told to see a nurse or doctor. Also, I was never made aware of "the rules" so that I could try to follow them (I am a math teacher, so I am quite a rule-follower).

The good news about that whole episode is that I didn't gain any weight during our stay...in fact, I lost a little. The bad news is that I did not get to enjoy anything but dinner on our last day. I had read another review in which someone got food poisoning, but I dismissed it as bad luck or a weak stomach. I have eaten in beach bars and local places all over the Caribbean without any gastric misfortune until now. All that to say, beware AMB's food! And if you expect the management to assist you, find out all the rules for any eventuality in advance, because you will not be made aware that you didn't follow them until it's too late.

Lastly, based on several other reviews of Joy's Tours, we made a reservation for a half-day tour (just long enough for the grandson), which Joy's rep said would cost us the same as a full day. When we had to cancel (see food poisoning) the afternoon before the tour, Joy tried to intimidate my husband into paying for the tour anyway, as he said he had just missed another opportunity to book someone for that same time. The next morning we saw him leaving with a boat full of people, so apparently he did not miss out completely. I'm sure it is a great tour, but make sure you really are going if you make a reservation. Joy is a really big guy who will try to scare you into paying, if you have to cancel. We didn't see the wonderful guy that people seem to talk about.

Overall, the stay was OK, the staff polite and helpful (except for the manager), and the grounds beautiful. The food was decent (except for the fish and wasabe salad - avoid it like the plague!). I can't say that others should avoid the resort, but make sure you know what to expect before you go.