All in all we had a wonderful honeymoon. We stayed at the Royal Bahamian from November 17-24, 2012.

Resort: Everything was new and clean - extremely important. We stayed on the 5th floor of the Balmoral Tower. Since that building is newly renovated everything was new and clean, just how I like it. Room was extremely spacious including an ensuite bathroom, bar area, sitting area, and an oceanfront balcony. Bathrooms were clean everywhere, including pool bathrooms and bathrooms on the offshore island. The grounds were nicely kept, however since we traveled after a hurricane the grounds weren't as lush as we anticipated.

Pools: There are two pools, one near Balmoral Tower, and one near the Windsor Building. The Balmoral Pool was quieter and lower key. The Windsor Terrace Pool was more upbeat and lively. The entertainment staff sets up there and keeps everyone entertained and in a good mood. My only recommendation would be to have the pools heated. Even though we were on vacation it wasn't extremely hot. The pool water still felt too cold to swim around in. There are many hot tubs around to lounge in.

Beach: Beach was very nice, but it was livelier at the pool so we stayed there mostly (and the ocean was cold after the storm). The water sports were closed most days due to winds (unforeseeable, we were not that disappointed). We did, however go jet skiing, but this was not Sandals' activity, we did it with the locals.

Food: Overall food was very good - a few slight disappointments.

Restaurants: Make sure to make reservations on the first night... and make them for the duration of your trip. This was my third all-inclusive trip, but my husband's first. He didn't understand why we needed to hurry up and make reservations, but quickly learned. You won't be able to go to the better restaurants until the end of your trip due to already booked reservations! Avoid not getting into a restaurant you want to try or getting stuck with times you don't want by making all of them on the first day.
*Bacarrat: Very nice and modern decor, intimate setting. They lost our reservation at first but it was quickly sorted out (Good thing... because then we would have not had reservations for Thanksgiving!). My husband had a snail puff pastry appetizer and I had something with mushrooms, both of which were very good. We both had lobster tails, his had a cream sauce on top which is not typical (or very common) for seafood. I had mine with butter and it was delicious. My husband had a chocolate cake which he loved, and since I am allergic I had crème brule which was phenomenal!!! I have only had better crème brule at a small French restaurant in Florida years ago. Delicious!
*Crystal Room: We went here twice. They have a bar where you can wait for your table (no reservations required). Appetizers we had were shrimp cocktail and hummus with pita, both good. We both got crab legs in a butter sauce for our main course which was delicious but did not stay for dessert. We went a second time to have crab legs again... but they ran out which was disappointing. Instead I got a chicken breast stuffed with mango and it was no crab legs, but quite good as well.
*Casanova: Italian Buffet... not my ideal but served its purpose on our first night when we did not have reservations. I had chicken parm which was decent.
*Spices: We only went here for breakfast where they had a decent amount of selection. I mostly had French toast which was good.
*Kimonos: Typical Hibachi restaurant where you sit at a table with 5 other couples (12 people total). Everything was good but the beef was amazing. Our whole table loved the beef and the sauce it was cooked in. SO much food but the dessert didn't look good... didn't even try it.
*Royal Cafe: Ate here for lunch on our first day... burgers did not taste very good so we never went back.
*Cricketer's Pub: Pub food is not my choice of good eating but we went here for the "tailgate party" which might have been on Thanksgiving. Food was okay, not great (nachos, chili, wings, fries, etc.)... but I was not disappointed because I did not expect anything great. Turkey and cheese wrap was good.
*Bella Napoli Pizzeria: Coming from NY I was scared to try the pizza... boy was I wrong! It was so good! Everyone was eating it - I loved the Hawaiian!
*Cafe Goombay: The offshore island was closed the night of our reservation (due to high winds the ferry was not making the trip over) so the menu was being served at Spices. I believe I had the filet mignon which was good. Cheesecake with guava was delicious and my favorite dessert of the trip (there were not many desserts and among them not much variety).
*Gordon's on the Pier: Although this restaurant is included if you are staying in a room with butler service, we had to pay extra ($170) to eat here but it was worth it. The restaurant is literally located on the pier overlooking the beach/ocean. It is a very intimate setting with about 12 tables, but only about 4 occupied while we were there. Our server, Shavvaro, was extremely nice and accommodating. I had the signature drink, the Lady Diana, which was wonderful and similar to a rum punch, a perfect girlie drink. When I couldn't decide between shrimp with cocktail sauce or fish chowder as an appetizer Shavvaro offered to bring me both - perfect! They were both delicious, the fish chowder was prepared perfectly and you could taste the fish and the spices. We then had surf & turf which was delicious. The filet mignon was cooked exactly to my liking and was seasoned nicely. The lobster tail was delicious. We had the same scenario where my husband's was in cream sauce (a bit weird) and mine was with butter. Shavvaro was extremely accommodating with my food allergies, moreso than other members of the wait staff at other restaurants. We finished the evening with desserts and a handwritten card from the wait staff thanking us for dining with them which was a nice personal touch.

Spa: During our stay we had a couples massage and it was lovely. The spa was clean and relaxing and the spa staff was very friendly and made you feel important. The masseuses did a great job. They serve white ambrosia tea which smells and tastes heavenly!

Gym: Did not visit... why would I go to the gym on vacation?! :)

Entertainment Staff: Our entertainment staff consisted of Kelvin, Bullet, Popo, Tanya, Jason, and another girl that was only there for a day or two so I cannot remember her name. The entertainment staff was phenomenal! They were upbeat, fun, and kept the guests in a good and light mood. Their dances were great, and their demeanor was perfect. They really got to know the guests by name, even myself, and I didn't participate in any activities, but my husband did. My husband played beach volleyball every day and participated in Beach Olympics, Name that Tune, Darts, and Walking on Water (where they line up pool floats to see who can run and make it to the bar... hysterical). Since my husband participated we got tokens and at the end of the trip traded them in for a little pair of leather sandals... small enough to hang off the review mirror in the car, they are cute. I have nothing but great things to say about the entertainment staff - wish they taught us how to dance while we were there!!

Resort Staff: Almost all of the resort staff was friendly. While walking around, everyone says hello, asks how you are doing. There was one girl who had an attitude, and unfortunately she was our first server (then again for breakfast twice) but other than that everyone was great.

Bars: Bartenders were great, we didn't have to wait long and everyone was nice. Servers often came around the pool area to get drink orders, deliver drinks, and clean up. Shelly was the best - makes the best banana daiquiris. The hummingbird was our favorite drink! We are trying to recreate it at home!


Nightlife: The nightlife is a little bit lacking at this resort. I understand it is a couples resort and most people want to relax, but it could have been a little bit more exciting. The DJ they had at night was a few months behind in the latest music, but would play our requests so that was good. The other nights' themes were okay... but reminded me a little bit of Kellerman's Resort in Dirty Dancing... for the older crowd. Junkanoo night was very cool, it was nice to see all of the traditional Bahamian clothing and hear the traditional music.

Guests: Almost all of the guests were so friendly and nice. We made friends while we were away and plan to get together with them soon! We went from November 17-24, 2012 and the resort was busy, but not completely booked. There were empty lounge chairs and lots of space on the beach (different from other resorts I have been to where it is so crowded people are holding their spots at the pool at 7am). It was very nice to have a crowd, but not worry if you wouldn't get a seat!

*Recommendations for resort:
*Update the online menus to reflect what is actually being served in the restaurants because it can be misleading.
*Add more desserts (especially non chocolate for those who are allergic).

I created an account just to write this review. I just came back from a 5 day trip with my gf. This is the first time I've ever felt this compelled to write a review because the experience was so bad and I want to make sure other travelers are informed of this. My gf graduated from Cornell’s School of Hotel Administration and her parents have both been in the hotel industry for over 15 years so we know high quality service when we experience it, and let me tell you, this place is not even close. Let me provide you with some details below.


CHECK-IN: When you check in, they make you leave the luggage with the bell staff so they can bring it up to your room. Unfortunately 2 hours in, we still did not have our luggage. I called down concerned and they said they didn't know who it belonged to and that they tried calling me, despite the fact that I did not get any missed calls and I specifically told the bell desk which luggage (and there was only one!) was ours. And you might think they were busy which is why they got confused, but the truth is, there was only one other couple there. There were also 3 bell staff just standing around, clearly not even doing their job correctly, a very sad sight to see.


RESTAURANTS: Restaurants are misrepresented on the website (as of 12/29). All of the menus have been updated...with worse items. For example, the Cafe Goombay menu on the website boasts a huge selection of conch dishes. At the actual restaurant there was barely any seafood. The Italian restaurant was supposed to have pizza and an assortment of specialty pastas, but instead they only have the most bland public school cafeteria pastas – spaghetti bolognese, penne with tomato sauce, etc. THIS IS FALSE ADVERTISEMENT. We booked the trip based on the fact that we liked their food, but they didn't much of what they advertised and everything they did have tasted over cooked or smothered in cream sauce, not tasty or classy at all. Now let's go by each restaurant:

Spices: Good breakfast omelets, that's it. Lunch was embarrassing. I saw a seafood pasta one day and got so excited, only to see it was just pasta with cream sauce and maybe 2 pieces of shrimp chopped up in tiny pieces. Sandals is in the middle of the Caribbean, the fact that they are so stingy with seafood is seriously annoying and cheap to say the least. The burger patties were also nasty, soaked in oil, not edible. I am also a HUGE dessert fan and was so excited to go crazy on desserts, but unfortunately there were NO GOOD DESSERTS, everything tasted disgusting and made from a box. The cheesecake was awful, the cupcakes tastes MUCH worse than Betty Crocker and I almost cracked a tooth trying to bite on the ginger bread cookie.

Baccarat: They claim this is their high end restaurant…HORRIBLE. I had the lobster which tasted like heavy cream and was so hard, my gf’s beef was a nasty section of the cow and did not taste good at all. The presentation of the food is gorgeous, and photographs very well but the taste is much worse than Applebee’s or Fridays. Also they kept forgetting who ordered what…what kind of white glove service is that? The only highlight from this meal was the one dessert I enjoyed on the whole trip—the chocolate decadence cake. That was actually really good but we didn’t pay over $600 a night to eat just one chocolate cake.

Crystal Room: Nice décor, didn’t have to wait too long but food again was AWFUL. I had the salmon, which was SO hard…why is everything here so overcooked? The chefs have absolutely no skill, my little brother who is 11 can cook better than they do. I mean they clearly just put it in the oven, don’t watch the time and let it get overdone. My gf got the steak hoping to give it another try since Baccarat was so poor, but guess what, it was even worse. We then shared the crab legs, and that was actually decent…though I don’t see how you can even screw up steamed crab legs. The dessert was the same dessert they had at lunch that was repackaged and tasted very bad. For someone who loves dessert, I am shocked that they make it so difficult to like any…I am the type that loves most dessert but boy was I wrong.

Casanova: Where do I begin? They told us there was a 30 minute wait even though half the restaurant was empty and it was Christmas night. I didn’t even bother asking why there was a wait because it was towards the end of our trip and I had lost total confidence in the resort. The pasta there was probably on par w/ the food in an elementary school cafeteria, yup it was that bad. Dessert was buffet style, I had the tiramisu and it was average. I ate the fruit because it was the only dessert that wasn’t awful, since all you have to do is wash fruit.

Pub: I had cheesecake there…not delicious at all, surprised there is actually cheesecake in the world I didn’t like, it was that bad. My gf had wings and said it was average. One night we went, we waited 30 minutes for our food and the waiter comes by and says “gas in the kitchen was out.” I’m not sure what that means…the hotel has no gas and it can’t cook food? We decided to leave and just not eat.


SERVICE: My gf tripped down two steps of stairs by accident and admittedly wasn’t the resort’s fault. But of course when I asked for an ice pack, their immediate response was “No, we don’t have ice pack.” I was highly surprised they didn’t even take a minute to think about an alternate solution…like putting ice in a plastic bag. In hospitality, your goal is to make your customers happy, workers at Sandals don’t even think of simple solutions to help you. Extremely disappointing.

There was extremely loud music coming from Casanova or that area until 1am and I couldn’t fall asleep because all we heard was the bass of a stereo system. If I wanted to go to a club, I would have…but we wanted to relax and certainly did not relax with the crazy music. We talked to other guests in the hot tub the next day and they had the same complaints. We asked for a room change but the receptionist said “the system was down” and they didn’t even know which rooms were vacant. What does that even mean? Does this establishment that calls themselves 5 stars not have any back up? That is so ridiculous and completely unacceptable so we basically didn’t get a room change (even though hotel occupancy was only 50% since it was Christmas weekend and we confirmed with a housekeeper who said the resort was about half full). Can you imagine even a Motel 6 not knowing which rooms were occupied?

We talked to management on the last day of our trip not to get anything out of it but to share our frustration and awful experience. We doubt they're going to do anything to change. It's such a fundamental flaw in the resort. BOTTOM LINE: Terrible food, incompetent staff, and overall a huge disappointment especially given the amount you pay.

Recently stayed at the Royal Bahamian. We stayed in a Penthouse Beachfront Butler Suite which was really nice. It wasn't the largest room (for instance a sofa wouldn't fit in this room), but was in the remodeled tower so everything was new. It had a nice balcony with two chaise lounge chairs. This was really nice to just lay out on in the evening and listen to the music being played below along with the waves lapping up on the shore. (Always opt for the balcony if you can...we think it is well worth the extra expense)!

It was pretty windy while we were there and as a result, the island was closed for a couple of days. We were able to go out to the island our third day and really enjoyed it. It's really a nice break from the main resort. Easy to find a private spot and you can still get drinks, lunch, a massage or just read and relax.

While the resort is pretty large with tons of amenities, it's easy to navigate. There is a "cut-through" spot to go from one tower to the other so you can hit a number of bars, restaurants or pools without having to walk too far.

The fitness center has a great view and plenty of equipment. The free weight area is a little tight, but it works.

The fire pits created a very cool atmosphere at night and the hot-tubs were nice to have too.

The Villas section is very cool. While it's the furthest point from the beach, it's really not that far and if you're looking for something quiet, this would be the section. The landscaping is really nice and the small pools dotted around this area make it seem like it's own private resort. I don't think they have pool service for drinks in the Villa section, so that may be a negative for some.

Our disappointment was with regard to the food. While it was decent, it certainly wasn't 5 Star. We had steak and lobster one night at Baccarat and would recommend that restaurant. We went to Gordon's on the Pier, but it was too windy to stay. The Pub was a fun spot, but the food just wasn't good there...thought you couldn't go wrong with a sandwich and fries, but have learned otherwise. The Royal Cafe was decent...again not great. Same for the restaurant on the island. When we were done with our lunch, we asked the waitress what they had for dessert. I'm not kidding, she said "it's up there, go get it yourself." My wife and I laughed. They were small desserts up on a tray.

The staff was friendly, but I wouldn't say they went out of their way to make you feel welcome. We're used to even the landscaping crew saying hello at other resorts and that just isn't the case here. It really has a feel of staying at a resort in the U.S. Not a bad thing, but other than the staff assigned to your specific task, they just seem too busy doing their own thing to take time to recognize the guests....doesn't have a real Caribbean hospitality feel compared to some others.

My wife used the spa and said it was great. If they can get the food straightened out and the staff a little friendlier, this will be a great place to vacation.

My husband and I were debating on where to go for our honeymoon and finally decided on The Bahamas. We got married on August 20, 2011 and left the morning of the 22nd. Hurricaine season is from June - November so basically if you are travelling at these times you are taking a chance and probably saying "Ah it won't happen to us" Well let me tell you, it happend to us!
We arrived on Monday, the resort absolutely beautiful and ocean AMAZING! Exactly what we thought it would be. Tuesday morning we were advised that hurricaine Irene may be heading our way. All the locals assured us saying they only ever get the strong winds and it passes because Nassau is protected by the other islands.They had tv's set up and updated posters watching the storm path along with a meeting in the ballroom to discuss storm planning etc. We attended the meeting with high hopes that Irene would pass. Tues evening our hopes were crushed because Irene was coming right our way. They started to prepare by boarding up all the windows and clearing the beach/pool decks. It was a ghost town Tuesday evening. We enjoyed the day/evening on Wednesday as much as we could with not alot open for us. It was windy as heck and got windier as the day went on. We stayed in the room most of the day watching tv to see where Irene was heading. We got really scared at one point and went to the airport to come home but no such luck. The airport was packed with no flights left on Air Canada. Wednesday morning around 5am I woke to our balcony doors shaking and the wind just blasting (we were on the 5th floor) As we were leaving our room, the staff were coming to evacuate everyone to the ballroom. The ballroom is downstairs with no windows etc. It's almost as if you are in another world down there which was the point. They had an emergency meeting, Irene was heading right for us :(
The ballroom set up was AMAZING. They were definitely prepared.They had breakfast and tables set up, all kinds of entertainment, a movie set up in one of the rooms, games, and a full room of cots for sleeping. We were treated like royalty. The scariest thing was not knowing what was happening outside with at some points the HUGE beautiful chandelier shaking and the power cutting out. We were stuck in the ballroom all of Thursday with many updates from the manager who was quite comical I might add, and were allowed back in our rooms at 9pm that night. It was still VERY windy and rainy outside but the worst of Irene had passed.
Friday morning we discovered the biggest mess. The beach was a disaster, pools full of sand and junk, it was very sad to see. Cleaning was under way and the staff worked around the clock. We decided to go to downtown Nassau and what a mess too. Huge trees up-rooted, the market was completely destroyed, Senior frogs torn apart, windows blown out. We have before and after pictures and it was heartbreaking. So all in all our honeymoon sucked and was definitely not what we expected. We got to enjoy 3 nice days out of the trip with the last day not even counting because of the mess Irene left, but we made it fun and tretched through the messy beach into the ocean.

With all that being said, the main thing is everyone was safe and THANK YOU to the staff and management on what a great great job they did in keeping all of us safe. They were so prepared and made us feel as comfortable they could with continuous ballroom meetings. On our way to the airport we spoke with another couple who were staying on the other side of town. They didnt get half the treatment we did and said they would definitely go to Sandals next time they visit The Bahamas, and NOT during hurricaine season lol but who's to know right. It's such a large timeline.

I would 100% go back (probably not for many years though due to price :( and would highly recommend it to anyone. I have no complaints even though we only got to enjoy 2 days of the experience and what an experience it was.

THANK YOU AGAIN TO ALL THE STAFF AND MANAGEMENT THAT KEPT US SAFE THROUGH SUCH A TERRIBLE TIME.