This was our second experience of a Sandals holiday, our first being at their resort on Antigua, which we thoroughly enjoyed.
We had booked a suite with butler service and upon arrival after check-in, were escorted up to our suite on the first floor. We had specifically requested to be in a top floor, or as high as possible, suite. We asked to be moved but had to wait for 24 hours to move up to the fourth floor.
There are two large pools at this resort, one they refer to as a ‘quiet’ pool and the other, the ‘lively, activity’ pool. Unfortunately our suite, and most of the suites (the most expensive accommodation) are situated overlooking this noisy pool. And it is very noisy.
We were originally allocated two butlers, then another. The butlers were very attentive, reserving tables for dinner, booking sun loungers, etc., in the first week but it did tail off somewhat in the second week. Because of the noise at the pool below our suite, which started about 10.30 and carried on until 5pm and sometimes later, we first tried the ‘quiet’ pool. This was fine for lounging around, but the water was so cold, we could not swim for more than a few minutes at a time. We tried the beach and then found it was most restful on the island, a 5 minutes boat ride from the pier. We spent every day on the island from then on. On the island we acquired two further butlers! Very nice attentive chaps.
Unfortunately the last boat back to the main resort landed us at about 3.45 so we still had at least an hour and a half of very loud ‘music’ – so loud that even with the doors and windows shut, radio/TV on it could still be heard pounding through the glass. One day I looked over the balcony at the pool to see several drunk young people taking turns laying on the pool bar and having the bar staff pour liquor all down the front of their bodies which was then licked off by others to great whoops of delight from others. It was so down-market and tacky. Rather like the cheap package holidays to Spain we see in documentaries about unpleasant holiday destinations. We eventually asked to be moved to the other side of the building, overlooking a car park, but nice and quiet with sea views. We also had sun on this balcony. None of the front facing suites – onto the noisy pool – ever had sun.
Restaurants:
Gordons on the Pier - good food but always served luke warm.
Casanova - enjoyed the food here.
Baccarat - Food good but again, luke warm.
Crystal Room - Food ok but lacked atmosphere.
Baccarat, the Crystal Room and the Piano Bar were always very cold.
Kimonos - food good and hot! But very, very noisy making it difficult to hold a conversation.
Royal Café - food awful and service worse.
Café Goombay - food variable and staff that couldn’t care less. I asked for some Gangster Rap ‘music’ to be turned down or changed and was told that someone had requested it. We were the only people there so I guess the staff wanted it on.
Spices - we usually had breakfast here and occasionally lunch. A good selection and the staff were helpful .
Sandals have a ‘no tipping’ policy for their staff, except for the butlers. As we ended up with five, the tip was fairly hefty. I don’t understand why they don’t have a pool where the tips go and are then divided equally among the butlers. We attended the ‘Returning Guests’ dinner – food very good and hot (they can do it) – and we had the Head Butler sitting next to us. When asked about why the rest of the staff are not allowed tips, she told us that a percentage of the cost of the holiday was allocated for this purpose.
Although we had a lovely holiday in Antigua last year, we were so disappointed with this resort that we are not sure we will try any more Sandals holidays. Pity.

My husband and I went to Sandals for Christmas and New Year - it was the best holiday ever! The quality of everything, the ambiance, the friendly staff, our gorgeous suite in the Royal Village where we could look out of our bedroom window and watch humming birds feeding from the beautiful flowers .... it was everything we had dreamed of and much more!!
Sandals Cay, the private island, was superb, we could find a stretch of white sand with turquoise sea and blue skies to ourselves!
We were met at the airport and treated like royalty from the start to the finish when they waved us goodbye as we left. I particularly liked the food in Spices where Latoysa was wonderful as the manager and we could choose fresh fruit, crisp salads and a huge selection. Baccarat was wonderful for dining. Most nights after dinner, we sat around the grand piano and sang along with the Sandals Song Book, in great company, as we drank our wine. Leo was the BEST pianist and Sherwin a great bartender in the Piano Bar. I loved the pizzas on the beach, made to order and delicious!
The New Year Celebrations were spectacular, especially the fireworks......
Try to use an airline that goes direct to Nassau as the only downside was Miami Airport :o( and considerable delays with Bahamas Air both going and coming home .... However, once we we welcomed at the airport it was simply superb ..... Next year we are going to Sandals in St Lucia ...

Overall, my husband and I gave our Honeymoon a 7 out of 10. Some downfalls, completely had nothing to do with Sandals, but more so the weather (we only got 1 good day of sun - others were mainly cloudy, but still warm enough to lay by the ocean and pool) and the fact that my wallet disappeared (not accusing stealing by any means!) We got to the resort the day after Christmas and left NYE day. The resort itself was beautiful! This was the first time either of us have traveled to the Bahamas/Caribbean so we weren't sure what to expect. Again, the resort was beautiful, clean and the customer service was amazing. All the employees were there to help you. When we got into our room, it was obvious that the toliet seat was overlooked - we called our concierge desk and someone was up within minutes, from there on we had NO issues with cleanliness.
The only two things we were disappointed in were the dinner reservations and the food. My husband and I are by NO means food snobs, but we both agreed that the best meal we had was their wood fired pizzas. Back to the reservations, we called the next morning after arriving, promptly at 9AM when reservations open up, and wanted to make reservations for all the restaurants that need them. The lady said she'd called back to confirm our dates and times. I went back up to our room at noon to find out nothing had been booked, and we would only be able to go to 2 of the 3 reservations-required restaurants, and both were 9pm reservations. I was completely bummed because the one place I wanted to go (Cafe Gombay on the island) was the one we couldn't get. The fact that we called as soon as we could, and still didn't get what we wanted was a bummer. The other food aspect was that in most restaurants (not Baccarat) I felt rushed. I understand they have this down to a science, but we were in and out of Kimono's (hibachi) within 25 minutes! All in all, the food was not bad, but it didn't blow us away, and from what I've read that's to be expected at any all-inclusive resorts (though we did hear that the food was excellent at Emerald Bay from multiple people).
My husband and I both agreed that the convience factor of an all-inclusive was amazing. We literally had no worries. I will say that if you're expecting a 5-start resort with 5-star restaurants, go to the Ritz-Carlton.
If we do this again, I think we'd explore to the Emerald Bay resort or one of the more secluded islands to get a more Caribbean feel, as Nassau was more commercialized than I was expecting.

FOOD: The special dining food from all the restaurants were amazing. If you are on your honeymoon, definitely recommend dinner by the beach or at the Gordon's at night. Its worth your $$.

CUSTOMER SERVICE: I have been to quite a few Caribbean resorts but Sandals definitely speaks out. The customer service was amazing. The name speaks for itself 'royal bahamian'. From the receptionist, bartender, server to room service, everyone was nice; they were always smiling which made you feel warm and welcomed. My husband and I went to see the Atlantis (definitely recommend it for a day tour), and the customer service was NOT so nice. The receptionist/servers weren't too helpful when we had asked some questions about the resort and its whereabouts.

ROOM: We had a beachfront ocenview room, which was overlooking at the Gordon's. It was a beautiful view at morning to night when you step into your balcony. The room was clean and tidy.