We have been to many different all inclusive resorts. Thought we would try out a Sandals to see if it was "so much better" as many people have said. We do not think it is worth the extra $$ just to stay at a Sandals. We do usually stay at the highest grade rooms on any property we pick, so we are not comparing a budget room with a Sandals room. We will not be spending the extra $$ to say we were at a Sandals, it's just not worth it!

This was our third Sandals and for me I think it was my favourite due to the proximity to the airport, Nassau and Atlantis for a day trip. My husband prefers the beach and restaurants at Sandals Whitehouse and there is something very romantic and special about Sandals Emerald Bay that you won't get in Sandals Royal Bahamian.

Around the Resort:
However, I found that at SRB you had so many options. During the day you can take the ferry and go off to the offshore Island which is amazing! You can also venture out and go check out Atlantis or go into Nassau, which I recommend doing so during the day time as everything closes at 5pm. We went in the evening and had a meal at Señor Frogs and had a great time. For those who miss their daily Starbucks coffee run there is one down the street and a Burger King/Domino's/Subway across the street from resort entrance. Get the number 10 bus from the resort entrance for $1.25 each way but the last bus is around 6:30. The standard taxi fare is $15 but they will try to get $18 to $20 out of you.

Offshore Island:
As mentioned the offshore island is amazing. If you want to be alone or go somewhere less crowded the off shore island is the way to go. My husband brought his own snorkeling gear and went snorkeling almost every day, he saw schools of fish and also turtles just feet from the beach on the far side of the island. When you take the ferry do not forget to bring towels as there are none on the island. One of the many things I appreciated about this resort is that both the Sandals photographers and Red Lane staff were not constantly in your face hustling you as much as they did in the other two Sandals we have stayed at. The other half of the island (not owned by Sandals) is currently being developed into a dolphin encounter which would be fun (at an additional cost) in the future.

Room:
Our room in the Oleander building in the Royal Village was dated but spacious. We saw a few rooms in the Balmoral Tower which were beautiful and new but smaller than ours. We were quite happy staying in the Royal Village which seemed to be more lush and had it's own little private pool outside our building.

Restaurants:
Now for the food part… By any means I am not Anthony Bourdain, both my husband and I are very picky (not in a gourmet way) but found that there was something delicious to eat in all of the restaurants. I will agree with some reviewers that service can be slow but you are on holidays and some staff members are on island time. Sit back, have another cocktail and enjoy!

Grounds:
I felt that the grounds were maintained to a high standard and the gardens in the Royal Village were very lush. The resort didn't feel overcrowded even though the resort was over 90% capacity. The room was kept clean daily and the turn down service in the evening was very efficient and prompt. We never saw any staff cleaning our room yet it was done every day like clockwork.

Staff:
I would like to take the time to acknowledge a few people that made our stay more pleasant. Thank you to Andy from maintenance, our shower broke and he came within minutes to fix it. Kerry from the Cricketer's Pub it was nice to see you again. I believe his name was Heston (he was not wearing his name tag), the piano man. We had a great time signing along and had lots of fun, however Heston is only there on Sundays but if you are staying at Emerald Bay resort I believe he is there full time. Also, the "Tiny Chef" at Kimono's restaurant (also not wearing his name tag), you are quite the entertainer. Netecia at the Windsor swim up bar was awesome! She introduced us to Caipirinha's (pronounced Kai-Pee-Reen-Ya), and even came back to make my husband another drink as she was heading for her break. It was also nice seeing The GM Patrick Drake again, we first met him at the Whitehouse resort and the second time at Emerald Bay. Our next Sandals vacation will hopefully be to St. Lucia so we hope to see you there Mr. Drake…

Opportunities for improvement:
We were only disappointed by a couple of things during our stay.
1. The beach in the resort is short and the swimming is limited as it is roped off for the ferry to the island. If it wasn't for the offshore island I would have been very disappointed so when the weather is bad and they close the island (as high winds makes it too dangerous to get on and off the ferry) this is a problem.
2. Our flight home was delayed for several hours due to technical problems (there was at least twelve other Sandals guests on the same flight). I understand that the resort has no control over flight changes but they could have informed us of the delay (there is a flight departure/arrival screen at the Balmoral Tower concierge desk), which would have given us time to make plans to go some where for four hours before heading to the airport.


Overall we had a great time. I would recommend this resort to any one who wanted to go to Nassau. I thought the resort was much nicer then the over edited photographs you see on the web site.

My husband & I stayed here in January 2013. We had a great experience. All the restaurants were fabulous. The bar service however was not. They were not friendly at all. We never made it out to the private island. So no opinion on that. I heard from other guests that it was great, and others that it wasnt worth it. I would have liked to heck it out.The spa was amazing! And the best was our on site scuba dive coach Brian. We got certified with him. He was great! The whole dive team was friendly & made our experience magical. I would go back, the rooms were average. We stayed 6 th floor Windsor tower. Bathrooms weren't the cleanest. The bed was nice & had turn down every night. Room was stocked everyday with water, beer & soda. Piano bar is super fun! Go there! Went to town & rented mopeds, a must! You can really see the island better that way. Any questions please feel free to contact me!

We just returned from 5 nights at Sandals and it's hard to be back home!
It was just so relaxing having your biggest decisions be where to lounge around, where to eat and what beverage to get!

I had always wanted to try an all-inclusive and was really glad that we did here. I was concerned we might not find the food and drinks up to par but we were pleasantly surprised. Sure, some of the bar menu tropical drinks were pre-made and too sweet- but you could always ask for 'double rum' (for example) or add a shot of your own from your in-room bar. I love white wine and was very happy with their selection. We were happy to have a few bottles of bubbly during our stay as well!
We enjoyed the option of both in-room breakfast and the buffet- lots of choices here. One suggestion would be to have espresso drinks available- I really missed my morning latte.

The restaurants where reservations were required were really very good. Especially the Japanese and French restaurants. The Crystal room was very good too. The English pub could stand some improvement- we ate once here because it was where we could view the NFL playoff game (which was on way way too loud!) but did not return. The pizza oven by the pool/ocean is a great concept- please work on your pizza sauce, it tasted like ketchup! I really wanted to love the pizza but just couldn't get past that sauce!
The last night of our stay there was a chocolate night time buffet- awesome!!! Such a great idea, and it was so yummy! Keep this up!

The private island is so serene and peaceful- we loved spending time here, it is a must.
I also love to have a good gym when I am traveling, and the view from the fitness center (top floor) was fabulous. There are towels and water here too.
There were lot's of activities to choose from each day- from poolside games to afternoon tea to night time comedy- you could do as much or as little as you wanted to.

We also enjoyed the offer to have our photos taken......we are always taking pics of our kids and never get ours done! We bought a CD of a few favorites and it was well worth it.

We loved our trip so much, we took advantage of the offer to return, and booked next New years in Jamaica at Sandals! And, our fabulous travel agent (Dream Makers Vacation service- Amy McHugh) will still get the booking and handle all the arrangements (phew! they were wonderful and scored us an upgrade!).

I understand if you may be hesitant, but encourage you to go!!! We travel many times a year, both with our kids and solo weekend getaways- we stay in condos and in hotels....... but we really truly had such a great vacation!!