The water here is the best clear warm and not to rough! Servie at this Sandals was spectacular! Amazing really! Top notch cleaning resturants activities! Enjoyed beach activites snokeling sailing peaceful and the room was perfect...stayed at the villa had perfect sleeps and always came back to a tody room with fun towels turned into various shapes. The Grand Bahamian is what got me hooked on Sandals! This did it perfectly.the details were never missed on any given day!

Before you read this I want you to know that this isn't me whining about every little thing, I'm simply pointing out why I rated this an "average". In my opinion, a trip to any of the Sandals resorts should never receive anything less than an "excellent" rating. We just returned from our 8 day trip last night (Feb 1st - 9th). We encountered a lot of negatives at this resort that we normally wouldn't at any other Sandals we have been. Some were out of the control of the resort, but most could be easily changed for a more enjoyable vacation. If you plan on hot sunny weather, you may want to plan for a later date that February. It was cool, cloudy and very windy our first couple days, but definitely not the resorts problem. We were able to look past that because we knew the weather was supposed to warm later in the week, which it did. When we entered our concierge level room we noticed the complimentary mini bar which was well stocked. The room also had a beautiful walk out deck with a table and two chairs that faced north, so we had an excellent view of the beach and offshore island. That being said, our room was on the fifth floor and not only did we get a view of the beach, but we also got to look at all the mechanicals and dirty rooftops of the nearby restaurant and other neighboring buildings. Our room was decorated mediocre at best and we also had a terrible sewage smell that entered our room intermittently for about half hour intervals. The staff had no problem moving us to another room, but it wasn't of the same quality and that meant we had to pack everything up and move 3 days before our departure. We decided to stay and stop using the A/C, which was where the smell was coming from. The housekeeping service was excellent and they were on top of everything. When the weather finally cleared, we were able to explore the well manicured sandy beach and make a trip to the offshore island. The island was definitely the highlight of our trip next to the amazing people we met. We spent many hours there and enjoyed every minute of it. You can hang out in the hot tub, chill on the beach, and if you were brave enough to enter the pool, you could hang at the swim up bar. Every single restaurant gets an "excellent" rating from us. The quality, preparation, presentation, and many options on every menu was very impressive. A big thank you to the kitchen/ wait staff for superior service! Needless to say, the drinks were plentiful and delicious. All the staff we encountered were very kind, always smiling, and very personable. The entertainment staff was incredibly talented. They performed a couple of nights at the theater and it was very impressive to watch their amazing shows. The watersports were fun and there was always something available to take out and enjoy (kayak, water trike, sailboat...). The snorkeling was so much fun and there is a lot to see, definitely on the top of my list! One of my biggest complaints was the music. I didn't hear one single song that had steel drums. Most of it sounded like they turned on the satellite radio to some crappy US station. I shouldn't hear Nirvana during dinner at the offshore island, very disappointing. The other complaint is the excursions offered to the guests from an outside company. They were all overpriced, and every single one of them invited kids also. Nothing against kids, but I stayed at the adults only resort for a reason. Sorry if it sounds like me grumping about every little thing, but those are the reasons that this resort received and average review from me.

The greatest service was by the butlers. The gormet food was the best I have had compared with other hotels. The room was very spacious. Nice hotel guests and very relaxing and especially a beautiful beach. Would come back again.

We celebrated our 10th wedding anniversary at Sandals Royal Bahamian from January 31-February 4, 2013. This was our 9th visit to a Sandals or Beaches property, but first Sandals since we started having kids in 2007. Needless to say we had to get ourselves back into the Sandals mindset after spending much time at Beaches.

If you are into history (British history) then the backstory of this resort is for you. The main Balmoral tower is the former Balmoral Hotel built in the 1940's. There are many pictures of dignitarities who had stayed here throughout the years.

We are very much beach people and this resort did not have the same "tropical feel" to it that many other resorts do. Yes it is located in the Bahamas and there is a beach and palm trees, but this place felt a bit too formal for our liking.

This feeling all changed when we finally made it over to Sandals Cay (the offshore island). This is a little slice of heaven located just 1/2 mile offshore from the resort. There was a boat that (weather permitting) made regular hourly trips back and forth between 10am and 4pm. There is a very casual feeling to the island and a nice restaurant at which you can have lunch or dinner.

Here are some more specifics.

Room - We stayed in Room 300 (3rd floor Balmoral Tower). The room was clean and well decorated, but this is the first resort we have ever stayed at in over 100 nights in the Caribbean where we had no balcony or patio. Only a window that opened. This room probably represented a very small upgrade despite being Sandals Select Platinum members. This was the only room we have stayed in the the Caribbean where the entrance to the room is completely inside, making it feel more like Hilton than a Sandals.

Food - The food was outstanding. There are 10 restaurants at this resort and we dined at 7 of them. Gordon's on the Pier (an extra charge for non-butler guests like us) and Cafe Goombay (on the private island) were highlights, although the Italian restaurant was great too. The food is on par with other Sandals/Beaches resorts we have been to.

Beach - The beach was pristine, but just not very long. If you are the type of person that likes to take long strolls on the beach, then this may not be the place for you. The resort has a relatively small beach that comes to a dead end at the east and western ends. The offshore island offers a larger beach and some snorkeling, but again there is not much room to stroll as Sandals owns half of the island and the other half is off limits.

Drinks - Sandals always does a nice job with drinks. The Bahama Mama and Bahama Papa were favorites of mine, as were the beer selections of Kalik, Sands and Sands Lights (all fromt the Bahamas).

Activities/Entertainment - Since we are used to the Sesame Street gang at Beaches, we couldn't recall what to expect. There was a nice mix of dancing and live music, as well as a very nice Super Bowl party that was put on. There was plenty to offer, although it would have been nice to hear some of the pool music at the beach.

Pools - The pools looked nice, but hardly anyone was in them since it was relatively cool (in the 70's most of the time). There were plenty of hottubs scattered around the resort that we took advantage of.

Grounds - The grounds were spotless. I can recall seeing various Sandals catalogs where they show all kinds of fancy beach furtniture and then there is nothing of the like when you show up. This is one resort where they must have spent a lot of money as the furniture around the resort was very high quality. There were also some fire pits that came in very handy day and night due to some cooler weather.

Service - The staff was polite and courteous. They neglected to acknowledge our 10 year anniversary, despite knowing about it, and to make up for it we were given a free meal at Gordon's on the Pier (normally $140 for non-butler guests).

Excursions - The only thing we did was to take a day trip into downtown Nassau (primarily due to cooler weather one day). You can easily catch a public bus right outside of Sandals and for $1.25 per passenger each way get to/from Nassau (in about 15 minutes). There is plenty of shopping, dining and etc. We happened to be there when 3-4 cruise ships were in port, so it was quite busy.

Overall Sandals Royal Bahamian is a nice resort. We prefer a more tropical feel and would definitely suggest that visiting in late January-early February might not be the best time due to the cooler weather.