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Sandals Regency St. Lucia Golf Resort & Spa Traveler Review :: "Disappointing experience"

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Summary of All Property Reviews Ratings based on answers from a total of 2 reviews (All Reviews) 10 is best 1 is worst
Feature	Ranking	Feature	Ranking
Cleanliness of Property	9.50	Quality of Property	4.00
Privacy & Quietness	4.50	Quality of Service	4.50
Courtesy & Hospitality of Staff	5.00	Accuracy of Website (marketing hype) VS. Actual Experience	1.50
Food and Dining Experience	5.00	Price/Value of Property	2.00
Safety Factor (Did you feel safe at property)	9.50	Quality of Beach (ranked closest beach if property is located off the beach)	3.00
Total Property Score: 4.85 | Average Star Rating: 3.00 out of 5

• 0% (0 visitors of 2) said they would go back to Sandals Regency St. Lucia Golf Resort & Spa again.
• 0% (0 visitors of 2) said they would recommend Sandals Regency St. Lucia Golf Resort & Spa to friends.

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I had high expectations for Sandals Regency in St. Lucia, but was greatly disappointed in the overall experience. Upon arrival at the airport I found the Sandals 'stand' outside by the taxis. I was packed into a little van/bus and had the worst ride of my life in this public transportation van. One woman with us got sick on this 75 minute ride from the airport that involved great elevation changes and 180 degree curves every mile. The luggage piled into the back of the bus kept falling down and hitting the people sitting in the back row. We dubbed this ride the 'Mad Hatters Ride' because it jerked us around so much. Definitely take motion sickness tablets before bording one of these taxis. The island is beautiful, but the drive on the 'highway' showed that the people of this island gave a new definition to poor. The highway was lined with shacks made of boards fastened together. There were goats and cows tied up along the highway and trash everywhere you looked. People were urinating along the highway and there were cars and trucks stripped of all parts along the highway. In the US we would call this site a junkyard. In St. Lucia this is a highway. Note that there is a private helicopter that goes between the main airport and a small airport about 2 miles from the Sandals Regency. It cost $250 per couple one way, but it is worth the money. I tried to book the helicopter for the return trip but it was booked solid.

Upon arrival all I wanted to do was get to my room and rest. Instead I was ushered to a room where I had to go through an hour of orientation and give my credit card, fill out the required paperwork, etc. They did try to make the most of it and gave us chilled towels, but I did not expect to have to wait an hour after arrival to get to my room.

The room was a Luxury Deluxe room and was clean and the view was OK, but I was surprised by the little window air conditioner that barely keep the room cooled running on high. Note that the bathroom is not air conditioned. The room had some wood rot which I found when I opened the window and the handle fell off and little white bugs came running out.

The housekeeping and maintenance staff were exceptional. We did have to call maintenance 3 times when the plumbing stopped working and they were very responsive.

The food is pretty good, but definitely not gormet. The Italian resturant is about the quality of what you would get at an Olive Garden in the US. The Arizona grill has some real problems as we had to wait 40 minutes to get a burger and fries delivered to our table. They advertised anytime snacks, but those snacks are popcorn and nachos. Be prepared to carry the popcorn or nachos in your hands because most of the time they are out of bags or plates to carry these snacks. Want a bottle of water or soda -- you will have to go to the bar and convenience the bartender to give you a bottle. Why can't they have water and sodas sitting out for everyone to take? You simply cannot get room service unless you are in the conceirge level rooms. In talking to people in the conceirge rooms that were on their honeymoon they were very frustrated that every hour the staff was knocking on their door wanting to come in and do something.

I was excited about the all inclusive watersports, but this has to be one of the weakest areas of Sandals Regency. The dive instructor refused to take us into the dive class because we did not sign up 24 hours in advance even though he only had two people in his class. We did take the dive class the next day and the instructor missed the bus to the dive boat, so we walked out into the surf right off the beach. The waves were so strong that two women were knocked off their feet and were trapped underwater by the weight of the tanks. Once we got going our dive instructor took one person to the top that was having trouble and lost the group. Luckily there was a guy in the back monitoring us and he took over once he realized what had happened.

The snorkeling was also disappointing. The snorkel boat took us just around the bend from the resort and we snorkeled about 50 feet from the cliffs. The current washes you back and forth and we spent most of the time trying not to get washed into the coral. There are a few fish, but not at all what I was expecting. The dive boat goes to the same place, just 100 feet from the cliffs. Not at all what I was expecting.

The pools are tremendous. Not crowded, warm, waterfalls are great and swim-up bar is one of the highlights of the pools. Only problem is that the bartenders are not trained very well. One bartender had to look at the menu to figure out how to make drinks ordered from their drink menu. Order an unusualy drink (eg, Blue Lagoon) and you may get a Blue Sandals, a Blue Hawaiian, or who knows what. Many bartenders did not have a clue how to make drinks and I never got a drink made the same way twice. On the plus side the bartenders were mostly very entertaining and interacted well with the guest. Want to have some fun with the bartenders -- order a virgin drink and see what they have to say.

Beach was a public beach that was overrun by local kids. I mistakenly thought we had a private beach, but it was not and you can forget about lazing around on the beach because of the locals. Stay by the pool on the property and you will not be bothered by the locals. I was expecting white sand, but the beaches are 'golden white' otherwise known as brown (just as you experience at Daytona Beach). The water is fairly clear, but don't expect crystal clear water in St. Lucia.

Overall I think Sandals does too good a job marketing their properties. They promised that I would experience a new level of luxury, opulance, and service. I compared them to hotels in Vegas, San Francisco, Orlando and New York and found that they rank far below what can be found in the states. Lower your expectations for this resort and you may be pleased with the property, food, and service and definitely take the helicopter transport from the airport to save yourself a life threatening and horrible experience on the ride from the airport.

I may return to a Sandals because I like the concept, but I would not go back to St. Lucia. Apparently Jamicia and the Bahamas are much more developed and have a better attitude than the locals working in St. Lucia.

Property Review
10 is best 1 is worst

Would you stay at this property again?: ... No
Would you recommend this property to your friends?: ... No
In your opinion, how would you classify the "style" of this property: ... Family Oriented
Possible Anwswers: Family Oriented, Couples Oriented, Mixed/Diverse in a Good Way, Mixed/Diverse in a Bad Way

• Cleanliness of Property: ... 9
• Quality of Property: ... 5
• Privacy and Quietness: ... 9
• Quality of Service: ... 6
• Courtesy and Hospitality of Staff: ... 7
• Accuracy of Website VS. Actual Experience: ... 1
  
• Food and Dining Experience: ... 7
• Price/Value of Property: ... 3
  
• Safety Factor (Did you feel safe at property): ... 9
• Quality of Beach (ranked closest beach if property is located off the beach): ... 3

Destination/Island Review
10 is best 1 is worst

Would you visit this destination/island again?: ... No
Would you recommend this destination/island to your friends?: ... No

• Cleanliness of Destination/Island: ... 1
• Options of Activities in the Area: ... 7
• Ease of Transportation (air, taxi, bus, shuttle): ... 1
• Quality of Beaches in the Area: ... 4
• Courtesy & Hospitality of Locals: ... 5
• Safety Factor (Did you feel safe in the Area): ... 3
  
• Local Restaurant Experience/Options: ... 6
• Price/Value of Destination (Does your dollar stretch?): ... 4
  

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