Having been there TWICE I have such a hard time believing the negative reviews. The resort looks almost exactly like it does in the photos, the food for the most part is excellent, and the staff is the best. We were sitting with the resort manager and the feedback we gave him is that in the 2 weeks we've spent at that resort NO ONE has EVER said 'no' to us for any request. The only exception was their photographer who wouldn't take a photo with our camera.
Since I'm a travel agent I got to take a tour of the resort this time and I got to see the Millionaire Suites! OMG They're amazing!!! the inside is really nice, nothing to die over, but OMG the outside area, and the VIEW! HOLY MOLY!!!!
We have had Butler Service both times and we REALLY love it. Our butlers made us special bubble baths with flowers, and we had the most amazing romantic in suite dining experience on our patio. We had a whole dinner from La Toc (most amazing restaurant, definitely get a reservation there!) served to us with white glove service on our patio by our butler. I'll add some pics to the end of this post.
Since we have always had rooms up on the bluff, I was concerned about the entry level rooms, but I got to tour several of them and they are larger and nicer than I thought.
One thing I can say about any Sandals resort is you should work with an agent because there are 20+ room categories, and the most common category can be in 5 different locations, but the website doesn't really specify, so you'll want to work with someone who knows what you want and can make that request.
As far as tours, we have done
Lover's Rock Sunset Sail - I wasn't a fan. it was supposed to be romantic, but it was just a tour up the West side of the island (which is where EVERY boat tour goes), and the music is kind of loud Lite FM music, and people actually interrupted us kissing to hand us drinks. I really didn't think it was that great and i didn't find it romantic. it was especially a waste since we has a sunset view from our room on the bluff and we could have just watched it from there with a glass of wine and snacks and gotten into a nice bath after.
Whale and Dolphin Watching - Another dud. 7 hours in a boat and we saw NO whales and NO dolphins. We did stop for a creole lunch and to swim in Anse Cochon. It was my first time just jumping off the back of a boat to swim.
Joe Knows Tour - Absolutely THE BEST. We loved this tour and it was the only one I was tempted to repeat on the second day. Like the others, it goes up the Western Coast of the island showing the highlights - The Pitons, Marigot Bay, Soufriere and the 'drive in volacano', mud baths, and a walk in the botantic gardens to the waterfalls to rinse off. What really makes this trip is that the guides are all young guys, you're on a speedboat, music is playing, drinks and free-flowing, and it's just 100% entertaining.
Rainforest Skyride - We did the gondola through the rainforest (not the sipline), and we found that it was nice, and educational, but we didn't see much in terms of the 'wow' factor you'd see in Costa Rica for example. We did see hummingbirds, which the island is known for, and this place has the best, cheapest gift shop. It's the same place you'd go if you do the ziplining, so take note.
Best of St. Lucia - This is the tour we did this time after having done the rest. This tour took us to the Castries craft market, the Our Planet Exhibit, The Cathedral (which I requested), duty free shopping (which we decided not to do..there were only 4 of us, so we could do what we wanted at our pace), and to a farm where we got to see some traditional farming methods and watch cassava bread being made and sample it. We even got to take part in some Lucian dancing. This tour was very different from the others, but I really enjoyed it. It was really slow-paced and a nice way to enjoy the culture.
The view from our room on the sunset bluff:
Bubble bath for our anniversary:
Romantic dinner on our balcony:
Millionaire Suite View:
Cassava bread being made on the 'best of st lucia' tour:
