Sandals Resorts

We went to Sandals Curaçao in December 2022 and were extremely disappointed with our vacation. Whether it’s the food, the service, the beach, the bars, the amenities, such as the non-existing tennis court, almost nothing at this resort is worthy of being labeled Sandals, except for the price! We certainly didn’t get our money’s worth!

We all know that Sandals is generally more expensive than most resorts, and it used to be worth the money, but it now seems that Sandals is fast becoming just another average resort. It also seems that Sandals is now in it to simply make money rather than offer a luxurious romantic couple’s vacation. We did raise our long list of issues and concerns first with Curaçao’s General Manager and then with Sandals Customer Service, but what they were offering was far from being satisfactory considering our overall poor experience. So unless we see some major improvements in overall reviews, we will not be returning to Sandals anytime soon.

I WILL NEVER GIVE A DIME TO THIS ** COMPANY! What’s sad is that I expected them to take care of me and my husband even after I booked on-site another trip to Antigua that they would’ve done something additional, no they didn’t! They were RUTHLESS! If my experience doesn’t stop you from booking at sandals then GOOD LUCK TO YOU! Because, they’re there to just take the our money and that’s it! This ** Company does not even deserve a star! Better yet, research other all inclusive resorts such as Secrets! That's where I’ll be going next!

Website on this resort is not accurate in many areas: none or little beach (not as expansive on website); Amenities obviously are wrong (robes & slippers); Dining reservations are incorrect, they show 4 when there were only 2; How can you run out of towels at a resort; no list of restaurant closures (showed up for dinner/closed); Turn down service is hit & miss.

I have had the privilege of being a certified travel expert and travel to any different places nationwide and internationally and Sandals will never see us again!!!! Beware before you spend with them. We also place a order for a portrait book last year which just arrived yesterday 01/15/23 and we are still waiting on the other items we purchased as well which was the blanket with our photo on it. I don't mind paying for service, but theirs (Sandals) is not worth it, and I spent more time on the phone with there corporate office/reservations service complaining and constantly being placed on hold more than anything.

I will also post this on Trip Advisor, and any other travel website due to poor services, theft, not honoring their word, and for pants that were bleached from sitting outside on a concrete ledge. Totally unacceptable!!!! Don't waste your time or monies and I have all the emails and documentation as well. Consumers don't do it. I travel for a living and each place I go I recommend to our clients in the travel business if it's a good place. And at the end of the trip I still left gratuities for the butler staff.

Visa tells me I have to deal with Wells Fargo and Wells Fargo is telling me that it “appears” I approved these charges. They have no signature and no video showing me in the middle of a Jamaica at an auto body shop. I NEVER even left the resort!!! I have spent hours on hold with Sandals and they kept giving me the run around and asking me for another week and that someone would get a hold of me. It’s been almost 3 months now and the only communication with them has been because I continue to reach out and beg for their help.

Finally today (1/6/2023) they told me there is nothing they can do. I am absolutely heartbroken that they don't care and did nothing to offer to help me or make it right. I will tell you the people we met in Jamaica were lovely but it is clearly unsafe. I am in tears as I don't know what else to do. Beware and choose somewhere else. It wasn’t worth this nightmare and I would hate for this to happen to anyone else.

The Royal Caribbean is close to the airport but the planes are up high so no bother. It is smaller than the Sandals nearer to the airport, and very noisy, but has all you need. Yes there are times getting your food might take a bit longer than you expect but it comes hot and all are great. You need to understand island time is different than the rush time where you come from. Relax you are on vacation. All in all you need to understand that each resort is unique in layout, staff, and activities. Loud parties are not Sandals Royal Caribbean.

We were flying from Northern California so we took a red eye to arrive at the resort around 3pm the next day because that was check in time. After 22 hours of traveling and no sleep, our bus finally made it to the resort. We were not greeted and the other 20 people on our bus were immediately taken to their rooms. So, we sat and waited, we attempted to ask but were brushed off. After an hour we finally found someone who said our room wasn’t ready and to take a seat. I finally told them we were starving and had been traveling for 22 hours so they walked us to the “jerk shack” to have a light snack. This place was just confusing. No “please wait to be seated” sign. All of the staff watched us walk in and sit but nobody would wait our table.

I finally walked up there and asked for a menu and the gal looked over her brow and smartly told me I was to wait to be seated but she would help us this one time. It was 4pm and only 3 other couples were in there. Around 5pm we walked back to the lobby, many more people had been arriving and we were again told our room wasn’t ready. 15 minutes later he came over to get us.

Here we go with the confusing rooms…We were in the Italian building. When I booked it said it was a beach walk out. We were on the 3rd floor (1314). Also, you could barely see the beach beyond the sea grape trees which is fine. But, online, it also said it was a one bedroom which was more expensive than the junior suite. But we were in a junior suite. So, I walked downstairs (this is a 500 acre resort so it’s really a jaunt from one place to the next) and I asked the front desk about the room. The manager came out and told me our room was a one bedroom, if it all fits in one room then it’s a one bedroom. Also, he said I must have been confused because my room was a walk out. Only butler rooms can actually walk to the water. Ok, whatever, not what I purchased but I just wanted to relax. At that moment I noticed the other 6 people in our group had arrived and were being greeting with beverages in the lobby.

When I got back to the room we decided we were too tired to go to dinner so I was going to order room service. I called down and was informed my room doesn’t have room service. Say what?! That’s a thing? I even asked if I could pay for it and they said no. So, we took a shower and went downstairs. Not before slipping in a huge puddle in the hallway of our room. Apparently the AC leaks 24/7 and leaves a massive puddle in the middle of the room. We kept putting towels over it so we wouldn’t forget.

Made it downstairs (they don’t provide any sort of pamphlets telling you about food or times things open/close so it’s a guessing game) and we found a restaurant that looked nice. They asked for the name on our reservation. Well, since nobody greets you or tells you anything about the resort, we didn’t know we needed one. So we found some other restaurant. All I can say is that all of the food here was incredibly bland and gross. I couldn’t even eat my fried rice that first night.

Now let’s talk drinks. It took a few days to figure out what to order and what not to order. They have one type of beer which is red stripe and we are beer drinkers but it doesn’t even taste as good as a coors. Now the booze, was hard to find brands that we have in the US. They mostly try to force their Jamaican rum on you which to me tastes like gasoline. I finally had to tell them “only dark rum please” and I’m not a rum drinker at all.

The first morning I went down to make reservations and the only opening was for the last night we were there. When they say people on the island move at island pace, that definitely goes for their employees. Everything took an extremely long time. We even took out the fishing charter at the resort. It was very obvious that they really don’t care if you catch anything. They literally drove us in a big loop and changed bait 2 times. This is not how they do it in Mexico. In Mexico, we fish and eat good that night. This was rather disappointing.

Our last night was the only decent meal we had. We retired early at 8:30 and upon returning to our room, the indoor safety latch had somehow latched itself when we closed the door to leave. We had to wait for a maintenance guy to come and break into our room with a screwdriver and pry the latch off. We were advised to not travel off the resort in the south coast area unless we were getting a taxi to Montego Bay (2 hours away) and they quoted us $200 for a taxi ride. So, we were unable to eat any true Jamaican food while there which was very disappointing for a couple of foodies like us.

There were many more issues with our trip but these were the memories that stood out the most. Our shuttle to the resort and back to the airport was listed as an hour drive. It’s actually 1 hour and 49 minutes. Our plane was schedule to depart at 12:26pm so they said we had to be checked out by 7am and our shuttle would leave by 8am. Once checked out, you can’t get food but you couldn’t get it before then either so I got car sick from the insanely twisty Jamaican roads. Then our flight was an hour and a half delayed. Needless to say, I won’t ever use Sandals resorts again.

The next afternoon still no hot water and maintenance was called again and no one was aware that there had been an issue from the previous evening. Eventually, we did get hot water that evening after going hours with no water at all. On the day of our departure, I asked to speak to a manager. I made them aware that we were unhappy with our stay and disappointment that absolutely no one had apologized for the inconvenience that we had endured. We were then offered 15,000 points towards our next vacation at any Sandals Resort and an apology. The points were never credited to our account. I might consider going to another one of their resorts but definitely not Royal Caribbean. If it wasn't for the butler's service I would have given them 1 star.

The next issue is that the butlers now have to cover up to 9 couples at a time which hampers them from being effective. There were times that I would call or message them and receive zero responses. Days would go past and I wouldn't even here from them, it got to the point I gave them the phone back because what service am I receiving? The butlers are even frustrated and voiced to me that the shortage has been going on for some time now.

Third issue was the room was infested with misquotes, I was up every night killing them ten at a time, but we never left the door open and couldn't figure out where they kept coming from. From talking to the other rooms it seems to be a issue for everyone. Informed the Butler and front desk and nothing was done. The other problem that room 1130 told me was they had issue with bed bugs and my wife should me bites on her legs as well, Both rooms informed the butler and front desk and again no one reached out or investigated the room.

The swim up pools are a joke and offer zero privacy, you would have people swimming up and starring in your room and leaving dishes in your area. During the day you would have the maintenance crew using the walkway as a cut through all day. It got to the point the my wife felt uncomfortable sunbathing. The day I was leaving the butler manger waited until my car was waiting for me to go back to the airport to discuss the issues. I explained to him the issues and he immediately got defensive. He said I can guarantee 100% this resort doesn't have bedbugs. Even though he received complaints from 3 different rooms.

He said we have a process and protocols in-place if this is reported. I asked him what is the process? I asked him if a client reports it, what are the next steps? He said we investigate, and said no one entered our room after the report was filed with the butler or front desk, so your process failed. He could reply and I said if you want to discuss further here's my number - never heard from him again. Talking to other rooms - Room 730 phone was broken, front desk said they would send someone to fix it and they day the left, I asked them and they said it was never fixed, Room 1130 told me the TV was broken and again they said they would fix it and no one ever should up to fix the TV or investigate the bedbugs claim.

It's a total shame that if an issue arises, they don't even react at all. The attitude is just deal with it. No sure if anyone experienced these problems recently or it's just this Sandals resort or post COVID new norm. Not what I expected from Sandals and extremely disappointed with the lack of service and the amount I paid for that service.