Sandals (Bahamas) Avoid at all cost!
This was our one big holiday of the year, spent at Sandals in the Bahamas over Christmas, and it was a huge let-down.The resort felt old and tired, and the staff were rude and disengaged, often walking away mid-conversation. Halfway through the trip my partner was bedbound for three days with food poisoning, and once he recovered, I then became ill too, ruining most of the holiday.When we returned home and tried to claim for the lost time, Sandals refused to provide medical records and effectively denied the illness, which felt like gaslighting. No one lies about being sick on holiday.I would never book with Sandals again.
Lorrin Page
Do not believe what they say
We travelled to Royal Bahamian for our third trip to Sandals. Unfortunately I was extremely unwell and wanted to consult my specialist at home. We went to reception (twice) and asked would it be possible to move our holiday to a different date and two different receptionists both said "yes, please reorganise with your local office". We went home and when we contacted the office they told us to claim on insurance! Unfortunately we couldn't claim so lost a lot of money because of Sandals.As the saying goes: they won the battle but lost the war. We have never and will never return to Sandals.
Shaun S
A lovely vibe
We have stayed at 2 Sandals resorts. We spent our honeymoon in Barbados and visited St Lucia (Halcyon) for our 2nd wedding anniversary. I can't praise the staff at both resorts enough they were kind, understanding and brought a great Caribbean vibe to the day. No task was too big or small for them to sort out for the comfort of the guests. The food and drink was always top notch the atmosphere was so romantic and we were still allowed to enjoy it while we waited for the airport pick up after checking out. I am happy to say that we have already booked to go to Antigua for our 3rd wedding anniversary.
Lawrence
Sandals not what you expect
Had to cancel my hotel with Sandals due to no fault of my own caller was non sympathetic and gave no partial refund very despicable behaviour from this company please dont use them
Rod Hopkins
Old shabby resort
Very old 3 star resort had a pool view room with no pool to be seen and was told a pool room does not necessarily have a pool view unbelievable Room was very tatty broken furniture and very scratched and stained I reported this to reception desk unfortunately they were not interested Food only average my advice is to go to a better resort such as Dreams half the price and twice as good. Don’t bother going here save your money
Ernest Reardon
Do NOT book
Where do I even start? The customer service we’ve received from Sandals UK has been appalling. Their customer care team repeatedly refused our requests to speak with a manager, even after everything we went through.We were left stranded in Jamaica during Hurricane Melissa, receiving completely misleading information from Sandals UK. While the general manager on site advised guests to vacate the island for safety, Sandals UK insisted there were “no issues” and “no reason to leave.” The mixed messages caused unnecessary stress during an already frightening situation.Since returning home, Sandals UK have repeatedly tried to wash their hands of the situation. No accountability, no support, no care. I can confidently say I will never book with Sandals UK again, and I urge others to consider different hotel providers. It’s clear that Sandals UK are more interested in taking your money than looking after their guests.What makes this even more disappointing is that the on-site staff were absolutely amazing. They did everything they could, and it’s a shame their efforts are completely let down by the UK customer service team. I would have happily returned to South Coast to enjoy the holiday the hotel team works so hard to provide, but after the lack of support and compassion from Sandals UK, I refuse to put any more money into this company.I’ve previously stayed with RUI, and after speaking with other UK travellers who were also in Jamaica at the time, their customer service was far superior. Sandals UK should be ashamed of the stress, confusion, and poor communication they have put their guests through.
Tayler
Brilliant complex and staff, even in a hurricane 🌀
Just home from 10 days at this wonderful hotel complex. The Ochi. Obviously there when Hurricane Melissa hit too. The staff were absolutely marvellous in keeping us informed , reassured and everything was geared for our safety. Obviously certain restaurants and bars were closed as staff numbers were depleted. We still managed to eat at The French and Italian, and the food was plentiful and delicious. It was my birthday while away, and the staff made it feel special, especially Nasheca in La Goumend, who was an excellent waitress. The butler service was suspended but Cameka and Richard still checked in with us when they could. They were so friendly, polite and courteous. Romario Nelson in the Southern table was excellent. Always smiling and giving us exceptional service We tried the Tapas and Jerk Shack too, when again, the food and service were brilliant. Ragesh was one of our favourites. He never stopped smiling was always on hand, and couldn't do enough for us. He'd only been there for 2 weeks himself, but he made it look like he'd always been there. Obviously we didn't have the experience we wanted but we couldn't fault anything. We'll just have to go back to get the full and proper Sandals Experience. The CEO, Adam Stewart even came to say hello, as checking on the damage, staff and guests. Very personal touch. Highly recommended hotel chain and we can't wait to go back.
Deanne Gorton
Perfect Wedding at Sandals Halcyon Beach
We had the most amazing wedding at Sandals Halcyon Beach! The resort is stunning, but it was the people who made it truly unforgettable. A huge thank you to Shandulla, Elizabeth, and the wedding team for making our day absolutely perfect — every detail was handled with care and love.Special thanks also to Venecia and the hotel team for their incredible hospitality throughout our stay. Everyone went above and beyond to make us feel so welcome. We couldn’t have asked for a mo
GM
I booked Sandals Dunn’s River expecting…
I booked Sandals Dunn’s River expecting a luxury 5-star experience. What I got was the complete opposite.From unacceptable food quality, poor service, failure to accommodate allergies, lack of cleanliness and unresponsive staff; the stay was deeply disappointing and far below what the Sandals brand promises.I gave management every chance to respond properly. Instead, the General Manager sent a copy-and-paste, generic reply that didn’t acknowledge a single issue I raised, offered no explanation, and no resolution.I’ve now escalated this to the ombudsman for a full investigation and will be pursuing every possible channel until this is resolved.If you’re considering Sandals Dunn’s River, think twice — this resort clearly values scripted PR over genuine customer care.
Blaise Hutchinson
Awful Customer Service from Operations Manager (amendments)
In May 2024, we booked a holiday ofa lifetime so we could celebrate our 30th Wedding Anniversary and renew our vows in October 2025 in Jamaica with our daughters present.My husband and I are paying for the holiday in full. Due to a change ofcircumstances one of my daughter’s ex partner is no longer coming so her friend is coming along instead.Despite paying £12,000+ for this holiday Sandals are demanding an additional £450 to change the name on the booking. As a frequent user of Sandals Holidays I feel very let down and unvalued as a customer as they are refusing to at least waive the loss of the £175 deposit for the person who is no longer coming. I personally find these charges excessive as I booked 6 flights and 3 rooms, therefore the overall party size has not changed and at this stage no tickets etc have been issued. I am so disappointed with Sandals and unless some resolution is offered I will definitely not use this holiday company again.
C. Lawson
We absolutely love Sandals MoBay
We absolutely love Sandals MoBay. It's like coming home every year. The resort has undergone some renovations over the last few years and there are still more to come where it is looking a little dated. It may not be everyone's cup of tea but we come back for the people. The staff are always friendly and we make more friends there every year. Some of the staff there we have seen since we started visiting there 20 years ago.Our butlers, Carlene and Palmer, are the best and always make our trip as carefree and enjoyable as possible. Always going the extra mile to ensure we are well taken care of.The bar staff at the beach bar are also fantastic. A big shout out this year to Peta-Gay and Bright from the beach bar. They work so hard delivering drinks in, extreme heat, along the beach and constantly made sure we were taken care of and well looked after. Superstars.We're already booking for next year!
Ant
Avoid at all costs!
We wrote to sandals with a long list of complaints after staying with them for our honeymoon. The service and standard of this hotel is shocking. I urge anyone looking to book with Sandals to reconsider. This was our honeymoon which we saved extremely hard for and we have left with bad and upsetting memories. I will list due to the limit on words,- Dangerous Activities / Boat trips. - Rooms not cleaned or replenished- Rooms tied and dated / shower flooded the room- Staff incredibly rude and unhelpful- Stolen property from our room- Recent shark attack. Made aware by another guest- No paddleboarding or snorkeling as advertised- Private island not private as advertised - No gas in beer / Drinks not offered at meals - Staff more interested in talking to each other / Refused to serve us at bars- Pools freezing cold and unable to use- Beach covered in seaweed (They cleaned the first day and didn't bother the rest of the week- Drugs offered to us by staff- Dive team didn't answer basic safety questions and just shrugged off answer. High?- No hot water in rooms- Trips cancelled last minute. Money held onto and then told it would be a month before we got a refund- Not 5 star - A la carte restaurants waiting around for hours before being seated. Food overcookedThe list goes on...The response we received was the offer of 20,000 worth of sandals points which equates to $200 and a non disclosure agreement... says it all.
Victoria Byrne
FIRST TIME
We're normally independent travellers and this was a 'quickie' and booked 7 nights through virgin holidays to SANDALS BARBADOS.We've stopped in some of the best resorts in the world and we were very pleased by our time at SANDALS.Speaking of our own experience (solely our own) we had a great time.The STAFF were beyond excellent... a credit to the company. They carried the Barbadian vibe throughout.The FOOD was generally very good, at times superb.One pool was closed during our time there, but there was plenty more with Royal Barbados facilities also fully available to us ( as well as restaurants etc )The accommodation was comfortable and fine.Maybe lacked some a little seating space in the room ( we just booked the lowest room because it was so late) but the bed, bathroom etc were very well appointed.Activities wise, there's plenty and lots on offer.Even though it was all inclusive, nobody seemed to be riotously drunk or obnoxious , which gives a general vibe of the clientele... We don't drink so we tend to observe a little more.Checkout day ... little more communication would help for us first timers, but since we flew late (10pm) we effectively got an extra day of everything and full use of the resorts.We'd go back for certain.
Phil Scott
Never Again Would I Book A Sandals Holiday
I booked a holiday with Sandals (The Halcyon Beach, St. Lucia). It was supposed to be a luxury holiday for my husband’s 60th birthday.We’ve travelled a lot over the years, to all inclusive resorts; and for this one, we paid more than we’ve ever paid.It was a disappointing holiday to say the least; I won’t go into all the details here, as this review is about Sandals customer service. If anyone is interested though, my review is on TripAdvisor.About a month after returning from the very disappointing holiday, I received an email from Sandals asking for feedback regarding the holiday. It stated you could send feedback on the online form, plus send any further comments in a separate email.I completed the feedback form, and also sent another email, outlining all the problems we’d experienced as well as copies of all the awful photos I’d taken.I’ve heard nothing whatsoever back from them since.This morning, I received an email asking me for feedback on how they’d dealt with my dissatisfaction.Considering they’ve never contacted me or dealt with anything regarding my feedback form, email or awful photos, I can’t believe they would even send an email asking this!Their customer service is abysmal, and I’d never book another Sandals holiday again!
Diane Harris
Deplorable Customer Service
Back in February, 2021 we booked 10 nights at Sandals Royal Barbados (3/12/2022 to 13/12/2022) as we’ve been several times before and had amazing holidays. In February, 2022 we were advised that there was a flight change by Virgin which meant we lost a whole day. Sandals were offering us a refund of £470 for this change and we asked about extending our holiday by a day when Virgin were operating a flight back to Manchester. Although we were offered £470 refund for the loss of a day we were expected to pay £1,000+ to extend by a day and were also told that we would need to move to another room for that last day as ours woukd not be available. What a ridiculous set up. Anyway we weren’t prepared to do that so accepted the loss of a day with £470 being deducted from the balance of our holiday. Then at the beginning of August we were dealt a further blow as Virgin changed the flight again and we were to lose another two hours. I regard the combination of these two changes as ‘significant’ but Sandals DO NOT. At this stage I requested that if we cancelled the holiday we be refunded our £350 deposit as we were not going to arrive until very late on our first day and would struggle to get any food which would not help my husband who is a diabetic. We had this problem on arrival in 2019 so knew it would have been worse getting there two hours later. We were given a straight NO so I asked that they reconsider as I had booked seats with Virgin (part of the Sandals package) and they stated because of the changes we could either accept or apply for a refund. I completed the refund form and the full money was returned to my bank account in four days. Our contact for this holiday was with Sandals UK and not Virgin so if Virgin consider the change as ‘significant’ why don’t Sandals when it was all part of the holiday package arranged by them? I requested that the holiday be cancelled as we had lost a day and a half and that they reconsider refunding our £350. They haven’t even had the decency to reply to three of my emails and there’s no way they would have treated their American clients in this way as they whinge so much that their every whim and fancy is pandered to,.To be treated in this way when we’ve spent thousands of pounds with Sandals is absolutely disgusting. We’ve had some amazing holidays at your resorts but there’s no way shall we ever consider booking again or recommending you to anyone. Appalling Customer Service relations.
Christine Bunting
We stayed for 10 days at Ochi Rios…
We stayed for 10 days at Ochi Rios Jamaica and had a dream holiday. Everything was top notch, every single thing was thought of and we were treated like family. We stayed in a one bedroom butler poolside villa, our butlers were amazing. Suzie and chavaughne made our holiday magical. Our favourite person in the whole hotel was Ramees from the Southern table restaurant. He treated us like royalty and is an asset to Sandals. If your going to Jamaica stay here you'll not regret it.
Jade A
