My wife and I just returned from Sandals R. Bahamian on the 15th of February and we had a great time! The resort grounds were very clean and all the employees were very curtious and polite. Great beach and a brand new pier. Good drinks, good food, and nice restaurants.

The private island was great when you could go there. The first 3 days we were there they told us that they were understaffed and the island was closed... I thought that was a pretty lame excuse. But when you are out there, the water is so clear and the swimming is great!

I would HIGHLY recommend going snorkling. They actually take you by boat near the private island to a coral reef. A underwater camera would be a good item to have too. The fish and reef were BEAUTIFUL!! Stingrays and baracuda where among the fish we saw! If you have your own gear, bring it and use it on the island too.

All in all it was great and my wife and I would refer anyone to this resort. Don't listen to the people who whined about the resort. You will have a great time. When you go downtown, see the Straw market and go to the Atlantis. There is a bus that will pick you up in front of Sandals and take you downtown for a $1. The cab ride to Atlantis is $7.

Ok... so I read the good reviews and I read the bad reviews. I thought, maybe someone from Sandals writes the good reviews, and maybe a competitor writes the bad reviews. I didn't know which ones to believe, so my wife and I decided we'd find out for ourselves. I don't work for Sandals. I'm not related to anyone that works for Sandals. But I must say that after spending 2-9-05 thru 2-13-05 at the Royal Bahamian, I am forever sold on the Sandals resorts!

WE LOVED IT! The drinks were great. Whatever you wanted. The food was great! Many restaurants to choose from with a variety of menus. This is a very impressive statement, for you see I travel for my business and I have eaten in some of the best restaurants across the country, New York, Chicago, South Beach, L.A. the food at Sandals was every bit as good!

The rooms... as good as any five star hotel I've stayed in. The staff at Sandals, let's just say they go out of their way to be friendly, helpful and courteous. Everything was fantastic! There were always enough lounge chairs, watersports, bartenders, and food just about everywhere you turned.

They also have activities going on all of the time. You can be as involved as you want, or just sit back, sip on a drink, and relax in the Bahamian sun!

So for any of you that were wondering... Sandals has got it going on! It will be one of the most fun and wonderful vacations you will ever take!

I know my wife and I can't wait until we can go again.

By the way... for all of you Sandals whiners out there, If you couldn't enjoy your time at Sandals, you must be an unbelievable pain in the ass. I feel sorry for your friends. (if you have any)

We honestly didn't know what to expect because this was our first trip to a Sandals Resort. I know our expectations were very high. Upon arrival, we were delayed by an orientation that seemed ridiculous and all we wanted to do was get to our room and unwind from the trip. At this point in time we were also given a small plastic bag of bath ammenities which seemed inappropriate along with a glass of champagne. We weren't interested in champagne...just show us to our room. I was expecting soap, shampoo, etc. to be "in my room"...not given like it was a "gift". (add a colorful Sandals Beach towel to the package and then it becomes a nice souvenir) Perhaps if we had not had a long flight, we might have been able to tolerate this childish welcome. The Sandals Resort is not huge like one might expect from the brochure and it doesn't take a rocket scientist to figure out the lay of the land. Well, our room was nice but not a five star by US standards. However, it was average and other than the fact we were overlooking an air conditioning system on top of the Italian Restaurant which was quite noisey, our room was okay. The Concierge Service we paid for was useless. There is already one at the hotel so don't pay for the extra service in the Windsor Block. They make this service sound like you will be treated like a queen and king if you add this to your upgrades and that is not so. The Concierge in the Windsor Block should be there to help guests in that complex but not with a price attached to it. The weather was cool and windy so we were never allowed to get out to the island which is one of the reasons we booked there. An adequate water taxi wouldn't have had any problem making it to that island. Several guests were going to swim out to the island just to prove a point. The swimming pools are not heated so beware...no island...no swimming in pools when cool. We were under the impression that it was "couples only" but there was a conference going on and they were not "couples". The jacuzzis were jammed packed with conference people so "romance" was out of the question. The exercise room is nice...top floor of Manor Block...overlooks ocean. The spa is equally nice. The food is quite good and the experience of no tipping and no bill to pay at the end of a meal is wonderful. No way could we get to eat at the Baccarat Restaurant or Crystal Room....too busy. Fine dining should be available to all guests of the hotel at some point during their stay. This never happened and that was a disappointment.
We took the city bus system in to Nassau and that's a good deal. .. $1.00 going in and $1.00 upon return trip. However, if going over to the Atlantis is something you would like to do you must pay a taxi driver just to take you over the bridge That cost us #12.00 for the two of us one way. The buses aren't allowed to cross the bridge. Downtown Nassau is interesting. Fine upscale stores on one side of the street...straw market on the other. Because there was nothing to do at the resort we took the Bo Hengy to Spanish Wells and Harbour Island for something to do.($110 per person) Visiting the outer islands of the Bahamas seems to be the only way to understand the entire culture of the Bahamian way of life. The time spent at SRB was okay. They need to give guests something to do when weather is not typical Caribbean weather....free tour of the island, perhaps? After all, they should be most concerned about the happiness of their guests. If guests can't enjoy the entire resort then money was spent needlessly. Stay in Manor Block...renovations should be completed soon and they then will be newer and have typically been cheaper than Windsor Block. Our stay wasn't a bad one. We did realize that "all inclusive" has some very positive features. However, if the SRB is the "Cream of the Crop", I would have to research the other Sandals before making any further reservations. Hope this helps before scheduling your trip. Hope you have great weather!

We were booked at Sandals and when we arrived at the airport, they told us they overbooked and we would be put up the first two nights at the Radisson and reimbursed what we had paid for those two nights. Let me warn you - this happens more often than you think, since I asked our Limo Driver if this was unusual.

IF they try to do this to you at the airport, beware the Radisson is a hellhole and you will be unhappy while there. Argue with the manager AT the airport- don't accept it as easily as we did. (We were under the misconception the Radison was nice at the time).

Sandals never sent the shuttle to pick us up at Radisson when our rooms were ready - but if you cab it, it's quicker and they'll reimburse your fee with a receipt. We were given a great upgrade to a Villa Suite though.

Once this saga was over, we relaxed so much we forgot about the trauma. HIGHLIGHTS: -nice room (Bougain Villa is private but closest villa to the pools, food, actions - good choice)
-Clean facilities (pools, restrooms, etc.)
-Great people - other vacationers were awesome -Hello MN people!
-Piano Bar was a great hang out - shout out to Keno & Wellesley.
-Food was good - particularly like Casanova's
-Comedy show was funny - liked the comedian
-Great grounds to walk around, stroll beach, very safe
NEGATIVES:
-obviously, overbooking. Hosting corporate groups at couples resort?? Bad idea!
-Now, I thought people were kidding before I went, but the pool is numbingly cold. Ocean was much warmer.
-Did I mention overbooking?
TIPS:
-Book Baccarat, Goombay, CrystalASAP upon arrival. We liked a late dinner (8pm) since you could get a free snack to tide you over in afternoon.
-The beachside grill that fires up has great chicken!
-Skip the StrawMarket if cruiseships are in town - claustrophobia!
-Bring a sweater - it gets darn nippy with those ocean winds at night.

HAVE FUN!