rharvin's Reviews

Great Room, Mediocre Service

We spent 10 days in one of the Honeymoon Oceanfront One Bedroom Villa Suite With Pool and butler service for our honeymoon.

The room was fantastic (number 5, the very end unit on the bluffs) but the butler service was very disappointing, and the bartenders rate poorly in part because they refused to pour specific brands when asked, instead consistently pouring the very low-end bar brands.

Our butlers seemed to know less about Sandals in general, and the other resorts on the island in particular, so they were practically useless in helping us to get any type of up-to-date information or securing specific reservations unless we gave them the exact information. We were never offered any type of unpacking or packing service, and did not receive any type of welcome or honeymooner treatment until our fourth night there after we had attended the Signature Guest dinner and voiced our dissatisfaction to the Operations Manager and Chief Engineer. After that, we did start to get a bit of special treatment (mostly cocktails and a cheese platter each evening). Overall, the butler service does NOT deliver anything remotely resembling the level of service or treatment touted in all of the descriptions. Even the butler manager was less than attentive even after we spoke to him about our disappointment with the service.

We did spend time at the other two resorts on St. Lucia (the Grande and Halcyon) which confirmed our feeling that the overall level of service at the Regency does not currently meet the level we’ve come to expect from Sandals.

The bartenders at the Regency at both the Concierge area pool and the main pool area were consistently slow in providing service, many were downright sullen and near rude in their attitude, and they almost all ignored any request to serve specific brands of liquor when asked (pouring Outrigger instead of Bounty rum for example).

If it wasn’t for the fact that we got what might be the best room at the resort, our honeymoon might have been an unpleasant experience because our expectations of service were not met at the Regency.

This was my wife’s sixth Sandals visit over the past 15 years, and my second visit in three years.

We both know that overall Sandals delivers as promised (if not more), which is why our experience at the Regency this mid-November (ending on Thanksgiving day) bothered us so much.

The resort is undergoing extensive renovations, and the operations manager has only been there about 6 months (according to him), so these factors may be a major influence on what seems to be a disorganized and disinterested team.

At this point our recommendation would be to stay at one of the other resorts and just visit the Regency. My wife has stayed at Halcyon before and liked the low-key atmosphere there. The Grande has a massive, slightly overwhelming feel, but may be right for those who like a lot of hustle and bustle and a rowdier crowd than at Halcyon.

The food at the Regency was fine and La Toc was fantastic (we ate there twice), but there needs to be more options at the Pavilion and more snack bar choices. Armando’s is good, but not great, and Kimono’s is just standard for what they serve, so the fact that it was completely booked every night is surprising.

Reviewed on: December 10, 2006