We were looking for a relatively unspoiled place to get away and relax and we found it in Cat Island. We stayed at Sammy T's and the beach was gorgeous. One of our favorite beaches ever. The personality of the resort was very relaxed. The overall experience was both very good and not so good. Had it been a shorter stay we probably would have been more positive.

To put our comments in context, we have spent quite a bit of time (i.e multiple visits to each) in Grenada, the Grenadines, and several places in Mexico. We have also been to other beach places just once. Usually we stay at small resorts ranging from eco-resorts to posh. We don't expect to be catered to unless we are told we will be catered to. In other words, we can go with the flow, if necessary. We have been lucky with reading travel reports and we read resort websites closely and arrive with some level of expectation.

Sammy's met some of our expectations and unfortunately didn't meet others.

<i>Expectations met<i>:
<b>The beach<b>. It was beautiful, clean, almost empty. One of our favorites.

<b>Staff<b>. They were friendly and pleasant.

<b>Cottage<b>. It was quite nice, especially for the price. It was very clean. When the staff cleaned they did a good job. The kitchenette was adequately stocked, although a full ice tray upon arrival would have been helpful. The bedroom had an airconditioner. All rooms had ceiling fans.

<b>Food<b>. The first meal was great and we told them so in enthusiastic terms. Some breakfasts and lunches were very good.

<b>Bar<b> In general the prices were cheap. Each night we had a nightcap that was a small tumbler filled to the brim of top shelf liquor for (I think) $5.50 each.

<i> What missed the mark<i>:
<b>Food<b>. We were so sorry that we raved about the food the first night, because it went downhill from there. Most dinner entrees tended to be overcooked and dry.

<b> Room location <b>. We expected our ocean view room to actually have an ocean view (and to be able to hear the ocean - we could not.) To be fair we did see a patch of ocean blue here and there, but it was a real stretch of the imagination to call it ocean view. AND it was so far in the distance. As compared to the garden view, however, it was great. The garden view rooms are down a flight of stairs, lack breeze, and don't have any sense they are near the ocean. We (and others) thought they were the staff quarters.

<b>Hidden or Unusual Prices<b>. Overall, we were satisfied with the final price, but there were items on our bill that didn't make sense. We were charged for things we didn't have. We had been given a menu and many of the items on our bill didn't match the prices on the menu. Some were more, a lot more in some cases, and some were a little less. After we returned home we compared notes with someone who was there at the same time and she was charged more for her drink with a shot or two of rum (using local, definitely not top-shelf rum) than we were for the tumblers of Cointreau, Drambuie and others that we mentioned earlier. Just didn't make sense. If you use a credit card, the fee is passed on to you.

<b>Service<b>. You definitely had to go with the flow here. We did a lot of reading before choosing Sammys and everyone raved about the service. Everyone said &quot;they will take very good care of you&quot;. We don't really have a complaint, but we didn't feel as if we were &quot;taken care of&quot; at all. It was a typical place where the staff say good morning and the owner or manager says a few sentences a couple times a week when he passes you by. Nothing at all wrong with that. We don't need to be catered to. But it doesn't rise to the level of &quot;taken care of&quot; and definitely not &quot;well taken care of&quot; that everyone raved about.

Other service issues. If you want your cottage cleaned you had to ask for it and you have to tell them what it is you want them to do.</b></b></b></b></b></b></b></b></i></i></b></b></b></b></b></b></b></b></b></b></i></i>

For some reason the server posted an unedited (and shorter version) of our post and made everything bold.

When comparing our final version and the version that was posted, nothing of importance was changed, but we did add that we appreciated the nice bar bill we had and felt sorry for our new friend.

Here's the last paragraphs that were cut from the report post. It should follow the comments under what missed the mark:

Bar. It would have been nice to have an outside bar that was staffed in the afternoons and after dinner. The bar is in the restaurant and they shut off the a/c when it isn't meal times. Because there are so few guests, no staff person is assigned to sit at the bar. You have to look for someone in the kitchen and in the late afternoon the kitchen door is closed and a sign indicates that they don't want guests to come in. Makes it hard to get a drink if you aren't the pushy type.

Some of the traditional rum drinks don't have rum in them unless you ask. We thought it was us (thought our alcohol tolerance had increased a lot), but then someone else noticed the same thing.

IMPRESSION.
Great beach.
Fair price (similarly priced to other places on the island).
Eat most of your dinners out (if you have a rental car). Food is the weakest link here.
Service ranges from pretty good to so-so (but pleasant).

We visited Sammy T's for dinner and lunch. Your comments are in line with others. Mediocre food (expensive, too) but I was happy not to be cooking as it was very hot during our stay. We, too, had to hunt for someone to get us a cold drink. Upon seeing the 'resort' I was expecting more frankly.

I hope you made it to the other beaches on the island. They are all beautiful.

Thanks for the report on Sammy T. It's very helpful for future planning.

Hi. I think we talked via PM on another board. Anyway, thanks for the trip report. This is a place that I have (had?) in mind for a future trip. I may take a serious look at other places on Cat now. We'll see. Thanks again.