Sandals Grande
 

We are considering the Sandals Grande in August. What did you think of this property? Are there oceanfront/oceanview rooms we should request? Is it a good mix of couples or mostly honeymooners?

A nice beach is important to us. How is the beach? Is is clear water, gradual deepening and not rocky? In general, are the beaches in St. Lucia clear and non-seaweedy?

We went to Antigua last year, loved our resort (Blue Waters), food and service, but the beach was a disappointment. The beach was not that big, but more importantly, upon entering the water you ran into sharp rock that you could not walk on with bare feet. Once beyond the rocks there was sand, but you had to be very careful. Our snorkel mocs saved us. You would think they would dredge the beach and clean that up, especially for the caliber of the resort.

I stayed at this property right before Sandals took over. It is a very, very nice resort. I DO NOT recommend the swim up rooms, they are not private and have NO view what so ever. The Rodney bay views are spectacular!!

St. Lucia does not have crystal clear waters as it is a volcanic island. BUt the water is still very pretty!

DF73
I have not personally stayed at The Grand but have read many posts on Trip Advisor that the beachfront rooms have better views than the oceanviews. The beachfront rooms look at the Grand Beach. The oceanviews offer a distant view of Martinique. You might want to check out some old posts on that forum. There are many.

We are booked for this resort in Nov. We stayed at Sandals Royal Bahamian 2 years ago and loved the resort.

The oceanfront rooms are on the Rodney Bay side and have better views. They are also the most expensive. Oceanview will be on the backside of the resort facing the Atlantic Ocean and Martinque. I agree with the comment regarding the swim-up lagoon rooms.

We booked a Deluxe room, which is on the first floor on the Atlantic side. Unless you plan on spending most of your time in your room using the $$ services associated with those rooms and just look at the view your paying for, I wouldn't book a top catagory room.

Hope this helps a bit.

The wording Sandals uses for their room categories, view of ocean, oceanfront, beachfront that confuses some.

"Beachfront"

Is the most popular and preferred view by most guests. These rooms face (south) Rodney Bay (calm/water/ocean), Sandals beach, the main pools and gardens.
The higher up the floor the better the view (it becomes less obstructed from the vegitation/pools, etc. The Bay is lovely to look at day or night do to the islands landscape, sailboats, Rodney Bay (town),lights up at night. Very pretty.

"Oceanfront"

Rooms face (north). These rooms face the rougher Caribbean waters, with the island of Martinique in the (25 miles) in the distance. Waters on this side create waves along the rock edged waterfront. There is also an access road & fence to Pigeon Island that runs the length of water front on this side of resort, that is tree/brush lined. This will obstruct the water view from "some" of the rooms on this side. Some of the rooms in the lower categories on the oceanfront side will also be obstructed by a couple of buildings and parking lot. These would be in the monarchy building #4 on Sandals map.
Some guests might prefer this side of resort (oceanfront) looking for a quieter spot.


This picture link it may help give you a better idea of locations of the buildings on the property.


Rooms facing to the right (in picture), are the "Beachfront" rooms. Rooms/building facing the left are your "Oceanfront."

http://www.pbase.com/artkris/image/37373819


So don't let the word view of (ocean) confuse you, as both "Beachfront" and "Oceanfront" rooms can (if in the right spot) have a view of (ocean/water).

Donna (Flowers)