I would like any feedback on Sandals Grand in St. Lucia. My husband and I are thinking of going there in March and would like to know if anyone has gone there. I also would like to know how the beaches are for snorkeling. Thanks!

I don't know how much help this will be as we stayed at The Regency. We stopped briefly at The grand to pick up other guests going on an ATV excursion. The grounds looked very nice and the beach looked nicer than the Regency. Read many reviews on Trip Advisor and they were very good. The reputation of the three Sandals in St Lucia is, Halycon, small, quiet, older. The Regency, large, a little more partyish but definitely not excessive. We are 40 and 42 years old and did not find it to be too wild. Since you can't really leave the resorts at night, we wanted something going on. The Grand is supposed to be a little more refined, middle of the road between the other two resorts. We liked the largeness of The Regency because it felt like there was more to do. The Bluff pool and swim up bar is really nice. One word of advice is that unless a large room and in room bar are important to you, you might want to go for a lower category room as long as the view is good. You are going in the high season and it will be expensive. You also might want to go to sandals.com and register for their newsletter. I kept watching for specials and got 40% off my room price and also get a 3 piece set of Samsonite luggage. Just keep in mind that these are not five star New York style hotels. You also can shuttle on a regular basis every day to the other Sandals. We were pretty content where we were but are thinking of going to the Grand next time to check it out. (we are going again to the Regency the end of next month.) As for snorkeling, Sandals has a boat that takes you elsewhere and I believe it is by The Windjammer Hotel. The food at Sandals ranged from OK to very good. We did not get crazy trying new things and stuck to what we knew we liked. The beef there tastes a little gamey. If I can be of any more help about St Lucia, please reply. We did a couple of excursions and are planning a day excursion to the Grenadines this time when we go.

Hi Brenda, Thanks for your insight. It's been awhile since I looked at this site. We will be in St. Lucia for five nights. Can you recommend any excursions that we shouldn't miss? Is it worth going into the towns for shopping? Do you need to make reservations for restaurants before you go? I was wondering if we would have problems eating at places we really wanted to. Thanks for any help!

Hi smchrissy,

We just returned from our trip last week. Had a great time. As for excursions, it just really depends on what you like to do. We did the ATV's last year and had a blast! This year we went to The Grenadine Islands. Awesome, but if you are only there for 5 days, might be a little more than you would want to do. This time we hired a taxi with another couple and drove down the west side of the island to see the Pitons, volcano and botanical gardens. Pretty, but a lot of driving. Heard good things about the jeep safari, but didn't go ourselves.They also offer horse back riding.
As for the restaurants, just decide when you get there which ones you want to go to that need reservations and make them right away. Kimonos and La toc need reservations at the Regency, Pier does at Halycon and not sure about The Grand, but think it is the Italian restaurant. I have often heard that it is hard to get reservations, but we never had a problem. Just make them RIGHT AWAY, especially since you are only going to be there a short time.As for the shopping, we love the Castries Market but I suppose it is not for everyone. Just locals selling their goods. None were too pushy and it is really cool just to observe the culture and walk around. We thought the duty free was so-so but we are not big shoppers. Instead of doing the shopping excursion with Sandals, this time we just took a taxi so we could explore the market at our own pace and not have to worry about being on Sandals schedule for the next stop.
In my opinion, one must do is the Coal Pot restaurant in Castries!!!, especially if you like seafood. I know, you are paying for an all inclusive resort, but if you want to splurge on one nice dinner. This is it. The ambience is great, open air restaurant on a little body of water. Very pretty and food excellent. Cost for 2 appetizers and 2 dinners with 2 drinks apiece came to $113 USD without tip (or taxi cost). Taxi will probably cost $10-$15. The lobster was phenomenal and LOTS of it. You do need reservations here, but if you decide to go, Sandals can connect you or their phone number is listed in the local directory. I read about the Coal Pot on these forums, might have been trip advisor, but the restaurant lived up to it's name.

Hi Brenda, Thanks for the help! We are very much looking forward to our trip to St. Lucia. It's good to get tips from others who have already gone. Thanks again!

My wife and I stayed at the Grande just before Thanksgiving. We did go to the other two resorts for dinner and clearly the Grande is superior. For the extra $100.00 a person per week it's a no-brainer! FYI - the snorkling is nothing to write home about unless you pay for some type of excursion. Have a great time no matter where you end up.

Thansk, Sharkdiver. Did you use their snorkeling equipment or did you bring your own? We have our own, but if it is readily available, I would rather not haul it with us. The Sandals website says that you get three snorkel trips a day. Does that mean a boat takes you out? I am just curious. Can you snorkel from the beach at the Grande? how about dinner reservations? Is it necessary? Lots of questions! Thanks for any help you can give me.

I brought my own gear as I am a scuba diver. Feel free to leave your snorkeling equipment at home as thier will do the trick quite nicely. They do have several boats that go out regularly, which you'll want to go out on as the snorkeling at the Grande is possible, it won't compare to what they will take you too.

The only time you will need to make reservations is when you choose to dine at the other two Sandals on the Island. Kimono's is just ok, they put on a little show that pales in comparrison the a traditional Japanese steak house but it's a night out and probably worth it (if you become friends with anyone, it is wise to go with a group as they will seat you with strangers otherwise). The Pier is a must and you will love every minute of it. The food and service is fantastic! That is perfect for just the two of you.

Whatever you decide to do, do not delay as those two restaurants
reservations are limited and fill up fast so make them ASAP. We made ours the first day there and didn't end up with times that we liked until almost the end of the week.

Toscanini's, which is at the Grande (no reservations required for Grande guests) was the nicest of all the places we ate.

Be sure to have a few fancier outfits (collared shirts, chinos, sexy dresses)

Finally, order and eat all that your heart desires. Do not limit your self to just one entres. Go nuts!!!

I agree sharkdiver, we always ordered one thing from every course. If we didn't like some things, oh well. We also liked Armando's at The Regency. As you said about ordering another entree, we ordered a "side" of lasagna to go with our dinner.

We thought Kimono's was just OK as well. All of the food seemed to taste the same. The chefs tried their best to be entertaining.

smchrissy, there isn't to much to see snorkeling off the Grande's beach, but, just in case you want to play around in the water there with snorkeling or on a hike to Pigeon Island. You might even want to take your own tour of some kind that you might just want to have snorkel gear with. Sandals does not let you use their snorkel equipment for anything other then their own organized boat trips.

Donna

Thanos for the info, Donna. That helps a lot. We will definitely bring our own gear. I know Pigeon Island is close by the hotel. Is the snorkeling off the beach there worth seeing at least? Sometimes you just want to go for a quick swim and not have to worry about going on a boat tour. This will be our first trip to St. Lucia and I've heard good things. We are really looking forward to it. It is also our first time at an all-inclusive place. It looks like it will be nice.

My wife and I were there recently for our honeymoon. We had originally booked the Regency, but after some research, we upgraded to the Grand. It was the smartest thing we could have done. The only drawback is that if you're looking for a real active nightlife, the Sandals resorts just don't offer it. That's not to say that it was dead either. But after 8 hour days in that climate, who needed a crazy nightlife??? If at all possible, reserve a balcony room overlooking the pool and Bay. By far and away, the most spectacular views at the hotel (and possibly the entire island). Definitely worthwhile to eat a few dinners over at the other 2 resorts (La Toc at Regency and the Italian at Halcyon were the two best overall), and venture out into the island for your one "dinner and night away".
The snorkeling and diving was good....not great. We did go a few times throughout the week, which is pretty cool. But the beaches and ocean at the Grand were unmatched. We've been to a bunch of islands in the Caribbean, and we still can't stop talking about how incredible the island of St. Lucia really was. And the Grand was certainly worth the $$.

thank you for all the helpful information. It sounds like we are going to have a great time at Sandals in St. Lucia! This is our first time at an all inclusive so we will take advantage of all that we can. Thanks again!