Butler Suite- Overpriced Disaster
Feb 9, 2026 Michael S
This review is based on our booked category of a Butler Suite. If we had not booked this category and stayed in a regular room this would have gotten 3 stars. This resort fell well short of the expectations of the Sandals luxury brand, especially when compared with St. Lucia that we did last May.
Summary: Absolutely gorgeous resort when it comes…
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This review is based on our booked category of a Butler Suite. If we had not booked this category and stayed in a regular room this would have gotten 3 stars. This resort fell well short of the expectations of the Sandals luxury brand, especially when compared with St. Lucia that we did last May.
Summary: Absolutely gorgeous resort when it comes to landscape, of the 5 Sandals/Beaches resorts we have been to this one by far is the prettiest. The OK Corral really surprised us, it was an amazing restaurant . That's about where the positive ends. For details please see below:
Disclaimer- This resort got slammed because of the hurricane that hit Jamacia. Sandals re-routed guest to their other resorts, and so in a very short amount of time this resort went from being booked at 60% capacity for the time we were there to 100%. While this let us give grace to the everyday staff for attitudes, being overwhelmed, and just dealing with the cluster that comes with that- I have no sympathy for the management. They should have had the resort ready, as their entire goal is to have it sold as close to capacity at all times anyways.
THE BUTLER EXPERIENCE: So let's start here. We had expectations, mainly because we did a butler suite in St. Lucia for our honeymoon. It was amazing, and a stark contrast to what we experienced here. The butlers here were rushed, never able to give attention. We only got a special set up in our room once for a 10 day stay, and that was just drawing a bath. Every day we were there we requested that champagne be in our cooler by the pool- we never got it. The butlers at this resort don't do text with the phone they give you, so putting in orders, timing, everything is a much greater hassle. Ordered Pizza by the pool one day. after 45 minutes gave up and went and got one myself. 45 minutes after that our butler showed up with one that was stone cold. We dive, so ordered breakfast the night before to the room every morning. Dive boat boards at 8- even though we ordered breakfast for 7:15 it didn't get in until 7:45-7:50. We were told it's because the chefs were backed up in the morning, so we switched to cold breakfast items. Still didn't matter. Most nights our butlers were unable to escort us to dinner, sit us down, get our drinks. We would be waiting and waiting, not hear anything, and just make the decision to go. Pretty much everything they advertise at part of the butler experience we did not get at this resort. For the insanely high price point they charge, this was beyond a disappointment. St. Lucia sold us on this experience, and because of Antigua we will never do it again. It cost way too much to have that kind of inconsistency.
THE BARS: Ever heard of a resort in the Caribbean run out of Pina Colada mix? How about mint? Ginger Beer? Regular Beer? Simple syrup? Well they managed to do it here. Not just once either. Half the time you went to order a drink they didn't have the ingredients. The poor bar staff was absolutely over run. One of the ladies at the pool bar had a legit breakdown, and I don't blame her. That bleeds over the guest as well. When we see staff that is overwhelmed, not getting support, it effects us. One of the reasons I like Sandals so much is that their staff at their properties always seem to be so happy. It makes you feel good about being there on vacation. This was a complete and total failure on management.
THE FOOD: The food was ok. The only restaurant that really stood out above the rest was the OK Corral. The restaurants also ran out of many items, one night at Kimonos we got told what we were having for dessert because well, it's all they had. The staff had the same problem as the staff at the bars, they were just over run. They worked hard to keep smiles and polite service, but it's just hard when you're over worked like that.
DIVING: Ok- the Dive team was great. They held the standard we are used to at Sandals. Special shoutout to Miguel and Eranus (no clue how you spell his name). The way they did things was weird though, and created a lot of confusion. Especially when it came to signing up for dives. Us, and several other couples were surprised a few days when we went and they told us we weren't on the list. For us it was especially strange since we paid for classes. They got it worked out in the end, and we all made the boat, but it could be streamlined. Also, this resort does two tank dives MWF. TT they do a tank in the morning, come back, then a tank in the afternoon. It's a 45 minute boat ride minimum each way to the sites, so on those days you would literally spend all day on the boat driving out and back. Up to you if it's worth it, but it wasn't for us. Just like everywhere else they were short staffed, and despite having more dive boats then every other property we have been to, people still got left on the dock.
CONCLUSION: This was not worth the price point, by far. From others we have talked to even though the hurricane was a factor here, it's how this resort is. It was a monumental disappointment, especially when compared to St. Lucia, South Coast, and Negril. Almost bad enough we were going to cancel our trip to Sandal Grenada. Sandals demands a high price point because they position themselves as the leader in luxury in the Caribbean. They weren't here. There are many other, cheaper resorts that you can go to and get this level of service. They are cheap enough that even if you have to pay for diving every day, you'd still come out ahead.
The reason I wrote this review is because of Sandals Customer service. We talked to people at the resort about the experience we were having, we reported things through the GINA app, then I did the survey at the end and left even more detailed feedback. Then on top of that, they asked me to re-write and redo everything to send to a separate customer service department. So instead of keeping doing that, I'm putting it here so they can browse it at their leisure. I will be doing a much more positive review on St. Lucia next, as I highly, highly recommend that resort.
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