Travel Review: Sandals Royal Bahamian Spa Resort & Off-Shore Island

Last week I had the opportunity to head down to Nassau, Bahamas to attend the STAR Awards for Sandals resorts.  The event took place at the Sandals Royal Bahamian Spa Resort & Off-Shore Island.
  In the past year, I have been able to learn a little about the Sandals properties and their philosophy on all-inclusive, luxury travel but this was my first opportunity to visit and stay at a Sandals.  It was also my first trip to the Bahamas so I was doubly excited.   

Sandals Royal Bahamian is located about 10 minutes from the airport so the transfer was very quick.  We were greeted by cool towels.  Because I was there for a travel function, we had our own reception with appetizers and cocktails but I am sure that new guests are met with cocktails, as well.

The first thing I noticed about the resort is the decor.  This property is decorated in bright, opulent colors with a British flair.  We were very lucky in that the resort was also decorated for Christmas.  They really did a great job with their Christmas trees and poinsettas.

   
Upon check-in we were initially put into the new Balmoral Tower in a Cat Island Premium Room.  This room had a beautiful bathroom, stocked mini-bar, Red Lane Spa lotions, a huge walk-in  closet, and a beautiful 4 poster bed.

While this room was beautiful, there were some down-sides to it.  First and foremost, there was no patio or balcony and that was disappointing.  Even though we weren't facing the ocean, it still would have been nice to be able to sit outside and drink coffee early in the morning or to open up a patio door for some fresh air.  Without that aspect, it just felt confining and almost hotel-like.

Another con (if you can call it that) is that I felt that there was a lot of wasted space.  The walk-in closet was too much and the "foyer" area right when you walked in the room was wasted space, as well.

We stayed in this room for one night and then asked to be moved.  The ultimate reason to be moved was definitely the lack of outdoor space.

On the second day we got moved to Royal Windsor Tower to a Cable Beach Honeymoon Grande Luxe Mega Suite.  Even though the bathroom was a downgrade, I actually liked this room better.  I felt like it was a better use of space and it provided a little more privacy than the first room.

Sandals Royal Bahamian has 2 main pools, an active pool and a quiet pool.  Both of the pools have a swim-up bar and plenty of lounge chairs.

 Active Pool

 Active Pool

Quiet Pool

Overall, I thought the food was good.  To be fair, and honest, all of our dinners were planned meals so we didn't really get to experience the dinner menus or all of the restaurants that the regular guests did.  We did eat at Kimono's (Teppanyaki) and it was really good.  

One con on the food, though, was definitely the breakfasts.  I had breakfast in both Spice and Cassanova and in both instances, I felt that the selection was lacking.  The food was cold and there just was not a good variety.  

Another con on the food is the Royal Cafe.  This restaurant serves burgers, chicken sandwiches, nachos, etc.  What I really wanted, though, was a salad.  They had a salad bar out but . . . birds kept flying in and eating off of it.  Ugh.  A pro about the Royal Cafe, though, was their specialty Conch Soup.  This soup was over-the-top FANTASTIC and I seriously could have licked the bowl clean.

Another highlight in the food department was the Bella Napoli Pizzeria.  This made-to-order oven-brick pizzeria is right on the boardwalk so you can hop out of the pool, walk over and grab a seat, and chow down on a pizza.  There were several to choose from but I ended up ordering the Greek Pizza with Lobster (yum) and liked it so much that later on in the weekend I ordered it again with chicken.  The con for the pizzeria, though, is that they only served pizza--no salads, breadsticks, etc.  Just pizza.

     

The beach at the Royal Bahamian was a nice beach with plenty of chairs.  I had a great time watching the cruise ships come in to port in Nassau while laying on the beach.

Water sports including scuba diving, snorkeling, parasailing, and tons of other activities are included in the overall price.

I loved these fire pits located close to the beach.

  

The service was great at this resort.  I have visited others where the workers were nonchalant and almost made me seem as if I were being a bother, not here.  The staff were all so welcoming and friendly and tried to make every guest feel special.

One of the BEST aspect of this resort was the night life.  There were 2 places to hang out after dinner-Cricketer's Pub and the Piano Bar.  I LOVED Cricketer's Pub.  The bartenders were outgoing and funny and really interactive.  I liked the fact that the Pub served "bar food" late in to the night so you could get a burger, wings, etc.  They also have TV's so we were able to watch Sunday Night Football!   

Finally, I cannot review the off-shore island.  The weather was not that great last week down in the Bahamas and it was so windy that the shuttle out to the off-shore island only ran 1 out of the 4 days that I was there so I wasn't able to experience any part of the off-shore island.

I also did not participate in any of the included water sports activities but I met a man from the UK who went scuba diving every, single day of his 2 week stay and said that the diving was amazing and that he saw so many sea creatures including swimming with 14 sharks one day!
  
Overall, I enjoyed this resort.  There were some things that need to be changed:
-It definitely needs a good power wash and painting as it is starting to show signs of wear and tear.
-The active pool is the only heated pool and for those guests who don't really want to hear the thumping of the music and stay at the quiet pool, it was way too cold this time of year to get in.
-Salads, Salads, Salads.  I was craving a salad so badly the entire weekend and wish that there would have been a place to get one without the fear that birds had just landed on the lettuce.
-The theater desperately needs to be re-carpeted.

As I said in the beginning, I'm not sure that this can be a 100% fair and accurate review as I did not travel as a normal paying guest.

I would be happy to answer any questions you may have about this or any other resort.  Just leave me a comment.