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Last month, I had the pleasure of finally traveling to the beautiful island of St. Lucia! Hubby and I had a much needed, kid-free getaway and of course we chose to stay at a Sandals Resort for our adults only trip. Since the Sandals Grande St. Lucian is the largest resort, and the one I sell the most of to clients, I figured that was the best place for us to make our home resort. We did ultimately get to experience all three Sandals Resorts in St. Lucia, but here is my Sandals Grande St. Lucian Review.
Sandals Grande St. Lucian Review
As a gold level certified Sandals specialist (and true lover of the brand) Sandals Grande St. Lucian was the eighth Sandals resort I have visited. In 2022, hubby and I chose Sandals Barbados for our annual kid-free trip, and on this 2023 trip we also toured Sandals Halcyon Beach and Sandals Regency La Toc. As an agent, I have to check out as much as I can, even when traveling for pleasure – and I did make time to relax as well.
Sandals has three resorts in St. Lucia, along with one in Antigua, one in Grenada, two in Barbados, two in the Bahamas, one in Curacao and seven in Jamaica including one of my favorites, Sandals Royal Caribbean. And pretty soon, Sandals will open in their next destination, St. Vincent.
What’s cool about the Sandals resorts in St Lucia is you can stay at one, play at three. Which means no matter where you stay, guests have full access to all three Sandals St. Lucia resorts. And they provide transportation between the resorts.
SANDALS ST LUCIA NOTE: There is a golf course at Cap Estate Golf and Country Club and all guests have access to the course. Yes, golf is all included with your Sandals St. Lucia vacation! The 9-hole course at Sandals Regency La Toc is currently closed until further notice, but I will update when it does.
How Far is Grande St. Lucian from the Airport
One important thing to understand about a trip to a Sandals in St. Lucia is that you will arrive on the UVF airport in the very south of the island, and the three Sandals St. Lucia resorts are all on the north side of the island.
Sandals Grande St. Lucian is a 90 minute ride from the airport – and it’s a windy road. La Toc is 60 minutes from UVF, and Halcyon is a 75 minute ride. On my recent trip, I got to experience all three Sandals Resorts in St. Lucia and have a great article comparing them all.
The Sandals Resorts in St. Lucia are choices that work best when you have a longer trip, since the travel time to the island, and once on the island can be long.
Sandals Grande St. Lucian Over Water Bungalows
One feature unique to Sandals Grande St. Lucian is their amazing over water bungalows. You can also find these at Sandals South Coast and Sandals Royal Caribbean in Jamaica, but these are the only one of Sandals’ over water bungalows outside of Jamaica (until St. Vincent opens in Spring 2024)
These bungalows are gorgeous, and come with 24 hour butler service.They are private and secluded, but not far from the main resort amenities.
Sandals Grande St. Lucian Rooms
If overwater bungalows are not available, or out of budget, there are so many great other room options at Sandals Grande St. Lucian.
On my recent visit, we stayed in the lead-in category room. It had a lovely patio (that faced the ocean actually) and everything we needed for a great stay – king bed, TV, desk, dresser, and mini bar. We also had a room that had a walk-in shower.
Most rooms have this layout, just with different views (beach, swim out, or garden) and different levels of service. The club level rooms come with those great added Club Sandals amenities.
In the butler level, one-bedroom butler suites are offered as well as free standing Rondovals. There are three Beachfront Rondovals and the rest are Garden View ones. These are amazing and all have private pools, outdoor showers and outdoor Jacuzzis. And of course 24/7 Sandals Elite butler service.
In addition to helping you find the perfect resort, I can help you choose the room category that best fits your travel style and budget. Click the banner below to get started:
Sandals Grande St. Lucian Restaurants
If you’ve followed me for any bit of time, you know I love the food at Sandals (and Beaches Resorts, their family friendly resort option). I love the quality and variety they offer, and with their plant based imitative, there is always great options for me!
Sandals Grande St Lucian has 12 restaurants.
For breakfast, you can do the buffet or ala carte at Toscanini. If you are club or butler level, you can order room service. Josephine’s, the creperie does open early for coffee, pastries and crepes.
For lunch, you can opt for the buffet, pizza at Dino’s, the jerk shack or Mariners for burgers. Barefoot also serves an ala carte lunch with the best beach views in St. Lucia!
For dinners, be sure to make reservations for dinners when you arrive. Sandals Butler level guests can have their butler make reservations for them. Club level guests can make dining reservations through the concierge at the club Sandals lounge, and luxury level guests can look for the dining desk located.
Remember you can also dine at La Toc or Halcyon, you can make reservations just like you would for the Grande.
Dinner Restaurant Options at Sandals Grande St. Lucian include:
Soy for Sushi
Bombay Club for Indian, this restaurant does require reservations. This was our favorite meal of our trip, and my husband does not even love Indian, but it was so good!
Bayside Restaurant for Caribbean Cuisine
Gordon’s on the Pier for beautiful overwater dining. This restaurant also requires reservations. It’s such a special and unique experience, be sure to reserve a time as soon as you arrive to the resort.
Kimono’s for Hibachi – My favorite, I’ve done this at Beaches Turks, Beaches Negril, Sandals Ochi, and Sandals Grenada as well! This restaurant also requires reservations.
Toscanini’s for Italian Food
Things to do at Sandals Grande St. Lucian
On the resort, there are some great areas to hang, whether you want to be in the vibe or in a more quiet zone.
The main pool has a swim up bar and that’s where you will find the loud music and everyone having a good time.
Back behind the main pool (up the stairs and closer to the rooms) there is another, very quiet pool. If you want a nice place to tuck away, this is perfect.
Of course with the large stretch of beach, there were a ton of chairs to sit on. Lots of guests bring floats, and the water is clear and calm, so you can really spend all day relaxing in the water.
I did see some guests brought their own snorkels. And were snorkeling around right on the beach.
Twice a day, Sandals Grande St. Lucian does offer a snorkeling trip. Sign up the day before at the dive shop and the experience is about an hour. We did this on our last afternoon, it was fun! We didn’t see a ton, but we got in a good swim.
They also have every water sport you can imagine – kayaks, stand up paddle boards, and hobbies. These are all free to use.’
As for paid excursions, St. Lucia has some great tours – the Islands Route desks in the lobby is where you can book those. Book all your St Lucia Tours Here.
Sadly, we didn’t have time to do a tour, but we talked to several guests who enjoyed the Rum tasting and mud baths!
One last thing we are sad we didn’t have time to do – you can hike the Pigeon Island National Park right next door to Sandals. It’s a 10-minute walk over to the park and then you can go up as high as you would like. We will have to try this next time!
Sandals Grande St. Lucian Tips
- Bring a Universal adaptor – there was only one American Style outlet in our room!
- Order a BBC (Banana, Baileys and Cream)
- Download the Sandals app to access restaurant menus and see what is going on around the resort
- Check out the bar in the back of the resort by Bombay – its hidden!
- Hit up Soy for Happy Hour, before your dinner reservation
- Rent a cabana for the day, very reasonable price and you get a butler, food service and a bottle of sparkling wine
- Get married at the overwater chapel – arrive to your ceremony by land or boat!
- If you do the snorkeling trip, be sure to bring a sun shirt with you, they require this (honestly not sure why).
- Consider booking a bay view sunset cruise. This is only $300 per couple, and seemed like a very romantic option. I was sad we only learned about this on the last day.
Sandals Grande St. Lucian Review
If you are looking for an amazing resort, with a great beach, on an exotic island, Sandals Grande St. Lucian is a great option. This resort is best for a longer trip, as the travel time is longer, I would say four nights at least (and remember if you are celebrating an anniversary you could qualify for a free night on a seven night stay).
We were so impressed with the food and service, and even the basic room had what we needed. I can’t wait to get you all booked for Sandals Grande St. Lucian so be sure to reach out for all your Sandals Resorts travel planning needs as well as your Sandals Destination Weddings.
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