Royalton St Lucia

My husband and I spent a week and were overall very satisfied with the resort and the service. Having been to St Lucia several times before we still find it one of the most beautiful, lush and friendly Islands we’ve been to. Weather beautiful. Very hot, with a few random showers. Just jump in the ocean or pool if it rains. You’re wet anyway! Hideaway: we really liked being on the Hideaway side. It was very nice to go to the lobby and grab a drink on the way in or out. The beach and pool area was not overcrowded and the Hideaway bars were fun. In addition you had exclusive access to the Dorado restaurant which was great if the other restaurants had a wait. We were also able to grab lunch at the grill there and eat jerk chicken right on our loungers! Room: we had a Presidential suite which was awesome. There are videos online that are an accurate representation of the room. Having 2 full bathrooms was nice and meant we never lacked towels or toiletries although I doubt our fantastic housekeeper Theresa would have let that happen anyway. Room was kept immaculately clean thanks to Theresa. They brought a kettle when I asked for one. Room plugs were odd, mostly 250V, found one 125V by the bed. Could not dry or straighten my hair in the bathroom. Suggest bringing a converter for your North American plug devices. Bars: enjoyed the martini bar for drinks before dinner. MacGyver is a great bartender. We didn’t experience any service issues at any of the bars. Diamond club: we decided against this as we’ve tried butler service before and it’s not for us. At an extra approx $100/day per those that took it we didn’t think it worth it. The only thing that did not go unnoticed was that we seemed to get less desirable seating in the restaurants and assumed it was because we weren’t diamond club. It was almost ridiculous, as we were seated in the main thoroughfare on the aisle where everyone goes into the buffet several times at breakfast and it did not make for a very pleasurable dining experience at all. We thought it a little unfair as we paid for a pretty expensive suite. This is why I generally do not like differing service levels. Treat all guests equally. Restaurants: all of them were very good including the buffet. Unsure how anyone could not find something good to eat. We ate at Hunter - the steakhouse - twice as the petit filet was so delicious and definitely a decent sized portion. The coffee shop was also great. Had gelato and coffee there several times. Have to mention our server Kimani in Dorado. When I mentioned that I had hoped to see bakes in their breakfast buffet (google it - they are deliciously addictive St Lucian buns) he surprised me by running to the main buffet, which is not close and brought me some. Above and beyond! Entertainment: if you’ve been to the Caribbean before you’ve seen it. The white party was disappointing in that it didn’t seem to happen. They should also ditch the fashion show which is basically “this is what you can buy in the resort store”. Beach: rocky in spots. I always bring a pool noodle and that solved the problem of having to wear water shoes. People do reserve chairs which is annoying. Nice shady spot under a palapa sitting empty for over 2 hours. Pretty selfish. Resort credits: just say no thank you. We knew it was coming and we’re not interested in a timeshare. When will resorts stop this annoyingly deceptive practice? Just be honest and admit it’s a sales pitch and allow your guests to pass if it’s not something they would ever consider. Beach vendors: please be polite. They are all hustling for work. Check them out on tripadvisor before saying no. We saw lots of people booking with them. Support locals!

- About 60% of staff were smiley, helpful and friendly - After TUI had let Royalton know we were there on our honeymoon, we didn't get some of the same things others got on their honeymoon - Coffee stained tables in the buffet made it feel like everything was dirty - Water glasses in the buffet sometimes smelt like milk (I'm guessing after being in the dishwasher) - We found that the Tex Mex restaurant had really bad food, but the Italian, steakhouse and Sushi Teppanyaki had average food although the chef we had at the Teppanyaki made a few comments that made us feel uncomfortable - When we arrived we had to find our own room and we felt very lost as it was such a big resort. When we got there, it didn't have any extras for our honeymoon like we had seen other rooms have on our way there. - The room smelt of damp on arrival and the next morning some of the plaster from the ceiling had fallen off. Although this happened, it was resolved quickly and kindly by the building manager. - We had one occasion where we had no running water & 2 power-cuts. Even though these all sound quite negative, they was spaced over 2 weeks and we found what worked for us and what we liked to do. When we were there, we booked the street party, sunset cruise and labouwe through TUI (which I'm pretty sure is like booking through Nexus it just makes it quite confusing having both of them to book through). We found the street party wasn't what it was said to be, at some points we felt unsafe and were offered drugs and we didn't feel like there was a lot to do there. The sunset cruise was amazing! It was such a nice way to spend an afternoon/evening. All the crew members were kind lovely people and we sailed down and back up the west coast for about 4 hours and watched the sunset with a steel drums band on board. The labouwe was also a really good 1/2 day trip. Again, the crew were great and good fun, we had a DJ on board who played some great music, we visited the mud baths (although we did feel a little rushed here) and then went snorkelling near marigold bay with a homemade lunch from one of the crew members and it was delicious! All in all I think the Royalton is great if you want a care free holiday, somewhere to chill on a sun bed by a pool and bar, and not worry about where you are, who you are or what you're doing, but if you are looking for something slightly more special and cultured I think there are other resorts on the island that would fit that criteria better.

We stayed in the diamond club for our 25th wedding anniversary. We were greeted at reception and shown to the diamond club lounge to check in. Check in was very fast and within 20 minutes of arriving we were in our room. We had chosen a ground floor room with our own access to the pool. The room was huge. A queen size bed and arm chairs. Lots of storage for clothes. The bathroom area was divided off by a curtain. We didn't mind this. I can see some people not liking it. The toilet is separate to the bathroom. The bathroom has twin sinks, a free standing bath and a big walk in shower with 2 shower areas. Lots of towels and luxurious toiletries A mini bar is provided and stocked daily. Tea and coffee facilities are also available in the room. A safe, iron and ironing board are also provided. The outdoor area had a small table and chairs. Plus 2 beds in the shallow part of the pool. As part of the diamond club you get butler service. Our butlers Ronald and Genevieve were fantastic. They could not do enough to help make your stay enjoyable. The diamond club pool and bar were fantastic. The pool is a good size with lots of different bedding options. The bar has the best staff and food. The coconut shrimp is great. The choice of drinks is very good. We went to most of the restaurants and never had a bad meal. Lots of choice at both the buffet and the a'la carte. The steakhouse and the Caribbean were our favourites. The bars were my only gripe. Badly stocked and not enough staff (this does not include the pool bars). Staff always seemed to be going off to get more stock or ice. Leaving only a couple of staff to deal with serving lots of people. And when you consider most people are ordering cocktails. You can see why you wait a long time to get served. Also I do not understand why there is not a bar open in the reception area in the morning. Yes you can get a coffee (from the coffee shop). But if you want a soft drink. You have to go to the pool bar. on the whole it's a nice hotel. We would go back at some point. But a few improvements need to be made.