Sandals Royal Bahamian
KICK OFF YOUR SANDALS IN THE BAHAMAS
Crystal blue waters along a white sand beach is what comes to mind when one thinks of a Caribbean vacation. So when it was time to select a destination for Darshan’s birthday and our 12 year dating anniversary, we decided to head on over to Nassau, Bahamas. We had no doubt in mind we wanted to do an all-inclusive to avoid the hassle of planning. There are many resorts in Caribbean that offer all-inclusive stays, however our previous stay at Sandals Montego Bay was nothing short of perfect. So we decided to stick to the Sandals brand and booked our stay with Sandals Royal Bahamian.
Besides offering an all-inclusive couples only vacation package with free flowing drinks, food and water activities, Sandals is well known for their top notch customer service. Here is our review on the hotel and why we would highly recommend booking your next stay with Sandals when visiting Bahamas.
LOCATION
Sandals Royal Bahamian is located a short fifteen minute drive from the airport and is set on its very own private beach. It is also located close to some nice local markets, a casino and shopping areas if you want to explore town and the local Bahamian culture.
CHECK IN
Our all inclusive butler package included private hotel transfers to and from the airport. Little did we know our private car would be none other than a Rolls Royce Phantom. We felt like royalty driving around in this car and our driver was extremely friendly and knowledgeable.
Our club room gave us priority check-in which meant that we were immediately greeted by our very own private butler and were checked in and escorted to our room immediately upon arrival.
SUITES
Our room was an ocean view room with a large living/dining space along with a small kitchenette and bar area fully stocked with juices, water and beer. The room was spacious with a king-sized bed, a large dresser, flat screen TV and a walk out balcony with breathtaking views of the ocean. The bathroom was enormous with a huge soaker tub, double sinks and some of the most amazing toiletries we have been provided in our hotel stays. We also had 24 hour in-room dining services which was perfect for the times we wanted to have breakfast in bed.
POOLS
Sandals Royal Bahamian has two pools, a party and a quiet pool on either side of the resort with four whirlpools. We spent most of our time at the party pool which had some really fun activities organized by the entertainment staff. The other two days, we spent at the private island which was a 10 minute boat ride from Royal Bahamian. Yes we said that right…a private island….more about the island in a later section…..
PERFECT BEACH
Sandals Royal Bahamian is located right on its own private beach which is nothing but a long stretch of beautiful white sand that is nice and flat with warm blue Caribbean water. They also have various cabanas that can be reserved the night before with your butler right on the beach.
The service on the beach was excellent for both food and drinks. There were a lot of activities that were included on the beach. One thing we were pleasantly surprised was that all the water activities like kayaking, sailing, tubing, water skiing, paddle boarding were all included with our stay at no extra charge. Scuba diving was also included for guests who were certified. If not, beginner’s scuba courses are also offered for a small fee for guests interested in getting themselves certified.
PERFECT GETAWAY: PRIVATE OFF-SHORE ISLAND
Our stay at the Sandals Royal Bahamian included access to the private off-shore island which was located a quick 10 minutes boat ride, all part of our all inclusive package. The beach on either side of the island is clean and beautiful. The back side of the island also has a reef which is perfect for snorkeling. We were able to spot one sea turtle and some beautiful fishes on one of the days we went out.
The off-shore island also has its own pool with a swim-up bar and a restaurant. You can even book your Red Lane spa treatments to be on the off-shore island.
The offshore island has amazing private cabanas, swings, hammocks and beach chairs to lounge on and relax. It was the perfect place for some really nice photo ops as well.
HAPPY BELLY
The food was our favorite part of Sandals after the beach. From all the all-inclusive resorts we have been to, our dinning experience has been one of the best at Sandals. They have a variety of ten different restaurants, one of them is a buffet for breakfast and lunch. Apart from that there is a French restaurant, Italian restaurant, Caribbean restaurant, Asian restaurant, Mediterranean restaurant, a pizzeria, a seafood restaurant located right on the pier, a pub and a bar bar and grill.
All of our meals were delicious at each of the on-site restaurants and included the very famous Robert Mondavi wines. For lunch we opted for the cafe and the pizzeria. The guys serving at the pizzeria were absolutely amazing and were able to custom make our pizzas to accommodate our food restrictions.
For dinner, we tried the French, Mediterranian, Italian and Seafood restaurant. The seafood restaurant was perfect for a nice romantic dinner right on the pier and the setting was just perfect.
One thing that pleasantly surprised us was the amount of plant based/vegan options that were available at each of the restaurants. These dishes were also very yummy and we especially loved the plant based veggie burger.
RED LANE SPA
On our Anniversary, we decided to indulge in a couples massage at the Red Lane Spa located right on Sandals property. The spa was clean and customer service was excellent. This was the perfect way to end our special day. The spa also has his and her steam saunas, a jacuzzi which we were able to use even if we decided not to avail any of their services. Our massages were amazing and were the perfect way to end our trip.
OUR VERDICT
We had nothing but high expectations from the Sandals Resorts as this was our second trip with the brand and we were not disappointed. We had the BEST EXPERIENCE in each aspect of our stay and would highly recommend Sandals Royal Bahamnian for couples who are looking for a romantic and hassle free relaxing getaway.
