editmojo
Contributor
Just returned from a week at Sandals Halcyon. Overall, a very nice resort with a very attentive staff. The Halcyon is small, intimate and generally quiet which appeals to us as a middle aged couple. Though easily half the quests were young couples on honeymoon. It was low season so the resort felt almost empty. I'd say half the quests were British, half US and a smattering of Canadian, Italian, French and I though I heard some German.
Diving:
Sandals includes 2 tanks a day Monday though Saturday and a single dive on Sunday for certified divers You take a van at 8:20 am to Castries harbor. Regency and Halcyon share a pair of Newton 46 dive boats. The Grand has it's own boats that dock at the Grand. There is also a 10:20 single tank trip that is usually the resort course and snorkel trip folks. It is a 20-45 min. trip to the dive sites which are all on the south west side of the Island. They provide all the gear except wetsuits which you can rent if needed. The water was 84˚F so a rash guard for this Minnesota guy was fine all week. The gear was all Scubaparo and in very good shape. I had my own mask, fins and computer. A few had their own kit, but most used the resort provided equipment with no complaints. You don't need a computer as the diving is VERY conservative. The deepest we got all week was 68 ft at the Lesleen M wreck. The dives were usually called at 30-35 minutes. The dive staff seemed very professional and safety conscious but a little standoffish. Most other places I've dove the DM's will visit with you on the way out and back. These guys would answer a few questions after the dive then retreat to the front of the boat which was off limits to the divers. Divers varied from 5 to 21 during the week. There were some good divers and some reef killers. Don't they teach not to touch anything anymore?
The diving was generally good. Not Cozumel but better than Negril. The reefs seem to be healthy with lots of black urchins but only mostly smaller fish life. The Island is very over fished and the fishermen go out of their way to kill sharks. Without top predators the hole ecosystem collapses. Saw a few small hawkbills, lots of spotted morays and a few green ones. Lots of Trumpet fish and squirrel fish. A few small queen angels and a few good size gray angels. Only a couple of barracuda all week. No rays or skates. Some drum fish and scorpion fish and peacock flounders. The highlight was a yellow frog fish. Apparently very rare. My favorite dives were the Lesleen M wreck, followed by Superman's flight and Fairyland reef.
As a vacation diver I was fine with the dive package. If you're a hardcore-max-bottom-time type, you might want to go with a private dive op.
The Resort:
We stayed in a newly refurbished Paradise pool room. We always choose the cheapest room because we're never in it. There was a mini fridge with soda and juice and a new flat screen tv. Wifi was available for $38 us for the week.. They were gutting the last building around the pool so I'd say in a month or 2 all the Paradise rooms will be new.
The beach was narrow and cut in half by the walkway to the Pier Restaurant. It also felt separated from the resort by the sea wall. The Grand had he nicest beach and the calmest water. The Regency had the most surf. The watersports staff was very good. They were giving sailing and water skiing lessons most days. We took a Hobbie out every day. The bay always had some wind but was gusty and variable probably due to the mountainous terrain.
Mario's is my pick as the best restaurant at any of the Sandals resorts. We had diner at La Toc at the Regency which many claim to be the best, but I found it mediocre. The Pier was also very good. Breakfast was a small but adequate buffet and lunch was either a small buffet or a burger at the beach restaurant. I was disappointed with the fish dishes. This is the only time I've been to the Caribbean where I found the fish to be overcooked and limited in selection. Also, Sandals seemed to avoid any regional food. We love trying new food when we travel and at most of the other AI's we've stayed at there was a least the option to have some local dishes. And the fish was always excellent. The drink selection at the bars was good. The only beers were Piton and Heineken. The house wines were Beringer and fine. Usually no wait at the bars.
One thing Sandals has right is the beach towel policy. Other resorts have towel ****s lording over the precious textiles. At Sandals If you need a beach towel, you take one. If you end up with 7 in your room no one threatens you.
This wont effect most visitors but I think it's worth mentioning. Sandals was taking advantage of the low season to take publicity shots of all the resorts the week we were there. They closed the beach and all the pools at the Regency one day. They removed all the deck chairs from our pools and tried to keep people of the beach. The Sandals Helicopter was constantly buzzing the resort one morning. The people that did complain seemed satisfied with what ever settlement they got from management but many seem very upset. We were on a tour the day this was happening so we weren't effected. Sandals choose to inconvenience its guest so it could save some money getting publicity shots. Also, even though all the staff was pleasant and attentive, I noticed many of them were there before we got up and still there after we went to bed. And when they though no one was watching they seemed very tired. That means at least 15 hour days for most of the staff. I got the feeling that there were being exploited.
While we had a wonderful time and met some very nice and hard working people in St lucia, I'm not sure if Sandals will get anymore of my business.
Diving:
Sandals includes 2 tanks a day Monday though Saturday and a single dive on Sunday for certified divers You take a van at 8:20 am to Castries harbor. Regency and Halcyon share a pair of Newton 46 dive boats. The Grand has it's own boats that dock at the Grand. There is also a 10:20 single tank trip that is usually the resort course and snorkel trip folks. It is a 20-45 min. trip to the dive sites which are all on the south west side of the Island. They provide all the gear except wetsuits which you can rent if needed. The water was 84˚F so a rash guard for this Minnesota guy was fine all week. The gear was all Scubaparo and in very good shape. I had my own mask, fins and computer. A few had their own kit, but most used the resort provided equipment with no complaints. You don't need a computer as the diving is VERY conservative. The deepest we got all week was 68 ft at the Lesleen M wreck. The dives were usually called at 30-35 minutes. The dive staff seemed very professional and safety conscious but a little standoffish. Most other places I've dove the DM's will visit with you on the way out and back. These guys would answer a few questions after the dive then retreat to the front of the boat which was off limits to the divers. Divers varied from 5 to 21 during the week. There were some good divers and some reef killers. Don't they teach not to touch anything anymore?
The diving was generally good. Not Cozumel but better than Negril. The reefs seem to be healthy with lots of black urchins but only mostly smaller fish life. The Island is very over fished and the fishermen go out of their way to kill sharks. Without top predators the hole ecosystem collapses. Saw a few small hawkbills, lots of spotted morays and a few green ones. Lots of Trumpet fish and squirrel fish. A few small queen angels and a few good size gray angels. Only a couple of barracuda all week. No rays or skates. Some drum fish and scorpion fish and peacock flounders. The highlight was a yellow frog fish. Apparently very rare. My favorite dives were the Lesleen M wreck, followed by Superman's flight and Fairyland reef.
As a vacation diver I was fine with the dive package. If you're a hardcore-max-bottom-time type, you might want to go with a private dive op.
The Resort:
We stayed in a newly refurbished Paradise pool room. We always choose the cheapest room because we're never in it. There was a mini fridge with soda and juice and a new flat screen tv. Wifi was available for $38 us for the week.. They were gutting the last building around the pool so I'd say in a month or 2 all the Paradise rooms will be new.
The beach was narrow and cut in half by the walkway to the Pier Restaurant. It also felt separated from the resort by the sea wall. The Grand had he nicest beach and the calmest water. The Regency had the most surf. The watersports staff was very good. They were giving sailing and water skiing lessons most days. We took a Hobbie out every day. The bay always had some wind but was gusty and variable probably due to the mountainous terrain.
Mario's is my pick as the best restaurant at any of the Sandals resorts. We had diner at La Toc at the Regency which many claim to be the best, but I found it mediocre. The Pier was also very good. Breakfast was a small but adequate buffet and lunch was either a small buffet or a burger at the beach restaurant. I was disappointed with the fish dishes. This is the only time I've been to the Caribbean where I found the fish to be overcooked and limited in selection. Also, Sandals seemed to avoid any regional food. We love trying new food when we travel and at most of the other AI's we've stayed at there was a least the option to have some local dishes. And the fish was always excellent. The drink selection at the bars was good. The only beers were Piton and Heineken. The house wines were Beringer and fine. Usually no wait at the bars.
One thing Sandals has right is the beach towel policy. Other resorts have towel ****s lording over the precious textiles. At Sandals If you need a beach towel, you take one. If you end up with 7 in your room no one threatens you.
This wont effect most visitors but I think it's worth mentioning. Sandals was taking advantage of the low season to take publicity shots of all the resorts the week we were there. They closed the beach and all the pools at the Regency one day. They removed all the deck chairs from our pools and tried to keep people of the beach. The Sandals Helicopter was constantly buzzing the resort one morning. The people that did complain seemed satisfied with what ever settlement they got from management but many seem very upset. We were on a tour the day this was happening so we weren't effected. Sandals choose to inconvenience its guest so it could save some money getting publicity shots. Also, even though all the staff was pleasant and attentive, I noticed many of them were there before we got up and still there after we went to bed. And when they though no one was watching they seemed very tired. That means at least 15 hour days for most of the staff. I got the feeling that there were being exploited.
While we had a wonderful time and met some very nice and hard working people in St lucia, I'm not sure if Sandals will get anymore of my business.
