Guest reviews Sandals Emerald Bay Golf, Tennis & Spa Resort, Great Exuma

by cfitz2017 Coronation, Alberta, Canada

Awesome

C & S Fitz-Gerald, Coronation, AB, Canada We had planned our trip for March 14 to 28, 2020(our 3rd time at Sandals Emerald Bay). However due to a global pandemic we had to leave, reluctantly, March 22. So with that being said this is our 8 days. We landed in Great Exuma, still the smallest international airport. So much for the upgrades. Check in was smooth a friendly, as usual. Met up with our butlers; Waldens, Danielle and Kevin who would provide with 8 days of glorious fun. Every detail for our comfort and fun was taken care of...a credit to those 3 young people. Dining: Bahama Bay was breakfast and lunch. The best omelets ever as well as the best variety of food for breakfast and lunch. The best thing was the staff, they took the time to get to know you and actual care about your day. Le Parisian was fantastic, exquisite and food was phenomenal. Bombay was excellent and the staff extremely helpful with ordering and making sure we were satisfied. Kimonos we had chef Nice and he put on a great show and the food was great, as always. IL Cielo great dining and staff. Great wine list. Drunken Duck was wings, signature drink and fabulous staff. Unfortunately we were unable to get Barefoot by the Sea for Soy due to our shortened stay. The pool and golf were excellent. Golf shop could update their rentals. The best thing about Emerald Bay is their staff, they are nothing less than outstanding!!! Sandals has a reputation as a 5 Star set up. This is only accomplished by their staff and the staff excels at this. It makes you want to come back again and again. Oh and don't forget the beach....WOW!!!

by AmandaG201 Huntersville, North Carolina

Not so impressed

Let me start by saying that we are not uppity resort goers. We typically like to do our own thing but thought that we would try an all-inclusive resort and went for the beachfront room with a butler. We arrived a bit early for check in so they had us have lunch before our room was ready. Our butler picked us up from lunch and took us to our room and we completed the check in process. We told him which reservations we wanted for the days that we were there and he booked us a table that night at the Japanese steakhouse. The only reservation we could get was very early, right when the restaurant opened but that was ok with us. We had a great first night although after our butler checked us in, we never saw or heard from him again. We asked for more champagne but was never brought to us. We really like to snorkel and scuba but that was out. The resort is on the windward side of the island so I doubt it ever gets much less than 12 knots and that is the cutoff for water sports. You could book off resort and go snorkeling and scuba for a fee but nothing was available on the resort. The second day we went to play tennis. We called our butler because we wanted mimosas and directions to the tennis court. He sent us in the completely opposite direction and we had to ask another couple how to get to the courts. They were literally two blocks to the left of our room so we were a bit frustrated since we had been told to walk past two pools which was in the opposite direction. I guess he forgot where our room was. We had to ask 3 times for champagne but did finally get it when we found the courts. They provide tennis rackets and balls which were in good condition. The courts are clay so that was a nice change. We asked if our reservations for dinner had been made and the butler said he would check on it (which would come to be something we would hear a lot when they didn't want to say no). We called several times and never heard a word. No reservations had been made. We had to ask several times for our room to be restocked with beverages and champagne. We really only drank champagne in our room so we asked for just that to be stocked extra which happened once after multiple times asking. We also asked to rent a car the next day but never heard anything. The next day since we didn't get the car we decided to hang out by the pool. I called the butler and he asked if we were ok finding our own spot at the pool and I asked if he would please get us chairs. He was able to get us a cabana and said he would be back with drinks. He never came back so we got our own. We did see him later with nachos, which was a nice snack. That was the last time we saw him or heard from him. Again dinner reservations were not made so we ate at the sushi restaurant (which by the way is AWESOME!!! Gabriel is a terrific chef and the manager always greeted us by name) Our last day was turning out to be my favorite. We rented a jeep and explored all day. It was so much fun! We visited the market downtown which was overpriced but still fun, the ladies there were very friendly and fun. We went all the way to the end of the island which turned out to be a really cool place to snorkel. We had lunch at the famous restaurant that Johnny Depp went two when he was filming pirates of the Caribbean and it did not disappoint. There was also a little bakery next door which was wonderful and the people there were very nice. I never felt unsafe anywhere on the island. We again didn't have dinner reservations but that was ok, sushi was great for us. The singer for the resort is AMAZING, wow what a voice! Unfortunately that night the manager at the Drunken Duck called management on us for putting a half full glass of beer on a ping pong table and was just really rude and spoiled the night for us. The general manager of Sandals tried to apologize but at that point I was too upset. She literally ruined the perfect day for us. We left the next day and I can say that I hope that was my last Sandals trip. The butler was not worth it to me, we got our own drinks every time and never got the reservations that we really wanted. I feel like we paid way overpaid for this vacation.

by tsav323

Positive Comprehensive Perspective

My wife and I just returned from a 6 night, Covid-19 shortened stay at Sandals Emerald Bay. This was our 9th stay at a Sandals and our 1st at Emerald Bay. As we always do, we stayed in a butler level suite. By far the most outstanding attribute of Sandals Emerald Bay is the amazing sea water. We found its color and clarity to be indescribably and uniquely beautiful. We’ve been to numerous beaches throughout the Caribbean, from the Virgin Islands, to multiple Lesser Antilles islands, to The ABCs, to Belize, to the Caymans and more and we agreed Emerald Bay is spectacular. Despite the beauty of the sea, the actual physical condition of the resort was not its equal. Yes, it had all the expected amenities of a Sandals resort, it was just not quite up to the standard. We found many things in need of repair or refreshening. Things that could be easily repaired. A few examples include (1) a hand rails at the main pool was missing but the holes in the tile were still present underwater, (2) the women’s poolside bathroom only had one working stall all week, (3) the espresso machine at Cafe de Paris didn’t work, (4) multiple incidents of significant scars in wooden doors (although painted over, they were still quite pronounced and obvious). In general, the property and facilities were clean and comfortable, they just lacked that fresh pizzazz that we’ve come to expect at Sandals that make it seem truly special. Regarding service, I’ll start with our butlers. Throughout the years of going to a Sandals resort we have had over 25 different butlers. We had three during this stay and given our historical sample size, I can say Lamon was exceptional. Our other two were OK and candidly, that assessment is only that favorable after they picked up their attentiveness after my wife made a general comment regarding Lamon’s outstanding service. Non-butler service was great throughout... polite, friendly. While this review may seem critical, please know that overall we were pleased with Sandals Emerald Bay, so much so that we booked a return trip while on property.😊

by Csg1225 Burlington, Vermont

It definitely is better in the Bahamas !

Just returned from a week at Emerald Bay. This was our third visit and we had a wonderful vacation ! The turquoise water, beautiful beach, fabulous golf course and soothing spa were perfect. Our room had a lovely view and was well-appointed. The only disappointments were the food which in each venue seemed to have taken a downward turn often resulting in having to send it back and the inability to take out any of the water sports equipment except for one two hour window on one of the seven days. Staff and entertainment were excellent! All in all a way better choice than Halcyon Beach or Ochi where we have also stayed in the past six months.

by Spatel72

Poor customer service

We had plans to go in May of 2020 but due to the Coronavirus and recent travel ban wanted to cancel the trip. We bought trip insurance and were assured that we can cancel anytime for any reason at the time of booking. Now that we want to cancel we are getting the RUN AROUND. Sandals told us to call the trip insurance company and the airline. The airline could not help us because they could not see how much we paid because it was a bulk rate thru sandals. The trip insurance company is telling us that Coronavirus is not listed as a reason to cancel - there is a travel ban. I have been hung up on by sandals 3 time and am still struggling to get anyone on the phone to get clarification