BookIt.com Verified Traveler William from Methuen, Ma

"I have never been to a Sandals resort, nor an all-inclusive resort, nor an adult only resort, but this was an absolutely perfect spot for our honeymoon! This is most certainly a couples place, but that being said if you want to make friends on vacation this is your spot. We also visited the Grande St. Lucian, and this is a much larger resort. More restaurants and people, yes - but you might get lost in the shuffle a bit more. At the Halcyon, the staff remembers you, there aren't so many people and the environment is very relaxed. The water sports are also a great time. A for this resort, its staff and the SO friendly St. Lucians we met there."

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BookIt.com Verified Traveler Scuba from Baltimore, MD

"We just returned from 8 nights at Halcyon. It was wonderful! The resort was quiet, peaceful, and the staff were friendly and helpful. We did book a concierge room which we enjoyed from the individual check-in, stocked mini-bar, upgraded room, and reservation assistance. We spent some time at the other two resorts, Grade and La Toc, but found we liked the cottage, peaceful feel at Halcyon best. While the other resorts were bigger and newer, Halcyon is right in the middle of the other two which made getting to each resort really easy. The food was good though not gourmet. We were able to find something we enjoyed for each meal. We're pretty easy-going and felt this low-key resort suited us perfectly. Overall, we would definitely return to this resort.

We did have a couple of negatives however. First, there seemed to be some communication issues between resorts regarding restaurant reservations. Our concierge service booked reservations at La Toc and Grande. At the Grande, along with another couple staying at a different resort, our reservation for dinner was missing. The staff at Toscanini's did say they were going to attempt to accommodate us but the overall impression we received was that it was going to be a major inconvenience. It was awkward as the distressed hostess was telling us, and another couple, in the main waiting area that they were full for the night. While I don't work there, it was hard for us to believe as the restaurant was mostly empty for most of the evening. We didn't let that ruin our evening however as we ate at the beach instead (which turned out to be great as I had an amazing pan-seared snapper filet).

Along with this reservation problem, we had booked a candlelight dinner for 8:30 and received at call from an annoyed staff member at 8:10 saying we were late. The kitchen apparently only takes reservations until 8:00 and the concierge was booking reservations until 8:30. After clarifying this with the staff, who apologized profusely for the mix-up, we went on to enjoy a really nice meal on the beach.

Lastly, the final complaint we have is regarding the diving program at Sandals. We took the scuba intro course and loved it so much we went ahead and signed up to get fully certified. In order to get certified there is some book learning, pool sessions, and dives you need to complete. Except for the actual diving, there seemed to be a communication lapse between the dive instructors as far as the teaching sessions went and completing the paperwork in a timely manner. The teaching sessions usually started late because they often did not know we were coming on a particular day despite clarifying the day before. And, the paperwork was delayed frequently as not every instructor would complete it each day. We did not receive our open water certifications until, literally, minutes before our van was taking us to the airport for departure. This was after repeated requests in the last two days to have it done. While we loved the diving, we felt this was a largely independent endeavor that could have been better organized considering the cost and our readiness to learn.

Despite the negatives, I would still highly rate this resort but can see that it might not suit everyone. We loved it because we enjoyed the peace and quiet but had the option to go to other resorts if we wanted to. We would definitely return!"

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BookIt.com Verified Traveler Davis from Evington, VA

"We had a great week in St Lucia. The Sandals management was friendly and courtious! Our daughter was married at La Toc (perfect) and we spent time at all three Sandals locations. Loved it!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!"

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BookIt.com Verified Traveler Karen Reitzi from Sudbury, Massachusetts

"We were terribly disappointed with Sandals Halcyon Beach. We did use the shuttle to check out the other two St. Lucia Sandals resorts and they were wonderful and so we tried to switch resorts, but the other 2 were booked. Our first room was dirty so we asked to be switched to a new one which was clean. All hotels make mistakes, but the good ones make up for their mistakes. At Halcyon they never even acknowledged or apologized for the inconvenience of having to change rooms.

They gave us a card key to the new room that worked in another room. I accidentally went to the wrong room and the key worked!

The difference in attitude from the other resorts to Halcyon was night and day. At La Toc or The Grande the staff was friendly and very accommodating. If you asked for something special they did everything they could to make it happen. The management was very involved and checking in with the guests. At Halcyon, the management was much less present and if you asked for something special, you got a funny look and you were never sure what was going to happen. Much of the time you were just blown off. There was supposed to be drink service a the beach, but in 5 days we only saw a waitress once. You could order a drink at one bar and get one version and another bar would give you something different.

We love good food and we know that an All Inclusive resort will probably not have 5 Star restaurant quality, but the first night after dinner I almost cried. Our entrees were inedible. The next morning, I was hopeful about breakfast, but was sadly disappointed. Even the fruit was ordinary and not ripe. Luckily we found that the restaurants at the other resorts were very good. We especially loved The Pitons which has great Caribbean food overlooking the water on a beautiful outdoor deck and Armandos, the Italian restaurant at La Toc where we had so much fun joking around with the staff.

Without access to the other resorts, our vacation would have been ruined.

"

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