Royalton St Lucia

I checked in on December 21st and discovered that the “luxury family junior suite” had a non-functional AC unit. I called the hotel around 5:30 pm on the first evening, but no one came to check on the issue. The next morning, the maintenance guy said it was working fine. However, the room was quite hot when we returned in the evening, and after another call to maintenance, the next technician informed us that the hotel maintains the AC to not cool very well. Today is December 23rd, and we’ve escalated the matter with the manager (Christian) He came in and said that the AC units are not supposed to cool very well. However, he offered to change our rooms tomorrow. The front desk then called and asked us to leave our packed luggage by noon the next day. I told this manager (Barrington) I’m out on a day trip and don’t feel comfortable leaving my valuables unattended. Their response was to not change the room. Considering this is a 9-day trip, having a 4-star resort treat is this badly is unheard of. In addition to the AC issue, the room had a broken coffee machine, the tools door latch didn’t work, and the hair dryer didn’t work. Housekeeping has only come in once in 3 days. I’m really disappointed with this experience. I’ve been looking forward to this trip, and it’s been ruined by these issues. I hope the hotel can resolve these problems as soon as possible. Read less

Our room, in the family section, was a good size and everything we needed worked. We didnt try the 2 hairdryers and there was no ironing board. The beds were comfortable and had 4 pillows on each. The safe was big enough to take a bridge camera and an ipad with room to spare. Not enough hangers in the wardrobe for a 2 week stay but that's not unusual. Our fridge was always refilled and we were offered more piton, we didnt accept. Our cleaner kept the room very clean. We travelled with Tui who bring 200 people here at a time. The minibuses arrived at the airport one at a time so it took 3 hours, not the expected 2 , to get to the resort and checked in. 5 star hotels usually offer a wet towel on arrival and a choice of rum punch or soft drink. There were soft drinks on a side table but Tui staff didnt point these out, we missed them. When we found them they were foul. The hotel could speed up check up by allowing online advance payment of the tourist fee. I'd also suggest numbered tickets so that more guests could sit instead of standing in a very slow moving queue. Wet towels and an ice trough with bottles of cola and sprite would refresh your guests after their long journey from the airport. Our room was in block 4. In the first week every time it rained the lift would stop working. The roof of the block leaks although the resort was built only 8 years ago. The lift would be "repaired" and break again after a few trips. It groaned and the lift doors would not shut. At times we could push them closed. Fortunately there was no substantial rain the second week, we are not young and walking up 5 flights of stairs was very annoying. The lift to the lobby was also out of action for long periods and the down escalator didnt work. There were some guests in wheelchairs and we felt really sorry for them. We could not book restaurants in the app for the first 3 days. After taking an ipad to the booking desk my wife was told she was using the wrong part of the app, our room was sometimes used as a diamond club room and we should book through that. This was a load of rubbish as she'd already looked at all sections of the app but I assume we were given butler privilege as it worked afterwards. Most of the restaurants served food that didnt appeal to us but we went to Hunters twice as the wine was a bit better there and to the Italian once - but we preferred the lunch menu there, the calamari was a bit erratic but could be good. One of my wife's pizzas had such a badly burnt base she could eat only about 1/10th of it. The waitress did offer to replace it. The desserts were not to our taste and we only found out the second week they had strawberry, vanilla or chocolate ice-cream. We continued to go to the lobby for a better ice-cream choice. The buffet restaurant had theme nights. We didnt notice this until the second week as there was very little variation in the food on offer. One day there was greek salad, one day a week you could get asparagus in the roast vegetables. The service was generally poor. Tables would lack napkins, a full set of cutlery was the exception and my wife once left breakfast before I was asked if we wanted a second cup of tea or coffee, we hadnt been offered a first cup. The hotel should stop the ridiculous practise of escorting guests to a table. Let people sit where they choose and focus on ensuring the essentials are present. Install tea/coffee machines or provide an urn. We were not impressed by the food although I enjoyed some of the desserts. We both felt unwell after eating some fish cooked for us so didnt risk that again. Breakfast was the best meal although as the majority of guests are probably British it would be good if the bacon was not streaky bacon crisped to cinders. Vegetarians had lentils and bean stews on offer or a salad bar. The food was rarely hot but usually warm. Didnt try room service, that would probably mean cold food even if the lift was working. Drinks were not great quality, they had a wine list and obviously wanted you to spend money on drinks. Rum based drinks were strong but not great quality. The local beer - piton - was poor and they sometimes ran out of Heineken. 2 drinks tasted so bad they went down a sink. Glasses would sometimes simply be rinsed under a tap although the Martini bar did have a dishwasher. Perhaps that was also broken at times. Most AI hotels have a cocktail of the day on offer in bars and buffet - speeds up the drink service, none of that here. Entertainment was too loud and the speakers distorted the voices of those who could sing. The stage was not always used. Night-time entertainment could be heard inside the bedrooms and daytime entertainment was loud enough to drive us away from the beach. It was easy to get beach towels and several people took 2 at a time as the cushions on the sun loungers were frequently wet. If you werent fussy about location there were always sun loungers available. Unless you wanted front row at the beach you could get loungers until around 10am. There were cabanas available, advertised at 120 US dollars a time. There were two wet play areas for children. The beach sloped quite steeply in places and we didnt consider it suitable for young children. There were fish but not a great variety. There were a lot of rocks in the sea. There was a cockroach in the toilets near the Tui office. The design of the walls was cockroach heaven, there were so many cracks to hide in. Some of the other toilets would lack soap and 2 lacked toilet seats in the ladies. The gents sometimes had non locking doors. The grounds were very well kept. Most Caribbean hotels have humming bird feeders as guests like this and sugar water is not expensive. This hotel had none. There were a couple of dogs and a couple of cats wandering the grounds, never saw them in a restaurant. Cattle egrets hang out by the food truck. This serves good chips and my wife was happy with a cheeseburger. It must be very hot in that truck, the staff had our sympathy. The coffee bar in the lobby served very alcoholic coffees, a selection of rolls, danish pastries, croissants, doughnuts, oat cookies and very nice ice-cream. There was also a coffee urn. If I hadnt enjoyed the buffet desserts my wife would happily have eaten here, the rolls were good and it was much easier to get a coffee. We wanted to go on a whale and dolphin tour - missed out as it wasnt available on the days Tui advertised. Trips out are expensive. If you enjoy club 18-30 type holidays this is for you, if you have visited other Caribbean hotels this will be a disappointment. On the night before we left we were asked if we'd enjoyed our holiday and if there was anything they could do to make it more enjoyable - we said no, it was too late to ask that. Read less

I don’t feel as though it is a 5 star. I had the presidential suite with diamond privileges but it was missing that extra touch of elegance. I didn’t feel no more special or like there were extra perks. The room was dated, most of the staff was not “happy” or “nice”, minimal hello or greetings. Some seemed miserable doing their jobs. Butler service is basic, I am still waiting on my robes and bottle of Absolute. The maid did decorate my bed with happy bday which was nice. The Steakhouse staff sang happy birthday and had balloons - I loved that. The surrounding scenery the houses in the background and on the hills. The ride to the resort from UV airport was terribly long. Read less

Let’s be honest, it’s another all inclusive resort in a beautiful location. The rooms are average, the food was excellent, the people are the real jewel on this trip!! Teddy our Butler was outstanding as were the rest of the people!! The Diamond Club is worth the upgrade, private pool was lovely although the private whirlpool only worked one day during our stay. Poolside cabanas were a great option for us to enjoy poolside fun with some protection from the sun. The food is excellent in the restaurants, though the portions are relatively small. Read less

We stayed here for 2 weeks. We was very worried about staying here as we had read very mixed reviews. We spoke to people whilst here and it was hit and miss but we personally had no issues. The drive from the airport was 3 hours as it was a Friday and the last pay day of the month, so they party! Castries is very very very busy. But we checked in absolutely no problem. The escalator to go down only worked our last 2 days!!!! And the lift was out of order for about 5 or 6 days aswell. Got taken to our room by golf buggy. Our room was in block 4, it was a corner room therefore had a larger balcony. We had spoken to people who were in block 3 and 5 and they had constant issues with the lifts, always out of use. The lift in block 4 went twice. So climbing up all the stairs is hard work in that heat and I also have a bad hip! The room was spotless. Had no issues whatsoever. The hotel is large but not overwhelming. The coffee shop is great for ice creams but the machine was out of use a fair bit but you can still get a tub of ice cream that the staff served you with. The staff could wipe the tables down though. Pier 27 is one of the shops. Very expensive for crisps and chocolate!!!! Buffet food was good, not always hot but majority of the time it was. Service was hit and miss. Staff don't seem very happy or chatty. Some of them were lovely though. Great variety throughout the day. Evenings theres a lot of choice also. We went to the Italian, food great, staff were polite and friendly. Hunters steak was nice. Food was cooked perfect and again, friendly and polite staff. We tried the Tex Mex lovely food and staff. No complaints on any of the restaurants but did book on the app 2 days in advance. There is a shop which sells a few clothes and branded sunglasses. Out of principle I didn't buy any as she told me ' I give you discount '. But actually ended up more expensive using Eastern Carribbean than US Dollar!! So be careful, they are pushy! The pools are lovely, very refreshing and the swim up bar is great. There are always plenty of towels and sun loungers so no need for the 6am run to the pool to secure a lounger!!! If you do not like your alcohol drinks strong it's a MUST to ask for a weak cocktail!! There are alot of activities in the main pool down near the beach, so if you want peace and quiet stay at the 3 middle pools!! The snack wagon was ok, staff could be friendly again. But it's ok for a change. The beach didn't look like it was raked in the mornings but the water was very warm. Be careful though as you go in the sea, walk out, then it drops!! If the RED flag is flying at the beach DO NOT GO IN THE WATER, people had to be rescued!! Entertainment is ok. There is always something on, the team work hard to put the routines together but..... They have a singer in the evenings sometimes near the Martini Bar and you have to walk through/pass to get to the buffet and is very loud! Rodney Bay was a big disappointing, 2-3 hours max is all you need there. Honestly, not too much there. You can walk up to the Marina and go and have a drink. We booked 3 excursions through the Nexus tours next to the TUI office in the hotel. Catermaran day out think may have been called Tout Bagay. Great day, go to different bays, go to the volcano or you can do the mud baths, then lunch somewhere. Nothing special, chicken rice and coleslaw but nice. Another trip was on a romantic sunset catermaran, not romantic as we had a group of loud woman who treated it like a party, shame but have lovely photos. Visited Marigot Bay, very small but lovely. We booked the tram through the rain forest. This is half a day but wow...the views from the top were stunning. We went to the concierge to get a taxi into Rodney Bay, it's about 10-15 minutes drive but cost about £30 return. Grounds are well looked after. We would not say this is a 5 Star hotel unfortunately, it more 4 Star, this is due to service by staff, equipment constantly not in use (lifts and escalators) lack of cleaning tables outside coffee shop and elsewhere. Sunbeds some have marks on as some cushions are material and some are plastic. Lifts don't get cleaned either. With saying the above, these things did not ruin our time spent here, we did have a great time. Read less