Sandals Halcyon Beach

Our first visit to this resort was in 2022 and we couldn't wait to get back. Our second visit was even better than our first. Our rooms have been beautiful and comfortable on both visits. The restaurants are awesome! Sushi at Soy is out of this world and the crab cakes at Kelley's are 10/10. We split our time between the main pool, paradise pool and the beach, allowing for an ideal mix of social time and relaxing couples time. A few of the staff stood out for being particularly attentive: bartenders Ryan and Vince, Dolores from the beach bistro, and Diane. They are all rock stars! I interacted with the GM on our last day and was impressed with her interest and support. We love it there so much that we booked another trip for next year!

This was our first Sandals holiday and possibly our last. After a very shaky start with our accommodation, we were finally moved to a very nice room after a conversation with Sharon, the general manager. Our first room was perfectly located, but very dirty. Dust on all surfaces, dirty rug & toilet paper on bathroom floor! 2nd room, shower that was constantly on hot - so hot you could not stand under it without risk of scolding yourself. Sharon went above and beyond to accommodate us and turned our holiday around. She is a very approachable person, responsive and ensures her guests get the best experience. Our 3rd room was fantastic, thanks to Sharon. Overall, all staff are super friendly and attentive, but a big shout out goes to Destiny who we met on day 1 for our resort tour, she is a young lady with a great personality and fantastic interactions with guests. She would always speak to us when around the resort and came to find us on our last day to say goodbye. She is a credit to Halcyon. Other special mentions go to Berthalina in Bayside who always met us with a smile & looked after us, running after my partner when he left his sunglasses on the table! Michaelina who kept us hydrated with drinks at the beach & the pool, we never had to wait too long! Patrick always greeted us with a smile & a wave. Big Keith at the water sports who tried to teach us to water ski & sail the hobi cat, the strong, silent type! Bayside breakfast & lunch was disappointing, never hot, poor selection at lunch and birds constantly flying in and out of the restaurant, feasting off the tables! This must be unhygienic. Kelly’s was nice, albeit service very slow. Teppanyaki was really nice, we visited twice, great food, brilliantly presented. We didn’t eat at the Italian as the menu was limited and the restaurant looked very uninviting, however we did eat at the Italians at both le Toc and the Grande and these were stunning. The best restaurant of the three resorts was Gordon’s at the Grande, but you do need to book in advance. We utilised the inter resort shuttle quite a few times as we liked to explore the other resorts. We managed to get beds on the beach, however the butlers always reserved the beds under the parasols and tables very early each day, not leaving much for guests without butlers. All beds were very old and uncomfortable and are not conducive to a 5 star hotel, they desperately need replacing. Never failed to get a bed by the pool, what ever time of day. We preferred the quiet pool, lots going on at the main pool and quite noisy. We were fortunate to be at Halcyon for NYE and what a party that was. Credit to all staff, entertainment was amazing, such a great night. Entertainment on other nights was a bit flat, nothing much happening after 10pm. Overall, staff, amenities, grounds were great, but 5 star? I don’t think so.

Our stay at Sandals Halcyon St. Lucia blended memorable highlights with clear opportunities for improvement. Although we did not receive the room category we originally booked, the resort provided a partial refund and a $200 resort credit, which we appreciated, even though it's not yet settled. What We Loved The resort’s flat and accessible layout made it easy and pleasant to navigate. The décor across the property was warm and inviting, and the pool areas were beautifully designed with attention to safety. Staff were generally kind and welcoming. At the Beach Bistro and Isola, the wait staff stood out for accommodating small menu changes, something not consistently seen at all restaurants. The on‑site medical team was also helpful when our stay was unexpectedly extended. Transportation between Sandals properties worked well, though routes to La Toc could be confusing for later reservations. A standout employee was Vincent, a bartender whose attentiveness, consistency, and ability to recall previous orders set a high bar for service. Where Improvements Are Needed Many service interactions suffered from limited listening and observation skills. Simple cues—like an empty glass needing a refill or utensils signaling a finished meal—were often missed, resulting in interruptions or long periods without attention. Dining etiquette varied widely between restaurant teams, and the menu felt somewhat limited for the guest mix. Bar service was inconsistent, with several bartenders focused more on internal conversations than on engaging with guests, affecting drink accuracy and quality. Housekeeping responsiveness also lagged, with repeated requests needed for basic items such as towels and bathrobes. Staff empowerment appeared low, with employees often hesitant to leave messages or connect guests with the right personnel. This, along with noticeable inefficiencies and unnecessary walking, created an impression of operational disorganization. Technology and administrative processes added further frustration. App updates during our stay extension required repeated follow‑ups, and front‑desk billing issues were only resolved by an accountant after multiple delays. Sales techniques felt intrusive rather than informative, detracting from the sense of relaxation. Overall Impression Sandals Halcyon has a beautiful setting, warm staff, and standout individuals who elevate the guest experience. With improvements in training, empowerment, communication, and operational efficiency, the resort has the potential to deliver a truly premium all‑inclusive stay. There are some hard working people there but those are rare. Note: The Sandals testimonial site would not let me post this review...so it's here.

First time trying the Sandals experience, which we liked- immaculate grounds, very well thought out. Halcyon beach is known as the quiet resort as far as the 3 in St Lucia go. it's still pretty big though, 189 rooms, but all of very good quality. You can't get a sun bed on the beach, so forget that. The pools were good though, got beds ok in either one. The restaurants were a let down though, we felt. The menu in the "Italian' restaurant was limited, and the food average and a bit dry. The layout and vibe of the restaurant was lacking. Lunch in the self serve restaurant was a real let down. the choices were limited. Service there for drinks was hit and miss. the restaurant over the water was ok, but a very limited menu. Breakfast there was good. Overall, for us, the layout, bars, and pools was great, the staff very nice. The grounds really well thought out. The restaurants and the food meant we won't go with Sandals again. There are nicer, less busy places to stay.

Disappointing visit over the Festive week and expected a bit more from a 5 star resort compared to other similar resorts visited elsewhere in the world this year and at best I would only rate this as a higher end 3 star resort in the main, the limited butler suites may attract a higher rating but our stay was in a Club Level Oceanview room especially when considering the cost of staying here. The resort appears to have a 2 or 3 tier guest system in place, those with a butler, those on a repeat visit, and the rest. I have to say they must be doing something right as there appeared to be many at the repeat visitors evening. I expected to have some sort of itinerary in place as it was Christmas week, but nothing was really forthcoming, despite asking each day until Christmas Eve, when the Club Lounge staff found out about what was going on with meal times and what was on offer along with entertainment for the day, especially as the Island was effectively closed down for the holidays. There was nothing in the room as far as information was concerned and despite asking each day around the resort, no one seemed to know what was going on over the 2 main days itself. Food was nothing special and concerned that you had to book for Kelly's, the resorts flagship restaurant, as it appeared to be not even half full on our only visit on Christmas Eve, although not sure how long it would have taken to get our food as despite only being half full at best we were in there for over 2 hours and left directly after finishing our dessert, which was poor, despite being one of the first to order that evening. Needs to have more choice on the menu and not sure I actually saw a vegetarian option on the main course. Mario' again had a limited menu and despite being the Italian styled restaurant did not have a pizza based item on the menu (the pizza van closes before the restaurant opens) and the restaurant looks a bit like a Harvester Restaurant in the UK, only without the extensive menu and service is a lot quicker at the Harvester. Also had to ask twice for drinks that had already been ordered on 2 different occasions. Bayside has a good buffet breakfast and is open earlier than advertised, at 7AM although the lady on the egg station will not start until 7:30AM on the dot, although she seemed to make an exception for a couple of repeat guests that she knew? The best meal we had at the Bayside was probably the lunch buffet on Christmas Day, which was really good, especially the baked Ham along with some other Caribbean style foods. The evening meals in the Bayside were nothing special and to be honest I was more interested in keeping the flying insects and mosquitos away from our table so as not to give them the option of eating either us or our food. As daylight diminishes, each table is given battery operated ambient lighting, but this just acts as an attraction to the insects as the restaurant is open aired. The issue of flying insects and mosquitos needs to be addressed by management at the resort and I did speak to someone about this during our visit. It is not just the restaurant area but accommodation as well and I know from other reviews that this issue has been raised in the past. The most popular form of food seemed to be room service judging by the number of empty trays left outside rooms in the morning as we went to breakfast. Sun beds are fairly easy to come by around the pools although you need to get up early to get one under shade on the beach. Beating the butler is a game in itself as they have wooden signs indicating which beds and sunshades are taken, which they seem to do very early in the morning and other guests have to use towels to reserve their beds, however the towels do not appear to be put out till around 8AM, giving the butlers a head start. The big issue for me was that many of these butler saved beds were not even occupied till very late morning and sometimes I noted even into the afternoon, management need to put some sort of time restraint on this so that if a bed is not occupied by some means by mid morning then it become available to other guests. A tip is to keep a couple of towels back each evening for use in the morning if you are an early riser so as to reserve a bed in a position of your liking and I managed to do this on one occasion on the beach, much to the ire of the butler who was putting out his signs and really wanted the one that I had just put towels down on. Rooms are clean and functionable but again doors are left open during cleaning which allows flying insects into the room without any control and the timing of when the room cleaning had finished was a bit hit and miss with it not being completed till nearly 5PM on one day, although the lady was a very happy and cheerful person who always had a smile and a hello for you. Staff could be a bit hit or miss but in general were polite apart from the chef doing the meat barbeque on the Taste of St Lucia night (which started an hour later than advertised) who seemed a bit grumpy all night, and the menu for that themed night was not really what I would have expected. The barbequed meat was limited and meagre in portion size, and the fish barbeque was almost non existent. I do feel however due to the timing issues in various parts of the resort, that the staffing levels are too low and need to be addressed. The gardens within the resort are immaculate and a credit to all the gardeners and the beach is raked each morning ready for guests and the staff dealing in these areas should all be commended. The staff in the bar areas were a joy to speak too as well, and were all more than happy to assist with informing us about new drinks we were trying out, some of which I intend to try at home. We did not go to either of the other resorts as we felt that the transfer times were a little late on in the day with the first shuttle leaving at 11AM and as early risers we would have preferred to have had the ability to go a few hours earlier and just after breakfast. We did not have chance to use any of the facilities at the water sports centre as it was closed most of the week due to the weather and water conditions, with a red flag flying most of the time. As this was festive week, some tours were not available and other options from the Club Lounge were cancelled also, so a taxi was taken to Castries to do some local shopping and the 3 hours there were absolutely brilliant. Great interaction and banter with all the local stall holders, not just in the crafts market, but also on the vegetable and fish markets and we got to try some authentic St Lucian food while we were there, along with visiting some of the sites in Castries itself including the church. I have already written to Sandals Customer Service with and extensive review and feedback outlining potential solutions to issues we encountered, which was even more extensive than this review, but although that was nearly a week ago, I have not had any form of receipt back from them about the issues and concerns I have raised. This was our first trip to this area, and sorry to say it is unlikely we will be back as it looks like we have been spoiled by the true 5 star resorts of the Far East and Indian Ocean.