Galley Bay Resort & Spa

Sandy at the rum shack was really sweet as well as the staff at Gauguin restaurant and all around the resort

Recently returned from a 10 night stay. Check-in/out takes place at a pavilion near the entrance and then you are taken by buggy to your room. The resort directory is available by scanning a QR code on your room key plus there is an orientation meeting at 10am the following day for new arrivals which had lots of useful tips and info. A taxi costs $30 USD for 2 from the airport, just go across to the taxi desk when you exit the arrivals hall and the hotel will arrange one for your return journey but we prebooked one with Natasha’s taxis to avoid any waiting and were very pleased with the service. Room: we stayed in a ground floor premium beach front suite midway between the main building and Ismays restaurant. This was very spacious with a comfy bed and pillows and excellent a/c! There were 2 USB ports, one in the wall near the bed and another in the alarm clock. The hairdryer was OK for my thick hair and supplied toiletries (body/hand wash, shampoo and conditioner) were a decent quality but I always use my own conditioner anyway. The bath towels are large but very thin probably due the fact if they were any thicker they would not fold and fit on the tiny bath towel rail! Three was plenty of storage (loads of hangers!) in the walk in wardrobe and drawers in the bedroom plus plenty of storage in the bathroom too. We really enjoyed being right on the beach right off our patio with our own sunloungers a few feet away. We did notice that some of the loungers and sunshades (fixed) were quite close to each other but it was never a problem as despite a high occupancy level (90%) we rarely saw any of our neighbours on their loungers so it was a lovely relaxing atmosphere with bar staff coming by every so often to take drink orders. The sea was calm and we had excellent weather during our stay, just a couple of short showers. We had a mini bar stocked with soft drinks, beer white and red wine and water which was refilled daily and there were a couple of water bottles for guests to use and refill around the resort – nice touch! The cheerful housekeepers kept the room very clean, usually while we were at breakfast (use the button by the side of the bed to let them know!) or just after and there is a turndown service but timing wasn't great for us we were usually getting ready for dinner. Food: We thought the food was of a very high and consistent quality, very tasty and nicely presented. We had breakfast in Sea Grape and the cooked to order food arrived promptly with excellent eggs benedict among others! There was the usual self-selection items; pastries, cereals, fruit, juices etc again all of a good quality. The a la carte Lunch menu in the Sea Grape barely changed during our stay but it was nice to have the choice of eating at the beach grill (open noon – 5pm) or grabbing something light at the Coffee shop (open 7am to 10pm). The latter offered drinks, ice-creams, pastries, fruit and cookies all day and a selection of tasty sandwiches, wraps, cakes and deserts from noon. Dinner menus changed daily at Sea Grape with a daily soup, a couple of appetisers and salads followed by a “steak”, fish, “chef special” or daily pasta main with the addition of a few vegetarian options. We ate dinner at Gaugin once and although the setting was very nice we found the food and service not as good so didn’t bother going back. You need to book for dinner at Gaugin and as it’s not open every evening you are booking at least a day in advance of not knowing the daily menus (which are displayed every morning for that day at guest services). We had an anniversary meal at Ismays which was very good in terms of both service and food and worth the supplement. I’ve attached some menus for anyone that’s interested. We also received a bottle of sparkling wine and chocolate covered strawberries on our anniversary from the hotel, a very nice touch! The included wines (type varied but always 3 whites, 3 reds, a rose and sparkling available) were very drinkable and glasses constantly topped up during meals. A good selection of cocktails was also available but they did vary depending on who was making them! Activities: This is quite a relaxing hotel aimed at couples, mix of all ages during our stay but there is plenty to do if you so wish, bikes available to cycle around the lovely and well kept grounds, croquet, tennis, games, yoga every morning and live music/singers every evening from 8.30pm. There is a spa but can’t comment as didn’t visit and the hotel offers a wide selection of excursions. The main pool is a very quiet area so don't expect organised pool games! We hired a taxi/guide for the day from the hotel and had very nice day out touring the whole of the island. A nice lunch was included but was surprised we had to pay entrance fees ourselves to a few of the places we visited as we were not told in advance though thankfully we had cash with us. Captain Shaun offers boat trips directly from the beach and non-motorised equipment can be hired from the watersports centre. Snorkels/masks are available in your room to use however given how close the jet skis from nearby resorts came to the beach and the near misses we saw with guests on the SUPs and kayaks we decided not to risk it :( Service: Overall the vast majority of the staff were friendly, hardworking, efficient and happy to help however there were a couple who were clearly not happy in their role and perhaps should address whether a customer facing position in hospitality is for them. We also had issues with beach towels being taken away at turndown and not being replaced either at the same time or during morning housekeeping so we would either have to chase them up or try and hide them from previous day to use the next! The mini bar wine was never replaced despite asking in person at reception or phoning guest services. Our worst service issue was the time it took to get food served in the second half of our stay - we had several long waits, E.G. a 70 minute wait for a burger from the grill and then the order was still wrong, 45 minutes wait for lunch in an empty Sea Grape restaurant and a couple of times desert/coffee just never arrived! Mr W had a long chat with the F&B manager to understand what the issues were and our final day we did see some improvements so hopefully they’ll have all the issues in the ordering system fixed now! In summary we really enjoyed our stay and would recommend and as we brought the shortfalls above to the attention of management there will be no excuse now for a less than perfect stay for all future guests!

Another lovely 12 night stay at GB, still maintaining high standards. On this occasion we took up the option of renewing our marriage vows, and it was arranged just perfectly by Colina. GB have a renewals package, which we thought was exceptional value and made our stay just that little more memorable. My only reservation about going back is the future pricing, which is pushing us towards other alternatives maybe we will go again but for a shorter duration.

Another lovely week spent at Galley Bay & everything was pretty much as we remembered from our first visit 3 years ago. We had requested a room in the same location as last time which, although not guaranteed, upon check-in we were pleased to find was allocated to us. We particularly like the upstairs premium beachfront (room 50) as they have a vaulted ceiling & a large verandah which gets a great breeze. We were close to the Seagrape restaurant so central location in the resort. We also liked the improved cushions for the allocated beach sunbeds. As returners this time we enjoyed a dinner at Ismays which was very enjoyable but overall we preferred the Seagrape for breakfast & dinner & even the odd lunch - the bbq lunch was excellent. Generally we preferred the atmosphere there & the charm of waitresses like Samantha who serves with a song! We didn't think the service or food was as good down at the Gauguin. We have to agree with a few comments about the Teepee bar - there definitely seemed to be a bit of stress going on amongst the staff there & no more than minimal interaction with guests. One day we had a bad experience at lunchtime when ordering from the Barefoot Grill menu at the Teepee. Our sandwich just never arrived after waiting an hour & something was certainly array. As it was early pm by then, luckily the coffee shop has a selection of sandwiches & sweet treats - & very efficient aircon! (We did report this experience to Guest Services at the time, so not just mentioning this on here). Sometimes the little niggles stem from other guests who seem unable to adhere to polite notices, ie no drinks to be taken in the pool! We not only saw this on numerous occasions but one man rinsed his glass out in the pool as he walked up the steps! There doesn't seem to be anybody monitoring such behaviour. Overall the staff work incredibly hard to make your holiday as enjoyable as possible & were a pleasure to speak with. Make sure you do the Garden Tour on a Tues morning where you will also see the hard work that goes into growing their own delicious produce. May's a great time to visit as the humidity isn't too high & there was a nice (sometimes strong!) breeze. We noted a recommendation on TA re airport transfers so also booked ourselves through Natasha's Taxis for the four of us. It was nice to be greeted & walk straight out to the vehicle on arrival after the long flight rather than wait in line for the taxi rank. USD60 for 4 pax/40 for 2. In summary you will almost certainly have a lovely holiday at Galley Bay but it's doubtful we'll make the journey to return again.

We returned home yesterday from a week long vacation at Galley Bay. We loved it! We stayed in the Gauguin Suites and enjoyed having our own pool and the nature (birds, mongoose, geckos). The restaurant’s, pool, and landscaping was lovely. We have stayed in numerous all-inclusive resorts and never have we ever met such a welcoming group of people. There were only a few changes I would have liked #1. The people who book beach front rooms are assigned seats at the beach, however Gauguin guests have to get one each time thru the sports centre. This made it inconvenient, as there are only a few and the umbrellas are not a permanent fixture and struggle to stay fixed on windy days. #2. We visited the coffee shop often, they have lovely pastries, sandwiches and drinks. They are soo popular that there was sometimes a lineup. It would probably benefit to get a second staff and fridges where customers could help themselves. #3. The bedroom doorway in our cottage was low for my 6’1 husband and he had to be careful every time he used it (he hit his head the first time.) The farm was a great addition to the resort and the walk and self tour was a great learning experience. I would definitely recommend this resort to people who want a quiet, clean, and welcoming vacation.