BalekFekete
Contributor
Hi all -
Mrs. and I are fresh back from 9 days at the Sandals St. Lucia Grande and I figure a follow-on to the report I wrote for their Grenada site back in early 2020 is in order. First off, and to get this out of the way: this report is for a vacation with diving, not a diving vacation. If it's the latter you're looking for, where the whole trip is centered on diving only, then save yourself the trouble and stop reading as a Sandals won't be for you. That said, we clocked in 13 dives over the course of our stay, so IMO there was no shortage of diving.
Cliff Notes: trip was awesome, we enjoyed just about everything, and will certainly go back again at some point.
Now to the more detailed review...
Getting to the island was easy with a direct 4.5hr flight from JFK, arriving onto the island just after 11AM. The Hewanorra International Airport is small, no way around it, but that's OK. No trying to hussle around multiple incoming flights at the same time, letting the resources there dedicate themselves to your flight. Upon arriving, we were guided to a medical screening area where they collected information regarding our vaccination status (no pre-test was required for fully vaccinated travellers) and slapped us with a wristband...suspecting just to ID those easily who've been through the process later downstream in the airport. Bags were ready by the time we got to the belt and we breezed through immigration in less than 10 minutes total. Right after the immigration gates was the Sandals lounge where we were able to get some much needed refreshments and change into shorts in a nice, clean bathroom.
We opt'd for the included shuttle to the resort, which was a 10ish person van which we shared with one other couple. It's a 75-to-90 minute drive, so we buckled in and off we went. Here's the first of highly important recommendations for anyone who'll head to this resort - if you're going to use the same transfer, start your Bonine early. You see, St. Lucia is a mountainous island and the airport and resort are on opposite ends of the island. So it's a long drive on constantly winding roads, with hairpin turns and switchbacks more routine than straight stretches of road. Even those who aren't prone to motion sickness are apt to get off feeling less well than when they got on. I was green in the gills for sure
not being the best car passenger to begin with, but it wasn't long lasting.
Check-in was seamless as they were ready for us with champagne flutes in hand, walking us through the general offerings of the resort and guiding us to our room. We always opt for one of the more basic rooms since we spend so little time in it, but the room was well appointed. Comfy bed, pleanty of storage for clothes, ample bathroom and a balcony to dry gear on. What more do you need?
The resort is stunning from end-to-end. Landscaping was immaculate, beach was clean and well groomed with pleanty of lounge chairs for everyone, pools were crystal and the bars were pleantiful. There were enough restaurants where we only needed to repeat once for dinner, but given each was wonderful it was more a problem to decide which to do twice (we went for their Italian restaurant). All the food was fresh, crafted by staff that were clearly well trained and talented and what we'd expect from a 5* resort. Did I mention the bars? Multiple bars across the resort ready to provide anything you could want. The Bob Marleys were our favorite (layered frozen drink of Strawberry and Mango Daquari) but we mixed in more Miami Vices, Hummingbirds, and other frozen concoctions than I could count.
Each night there was a unique piece of entertainment planned. Most of the night we struggled to stay awake long enough, and often that wasn't a problem as the entertainment shows aren't Sandals' forte by and large. There was a good Water-and-Fire show poolside one night, and a talented country singer another evening. But the rest...well, if you want that sort of thing in your vacations...better options elsewhere.
Ok, now to what everyone here is interested in - the diving!
The last time we were wet was back in the summer of 2021 which exceeded the six-month timeframe for Sandals and necessitated a short pool session to demonstrate a few skills (few laps underwater to demonstrate bouyancy skills, a mask removal/replace/clear, and a lost regulator). Easy peasy. We were able to do it upon arrival in the afternoon and did not impact our scheduled for diving. In fact, it was a welcomed mini-refresher and got us the chance for a 1:1 conversation with one of the sites' instructors (and thereby able to get our names on the daily dive schedule for the week...bonus!). You're allowed to dive either a two-tank AM trip or a 1-tank PM trip on any given day except your arrival or depature dates.
Each Sandals we've gone to (Grenada and Jamaica/Negril previously) all use the same boats - 46-foot Newtons. The boat was well set up with ample room for people to stash their stuff, three rinse tubs (cameras/computers, a santitizing bucket for weights at the end of the diving, and one for masks). The boat has a marine head and a Gatorade-esque cooler of fresh water, along with snack boxes for the surface intervals. In checking in, they record the two tank pressures from everyone and then capture them at the end of each dive as part of the head count (in addition to the count each DM kept for their peeps). DIN valves were available for those who needed them (including us), however, part of the Sandals gig is that all diving gear is included in the price which many people take advantage of.
All dives are guided dives timed to the biggest air hog in the group. Across the whole week we didn't have a dive less than 45 minutes, so it never presented a problem. This is likely because they group people based on certifications and skill sets, so we were with relatively competent divers throughout our time there. The resort has a schedule of dive sites they run across any given week, however, depending on the captain and how well you chat them up, it's his discretion. The dive sites go across the entire western coast of the island, and we visited each area at least once during the week with focus further south (where better sites with greater viz were found). The crew were exceptionally friendly, professional, and a pleasure to work with regardless of who we had any given day.
By and large the reefs were in good shape and we saw good biodiversity across the dives. Standouts were the largest ray (a good 6-feet across) we've seen across our limited 65 dives and a surface interval where a pod(s) of 100+ dolphins ran with the boat for a good 15 minutes dancing in the wake. Was truly breathtaking! Lots of lobsters hidden away which the Mrs. developed a skill for tracking down, lots of spotted eels, and a fair share of lion fish were seen on each dive. Best dive was called Superman's Flight which, as you'd guess, was a drift dive along our the first wall we've dived at that point. Closely behind that was Aquarium which...you guessed it...huge variety of fish everywhere in little current which allowed for a long, relaxing dive with more to see than you could take in. Only one or two dives were 'meh' and those only being the ones where we stayed close to the resort due to the protected nature of the cove (on a day when currents were very strong down-island). A storm had come in and viz was rather limited...maybe 30 feet or so. Still lots to see, but not quite as good as the other sites.
Images of the resort and, more importantly, from our dives can be found here. A few of my personal favs here...enjoy!
Mrs. and I are fresh back from 9 days at the Sandals St. Lucia Grande and I figure a follow-on to the report I wrote for their Grenada site back in early 2020 is in order. First off, and to get this out of the way: this report is for a vacation with diving, not a diving vacation. If it's the latter you're looking for, where the whole trip is centered on diving only, then save yourself the trouble and stop reading as a Sandals won't be for you. That said, we clocked in 13 dives over the course of our stay, so IMO there was no shortage of diving.
Cliff Notes: trip was awesome, we enjoyed just about everything, and will certainly go back again at some point.
Now to the more detailed review...
Getting to the island was easy with a direct 4.5hr flight from JFK, arriving onto the island just after 11AM. The Hewanorra International Airport is small, no way around it, but that's OK. No trying to hussle around multiple incoming flights at the same time, letting the resources there dedicate themselves to your flight. Upon arriving, we were guided to a medical screening area where they collected information regarding our vaccination status (no pre-test was required for fully vaccinated travellers) and slapped us with a wristband...suspecting just to ID those easily who've been through the process later downstream in the airport. Bags were ready by the time we got to the belt and we breezed through immigration in less than 10 minutes total. Right after the immigration gates was the Sandals lounge where we were able to get some much needed refreshments and change into shorts in a nice, clean bathroom.
We opt'd for the included shuttle to the resort, which was a 10ish person van which we shared with one other couple. It's a 75-to-90 minute drive, so we buckled in and off we went. Here's the first of highly important recommendations for anyone who'll head to this resort - if you're going to use the same transfer, start your Bonine early. You see, St. Lucia is a mountainous island and the airport and resort are on opposite ends of the island. So it's a long drive on constantly winding roads, with hairpin turns and switchbacks more routine than straight stretches of road. Even those who aren't prone to motion sickness are apt to get off feeling less well than when they got on. I was green in the gills for sure
not being the best car passenger to begin with, but it wasn't long lasting.Check-in was seamless as they were ready for us with champagne flutes in hand, walking us through the general offerings of the resort and guiding us to our room. We always opt for one of the more basic rooms since we spend so little time in it, but the room was well appointed. Comfy bed, pleanty of storage for clothes, ample bathroom and a balcony to dry gear on. What more do you need?
The resort is stunning from end-to-end. Landscaping was immaculate, beach was clean and well groomed with pleanty of lounge chairs for everyone, pools were crystal and the bars were pleantiful. There were enough restaurants where we only needed to repeat once for dinner, but given each was wonderful it was more a problem to decide which to do twice (we went for their Italian restaurant). All the food was fresh, crafted by staff that were clearly well trained and talented and what we'd expect from a 5* resort. Did I mention the bars? Multiple bars across the resort ready to provide anything you could want. The Bob Marleys were our favorite (layered frozen drink of Strawberry and Mango Daquari) but we mixed in more Miami Vices, Hummingbirds, and other frozen concoctions than I could count.
Each night there was a unique piece of entertainment planned. Most of the night we struggled to stay awake long enough, and often that wasn't a problem as the entertainment shows aren't Sandals' forte by and large. There was a good Water-and-Fire show poolside one night, and a talented country singer another evening. But the rest...well, if you want that sort of thing in your vacations...better options elsewhere.
Ok, now to what everyone here is interested in - the diving!
The last time we were wet was back in the summer of 2021 which exceeded the six-month timeframe for Sandals and necessitated a short pool session to demonstrate a few skills (few laps underwater to demonstrate bouyancy skills, a mask removal/replace/clear, and a lost regulator). Easy peasy. We were able to do it upon arrival in the afternoon and did not impact our scheduled for diving. In fact, it was a welcomed mini-refresher and got us the chance for a 1:1 conversation with one of the sites' instructors (and thereby able to get our names on the daily dive schedule for the week...bonus!). You're allowed to dive either a two-tank AM trip or a 1-tank PM trip on any given day except your arrival or depature dates.
Each Sandals we've gone to (Grenada and Jamaica/Negril previously) all use the same boats - 46-foot Newtons. The boat was well set up with ample room for people to stash their stuff, three rinse tubs (cameras/computers, a santitizing bucket for weights at the end of the diving, and one for masks). The boat has a marine head and a Gatorade-esque cooler of fresh water, along with snack boxes for the surface intervals. In checking in, they record the two tank pressures from everyone and then capture them at the end of each dive as part of the head count (in addition to the count each DM kept for their peeps). DIN valves were available for those who needed them (including us), however, part of the Sandals gig is that all diving gear is included in the price which many people take advantage of.
All dives are guided dives timed to the biggest air hog in the group. Across the whole week we didn't have a dive less than 45 minutes, so it never presented a problem. This is likely because they group people based on certifications and skill sets, so we were with relatively competent divers throughout our time there. The resort has a schedule of dive sites they run across any given week, however, depending on the captain and how well you chat them up, it's his discretion. The dive sites go across the entire western coast of the island, and we visited each area at least once during the week with focus further south (where better sites with greater viz were found). The crew were exceptionally friendly, professional, and a pleasure to work with regardless of who we had any given day.
By and large the reefs were in good shape and we saw good biodiversity across the dives. Standouts were the largest ray (a good 6-feet across) we've seen across our limited 65 dives and a surface interval where a pod(s) of 100+ dolphins ran with the boat for a good 15 minutes dancing in the wake. Was truly breathtaking! Lots of lobsters hidden away which the Mrs. developed a skill for tracking down, lots of spotted eels, and a fair share of lion fish were seen on each dive. Best dive was called Superman's Flight which, as you'd guess, was a drift dive along our the first wall we've dived at that point. Closely behind that was Aquarium which...you guessed it...huge variety of fish everywhere in little current which allowed for a long, relaxing dive with more to see than you could take in. Only one or two dives were 'meh' and those only being the ones where we stayed close to the resort due to the protected nature of the cove (on a day when currents were very strong down-island). A storm had come in and viz was rather limited...maybe 30 feet or so. Still lots to see, but not quite as good as the other sites.
Images of the resort and, more importantly, from our dives can be found here. A few of my personal favs here...enjoy!
Invasion). 
