- St Lucia Holidays
- Castries
- Sandals Halcyon Beach
The hotel is located to the north-west of Choc Bay Beach, close to entertainment venues and a few kilometres from the airport. The sandy beach has a silvery white colour, with exquisite natural beauty. Castries is about 10-15 minutes away.
The resort was refurbished in 2010, is surrounded by tropical gardens with a quiet bay. The 169-room property features a currency exchange service, bars, a disco, laundry service and medical service. Other facilities at this air-conditioned establishment include a lobby with 24-hour reception and check-out services, a hotel safe, hairdressing salon, a restaurant and wireless Internet access.
The hotel rooms have a private bathroom with a shower/bath and hairdryer, a satellite/cable TV, individually regulated air conditioning, an alarm clock radio, iron and ironing board, safe, telephone and Internet access. A king-size bed and balcony or terrace complete the amenities on offer.
The property has 2 fresh water pools and 1 dive pool, a poolside snack bar and a sun terrace with sun loungers and parasols. Aerobics, a gym, a hot tub, massage treatments and spa treatments are also available. Guests can go diving, windsurfing, sailing, canoeing or pedal boating, or enjoy a game of tennis, table tennis, pool/snooker, beach volleyball or bocce. An entertainment programme for adults is also offered.
The hotel serves a breakfast buffet each morning, while lunch is buffet on all days and dinner are available à la carte. The hotel offers all-inclusive packages.
Pamper yourself with a visit to the spa, which offers massages, body treatments and facials. You're sure to appreciate the recreational amenities, which include 3 outdoor swimming pools, a 24-hour health club and an outdoor tennis court. Additional features at this property include complimentary wireless Internet access, concierge services and gift shops/newsstands.
Due to the surrounding area and the number of steps around the hotel, it may not be suitable for those with mobility difficulties.
We stayed at Sandals Halcyon Beach for our honeymoon and, overall, had a lovely and relaxing holiday. The resort itself is beautiful, the facilities are lovely, the food was good, and the staff we encountered were generally friendly and welcoming. We also had some really enjoyable excursions and came away with lots of happy memories.
However, having chosen Sandals Halcyon Beach for our honeymoon and having read so many glowing reviews beforehand, I have to say that our experience didn’t quite live up to the expectations we had. It wasn’t a bad stay by any means, but there were a number of small things that, when added together, made the experience feel like it was missing the attention to detail and service we had expected.
As it was our honeymoon, we were particularly excited about the honeymoon touches the resort offers, including rose petals, champagne and breakfast in bed. On our first or second day, a member of staff asked whether we’d received the honeymoon arrangements, and when we said we hadn’t, she very kindly arranged them for us. We really appreciated that.
We then filled out the breakfast-in-bed order form and left it on our door as instructed. Unfortunately, the following morning the breakfast wasn’t delivered and the order was still hanging on our door. We eventually had to call room service ourselves and order breakfast. It may sound like a small thing, but when it’s something intended to be a special honeymoon experience, having to chase it up took away some of the magic.
We also had a small leak in our room, which we reported to reception. We were told maintenance would come and look at it that day, but the leak was still there the following day, so we went back to reception. At that point, I asked if we could move rooms rather than spend part of our honeymoon waiting around for maintenance. We were moved, and to be fair, the hotel did provide some compensation on our bill after we raised the issues with the room and missed breakfast, which we appreciated.
Unfortunately, there were then a few more small issues in the new room. The coffee machine wasn’t as good as the one in our original room, and when I asked housekeeping if we could have a better one, it never arrived. The bathroom door didn’t lock, and one of the bedside lamps didn’t work. None of these things individually would have bothered us too much, but together they contributed to the feeling that the little details weren’t always being checked.
We also ordered a bottle of champagne to our room one afternoon, which unfortunately never arrived. This was after we’d already raised the earlier issues, so we had hoped there might be a little more attention to detail afterwards to ensure everything was going smoothly.
We also booked a couple of excursions through the resort, and the excursions themselves were really good. However, when booking, I was specifically asked about allergies and explained that I have a gluten allergy. Unfortunately, this information clearly wasn’t passed on, as I was served a burger in a bread bun during one of the excursions with no alternative provided, meaning I couldn’t eat the meal. This was particularly disappointing given that, within the resort itself, the staff were actually very good at catering for my allergies.
I do want to give a special mention to Celine in the spa, who was absolutely wonderful. She was always so lovely and cheerful, and she gave me genuinely the best massage I’ve ever had. She was a real highlight of our stay and couldn’t have been more lovely.
Ultimately, we did have a good holiday. The resort is beautiful, the facilities are great, the food was good, and we found the staff to be friendly and pleasant. We also had some fantastic experiences during our stay.
Our disappointment really comes from the gap between what we experienced and what we expected based on the resort’s reputation and the reviews we’d read. For a honeymoon at a highly rated Sandals resort, we were expecting those little touches and a level of attention to detail that made us feel particularly looked after and special. Instead, at times it felt more like we were simply guests passing through, rather than honeymooners whose experience was being made extra special.
I wouldn’t say we had a bad stay at all — we didn’t. But for us, it was more good than exceptional, and unfortunately the small things added up. With a little more communication between departments, better follow-through and attention to detail, I think the experience could have been significantly better.
Overall: a lovely resort and a good holiday, but not quite the exceptional honeymoon experience we had hoped for.
Such a relaxing time, great entertainment but also peace and quiet when you want it. We were made to feel really welcome and if we wanted/needed anything the staff went above and beyond to help
We had an amazing holiday in a truly beautiful location. The resort is full of character, and every member of staff made us feel incredibly welcome.
A special thank you goes to our wonderful butlers, Krysta, Christal, and Tyler, who were friendly, professional, and always willing to help. Our Honeymoon Beachfront Crystal Lagoon Swim-Up Room was spacious, spotless, and beautifully furnished. The bed was incredibly comfortable, and the pillows were so good that I'd love to have a set at home!
While service at one of the restaurants was a little slow at times, it was only a small inconvenience. The quality of the food and the overall dining experience were outstanding.
The sea remained calm under a yellow flag throughout our stay, allowing plenty of time to enjoy the beach. A wonderful holiday from start to finish, we will definitely be back again.
We left with wonderful memories and would highly recommend this resort to others.
Halycon is a beautiful tropical paradise with amazing staff who could not do enough for us. It was our 2nd visit to Halcyon & everyone from Laura our house keeper (who made sure we would always have what we needed) , Alex & Michelle in club lounge (who helped us sort out activities & facilitated activitiesfor our ever growing group), April (who magically got us a table for 8 at an afternoons notice as we causually mentioned at lunch as a 4 we would love to eat dinner that night with another friend group of 4 at Marios), Delores & Donna in food service, Vince, Chris & the ladies at the bars were amazing. Always anticipating our needs and making sure service delivered was top notch. The ladies in loyalty & travel Kadisha, betty-may & Sancha worked tirelessly to make sure we had a good time. They took the time to get to know us which meant they were able to give a personalised service. We did 2vip lunches & 2 returners dinners. The lunches were beautiful & lots of memories made. Admitedly the returners here are not my fave, but it was nice to meet other guests. We were also lucky to have a private lunch in the gazebo which was stunning (hats off to the culinary team, the servers & the management team who organised it)-it was a very special lunch. We did do a lot of the club activites & got to know the club staff-who were lovely & very patient as we did extend a couple of the cocktail hours way beyond the "hour". My spa lady Julianna had magical hands. Dive team were phenomenal as per usual with Wendy, Captian Mike, Roadrunner & Ace. I had a few issues using the stay & play at one of the sister hotels, but management (venecia, ava, dr judy and Ms Faggen) sorted this out & gave us lots of lovely touches to ensure our stay was not tarnished. I noticed that mamagement here are very hands on, i saw Ms Faggen wheeling luggage, Venecia collecting glasses, Ava moving bits. Prior to our arrival i did reach out to Venecia about having 0% beer in our room & this was done seamlessly & waiting for us. I also used the gym & Coach jermaine does a great stretch class! We definitely noticed when Captain Neil was back as the vibe did seem more lively! We loved the taste of st lucia night and the afternoon tea. We think it is these touches & the kindess of staff why Halcyon is one of our faves. Whilst the resort is small its love for its guests is mighty! We will be back for trip no3 in the future!
We had our wedding here and Elizabeth was fantastic from beginning to end! She was so helpful and they tailored everything to our preferences
