Bay Gardens Marina Haven

Lovely clean little hotel it is a 3 star hotel with friendly staff. Pretty basic but the staff do try to meet your requests where possible.

Don't book this hotel, we are due to flight to st. Luica for a family reunion on the 6th June and today is the 4th June. I got a call from British Airways on the 3rd June, saying that they have cancelled our stay at the Bay Garden Marina Haven due to hotel renovations. And they what to put us in their other hotel, Bay Gardens Hotel away from the marina, Infront of a busy main road and next to a shopping mall.

This has put so much stress on me, because their is a good of 9 of us going down to the family reunion. Three members of the group is over 70 plus and my dad has mobility problems. Also two toddlers under two including my son. I've had to make so many special arrangements from London, for a special occasion and everything to run smoothly. Even from me sending emails from August 2025 to Bay Gardens and the last email sent was the 12th May and not once did they mention, that they are going to close renovation.

I had to call from London to st. Luica 5 times on the 3rd of June, there are three group bookings I'm handling for this trip and told to this is right the hotel will be closed and it just happened. I said to them to place us in the Bay Garden Resort because you have inconvenience us in a big way and we specifically chose the marina to stay in for our reunion. I was then told, that the hotel is the same price that is why you have been placed there. I told them it's not the same at all, being next to a busy road, instead of views of the harbour. Can you place us in the resort, then I got told there is going to be an extra cost. Why an I going to pay extra for you taking my group booking and cancelling the hotel we have chosen to put us in a lower Hotel. They told me to write an email telling them everything and they will pass it on to the manager and they will get back to you. I ask is the email going to be responded to, because you have been taking three to five days to respond to my previous emails. They reassured me that I'll get a reply, nothing came when I sent the email (We're still on the 3rd June).

To 4th June, I called no answer, called again and again until I got an answer. I spoke to the same person as yesterday. (We also only have les then two days now). I asked if my email was received because I didn't get a reply and was told.. she informed the manager a email would be coming from me and they saw it and just spoke to British Airways instead of replying to my email about this whole situation and to place us in the resort. I asked if I can talk to a manager, they said they are no managers on site they are all off because it's a national holiday, they will be back tomorrow (5th June) at 7am at Lucia time. I ask can you fix this, they said that they can do anything without the manager saying to do so. I ask can you all the managers because this needs to get sorted before Sunday 6th when we arrive. They said no they can't. Ask if the manager to call here now, to sort this out.. who does this go to.. this comes to me and I'll put you in the rooms. I just couldn't believe what is was hearing considering I've got two days to sort out 9 people with no hotel to go to, because nothing have been confirmed on our side. Stress!!!

I booked with BA and the other half booked with Love holidays, I called BA to get a room sorted because I have no choice at the moment for me and the babys mostly to have somewhere. I ask what is the fee Bay Gardens mention to be in the resort, BA told me that they want me to pay £1200 extra to say there. Are you crazy, they want me to pay for their inconveniencing our whole trip taking away our original hotel. And me having to call and email transfers / excursions to change all locations. So I said to BA I'll take the room in the Bay Gardens Hotel, she said I might not get the two double bed and might be one instead but we have to confirm everything.

So even that is not confirmed for two adults and two toddlers under two. And the rest of the group 5 adults have not received any confirmation at all. When we called love holidays they didn't believe us when we told them the hotel is going to be closed when we arrive. They said they have to do they own investigation (Remember this is the 4th June, while now it the 5th June because of the time in posting this).

We have no confirmation on any of the hotels, there is no duty of care for their customers and no sense of urgency from anyone. At this rate we're going to end up losing money and sleeping on a beach with two toddlers, three over 70 plus and one being my dad who has mobility problems. My uncle who lives in st Luica and my dad have not been in the best of health because of their age. And it's been 20 years since my dad was last at st. Luica after is dad passed away. This was meant to be such a special occasion and mean a lot to our family and Thank you Bay Gardens For ruining our holiday before even getting to St Lucia

Let me preface this review by saying that I will fully outline aspects of the resort and rate each part that I feel is significant below, for those who want an opinion on specific aspects. As a heads up, for those who dont like to read, we liked the resort and rebooked for a second stay in December... but there are some criticisms

We travel between 3-6 times per year for getaways and our choices and preferences for resorts is all over the map, ranging in price from $150-$1500/night, with some being all inclusive and others being pay-as-you-go. We do not have a preference, both have their advantages and disadvantages. We are not super-particular people, but we do set our expectations (somewhat) based on the price point we pay at each resort. Most times we are pleasantly surprised with what we experience and we always make the best of any situation we find ourselves in (we travel as a couple and a throuple on occasion).

We chose Bay Gardens Marina haven due to its close proximity (Rodney Bay) to Carnival events (July 12-23/2026) as well as price and, of course, tripadvisor reviews.

For close proximity to Carnival events, I give it 5 stars⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️.

When we booked this resort, online, we booked a special package (Bacchanal Palace Package) for Carnival ahead of time, but had to split the reservation into two parts (our best flights had us landing in St Lucia a day before the Bacchanal Palace package was offered). Upon arrival, we checked in (we did pre check in online) and were assigned a room, with an actual physical key (this would change later) and were told that we would be moving to another room at a later date. This might have been a minor inconvenience had we not opted to stay in our initial room, which was a great location. Check in was a bit complicated as there seems to be a bit of a communication breakdown somewhere when it comes to relaying particulars about reservations. The package we ordered for our accommodations also came with a reduced rate for food and drinks which had to be communicated each time we signed for our bar or meal tab. Now, as days passed, our room door had a new keyless access system and we were each assigned wrist bands that were colourized (ours were brown) to indicate the package we had purchased so that staff would be able to recognize this and apply the appropriate reduced rate... but the staff were not informed. Not a big deal, we just informed them and reminded them.

That said, as far as communication goes, I would give it 3-stars ⭐️⭐️⭐️

So, our room was fairly simply. Basic bathroom with shower. Everything worked, although there were some regular water pressure issues and occasional lack of hot water. The room was clean, freshly painted, new beds and things worked as they should. However, for a freshly renovated room, the contractors seemed to cut a few corners. For instance, the new door lock system, which was installed along with a complete new door, had rub marks all over it from something black. I took manager (Sue) for a tour of our room to show her what I found and she took photos etc. to look into it. Basically, for a freshly-renovated room it (aesthetically) left a bit to be desired and the resort should have the contractors come back and touch up some of the substandard work…

But, with all that said, the beds were very firm and I had a great nights sleep each night, the air conditioning was perfect, the doors and locks functioned properly, and it was clean and comfortable, so I have to give the room 4 stars ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ for functionality and a 2 star ⭐️⭐️ for finish.

The property was nicely manicured. They had renovations happening so there was a bit of noise, but nothing extreme. The small but interestingly shaped pool was a great temperature and nice to sit in and around. They could use some shade umbrellas and the pool was a perfect temperature, but could have been skimmed a bit more (I had to pull a handful of stones off of the bottom of it, before i stepped on them like Legos LOL) but it was understandable as they had been shutdown for renovations up to that point and just getting back in the groove. The bar is a nice little place to get out of the sun (they need shade umbrellas for the chairs on the pool deck) and have a drink. Could be a little bit bigger but still a nice spot. So, for the property, its pretty basic but decent, so I would give it 4 stars ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

The vibe here was relaxed yet upbeat. The music selections each day were excellent. Nice to see the staff picking the music, which was always appropriate. There is nothing better than(in my opinion) than hearing the local music when in another country, and this resort was one of the first that I have been to that wasn’t playing the typical top 40 and oldies crap. 
So, music was 5 stars ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ for me.

Food… breakfast was included and, while it was not an extensive selection, we were always happy with the quality of the selections. Dinners were good, although menu was a bit limited and we could have used more (especially local food) options for our 12-day stay. I especially enjoyed the one dinner where we were given the option of a curried goat meal (which wasn’t on the menu). But food was always good, tasty and the fries were always blazing hot which is a must for me LOL.
So, as far as food goes, I would give it a 4 star rating ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ for the quality but a 3 star ⭐️⭐️⭐️ for the variety

Now, the most important aspect of any resort for me is the staff, and that is where this place shines. The staff here were a friendly, helpful, warm and just a great group to be around during our 12 day stay here. Everyone has their own personalities and quirks, but all were exceptional, each in different ways. Some key people that stand out are:

Arnold (bartender, waiter) who was amazing at his job, both mixing drinks and making guests feel welcome and is on top of things and helped us answer any questions we had

Shem, who played a variety of roles, but was exceptional at getting people engaged and interacting with guests.

Gertrude who worked in the restaurant always had a moment to chat with us and answer any questions

Jessica who, although quiet and reserved, was always helpful and friendly

Joel at front desk who was always ready to assist and was a great guy to chat with

Sue, the main manager, who was very helpful in resolving issues and answering our questions as well as tracking down our transfer to the airport when it was late

Overall, for the price, location for the carnival events, AMAZING STAFF, decent food, I would have to give it 4 stars. We have already booked for a second stay in December 2026!