Sandy Haven Resort

Wow. I don’t know even where to begin. 1. Check in took 1 entire hour 2. We didn’t have breakfast - they said they ran out of eggs and fruits so there is no breakfast. 3. Second morning when we went to eat breakfast, we walked into a dark, unventilated, hot, depressing room. They literally didn’t turn on the ac or the lights, we sweated so much and went each at the next door hotel on the beach. 4. The room has smell of mold. Everything is no maintend or taken care off. Dirty, old. The floor was oily I was disgusted to walk with no shoes in my own room. 5. The pool was dirty, always, you don’t want to go in. The floor is peeling. 6. There is a mini fridge in the middle of the room, just dumped there, cheap feeling 7. The blanket …. I’m a veteran, I had nicer blankets in the army. This is beyond anything anyone would imagine to receive in a “resort” 8. The faucet was barely leaking. No water pressure. 9. All the room had cracks and looks like it wanted taken care of or painted for at least a decade. 10. The beach beds are just not inviting. All the wood is rotten, paint is peeling, some are broken - the trees were not cut so they just went inside of them. 11. The pool “sun shade” looks like a refugee camp. Old, dirty, falling a part. 12. The outside bar is empty. There is no one there selling anything. No music. Nothing. When we asked they said the hotel is too empty so they don’t provide service (what????) I would mention that we moved from another hotel because we extended and they fully booked so it’s not about season or something. 13. We asked to talk to the manager because we want to cancel the rest of our stay - we tried in the morning, noon, afternoon, evening - each time we got another excuse why he can’t talk to us - which basically meant we were obligated and chained to stay. 14. They also said we will get refunded for the breakfast we never received- of course that didn’t happen also. This is not a resort. This is not even a hotel. This is the lowest key of guest house and hostels. I have been to hostels before when I was younger, this is way beyond any hostel I ever visited. Do yourself a favour and don’t come to this place!

Sandy Haven is a wonderful resort located on the beautiful Seven Mile Beach but it does have its problems. The main reason that we return to this property is because of its staff. Pops, Mr. Wright, Andre, Chantel are all the best of the best. They have become very dear to us. It is because of them that we continue to stay there every February in spite of the problems. I can't imagine staying anywhere else. I also love the rooms! We used to stay at all inclusive resorts but like to experience local cuisine so the fact that they struggle food wise does not bother us. If the resort is struggling and will change hands, I only hope that the staff that I mentioned will retain their positions or else we will be in search of a different place to stay.

The hotel, while once very nice, has had zero maintenance done. I don’t think the exterior has been repainted in 10 years, so you’ll see paint peeling, lightbulbs burned out, etc., which is sad. During my stay, the hotel had hardly any ice and no complimentary fruit or muffins for breakfast. On the positive side, they allowed us to substitute with French toast for free, so that was a plus. The rooms are spacious and clean, but they have serious issues with their showers. This was my 3rd visit (3 diff rooms), and all 3 of them had problems with the shower drain, causing water to spill out all over the floor (it’s the design). The water pressure isn’t great and I hate the rainfall shower heads. If you have long hair, bring your own hairdryer because the ones on the wall are terrible. The pool was dirty for the first four days before the maintenance guy cleaned out the leaves. I never saw anyone in the pool the entire time I was there. On the plus side, the beach is very private and there is no music, so if you’re working remotely, it’s perfect. The Internet is strong and reliable. I typically stay next-door at Coco, but they blast music — not conducive to remote work or relaxing on the beach. The staff was really great. I hope they can find a new owner that will put money back into the place, because it has the potential to be great again. In the meantime, the nightly rates are not commensurate with what you get in return. That said, I would stay again for the right price.