The Sands at Grace Bay

We were worn out and stressed after our Air Canada flight home was cancelled, with no idea when we’d get back. The Sands staff were kind and helped settle us in. They found us a nice room and made us feel welcome. The pools were lovely, the beach was hard to beat, and we had a fantastic meal at the on-site restaurant. The food and drinks were delicious. A big thank-you to the team for looking after us.

Hemingways has some of the best fish tacos I’ve ever had, and everything else we tried was very good. Ordering through the bar turned out to be much faster than ordering from the servers, which could take over an hour even when it wasn’t busy. The beach is beautiful, and staff are willing to help find chairs. The property is quiet, with less for kids to do than at other resorts nearby, but there are plenty of places to eat or spend time within walking distance. The room is nice, though a bit dated and in need of a few repairs. Nobody was at the front desk early in the morning, and the gift shop had very little bottled water, so we had to stock up at a local grocery store.

Our family loved how easy everything was at The Sands. The beach is only a few steps from the room, and the daily housekeeping was thorough and tidy. Everyone working there was helpful, knowledgeable, and lovely. There’s a lot to enjoy on site, from the gym and hot tub to all the pools. Hemingways serves excellent food, and it was easy to get a good cocktail. The on-demand taxi service was handy too, with a cab arriving within minutes. We loved our stay!

The power was out for hours on our third night, and nobody told us what was happening. The rooms got so hot that we slept on the patio. At checkout, we got a shrug and an insincere apology. Food was mediocre at best, and there are plenty of better options on Grace Bay. Our other major problem was staff entering our room despite our request for no housekeeping throughout the stay and a do-not-disturb sign, which we wanted for our safety and our belongings. On the first day, housekeeping came in and accused us of smoking, though none of us smoke. Smoking does happen on the property. Two managers made us leave the beach so they could investigate and inspect the room, only to find the fire alarms were working and would have detected smoking anyway. The next day, they entered twice more. The third time, our belongings had been moved. We reported how stressful this was to a manager and got no apology. We had tipped every staff member we interacted with from the first day, but that didn’t seem to change the poor attitudes. On the beach I felt like a VIP, thanks to the beach staff, but elsewhere I felt unwelcome and treated like a doormat. Save the tip money for the beach guys who actually put effort into your stay. We booked The Sands because of the good reviews and expected a relaxing vacation. Construction on the property and next door, along with the staff’s unprofessional behavior, ruined that.