The Royalton White Sands in Montego Bay, Jamaica, is a 352-room all-inclusive resort owned by Royalton Luxury Resorts that shares amenities with the Royalton Blue Waters next door.
Royalton White Sands joined the Marriott Bonvoy programme in 2021, along with a few other all-inclusive resorts.
The White Sands is described as premium, sophisticated, and all-inclusive by Royalton, but does it live up to its billing?
Here are seven things to consider before making a reservation.
Cost
Room costs at the Royalton White Sands fluctuate depending on the number of guests in your group, as they do at most all-inclusive resorts.
For two individuals, cash prices start at $250 per night, while for a family of four, cash rates start around $400 per night.
We paid an extra $20 per night to cover having three children in the room because we were travelling as a family of five.
Children under the age of two stay for free.
The cost of a night for two persons starts at roughly 50,000 Marriott Bonvoy points.
Marriott does not accept point redemptions for more than two visitors per room, according to my useless search.
I did, in any case, jump onto the Amex Travel entry and found grant accessibility for a group of four for around 57,000 American Express focuses each evening. I wasn't excessively dazzled with the recovery rate, yet in the event that you are wanting to pay with focuses rather than cash, a charge card travel gateway is actually your main choice.
Whether you pay utilizing money or focuses, your room rate incorporates limitless dinners, heavy drinker and nonalcoholic refreshments, day to day exercises and daily amusement. You can pay extra for photograph bundles, heartfelt suppers on the ocean front and beverages like Red Bull and Heineken on the off chance that you can't get down with the included free choices.
You can likewise pay about an additional a $50 or $60 each night for Diamond Club access, which incorporates a select ocean side and pool region, favored room areas, steward and turndown administration and different advantages.
Pros
The grounds are stunning.
A large pool complex comprising a family pool, an adults-only pool, waterslides, a lazy river, and a children's pirate-themed water park.
Beach sections that are well-equipped with plenty of seats and shade umbrellas.
Nonmotorized water sports are provided free of charge.
The benefits of the Diamond Club were well worth the extra expense
Wi-Fi is excellent.
A wide range of dining alternatives are available, ranging from sushi to regional specialties.
Bracelets double as key cards, ensuring that you never lose your keys.
Cons
The rooms were run-down, and some amenities, such as the rain shower and Jacuzzi tub, were completely damaged.
There was a lack of communication (and no resolution) regarding difficulties with the room.
For family travellers, there is a little too much of a party atmosphere.
At check-in, there was no resort handbook or map.
Despite the fact that there is a designated location for them to sell from, persistent beach vendors are forbidden by the resort.
Theme: A party atmosphere
We saw largely couples and groups of friends on vacation, despite the fact that there were amenities and activities aimed toward families.
Apart from a few other families, we had the water park almost entirely to ourselves, and there were only four other children in the kids club when we went there to make family bracelets.
There were a few other hints in the context that made it clear that this was a party spot.
On our first evening, a guest at the next table over requested a "Grey Goose and vodka," and the server spent the next five minutes trying to figure out what he really wanted.
At 2 p.m. the next day, a foam party was held in the adults-only pool, with bartenders pouring shots directly into attendees' mouths as bubbles filled the pool.
We examined three Hilton, Hyatt, and Marriott properties in Jamaican all-inclusive resorts.
I'm not a pearl-clutcher, and there was a time (redacted) years ago when I would have raved about the Royalton White Sands as a location to party on the beach with your girlfriends.
My days of waiting up at the swim-up bar to have a bartender pour shots into my mouth are a distant (and rather blurry) memory now that I have three kids.
Room
We were in a family Jacuzzi suite that had an enormous principal room with a lord bed, a dresser with stockpiling drawers, espresso producer and minibar and a twofold size take out couch (upholstered in a diverting red bonded leather); a children room with cots; one full washroom; and a huge outfitted overhang with fractional sea sees. Both the essential room and the children room had level screen TVs.
The restroom was strangely lengthy and limited, yet that left space for two storerooms and lots of extra room. The Jacuzzi tub that was publicized in the room's name was inoperable, just like the mark Royalton downpour shower. We talked with a cordial visitor administrations specialist about the issues two times, however as should have been obvious, no one at any point visited our space to survey the issues.
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At a coastal hotel, I expect some signs of wear and tear, but our room was in bad shape.
The balcony doors appeared to have been smashed into (or out of), the reading light on one side of the bed was damaged, and the only method to clean off was with the handheld shower head because the tub and shower were both broken.
Food and beverage consumption
On site, the Royalton White Sands includes five restaurants, six bars, and one cafe.
The Zen Teppanyaki & Sushi Bar is the only one that requires reservations.
The rest of the restaurants are first-come, first-served, and we were seated right away at each one we visited.
Breakfast and lunch were served at the buffet, which was open for breakfast, noon, and dinner every day.
There was lots of indoor and outdoor seating, as well as a large assortment of merchandise.
My husband and I were able to sample some of the local cuisine, while the kids were content with burgers, cereal, pastries, and fruit.
Both the Tex-Mex and West Indies cafés were delightful. Course segment sizes are liberal, yet don't anticipate sharing the starters or sweets. The segments are little, yet the dishes were all guilefully plated. I had the coconut seared fish at Calypso, the West Indies café, and it was all around cooked with bunches of coconut flavor. I love plantains, so I was glad to see as a couple of served as an afterthought.
We additionally cherished the ocean front Jerk Hut and limitless chilled espresso (for me) and frozen yogurt (for the children) from the bistro.
There were bunches of unique mixed drink choices at the bars, yet the barkeeps were glad to make a standard margarita or mojito, too. There were even some fun mocktails for the children when they got desirous of our brilliant beverages.
Activities
There were events scheduled throughout our stay.
In addition to the adults-only foam party, the family pool hosted a foam party for kids and parents.
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We dropped by the kids club, which was open from morning until late afternoon, for a family bracelet-making activity so we could take home some handcrafted keepsakes.
There was also trivia, a volleyball contest, and nightly dancing and music entertainment.
The activities staff appeared to be having more fun than the visitors!
My 5-year-old and I borrowed a kayak from the water sports hut and spent about 30 minutes exploring the clear, blue waters.
I was ecstatic to discover that the designated space for paddleboards and kayaks was pretty large.
Suggestions
Only the last of Royalton's claims of being upmarket, modern, and all-inclusive were accurate.
I was impressed by the choice of food, drinks, and activities that were included with our stay, despite the fact that the illusion of grandeur that I felt upon walking into the well-decorated lobby fell away once I entered our suite.
If you're looking for luxury, I'd recommend going somewhere else.
If you plan on doing more partying than remaining in your room, your beer goggles may obscure the problems with the accommodations to the point that you'll just have great vacation memories to take home (and maybe a hangover).
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