Almond Smugglers Cove

1 reader found this review helpful

WOW, we stayed here 14/01/11-28/01/11 for our honeymoon and had the best time ever!!! this hotel comes highly recommended! All the staff are so friendly and will bend over backwards to help you. The watersports guys are truly amazing and are what made our honeymoon so great they were all so patient and so much fun a special mention to sherman, val, teddy, everton and mishalac? thanks for teaching us to waterski! the food is amazing in all the restaurants -the cove buffet, italian, seafood and asian and the staff are so great! another special mention to gerrard and the chefs at the cove who made are last night so special with making us tacos -thanks guys! Again thanks for a great time! see you next year!!!

5 readers found this review helpful

I have never been to a resort where I have seen and heard so many dissatisfied and unhappy "holidaymakers" from around the world, America, Ireland, UK, Germany. In my opinion, I would strongly urge you to change your booking if you are booked to stay at this resort before you end up as disappointed as me, my wife, my 18 year old son and 14 year old daughter. The resort has big staffing issues with many, many not happy and shortage of staff resulting in big queues often seen at the 2 bars that were open during the day. There are also serious health and safety issues with slippy tiles around the pool, only one working pool shower whilst we were there (there are only 2 in total - good luck in finding the other one and if you do, I hope the dial has been replaced to be able to use it.) The General Manager told me that people were often stealing the shower dial, but failed to explain why he didn't check on it daily as it was missing for the entire duration of our 2 week stay. Dirty tablecloths are the norm as are ones with holes in. Insufficient milk jugs so they often use glasses or teapots to put milk on your table at breakfast. At night, great care must be taken as pathways are uneven and very poorly lit, with many of the "lights" not working. Is this really what you want from a 4 star resort?
Water sports - what a joke - there is more broken equipment than equipment in use. Only one Hobie in use, the rest are broken and have been so for some time. There were 3 one man kayaks and 3 two man kayaks put out daily but if they were all booked out on the sheet, there weren't enough oars. Only one pedalo working, all the rest are broken. Oh and if you happen to book one of the kayaks/pedalo/hobie, don't rely on it coming back at whatever time you book it as you have to guess when your 30 minutes are up on the water so if you fancy longer out on the sea, the staff do nothing about it.
Take your own towels is a good tip. The ones you get from them (if you are lucky) have seen much better days and are what I would expect from a 1 star resort. Never enough towels and they don't monitor those coming back. One of the guests that we got to know had 13 towels for 3 of them.
The resort is dirty, especially around the pools. During our stay, we didn't notice once the area around the pools being properly cleaned and often there were pools of water 2-3" deep around/under the pool loungers as they couldn't be bothered to clean up. They don't tidy up at night either, so if you are an early riser, expect empty/half empty glasses to be left around the pool areas and bar areas and expect the floors to be strewn with fag ends and glasses etc.
The Cove restaurant is disgusting. Staff uninterested, many tablecloths dirty/holes in, food left lying on the floor as staff can't be bothered to pick it up. Breakfast a joke, especially if you are there at 7.30am when it opens. Lack of staff, ill prepared for opening, not enough food out, insufficient glasses. Ate there the first evening as we had been booked in there and didn't go back for another evening meal - not offered a la carte and buffet food awful, even less choice for children and vegetarians. My wife and kids were starving.
The Waterside restaurant is a little better, but not much. If you go for breakfast, be prepared to still be there at lunch as service is diabolical and you are very lucky if they get your food order right first time or if you ask for something, like more butter as we did one morning, my wife got up and left 20 minutes later as they didn't bother to bring us any and it wasn't even busy!!! The evening meals are unimaginative and are only two menus a week. There are no "specials" or "catch of the day" and you need to keep asking if you want a drink as they often don't turn up and they generally don't ask you if you'd like another.
La Trattoria is where we mostly ate and the food here was mostly good, although again there are only 2 different menus all week and no "specials." Special mention must go to Davis who manages this restaurant. She is outstanding and her staff are great, but when she is not there, things aren't as good. Your water is always kept topped up, more drinks are always offered and the service are level of care should be what the other restaurants on the resort should offer.
Cafe Enids (16 and over only and long trousers required for men) again has two menus per week and no "specials." The food quality is quite good and the service is pretty good until you finish your main meal and then it seems to stop as they want you to leave. Many guests were embarrassed and turned away through their 16 year old children not having long trousers.
The map that they give you isn't up to date either as the pool with the slide isn't on it and there are no showers near this pool, although it does state on the pool rules to shower before you enter - kind of difficult really.
The Almond website states that ALL rooms are newly refurbished - DO NOT BELIEVE THIS - Our rooms had rusty shower rails, rust around the toilets and one of our room had a really dirty and stained shower head. Oh and our TV didn't work properly and they never fixed it throughout our stay, despite promises, so don't be fooled by that lovely flat screen you see in the pictures on the website or the brochures. You'll be very lucky to get one of those......
The beach - is very small and is made up of black and brown sand, not the lush white sands you see in the photos. Oh and at the one end it is disgusting so we avoided the beach as much as possible. The water is not clear blue either - very murky and not at all enticing. There are many rocks and stones just as you enter the sea, so enter at your peril or with some sea shoes on.
Entertainment - what a joke. I've had more fun at funerals so take your own entertainment to while away those warm evenings.
Feel free to contact me and I will happily talk to you about the resort so you do not have to endure the pain that we have. I still have an ear infection and am currently on antibiotics due to the adult pool and my daughter also had an ear infection too.
I've had enough of typing now, but you get the picture. I find it hard to believe those who say this is a great resort and they had a great time as I would not send any of my enemies to this resort.

7 readers found this review helpful

We went to Almond Smugglers Cove in May 2010 for a friends wedding. To be honest, we were quite reluctant having read a lot of negative reviews, but to our surprise they were all completely inaccurate!
It was a lovely, clean, spacious resort. The food was absolutely superb, especially the mahi mahi fish at Enid's, and as for my friends wedding, we could not have wished for a more perfect day! The wedding co-ordinator was so helpful and she really made sure the experience was better than imagined, not only for the bride and groom, but for the guests as well!
Would definitely highly recommend this resort!

21 readers found this review helpful

My wife and I decided to get married in St Lucia and picked Almond Smugglers Cove for our special day and honeymoon. Our group totalled 16 adults, most of which stayed for the full two weeks. Firstly I would like to say that after booking my wedding I read reviews on this website, as well as others, which put the fear of God into me about ASC. I was particularly concerned about the thefts from secure safes, the restaurants not being open and the poor condition of the accommodation. I even emailed the resort asking about all of these concerns before my trip, copying and pasting people's previous reviews, to highlight my concerns. In response to this I received a very professional email from the director of hotel operations explaining all of the problems they had had in the past and how they have resolved them. I felt very comforted by this, but obviously still had my doubts when we arrived there. I am very pleased to say that all of my fears where for nothing as I can honestly say, and all of my party are in total agreement, that the whole experience exceeded all of our expectations.
The wedding was something I will remember forever for all of the right reasons. Lorna, the wedding co-ordinator, is absolutely fantastic and thoroughly professional. The whole experience was hassle free and it felt as through she was with us every step of the way to handle any small request, which was quite a feat considering there were 2 additional weddings on the same day. The wedding gazebo was a beautiful setting for our ceremony and as we were married at 11am we had lunch in the Italian restaurant and then a private beach BBQ in the evening, which was the perfect way to end the day.
With regards to the holiday as a whole all of the restaurants were open and the food and drink was of a high standard. The water sports are excellent and the pool side bar, which we made our home for the two weeks, was fantastic. The rooms are all very nice and clean, perhaps a little basic, but if you are anything like me you do not go on holiday to sit in your room all day. Personally my wife and I had booked a upgraded “Garden View Room” to get the free wedding package and it was anything but basic, very spacious and elegant. None of my party had security problems and all of us used the safes in our rooms. I even noticed that all of the cleaners we accompanied by security guards when they visited the rooms, proof I believe that ASC have had problems in the past but are working very hard to resolve them. Finally all of the staff at the resort are brilliant. Guest services were very professional and the bar/restaurant staff are great fun. Special mentions to Chris, for mixing us his “Chris special” cocktails, highly recommended, and to Lucy for doing such a great job at looking after us at our wedding BBQ and numerous times at Café Enid’s and the Cove Restaurant.
I would recommend this resort to anyone, especially for a wedding, and would personally love to go back to this resort in the future. The only reason I have marked ASC 9/10 is over the 2 weeks we were there a few members of our party had very minor incidents, such as not having a TV remote or tea/coffee facilities. I also did not think the nightly entertainment was particularly impressive.

5 readers found this review helpful

My family and I booked a two week holiday to Almond Smugglers Cove but ended up staying for three weeks. It's a beautiful, large and lush resort. The staff are extremely friendly and helpful whenever they possibly can be. The food was delicious although, at the main restaurant, The Cove, the food could be a touch repetitive. But that was a good excuse to get in a taxi and go and sample the lovely local restaurants in Rodney Bay. Our room was clean and very spacious. We truly loved it there and would recommend it to anyone. The whole relaxed atmosphere was just magical. I was very sad to leave there.

4 readers found this review helpful

First the good part. We went to attend a family wedding and the day was superb. Lorna does a great job as event co-ordinator, everything was very well organised throughout the day. The only down side was the lack of shelter from the sun during the ceremony. As for the rest where do I start?
All inclusive it is not - it is more like full board with the drinks thrown in. You have to book into one of the four restaurants (ie if they are all open-we found that on most nights only two were open).
In this day of skin cancer etc we found a serious shortage of sun brollies. There are none at all around the tables only between the sun beds, so if you want to sit and have a drink you either go inside or sit in the sun with no protection.
No amount of insect repellent will protect you from bites. I never get bitten when in Europe but was covered from head to foot on this holiday.
The number of thefts which occured was very worrying, especially as some were actually from the safes installed in the rooms. We also heard from families who were having nappies and knickers stolen from their rooms. There is no security guards visible in the grounds, and we saw a number of cleaning staff carrying shopping bags. Having said that the staff as a whole are extremely friendly and helpful and helped to make our holiday easier to bear. The lighting at night time leaves a lot to be desired, the paths are poorly lit and I'm surprised there were no serious accidents.
The island of St. Lucia is beautiful and I would consider returning for another visit, but certainly not to Almond Smugglers Cove.

4 readers found this review helpful

im 17 years old and ive been to the same hotel 6 times already.... i have seen the hotel change it's name, staff and surroundings 3 times. but through it's changes it hasn't change the amazing feeling when im there. i would absolutely recomend this hotel and country to visit, im also going this year in october for 2 weeks. which will make it my 7th time.....according to the tv program ''carribean cops'' i am a st lucia vetran. :)
ive done things there that i wouldnt imaging could happen.. such as walking in a volcano. simply fantastic Goooo there!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Booked to stay 15 days ended up staying 5.So many people having their safes robbed resort not safe.Such a pity as it is lovely.Would not recommend it to anyone.Think Virgin should pull out as a tour operator.

1 reader found this review helpful

What a lovely time we have had!! A brilliant place for families. We have three young children, ages 6 to 2 and all three were kept occupied and happy! Food fantastic, choice of restaurants to suit all are perfect.
Go on Cpt Edmund Boat trip - exceptional value for money, especially if a group of you.
Only thing is the Garden View room abit cramped if five of you, altho our friends with four found it perfect.
Would definately book it again!

Short and sweet (in this case sour), a total rip-off! DO NOT GO TO THIS HOTEL!!!!!!
We were outraged when we arrived when i asked for a game of ping pong in order of getting a bat and ball. When i finally got the staffs attention she replied, "only if you can find a ball".
4 STAR SERVICE!!!! I think not. There were many dangerous hazards around the place with loose tiles and paint as obstacles. Also the staff had very moody attitude and my Mum's dress got ruined because a waitress spilt drinks down her dress. Ther was supposed to be a slide, i was really looking forward to it, but no. The slide had been taken out. The building work was loud. The quality of the rooms were very poor and we had to move 3 times!! The beach was pathetic with pebbles and stones disguised ready to cut your foot along with plenty of urchins. Luckily, my family found a beautiful beach around the corner from the resort which had massive waves and was extremely quiet. Overall, a resort that needs either to be sorted out or demolished. ABSOLUTELY PATHETIC!!!!