St. Vincent and the Grenadines Has a New Luxury All-inclusive Resort — With Overwater Villas and Butler Service

Sandals St. Vincent & the Grenadines, the chain's 18th property, is one of three recent Sandals openings explicitly targeting the luxury market.

If you haven’t traveled to St. Vincent and the Grenadines, an archipelago nation comprising 32 islands and cays not far from the coast of South America, you likely aren’t alone. The island nation is far-flung and was, until recently, relatively challenging to get to (new routes introduced by JetBlue and American Airlines have opened up accessibility for American travelers).

This Caribbean island group had long ago piqued my interest; I had heard of its stunning reefs and fertile turtle nesting grounds. Even more interesting to me? A property that had been on my radar for quite some time, nestled into the green-crested rocks of St. Vincent in the tiny, beachfront town of Buccament: Sandals St. Vincent & the Grenadines. Last month, I was the first American journalist from a consumer outlet to visit the 301-key, 50-acre resort with 11 restaurants, four pools, and inclusive activities like scuba diving, snorkeling, waterskiing, wakeboarding, and more.

My friend Jessika and I spent five nights at the property, marveling at how the landscape was a fully articulated part of its charm. St. Vincent is known for its still-active volcano, La Soufrière, which last erupted between 2020 and 2021. The resort is framed by similarly craggy and volcanic hills — a vista that seems, at times, too beautiful, Jurassic, and wild to be real.

“It was actually more than 20 years ago when my father and I flew over Saint Vincent and the Grenadines and knew right away we had found something spectacular,” says Sandals Resorts executive chairman Adam Stewart. “West-facing along a calm bay, hugged by the hills and a curving river, a feeling of peace and authenticity: Sandals Saint Vincent & the Grenadines was built to honor that sentiment and give way to a sense of home among nature.”

Like Stewart’s other Sandals properties, St. Vincent (the newest member of the portfolio and lucky number 18) is adults-only, emphasizing couples. It is one of three recent Sandals openings to explicitly target the luxury market.

Dunn’s River, in Jamaica, which opened in 2023, offers top-tier accommodations, like the Coyaba Sky Rondoval Villa, with its own river pool and rooftop deck. At the Sandals Royal Curaçao, open since 2022, the brand introduced an option allowing guests to dine off-property within their all-inclusive “Island Inclusive” plan as a way to sample local cuisine. The St. Vincent Sandals once again amps up its luxury offerings, both with a new culinary concept, Buccan, and its overwater villas, the first two-story villas for the brand. (The duplex villas were not quite ready for guests when I visited, which is, I suppose, as good a reason as any to return.)

If I had been at all skeptical about whether or not the brand could transition into the luxury sector with this newer property, my skepticism set sail the moment my butlers — a trio, Caliesha Dabriel, Natalya Gieowarsingh, and Danrick Taylor, reached by Samsung smartphones that were provided, naturally, by the resort – arrived with my first piña colada. Over breakfast at Parasol, the sit-down restaurant, one morning (marinated skirt steak with salsa verde and perfectly poached eggs), I looked out at the water and thought: This is delicious. No caveats. The included snorkeling tour — one need only sign up at the aqua center for the 2 p.m. daily trip — took me to one of the most incredible reefs I’ve seen in the past decade.

I had arrived suffering from, it’s fair to say, a bit of burnout. I had written two books in a year and had finally sat down for long enough to allow the pandemic to catch up with me. My kids were bouncing around like pinballs between soccer and school and skiing and whatever else small kids do in New England, and I was just… tired. Maybe I needed Sandals as much as it needed me, and maybe there’s a lesson in there, too: that the right resort anticipates your needs, knows precisely when you require a frozen drink, pizza delivered to your beach chair, or just the gift of a place that is beautiful and warm and perfect exactly when you need it to be.

Here’s my review of Sandals St. Vincent & the Grenadines and everything you need to know before you book your trip.

Sandals St. Vincent & the Grenadines

• Set into the green cliffs, the resort’s low-lying buildings and meticulous landscaping are part of its inimitable appeal.

• In addition to four pools, two whirlpools, a spa, a fitness center, and an aqua center, the resort offers daily planned activities, giving guests plenty of options for passing the time.

• The 11 included dining options are elevated in scope; the sole buffet selection at Sora is offered only at breakfast, and sit-down dining lends an air of elegance to all dining on-premises.

• As at all Sandals properties, watersports are included, and pristine offshore reefs are only a short boat ride away.

The Rooms

Our 1,723-square-foot one-bedroom beachfront butler villa suite had a separate media room and private pool looking directly onto the beach. It also had a separate kitchen with its own butler access and a massive bathroom with two separate showers, one of which was within its own wet room that included two overhead rain showers and a freestanding tub. (The bathroom opened directly to the outdoor patio.)

Butler service was included in our accommodation — we could reach our three butlers via a cell phone that was ours to use throughout our stay. Our butlers were available 24 hours a day to assist with dining and spa reservations, to get us around the resort as necessary, and to set up chairs and coolers for us in the mornings at our desired location (either the beach or the infinity pool overlooking the beach). Of the 15 room categories, eight of them include butler services.

“These are by far the largest accommodations in the Sandals portfolio to date, some with fitness rooms, the most spacious of bathrooms,” Stewart says. “But there is a gravitational pull straight to the outdoors, and you simply can’t compete with that type of beauty.” The design, he says, followed that lead and is marked by a “clean, less-is-more” aesthetic, with neutrals at the forefront so that guests can sink into the landscape.

Food and Drink

There are 11 restaurants at Sandals St. Vincent, including Buccan, the first concept of its kind within the brand. At this reservations-required restaurant, where seating is offered twice nightly, guests sit at communal tables and enjoy traditional open-fire cooking, amplified by homemade tamarind chutney, coconut seasoning, and a spice blend known as the Buccan spice.

At Scrimshaw, the resort’s upscale seafood restaurant, I ordered a clean and refreshing conch salad: red bell pepper, onion, tomato, pink pineapple, and coconut milk made for a compelling appetizer. My entrée of lobster was broiled in the shell, adorned with a Caribbean peanut chili, and served with a crunchy and bright celery salad that I could have eaten with every meal.

Over five days, we had time to eat at all the restaurants, including Isola, for lunch, required for pizza lovers; the Jerk Shack, where I reignited my passion for Jamaican beef patties; Butch’s, the high-concept steakhouse; Parasol, home to my preferred breakfast of steak and eggs; Gatsu Gatsu, a thematic sushi restaurant; Sora, buffet by morning and casual Italian by night; Imoro, a salad concept; and Crema and Blum, two distinct cafés. We also stopped in for a nightcap at Three Jewels Rum Bar, which offers five rum flights, 14 rum-specific cocktails, and more than 30 different types of rum from all over the Caribbean, South America, and the South Pacific.

Activities and Amenities

Sandals St. Vincent guests can choose their own adventure, whether sitting at one of the quieter pools (a heart-shaped pool is designed specifically for those seeking solitude and respite) or engaging in a group activity at one of the more social areas. The resort hosts daily activities, like jewelry-making, where guests can make their own bracelets to take home as souvenirs (fun for all ages, I can attest), as well as nightly entertainment. On our final evening, we watched a traditional drum performance, complete with local dancers and a fire performance.

At the far end of the beach, the resort's water sports department can provide guests with snorkeling equipment, take them out for quick waterski or wakeboarding trips, or assist with the sunfish or small sailboats. At the aqua center, guests can also sign up for the daily snorkeling and scuba excursions, which leave from the beach in the afternoons.

The Spa

The Red Lane Spa overlooks the Buccament River and features signature treatments like the Scents of Love Couples Massage, Raindrop Dreams Massage, and Tropical Paradise Couples Massage. Body treatments — add-ons to the all-inclusive experience — can be requested in the spa’s indoor treatment rooms or outdoor treatment rooms, which overlook the river. The spa also offers guests a steam room, sauna, pool, and plunge pool, all of which are open to all resort guests, even if they do not have an appointment.

Accessibility and Sustainability

All of the rooms at Sandals Saint Vincent & the Grenadines are wheelchair-accessible except the overwater villas. The rooms are spacious and have room for wheelchair mobility. Guests can also request shower benches and ramps. The resort’s restaurants are all accessible. The property also offers two beach wheelchairs.

In 2009, the Sandals Foundation was established to further the brand’s community outreach. The non-profit arm focuses on education, community, and the environment. Initiatives include efforts like coral restoration, lionfish dives, reading road trips at local schools, and improving local access to healthcare. In celebration of its 15th anniversary, the foundation has launched a new project entitled The Power of 15, which seeks to bring renewable and clean energy into the Caribbean through solar panels in local schools.

Location

Located about an hour from St. Vincent’s Argyle International Airport, Sandals includes transport to and from the resort. Butler-level accommodations include a slightly shorter marine transfer and a private car to and from the dock.

Finding the Best Value

Sandals’ high season runs from late November through mid-August, although Sandals does run year-round discounts for those who book well in advance. Rates creep down in late August, September, and October, when St. Vincent sees fewer tourists and more space on its beaches and hotels.

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