The Sands at Grace Bay

This is our 4th time to Providenciales & staying at the Sands at Grace Bay! Amazing time, place, people & service!!

The facility and beach were outstanding. There were some gaps in service except for one front desk person who was fantastic. The people were somewhat reserved. Overall a very enjoyable stay.

The people at the front desk went above and beyond to help us. The 2 bedroom unit was great, as was housekeeping. The beach was paradise.

I would never recommend this hotel or stay there again. Our room was on the third floor building one with no elevator and the front door to the room was a shade so there was light coming through even at night and bright as day by 6 AM. I slept awful the entire time. Our keys didn’t work the first day there so we were locked out after going to the beach. We had to go down the stairs twice to finally have the front desk person come up and admit the key didn’t work. The. We had to have someone recut a key since their system is so outdated. From the first day of the trip we only had one working key since they were low on inventory they said. It was such an inconvenience to share one key and going up three flights of stairs every time. We asked when we checked in when sunset was and were told 5:30. It happens before 5 pm so we missed it the first night and got to deal with the key fiasco. Every thing we asked for advice wasn’t helpful and the attitudes of staff was much less enthusiastic than any other island we have stayed at before. There was no one coming around by the pool to get drinks and the service in Hemingway’s was ridiculous how long it took to get your food. It was similar for other guests who would track the waiter down to get refills or anything else we needed. Very disappointing stay and lacking hospitality of Aruba.

The bed was hard as a rock. I had to sleep on the couch otherwise I wouldn’t of gotten any sleep in this place at all. The air conditioner is extremely loud and the air blows right on you when you’re trying to sleep. We ordered an ocean view room, but when we got to our room we had no Ocean view. We took some photos to prove it. We went back to the front desk to complain, but they said they didn’t have any oceanview rooms available. Even though we had booked one. But They did they did tell us they would move us to an ocean view room the next day. This process took over an hour. They kept going back to the back office to speak with someone who was the manager, and then they would come back out and tell us nothing. The next day we went back to the front desk, and they told us they did not have an ocean view room available. So they lied to us. The manager, Barbara Rigby, was extremely belligerent regarding our request to change rooms to the type of room that we ordered, And would not accommodate us in anyway Except to stay and our non-ocean view room.

Beautiful beach, nice condos, good restaurant and moderately priced as compared to the rest of the island. Nicest people I have ever encountered traveling, not just at the Sands but throughout the island! Wonderful trip. Food and alcohol are terribly expensive everywhere there. Carry on lunch meat and staples with you. Nice kitchen at the condo plates and utensils so cooking is possible and recommended.

The biggest plus of this property is the location. It is slightly outside the main Grace Bay area, and in a quieter stretch of the beach, which is spectacular. You can however reach the main area on foot, or using one of the hotel bicycles. A few negatives... The rooms are quite dated and some have a lot of minor maintenance issues. We booked an ocean view condo, and our first was small and quite tatty. Few of the condo units actually have a clear ocean view. It's a bit misleading, as they should really say 'partial ocean view'. Our first also had a side sea view, but over the public car park, complete with rubbish skip and portable WC, so be mindful that if you arrive when it's dark, you may wish not to unpack before you can see the view in daylight. We moved to a larger unit, in better condition, but it still only had a partial sea view from the side, not directly in front. Some of the staff are excellent, but unfortunately, these are let down by the few with attitidue.

The resort is in a great location, right on the beach. Rooms and outside balcony are large. Room was fairly well equipped, could have had more plastic cups and a few more basic essentials. The staff was fantastic! The pools and the restaurant in Hemingway‘s is wonderful

Our stay at the sands was amazing! The staff was so nice and helpful and attentive at every point of our stay! The Site grounds are kept clean just like the rooms which are beautiful. The hotel offers free bikes kayaking and paddle boards which was convenient and fun. Other water activities are located right down the beach. Hemingway’s the hotel restaurant was very good as well. My only complaints was a long check in process, but I think it was due to a wedding party, if you are on the first floor you can hear people above you and the hot water doesn’t last long. I will definitely be returning again with family!

I invited 22 friends for an end of summer vacation The place was fantastic, the people very friendly, the weather even tho it was hurricane season was wonderful the water was clear and warm the pool was clean and there weren't any crowds to deal with. Hemingways food , service and drinks were amazing We ate breakfast as a group, had lunch as anyone saw fit and two out of the four nights we had dinner as a group. Food came out hot and was delicious. Only one caution My room was a two bedroom suite and we spent most of our time at the pool or beach and we didnt watch TV until the second night My guests in my suite could not get their TV to work so we called maintenance to come while we went to the beach Upon our return the TV worked so all was good. When we returned to the States I received an email saying the TV in the second bedroom was replaced because the screen was cracked and I must have dropped it I was presented with an invoice which I paid for $331.00 The lesson here is to make sure that upon arrival have the bellboy check all the equipment before he leaves the room.. I will be returning to the Sands the day after Thanksgiving with 13 people but I will have them check all the equipment upon arrival Even the $331 paid for a replacement TV which I didn't drop won't keep me away Its that great of a resort