Galley Bay Resort and Spa - All Inclusive

Customer Ratings & Reviews

TripAdvisor Traveler Rating

4645 reviews

• 

  Not the experience we expected

  This is a difficult review for us. We’re multiple returners to Galley Bay and we love the place, but we’ve just had our worst stay there. The reasons for this are largely out of the control of the management and staff but are worth considering if you’re thinking of visiting. Most of the good things remain good - lovely accommodation in a great setting with truly excellent staff. We felt the food offering was still at a good level, even though the choices were a little samey, but there was a noticeable drop off in the standard of drinks. Wines were less palatable than previously offered, and the consistency of the cocktails depended on who was serving them – no issues with the experienced bar staff we’ve met over the years – and even simple G&Ts, V&Ts were very variable. A significant problem for us this time was the beach. Having visited Galley Bay many times previously, we know well and fully accept that it is often difficult to get in and out of the sea here and we don’t expect perfectly calm waters every day. However, the sea was very rough for the whole of our 9-night stay (chatting to resort management, they explained it had been like it for about 3 weeks) and swimming/snorkelling was neither permitted nor possible. In fact, none of the resort’s water sports were available during our stay. Regular visitors will know that catamarans and other boats often arrive at the beach to pick up guests for day trips – we didn’t see one, not even Capt. Sean! The strength of the waves meant that walking along the beach wasn’t always possible, the sea even came in past our sunbeds and onto our patio a few times, and the noise meant relaxing on the beach sun loungers was far from relaxing. Obviously there is the option of the pool, or going off resort to other beaches, but a major attraction of the resort is the convenience of having the beach literally on your doorstep. I note previous management responses to similar comments about the sea on Tripadvisor, suggesting lakefront destinations may be a better option if you want guaranteed calm waters. I guess they’re probably right but, if the beach is important to you, perhaps there are beachside resorts that have more calm days too.

  Jan 23, 2025
• 

  A little bit of paradise.

  Just back after 10 glorious days at Galley Bay, wish we were still there. There are not enough words to describe this glorious hotel, we went to celebrate my husband’s 70th birthday and our 25th anniversary of being together. We had a rocky start as Virgin in it’s wisdom chose to pick up one of our checked in cases and leave the other behind (we have air tags so knew exactly where they were at all times). We arrived tired and frustrated after a long journey from the U.K. to be met with charm and care from all concerned, plus the rum punch was most appreciated. We are beach sitters so our delightful room on the beach was perfect and a welcoming bottle of bubbly, a bottle of both red and white wine and a fridge stocked with water, beer, Coca Cola and sprite was very much appreciated. The “rehydration station” just down from our room gave chilled water and ice. You can safely drink the water as they have their own water treatment plant, so it is totally safe. The room was well appointed and spotless. We had our own designated beach loungers and two more on our deck outside the room. Beach drinks service was divine. There was a red flag every day so no sea swimming but to be honest it did not bother us in the slightest, if we had been desperate to go into the sea there is a curtesy bus each morning to a calmer beach. If you go at this time of year expect there to be bumpy seas, it is not the hotels fault. Bed very comfy especially as we are two older patrons who can creak on not so good mattresses, bed linen changed every other day and towels in abundance changed daily with waffle robes. Good supply of toiletries too. Beach towel changed as often as you choose, just go to the water sports area. We ate mostly in the SeaGrape restaurant no reservation required, excellent selection on the menu each day, constantly changing served beautifully. To my husband’s delight they had home baked gluten free bread!!! Which he assures me was delicious, coeliacs please note every care was taken over all is meals, we were very impressed as he has a severe wheat allergy alongside being a coeliac. On his birthday we booked at Ismays as a special treat, was worth the extra cost as it was a special occasion but to be honest the food is good everywhere you eat. The all abiding thing you will notice is the smiling faces all around, the staff are absolutely lovely. Whoever you speak to they are helpful, happy and totally professional, nothing is too much trouble. Every day there is some form of entertainment usually staring around 20.00/20.30, local bands, local dancers. All very entertaining. A good cocktail menu and staff willing to be guided by guests to mix something they fancy, we introduced them to a “Baby Guinness”, not exactly as a home but tasted delicious. All in all I cannot fault Galley Bay Hotel and Spa and only have high praise for them from the top to the bottom.

  Jan 21, 2025
• 

  Absolutely fabulous, not to be missed

  The best resort we have ever stayed in. The staff and accommodation were faultless. We had the most relaxing time and were able to recharge our batteries ready for a busy 2025. We will definitely be back again next year. Best not forget to food which was out of this world, and I’m very picky, also the cocktails were to die for. We can’t praise this place enough, it’s really hard to consider any other destination. Absolutely fabulous.

  Jan 18, 2025
• 

  A lovely stay but a few improvements required…

  We stayed at Galley Bay for 10 nights to celebrate our honeymoon. Positives: 1. A La Carte food across the restaurants was generally really good and not samey, Gaugin being our favourite - try the goat roti with banana chutney! We also loved the Caribbean BBQ, daily visits to the coffee shop for cakes & unlimited coffee and Barefoot Grill for their daily catch (cooked fresh) with salad 2. Beautiful Premier Beachfront Room, with 3 showers and a bath! Personally would have liked to have not been down the end but it was cool watching the surfers from our room 3. Great selection of drinks & cocktails from the Tiki Bar 4. Lovely resort, beautiful surroundings with natural wildlife. Hire a bike and cycle round the lake! 5. Majority of staff very friendly. Stand out for me were Chef Michael & Alaska. Always took the time to stop and speak to you 6. Spq facilities were amazing, massage in a Treehouse overlooking the lake. Bliss! Negatives: 1. Ismays (which we paid $50 per person + tax to dine in) food service was terribly slow, not actually any better than the other restaurants and we had an awful table at the back. Top tip: If you want a good table make sure you reserve an early slot as it seems they fill from the front. On booking they asked if we were celebrating a special occasion, of which we said yes our honeymoon, yet did nothing for this! Why ask? 2. Nothing was done to celebrate our honeymoon across our 10 day stay. No 25% voucher (like I see others received) , no romantic swan bed decoration… Not even an acknowledgement of it on check in or check out. This upset me the most given how much we spent on this holiday. If they forgot they could have at least deducted 25% off our spa bill at checkout, there were so many missed opportunities to address it! 3. Generally got the feeling repeat guests got preferential treatment across everything, lack of focus on new guests like us! eg. In Ismays table in front of us (repeat guests) got an apology for slow food service but we didn’t? 4. Room amenities: No slippers, hairdryer very rubbish, we didn’t receive the black water bottles on check in (though these were a nice touch) and a couple of times we had to prompt housekeeping to restock our fridge as it was missing soft drinks 5. We sadly had 9 out of 10 days with a red flag. If you like a swim in the sea, this resort isn’t for you. Sadly this did spoil our stay somewhat 6. Food service - Varied, particularly felt this in Seagrape was very hit & miss and some days really slow 7. Felt like we were a burden to some of the staff, no smiles and looked fed up… 8. Additional costs - Charging us a late checkout fee when we didn’t take the room up to 8pm on Day 1 and wanted to vacate at 6pm on Day 10 left a sour taste in my mouth, not to mention they charge for room service too (?!) , the gift shop is really overpriced.. $10 for a bag of crisps??? Spa is also really expensive… then the lovely surprise of resort and taxes fee on top. Given they know their resort is All Inclusive (IE guests are unlikely to leave the resort and are going to want to make use of all these services) they should rethink how to please their clientele. These are the sort of things that put off a guest returning! Package it up and include it in the holiday price, don’t surprise us with hidden extras. Overall we did have a lovely stay but it didn’t exceed my expectations!

  Jan 17, 2025
• 

  Not a 5 start resort and definitely not with the money

  Let's start with the positive, amazing rooms , beautiful and nicely decorated. We had the beach front premier room , with amazing views . Rest of the hotel , especially the pool and sea grape restaurant really run down. staff, very much a mixed , staff gugin excellent, bar staff everywhere excellent. Sea grape not so good , younger staff good, the older ones , well they behaved like they are doing you a favor when serving you, not even a emile and quite frankly you felt like you were not welcome. After such experience we at majority of time at Gauging. Food very basic , lacking in quality and variety. We have stayed at several all inclusive in Asia and Europe. I can say that even a basic 4 star in Turkey and other places served far superior food . Drinks , have to say that other than couple of times when bar ran out of bloody Mary etc, quality drinks were available and no issues getting drinks . Service at the poolside was good and on the beach was random . Beach is beautiful but sea is very rough , out of 7 days we had 3 days red flag and 4 days yellow. Water sports center , staff are amazing when you could use the facility on yellow flag day. Gift shop and spa way overpriced and definitely not worth it. Coffee shop was okay , nothing to get excited about Overall to conclusion would be that is a far from a 5 star resort and certainly not worth the money we paid over New Year. Majority of client are repeat clients of pension age and it serves those well. Have travelled at several luxury resorts around the world I would say in my opinion this is a 3 star resort.

  Jan 10, 2025