Couples Sans Souci

This was our first visit in 13 years and it was our 20th wedding anniversary. I booked a penthouse suite, just like I had 13 years ago. The only problem is that Couples decided to call all rooms on the top floor penthouse suites. This is as opposed to having a separate bedroom and living room. Now the "penthouses" are a single big room. This is an issue when my wife gets up earlier than me and has no place but the balcony and bathroom to live while I sleep. This is 100% unacceptable and a money grab at the highest level. If you were hurt by COVID, don't try to make it up with me. Let's move onto the cleanliness situation. They have water dispensers around the property which is nice since you can get a cup and fill up. Not so great when this leads to getting sick with fever and diarrhea. I got sick with stomach issues after 2 days of drinking that water. This machines have ants and every other insect you can think of crawling on them. When I stopped drinking that water, I got better. Let's talk about the staff. 13 years ago was a long time to be away, so we have no idea the state of employees, etc. there. But we were told that the economy is suffering, so that may explain the lack of service this time. We were met with employees just not caring at all. We asked for water to be delivered continually and were told to order it through the app. The app wouldn't deliver before the next day, so we had to continually call to ask for bottles of water. See above why we needed bottled water. The staff felt different this time. We were steamrolled with great employees every other time we went these, but the vibe had definite cooled off since we were that last. Very sad. Overall, I am not coming to this resort again. It's really disappointing because this was our go to for many years and now we'll have to find somewhere else. The property needs a lot of work, it's obvious the weather has taken its tool on the buildings. For the prices they charge now, I can find another, better place to go pretty easy. Read less

First time at a couples resort and we were so excited given the plethora of amazing reviews. Lots of positives that were overshadowed by the negatives, so here is my honest review. Reception on arrival - friendly, warm and welcoming, we were orientated to our room in G block by an enthusiastic, friendly member of staff. The room itself was beautiful, spacious, lovely decor with very comfortable bed. First impressions were very pleasant indeed. Grounds - very mountainous and not for those with poor mobility, having said that we knew this before we arrived and for us it wasn’t an issue. Very small beach, water not crystal blue like what I imagined but small and overall okay. Staff - most of the staff were incredibly friendly, greetings mostly provided by staff walking by or smiling. Jamaican staff were on the whole very welcoming. Restaurants - on arrival we managed to get one reservation for our 7 night stay - impossible to get booked. Couples San souci advertise 6 restaurants - we counted 4 which are palazina, Bella vista, Casanova and the beach grill. One reservation for 7 nights is not good enough. Guest services -we approached guest services to discuss vegan options after arrival. The lady telephoned the chef and I asked him if their vegan options meant the food did not contain any fish/chicken/beef stock of derivatives. I was advised food would have to be made as it wouldn’t be suitable. I was advised to ask for the Chef at every meal. On the first evening I asked for the chef and he stood trying to think of something to make - so I suggested tomato pasta with no cheese. It was all a bit embarrassing. It was awkward and I was conscious everybody could hear the conversation. Needless to say I didn’t want to do it again for every single meal. There has to be a better system than asking customer to summon the chef every meal -mean while everybody stares and wonders why I need to speak to a chef at my table! Awful, awful, awful hence I never asked again and favoured going hungry! Palazzina - expect to queue on an evening, poor table management and not the best service. We asked 3 times for a drink - we got it after the meal was finished, even then it was the wrong drink. Some staff were friendly others appeared bored and uninterested. Sadly service was hit or miss - mostly the latter, I asked to speak to the chef as I am vegan - spoke to him once and sadly I went hungry for the entire holiday. Food advertised as vegan but on questioning if it had animal stock/fish/chicken/beef I was advised they would have to make me something separate. That never happened. Tips - strictly no tipping policy, sadly I think this affects the enthusiasm of staff and the service they provide. Having travelled the world and tipped in other places we always find service is amazing if you tip. It gives staff an incentive to get to know you and provides an incentive for superb service. No tipping policy here means you get mediocre service, staff are less interested and make no attempt to get to know you - food preferences etc. Drinks - impressive drinks package including many premium drinks like jack daniels, grey goose vodka, Bailey’s Irish cream, absolute vodka…..the list goes on! Couldn’t fault the drinks package. Only one beer - Jamaican red stripe. Entertainment - Tuesday night is Jamaican night so pallazzina is closed and tables are set up on the lawn for dinner outside. We arrived at 8 o clock, no tables available so we didn’t have dinner that evening. This didn’t bother me as I was hungry all holiday due to no vegan food, uninterested staff not bothered to sort it for me but I was upset my husband didn’t get to eat. Singers most evenings at 2130 hours - they were excellent and we did enjoy them. Verdict - lots of positive things to say but due to issues regarding lack of vegan food, being absolutely starving all holiday and living off 4 dollar boxes of Pringles from the small shop the holiday was a flop. A few bits of melon for breakfast, nothing for lunch, occasional bowl of pasta for dinner at Pallazina (if I walked to pasta station whilst my husband got table service). Worst holiday I have even encountered for food. My husband isn’t fussy and he always managed to find something to eat but he couldn’t enjoy it because he was eating alone most evenings as I sat and watched. We have had better food options at 3 star hotels. I even looked at booking another hotel 3 days after arrival - only reason we didn’t was the distance to get there in a taxi and then back to the airport made it unaffordable. I emailed a few hotels but decided against it due to the costs, plus we had already paid a pretty price for our stay at San Souci. Overall (forgetting about lack of food) the grounds are nice, the staff and mainly friendly, service isn’t consistent or the best due to no tipping policy, small resort with limited eateries as you can’t get a reservation, sadly we won’t visit any further couples resorts in the future as over priced and poor food. Final positive - I have probably lost a stone in weight - not many people get to go on holiday and come back thinner than they went! Read less

This resort was very beautiful, with lots of places to explore. The food was amazing, and drinks truly unlimited. Every staff member was sincerely interested in making our stay enjoyable, and shout out to Mickhugh for being such fun and leading all the entertainment options. Our room was spacious and gorgeous, although a bit disappointed the huge shower had zero water pressure. Read less

We loved Sans Souci! It was our first Couples Resort, and it did not disappoint!! The food was really good, the included water sports were amazing, and the staff was professional and really fun. There are a lot of stairs, which we're fortunate aren't an issue for us, but could be for some travelers. It was the perfect destination for our ten year anniversary. Read less