The Royalton St Lucia is one of St Lucia’s best hotels and guests who stay at this luxury 5-star resort can choose to join their exclusive Diamond Club.
But is the Royalton St Lucia Diamond Club really worth it? Or is it a waste of money?
After visiting myself recently and spending hours doing in depth research comparing over 80 first-hand reviews, I’ve finally figured it out!
Keep reading to find out exactly what’s included in the Diamond Club, how much it costs and most importantly, if it’s worth it.
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Is The Royalton St Lucia Diamond Club Worth It?
Based on my personal experience and the experience of over 80 others who stayed there, I think the Diamond Club is worth it if you’re going to make use of the extra amenities/services and are looking for an extra luxurious vacation.
One of the main features of the Diamond Club is the personal butler who will carry out any requests you have as well as access to the the Diamond Club Lounge and a private pool and beach area.
I personally loved having a private butler as it made the stay feel extra luxurious. I never had to worry about making a reservation, booking a taxi or even unpacking my luggage.
I must admit, I felt a bit bad when the butler offered to unpack my luggage (it’s never happened to me before) but I thought I’d make the most of it since we’d paid extra.
I also really enjoyed the private beach and pool areas as they felt a lot quieter than the main pool.
I also read over 80 reviews from people who stayed at the Royalton St Lucia Diamond Club and here’s a summary of what they had to say:
- 88% of people that stayed in the Diamond Club thought it was worth it and would stay again.
- 12% of people didn’t think it was worth the money and wouldn’t book it again.
- 83% of people loved the personal butler service and thought the butlers were extremely attentive and helpful.
- 17% of people said the service from the butlers was a bit slow and they barely saw them.
- 50% of people thought the private beach and pool area (just for Diamond Club members) was great.
- 50% were dissatisfied particularly with the beach which they said was small and not really private as pushy sellers were constantly approaching them.
- 100% of people were happy with the suite and most people commented on how luxurious, clean, spacious and comfortable the rooms were.
I include a more in-depth detailed analysis later in the post.
Royalton themselves state that, with the Diamond Club, you get a premium level of service (I list exactly what you get with the Diamond Club later in the post).
In fact, with the Diamond Club, you get a butler who will carry out any requests that you have like organizing a special occasion, booking a restaurant reservation, unpacking your luggage, cleaning your shoes etc.
If you think you’d make use of the butler often then it would definitely be worth upgrading to the Diamond Club as having someone on hand to do all these tasks for you will certainly free up your time and make your stay more comfortable.
The majority of people who have stayed in the Diamond Club at the Royalton thought that the butler service was well worth the extra money and I totally agree.
They reported that the butlers were extremely attentive and couldn’t do enough for you. This was also my personal experience when I stayed.
My butler came up to me almost everyday at breakfast to ask if there was anything I needed and it was really easy to contact them throughout the day. He also made sure I had a restaurant reservation every single night without fail.
In fact, one common issue for non-Diamond Club guests was being turned away from the on-site restaurants in favor of Diamond Club guests.
As butlers can make reservations at the restaurants for you, you’ll never be turned away and you’ll never have a long wait.
Non-Diamond Club guests occasionally reported waiting over an hour for a table in the restaurant as they couldn’t make a reservation!
It could be worth getting the Diamond Club upgrade for this reason alone, especially if you’re visiting the resort during the peak tourist season when restaurants will be busy.
If you wouldn’t dream of asking someone else to unpack your luggage for you and have no desire to have your shoes polished then it’s probably not worth it for you.
Other than the butler service, the Diamond Club does also provide lots of other extra luxuries and amenities like better robes compared to normal guests, discounted spa treatments, upgraded room service menus and some other freebies.
The extra luxuries are nice, like extra fluffy slippers, a private check-in lounge and a nightly turndown service, however it may not be enough to warrant the additional cost of $86 per night.
You’ll also get to access a few private areas like an exclusive pool and beach area, an exclusive restaurant and bar as well as the Diamond Club Lounge.
These are ideal if you want to relax somewhere a little quieter away from the busy main resort areas. I personally really enjoyed spending time in them, particularly the lounge.
The main criticism from people who booked the Diamond Club was that the private beach area was really small and due to St Lucian laws, it’s technically a public beach meaning they were sometimes approached by pushy sellers.
If an adults-only atmosphere is what you’re after then the Diamond Club won’t provide this as families with kids are still able to join as some guests reported the private pool area to be loud for this reason.
If a child-free atmosphere is what you’re looking for then you’d be better off booking your stay at the Hideaway at Royalton St Lucia which is the private adults-only area of the resort.
What is the Royalton Diamond Club?
The Royalton St Lucia is a luxurious all-inclusive family resort located in the Rodney Bay area of St Lucia.
They also have a sister resort, the Hideaway, on-site which is adults-only.
To see which one would suit you best, I compared the Hideaway vs Royalton St Lucia.
When booking a room at the Royalton St Lucia, you have the option to upgrade to Diamond Club but what exactly does this mean?
The key differences between Royalton St Lucia vs Diamond Club are:
- Diamond Club guests get a personal butler service.
- Diamond Club guests get access to some areas of the hotel that regular guests don’t including a private lounge, pool and beach area.
- Diamond Club amenities are slightly better and more luxurious.
Here’s an overview of exactly what you’ll get at the Royalton St Lucia (without Diamond Club):
- Access to 7 bars and 8 restaurants.
- Access to the Royal Spa where you can book a range of treatments.
- All meals are included as Royalton is all inclusive.
- Access to various swimming pools.
- Supervised kids & teen club.
- Daily entertainment & nightly shows.
- Access to water sports equipment.
- On-site splash park and playground.
- Modern fitness center with classes.
- A luxury suite which comes with a balcony or terrace.
- 24/7 room service.
- Free WiFi.
Here’s an overview of exactly what you’ll get at the Royalton St Lucia with Diamond Club:
- You’ll get access to everything listed above.
- Access to the butler service. Your butler will fulfill all requests like dinner reservations, unpacking/repacking luggage, ironing, laundry, shoe polishing and more.
- Anticipatory service meaning staff will anticipate your needs (rather than waiting for you to ask).
- Exclusive á la carte restaurants and bar areas just for Diamond Club guests.
- Preferential reservations at all restaurants.
- Private pool just for Diamond Club guests.
- An exclusive beach area with a dedicated bar and waiter service.
- Access to the private and exclusive Diamond Club Lounge which features premium drinks and snacks.
- Daily continental breakfast served in the Diamond Club Lounge.
- Your choice of preferred room location.
- Turndown service every evening.
- Upgraded room service menu compared to normal guests.
- Personal check-in and check-out lounge (away from regular guests).
- Pillow selection menu available.
- Early check-in and late check-out options.
- Upgraded robes and slippers (more luxurious).
- Discounts on spa treatments at the Royal Spa including a free one-hour hydrotherapy session.
- One bottle per week of premium liquor (in-suite).
- Upgraded minibar (better selection than normal).
- Special Diamond Club wrist bracelet.
Check out one of the exclusive Diamond Club suites at the Royalton St Lucia in the video below:
Royalton St Lucia Diamond Club Reviews
Before booking your stay, it’s worth seeing what other people are saying about the Royalton St Lucia Diamond Club.
I’ve read 81 different Royalton St Lucia Diamond Club reviews (so you don’t have to) from people that have actually stayed there.
Here’s the key takeaways:
- Of the reviews I read, 88% of people thought the Diamond Club was worth it and they would stay again.
- 12% of people felt that the Diamond Club wasn’t worth the extra money and they wouldn’t book it again.
- Out of the people who mentioned the butler service, 83% of people thought the butler service was great and the butlers were super helpful, very attentive and couldn’t do enough for you.
- Some people reported surprise petal baths and butlers checking in with them every day to ensure they had everything they needed.
- 17% of people felt that the service wasn’t good and found the service to be a bit slow and they said that they didn’t see their butlers often.
- There were two reports of staff being inconsistent with dress codes at the Diamond Club restaurant. It was reported that guests were turned away for not being dressed appropriately (e.g. wearing shorts) whereas other guests wearing the same thing were let in.
- Out of all the reviews I read I couldn’t find a single complaint about the rooms. Everyone said that the Royalton provided beautiful and luxurious rooms that are modern, spacious, clean and comfortable with great views.
- Overall most people agreed that the hotel offered a fantastic range of food options, however there were many reports of food running out and not being replaced.
- Seven people particularly praised the Diamond Club Lounge saying that it provided an exclusive, nice atmosphere and was well equipped with a range of food and drink options.
- When discussing the private pool and beach areas, 50% of people were fully satisfied saying that the pool and beach areas are very quiet and they particularly praised the waiter service as staff were very attentive.
- Of the people who were dissatisfied, the main complaints were that the private beach area was very small (particularly due to the presence of lots of water sports equipment taking up space).
- Several people also mentioned that as the beach is public under St Lucian law, pushy sellers were frequent.
- A few people also mentioned that the private pool and beach areas are not adults only so can sometimes be loud with kids.
- Several people commented on the luxurious private check-in area with water, fruit, snacks and liquor saying how nice it was.
I also read some reviews from people who didn’t stay in the Diamond Club and here’s what they had to say:
- A criticism from non-Diamond Club guests was that they were often turned away from the on-site restaurants in favor of Diamond Club guests.
- Waiting over an hour to be seated (sometimes up to 2 hours!) seemed fairly common for regular guests whereas Diamond Club guests are given preferential treatment and seated immediately.
- For this reason, many people said that the Diamond Club’s butler service alone makes the club worth it as only butler’s can make dinner reservations at restaurants.
- Standard guests are not able to make reservations.
How Much Does The Royalton St Lucia Diamond Club Cost?
The cost of the Diamond Club upgrade at the Royalton St Lucia depends on which room type you book.
You have the option of booking a junior suite with ocean view, a family suite with ocean view, a junior suite with swim out or a presidential ocean view room.
Here’s how the nightly prices (during peak season) compare to the equivalent room without Diamond Club:
- A junior suite costs around $774 with Diamond Club ($688 without Diamond Club).
- A family suite costs around $882 with Diamond Club ($796 without Diamond Club).
- A junior suite with swim out costs around $796 with Diamond Club ($710 without Diamond Club).
- A presidential room costs around $1,097 with Diamond Club ($1,011 without Diamond Club).
Here’s a price example:
As you can see the Diamond Club rooms cost exactly $86 more per night compared to the equivalent room without Diamond Club.
During low season, the hotel tends to drop each room price by around $100 per night on average.
Can You Upgrade to Diamond Club at Royalton?
To get access to the Diamond Club, you will need to book a Diamond Club room when making your reservation.
Here’s how you can do that:
Head over to the Royalton St Lucia on booking.com.
💡Tip: Booking.com is my favorite place to book hotels as you get exclusive discounts on hotels the more you book with them. I’ve saved so much money over the years by doing this.
Input your dates into the date box.
This will bring up all the rooms that are available for your dates.
Select a room with ‘Diamond Club’ in the name.
Fill in your details to complete the reservation.
It’s usually not possible to upgrade when you get to the hotel as they will likely not have any Diamond Club rooms available so last minute.
The best way to ensure you get a Diamond Club room is to book it in advance.
And that’s it!
Thanks for reading this post all about if the Royalton St Lucia Diamond Club is worth it.
If you’re not completely sold on the Royalton St Lucia then why not have a look at my comparison of the Sandals St Lucia vs Sandals Antigua Resorts to see if they suit you better.
Need more help planning your St Lucia vacation?
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