Sandals Resorts

[tiggerlover]

Has anyone gone to a Sandals Resort? If so, which one did you go to and what were your thoughts? Would you recommend a visit?

Thanks!

 

[pumba]

agent before she retired to raise her family.....well she had done most of our trips to Disney.......after the fifth time she said.....AUNT why not try a Sandals resort.........she has gone to Montego Bay ..and one tha begins with an N ......and she said the place was fantastic.....she does the all inclusive pkgs and said that from morning til early morning you are catered to...from drinks to food to fun in the sun.......go to their web site and look at all the wonderful things that are offered.......only thing wrong is.......that it isn't disney.....after 15 visits in the last ten years to the mouse......I am sort of spoiled....but this year we have to broaden my horizons as my husband put it.....hope you find your answer

 

[winniedapooh]

Hubby and I went to Jamaica and stayed at Sandals in Montego Bay for our honeymoon and again 2 years later.....it was beautiful and romanatic and we had a lot of fun. Very clean and they took wonderful care of us.....great food, even for the world's pickiest eater-that is me, awesome drinks, and the entertainment was fantastic. Hope this helps.

 

[SeaSpray]

My niece and her husband just got back a few days ago from the Sandals on Nassau in the Bahamas. She said it was absolutely beautiful. She and her husband travel quite a bit so I do take her opinions seriously I checked out the web site and the resort looks like paradise. Here's a link to the Sandals they stayed at:

http://www4.sandals.com/main/bahamian/ba-home.cfm

 

[Disneycrazymom]

Not Sandals, but we were at the Barcelo Maya in Mexico in Sept. I loved staying at an all inclusive resort! I don't think a vacation has ever been so relaxing. The food was good, and all the water sport stuff was included, drinks too. Nice rooms, beautiful setting, very hard working staff. Definately give it a try!

 

[Big Dude]

Sandals is a company that runs a quality ship at all of their resorts. In Jamaica there is one in Montego Bay and another in Negril. All Inclusives, in general, want to keep you on their resort and they will cater to you around the clock. They will also offer tours from the resort (for extra $) should you choose to want to wander off. At the Sandals resorts in Jamaica, everything is included from booze, food, non-motorized water sports, snorkeling equipment and everything else in between. The staff is friendly and they (the company) frown upon tipping. Some employees face termination if they are caught accepting a tip.

You will find that there are as many activities as you could want during the day such as water volleyball (usually involving booze of some sort) water aerobics, beach volleyball, tennis, mini golf, crazy contests etc or you could just chill at the swim up bar with a frozen libation. Do as little or as much as you want. At night they usually have some sort of theme going on and they have a disco later in the evening for those nighthawks.

A couple of downsides would be price. I enjoy All Inclusives due to the ease of the transactions. (walk up to a counter, grab a burger and a beer, eat and drink all without exchanging money) You don't have to carry money with you and worry about hiding it while you go for a swim. BUT, you are paying for that luxury.

Feeling that you can't leave the resort because of the bucks you paid. When I travel, I like to meet the local people and find out about their culture first hand. When confined to a resort, I am actually only meeting other tourists and a few locals who happen to be there working (not the best conditions to find out about culture)

Food, yes, the food is sometimes very good and they usually have a large selection to choose from, however, the food is mostly geared to the American or European traveler. I like to sample the local fare and a good way to do this at an AI (besides leaving the resort) is to get to know the chef or one of the cooks. Ask them to make a particular dish the way the locals would like to have it prepared. 9 times out of 10 they will happily create that dish for you.

Booze, most of the time they do carry premium brands at Sandals but they only give you your drinks in a 6 ounce plastic cup. The best tip I can give you is to go to Wal-Mart and pick up a 32 ounce insulated mug ($1.98) to take with you. All of the other tourists will be envious of your mug. If you have room, take a couple of extra ones for friends you may make during your stay.


In Jamaica, if you choose to not go All Inclusive, you could get a small villa right on the beach for anywhere from $35.00 to $200.00 per night. You could cook for yourself or go out to eat every meal for less than you would pay at an AI. If it were just my wife and I going, this is the route we would take only because we now know the lay of the land and have made many friends over our past visits. After all was said and done, we would probably pay 1/2 of what we would have at an AI. But I still like being catered too.

Adam aka Big Dude

 

[TigH]

We went to Sandals Ocho Rios in May 1997 for our honeymoon. It was nice. The hotel wasn't as nice as a Disney themed resort, but we were out and about alot and the grounds were in pretty good condition.

I don't think I would do it again though. I'm not a goody goody, but we saw a few people smoking pot around the pool and we were approached by people on jetskis (selling pot) when we would go out in the sea kayak. The snorkeling was nice, but we've heard that Jamaica's reefs are dead or dying and not the best for snorkeling.

DH took a scuba class and went out on a dive and enjoyed that. And we drank our share of "all inclusive" alcohol.

I think if we went back to Jamaica, we'd make our own vacation plan at a non-all-inclusive resort.

You know, it seems like several DISers have gone to Punta Cana (not sure if that's right) and they have had an incredible time! The pictures they posted were great, the place looked very clean and I think it was all inclusive. Wasn't NurseKim one of these people (I think) Maybe PM her for some more information. Good luck!!!

 

[J&D]

tiggerlover- Are you aware of Operation Relax?
If not, Sandals and Beaches Resorts are providing a 3 night stay at one of their resorts for active military personnel. Here is the link for more information.

http://www1.sandals.com/general/operation-relax.cfm

 

[tiggerlover]

Originally posted by J&D
tiggerlover- Are you aware of Operation Relax?
If not, Sandals and Beaches Resorts are providing a 3 night stay at one of their resorts for active military personnel. Here is the link for more information.

http://www1.sandals.com/general/operation-relax.cfm

J&D, thanks for the link, that is what prompted this question. I thought it looked like a great deal and wanted to know a little about the properties. Our application is in the mail.

 

[Disneycrazymom]

I completely agree with Big Dude about the mug. Take the big insulated ones with a lid. People offered to buy ours from us!! They are so nice to take a frozen drink out to the beach. The bar will only have small glasses. Is Jamaica your only choice? There are other islands that are nicer, although the DunnRivers Falls (is that the right name?) tour is fun. I personally would not want to go any way but AI because it is SOOOOO easy and relaxing. We were on a charter flight, had transportation included and everything we could have asked for at the hotel. It sounds like you would be getting a deal too.