Sandals

Hey everyone!

DH and I are looking to book a trip to 1 of the Sandals resorts for next January. Saw that the resort in Barbados is new and was wondering if anyone has heard anything about that one?

Or, any recommendations for other Sandals resorts??

TIA!

Re: Sandals

Barbados is the newest resort. Sandals actually bought it out from under Couples, shortly after it opened, which is kind of funny. I haven't gotten to tour the Barbados resort yet, but it does look really nice. If you're looking for a new.exotic location, the other new resort is Grenada.

Sandals resorts can really vary, so it depends on what you're looking for. Some are great and some don't live up to the hype.

My favorites, for different reasons are La Toc and Royal Plantation.

Royal Plantation is in a class of its own. it's a boutique hotel with only 74 rooms, ALL with oveanviews and all butler service. The food is exceptional as is the service. The resort manager was everywhere. He would come ask us BY NAME how our dinners were and how our day was, etc. I can't say enough about the food. Way above any other Sandals resort. The beach is small but peaceful with really comfy chairs and beach butlers to spray you down with scented water (I'm not kidding) and bring you food and drinks. They have a pillow menu. They have high tea every day, cooking demonstrations, yoga on the pier. It's just a much classier, boutique Sandals. We were only there for a few days as we split the trip among a few resorts but it was a great trip and I definitely plan to splurge to go back for an anniversary.

My other favorite (so far. I haven't been to all of them) is Sandals La Toc. What I like about it is that it has 2 sides, the quieter sunset bluff, and then the regular main resort so you can kind of have any experience you want. The food there is also very, very good. The other 2 Sandals on St. Lucia are also good but have very different personalities.

Next on my list are Whitehouse and Negril, but their disadvantage is being far from activities. I do not recommend Sandals Grande Riviera. My suite there was amazing with a semi private pool deck with an ocean view, and it's in a convenient location to most activities. it just went through a $65M renovation which is what made me excited to go there, but I was disappointed in it. I can elaborate more over PM, but I would not go back. I would only recommend it under certain circumstances.

When planning your trip you should probably first look at the flights. From JFK flights to Jamaica and St. Lucia are usually pretty easy, but Antigua and Grenada can be challenging with higher prices, long layovers, etc. I'm very big on direct flights, personally.

Re: Sandals

My DH and I just came back from our honeymoon at Sandals Grande Antigua and it was incredible!! The service was outstanding, the staff was SO friendly (we literally did not come in contact with even 1 person that wasn't extremely helpful and pleasant), the grounds were manicured to perfection, they take great pride in how their resort looks, the food was delicious, the room was EXACTLY how it was pictured online, the beach was lovely. I have not 1 negative thing to say about our stay there. We loved it so much that we're thinking of booking Sandals Grande Bahama's for next year. They really go above and beyond at Sandals. We were super impressed.

Re: Sandals