Sandals Resorts - An Honest Review
I'm sure you've seen MANY Sandals commercials - but here is an inside look at two of Sandals resorts in Jamaica!
I'm sure you've seen MANY Sandals commercials - but here is an inside look at two of Sandals resorts in Jamaica!
Hello, everyone! I am pleased to share with you yet another review this year. Obviously this year has thrown curveballs at us left and right, and many of our travel plans were changed or cancelled. Luckily, we were able to squeeze in a week long getaway this winter! Joe and I traveled with two of our best friends to Jamaica, and stayed at Sandals Royal Caribbean resort.
This was my first time to Jamaica as well as my first experience at a Sandals resort. The neat part about this trip was that Jamaica has 6 Sandals resorts on it, and you are able to visit them all (included in your trip price) if you so choose! Sandals Montego Bay was just a short 7 min shuttle ride away from our resort, so we spent a decent amount of time over there as well, giving us a good look at what Sandals has to offer.
I'm someone who always likes to know what to fully expect before I go somewhere - I don't want to be surprised, especially by something that I would view as a "negative" or "con" of my trip. That is why I am here to give you my honest review of all things Sandals (based on the two locations I visited). I hope that these key points will help you decide if a Sandals vacation is right for you!
Pros
1. Adults Only - This is a selling point for many couples, especially ones with kids at home. When you go on vacation, you want to be able to focus on your spouse, or whomever you may be traveling with. Sandals prides themselves on being the "resort for couples" and I couldn't agree more. 99% of all guests we saw were couples, which made for a calm and relaxing environment. It is certainly nice to know that there won't be groups of teenagers, spring breakers, or crying children at your resort.
2. Staff - I cannot speak highly enough about the staff down in Jamaica. They are SO hospitable and cater to your every need. In addition, they do it whole-heartedly with a smile on their face. They aren't just doing it because it's their job, they are doing it because they care. The staff all week really got to know us and they enjoyed seeing our pics of the giant snowstorm that was happening back home during our trip. They were very excited to teach us about all sorts of new things, like fruits! We got to try many new fruits on this trip that aren't easily found in the US. Also, they aren't just being kind for tips, either. Sandals has a no-tip policy (and each staff member wears a badge saying No Tips Please). They truly don't expect anything extra and were really some of the nicest people I have ever encountered.
3. Flexibility / More For Your Money - I loved being able to travel back and forth (for free) to the different Sandals resorts. This really gives you a good look at what they have to offer, and can help you better decide what resort you may want to stay at for your next trip! We got to shuttle over to Montego Bay, which is a larger resort than Royal Caribbean. We were able to make dining reservations at both resorts, which is a huge plus to me and my group. We are big foodies, and having more options is always better! We also spent one full beach day over at Montego Bay which was a neat change of scenery. Each resort also has slightly different water sports, so if you are into that, having this flexibility is a big perk!
4. Dining - Simply one of the most important details of every trip, right? The dining at Sandals was amazing. They offer many different cuisines at each location (ours having Pan-Caribbean, French, Indian, Italian, and Thai). There wasn't one restaurant we had that we didn't like, but we definitely found our favorites! The Indian restaurant (Bombay Club) stole our hearts (and stomachs) and we re-booked that restaurant for our last evening! There are also breakfast and lunch spots that are right over the water or poolside. Our resort had a personal pizza place (VERY good pizzas!), the Jerk Chicken shack, and Mariner's which was the perfect lunch spot featuring things like burgers, quesadillas, and BLT's. We also did two (and a half?) dining experiences at the Montego Bay resort! We tried Tokyo Jo's which was a Hibachi style restaurant (SO good! Absolutely worthy of 5 stars). We also tried Butch's which is their most popular wait-listed restaurant. It's similar to an American steakhouse, with very tasty apps and desserts as well (my personal FAVORITE being the Willy Wonka Creme Brûlée... I will NEVER eat a creme brûlée again if it doesn't have chocolate chips in it)! Oh, the "half" experience I mentioned was an ADORABLE little dessert place called "Cafe de Paris". As most of you know, I LOVE French culture, and since my Paris trip was cancelled this year, this made for a close second if I do say so myself. They had all sorts of gelato, coffee drinks, milkshakes, and cupcakes. I ALMOST couldn't fit it in after eating at Tokyo Jo's, but alas, I squeezed in some fudge-y chocolate gelato and have absolutely zero regrets.
5. Location - This pro is short and sweet. The location of this resort for me personally was a huge pro - only about 5 minutes from the airport. It's always a great start to your trip when you are laying on the beach, drink in hand, and you realize you only left home a few short hours ago. Some people actually view this as a con though, as there are planes flying directly overhead. However, this didn't bother me whatsoever, and to be completely honest, planes only flew out of the airport between 12-2 PM.
6. Size - This again is a more personal pro, because I loved that this resort wasn't too big. I was able to learn the lay of the land in just one day. We didn't have to walk far for dining, the pool, the beach, nothing. It was all pretty close and intimate. Sandals Royal Caribbean is one of the smaller resorts, but they do offer giant ones as well, like Sandals Ocho Rios. It's all about personal preference on this one.
7. Private Island - Sandals Royal Caribbean is one of the few Sandals resorts that has a private island. It was neat just to have an extra little area to check out, and you got to take a 2 minute boat ride which was fun as well. The island was home to the Thai restaurant, as well as the Jerk Chicken shack, a clothing-optional beach, and a swim up pool/bar.
Cons
1. Super Sales-y - Alright guys, onto the cons. This one really bothered me because I have never experienced this at another resort, but yes, there are sales people and they will find you on a daily basis. Now I already told you the staff are super nice, so if you tell them no they are really OK with it and will leave you alone. However, you will be asked multiple times per day if you have or are ready to book your next vacation. Sandals is really big on their loyalty program, and does offer great discounts if you book a future trip during your stay, but this can also be frustrating and not what you were hoping for on your trip. Again, I probably wouldn't have minded this as much if I knew about it ahead of time, but, for me this was definitely a con, yet not something that would deter me from Sandals altogether. They also will try to get you to book something at their spa as well as purchase photos that they take of you during your trip (another thing you'll have to say no to if you do not want to waste time taking photos).
2. Local Sales Guys - Kind of a con? This one is a bit more confusing, and I'm not sure if this is just a Jamaican thing or not. I'd be curious to know if this happens on other islands to the extent it does here, but here goes. There are local men who will kayak up and down the water's edge from dawn to dusk trying to sell their items (wooden souvenirs, bracelets, etc.). When there are no police around, they will also ask you the famous question "Do you smoke?" and try to sell you some weed and/or edibles. I didn't like this because the men are always trying to flag you down. They will whistle and holler at you for your attention. Even on our own room balcony, we couldn't just sit there without one of the men yelling up at us to come buy his items. I guess if you would like some of these items (or edibles) this may be a pro for you, lol.
3. Older Resort - Alright, the last bullet point. The resort is older, and you can definitely tell. Again, this may not bother some people, as you probably don't spend much time in your room when you are at an inclusive resort. Sandals Royal Caribbean opened in 1986, much older than any other resort I have stayed at in the past. The guest rooms were the main area where I could really see / feel the age of the resort. Many tiles were cracked in the bathroom, some not so pleasant smells at times, and a few soft / rotting spots in the ceiling near the shower are some examples. When we visited Montego Bay, you could tell their lobby was recently renovated as it was extremely modern, sleek, and fresh feeling.
Ok, so hopefully I didn't overwhelm you with all the bullet points, but if you've made it this far then you for sure will know what to expect if you stay at one of the two Sandals resorts I mentioned! I think for my own personal preferences, I'd be SUPER interested/ excited to try the newest Sandals Resort which is Sandals Royal Barbados! This resort opened in Dec 2017. I would love to see the comparison between the resorts / islands!
A few other notes I'll leave you with for the Sandals resorts include water sports and entertainment. The entertainment team at Royal Caribbean was SO fun! Again, after spending a week with the same people, you really get to know them. They made our trip so fun, and offered different entertainment each night, usually followed up with karaoke (which we didn't do, but it was fun to watch). There was a beach party one night, a couples game show another (Joe and I killed it by the way), a silent disco, and so much more. I also briefly mentioned above about the water sports - each resort has slightly different activities to offer. Royal Caribbean actually didn't have too many, but we aren't huge water people. They had kayaks, paddle boarding, and a glass bottomed boat (which we did do). The boat was REALLY neat. I would highly recommend it if you aren't someone who gets sea sick easily. If you have any other questions or inquiries about Sandals resorts, please let me know! In closing, I will leave you with the link to our trip video, so you can travel right along with us! Cheers!
