[TDDance234]

Have any of you stayed at one of the Sandals resorts? I'm curious to hear opinions of their resorts and recommendations on whether or not to stay there.

Discuss!

[Sly Fox]

I have not been but I've had friends who have stayed there. Everybody says they had a blast. The all-inclusive aspect is always a winner for those who enjoy eating or imbibing heavily.

Everyone seems to say you need to shop around because much like airfare there seem to be ways to get cheaper rates at the resorts. Don't ask me how, but that's what everybody says.

[belcherboy]

What I've heard from many people is that they like it most because there are no children around. I'm not sure if that is true for all their resorts, but it must have been to the few I've talked to.

[Sly Fox]

Sandals is indeed couple only. They also own the Beaches resorts for families.

[ALUmnus]

Check with LUConn when he gets back, he honeymooned at a Sandals. In my opinion, if you're not much of a drinker, you may not get your money's worth, but I'm sure it's fun regardless. I wish they would have a dry option that would cut the price.

[Realist]

It's worth the price if you drink. The resorts are nice and if you drink it's a good deal. If not, I'd look for other options.

[kel varson]

What? Is a lot of the cost assuming you drink. That's really stupid. Why not just add that on a-la carte or something.

[Schfourteenteen]

If Sandals all inclusive doesnt work out you can call a mine shaft and ask about their big ride!!

[olldflame]

What? Is a lot of the cost assuming you drink. That's really stupid. Why not just add that on a-la carte or something.

The whole idea of an all-inclusive resort is that all food and beverages, including "adult" beverages are included. Usually the alcohol part includes the locally produced beer and liquor, with imports or top shelf liquor extra. Some all-inclusives have different levels, with different colored wristbands to correspond, but for the most part you are going to pay for the alcohol, whether you drink it or not. Tee-totalers should compare the AI price with the cost of a "regular" hotel room and then estimate what meals would cost to see if the AI is worth it for them. The other thing to keep in mind is that AI packages usually include airfare, and sometimes the overall deal is so much better than purchasing air and lodging seperately that it's a bargain even if you don't drink.

[WinthropEagleFan]

I really enjoyed my stay at a Sandals resort (I stayed at one of the ones in Montego Bay, Jamaica). As someone earlier said, the lack of kids is a nice change of pace. Also, being able to eat/drink whenever and whatever you want without worrying about it is nice. The rooms were nice, the staff was friendly, the beachfront they had was good..all in all, I was happy about my choice and felt it was worth the money...

[DasBeast]

My fiancee worked for Apple Vacations, who were a giant partner in selling Sandals vacations, for several years.
She hasn't worked there in about 7 months now.

She tells me that from the reviews she heard from customers, the quality of Sandals resorts has really gone downhill
over the last several years, to the point that Apple had stopped selling Sandals for awhile, as they thought the resorts
weren't living up to the quality standards of Apple Vacations. The only reason they took them back..Sandals was too big of
a name to pass up. They made a lot of money off them.

I've never stayed at any of them, but my fiancee is cracking the whip (ow!) and telling me to mention that AM Resorts are
fantastic, as well as some of the new Secrets resorts. She's been to a lot of them on business, and still glows about them.

Hope that helps...even though I really don't understand what I just typed.

[Sly Fox]

Get used to it if you are getting married. Just smile and repeat after her unless it is a hill worth dying on.

Thanks to all for the input. Playa del Carmen all-inclusives are pushed the hardest here in Texas.

[LUconn]

I honey mooned at 2 of the 3 that are in St. Lucia. There's 3 of them really close together and you have access to all 3's facilities if you stay at one. We actually stayed at one for half and then at on other for the other half. The first one was an older one but we had a sweet room there. It had one of those little personal pools. That was cool except the water was always freezing. There's lots of different activities to do if you want and even though everybody says you won't come out of your room, you will want something to do besides getting it on at one point. The staff is really nice and outgoing as it's one of the more saught after jobs on the island. Our room number was 69 and we seriously never heard the end of it from the staff. And of course there is definately tons to eat and drink. If you're not into alcohol, like we weren't too much, it's easy enough to order all of their fancy pants drinks, virgin. But this was in 2004. Maybe their quality has gone downhill like someone else mentioned. That would be a shame.

[DasBeast]

Get used to it if you are getting married. Just smile and repeat after her unless it is a hill worth dying on.

Don't worry, I've gotten used to nodding, smiling, and saying "Yes, dear" over random crap that isn't worth the argument. I feel
prepared.

[ALUmnus]

My fiancee worked for Apple Vacations, who were a giant partner in selling Sandals vacations, for several years.
Apple had stopped selling Sandals for awhile, as they thought the resorts
weren't living up to the quality standards of Apple Vacations. The only reason they took them back..Sandals was too big of
a name to pass up. They made a lot of money off them.

Note to self, don't use Apple Vacations for trip recommendations.

[DasBeast]

Note to self, don't use Apple Vacations for trip recommendations.

On the contrary, I'd recommend them for trip recommendations. The staffers do not work on a commission, and as a majority of them have toured most of their resorts in Mexico and other destinations (My fiancee got to take a week long "business trip" to Cancun!), they really know what they are talking about, and don't hesitate to offer up better suggestions.

The reason for selling Sandals was quite simple: People knew the Sandals name, and it was a big seller, even if it wasn't the highest quality resort they sold. The money was too great to pass up. So yeah, they'll sell it to you if you say "I want to go to Sandals", but if you ask for an opinion, that might be another situation all together.

Just to clarify.

[LUconn]

The staffers do not work on a commission,

How do they make money? Does the vacationer pay them? That'd be banannas.

[DasBeast]

The staffers do not work on a commission,

How do they make money? Does the vacationer pay them? That'd be bananas.

Apple Vacations actually owns many of the management companies that run some of the top resorts,
including Secrets, Sunscapes, and Dreams. There's a built in profit margin in everything they sell, of course.

As far as the staffers go, they are paid hourly. There were small incentives for selling vacation insurance. Small enough
that it really didn't make much of a difference. Hence, the reason my fiancee no longer wants to work there. Underpaid,
underappeciated....like the rest of us.