Planning a honeymoon... Any Sandals people here?

[thetoolman]

Hey all.

I am starting to get things in a row to plan a honeymoon for next summer. My girlfriend has past some hints that she likes the idea of a Sandals carribean vacation. I did alot of research and I like the Whitehouse, Jamaica resort. Anybody been there that could give me an unbiased opinion? If anyone has any good recommendations for other Sandals resorts Id love to hear them

My fallback would be a nice 5-7day cruise.


Thanks for your input

-Matt

 

[Londongirl1]

I haven''t been to any of the Sandals resorts but I have heard good things about them. Virgin does Carribean cruises too but I''d go for a Sandals honeymoon if I had the choice.

I can personally recommed The Royal Decammeron Hotel in Montego Bay Jamaica. I stayed their All - Inclusive last year. We weren''t on honeymoon but it was so fantastic that it felt like a honeymoon.

 

[cammy85]

I was a Sandals honeymooner, and really enjoyed it. They do have a lot of activities, if you''re into that, but DH and I were more the relaxing type vacationers and did activities on our own time. We would definitely go back again if we ever headed back toward the Carribbean. It was a great value for the price, and the staff was typically very helpful and very nice.

 

[nclrgirl]

We went to Sandals in Montego Bay, Jamaica. We loved it! It seemed to be a younger crowd than the other Sandals resorts in jamaica (we had dinner in a couple of the other ones while we were there, but I forget the names). They had a lot of activities (scuba, snorkeling, beach volleyball, water volleyball, kayaking, small catamarans, windsurfing)... It was a great time!

 

[thetoolman]

Thanks for the replys. Its good to hear from actual people. I read alot of reviews of resorts in Jamaica and I couldnt tell what was real or not. Seemed that either people really enjoyed them, or absolutely were turned off.

For you who went to the Montego Bay resort, were the rooms nice? And were there tons of locals constantly pestering you? I heard something about that there.

Thanks again,
-Matt

 

[vespergirl]

I went to the Sandals resort in Negril, Jamaica for my honeymoon with my first husband 10 years ago. I totally hated it. It was not as nice as it looked in the resort pictures. However, the Sandals/Beaches group owns a bunch of resorts on Jamaica, so after I saw how crappy it was I went to the manager and asked for a transfer. They transfered us down the road to the Beaches Negril, which was great - they even upgraded the room to a honeymoon suite.

Sandals had a cheesy frat-party atmosphere, which I thought was not at all romantic. Beaches is supposed to be family friendly, but we were there in early October, so there were no kids there. In fact, the resort was practically deserted, which was great. Very quiet and romantic, and gorgeous beaches and rooms.

 

[jstarfireb]

Never been to a Sandals, but my friend just went on her honeymoon at Sandals St. Lucia. She had a great time and recommends the Sandals resorts.

 

[NovemberBride]

I have not been to that particular resort, but I have been to Jamaica (Montego Bay specifically) and I would never go back. I have traveled all over the world and have never felt as unsafe as I did in Jamaica. In many Caribbean countries they do a very good job of keeping crime out of the tourist areas. This is not so in Jamaica. I did not feel safe at all leaving my resort, and certainly not at night. The hotel employees seated at the entry to every hotel with automatic weapons did nothing to easy my mind either. My SIL''s brother was kidnapped from a tourist area and held for ransom while there on vacation. Luckily he was fine, but no one in our family will ever be traveling there again.

 

[dani2142]

I will be getting married at Beaches Negril 2-8-10 and then heading to Sandals Negril ... we are doing a split stay type thing. My fiance'' and I were just in Negril, Jamaica in January. We stayed at Couples Negril. It was an amazing hotel. I wouldn''t have changed a thing. We had an awesome time. We would go back to Couples to get married but because we have a lot of nieces and nephews we went for the kid-friendly Sandals option (Beaches). I think you are going to hear pros and cons about anywhere so it really should be based upon your guys'' personalities and what you want to do... ya know?

 

[luckystar112]

I got married at the Sandals Negril.

Whitehouse was my first choice, but I didn''t want to do the drive.
I didn''t want to stay at the Montego Bay location because the airport is there.

For what it is worth, I never felt anything but SAFE in Jamaica. But then again, it''s not like I left the resort. No reason to! I never saw anyone with automatic weapons and the staff was unbelievably FRIENDLY and FUN. Talk to them once and they remember your name for the whole week. Really great, hardworking people.

I didn''t find the resort to be too party-crazy at all. Yes, there were a lot of young honeymooners but there were older guests too. It wasn''t a spring break vibe. No keg stands, wet t-shirt contests, etc. It was very relaxed during the day except when they had events at the swim-up bar area. At night there was usually a main event with performances by musicians/dancers and I found it to be really fun. We played games like musical chairs. One bar did crank up the music at night and turn into a little bit of a mini club with dancing.

I did (very seldomly) witness people trying to sell things on the beach (touristy stuff--nothing illegal). It is not illegal for them to walk the beach. A security guard would be right on it and not allow him/her to pester guests.

NOW, when we were making the walk next door to the Beaches Resort we were approached by a civilian asking us if we wanted to buy some weed. There is nothing that can be done about this because technically that little stretch of beach did not belong to Sandals. We said no thank you and moved on. I''m positive they got a lot of business though. lol.

I WOULD go back, absolutely.

 

[Londongirl1]

Date: 9/4/2009 1:28:35 PM
Author: luckystar112
I got married at the Sandals Negril.

Whitehouse was my first choice, but I didn''t want to do the drive.
I didn''t want to stay at the Montego Bay location because the airport is there.

For what it is worth, I never felt anything but SAFE in Jamaica. But then again, it''s not like I left the resort. No reason to! I never saw anyone with automatic weapons and the staff was unbelievably FRIENDLY and FUN. Talk to them once and they remember your name for the whole week. Really great, hardworking people.

I didn''t find the resort to be too party-crazy at all. Yes, there were a lot of young honeymooners but there were older guests too. It wasn''t a spring break vibe. No keg stands, wet t-shirt contests, etc. It was very relaxed during the day except when they had events at the swim-up bar area. At night there was usually a main event with performances by musicians/dancers and I found it to be really fun. We played games like musical chairs. One bar did crank up the music at night and turn into a little bit of a mini club with dancing.

I did (very seldomly) witness people trying to sell things on the beach (touristy stuff--nothing illegal). It is not illegal for them to walk the beach. A security guard would be right on it and not allow him/her to pester guests.

NOW, when we were making the walk next door to the Beaches Resort we were approached by a civilian asking us if we wanted to buy some weed. There is nothing that can be done about this because technically that little stretch of beach did not belong to Sandals. We said no thank you and moved on. I''m positive they got a lot of business though. lol.

I WOULD go back, absolutely.

Ditto!!! I''ve felt more nervous walking the streets of LA

 

[Pushin40]

Hi! I just saw this thread and wanted to jump in with some comments.

I consider myself a very experienced Carribbean traveler (I''ve been to about 19 different tropical locations, including Mexico and cruise ship stops, in the last 10 years). I''ve stayed at Sandals Negril and Sandals Royal Carribbean, both in Jamaica, and Sandals St Lucia (which was given to me by Sandals free as a consolation for my Negril vacation that they destroyed....but that''s another story.)

Anyways, I like Jamaica but it''s not my first choice for an island vacation so I don''t think I''ll be going back unless there is a specific reson to. My cousin and his wife LOVE Jamaica and go there twice a year. They started with Sandals, but now they go to Couples, which they tell me is a bit less expesnvie, and the food is great. I, too, think Jamaica is totally safe. Just use common sense.

As far as Sandals is concerned, my opinion of them is that they are overpriced, and they try to sell "romance" but really I think they are just expensive all inclusive resorts. Rooms are nice but not over the top. There are SOOOOO many choices out there for places to stay, and so many islands to pick from. Don''t limit yourself!

Take some time to think about your budget, what you are looking for in terms of activities, and if All Inclusive is important to you or not. Start thinking about islands you would be happy at (and remember the rainy season in the Carribbean is Jun - Nov 1st) so if your honeymoon is during these months, Aruba is always a safe bet, or Cabo San Lucus. Both places get like 3 inches of rain a yar. Trust me - I was in St Lucia for a week in October once, and it POURED 5 out of 7 days. It was HORRIBLE. You can only hang out and have cocktails so much......we couldn''t even walk to dinner becasue it was pouring buckets.

So thingk of the islands you are interested, then talk to a travel agent for some help (OR ASK ME!) I love this kind of stuff and I love to help.

Currently my faviorite island is St Maarten - we''re going back again in November this year after a great trip in 2008.

Let me know if I can help you at all! Have fun planning!!!
.

 

[sba771]

I did sandals ST Lucia, and LOVED it! I will be doing Whitehouse for my honeymoon. Just take it for what it is and enjoy. If you want 5 star blah blah...no it is probably not for you, but if you want beautiful scenery, decent food and nice drinks and beautiful pools and time to relax, its great. My FI has done sandals 5 times.