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Looks beautiful. Is this one of the all inclusive resorts?
yes it is all inclusive. For the most part everything is included...they do have a few things for an upcharge.
Quote:
Originally Posted by abubbles77
So beautiful. Is this one of the adults only resorts? I know that they have both, and my nephew went to one in Jamaica for his honeymoon that was adult only.
Yes adults only at Sandals and Beaches is their family brand.
They have several in Jamaica, which is one of the reasons I liked this itinerary as I got to see several different resorts this trip rather than just one. It also lasted a day longer than many of the others because of that.
Quote:
Originally Posted by chezp
It looks nice, but I have to be honest, so far it's not "grabbing" me. I was amazed at that first shot of the pool - it looked small and packed out. Were there other pools?
The pools are kind of small, but the resorts aren't super huge either. They had little areas that fanned off too that never got crowded. Some resorts have more than one pool and those rooms with the walk out to the pools are technically allowed to have anyone go in, but usually most people who go in those are in those rooms. This resort had a more public access to that pool, but some of the resorts are much more private. And then of course there is the beach and ocean.
The main pool was busy at times and other times completely dead. We happened to be there when a group of yearly's come. They come the same week every year and they were in the pool almost all day long. I am not sure if the pool is that busy normally or not. It never really bothered me.....but people really don't do a lot of swimming in the pool. More hanging out, though they do have some pool activities. The next day they were finishing up a game of pool volleyball when we got back from touring.
Quote:
Originally Posted by xrosario
The whole resort looks so relaxing. Is that outdoor tub completely outside the room and hotel room door?
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Yes, completely outside and on their patio.
Quote:
Originally Posted by lindawdw
It really looks beautiful but I wouldn't like the local merchants trying to sell me things on the beach.
It wasn't too bad really as they monitor it pretty good at Sandals. We only had one guy actually come up to us as we were walking and asked if we were interested in his coconuts. We said no and he was pleasant and went on about his business. I hear other resorts are a little worse.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Cam22
So far the resort looks absolutely beautiful.
I enjoyed it a lot. It was so nice and relaxing. I do think Skip might have been a little bored though. He likes a lot of action and I think for him to vacation there he would have been a bit stir crazy after a couple of days. But that would be any resort like that, not just Sandals.
Quote:
Originally Posted by pamcarey
The resort looks beautiful! It's so cool that you saw Castaway Cat from the air!
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It was very nice and I learned so much this trip. It really makes a difference when you see places in person.
We went over by the spa again. They offered to give us a tour, but we declined as we figured we would get one with our tour the next day. The spa is one of the few things not included in your Sandals vacation. Those services are extra.
We headed to the lobby then as Ellen and Marianne had arrived and we said our hellos. Lenora was finally able to meet Ellen in person and the 2 of us met Marianne then. She was super nice and fit right in with us. Ellen and Marianne went off to their rooms and get settled in before doing anything else.
We then decided it was time to swim. It was hot out and the water was calling us. This was one of the best choices we made this trip. We all got changed and headed out to the water.
We found a stretch of beach and waded in to some wonderful water….not too hot, but not in the least bit cold. It was so refreshing. As we got in 3 other gals said hi… I bet you are here for the training since you are a group of girls! LOL. Yeah that tends to be noticeable in a couples resort.
We all introduced ourselves and that is when we met Shauna, Brittany and Crystal. Shauna and Brittany work together and they had just met Crystal that day. They were all so nice and so much fun and we spent a lot of time with them, especially in the evenings.
We just all chatted away and splashed around a bit. We saw a stingray off a ways.
This guy in the small boat….pretty sure he was a weed man. We could smell it every so often. We assumed people who wanted it had to go out to him to get it. Not our cup of tea…but to each his own.
As much fun as we were having, none of us want to leave, but we knew we had an opening event this evening and needed to meet up with everyone eventually. So we all got out and dried off and went to take showers and get cleaned up.
I think we were to meet in the lobby and then directed where to go…which was the spot we had seen them setting up earlier. It was all glowy and they had men and women dressed as angels. It was kind of neat.
It was a nice event…except it was on grass…which made it hard to walk for some people in heels…..and it was buggy! We were getting bit! And it was HOT! Extremely humid and hot and we were drenched in sweat! We decided to walk out and get away from the bugs and try to cool off….and were stopped and said we had to wait for dinner. OH….we thought we could just meet up there, but then we found out our table would have a host and he would take us over at the designated time. UGH. OK…. They did have some bug spray and sprayed us down. I had packed some as well, so I knew to spray up each night.
We did end up kind of waiting outside of the event though so we could cool off. We then were led to dinner with our host…a young guy, whose name I do not remember and they had a table waiting for us. We ended up eating with a group of people every night (minus the host). And though it was nice, there were nights I wished we could have chosen the time we wanted to eat and with who. That being said, everyone was nice.
Brittany had signed up for the French restaurant tonight as well, so she sat by me.
I believe I had an amaretto sour…which typically is one of my favorite drinks, but Sandals cannot make them right. I am not sure what they use, but I tried them several times hoping I got a bad one and they were all strange tasting.
I also got the French onion soup.
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What a great afternoon in the sea, but what a nightmare at the event. I honestly think with heat, humidity and bugs, and having to stand around, I'd have probably ended up passing out.
The pictures of the resort are beautiful and how neat that there were stingrays swimming around in the water! I would not have been a happy camper with the description of the event you were at with the heat, humidity and bugs biting you all!
Pretty cool that you saw Castaway Cay from the air! Your resort looks quite nice as does your room. Too bad the event and other things seem a bit unorganized.
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October 6, 2017-Enjoying an amazing dinner at Victoria & Albert's with PP's Dot and Drew
My TR from my most recent trip is now underway. Includes: Universal Studios Florida, Disney World and Sea World Orlando Trifecta TR -Updated December 10th! TR is now COMPLETED!
What a pretty beach! It must have been fun playing in the water! I would have been dying at the hot, buggy event!
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It really shocked me they didn't spray the area or did something to make it more comfortable. Many were complaining about the bugs...and the heat...but the heat we could manage I suppose a bit..the bugs made it just maddening.
Quote:
Originally Posted by patclairesmom
Wow, the resort is beautiful. I'm glad the local merchants were kept at bay so they weren't being annoying.
Yes, they never really were too much of a bother at all. Compared to getting off at cruise ports...this was a dream.
Quote:
Originally Posted by chezp
What a great afternoon in the sea, but what a nightmare at the event. I honestly think with heat, humidity and bugs, and having to stand around, I'd have probably ended up passing out.
I really don't think it was well thought out. Our last night we had a really nice event...except the heat and bugs were horrible and they had lights shining on the buffet and the bugs were swarming. After a bit they got smart and moved the lights and put a fan on the food to keep the bugs from coming...You would think this would have been a no brainer and this wasn't their first time doing an event like this. They do them a couple of times a year at least.
The next day it was hot and one lady wore black pants and a black cardigan every day and I think she was about to pass out and she left the group to cool off. She looked horrid. But I didn't understand why she didn't take off the sweater at least.
Quote:
Originally Posted by lindawdw
The pictures of the resort are beautiful and how neat that there were stingrays swimming around in the water! I would not have been a happy camper with the description of the event you were at with the heat, humidity and bugs biting you all!
The water was pure heaven. I love it when I swim in the ocean with very comfortable temperatures...especially with friends and/or family. It really is a lot of fun.
I know they really went out for the event, but they should have done a spray beforehand and then maybe some more fans to keep the bugs away and us cooler. It definitely was the grass that attracted the bugs as when we went out on the sidewalk it was like a totally different world.
Quote:
Originally Posted by SuperDave
Pretty cool that you saw Castaway Cay from the air! Your resort looks quite nice as does your room. Too bad the event and other things seem a bit unorganized.
It really was a huge highlight for me. I told my family when I got home...but they were not quite as impressed. LOL.
Not much was going on that we were interested in so Ellen, Marianne and I headed to have a seat at a bar. Lenora had gone to bed. (She usually went to bed early each night, but then she would message us…so she must have stayed up late in her room. LOL).
We got to talking to this bartender there and he was so nice and fun. Ellen then told us she forgot her toothbrush. We were all laughing so hard about it and making jokes. She had tried to get one at the gift shop, but it was closed then. She planned to get one in the morning but was worried it wouldn’t open in time. I told her I could give her some toothpaste so at least she could do a finger scrub on the teeth.
We ordered some drinks and I got half mango half strawberry daiquiri. YUMMY!
You can see glitter on Ellen’s shoulder from leaning against the angels… we all had a little bit on us. LOL.
After a while the bartender said he would be back but not to leave. When he came back he had made arrangements for someone to get Ellen a toothbrush and toothpaste! Talk about service! She was so thankful.
After a while we were getting tired. We knew we had a long day tomorrow and we all had long travel days….which for me, meant I really hadn’t slept in 2 days for the most part…..and headed back to our rooms.
We didn’t know it at the time, but tomorrow is the Emancipation day for Jamaica and they were all excited and ready to have a good time. We found the employees to have a fun attitude and I am not sure if they are always that friendly or if it had to do with the festivities of the day.
I lay down and it didn’t take long for me to be out for the night. I will admit, I expected the bed to be more comfortable than it was, but I was so tired it didn’t bother me too much.
I am heading to 6th grade camp tomorrow with Claire (My first time at 6th grade camp too. LOL)...so I will not be updating all week. Have a fabulous week everyone!
Looks like a good time at the resort and some nice drinks and snacks at the bar! Nice for the resort to arrange to get Ellen a toothbrush!
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October 6, 2017-Enjoying an amazing dinner at Victoria & Albert's with PP's Dot and Drew
My TR from my most recent trip is now underway. Includes: Universal Studios Florida, Disney World and Sea World Orlando Trifecta TR -Updated December 10th! TR is now COMPLETED!
That was a lovely story about the toothbrush and that is great service. What a shame that, as great as the resort sounds, there seem to be little things that aren't as wonderful like the bed not being that comfortable. That's a shame.
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I didn't get back on last night so I'm catching up today. The club level rooms look beautiful and who doesn't want an ocean view. I kind of like the walk out pool rooms. Wow! That gym is extensive. Enjoy the beach and water sounds perfect for an island vacation. So far the food and drinks are sounding delicious.
Looks like a good time at the resort and some nice drinks and snacks at the bar! Nice for the resort to arrange to get Ellen a toothbrush!
They were very accommodating!
Quote:
Originally Posted by chezp
That was a lovely story about the toothbrush and that is great service. What a shame that, as great as the resort sounds, there seem to be little things that aren't as wonderful like the bed not being that comfortable. That's a shame.
Have a great time at sixth grade camp!
I was shocked that the beds were not more comfy.
It was a long week but the kids had a lot of fun.
Quote:
Originally Posted by pamcarey
Your drinks all look yummy! I think it's interesting that although you were all there for the same event, you all got very different rooms and views.
Have fun at 6th grade camp!
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I think the rooms were assigned based on things we have booked in the past..how many bookings made, whether you have been working with Sandals and taking their yearly certification, etc. I am not 100% sure, but it seemed that those who got nicer rooms sold more. And of course it depended on what was not already booked by guests.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Cam22
I didn't get back on last night so I'm catching up today. The club level rooms look beautiful and who doesn't want an ocean view. I kind of like the walk out pool rooms. Wow! That gym is extensive. Enjoy the beach and water sounds perfect for an island vacation. So far the food and drinks are sounding delicious.
Enjoy 5th grade camp!
The ocean views really are nice. I ended up getting a nice view at the next resort, but I wasn't as impressed with my room décor there.
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Your resort looks quite nice as does your room. 
Too bad the event and other things seem a bit unorganized. 
What a shame that, as great as the resort sounds, there seem to be little things that aren't as wonderful like the bed not being that comfortable. That's a shame. 
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