anybody been to a "Sandals Night" at a travel agent?

[sumbride]

We''re thinking about St. Lucia for our honeymoon and my FI wants to stay at Sandals. They have a few resorts on St. Lucia and I noticed that a travel agency near us is having a "Sandals Night" where they show you all the propertis via video, answer questions, etc... We''re still over a year out so we can''t price it yet, and I''m thinking this is probably a "get you booked" kind of "party". Anybody been to one? Any downsides of going? Is it worth our time? We''re both pretty internet-travel-savvy, but I do know that Sandals in particular likes to use travel agents for "deals".

Should I sign up?

 

[DonaBella]

Sorry, I cannot say much on the Sandals Night thing, but I can tell you that the Sandals Resorts in St. Lucia are THE best. My sweet hubby booked us for our 25th anniversary this past February and it was the solely best experience we together have ever had. We absolutely will return someday soon I hope.

The airport is on one side of the tiny island and we positive experience began at the airport when we were picked up by our driver who proceeded to give us a lovely, highly informational tour of the island as we progressed to our resport. The island itself is gorgeous and enchanting. It is not as commercially taken over as St. Thomas or St. Maarten''s I was told by other visitors who were also on St. Lucia at the same time as we were.

We stayed at the St. Regency but when you stay at a Sandals resort, you benefit from playing or visiting and doing activities or eating at all 3 Sandals hotels in the area. Our accommadations were amazing. We had the butler service which I was pleasantly surprised with. Each night before we arrived back to our suite, our bed covers were turned down and soft music was playing for us, with candles burning to set a wonderfullly inviting mood. Looooved that!

Each member of the staff was superb. The restaurants at our hotel were ok, but the restaurants at the other Sandal resorts were a nice option and getting there was provided by shuttles. We made new friends, had amazing food, top service, romantic accommadations and the island was intoxicating. I enjoyed the excursions we took, though I found them a bit pricey for my taste and budget, so we only went on 3 of them. The catamirran to St. Martinique was super fun and so was the shopping, but the people on St. Martinique were snobbish and made me appreciate more the St. Lucians. The land and sea excursion was informational and fun. We also got to experience the rainforest zip line like a Tarzan and Jane. It is super safe, sweaty, and technical, but easy and so worth the money.

We found the St. Lucian people to be warm, not anything like hounding you for money like in TJ, Mexico. I seriously wanted to smuggle one of the butlers home to wait on me here, but hello, I had to go back to reality. To not go is to miss out on a life enhancing experience. There are other resorts on this tiny island, but seriously, Sandals is the only way I would go. I loved the all inclusive aspect and with us renewing our vows there, it holds a special place in my heart for me. Flowers, music, cake and champagne--even a witness--is included.

That was my summary on our fab experience at Sandals. I know it wasn''t quite what you asked for but I hope it shed a little positive light on it...

 

[sumbride]

Thanks! Sounds like you had a great time!

I actually went to St. Lucia a few years ago, about 6 weeks before I met my FI, and stayed at the then-brand-new Sandals Grande St. Lucian. It was kind of an odd experience as I was there by myself, with my parents! Since it was a new hotel, they booked a convention that my dad regularly attends and my parents decided to take me to cheer me up after a breakup. When they told me I could go, they didn''t know it would be at Sandals! How odd to be single at a couples resort! I had fun, and once the couples realized I wasn''t having a fight with my SO, they were ok, but I got some stares frequently. Sandals was awesome though so when FI mentioned he wanted to go there, I was happy, and he said he didn''t mind that I''d already been... it wasn''t like it was with another guy or anything... I love the island and am excited to go back.

The Regency is one I was looking at, because maybe it would be nice to stay at a different resort, but the Grande has some new features they didn''t have when I was there, and it seems like maybe it''s the nicest. Did you go there?

 

[DonaBella]

Date: 9/5/2006 12:16:42 PM
Author: sumbride
Thanks! Sounds like you had a great time!

I actually went to St. Lucia a few years ago, about 6 weeks before I met my FI, and stayed at the then-brand-new Sandals Grande St. Lucian. It was kind of an odd experience as I was there by myself, with my parents! Since it was a new hotel, they booked a convention that my dad regularly attends and my parents decided to take me to cheer me up after a breakup. When they told me I could go, they didn''t know it would be at Sandals! How odd to be single at a couples resort! I had fun, and once the couples realized I wasn''t having a fight with my SO, they were ok, but I got some stares frequently. Sandals was awesome though so when FI mentioned he wanted to go there, I was happy, and he said he didn''t mind that I''d already been... it wasn''t like it was with another guy or anything... I love the island and am excited to go back.

The Regency is one I was looking at, because maybe it would be nice to stay at a different resort, but the Grande has some new features they didn''t have when I was there, and it seems like maybe it''s the nicest. Did you go there?

Yes, we went to the Grande and actually, as nice as our resort was, I preferred the layout of the Grande more, the restuarants more and the general location more. The Regency was absoutely amazing but the restaurants outside of the Italian one, were just ok. I made mention via comment card to them about a few helpful suggestions on menu suggestions and buffet selections since they cater mostly to Americans. I was not overly impressed with the Halcyon(sp?) as a resort but their Pier restaurant was an excellent experience. All of the staff was superb at each resort though. These people know how to cater to you as a guest.

When on our excursion to St. Martinique, I accidentally left my souvenirs and some OTC meds I got on the catamirran when we departed the craft to go back to our resort. I was very tired and totally forgot about the bags, stupid me. When I realized my oversight upon arrival back into our room, I contacted our butler who immediately contacted the company who handles the catamirran excursion. This took place like on a Thursday or Friday. Well, we were scheduled to leave the following Wednesday and after Monday arrived with no souvenirs found I pretty much gave up hope. Surprise, surprise! Come Tuesday morning, I get word that my bags not only were being returned to me, but everything was accounted for...even my OTC meds. I had purchased tshirts, necklaces, hats and shawls for gifts for my kids and others so anyone would have had a bounty easily attained for free if they were dishonest and kept what was in these bags. I share this cuz this sense of honestly amazed me and the fact that Sandals staff members stayed on top of finding my things meant SO much to me. It says alot about their integrity, their honesty and their follow through. It also says alot about the people who own, run and clean up the catamirrans.

Anyways, I would stay at the Regency again if offered the chance, but I know for sure next time I will stay at the Grande jsut for the experience...

 

[sumbride]

So glad to hear you got everything back!!! I''ve been to a few islands and in my experience, islanders tend to be really nice and most of them are honest, especially if they work in the hospitality industry... repeat business and word of mouth is how most of them make their money. Was the day trip to Martinique worth it? I remember that being expensive, but I''ve never been to Martinique before.

So the Grande is really the best? Excellent. I guess that solves my "should I go to the sandals night" problem. Now that we know which one to stay at, I''ll just have to look for a deal in a few months. they don''t book this far out.

Another example of Sandals hospitality... my first night at the resort, I ate in the pub around midnight (when I arrived) alone. The waiter was concerned because nobody is ever alone at Sandals! I explained the situation to him and he was really sweet, offered to take me out on a sightseeing day on his day off later that week! I guess he doesn''t get many chances to hit on guests.... I declined, but it was a nice offer, even if not officially sanctioned by the resort!