I ADMIRE Sandals, but its still a bad VALUE.
 

While I am somewhat ostracized on this board for my views on Sandals I find I must voice my opinion on this matter. I am a travel afficionado and being this a travel forum I "voice" my thoughts. I constantly read trip reports concerning Sandals and every time I read one I am astounded. In almost every trip report about a Sandals I see a repetitive expose'... We arrived on Tuesday but restaurant was booked until Saturday, the entertainment was terrible, i.e. toga competition, dancing magician, newlywed game, only three couples showed up, went and hid in corner, fell asleep, food was ok, food was dry, only beer available was draft and a few can beers, playmaker did not believe we did everything we said we did, while polite; manager turned a deaf ear, premium liquor for only one of each spirit, pool was dirty, smell was bad, there were alot of bugs in the room, dirt in the sheets, etc. I did not make any of this up these come from actual trip reports. Amazingly at the end of alot of these people say "We would love to go back", "Great trip report", "We had a great time" and so on! What is happening here? Are people that easy? To me this is all about value and spending the kind of money at a A-1 like Sandals charges, having the problems mentioned in trip reports and STILL saying you had a great time does not make sense. Sandals I salute you, how you do it in spite of all this is truly amazing!

Is this the Canadian woman who got married at Sandals? Oh no ... not again.

I agree. It is amazing to me that Sandals has such a loyal following. I can only surmise that it is from people who have never experienced travel elsewhere or planned and executed their own holidays. <BR><BR>In fact, reading some of what I have read on this board, from people who have had really terrible experiences at Sandals, and then get soundly trashed, called liars, and so on, I wonder why anyone tries to even help other travellers.<BR><BR>It is my hope though, that eventually, the reputation that Sandals built up years ago and deserved then and now cares nothing about, will begin to disintegrate and that the reputation they should have now will follow them.<BR><BR>They are the worst IMHO.

You said it, U Need. <BR>The reason Sandals makes me so angry is that it exploits people who may not be fortunate enough to travel frequently and have scrimped and saved at their jobs to take their "dream vacation."<BR>They buy into the glossy Sandals hype splashed across two pages of magazines that show glistening vacant beaches with perfect turquoise water just waiting for you and your sweetie to have the place all to yourself.<BR>The prices don't come anywhere NEAR justifying the quality of the food and accommodations.<BR>But because these folks are young (newlyweds) or not well-traveled, they think this tripe is the be-all and end-all of luxury and taste.<BR>My first 2 trips to the Caribbean 12 years ago were to all inclusives similar to Sandals, and I still cringe when I think of the food and the "entertainment" we were subjected to. <BR>While there is a market for people wanting a certain type of experience, the price they are paying at Sandals is disgusting for what they get in return.<BR><BR>

As an experienced traveller (by now), after some bad experiences I now always follow one simple rule: I never stay at a place that is part of a big, standardized 'chain' if I can avoid it. Service is always worse at these places; I think it is because the people who work there do not have a real connection to the property. After all, they may be sent to another hotel of this big organization, whether it is Marriot, or Beaches, or Sonesta etc. etc., at any time. The places that ALWAYS work best are smaller, individually owned hotels with a manager who is always around and has a real tie to the property.

I said it once again and I sat it again, ramjet seems to have a personal vendetta against Sandals/Beaches. Tell us oh ramjet, how long have you been employed by SuperClubs and how much do they pay you to post this drivel. As before I ask ramjet to crawl back into the hole he came from...ignore this idiot his words are false.

Ramjet:<BR><BR>Give some examples of better value resorts

My brother spent his honeymoon at a Sandals resort and when he showed me the pictures of his room and told me what he paid I laughed..it was dingy and worse than any Holiday Inn type motel..I agree how could someone pay thousands of dollars for a vacation and have a dirty ugly room...

Irie, almost ANY Caribbean resort is a better value than Sandals.<BR>I have stayed at places that easily surpass even the most "luxurious" Sandals for less $$$ than they charge.<BR>I can stay at Nevis Four Seasons and eat at the local restaurants for less than they charge at Sandals for dingy, dark rooms and sub-standard cruddy food. <BR>WHYYY do people flock there? <BR>Misdirected by travel agents.<BR>Buy into the glitzy ads.<BR>Don't know there is SO MUCH BETTER out there.<BR>People are going to get fed up, and go elsewhere. It's just a matter of time...<BR>

Sandals costs about the same per night as an upscale hotel, and is probably less than upscale, but includes food and drink. I guess it depends on how much you eat and drink, but my experience in a couple of vacations (Ocho Rios, Grand Cayman, Grand Bahama, Maui, Kauai) Is that We (a couple), spent at least $300, usually more like $400/day for decent hotel + drinks + food. <BR><BR>I'm going to spend less than that on my package deal with Sandals. I've never been to one (going to the Grande St. Lucia in Nov.), but have been to all inclusives before and found them worth the money. (Club Med, Jack Tar and Ciboney), so we'll see. <BR><BR>Ramjet--out of curiosity, did you stay at a Sandals and have a bad experience yourself? Because I've done a ton of research and it seems like reports are about 80% good, 20% bad, which you can probably say for most any resort that people write about.

iriemon & Marti: While time at this moment will not afford me to post "condensed" trip reports of several places I have enjoyed that, IMHO,were far better values than Sandals, I will be glad to in the next few days!

But my question remains, you're very vocal on this subject ramjet?? Have you ever been to Sandals? Which one? When? You speak with such authority, I'd think you've been to all of them, but I doubt you'd ever go back, based on the way you feel.

Marti, I've been to Sandals Dunns River, Sandals Ocho Rios, Royal Caribbean, and Beaches Grande Sport.

So you've been FOUR times, and can't understand why us poor slobs would go ONCE??

Hello - the point being that, at least the guy knows what he's talking about. Why'd you ask if he'd been if you were going to blast him out of the water when he said yes?

It seems like a strange vendetta, if he was happy enough to go back 3 times, it must have been a great vacation 3 of 4 times!! <BR>He's the one that started the blasting out of the water with the original subject! "What is happening here? Are people that easy? " <BR><BR>Makes me wonder if these posts are legit, or If ramjet works for Club Med or something?

My original trip to a Sandals resort was to Royal Caribbean and at the time, while I was not satisfied with the place said trips like this happen. My second trip was to Dunns River and with the time I had I was able to use the facilities at Ocho Rios and Grande Sport. I actually WON this trip and Dunns River was only one available at the time. 2 couples including myself went. All I could think was the poor souls who DID spend 500-700 a day for these places. The more I experienced every day at these places the more I was able to expound on the VALUE of Sandals properties. Again, yes most people will have a good time at Sandals, BUT these are usually 1ST time travelers to the Caribbean and aren't aware of just what to expect for your money. I for one have been able to travel to alot of destinations and IMO Sandals does not offer a good value comparably. Take my information any way you want but why are we here to begin with?, if not for opinions like mine. Thank you.

People paid $500-700 a day??? I can see why you think it's not a good value. My daily rate turns out to about $300 for Sandals. I would not pay that much either. I consider myself a seasoned traveller, 6 foreign countries, and about a dozen various carribean/hawaiian/jamacian places, and I still like all inclusives. I do venture out, however, and think that those who don't are missing out.

Really, the bottom line is that all inclusives are a rip-off, whether Sandals, Beaches or anywhere else. You can have a much better time if you plan your own vacation.<BR><BR>But Sandals was the originator of the all inclusive in the Carribean and at the time that they initiated this type of holiday, they were good. Are they good now? Not at all, in fact, it may even be dangerous to your health, if you read some of the posts below.<BR><BR>Think about it. If all you want to do is drink, drink, drink and eat, eat, eat, then perhaps Sandals or other all inclusives may suit you but...........you must remember that you run the risk of really bad food or worse, food that is contaminated with bacteria or salmonella or worse. And, you are stuck there. You have paid for it and paid dearly. If the food doesn't suit you, too bad and then what? You don't have the option of going elsewhere unless you are prepared to spend more cash on food and you have all ready paid for your food there, at the all inclusive.<BR><BR>Sandals needs to clean up its act and get it together. A pending lawsuit may well make them do that. Lawsuit pending because they literally poisened a young man there on his honeymoon due to their unsafe sanitary conditions in their food preparation areas and this has been documented by the Canada Health Authority.<BR><BR>On another note, you can book your own place and plane fares, book a place with a kitchen where you can cook up your own breakfast or whatever or move about to various places that actually have GOOD food and for far less cash outlay. <BR><BR>"Unseasoned" travellers often don't want to cook the odd meal. They like the idea of drink without extra cost, never having to move from one place to another. Seasoned travellers generally feel quite differently. Seasoned travellers like to buy a few beers or a bottle and some coca-cola, a few eggs, some bread and do their own thing. It allows them to have some freedom while on their travels and for a lot less cost.<BR><BR>

Well said, Uneedtoknow! That sums it up beautifully IMO. <BR>All inclusives are no bargain, we much prefer to be responsible for our own choices and enjoyment. I don't think it's any kind of fun to have someone make those decisions for me. <BR>There is no such thing as a "one size fits all" vacation. I will never ever understand why so many people think that there is.

What an EGO you have uneed, You have GOT to be kidding me! You think you can generalize like that?? I am a very seasoned traveller, and I won't cook a meal on vacation, I cook 3 meals the other 350 days a year, thanks! I know many unseasoned travellers who go to cabins and cook all their meals on all their vacations. Please don't generalize, you sound like a blithering idiot.<BR><BR>You people are saying Sandals is a bad value at $500-700 a night, and Marti is saying it's a good value at $300 a night, so aren't you all really saying the same thing?

I've been to Sandals resorts 8 times. For years we thought they were great & worth the money. However, when we went last time (1996) we felt the entire resort needed modernizing. The plastic furniture in the rooms is way outdated. The food wasn't as good as previous years & overall the Sandals Royal Caribbean was a disappointment. The next year we were at a Riu property & felt it was much nicer & actually cheaper. I feel Sandals is way overpriced & until they revamp their resorts & hopefully come down in cost we won't be going back.

hear hear ramjet! during our trip to jamaica, we spent 1/2 our time at a sandals, and 1/2 at the ritz carlton. guess what? when we got back and did all the accounting, we discovered that the ritz cost the same, even with add-ons for activities. plus, the food, drink, service, rooms and ambience were better at the ritz. i like the idea of all-inclusives and have done about 4 different ones. i guess the key is to find the good ones. i wouldn't return to sandals again however. too much marketing, not enough follow through.

For some of us Sandals is a good value. I am not young adn am well-traveled. Though I still consider 33 young I know most of you don't. Anyway, no Sandlas is not as nice as a four seasons (thogu it can be if you get a Sandals luxury suite). The food may not be top of the line gourmet but you certainly get a lot thus getting value for your money. WhenI am at Sandals I usually eat about 5 times a day with at least one of those being room service. I do breakfast lunch late afternoon appetizeers and snack while relaxing in the room before getting dressed to gou to dinner, dinner and then late night meal as well. I typically drink about 7-8 alholic beverages a day not including soft drinks and my husband drinks more than that starting with morning bloody mary and going right thru until about 2am. If we paid individually for this much food and drink atanother resort the cost would far surpass that of Sandals!!!!! See there is value if you use the plan, if you want to go off the resort and take tours and eat out, then no you don't get your money's worth. It jsut depends on the person. As for the not being able to make reservations and get into the restaurants of your choice, my advice is move up to concierge level, you get first choice and NEVER have problems getting in as long as you make your dinner reservations for each evening at breakfast the morning of.

All right Sandals Lover! I agree, I like to eat a lot and drink a lot, and worry about diet when I get back! It's worth my dime. I also use the activities like water skiing, sailing, snorkeling, exercise classes, and that stuff adds up. These resorts often charge $5-10 for a fancy drink. A few of these a day for my husband and 2-3 for me, and we're much better off at AI.

I think Sandals Resorts are for the "Lazy Traveller". All is included in one hyped up, overglossed, airbrushed price. It seems so easy for many people, it takes all the "guess work" out of a vacation for them. Many people do not realize that it is the same or maybe less money to stay in a "real" luxury resort and pay for their meals and drinks. People feel "safer" paying in full for crappy food and watered down drinks, less than par facilities and service. Many people are sold a bill of goods by a TA or do not want to expend any time or energy into planning or exploring other resorts. Some people are intimidated by a Four Seasons or Little Dix Bay or whatever. Maybe they feel that the other guests are out of their league and they will not fit in or feel uncomfortable. Then again there are many people that enjoy the Carnival Cruise type atmosphere and will pay any price to get it, even if you like being herded like sheep. And boy do you pay, there is no value in a Sandals vacation.<BR><BR>Have I been to a Sandals?<BR>NO! Thank you I have not, I did not have to I visited the Sandals web site and that was enough to make a decision. Maybe I'm a snob but I took one look at the website and said No Way. A few years ago a TA trying to talk us into the RB. Needless to say I did not go and I no longer use him as a travel agent. You can see the cheezy-ness from their website. The "Sandals" logo in the pool is a dead give away. I mean C'omon!<BR><BR>By the way, I went to Biras Creek for the same amount of money as Sandals RB, need I say more?<BR>Ramjet is right on the money Sandals, however is not!

Well I guess I am a "lazy" traveler. I work 60 hours/week and DH works about 70/week not including a commute time. When we are on vacation we don't want to leave the resort and explore or even have to leave the resort to go to dinner. A vacation to us is laying out by the pool or hanging at the swim up bar during the day and dancing the night away at the resort in the evening. In otherwords we want to RELAX! We don't want to have to make any decisions or leave to go anywhere especially renting a car YUCK!!! We don't like carrying money around (how inconvenient to have to carry your purse out to the beach in a string bikini?) And as I said before we usualy have 7-8 if not more alcoholic drinks each day. I didn't say we drink them all but if a a drink is half gone and has gotten warm sitting in the sun, I jsut dump it and get another because I can have as many as I want withouth carrying my purse adn I like that! I am not intimidated by the four seasons, DH and I often take weekends away where we fly to a large city adn stay in a nice hotel, but Sandals even thoguh there is no o gourmet food (BTW quanitity is more important than quality to me for food) is a good VALUE for me!

To some it may seem that I have a "vendetta" with Sandals. I am not employed by anyone for I am retired. And lastly I hope my words aren't construed as "false". A few final words on Sandals value... When you've been truly pampered at Sandy Lane in Barbados, when you have had complete adult serenity and isolation at the Horned Dorset Primavera in Puerto Rico, when you have experienced great golf and beauty at Four Seasons in Nevis, when you have had fun and exercise at Half Moon in Jamaica, and the food, room, and service near impeccable at these places, then yes I believe I know what value represents and quite honestly IMHO Sandals does not deliver.

You just proved my point exactly. If you explored any other options you will find that upscale locations do not require you to carry a purse anywhere it is called a guest tab and it is charged to your room! You pay when you leave. Cap Juluca offers a package with breakfast every day (delivered to your room) and 4 dinners at their excellent restaurants. You can go to Scilly Cay for lunch and charge it to your room at CJ! Biras Creek offers packages with breakfast, lunch and dinner - Outstanding! there are many wonderful resorts with meal plans (even Atlantis has one, no purse required) with excellent food and service with clean rooms with great views. No purse needed no matter what size bikini you're wearing. If you have the time to read the posts on a travel board then you must have time to do a little investigating with your computer and search some teriffic vacation destinations.

Just a note.....<BR>I am not saying Atlantis is a great destination, they just make dining and drinking very convenient.<BR><BR>I'm not opening a can of worms with the "A" word.

Never said I didn't have time to research travel destinations or make my own reservations. What I said was once I get somewhere I want to relax and not have to leave the resort to eat. I have been on vacations I researched. I went to Costa Rica 2 years ago and while it was beautiful I wouldn't call it relaxing because we did sightseeing rather than hangin out by the pool. As for "isolation and adult serenity" that would be no fun for me. Wven thoug I am 33 I like rowdy pool games, volleyball, relays, and beer drinking contests which Sandals has plenty of. I know wha ta guest tab is BTW. I would just hate to see mine at he end of a stay at CapJaluca eating ordering 5 meals a day each for me and DH and total of about 15-20 alcoholic drinks a day. I am sure after a week of that my "guest tab" at CapJaluca would be a lot more than my Sandals price!

Holy Moly Sandals Lover, don't have another drink and you've had enough to eat today for gods sake.

HEE HEE fromt he sound of my post you'd think I was a 200lb lush. Actually I am 5'5'', 110lbs and I rarely have more than 2 glasses of wine except on vacation! ROTFL!!!! Anyway in explanation of the 8 drinks and 5 meals a day, I will say I am a nibbler. I order entire meals and pick at them, trying a couple of bites of each item. 2 hours later I am hungry and ready to order again. I would rather have 3 or 4 bites of 5 different entrees than 1 whole entree. As I said before I don't necessarily drink all the drinks either. If I drink half a drink and it gets hot, I dump it and order another one becasue on an all-inclusive plan I have paid one price to get as much as I want. I'm also the type to get 3 or 4 different desserts at each meal and eat about 3 bites of each, I just liek to nibble and try a little bit of everything which would be very expensive at regular restaurants! I also liek paying up front rather than running a guest tab and being surprised at the end with a total I never expected. BTW even with a guest tab you have to carry money to tip people like the bartender and waiters, not so with Sandals. <BR><BR>Anyway to each his own but I am just pointing out that if you take advantage of the all you can eat and all you drink plan as well as the activties at Sandals it is a good VALUE and less expensive. It jsut depends on wha tkind of person you are and what type of vacation youare looking for ;)

For anyone who wonders what type of person would be willing to stay at Sandals and pay the exhorbitant prices for subpar accommodations/food/service, I've excerpted a few lines from "Sandals Lover's" posts. <BR><BR>"The food may not be top of the line gourmet but you certainly get a lot thus getting value for your money. WhenI am at Sandals I usually eat about 5 times a day"<BR>"I typically drink about 7-8 alholic beverages a day not including soft drinks and my husband drinks more than that starting with morning bloody mary and going right thru until about 2am."<BR>"When we are on vacation we don't want to leave the resort and explore or even have to leave the resort to go to dinner."<BR>"We don't want to have to make any decisions or leave to go anywhere especially renting a car YUCK!!!"<BR>"I didn't say we drink them all but if a a drink is half gone and has gotten warm sitting in the sun, I jsut dump it and get another because I can have as many as I want withouth carrying my purse adn I like that!"<BR>"(BTW quanitity is more important than quality to me for food)"<BR>"I order entire meals and pick at them, trying a couple of bites of each item. 2 hours later I am hungry and ready to order again. I would rather have 3 or 4 bites of 5 different entrees than 1 whole entree."<BR>"Wven thoug I am 33 I like rowdy pool games, volleyball, relays, and beer drinking contests which Sandals has plenty of."<BR>"I'm also the type to get 3 or 4 different desserts at each meal and eat about 3 bites of each"<BR><BR>Sandals Lover, on second thought, PLEASE keep going to Sandals, and don't leave the resort. <BR><BR><BR><BR><BR><BR>

I think Nancy has done a good job of pointing out the Sandals phenomenon. If you identify with Sandals lover, then I suppose you are the kind of person who would be happy there.<BR><BR>On the other hand, if you find Sandals Lover's concept of what consitutes a good vacation experience repulsive, then it would not be the place for you.<BR><BR>Problem solved. Different strokes for different folks. There is a resort for all types of people, and hopefully we can all figure out which is the right one for us.<BR><BR>I appreciate all the info on Sandals, this way I know it's not my type of vacation without wasting my money and going there first.

You are right, different people like different things. You seem to indicate I am low class becasue I liek this type of vacation. Actually, I am a pediatrician and my husband is an attorney. We are just not snobs! We enjoy cutting loose and having fun at least once a year. BTW we usualy take 2 big vacations a year: one to a beach location (ie Sandals or an A/I in Mexico) and another week to Europe. We also taek several weekend trips a year as well either to interesting cities staying at the Ritz Carlton/FOur Seasons or we cut loose on a weekend to Gatlinburg/Branson. We are very diverse people and are not snobby about anything. I like McDonalds and Taco Bell just as much as Charlie Trotters (more even because of the value factor). If you don't liek Sandals, that is fine. I just don't agree with someone who doesn't liek Sandals going around saying its not a good value for your money when it can be depending on what you do there!

Sandals Lover, I'll meet you by the pool with my Pina Colada, and we'll laugh at the other guys wringing their hands about weather or not to order the $8.95 dessert at the Four Seasons!

Well Sandals Lover, perhaps it's not just the affinity for Sandals that is a class indicator. It's a combination of the affinity for Sandals coupled with the inability to spell or construct a sentence that's a dead giveaway.<BR><BR>For a pediatrician you certainly seem to have a lot of time on your hands to banter on Fodors.

If Sandals Lover is a pediatrician, than I'm a nuclear physicist. My son'S pediatrician knows how to spell L-I-K-E and T-A-K-E.

EVERYONE! I just figured out who this is!!! It's KIM!<BR>Kim, NO WAY are you and hubby who you claim to be. Last time she said she was a veterinarian.<BR>I liked you better when you didn't bother to apologize for your trashiness and lie about the other places you'd been.<BR>You have never stayed at a Four Seasons or a Ritz Carlton in your life. Do you really think we're so STUPID as to believe that you go to resorts like that but prefer Sandals??? Puh-leeze!<BR>You're the WORST example of Ugly Americans to be found.<BR>Eating and drinking all day while you lie around the pool no doubt snapping your fingers for the "help" to come get you another drink when one gets too WARM for you. I feel so sorry for anyone who has to wait on you at a resort and then throw away all the food you've wasted.<BR>You are disgusting, and a prime reason I will NEVER stay at a Sandals.<BR>