bielfeldt

Sorry to post a similar question to my last, but I have done some more thinking. Right now I am leaning towards Royal Bahamian over Antigua...mainly because of the transportation issues from Chicago. 10 years ago I was at the Regency St. Lucia for 7 nights on my honeymoon and loved it. They had nice restaurants and the food was pretty good. 90% of our daytime was spent lounging at the pool. After I was there I swore if I ever went back to a Sandals I would get the cheapest room (rather spend the money on additional nights). However, I am looking at getting an upgraded room so that I can get the concierge service...is it worth it? The view does not mean much since so little time is spent in the room. So my question is, aside from the minibar, do you get any real benefit from the upgrade.
So replys have reported that the spas at Sandals are not that great...any other experiences to share about the spa?
I am still stuck in this dilema with SRB vs SGA, especially with the 55% off the new rooms at SGA. Will I be disappointed with the SRB? I am going in October so I am hoping that both the resorts will be a little calmer, anyone else been there that time of year that can share their experience...especially the weather.

KVR

We had a concierge room at the Royal Bahamain. We never used the in-room bar or the concierge personell. Hence,the waste of money. We got the least expensive room at Sandals Grande and it was fine. What we didn't like at the Grande was the food. Worst AI food we have ever experienced. We paid ALOT of money and was so disappointed. We visited the Regency and have to say the layout and location of the Grande was better.

Try this web-site for more recent info on Sandals properties:

http://www.tropictravelonline.com/cg...ultimatebb.cgi

Curt

I find it interesting that Sandals charges extra and makes you but the "concierge package" to get what almost all other AIs include in every room, a stocked mini-fridge. Get lots more bang for the buck/quid at other AIs don't you know?

Curt

not "but" should be "buy"

KVR

Yes, I agree. That's one reason why we won't stay at a Sandals property again. We are going to Jamaica in a couple of weeks. We looked at Couples and Sandals and they we charging almost double what the RIU's charge. All the rooms at the RIU have a stocked frig and a liquor dispenser. You don't have to pay for an over priced suite to get one. This is also true for many of the resorts in Cancun/Playa del Carmen/Mayan Riviera areas.

Curt

TO add more to this, I agree with the above re Mexico. In our experience we have always felt we get MUCH better value for out money Mexico at the resorts along the coast south of Cancun around Playa Del Carmen. Typically nicer facilites, better food, and better pricing - and very little beach vendor activity and attemped drug dealing.

KVR

I totally agree. We started in 2002 going to various Islands in the Caribbean/Mexico, and everytime we returned we said, Mexico is better. We have come to the end of our Caribbean 'to go' list with Jamaica, and will be spending the future of our vacations in various parts of Mexico.

We only like AI properties. Mexico has much nicer hotels that are reasonably priced and offer include amenities that other Caribbean hotels charge extra for. Another added bonus for us, it doesn't take forever to get there by plane and airfare is reasonalbe from Texas.

We are also very active on vacation. We can't just plop down on a beach for a week and be content. Mexico has the best things to see and do off property of any other place we've been to.

I absolutely agree you get the most for bang for your buck in Mexico and that's why we keep returning. We're planning our 5th trip for next Sept.

Knowing

I understand your transportation issues as we fly out of Mpls. Having been to both the Bahamas and Antigua Sandals, I am going to tell you that I give the Bahamas a rating of about a three. It is not worth having a mini-bar, unless you plan on drinking late into the night or early (as the bars are closed just like at home). As far as the spa's go, my husband used the spa in Antiga and LOVED it. Antigua was a hit with us in every way. We just didn't care for the Bahama's. The bartenders would zero in on one person and talk to them and not wait on anyone else. We had our video camera down by the pool and have some really nasty footage of the bartenders doing gang hand signage as we were filming friends. You might find more restaurants and they may be more upscale, but honestly, it was the only vacation I've ever been on where I lost weight because the food was just not good. Also, this was the only Sandals we were ever at that the Playmakers couldn't get anyone interested in anything. People were there to gamble on the island and the resort was like a ghost town at night. The worst was in the morning after breakfast, you couldn't find a lounge chair as everyone had been out at 6am to put their towels down. The best thing about it was their off-shore island. Wonderful for snorkeling and a little more quiet. But re-think Antigua. At 55% off, it's worth it to get in late - and it is dark - I remember the drive. But it will be worth it when you step into the resort and they bring you a drink and you see all the beautiful flowers! And then you start fresh in the morning with a great breakfast!

loraine_foley

hi,
i wouldnt bother going to sandals antigua even if you got it for free...
i would need a week to tell you why so i wont even bother, and the new building is high rise and ugly.

paulalou

One other aspect to Sandals, which is why we keep returning, is that it is adults only. So now, when you compare prices to other adult only resorts, even in Mexico, the prices ARE comparable.

That being said, it IS annoying to pay that kind of money, have it advertised as AI, and then not get a stocked mini-fridge in your room.

We always get a lower tier room and have been upgraded at no cost to a higher tier room 3 out of 5 trips.

Curt

Pau not true-resorts that are adult only in Mexico that are at the same quality level of Sandals (mid-range 2-3 star) are always cheaper...the resorts in Mexico that cost the same as Sandals FAR EXCEED anything Sandals can offer.

KVR

Curt - I totally agree. Resorts in the Playa del Carmen/Mexican Riveria area ar by far better than Sandaas and cost much less. They also don't have the overpriced, confusing room catagories or charge extra for in-room bars.

Personally, I could care less about concierge service, swim-up pool rooms or butlers or a Rolls Royce to/from the airport. What a waste of money.

Curt

KVR yes that is why we vacation every year in the Playa Del Carmen area...great value, great resorts, great people, and a lot less hassle.

BadgerPride

I'm surprised at the comparisons of the Playa del Carmen AI's being LOTS cheaper than Sandals. My wife and I just spent our 25th anniversary at the Royal Hideaway in PDC and although the hotel,staff,grounds,pools,and service was top notch and the food was better than any of the 3 Sandals we've been to before it definitely isn't cheaper IMHO. Snorkeling, glass bottom boat rides costs $$(not at Sandals) the scuba diving is more expensive(about 50% more) and there really wasn't much to do except lay by the beach/pool area(no playmakers like Sandals) I know that there are probably cheaper AI's in PDC that might be "good", but since this was our 25th anniversary I wanted to make sure I did it right. Again, the RH in PDC is definitely every bit as "luxurious" as any of the Sandals we've been to, but, I think it's misleading to say it's a cheap vacation. Just my opinion.

Knowing

BadgerPride-
We've always been afraid of Mexico, but are actually thinking about possibly going in February. Thinking about the Royal Hideaway or else somewhere in Los Cabos. Interesting to hear you state that there is nothing to do except lay around the pool. Our biggest concern about the RH, is that we keep hearing over and over again about the chair hogs. We certainly don't want to be standing there in our bathing suits with no place to sit. Was it a problem when you were there? Thanks.

BadgerPride

If you wanted a chair around the infinity pool you needed to be down there by 6:30am and put a book or something on a couple of chairs. The activity pool usually didn't run out of chairs until 8:00am or so. If you went to the beach/ocean area there seemed to be chairs available most of the time although the ones closest to the water filled up first obviously. Unfortunately, there is only so much room around the pools and you simply can't put 300+ chairs around them. The hotel "rule" is if you haven't occupied your chair for 20 min. they can remove your belongings to accomodate others, but, it was never enforced during our week there. I also should clarify my "activities" comment, compared to Sandals where they have "the playmakers" offer games and such(beach volleyball, pool volleyball, contests between the sexes etc..) the RH simply offered a tequila/margarita tasting session, spanish lessons, salsa lessons, and a 20 min. demo on scuba diving in the activity pool(free). Anything else you wanted to do cost more $$ and you had to book ahead. We didn't notice many people doing anything more than laying around the pools and beach drinking and occasionally swimming to cool off. Not obnoxious drunks but content to just relax(lots of honeymooners, we had 17 couples arrive on Monday alone) Some conversations were louder than needed but not for the most part. We would recommend it but the lack of activities was disappointing(although the "Back to the 70's" night was a lot of fun and the staff/guests really seemed to enjoy it) Hope that helps !!

Reisender

We have not stayed at Royal Hideaway but have visited there and while it is nice, I was not overly impressed by the layout. For the price they charge not to have true beach front rooms is a serious problem. We have stayed at other resorts that are rated the same but cost a lot less (one example is Secrets Capri) that are much nicer, have much better beaches, and actual water front/view rooms. I do agree with most of the above posts that there is much more value for money on Mexico than in say Jamaica, and it is even more true when comparing to Sandals which can be nice but are so over-priced to be laughable.

We are headed back to Mexico in a couple of weeks this time to Dreams. I also find the one remark about "being afraid of Mexico" odd. What are you afraid of? Good food, nice beaches, friendly people, easy access from US? Yep that sure is scary!

BadgerPride

I'm still questioning the "more bang for your buck" in Mexico than Jamaica statement. I just did a comparison for a 1 week stay from 12/1/07-12/8/07 for Secrets Capri vs Sandals Whitehouse(premium beachfront room) flying out of Chicago O'Hare. The cost for Secrets with airport transfer was just under $3600(for 2) and the Sandals Whitehouse cost was just under $3700. That doesn't seem like a huge savings to me. I've never been to either place so maybe you do get "extras" but the prices seem very comparable. One other thing about the Royal Hideaway that was mentioned was the non beachfront rooms, while true there aren't rooms on the beach, we woke up each morning and looked out at the ocean from our SMALL balcony while sipping coffee, so we thought that was very nice. It really is too bad that Hurricane Wilma did take away a lot of their beach, but the level of service/hospitality more than made up for Mother Nature's damage.

Knowing

BadgerPrider-
Thanks for clarification. I think we have decided there are too many issues at the RH. Thanks for helping us narrow our list.

Reisender-
To answer your question:
There are many answers. The biggest being sick. At least once a year the Twin Cities TV channels do a story with people coming back from Mexico sick - something you never see from the Caribbean. We've traveled the Caribbean rather extensively and drink the water with no problem. We've never bothered with bottled water. I just returned from the French Polynesia - without my husband - and never felt unsafe. I have friends that can't say the same thing about Mexico. I have a friend who met a local in Cancun, had a relationship with him and ended up marrying him. I won't even go there and the things I've learned as a result of their marriage.
Your comment was out of line.

Reisender

I don't think it was out of line - I was just wondering what you were so scared of. We have been to Mexico many times and have never ever been sick, and yes we have eaten in local joints. Sounds like you should try it rather than depend on second hand info. If I listened to all the horror stories about Jamaica I would have never visited what now is one of my favorite islands.

If I offended you I am sorry I did not mean to. We love the islands as well.