Mark

I've done alot of traveling and don't complain about things unless given a reason. Please keep this in mind as you read. My fiancee and I booked a honeymoon vacation at Sandals in October 1998. Sandals advertised free airfare from Miami which they would not honor and continued to advertise after we got home. They promised us one of their finest rooms w/ a plunge pool. We arrived at the island with a plane full of other newlyweds. About 12 of the couples (including us) were told there was no room for them at the resort. The hostess yelled (no exaggeration) at us to get into a van to be taken to another resort. No explaination. With no other options, we climbed into the van and were taken to the other side of the island. We were told to expect a call the next day. After several calls to Sandals, we received no information and were constantly ignored. Our travel agent did get ahold of us and told us Sandals said they had a room for us and we didn't show up. We were told we would get another call on Thursday, when they would have a room for us (what had happened to the room we had one day earlier?) Wednesday morning we received a call to be at the docks in 20 minutes to catch the boat. With no time to eat or shower, we packed and went to the docks. At Sandals, we were placed in a room that was not the premium room we were promised. The manager was not appologetic about our situation. He wanted us to feel sorry for him for the situation we were in (no exaggeration). An islander told us that this sort of thing happens with some regularity with Sandals.We're not the only ones as many other people have told us about their horrible experiences. Every employee we have contacted, from a district sales manager to a senior vice president,was not concerned with our satisfaction. I'm glad to read so many positive vacation stories about this resort. I wish I was posting a positive story instead of a negative one. I understand that sometimes things go wrong but when a customer has this many things go wrong for them (some I haven't even listed) of course I seem bitter. I have several reasons to be. My travel agent has stopped recommending Sandals despite the huge commission they pay. I wish I had seen a post like this before spending so much money. I would have reconsidered my decision and chosen a different vacation. Don't change vacation plans based solely on my story, but don't rely entirely on only happy reports of vacations either.

Marlo

Mark,
I can't thank you enough for your postings as we had booked the sunset oceanview suites for June. After reading about your ordeal and a few other peoples we have decided on the Hyatt in
Aruba instead. We have told our travel
agent about these issues and we have also told all of our friends and family
to stay away from Sandals. I would e-mail Sandals to let them know that they lost out on a prospective customer but judging from your attempts at communication with the company I doubt that they would care or respond to me.
Thanks again you saved us $8,000!

Neil Fossum

Mark,
Man, I thought we were disappointed! You had the trip from hell! I agree totally with you assessment. The best analogy I can provide is: you go expecting Holland America and end up with Carnival (actually that doesn't do Carnival justice - at least their entertainment is good). The more traveled you are, the more Sandals will disappoint you!

Rick

We Just got back , it was great.
Sandals doesnt have to worry
about a few disappointed people
they have a lot of happy customers

We thought it was a 8/10 rating
which is pretty good
.....Rick

Nadine

Hi Mark: I couldn't determine from your post which Sandals you went to. Which island? I would really like to know so I can avoid it.

can't publish

Consider Alternatives to Sandals or Pick Wisely:

My Sandals Dunns River experience was a 2/10: poor service/food, outdated facilities, water logged tennis balls, a range of problems at the site.

I think anyone considering Sandals should go beyond the marketing machine and ask seasoned travelers about the best place to go.

BEWARE: many honeymooner types go to Sandals, of which many have never been to the caribbean before...so they don't have a great basis of comparison...