by Brad Hama
Once the temperatures
around town begin to drop and it feels like there’s more cloud than sunshine,
people’s thoughts tend to wander to warmer climes. For North Americans, typical
locations tend to be Mexico, Hawaii or the Caribbean. In my quest to become a
Certified Sandals Specialist, I had the opportunity to experience the Sandals
resorts in Jamaica. While the group visited every resort, we stayed in four:
Sandals Negril, Sandals Whitehouse, Sandals Montego Bay and in Ocho Rios,
Sandals Grande Riviera. All were wonderful and each had its own highlights and
I certainly had my favourites. Although, I don’t think you could go wrong with
choosing any of them.
From Vancouver, the best
way to get down to Jamaica was through Toronto. We took the red-eye flight and
made sure to take advantage of the Maple Leaf Lounge at the Toronto airport. If
you fly with West Jet, you can ask for a lounge coupon and get a discount. It’s
approximately $26 with the discount and it comes with breakfast, a place to
wash up, and a nice quiet atmosphere – a nice refreshing break before jetting
off to Montego Bay.
After arriving in Montego
Bay, we spent a few minutes in the Sandals Lounge. The lounge is part of the
Sandals experience with a Butler and drinks on tap; the vacation starts here.
Sandals includes airport transportation, and the wait in the lounge is usually
minimal. In fact, I felt that I wanted to stay longer, but the air conditioned
shuttles were there in a hurry.
The local Sandals resort
was extremely close to the airport. If you’re not prepared, it’s a bit of a
shock. When planes take off, they look like they’re coming out of the resort,
and I felt like I could check in from the runway. However, with typical
Jamaican style, they spun it in a way that makes it fun – whenever you see a
plane take off , you wave and kiss the person next to you; and honestly, you
don’t even notice the planes after being there a couple of days.
The resorts themselves
have many room categories and can seem a bit complicated. Sandals is doing a
ton of renovations at the moment and with the resorts so popular it’s very
difficult to shut down the whole resort. They manage to work on certain
sections one by one and avoid disturbing guests with construction noise. The
good news for Sandals guests is that they are really gutting and refurbishing
their rooms – this isn’t just a paint job. The renovations really bring Sandals
to a new level of luxury. Why renovate when you can rebuild? Newly built resorts
must be built away from the water, but by renovating the existing units Sandals
resorts maintain their location right on the beach.
Sometimes there’s a price to pay for vicinity to the waterfront.
Sandals Negril doesn’t have an elevator, for instance, but it’s literally right
on the beach and with these low rise intimate resorts, I believe it’s worth it.
Most of the activities we did while in Jamaica revolved around
seeing and experiencing the Sandals resorts, but we also had the opportunity to
do an Island Routes tour – they’re slightly affiliated with Sandals, as it’s
owned by one of the children of the Sandals CEO. We also did a Catamaran cruise
and some snorkeling. The extra excursions were a lot of fun.
We also had the opportunity to check out Margaritaville, the
legendary Rick’s Café, and do some local shopping. I found that the price of
rum is the same price if not more expensive outside the airport as inside
though. In fact, I bought some rum and it was $14 outside at the market, but $7
at the airport – and I had to lug it all around Jamaica. So you may wish to
pick up those extras at the airport, or perhaps you are better at the
bargaining game than I.
There are always pros and
cons for any resort. The Sandals Grande Riviera resort had a great atmosphere
with so many areas, food options, places to go and see, over 90 pools and 20
hot tubs (granted some are with the private villas), and firepits for couples
to sit around. And then the food! Food highlights included having authentic
jerk chicken, and then at Sandals Whitehouse, they had a place called Café des
Paris where they served made in house pastries and crepes, ice cream, banana
splits, and other desserts. Café des Paris was fabulous!
Another special moment
for us was visiting a school built by the Sandals Foundation. I had a great
time playing soccer with the kids, seeing the classes and reading to the
children. Sandals is family owned and operated and it’s authentically Caribbean
– they really give back to the community.
Part of giving back is
taking care of the environment. I found Sandals is really working to be green. They never cut
trees on the properties, and the trees that die, they turn into unique
carvings. It helps maintain the integrity of the soil and helps add character
to the resort.
The weather called for
rain the whole time we were there, but don’t be discouraged if it does rain
during your trip. It was sunny every day until about 3pm, then it would rain
from 3 to 6pm, and it would be nice again in the evening. It was very
predictable weather.
Sandals claims to have
more quality inclusions than any other resorts on the planet. I found these
differences in their included scuba program, their huge selection of restaurants,
and in the simple details like having a choice of what type of red or white
wine you would like. More inclusions should be about more choices. There are
always plenty of options, so make sure you feel comfortable asking about which
options are available to you. The food at Sandals is truly 24 hours – there is
always someone there that will make you something fresh.
So with plenty to do and experience,
the Sandals resorts in Jamaica are worth checking out for a luxurious vacation.
Although Sandals tends to cater to couples more so than its sister resorts,
Beaches, these resorts are for everyone.
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