To Sandals or Not To Sandals?

abollen30

Researching honeymoon locations has been exhausting! I keep reading reviews and after awhile I feel like I am reading the same reviews for every resort. At this point we are considering Sandals in Montego Bay Jamaica. Would love St. Lucia but just don't think it's in the budget. I've read Sandals is overpriced and then I've read it's worth it. We want a place for relaxation, but evening fun, good food and drinks, options for day drips, did I mention evening fun! Our wedding is 4 months away and this is weighing heavily on me to get booked. HELP! 

Kimberly010205

I know that feeling!  I exhausted myself looking at reviews too.  Eventually I realized that no place is going to be perfect in every way to every person that visits.  Plus some people just like to complain a lot.

We are going to Sandals St. Lucia for our honeymoon.  If it weren't our honeymoon, I don't think we would have splurged so much, but we figured it only happens once.  We planned on spending no more than $2,000pp and spent $2,500pp instead, going over budget.  I have also read that the Couples resorts are very similar to Sandals, they are supposed to be amazing, and less expensive.  Also look into Secrets resorts...I hear nothing but great things about them.

If you're looking to get the most bang for your buck, I would recommend Riviera Maya.  We went last August and absolutely LOVED it...and you really do get the most for your money there.  It was gorgeous! 

Sorry my post was all over the place, not even sure if I helped haha but figured I'd share

MrsGandthebeag

I've been to Sandals Negril and the Royal Bahamaian Sandals in the Bahamas.  I'd say the one in the Bahamas was worth the money, Negril maybe not.  They were both nice, but after doing an AI in Mexico this year for cheaper I see that you don't really need to spend all that money. That being said, they treat you very well at Sandals and the more you stay the better they treat you.  The food is good, in the Bahamas you have a lot of choices for food.  The beaches are beautiful.  I've never stayed at the one in Montego Bay.  A plus would be that it's close to the airport. 

abollen30

We went to Mexico last year so trying to do something different. The hard part of the Caribbean is every place is slightly the same. I agree, people like to complain and tend to go to the boards to do that. I know it will be fabulous no matter where we go but it's my honeymoon. I want to step it up a bit 

cwaggoner07

We decided it wasn't worth paying extra for Sandals, and we are staying at Palace in Isla Mujeres, Mexico. It had great reviews, and it is adults only. I think there are other adults only resorts that may be a little more affordable. Whatever you decide to do, trip advisor is your friend!

kristinanddan

Honestly, we found it not to be worth it. We had a nice time, but everything was really just ok. Nothing stood out as being great.

MrsGandthebeag

In Response to <a href="http://forums.theknot.com/Sites/theknot/Pages/Main.aspx/wedding-boards_honeymoon_to-sandals-or-not-to-sandals?plckFindPostKey=Cat:Wedding%20BoardsForum:11Discussion:bde2b899-8e38-46a4-830c-e1c818c6512bPost:be7fa82c-5ea2-4e79-aa67-bebf60f9f7d0">Re: To Sandals or Not To Sandals?</a>:
[QUOTE]We went to Mexico last year so trying to do something different. The hard part of the Caribbean is every place is slightly the same. I agree, people like to complain and tend to go to the boards to do that. I know it will be fabulous no matter where we go but it's my honeymoon. I want to step it up a bit 
Posted by abollen30[/QUOTE]<div>
</div><div>I'm not saying you have to go to Mexico, but you can still do an AI somewhere else in the carribean that's not as expensive as Sandals.  You're not going to get something a lot different, and you can probably save yourself some money.  

</div>

Osterizer

H and I honeymooned at the Sandals Grande St. Lucian.  It was wonderful.  Yes, a bit pricey, but we splurged because well, it was our HM after all! We thought it was worth it.  However, we probably would have stayed a shorter time.  Have you played around with the pricing to see if it would be cheaper if you left a day or two earlier? Also, be sure to book when they're running their 65% off sale -- which is all the time!

abollen30

I did see they have a big sale going on so trying to make a decesion now. How long did you stay? We are thinking 8 nights.

mikkiwin8

I did a TON of research and was mostly looking at Sandals too. then I looked at Couples and saw amazing reviews and realized how much cheaper it is! They have several in Jamaica, we're going to Couples San Souci and I couldn't be more excited. More excursions are included and like I said, they have awesome reviews. They also have their own message boards where you can read tons of info before booking. Overall we saved about $1,000 by choosing Couples over Sandles (this icludes being in a Penthouse Suite at Couples) And since we got airfare with the package it was about $250 cheaper. Through Sandals it was almost more expensive to book airfare with the package.

bridetobemo

If you are thinking Jamaica I would definitely look into the couples resort chain, they dont have a location in montego bay but they have 2 in negril and 2 in ocho rios, we stayed at Tower Isle in ocho rios and had the time of our lives!

kristinanddan

In Response to <a href="http://forums.theknot.com/Sites/theknot/Pages/Main.aspx/wedding-boards_honeymoon_to-sandals-or-not-to-sandals?plckFindPostKey=Cat:Wedding%20BoardsForum:11Discussion:bde2b899-8e38-46a4-830c-e1c818c6512bPost:45867164-050f-4db3-a5b0-667d1aeaaacd">Re: To Sandals or Not To Sandals?</a>:
[QUOTE]I did see they have a big sale going on so trying to make a decesion now. How long did you stay? We are thinking 8 nights.
Posted by abollen30[/QUOTE]

<div>That sale is ALWAYS going on.</div>

vegasgroom

My wife and I stayed at Excellence Resorts' Playa Mujeres location in May of this year and found it to be a far better value than Sandals (Antigua), which we stayed at on our honeymoon last year.  The only downside for us was Excellence doesn't have a butler option like Sandals; it was pretty sweet being able to call someone on the Sandals-provided cell phone to bring you drinks on the beach, etc. but in the end the added cost and underwhelming value aren't worth it.  We found the food at Excellence to be far better, better liquor selection, nicer rooms and nicer staff.  Here's my blog on EPM http://www.vegasgroom.com/vgblog/2012/06/excellence-playa-mujeres-may-2012/ and Sandals Antigua http://www.vegasgroom.com/vgblog/category/sandals-antigua/

Laurmi

Definitely check out Couples Resorts. We did a ton of research (OMG...it's fun, but exhausting) and after MUCH debate, finally decided to go with Couples Resorts. We'll be at Couples Swept Away for our Honeymoon on Sept 16th. We've been to AI's in Mexico numerous times so we decided we'd check out Jamaica. 

Good Luck!

Laura 

frantastic12

Check out Secrets...we're going to Secrets Wild Orchid in Montego Bay, and it was about $600 cheaper than the Sandals Montego Bay.  Every room at Wild Orchid is ocean-view, and the resort is newer than Sandals.