Can't decide! Sandals vs. Secrets? St. Lucia?

swimmeg7

Hi everyone.. looking for some help here, if possible! We had our minds almost made up with Sandals Grande in St. Lucia for our honeymoon - leaving Sept 9th. I am worried about hurricane season so have been thinking the St. Lucia area. We definatley want AI. Sandals is a bit above our budget, but we can swing it. Has anyone had experience with swim up rooms? Worth it? Are there privacy problems? Another thing that has been bothering me is the bathtubs in these rooms - they look terrible!

I have started looking at Secrets resorts in Mexico or Punta Cana. How do these compare with Sandals?

Any help/advice would be GREATLY appreciated!! Thank you in advance!

Jells2dot0

I think you will find that your money will go much farther with Secrets than with Sandals for a similar room. Not to mention in that most cases, the air to St. Lucia will be more than air to Mexico or the DR. I have bee to quite few Secrets Resorts, but not Sandals, as I personally feel that Sandals is not my style. Even Secrets borders that for me, as I tend to not like larger resorts. However, I feel like Secrets has a more simplistic, yet luxurious decor and doesn't seem quite as "loud" in the sense of surroundings.

magsugar13

Secrets is definitely a better deal than Sandals.
St. Lucia is ncer than mexico imo.
There are other AI's on St. Lucia, I also rec, the southern part of the island.

6512Weaver

A friend of mine had her in honeymoon in St. Lucia and stayed at Sandals-she said it was like spring break for couples with nonstop partying.....not exactly my idea of a honeymoon, but it fits yours go ahead! She loved it.

brittblaz

My FI and I just booked Sandals St. Lucia La Toc for our honeymoon in June. I had a friend who gt remarried last year and she and her new husband went there for their honeymoon. They said that it was the best time they'd ever had and it was well worth it. I got to hear all about the fun they had, saw the pictures, and fell in love with the idea. I have had my heart set on it ever since. Plus, the endless amount of activities is another reason my FI love the idea. We are very active people so we wanted a honeymoon where we could relax, be social with other honeymooners, and be active and have a good time. We are so excited! But it isnt for everyone and it can get pricey if you want to add on extras like spa treatments or tours/hikes.

dazyabbey

There are several ladies on here that like Sandals but in most cases the general consensus is that Sandals is overpriced for what you get and generally worth it to go with a different resort. I think a lot of people only hear about Sandals because of all the commercials and advertising they do and think that is where they want to go. In reality there are dozens of amazing resorts for a fraction of the cost and they are equal if not better then Sandals.  

km1204

Have you considered the DR? Depending on where you are flying from it can be super affordable. We stayed at an all-inclusive called Lifestyles. Had an awsome vacation. Great because it had quiet areas as well as bars and clubs. We even went waterfalling. This is the site we went through. They were great.
http://www.lifestyleholidaysvacation.com/ 
Tell them Kathleen sent you. They should remember us since our trip was not that long ago. Good luck!

SuMmErKuTiE

In Response to <a href="http://forums.theknot.com/Sites/theknot/Pages/Main.aspx/wedding-boards_honeymoon_cant-decide-sandals-vs-secrets-st-lucia?plckFindPostKey=Cat:Wedding BoardsForum:11Discussion:0b1afd92-dcf3-4422-a15b-7315653850bePost:d5eaddc1-beb2-4787-9ba6-aad29951ec9e">Re: Can't decide! Sandals vs. Secrets? St. Lucia?</a>:
[QUOTE]There are several ladies on here that like Sandals but in most cases the general consensus is that Sandals is overpriced for what you get and generally worth it to go with a different resort. I think a lot of people only hear about Sandals because of all the commercials and advertising they do and think that is where they want to go. In reality there are dozens of amazing resorts for a fraction of the cost and they are equal if not better then Sandals.  
Posted by dazyabbey[/QUOTE]

You took the words right out of my mouth! :)

Bottom line is Sandals is over advertised and over priced. If people just researched a little more they would find much nicer resorts for a fraction of the cost. I also feel like "we're going to Sandals in St. Lucia" is just way overdone. Go somewhere new! Friends of ours spent more to honeymoon at Sandals in St. Lucia than we did to honeymoon in Fiji which is just absurd to me!

Plus a lot of travel agents are affiliated with Sandals so they push the resorts, so do your own research before going to see a travel agent (if you're going to) and find other resorts that'll get you a lot more for your money.

swimmeg7

Thanks everyone! We are looking for a super relaxing honeymoon. Some may call that lazy, but we are both very active and busy with work throughout the year and just want to relax, eat a lot of food, and have fancy drinks

We have looked in the DR but I am concenred with hurricane season, as we are going mid September. Maybe it's irrational, but it is the truth! Does anyone else have any good advice for DR?

We have not been looking through a travel agent yet, but do have family members who are travel agents if we decide to look other than St. Lucia. Does anyone have any other resorts in St. Lucia, other than Sandals that are in the 5000 range for a week?

Thanks again, everyone!

SuMmErKuTiE

In Response to <a href="http://forums.theknot.com/Sites/theknot/Pages/Main.aspx/wedding-boards_honeymoon_cant-decide-sandals-vs-secrets-st-lucia?plckFindPostKey=Cat:Wedding BoardsForum:11Discussion:0b1afd92-dcf3-4422-a15b-7315653850bePost:706f3782-6c7d-424d-980e-9814945e32dc">Re: Can't decide! Sandals vs. Secrets? St. Lucia?</a>:
[QUOTE]Thanks everyone! We are looking for a super relaxing honeymoon. Some may call that lazy, but we are both very active and busy with work throughout the year and just want to relax, eat a lot of food, and have fancy drinks :) We have looked in the DR but I am concenred with hurricane season, as we are going mid September. Maybe it's irrational, but it is the truth! Does anyone else have any good advice for DR? We have not been looking through a travel agent yet, but do have family members who are travel agents if we decide to look other than St. Lucia. Does anyone have any other resorts in St. Lucia, other than Sandals that are in the 5000 range for a week? Thanks again, everyone!
Posted by swimmeg7[/QUOTE]

As for hurricane season, I wouldn't worry too much about it. The odds of a hurricane coming through on your HM are very small. Just get trip insurance <img src="http://cdn.cl9.vanillaforums.com/downloaded/ver1.0/content/scripts/tinymce/plugins/emotions/images/smiley-wink.gif" border="0" alt="Wink" title="Wink" />

I've been on 3 cruises and to 2 AI's in the Caribbean during hurricane season and have only experienced beautiful weather. And there are a lot of other ladies who frequent this board who will say the same.

As for other resorts in St. Lucia, here are links to a few I've heard great things about:

<a rel="nofollow" href="http://www.stonefieldresort.com/">http://www.stonefieldresort.com/</a> 

<a rel="nofollow" href="http://www.luxurylink.com/fivestar/all-inclusive-resorts/malabar-beach-saint-lucia/rendezvous?gclid=CMmaudaL8LQCFcU-Mgodn24AGQ">http://www.luxurylink.com/fivestar/all-inclusive-resorts/malabar-beach-saint-lucia/rendezvous?gclid=CMmaudaL8LQCFcU-Mgodn24AGQ</a> 

<a rel="nofollow" href="http://www.cbayresort.com/">http://www.cbayresort.com/</a> 

<a rel="nofollow" href="http://www.morganbayresort.com/">http://www.morganbayresort.com/</a> 

<a rel="nofollow" href="http://www.windjammer-landing.com/">http://www.windjammer-landing.com/</a> 

<a rel="nofollow" href="http://www.tikaye.com/">http://www.tikaye.com/</a>

<a rel="nofollow" href="http://www.calabashcove.com/">http://www.calabashcove.com/</a> 

<a rel="nofollow" href="http://www.smugglersresort.com/">http://www.smugglersresort.com/</a>

<a rel="nofollow" href="http://www.ladera.com/">http://www.ladera.com/</a>

<a rel="nofollow" href="http://www.jademountain.com/">http://www.jademountain.com/</a>

Ladera and Jade are super pricey, but worth every penny. You could always break up your trip and stay there for a few days and then move to a more budget friendly resort.

Or you can also check out my sticky at the top of the honeymoon board of Trip Advisor's top AI's in the world. HTH!