So how is everything included in a Sandals vacation? The cost of your room covers it all. The price is per person per room, and this cost varies greatly based on your budget and expectations. You can get anywhere from a luxury hotel room to a large suite with its own private pool. No matter what kind of room you book, all the following come with your Sandals vacation.
All of your meals and snacks are included in your Sandals vacation. Like a cruise, your food is included.
But unlike a cruise, you can dine wherever you like and whenever you like. You are not tied to a table, server or dining time, and you do not tip your server. Each Sandals Resort has a number of restaurants to choose from. From buffets to teppan tables to white-glove service, you can have it all and even enjoy seconds or thirds if you desire. Do you want to try a bit of each dessert?
Go for it! You can eat your way around the resort. A few popular restaurants need reservations, so be sure to book those as soon as you arrive. Keep in mind, a few fine-dining restaurants have evening dress codes so bring some nicer outfits for the ladies and long pants and dress shirts for the men.
No flip-flops or sneakers are allowed at those restaurants but sandals are always OK at Sandals! You can find out which restaurants have dress codes before your trip. If you have allergies or you require special meals, such as Kosher meals, contact the resort in advance. Here's the expected attire:. The Sandals attire is resort casual by day, resort elegant by night in some restaurants. So while the sun is up, your shorts, tank tops, swimsuits, short-sleeved shirts, sundresses and light slacks are the perfect attire.
As the sun sets and you set out to enjoy the evening, proper attire is required although elegant dress shorts are permitted in some restaurants. Chocolate buffet? Beach party? Wine and cheese reception?
Raise a toast to the one you love the most! You do not pay for any beverages. All drinks are included in a Sandals vacation. That includes adult beverages and premium spirits. Welcome to island time, where nobody cares if it's ever. All rooms have juice, water, soda, wine and beer available — you do not have to worry about minibar fees. If you book a top-tier room, you can also enjoy a fully-stocked bar. The Sandals no-tipping rule truly makes for a nice vacation. The friendly employees are hoppy to take care of you.
How much is appropriate? There are a few exceptions to the no-tipping rule. If you have a butler-service room, you may tip your butler, and if you go to the spa, you may tip your therapist.
That way you do not discover surprise charges upon checkout. All room categories have Wi-Fi in the room and in all public areas. All the fun stuff you want to do at the resort and more is all there for your enjoyment. Do as much or as little of it as you like. But you won't be shelling out a dime for the water sports, land sports, games and entertainment. There are 15 Sandals Resorts in six different Caribbean countries. Each resort offers toadally fun water activities. It also makes it easier to try a new activity.
You might decide you love paddleboarding or give scuba diving a try. If you are a certified diver, bring your dive card for two dives each day except your departure day. If you are new to scuba diving, you will need to pay for an introductory class.
Once you complete the class, you are free to dive at that resort. My wife, Flora, and I are avid snorkelers and scuba divers. It comes naturally with being amphibians and having great built-in flippers!
At Sandals, we can dive and snorkel every day of the trip except no diving within a day of flying home. On any other trip, we have to pick and choose our dive trips more carefully because we have to pay hundreds of dollars for each dive. But at Sandals, we do not have to pay extra for diving! You have the opportunity to play as a couple at Sandals.
We always say that couples who play together, stay together! Activities vary per resort but may include the following:. Do you golf? A few Sandals Resorts offer golf. You do not pay greens fees or for transfers from nearby Sandals Resorts; however, you may need to pay for caddies and golf carts. You can golf when visiting the following resorts:. A Sandals vacation includes entertainment. You can attend parties, live shows, themed nights, piano bars, cocktail parties, nightclubs, beach parties, live music, talent shows and special events.
You might consider the vibe and entertainment when choosing a Sandals Resort. Some resorts are more lively than others. You'll have no worries about getting between the airport and your resort.
If you're in Club Sandals- level or higher accommodations, we even include fully stocked in-room bars, replenished daily. Resort Casual: Shorts or jeans, t—shirts or polo shirts. Swimwear must be covered. Shirts and footwear required. Resort Evening: Dress pants or jeans for men, long or short sleeve dress shirts with or without collar. Dress shoes or sandals. No shorts, t—shirts, sleeveless shirts, sneakers, flip flops or slippers.
No hats nor caps. Reservations for dining most restaurants don't require reservations can only be made once you arrive at the resort. However, reservations for many extras such as spa treatments, private candlelight dinners, scuba courses, tours, etc. Please visit our Online Event Scheduler for details. You can rest assured that we will work very closely with you and our chef can ensure that the appropriate meals are available.
Please provide us with your arrival date and booking number as well as your name and the resort at which you will be vacationing so that arrangements can be made for you to speak with the chef on arrival. Check-in is at PM. If you arrive prior to check-in, our helpful staff will safely secure your luggage and inform you when your room is ready.
While waiting, you can freely enjoy the property's amenities, as your all-inclusive vacation has already begun! Check-out is at AM, so if your flight departs later, you can easily secure your luggage with us and still enjoy the amenities, like grabbing a bite to eat or sitting by the sea while you wait. We accept requests for adjoining rooms and will always do our best to accommodate you and your friends. However we cannot guarantee that adjoining rooms will be available.
Requests can be made on the comments section at the end of the online booking process. Don't worry about bringing an adapter - we provide volts outlets in every room so plugging your electrical items will not be a problem. Please note that hairdryers are provided in every room, so you may leave that out of your packing list.
There is a Registered Nurse on the premises at every Sandals except Sandals Royal Plantation, which has access to the registered nurse at nearby Sandals Ochi with daily office hours. Sandals strives to make your vacation a memorable experience no matter what the degree of your mobility disability. Our accommodating staff members are happy to assist you with any necessary information and do everything to help you achieve total relaxation while on your beach vacation.
It is important to let your travel agent or Sandals reservations agent know what your specific mobility issue is and the special services that may be needed. Some of our resorts can accommodate those with mobility issues; however, due to the nature and geography of our resorts, there are instances where mobility accommodation may be limited depending on your specific need. We will note your special requirements and make every effort to accommodate them.
Additionally, some of our resorts offer beach wheelchairs, ramps, and lifts for convenient access to the beach. A variety of local tours are available at all our locations at additional cost.
Reservations can be made online or at the resort's Tour Desk. Visas are not required from U. However, a valid U. For assistance with getting a new passport, or renewing, check out our Passport Information page. If flying into the closer airport Vigie — SLU then the transfer time to the properties is 15 — 20 minutes. Since all our resorts have water filtration plants on property, drinking the water in your room is perfectly safe. Bottled water is included in most rooms categories. We also accept cash and Traveler's checks at the front desk, as well as cash at the gift shops.
Upon check in, all guests will be asked to tender a credit card to activate their room folio. Purchases at Duty Free Jewelry Stores, which are not operated by the resort, are by credit card or cash.
If you are planning to travel off property for shopping and such, we recommend bringing some cash along as some vendors do not accept credit cards or traveler's checks.
There are exchange bureaus at every Sandals Resort. All of the islands accept US dollars, but please note that you may receive change in the local currency. Additionally, you may want to carry small bills to tip luggage attendants at the airport and airport transfer drivers outside of the resort. Your all—inclusive package includes roundtrip airport transfers and arrangements are made by Sandals — no action on your part is required. Immediately outside of customs at the airport, you will find a Sandals Desk.
A representative will lead you to an air—conditioned shuttle bus that will take you to the resort. All resorts require guest to complete and sign registration card at check-in, and provide a credit card imprint or cash deposit for incidental charges. Yes, but it's NOT part of the all-inclusive package. Just simply have your dive shop send a referral to our dive shop.
We offer a number of certification courses and specialties for various levels, including:. If you complete a PADI Discover Scuba Diving resort program and did not get certified to scuba diver level and beyond and want to dive again after a break of two weeks, you will have to re-take the class again.
After 6 months of not diving, you will have to do a pool check-out, which includes a review of 4 skills. After 18 months of not diving, you will have to do a refresher for a nominal fee.
Activities like pool volleyball tournaments take place throughout each day. The beach is far nicer at Sandals Emerald Bay with its 1-mile long white sand beach secluded in a half-moon bay. You can take part in all the water activities like sailing or stand-up paddle boarding, go snorkeling in the crystal clear waters or just find your own semi-private slice of paradise somewhere on the beach.
What Sandals Royal Bahamian lacks with its location on Delaport Bay , it makes up for with its included off-shore island. A boat shuttle takes guests the five minutes out to the off-shore island once per hour.
The island has a very nice beach on both the front and back side of the island and the back side has a reef perfect for snorkeling on. The off-shore island also has a pool with swim-up bar, a restaurant, bar and plenty of places to steal away. You can even book your Red Lane spa treatments to be on the off-shore island. And all the all-inclusive alcohol means you never know just how out of tune you really are.
You can come and go as you please. There is typically a guard booth at the main entrance and you just give your name and room number to re-enter the property. When our swimming pigs tour nearly fell through, we did inquire with Island Routes the night before we wanted to go and nothing was available.
If you choose to use Island Routes, we recommend you book in advance either before you arrive or immediately upon arrival. We personally found the tours available through Islands Routes a tad on the expensive side, so we decided to book a variety of tours through Viator. With Viator, who acts like an Expedia for shopping all sorts of tours in a destination, some tours included round trip transportation from your hotel.
Others do not, so just pay attention when shopping for tours as taxis can be quite expensive in The Bahamas. From the second you claim your bags at the airport, Sandals staff is on hand to greet you and ensure you have absolutely the best trip possible.
At Sandals Royal Bahamian, there was a lobster omelet on the menu but I really wanted lobster eggs benedict. I got lobster eggs benedict. And when there was a mistake with our airport transfer time, Sandals Royal Bahamian ensured we got to the airport stress free and in their Royals Royce. While the service was friendly at both resorts, one note to make is that they are definitely on island time.
Though the Red Lane Spa is not included, we did have a 90 minute massage and an aromatherapy treatment called Raindrop Dreams. A series of seven different essential oils are dropped like raindrops down your spine to reconnect you with your physical and energetic balance.
My massage therapist would let me sniff each essential oil before she drizzled the droplets on my spine and massaged it in. It was like 90 minutes of heaven and I was so relaxed I almost skipped our reservation at the French restaurant Le Parisienne.
The spa is definitely worth splurging a little extra for. We actually do think so when you consider that the price includes, well, everything. When you consider that our stay included airport transfers to and from the resorts, all meals, all alcohol, accommodations and a myriad of activities including scuba diving, the price really is comparable to what you would pay for all of that if you paid for it individually. Just for comparison, some of the expenses we had while staying at other resorts while island hopping around the Abacos in The Bahamas included:.
However, Luxe Adventure Traveler maintains full editorial control of the content published on this site. As always, all thoughts, opinions, and enthusiasm for travel are entirely our own. This article contains affiliate links. When you book a Sandals or Beaches holiday, a Viator tour or shop Amazon through our partner sites, we receive a small commission at no additional cost to you. Loved this post? We love when you share our content! Jennifer Dombrowski is an independent travel publisher and an American expat who has lived in Bordeaux, France since She previously lived in Northern Italy in a small village near Venice for seven years where she fell in love with wine and wine tourism.
She is an award-winning travel writer. I also stayed at the resort and it really is all inclusive. The place is beautiful and all the activities made for a fun and relaxing vacation.
There was no shortage of restaurants and the pool bar was great. It was a week of sure fun and adventure. Looking forward to a return trip. Both were incredible, I like to be pampered on some of my vacations! This has me missing Sandals! Great to hear that Sandals in Jamaica and St.
Lucia were both great places too. Oh heavens, what a heaven. This is so good to hear! I honestly thought the same. The food at Sandals was pretty good and I really liked the variety of types of cuisine. Your trip looks unbelievable. I really do enjoy an all inclusive experience if that is what I am in the mood for or in the need of. Truly a relaxing vacation. Bahamas is where we were married, so is it always near and dear to my heart. Your locations look like a great place to go back for an anniversary.
I also had just heard about swimming with the pigs!! I have done it with sting rays but not pigs, who knew?? They are adorable! What a wonderful trip! I have never stayed at a Sandals Resort before and feel like I am missing out! Definitely need to book a trip! You should definitely go, Lauren! I really liked how even though this is a brand throughout the Caribbean, each property was very different. I did a site inspection several years ago at the Royal Bahamian back when I did marketing for a travel agency and thought it was great!
We got to spend a few hours on the private island and I had a blast. Was fun to see your pictures and bring back those memories. I absolutely loved the private island at Royal Bahamian!
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