JenniferSS

Quote: Originally Posted by capt2bspv Thank you so much. I was Sandals all the way until I have done so much research, and now have realized I need to only do my honeymoon here, b/c I have children coming to my wedding, and singles (not allowed at Sandals). So honeymoon at sandals it is. thanks for all your help. Glad to help out! Just an FYI though- singles are allowed at Sandals! Children can attend the wedding but the reception has to be indoors or the children have to leave right after the cerempony and a coupel of pics! I look forward to assisting with your honeymoon!

Quote: Originally Posted by Tina5978 I'm happy you made the right decision for you and your FI. I just did the same thing this week. I was booked at Beaches Negril and although I loved all they included the fact that I could not customize the wedding to my likes and desires completely discouraged me, especially not being able to have the photographer I desired. So we've decided to get married at Iberostar Suites (since I have children) in Montego Bay. The reviews, TA and forums on here have all solidified my decision. I'm so excited. Not trying to chnage your mind but just so that you know- you can have your own photographer at a Beaches or Sandals resorts- they just need to stay at the resort for the 3 nights!

Your welcome- sorry I didn't have additional details but when I do I'll let you know!

An Internet hotel booking company in Tampa has filed for bankruptcy protection to stop room suppliers from canceling customer reservations. Irish-owned 1800Hotels has a dispute over debts it owes to several companies for hotel rooms it resells to travelers online. On Sunday, 1800Hotels learned that two suppliers, Gullivers Travel Associates and Tourico Holidays, had canceled as many as 3,600 reservations. On Wednesday, Bankruptcy Court Judge Caryl Delano agreed to a temporary restraining order prohibiting suppliers from canceling reservations after the company's Chapter 11 bankruptcy filing Monday, said Steven Berman, who represents 1800Hotels and parent Happy Duck Limited in Dublin. Dubliner Graham Peakin founded 1800Hotels in 2003 to sell discount hotel rooms to Irish travelers. The company expanded to Tampa in 2008 with the website 1800Hotels.com for the U.S. market. The two sites employ about 65 in Dublin and an office on N MacDill Avenue, Berman said. Florida corporate records identify Peakin as managing director with a South Tampa address. On Thursday, a message on 1800Hotels.com notified customers of the filing and had no booking service. The Irish website said the company had been forced by two suppliers into bankruptcy. It advised customers with reservations to contact their hotel directly. The U.S. and Irish operations owe suppliers between $8 million and $9 million, said Berman. Gullivers Travel, the major supplier, had given 1800Hotels extra time to pay for rooms bought by its customers, then suddenly insisted on the faster payments spelled out in their contract, he said. The websites generate about $7.7 million in monthly sales and were valued recently at $25 million, Berman said.

I just had clients come back from their wedding / honeymoon at Sandals Antigua- they absolutely LOVED it! Which side depends on what appeals to you the most as the two sides are quite different- one is the original section of the resort- very lush, Caribbean feel, tends to be quiet and tranquil and some of the suites are fairly close to the water ! The Med side is very modern, sits back from the ocean (there is a huge pool between the suites and the ocean) and can be a little more active! Feel free to contact me if you need additional help!

The TA's on facebook are just regular TA's- no different than any other Certified Sandals Specialist nor do they have any special insider knowledge that any other Ta wouldn't have access to. The staus level of Gold, Silver, or Platinum Sandals agent just reflects how many bookings they have had over the course of the last 15 years or so. Personally I am a Platinum agent but it is more of a designation within Sandals so I do not use it to advertise my services. Basically ANY TA can get on the Sandals Facebook page and answer questions-I haven't as I am busy enough here. It is likely that they missed the announcement or haven't attended their yearly training yet to get the news~! At any rate Sandals announced that they are spending a boat load of money doing upgrades and rennovations at Beaches Sandy Bay and at Boscabel- they haven't elaborated any more than that at this time. They have not announced exactly what the rennovations and upgrades will be, if it will include major or minor rennovations- in the rooms, public spaces or it could even be something behind the scenes such as kitchen rennovations or adjustments to comply with theiroing green initiative- nor have they provided a timeline. All they have said is that they have delegated lots and lots of moolah for both sandy Bay and also lots & lots of moolah to boscabel! Yes, as with all resorts, there are soft good refurbishments continually but with the $$ amounts that are being discussed my guess would be that it would also include some larger projects- again I am not sure what the projects may be as of yet! What I personally would like to see at sandy bay - new bathrooms in the rooms with jetted tubs, family suites like at Beaches Turks & Caicos(!), a brand new childrens facility...... just to start . Just to ease your mind though I can share that typically when they do any major work they adjust it so that guests are not inconvienanced or they upgrade them to the sister property- ie Beaches Sandy Bay could be upgraded to Beaches Negril, or if they are an adult couple, possibly Sandals Negril. I would advise for your TA to keep tabs on the situation and be sure that all of the guests are noted as your wedding guests. Sandy bay is set into room blocks and my assumption is if they are doing anything large scale they would close out certain blocks to work on just as they did when they worked on Sandals Halcyon in St. Lucia last year. They also blocked everything off so that it did not look like a construction zone! Boscabel is a large enough and a tiered property that rennovations in one section would also be easy enough to do. Please keep in mind that this is my assumption IF they plan on doing major work- which I really really hope that they do !

Quote: Originally Posted by *Meagan* They give you a room key for your room and then a Beaches "credit card" for onsite purchases. Two separate things! No wristbands. I stand corrected and I apologize-not sure where my head was at with that one! With everything included I've just left it in my safe as I've only used it once in all the times I've been to the resorts over the years-for batteries! The item you use for onsite purchases is small like a credit card with light lamination ( so that it doesn't get wrecked if it gets wet!) and paper thin. When you check in you present your "real" credit card and Sandals/ Beaches places a hold on it - usually 400.00. They then issue their "card" for your use on the property! A nice system as it proptects your card- not as many people having access to your numbers and you don't have to carry cash around with you!

Quote: Originally Posted by kimberly333 Hi Jenifer, When are the renovations expected to be done at Sandy Bay? They didn't give us a timeline- I'm sure I'll hear more over the next few months! I know that typically rennovations are done in the fall during the slower months but it apperas that this may be a really large project soooooo it's hard to say whenther they will be taking out entire room blocks at a time or just doing a floor at a time!

Hi Kimberly, There are alot of differences between all of the properties that you mentioned regarding rooms, food, beach & service! It would be impossible due to the amount of time it would take to do a full comparision and exploring the differences and why Beaches is priced where it is ! But to provide a quick over view - the price differences reflect both quality of the food & beverages, included amenities and convienance - such as not having to make reservations for dinner at an a la carte restaurant each morning or having to tip at each bar & restaurant! Also there is a huge difference in staff to guest ratio and the "elbow" space per guest at each of those resorts. The Riu's, Bahia and Iberostar are newer resorts and really are beautiful but to get the price point where they are at there are certain convienaces and quality that you give up as compared to a Beaches property. It really comes down to what matters most to each bride and their guests!

Quote: Originally Posted by Michelle-2 We were told by the TA (and by a Beaches customer service rep) that we needed to book a Concierge level room for at least 6 nights to get the BB wedding free and to also waive the $700 Gov't fees as well. Michelle- this is just not true at a Beaches resort- all you need to book is the Premium room or higher to get the fees waived! At Sandals it is a concierge room or higher! So we booked the Govener's 1 Bedroom Honeymoon Suite (one night free with this catagory) for $6954. You WILL love this suite though- having the extra room to get ready in plus the stocked mini bar and robes will REALLY make a difference in your overall wedding & honeymoon experience! My parents are booked in the lowest catagory room for $4,800 for the week. When people hear this, they tell me I could take a two week cruise to Europe for less than that! But the extra expenses that a cruise has- beverages, gratuities, excursions, watersports, taxi's ect- that two weeks cruise price will triple! I know April is Spring Break and the prices are slightly higher, but this is when my daughter has a track out break from school. I seriously considered taking her out of school and moving the reservation to May when the prices are lower, but I was told by the Beaches Cust Service Rep, that the $700 Gov't fees are NOT covered for weddings held in May, Sept or Oct. no matter what catagory you book. Again - totally not true! There is now a special ( think it started in July) that in those months it doesn't matter what room category you book- the goverment fees are covered. So you can book the lowest room category and have Beaches pick up that 700.00! So again, that drives the price right back up again. Besides venting, I just want to know that I am not going to be disappointed with Beaches T&C after spending this amount of money. I know a few of you have shared your amazing wedding stories and you seemed to be very happy with your choice. Would you do it all over again, and spend the extra money to have it here? All of my Beaches Turks & caicos brides have come back gushing about how great everything was!! I truly believe that you will be thrilled!

The key card is also what they use to make purchases, makes it easy as they don't have to juggle a bunch of items! For day pass guests for any purchases they will need to either placea cash deposit with teh front desk or use a credit card-the credit card is easier and faster! Sandals & Beaches are wristband free! Once you are on property you have full access to all bars & restaurants!

Sandals is estimating that the OTW bugalows won't be ready for at least a year and a half to two years so unfortunately it won't work for next May . Islandbride- The two resorts are like night & day! Sandals Grande Ocho Rios is far more active and vibrant and attracts peopel of all ages. It tends to be a bit more casual. Sandals Royal Caribbean tends to be much quieter, catering to couples that are more to themselves and older. It's not stuffy but definately more reserved.

Quote: Originally Posted by islandbride317 First of all, TAJennifer.... I would like to offer you a HUGE CONGRATULATIONS on making it through your speech in front of all the Sandals bigwigs....I can only imagine how nerve-racking it must have been, and you should be so very proud of yourself for digging deep and pulling through beautifully! (And I've had to do a little public speaking myself, so I know that crazy-shaky feeling all too well; you just prayed no one noticed, right? I just hold the glass with both hands, drink from it like a toddler, and hope not to spill any on myself!) Hee hee- I did try that and I was shaking so bad that it didn't work!! And I am really VERY excited to hear about the over-water improvements to the St. Lucia property -- how cool! I just watched "Couples Retreat" (filmed at the St. Regis in Bora Bora) and those types of suite looked absolutely out of this world, but you're right, the cost I can imagine would be too extreme for "real people" to afford.....so glad to hear that my new husband and I might have a future dream anniversary destination that is within reach! I loved that movie - aren't they just amazing! As always, EXCELLENT work and thanks for all that you do! Thank you

Glad to help! The OTW bungalows are scheduled for Sandals Grande St. Lucian! Sandals is also in talks about having them at Sandals Royal Caribbean in Jamaica! Those, if approved, will still several years out!

Ok and now- the OTHER BIG NEWS! Sandals / Beaches are going to build a brand new Beaches, similiar in layout to the Italian Village at Beaches Turks and Caicos right next to Sandals Whitehouse in Jamaica! This is still about a year and half out or so before they break ground but will be amazing and offer so much to that area! PLUS they are adding a golf course for the guests of the resort !