Here is my day-to-day schedule on a Jamaica Sandals Resorts FAM trip I took this past December, where I had the opportunity to tour all of the Sandals properties there. As a travel agent, every year I get to go on familiarization “FAM” trips to learn about a particular destination and/or resort. My lovely and kind boss pays for it, 1 trip a year. In 2017, I had the pleasure of getting to attend TWO fam trips gratis. In the summer of 2016, I toured the Palace Resorts in Cancun, in the summer of 2017 I toured the Sandals Resorts in Nassau and Exuma Bahamas, and in December 2017 I had the privilege of touring the Sandals Resorts in Ocho Rios, Montego Bay and Negril, Jamaica. Below you will find the specifics.
Day 1 Sandals Montego Bay
2:00p – I arrived at the MBJ Sangster International Airport in the early afternoon. After a quick transfer to Sandals Montego Bay, I was “home” for the next 2 nights.
The first thing I did after checking in, was chow down on some Jamaican jerk chicken.
7:00p – Enjoyed a hosted cocktail welcome party with the small group that I would be on this journey with for the next few days or so.
7:30p – After some cocktails, we headed over to dinner at the Italian restaurant, Cucina Romana. The chef was so incredibly kind and brought out different dishes for us to try – seafood (branzino/snapper?), lasagna, mozzarella caprese, antipasto salads, all with accompanying bread. So tasty!
After that huge meal, and traveling for the day I was ready to hit the sack. Early start in the AM! Just look at the view from my room. Ocean view facing, club level room. Sandals Resorts could put us in the lowest room category possible but they don’t. They like for their agents to experience the higher end rooms so we can articulate our experience in them.
Day 2 South Coast, Negril properties
8:00a – After enjoying breakfast at leisure. We were off for our first full day of touring
9:30a – We toured Grand Pineapple Beach in Negril. I almost felt like Grand Pineapple Beach is the black sheep of the (Sandals) family that they don’t really mention but it’s there. It’s a perfectly fine property if you are on a tight budget. The resort complex is broken out into two sides, the cottage/land side and the beach side. I have pictures below showing the two.
After our tour there, we visited Beaches Negril. For those who don’t know, Beaches is the family-friendly portfolio of properties and are in the same Sandals family, and of the same quality unlike Grand Pineapple which is lower end. The property is a wonderland for kids and their families. So many activities and things to do.
I was blown away by the little touches of the resort such as the Herb Garden and a frozen yogurt restaurant for families to enjoy froyo with ALL of the essential toppings. There’s all these crafts and cooking classes for the little ones. Tweens, don’t think Beaches forgot about you… there’s an XBOX lounge here. I know I’d never see my nephew if he came here. Beaches Negril is for the family that wants to keep busy and have their days filled with activities and maybe doesn’t mind the noise of Elmo’s parade strolling through the halls with instruments.
After our Beaches Negril tour, we toured Sandals Negril. It was a cloudy day but typically you will see glimmering powder white sand and a beautiful blue at the famed 7-Mile Beach. Sandals Negril is great for the couple seeking a little more relaxation. It was a completely different world than Sandals Montego Bay which was very lively. One of the highlights of my visit here was getting a sneak peek look into the bridal center where the bride and groom will meet with their designated Wedding Coordinator to talk all the details of their big day.
After our tours in Negril, we went to Sandals South Coast where they treated us to a nice lunch with options including swodfish niçoise salads, chicken, shrimp, or vegetable quesadillas, Jamaican patties, and burgers. After lunch, we had more energy to begin touring the Sandals South Coast property. One of the many highlights was getting to take a sneak peak inside the over the water bungalows.
That timing is pure luck because I believe they were at 100% occupancy for the day, but we were able to squeeze in a tour before one of the guests arrived for check in. I was very fortunate. Sandals South Coast is a lovely property and I think a good balance between an active and a relaxing stay. One of the highlights of this tour was getting to see Latitudes Bar, which sits right over the water. There are hammocks all around it where you can lay and relax with your drink. It was a very cloudy day so I don’t think my picture quite does it justice.
After our tour of Sandals South Coast, the rest of our evening was spent at leisure. I just had dinner then went back to my hotel room so I could post pictures and videos of the tour and worked on sending out quotes to clients I owed. Despite what many people think, these tours aren’t for funsies or should be looked at as a free vaca. It is a chance for travel agents who are interested in learning more about the resorts they sell or destination, and are there to focus on how to improve their sales. Our downtime began around 5:00p each day, which is when my normal “downtime” begins from my normal 9-5 each week.
Day 3 Montego Bay Properties
9:00a – After breakfast at leisure and checking out of the room, we had a resort tour at Sandals Montego Bay, which is where we stay the night the last two nights. The only negative with this property that I will say as a caveat is the airplane noise that flies overhead every few hours is VERY loud. That might not be for everyone. The good news, however, is that the resort is incredibly close to the airport so it’s very convenient. There’s still a bit of construction and development happening on the property, so you’ll see a lot of construction workers, but the work they are doing is going to be a fantastic addition to the resort. So stay tuned! Highlights from this resort tour include seeing the nice chapel where guests have the option to get married and hearing the story of the Oleander Bar’s background.
After we loaded up the van with our luggage, we were off to tour Sandals Inn, formerly known as Sandals Carlyle. Sandals Inn is by far the smallest property in terms of number of rooms and property acreage, but don’t let that stop you from booking this gem. I’ll give you some advantages to booking here:
- Lead in price. Although the price is fantastic, you will still have full exchange privileges at Sandals Montego Bay and Sandals Royal Caribbean. Pay at 1, Play at 3. Free shuttle to/from properties.
- Personal attention. Of course the staff at Sandals is the best so you will always have personal attention but because this property is so small I noticed a lot of name dropping from the staff. They all seem to know everyone completely by name. There’s even a wall with pictures of repeat guests that are now considered “family.” I don’t know how many times you have to visit to get your picture there, so don’t ask. 🙂
- Location, location, location. While you are not directly located on a beach there’s a street you have to cross through before you are there. It’s also the closest Sandals property to one of my favorite areas in Jamaica “Hip Strip.”
So do not discount this property just because it appears to be smaller. Below is a picture where you can see what I mean about having to cross the street to get to the beach.
After we left Sandals Inn, we visited the third and final Sandals property in the Montego Bay area, Sandals Royal Caribbean & Private Island.
This past summer, I had the privilege of visiting the Sandals Royal Bahamian property so I knew what to expect from a Sandals Royal property. It did not disappoint. I was SO excited that as luck would have it we were ALSO able to see inside the over the water bungalows here. For a full report on the interior, you can check out my blog post here.
After touring the property we then had lunch there at their buffet restaurant. Somehow, Sandals always manages to keep the quality even with a large quantity. Food was outstanding – jerk chicken, potatoes, salad, desserts.
After this tour, we head to Ocho Rios, referred to by the locals as “Ochi.” Beaches Ocho Rios would be our home for the next two nights.
Day 4 Ocho Rios
Let me start by saying that Ocho Rios is 2+ hours away from the MBJ airport and Montego Bay area so if I have clients wanting to vacation in Jamaica for just a few nights, I won’t even offer properties in this location because it won’t make sense. If a client has 5+ nights they can dedicate, then I recommend properties here.
9:00a – After breakfast at leisure we had a resort tour of Beaches Ocho Rios, a spa golf & water park resort. The facility was a good size and seemed more spread out to me than Beaches Negril which seemed more compact. One of the highlights of the visit here was seeing the Sesame Street characters parade through the resort. The kids’ faces lit up, it was so cute. Fun fact: did you know, for an additional fee, you can bring in Elmo to come and read to your kids a bedtime story? How cool is that?
Check out Elmo hanging out with us travel agents for the day.
10:30a – We got to tour the Sandals Golf & Country Club. Despite the name, guests from other resorts have access to this property if they want tee time. Forgot your golf clothes? No worries – the onsite shop has you covered!
11:45a – We toured Sandals Royal Plantation. This resort is all butler-level categories. This resort is small and intimate; perfect for the older crowd who wants peace and relaxation and wants to be pampered the entire trip. Jamaica’s only caviar and champagne bar are here, so if you want to feel fancy and have some extra $$ to spend, check it out. I enjoyed seeing the charm of this resort. Here is one of the pools. As you can see it’s much smaller than most but it’s just as nice. There are beautiful views throughout the property. While Sandals Royal Plantation guests have access to all of the other Ocho Rios properties, other guests do not have access to come here. Keeping the property quiet and relaxing for guests.
1:15p – We toured our final Sandals property, Sandals Ochi Beach Resort. This property is tied with Sandals South Coast as #1 on my top Jamaica properties. I really loved that they had this cool speak easy called “The Rabbit Hole” onsite (shown below). It’s also lush and mountainous.
In addition to the speakeasy, I also enjoyed checking out their nearby Beach Club where guests can grab a chair and catch some rays. Well… when it’s not gray and rainy like when I visited.
I also enjoyed checking out the private villas with semi-private pools for guests.
Overall, it was a very education tour that was jam packed with information. Although we were always on the go, and it was busy I did appreciate the opportunity to attend this FAM Trip. Stay tuned for my next one, coming Summer 2018. I hope to get schooled on another Resort and location so I can come back and present my knowledge!
If you are interested in booking a Sandals property, or need help planning something else, email me: cassandra@accent-on-travel.net My service is 100% free.
