While at the Sandals Travel Agent Recognition Awards at Beaches Turks and Caicos last week, the following announcements were made that we wanted to pass on to our interested clients.  Feel free to contact us for more information.

• Sandals Carlyle Inn - resort to have complete renovation throughout 2010 that will greatly enhance rooms, making them 100% butler suites, and that the Government is even in discussions to move the road in front of the resort to it's rear, making the resort beachfront.  Expected renovation completion before the end of 2010....roadwork TBD
• Sandals Whitehouse - scheduled to re-open on-time December 18th. 
• Sandals Emerald Bay in the Exumas - pictures look AMAZING.  Resort currently going under room renovation and enhancement to pool area (to become zero-entry).  Resort will have 6 restaurants and a huge spa when it opens.  Golf to be $175 on Greg Norman course, which is supposidly a top 3 Caribbean coarse.  Resort looks amazing and pricing isn't as high as we expected when considering that all rooms include Butler service.
• It's true that Sandals will end their lease at the Dunns River property on 7/31/10.  They are not accepting reservations past then and those booked past that date, will be asked to select another property instead.
• Royal Plantation will also become a 100% butler property in February of 2010.
• Beaches Negril to have a new village constructed with approximately 100 suites, similar in size and design to the Italian Village rooms at Beaches Turks and Caicos.  This is great news for those looking for the best in family accomodations in Jamaica - and it's on the best beach in Negril.
• Sandals/Beaches to launch new partnership with skincare provider Dermalogica. The ladies in the room gave this news quite a round of applause.
• Sandals Grande St. Lucian will have the first over-water suites which will start construction in January 2010...completion in Q1 2011.  Similar to rooms in the South Pacific with partial glass floors that will allow views of the coral reef.   Rooms look AMAZING.
• Sandals has taken over most of their island tours and will continue to release new products into the islands that they have resorts and, in 2010, even islands where they don't have resorts.  The number of tours is greatly increased with some amazing new ideas and even customizable options.  A new website will launch in the next 60 days in which we'll send the link out so you can see all of the new options.

We'll keep the news coming as it relates to Sandals and Beaches properties.  You can visit their sites here:

Sandals

Beaches

Royal Plantation (check out Fowl Cay if you've never seen it)

Grand Pineapple - lots of new investments into Grand Pineapple Antigua in 2009.

As an aside, we'd like to thank all of the TripGuy agents and our Sandals/Beaches partners for allowing us to be again named one of Sandals/Beaches Top 10 Worldwide agencies for 2009.

TripGuy Travel LLC

www.TripGuy.com

888-990-TRIP

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