Sandals Royal Caribbean
16th Annual Reunion Week
Dates of Stay: April 10-18, 2009
Ruth DeMuth, Certified Sandals Specialist
Email: ruth@tripguy.com
This was my 3rd Reunion Week at this property and definitely the best yet! Last year we left wondering how could we possibly top that stay but this one blew last year’s away by a long shot. A background note: I am a travel agent with TripGuy Travel, LLC, an online travel agency, but I travel during Reunion Week as a regular paying guest so I can be guaranteed my dates, location, and room category. I put together some extra events & gatherings for our group of 11 couples (half of which are my clients) with the wonderful assistance of management, who went all out for our group once again. I am going to try to describe our incredible 8 night stay at Sandals Royal Caribbean.
We arrived on Good Friday, April 10th, with about 4 other planes so immigrations was backed up a bit. We got through there, baggage claim (where a nice young fellow had already gathered our bags and loaded them on a cart for us), breezed through customs, and arrived at the Sandals Lounge for a fill of our drink mugs with Red Stripe beer. A few minutes later they called for our shuttle and away we went…a quick stop at Sandals Montego Bay, and we were soon HOME to SRC within 45 minutes of our landing. Life was good and about to get much better!
I will say there had been some apprehension about this year’s reunion week with so many new staff and management in place now but we had the most spectacular time. The resort is in great shape, the staff/management is top notch, and the many improvements are working!
The rest of the group arrived over the next few days and by mid day on Monday we were all there and ready to enjoy the week’s festivities. Everyone in our group received the rooms &/or upgrades that had been requested (and some even above what was requested!). A HUGE thank you to Leighton Josephs, Guest Services Manager (and my personal angel) and Rick Burrowes, Hotel Manager, for taking care of the group.
There were many extra events for returning guests as part of Reunion Week including an Easter Egg hunt, a special Easter church service, a free (and gorgeous) renewal of vows ceremony, a Grande Sandals Select cocktail party & Dinner where a free week is given away, an off property excursion to the Martha Brae river for fun, games, a feast (so much food!), and finished off with a relaxing raft ride for each couple, and many other fun things to fill the week. They also gave out special gifts, along with the usual returning guest t-shirts, leather sandals, and bottle of rum. This year, we received pink lady’s and black men’s sandals to wear, a reunion week t-shirt for each person, either a hat or a t-shirts (your choice), a wonderful spice gift set, two leather Sandals luggage tags, and a copy of Butch Stewart’s book “All That’s Good”. Those guests who utilized the Soon Come Back desk for a new booking also received a second large bottle of rum as well.
On top of all the RW events, I arranged with management for a private “get the week started” party in the Pub on Monday, the “island invasion” and private luncheon on Tuesday, group seating for dinner at the Chef’s Challenge buffet dinner on Monday night, our Royal Thai Tuesday night, at the SSC dinner on Wednesday night, and for the Island Beach Party on Friday night.
On Thursday night, after everyone had a chance to have some dinner on their own, I had planned a “hot tub” party where the staff was going to set us up a bar, snacks, and such at the main hot tub on the property. However, after our private Pub party on Monday, Iain McCormack (the General Manager) asked me if I thought we would like to come to his private villa next door for our hot tub party instead! Of course we’d love to come!!! I let the group know of our invitation to Iain’s at the private luncheon on Tuesday and everyone was thrilled. I was told by Leighton that this was the first time any guests had been invited to Iain’s private residence. He had his villa in top form that night! He had tiki torches brought in for additional lighting around the pool and hot tub, stocked the bar with champagne, wine, beer & such, had a beautiful tray of chocolates since we were missing the chocolate buffet on property, and had some snacks, & sandwiches for us, too. I think it is safe to say we all had a fantastic time and enjoyed the casual one-on-one with the GM. Iain promised me if we come back next year, we are invited back over for something even more spectacular! He is truly a wonderful gentleman and gracious host. Thank you Iain!
Private Island:
By now most people know they have added a buffet lunch on the island so no need to have to go back and forth to the mainland for food any longer. They have added lots of new chairs, tables, loungers, etc…and really improved the aesthetics of the island. The boat shuttle will take you over or pick you back up at anytime. No need to wait until on the hour or half hour as before. We held our “island invasion” and private luncheon there complete with pool toys, kites, & personalized keepsake menus with the date and our group logo on them. Again, the management and staff went above and beyond for us. It was certainly one of the best meals I ate all week.
One of the new features to this property is the addition of beach service. I am not sure of the need but it is a nice touch. I know some people appreciate the extra service. They come around from time to time with a tray of the “special of the day” beverage to try or to take your drink order. I also saw them over by the river suites, so they are not limiting the service area to just the main beach…if they know there is a desire, they will be there for you. They have also added “hydration stations” at all the pools. These are large water coolers filled with various chopped fruits and water to help remind guests to stay hydrated with all the sun, fun, and rum they are having. ; -)
I did do a tour of Sandals Montego Bay to check out the improvements and meet some of the new management there as well. Philip Cardnell, the GM, is a wonderful host and did his best to show me around on a busy Sunday before Reunion Week. Of course they were at full capacity so no room inspections but I do love the new Pub (I have photos if anyone wants to see) and the changes being made are very promising. It has been a few years since I have actually stayed at SMB due to it just not being up to par with some of the other properties but I would not hesitate in staying there again now.
I also did a stop at Scotchie’s with my good friend and private driver, Gregg Connell of Reggae Tours the same day as my visit to Sandals Montego Bay. We all loved the food and the vibe found here. Our only regret was that we didn’t go back a second time. I highly recommend a visit.
The weather was the best we have ever experienced (not a drop of rain in the entire 9 days/8 nights), the company was great fun, the staff & management was top notch, property looking phenomenal, food & drink always delicious…We had the time of our lives, appreciate all that was done on our behalf, and can’t wait to “Do it again in 2010”!
Photos (I hope to label them soon) can be seen at: http://www2.snapfish.com/thumbnailshare/AlbumID=472054007/a=72871333_72871333/t_=72871333
And the outing at Martha Brae:
http://www2.snapfish.com/thumbnailshare/AlbumID=477485007/a=72871333_72871333/t_=72871333
PS. A note about the removal of Red Stripe bottles from the refrigerators at all Sandals resorts in Jamaica. This is a supplier issue and NOT a money saving step by Sandals resorts. The distributor was shorting the deliveries of the bottled beer causing the resorts to not have enough (or at times, any) beer for the concierge and butler level rooms. The decision was made to switch to Carib beer for the rooms and keep Red Stripe on tap at the bars. I tried it and liked it better than Red Stripe but not as much as I like Piton Light.