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| Jennie is excited-she's just hiding her cold sore! |
We drove up to Toronto the night before our flight. We had a great dinner and a few drinks. It was nice to wake up in the Sheraton hotel, take the elevator down and walk straight through the doors to Terminal 3 of Pearson airport. It was definitely better than making the 4 hour drive before our 9a.m. departure.
The five hour flight went by quickly. Before we knew it, we touched down at V.C. Bird airport and met with a Sandals representative for transportation to our home for the week. For those of you familiar with Sandals resorts, you may wonder why my sister and I chose to stay there. The all-inclusive, adult only resorts are certainly geared toward couples. However, the service, food and locations can't be beat. I checked the reviews and with my travel agent and she assured me it was no problem for us to stay there despite not being a couple.
It took about 15 minutes from the airport to the resort. We were greeted with a cool towel and a glass of champagne, then swiftly checked into our Club junior suite. The room had everything we could possibly need. Our 2nd floor balcony faced one of the pools and the volleyball court. The grounds were gorgeous and well maintained. We quickly grabbed a drink from our fully stocked bar, unpacked, and made our way to the pool.
There were a few pools around the resort but we mostly stuck to the main pool. It was huge and not very crowded. The resort offers a butler service at an extra cost (we declined this) and they could be found at the pool and beach before 7a.m. reserving lounge chairs, putting up umbrellas and setting a cooler with ice and drinks for their assigned guests. Jennie acted as the butler and set her alarm for 6:30 each morning, guaranteeing us a sweet spot at the pool. Most guests didn't make an appearance until 10a.m. The aqua fitness classes started at 10:30, the same time the bar opened. We always got up early as the sun would rise at 5:59.
The beach was equally beautiful but more crowded. It was nice to walk along it in the morning. We were fortunate to see this rainbow 🌈 one morning while enjoying breakfast at one of the seaside restaurants.
With 11 restaurants and 7 bars, Sandals had much to offer and did not disappoint. Moving away from buffet style restaurants like most all-inclusive resorts was a nice change. We didn't have to wear wrist bands and no tipping is allowed (the staff even wear buttons reinforcing this). Despite the no tipping policy, it was likely the best customer service I've had at a resort. The entertainment was a bit lacking compared to other places I've visited but by that time of night we didn't care. It was nice to have a couple drinks with some Brits we met at one of the bars, or to sit outside on some comfortable couches in front of the fire pit.
Here are some tips in case you go...
1) Drinking copious amounts of vodka martinis (extra dirty) 🍸, Wadadli beer, and Jameson will affect you (your speech, your walk, and perhaps your memories). I feel like I need a detox now.
2) Your lips will burn. Use SPF on them or risk sun blisters. Abreva is a great preemptive to avoid that. Splurge on lipbalm with SPF 30 or better. Your lips will thank you. This will also help lessen the sting when eating hellfire jerk chicken at lunch.
3) Mimosas are completely acceptable at breakfast. They will help tide you over until the bars open at 10:30. The vitamin C from the OJ will make you feel better from the night before.
4) Swapping books 📚 is a great way to pay it forward and make a new friend by the pool. Plus you will likely pick up a book by an author you aren't familiar with but will enjoy. Leaving your books for others will lighten the load of your suitcase on the way home.
5) Enjoy activities offered such as Bingo, Movie/Sports Trivia, Aqua Fitness 🏊, Corn Hole challenge, Flip Cup competition, Ping Pong tournament, etc. You will meet other guests and get your competitive streak on.
6) You will hear music that was popular a few years ago but will still know all the words to the songs. 🎼 Now watch me Whip (kill it!) Now watch me nae nae (okay!) 🎶
7) If you are a light sleeper, you should bring earplugs. The tree frogs 🐸 make quite the racket at night. You will likely never see one but you will certainly hear them.
8) The resort is fogged daily from 4-6p.m. If you aren't aware of this, you will be alarmed at the smoke around the resort. This is done to repel insects and you'll be thankful this is done. No bug repellant required.
9) The beach is public so there are vendors but if you tell them you aren't interested, they will move along.
10) It's your vacation! You aren't at work or dealing with the day-to-day stresses you usually have to. Your biggest decision is what to eat or drink and which water sport to partake in. Enjoy yourself!
This trip was wonderful. We met some great people, ate delicious food, enjoyed way too many drinks, read books, soaked up the sun and relaxed. Stepping out into 13 degree temps when we landed in Toronto was a bit of a shock since we were still dressed in flip flops and beach clothes. I look forward to our next vacation and where that will take us. Many of the people we met said they'd only stay at a Sandal's resort. Although we often times were mistaken for twins, and most recognized as sisters, one of the staff members referred to Jennie as my husband. We had a good laugh about that for the rest of the week. It wasn't too couple-y and we had a fantastic time. Back to the grind tomorrow. My Grandma always told me that it's not a vacation if it doesn't end. So until the next one...
~MT