Luxury for Less: Our Top 5 Budget-Friendly Sandals Resorts You’ll Love

Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:04):
Welcome to the No Before You Go Travel show show
where we share all the latest travel tips, tricks and
insights to make your next vacation the best one. Yeah,
so sit back, relaxed, grab a cocktail and enjoy the
show with Pennac Travels, George Benyat and our senior travel
consultant Janet Begnac.

Speaker 2 (00:22):
What is up everybody? Hey everyone, welcome back to another
edition of the Note Before Your Travel Show. We've got
a show for you today on this week not so beautiful,
but it is a beautiful day because of his Mother's Day.
It's just downpouring here or we're at but yeah, it
is Mother's Day. Happy Mother's Day to my wife, Jane.
We don't have kids, but you are mother to our dogs.

Speaker 3 (00:41):
Yes, and we have a cat.

Speaker 2 (00:42):
And we have a cat so that counts because you
take really good care of them.

Speaker 3 (00:45):
And say, I manage twelve legs in this house plus you.

Speaker 2 (00:47):
So yeah, oh you can't you count me? Yeah? And
all serious is Happy Mother's Day to all the moms
out there. So we are podcasting on Mother's Day. It
feels good. What a day too. I love that moms
have a dedicated day. It's so do dads, I know,
but Mother's Day this is more. I think it's more special.
And that's okay, it's okay. I think I can give
the moms the spotlight.

Speaker 3 (01:08):
Every parent's special.

Speaker 2 (01:10):
I agree, that's well said.

Speaker 3 (01:11):
Yeah, I mean I love my dad, No, I do do.
I love you my dad more than I talked to
my mom.

Speaker 2 (01:16):
So I love your dad and your mom.

Speaker 1 (01:18):
Yeah.

Speaker 2 (01:18):
Anyways, all right, well we are here. We hope you
guys are enjoying the content. We have a great show
for you today. We are bad. We are a week
behind on the pod.

Speaker 3 (01:28):
I know, we've kind of been bad this whole year,
and we're very sorry. It's just been a crazy busy year.

Speaker 2 (01:33):
So the weekends are like, you know, George has.

Speaker 3 (01:35):
Been playing a lot of golf on the weekend.

Speaker 2 (01:37):
I did have my annual golf trip.

Speaker 3 (01:39):
And we usually podcast on the weekends because we're so
busy during the week.

Speaker 2 (01:45):
Yeah, we handle the business during the week and the
weekend we do our podcasts and have my golf trip.
Was that last weekend, yes, yeah, And I finished. At
the end of day one, I was in third, I
was only two off the lead, feeling really good going
into the second day, and then fell apart, lost it
on I had too much to drink on day one.
You know how the golf trips go, people are drinking

(02:06):
day two.

Speaker 3 (02:06):
Yeah.

Speaker 2 (02:07):
Yeah, First the first day was like a team thing,
and day two was the individuals, and then day three
was like the last date of the individuals.

Speaker 3 (02:13):
Anyways, it was George and all of his degenerate friends
are not. There's only one. There's only one of the
group of eight of you that's that I would consider
it degenerate.

Speaker 2 (02:22):
There's absolutely one that qualifies or the term degender.

Speaker 3 (02:25):
There's always one in everybody's group, right.

Speaker 2 (02:27):
I think everyone's friend group has that one person that
will just light up the party and makes horrendous life decisions.

Speaker 3 (02:34):
I was gonna say, and just bad life decisions.

Speaker 2 (02:36):
Yeah, horrendous. I mean this guy definitely, I love him though.
I love him so much, and I try to help
me and meet all the guys in the group. We
try to give him the best advice we can, and
he just does his He beats his own drum, and
that's okay. And you know what, he's forty. He's not changing.

Speaker 3 (02:51):
No, he's definitely not changing.

Speaker 2 (02:52):
I've come to the realization that at this age I've
seen this behavior for now twenty years. It's just not
gonna change. And that's that's okay. We love him, he
makes great content. He's not on the internet. He needs
to be on the internet. Would change his life. He
would go viral.

Speaker 3 (03:09):
George has the video from the golf trip that I
told him I'm gonna camp to a few pages and
go viral.

Speaker 2 (03:16):
No, let's not do that. Think it'd be funny, it
would be hilarious anyways. Anyways, but we are here, We're
back from the golf tre We will get better. We're
gonna get back to our weekly, regularly scheduled content every
single week here on the pod. Thank you so much
for checking on our YouTube channel. We really appreciate that.
A lot of love on the YouTube channel. And if you're
loving the content, give us a five star review on Apple.
It really helps the pod. Obviously, you can book with

(03:39):
us great great great wait support the show and the company.
So if you're looking to travel, book with us. We
don't charge any fees. We can price match most times
online what you're seeing and you're gonna get the Caribbean
Queen or self for one of our team members. Excellent service.
But speaking of reviews. Yes, we got two reviews. Got
to give a shout out here on the Apple podcast network.
What are these reviews? Let's fire up the reviews here.

Speaker 3 (04:00):
So, first one from Poppy move Cider. I wonder where
that name came from. Can't stop listening. I've been following
the Panac Travel YouTube channel for the last few years.
Recently I've decided to listen to your podcast and absolutely
love your reviews on all inclusive resorts, especially Sandals brand.
You both are so knowledgeable and I truly enjoy listening
to your travel adventures. More Sandals content, please, maybe an
updated Jamaica or a listener's questions show. So interestingly enough,

(04:22):
Sandals is the topic of conversation for today's podcast.

Speaker 2 (04:26):
And we were already gonna do that before.

Speaker 3 (04:27):
Yes, we we've literally just read this, Yes, yes.

Speaker 2 (04:30):
We got yep, you're what's the what was the name
of on that one?

Speaker 3 (04:32):
Well? So yes, thank you so much, Poppy Moo.

Speaker 2 (04:34):
Cider, Poppy Moo Sider, Yes, love it, Poppy Moo Cider.

Speaker 3 (04:37):
And then the next one, I know who this is?
So this is from Binny and Rebecca simply the best
just dropped up our third trip booking with Pinac Travel.
This time Saint Lucia. Janet booked the best trip for
a twenty fifth wedding anniversary is perfect stay at ty Kee,
tucked away on a quiet whole side, essentially halfway between
Soufrey and Castries. If you're looking for a quaint, quite
unique stay a destination, can't recommend Taikey enough. Oh and

(05:01):
it's simply the best, responsive, attentive, and knowledgeable. Take the
hass lot of travel, kick back and let Janet do
the heavy lifting. You won't regret utilizing our services. Finally,
this channel is the best. We found Janet George to
be spot on with recommendations and reviews and have yet
to be disappointed with any recommendations. So naturally we just
booked our furths trip with Pinac onto Uniko. Thank you
so much, Benny. And also Bennie has bought us uh

(05:21):
the Mars our thirty five dollars airport Margeritas. Thank you
so much, Benny.

Speaker 2 (05:25):
Bennie that big pocket spending of areas. Those are expensive
marks man. Thank you. We appreciate it and we really
appreciate the review.

Speaker 3 (05:31):
Absolutely.

Speaker 2 (05:32):
Yeah, those airport marks are just I mean, they're good.
You have to do it. They got you. I mean,
who is not in vac mode when you Oh I'm.

Speaker 3 (05:38):
In raging vacate mode when I land in Cancun.

Speaker 2 (05:40):
There's nothing better when you leave. So you're leaving America
and it's cold and the dead of winter and it's
just chilly, and you have an experience, you know, eighty
five and Sonny in a long time, and then you
just get out that airport door. The double doors slide
open out into where the baggage claim areas or you know,
with the loading area at the Kangara and there's a
Margaritaville right freaking there, and then the sun shining, music's playing.

(06:05):
It's hot.

Speaker 3 (06:05):
You're like, oh, it's time and really busy.

Speaker 2 (06:08):
You gotta go get the thirty margarita.

Speaker 3 (06:10):
Yes, gotta get the margarita. And in Jamaica, it's like
I either got to get an apple tin and diet
or a rum punch apple.

Speaker 2 (06:18):
Oh gosh, I know, yeah, you got to get the
rum punch in Jamaica.

Speaker 3 (06:21):
So we're our travels this year are a little bit
different than they usually are. Like we're about to go
to Europe. We're leaving on Friday, so in five days, Uh,
for that, but we're going to get back to the
rather regularly scheduled Caribbean and all inclusive content. But after
this Europe trip, we do we are actually going to
the Caribbean. We're not gonna tell you where yet though.

Speaker 2 (06:43):
Yeah, we got to get back to the GRIBB and
I think like our audience follows, like they like the
Caribbean content. Our brand kind of aligns with the Caribbean content.
The Europe content. We love Europe, it just doesn't do
as well in the channel.

Speaker 3 (06:53):
That's okay, It's okay, yees, Yeah, I love it, though.

Speaker 2 (06:56):
I honestly I prefer a little cold drinks and nice
beach and sunshine.

Speaker 3 (07:01):
Okay, Well, where we are about to go.

Speaker 2 (07:03):
I'm excited.

Speaker 3 (07:03):
There's going to be great.

Speaker 2 (07:05):
I am excited about food.

Speaker 3 (07:07):
Wine.

Speaker 2 (07:08):
I love wine. Yeah, now you're speaking my language. All right,
all right, let's jump into the podcast here. You already
kind of gave a teaser what we're going to talk about.
What are we talking about today?

Speaker 3 (07:16):
Yeah, so we are going to go through and give
you the top five most like budget friendly, most affordable
sandals resorts. So there's going to be two honorable mentions.
But I didn't want to just have like all Jamaica.
So but I literally literally went through everything and priced

(07:36):
everything out. And so we're going to kind of go
through these, give you some opinions and facts you know
about each of them.

Speaker 2 (07:43):
Yeah, because we've got great stuff. We've been to all
of these, so we have great stuff to share about
each of them. So I'm excited to go through these.
We have a lot of good options.

Speaker 3 (07:50):
And if you're wanting of AKA and a little one,
sure if you can make it work within the budget
this year, we've got some good options.

Speaker 2 (07:58):
So one hundred percent. And like I think Sam has
not Like I don't think everyone feels this way, but
people look at sandals that it is a higher priced option.
I mean it does. It prices out higher than some
resorts in Poon Tacana and some resorts in Cancun. A
lot of that can be the destination. We've talked about
this a lot because people don't A lot of people
get confused as to why the Caribbean is more expensive

(08:19):
than Cancun and Poon Takana. And like, there's a lot
of factors that are going into that. We've gone through
that a lot, so we're not going to rehash that,
but just focusing on the brand Sandals, because there are
there are really good deals that Sandals offers, and there's
ways to save on Sandals, and you can still get
into Sandals at a really good rate either through some
of the specials that they run, the time of year

(08:39):
you travel, like is it your anniversary. Maybe there's certain
things that we'll talk about here, just general tips for booking.
But I love all of these resorts, some of them
that made the list. You pulled the pricing, some of
them made the list. I was surprised, like, oh, that's
in the box, that's like the best five for pricing.
I was kind of impressed by that. All right, so
where do you want to start?

Speaker 3 (08:57):
So we're going to start with that absolute best value. Yeah,
best value, best bang for your buck Sandals that is
out there, and that is called Sandals. Ochi and Ochervio's Jamaica.

Speaker 2 (09:08):
We don't talk about this resort enough.

Speaker 3 (09:10):
We right, we need to get back there. It's been
several years since we've been there.

Speaker 2 (09:14):
We did enjoy it when we were there. Yes, it's
a big resort. Yes, it feels like two resorts in
one because you have a public road that actually splits
this resort in two.

Speaker 3 (09:24):
I think that's the most important thing that I want
to mention about this resort is the lay is the layout.

Speaker 2 (09:29):
Yeah, because I could see people not liking that and
then going not understanding it. So I think it's something.
It's a very important piece before you book it right.

Speaker 3 (09:38):
Yes, And you can also get in here in a
Butler level room for the most affordable in the entire brand.

Speaker 2 (09:45):
I love that. I think that's a really good point
to mention because that Butler experience at Sandals is different.
It's better. We've been to all the other brands, We've
tried to every other Butler Sandals does it the best.
I can say that with such confidence and not saying
the other ones don't do a good job, but just
the Sandals is just a little more attention to detail.
And I think that that I meant getting in at

(10:06):
a great price at a Butler suite important.

Speaker 3 (10:09):
Yeah, I didn't price it, but I can pull it
up real quick. But the majority of the Butler suites though,
are on the hillside of the resort. So that's the
biggest thing to know about this is.

Speaker 2 (10:17):
Toscribe hillside, so they're on the other side of the
public road.

Speaker 3 (10:20):
Yes, so there's two sides to the resort. There's a
public road that runs in the middle, and obviously you can,
you know, go back and forth no matter what side
you're staying on. If you're staying on the hillside of
the resort, there is a shuttle called the Hop that
takes you down to the beach side of the resort.
So you just need to know though that it is
a very spread out resort. Half you know, down by

(10:43):
the beach, half up on the mountains. There's restaurants on
each side. There's pools with some up bars on each side.

Speaker 2 (10:49):
So yeah, I was gonna say, so if you do
stand on the hillside's like, I think, the only downside
is I wouldn't over I mean, for me personally, I
wouldn't worry about it too much because you can get
across the street no problem. You know, there's everything's all secure.
Like it's not like there's it's like a bumper to
bumper traffic.

Speaker 3 (11:06):
Oh yeah, no, it's not.

Speaker 2 (11:07):
Ocher Rios is so far out from some of the
hustle and bustle of Montego Bay and some in Kingston,
some of these other big areas that it's just a
public road you got to cross. We actually experienced this
when we stayed at Couples Swept Away. They had a
public road, but there weren't rooms over there, but the gym,
the gem and and his courts and some things were
over there that you this was the spa over there too.
Maybe yeah, this spa was back there, so you had

(11:28):
to cross the public road. Honestly, not a big deal.
I wouldn't stress it, but it is something you probably
need to know before you book.

Speaker 3 (11:35):
It, right, Yes, if you want to be like, you know,
a short distance walk from the beach, then that's something
that you need to know. So this resort has five
hundred and twenty two rooms. It's about ninety minutes from
the Montego Bay Airport. If you can fly into ocher Rios.
There's currently daily flights from Miami on American and then

(11:55):
you would only be like twenty minutes from the resort.
So that's nice. Yeah, there's sixteen dining off, eleven bars.
A lot of the rooms have not been renovated at
this resort in recent years, but they are slowly working
through that.

Speaker 2 (12:07):
Probably part of the reason why it's such a good
value right now. Yeah, because some of the room categories
aren't as updated right, correct, Yes, it's going to price
out a little bit better because but to be honest,
I mean it's fine. Like I think some people stress
the room too much. It's so much more than just
the room, you know.

Speaker 3 (12:23):
Yeah, I agree, but it's you know it they have
like the you know, it's still like in the twenty
ten the tans and beige, the dark darker wood. Yeah,
like that sort of thing I do.

Speaker 2 (12:32):
I do like the direction sandels gone with the light
wood and the like really bright crawlers. Like I love
that now. And it was fun funny because like we
were traveling, traveling back in those days and working in
the industry back in those days, and like that was
in back then, right, Sometimes going in the house now,
I see the beige tile and beige every everything was beige.
I can't And then you look back, like how is

(12:53):
that in?

Speaker 3 (12:54):
Yeah?

Speaker 2 (12:54):
And then the whites weren't in Remember everyhen then had
no wood cabinets. Now the whites are.

Speaker 3 (12:59):
I think that whites now kind of going away because
I'm seeing, like, you know, kitchen, a lot of kitchens
are painted different colors now.

Speaker 2 (13:05):
I've seen I've seen black cabinets, blue cabinets, green, like
people are going nuts with the colors here.

Speaker 3 (13:11):
Yeah, I think, you know, it's just you know what's in.
It's funny, like how the trends change.

Speaker 2 (13:16):
It just has to be different. And then gold's back,
gold fittings on things like gold handles, like, I don't know,
you know what's probably not coming back. It's the the
matte gold isn't like the foggy.

Speaker 3 (13:28):
Oh yeah, brass is probably not going to come back.

Speaker 2 (13:31):
I would say that. But the shiny golds, that shiny
reflective gold. I don't know if that'll ever come back,
like the true nineties gold, like the nineties gold fittings. Yeah,
and like kitchens and stuff, I don't know, Well, someone
will bring.

Speaker 3 (13:42):
It back actually anyways, So Ochi is a fairly lively
resort overall. Now you can find some peace and quiet
if you want it, but that is just something I
want to mention. A lot of great nightlife here, So
it's a great resort for groups especially. Oh yeah, also weddings,
and you know, if you are planning to station wedding,
this is a great option because of the affordable ability

(14:04):
for your guest. So that's something to consider. Now, the
beach at this resort is on the smaller side. Still
beautiful beach, but it is smaller as far as water
activities that are available, kayaks when surfing, hobbycats which are
like miniature catamarans, paddle boards, aquatrikes, and then scuba diving
and snorkeling which is always included scuba diving if you're certified.

(14:27):
If not, you can take a resort class and get certified.

Speaker 2 (14:29):
All right, now, let me ask you questions like a
prospective client, would do I get access? If I'm saying OCHI,
do I get access to the other Sandals resorts that
are there, like Saint Lucia does no.

Speaker 3 (14:39):
So at one point in time, Ochi guess could go
to Sandals Dunts River because it's just right down the street.
But I don't believe that that has changed and they can't.
But Dun's River guests can go to Ochi. Also, Royal
Plantation guests can go to Ochi, but Ogi guests cannot
go to Royal Plantation either. So all three of these
are in the Ochi rio Syria.

Speaker 2 (15:01):
As a as a male eleventh, yeah, a lot of
mothers say yes.

Speaker 3 (15:05):
A lot of things change with sandals all the time,
sou but that that is the case. There's no exchange privileges.
And part of the reason that there's not so World
Plantation is actually right next door, but it's a much
smaller resort. It's only like, I think, seventy five rooms
or something sent two and it's Butler only Like they
just can't accommodate that many people from Ochi coming over there.

Speaker 2 (15:28):
So that's why I think it's a pure like I
think you're right. I think the size difference is the challenge,
because neither of those resorts can accommodate a lot of
people outflowing from Ochi over to these other resorts. Correct
where we're like Saint Lucia, the resorts are roughly the same. Oh,
I know, but I'm saying I'm just bringing it up
because I know, I know.

Speaker 3 (15:48):
I don't spoil my list.

Speaker 2 (15:49):
And by the way, hey guys, if you didn't, if
you didn't get a nice mother day Mother's Day gift
for your wife, not too late to book a Sandal's
vacation through Pinnac Travel. So give us a call.

Speaker 3 (15:59):
Yeah, that's a nice.

Speaker 2 (16:01):
Little like hey late, you know, hey, honey, sorry, you
know I wanted to show this with you. I had
to finalize a couple of things here and there, and
if you.

Speaker 3 (16:07):
Wanted to do it today, just use our link. That's
going to be our booking link. That's going to be
in the notes of this show.

Speaker 2 (16:13):
So we do have an online booking link. Yeah, so
that and then you can book and it lets sandels
know that they came from the travel podcast.

Speaker 3 (16:20):
We won't be able to help you if you do that.
You would have to transfer it back to us if
you did do that and wanted to work with us.
But worst case, at least just do that because it
helps us and helps the show.

Speaker 2 (16:29):
It's a great way to spport the show. Use our
booking link and it's in the show notes. You'll see
just in the show notes.

Speaker 3 (16:34):
So yeah, So one other thing I want to mention
before we move on about this area of Jamaica is
if you are an adventure lover, this is a great
area for Jamaica for that. There's tons and tons of
things to do. So I definitely recommend it for that.

Speaker 2 (16:50):
Very active. Yeah, I do. Like so did you did
you already give the price? Oh?

Speaker 3 (16:53):
Yeah, so this one and so if you're new here,
I'm going to say this, but otherwise everyone that's been
a long time listener knows this. But price wise, the
best time of year to travel to on all inclusive
or the Caribbean that you're gonna get the best bang
for your buck, it's gonna be September through December, not
over a holiday. So all of these are priced out

(17:15):
for fall of this year, like October or November. And
I just did when I could find availability for the
least expensive room as a starting price. So Ochi's starting
at four hundred and four dollars for a couple per night.
Now Sandals is couple's only technically, you know, singles can
go no matter what. The you're gonna pay the double

(17:37):
you're gonna pay for double documents, see, no matter what.

Speaker 2 (17:39):
Absolutely absolutely good point. Kay, So where this thing? I'm
looking at the number, but I'm gonna let you announce
it because this is a deal.

Speaker 3 (17:45):
Yes, I absolutely love this story.

Speaker 2 (17:48):
Call us immediately to book this as soon as you're listening.
Drop what you're doing.

Speaker 3 (17:53):
It used to be my favorite in Jamaica and now
it's tied with Dun's River. But Sandal South Coast.

Speaker 2 (18:00):
Wait, did you give the price of Ochi yes, I
just did oh four four night. Yes, that is a
great deal. Yeah, that is like the lowest by far.

Speaker 3 (18:09):
You just like everything I said went over.

Speaker 2 (18:11):
I guess I said a massive rain fart. I was
looking at the show notes here.

Speaker 3 (18:13):
Okay, yeah, so South Coast is next.

Speaker 2 (18:16):
So I love South Coast. I'm shocked this one made
the list because I didn't. I didn't look at the list.
All walked in the studio and I saw this on there.
I was like, no way that that's one of the
best price sandels right now. And it is. Yeah, it
is value. Man. If that's in the top five, I'm
just gonna put it out there.

Speaker 3 (18:31):
One last thing that I forgot to say with sandals
Och is there is a golf course nearby. It's like
twenty minutes from the resort. That is a Sandals owns it,
so it's a part of the resort and you get
complimentary green fees. You just have to pay for cart rental,
club rental and a caddy. So and the course is
actually pretty. It's kind of like all in the mountains.

(18:51):
So I have been there, so I.

Speaker 2 (18:53):
Haven't played that yet. I got to get out there.
I know I'm playing though I neded to stay off
the golf course for a while. I need to like
do a mini get some lessons, get lessons, get my
crap together. So frustrating game.

Speaker 3 (19:03):
So back to Sandal South Coast. So this resort is
actually on the complete opposite side of the island from
Sandal's Ochi, So it's about an hour and a half
in the other direction from Montego Bay. And it's got
three hundred and eighty rooms, like I said, about ninety
minutes from the airport, eleven dining options, seven bars, very

(19:23):
spread out resort. Pretty much all of the rooms are
new or have been renovated in the last like you know,
eight years.

Speaker 2 (19:33):
Essentially best sushi. I love the suit.

Speaker 3 (19:35):
They have a great sushi restaurant. They have one of
the overwater bars here latitudes, great place to watch the sunset.
There's also an overwater chapel here. There is also the
Overwater Chapel at Ochi. This resort is probably my most
booked for destination weddings.

Speaker 2 (19:50):
Yeah, we man, we went to a destination wedding here
and it was incredible. Just a lot to do, very
spread out. So if you want to do like and
I know they did the cocktail hour after the wedding
and kind of like the reception. You can find all
these private, beautiful areas to do that because it's so
spread out and it's geographically just a large piece of
real estate. It's a big when you get when you
walk if your room is what's the village that's off

(20:13):
to the right when you walk in.

Speaker 3 (20:14):
It used to be called the French Village and now
it is called the Long Beach Village.

Speaker 2 (20:18):
So that's all just a long walk to get there,
and so it's not like it's very flat, but still
just long distances general.

Speaker 3 (20:25):
Yeah, it is. It has a very large footprint, this
resort does.

Speaker 2 (20:28):
But this area of Jamaica is very secluded as it is,
so you're kind of in this big piece of land
that's very private. I love that they have the extra
pool by that.

Speaker 3 (20:38):
Yeah, I was gonna say this resort probably has one
of the prettiest, most serene settings in Jamaica. Like it's
just very quiet. There's not much around. There's a one
small village nearby, but like that's pretty much it.

Speaker 2 (20:53):
So not a ton to do off resort obviously because
it is so secluded, not.

Speaker 3 (20:58):
As much in the area, but there's still Yeah, there's
still some things that you can do. But they have
a lot of great on site water activities.

Speaker 2 (21:06):
But it's kind of like a quiet ochie that you
don't have to cross the road to get to. Yes.

Speaker 3 (21:11):
Now, one of the things that I do really love
about this resort, and you know, I get asked this
a lot. How is the chair game, like the reserving chairs?

Speaker 2 (21:20):
Oh, chair game?

Speaker 3 (21:21):
Yes, that's the term. Yes, because you know people go
in reserve chairs early, which you've probably heard me mentioned before.
Do we do that? Usually what I do is like
on our way down, on our way to breakfast, then
we go and like throw some stuff down. Now you know,
if you are going to do that, don't wait until
like one o'clock to come out.

Speaker 2 (21:40):
You know, I got to enjoy it.

Speaker 3 (21:42):
Yeah, at least get out there like within an hour
or two. But this resort is so spread out. It
has a ton of main pools. It's got three main
pools with.

Speaker 2 (21:52):
The one pool. The main main pool is massive.

Speaker 3 (21:55):
It's the largest zero injury pool in Jamaica.

Speaker 2 (21:57):
Yeah, that's good to know.

Speaker 3 (21:59):
Yes, and pools will swarm up bars. The beach here
is huge. It says that they have almost almost two
miles of beach. Now, I don't know, I don't think
they own all of that, but just what's right in
front of the resort is a big piece of beach,
a lot of beach.

Speaker 2 (22:14):
Yeah.

Speaker 3 (22:14):
Yeah, so there's there's tons of chairs, so you never
have to worry about that, yeah, in my opinion. Now,
you know, do butlers go and reserve like some of
the prime chairs early in the morning. Of course, yes, yes,
their job, but you don't have to worry like, am
I not going to have a chair?

Speaker 2 (22:29):
Yeah? Exactly. I mean tons of beach, tons of pools,
very spread out. If you love pickleball or tennis, there's
tons of courts. And I'm pickleball it is. They're popping
up everywhere this pickleballs. We're pickleballers now.

Speaker 3 (22:45):
Yeah, they have the most pickleball courts at this resort
than any of any other sandals and I think out
of like any other all inclusive that I'm aware of. Yea,
And they do tournaments here.

Speaker 2 (22:56):
We could could we could organize an incredible pickleball tournament.
If you need help organize something, we got you. We
plan a lot of group trips, you do a lot
of corporate events, like corporate sponsored stuff like reward trips.
So if you're pickleballers and you want to create a
tournament and you want to do it in destination like this,
this would be a great spot for that because there's
a lot to do at this resort for a lot
of people. It is lower end on the sandals from

(23:18):
from a budget standpoint, and they have tons and tons
of pickleball courts, yes, and tennis courts.

Speaker 3 (23:24):
Yeah. So water sports at this resort so hobbycats, wakeboarding, kayaks,
water skiing, knee boarding, tubing, windsurfing, and then of course
you're snorkeling and scuba diving. And then they also have
a glass bottom boat tour so that they do. As
well as far as like atmosphere goes in nightlife, I

(23:44):
think that this resort has a great mix. They have
great entertainment every night. The piano martini bar can get
a little lively at night, but.

Speaker 2 (23:53):
Oh yeah, for sure.

Speaker 3 (23:54):
Yeah. But otherwise, you know, it can be a pretty
chill place too. One thing I want to mention at
about the beach here is it's beautiful beach. You know,
the water is crystal clear, there is some sea grass,
and so I usually recommend to take water shoes because
there's some sea urchins. So that's just one thing I

(24:15):
want to mention.

Speaker 2 (24:16):
Yeah, that can be at every beach, depending on the
time of year.

Speaker 3 (24:19):
Yeah, but there is. But this has like a lot
of sea grass on the floor, so I find that
it tends to not make the it tends to make
the water not look as like bright blue as like
in ocherios or in a grill.

Speaker 2 (24:31):
It's on the Atlantic side, right of Jamaica, kind of
facing outwards to the ocean.

Speaker 3 (24:36):
Well, I think that's still a Caribbean.

Speaker 2 (24:38):
Okay, maybe it is kind of like a kind of
in the middle, Yeah, kind of the middle. Yeah, I
think it's I'm surprised this made the list. This used
to be called Sandal's White House.

Speaker 3 (24:45):
Yeah, so you used to be called Sandel's White House.
So they have one room category that is a luxury level,
which let me just run through real quick in case
you're new here there. Sandals has three levels of service
in room categories, so luxury level, club level, Butler level,
luxury level. You don't get room service, that's the biggest
thing that you want to note. And then the mini

(25:07):
bar in your room includes beer, wine, water, soda and juicys.
And then with Club level you do get room service,
you get liquor in the room, plus some other added amenities,
and then the butler service. You know, it's just way
more personalized. So all of the room categories at this
resort except for one, are Club level or higher. And
then this resort is split into three villages. If you

(25:29):
hear some old podcasts of ours, it used to be
called French, Dutch and Italian, and now they are. The
Long Beach is the old French village, which that was
fully renovated and opened just a year ago, so at
the end of April twenty twenty four. And then the
Starlight Village is the old Dutch village and that was

(25:50):
renovated at the end of twenty twenty.

Speaker 2 (25:52):
How do you remember this stuff?

Speaker 3 (25:53):
I don't know, it's just ingrained in my head.

Speaker 2 (25:55):
And then you are the Cribbean Queen. That's why you're top.

Speaker 3 (25:58):
Ten, okay, yeah, and then the now Silver Sun that's
still yeah you did. Silver Sun Village is the old
Italian village. Uh, those were renovated in twenty seventeen. So
if you want the balcony or patio soaking tubs, then
you're gonna want to look in the Long Beach or

(26:19):
the Starlight Village, or they do have overwater bungalows here,
or the mind evolves.

Speaker 2 (26:24):
So yeah, I love it, absolutely love it.

Speaker 3 (26:27):
Yeah, So that's kind of a brief quick rundown of
that one.

Speaker 2 (26:30):
So all right, we're oh, sorry I didn't.

Speaker 3 (26:33):
I didn't tell you. The price five hundred and fifty
nine dollars per night.

Speaker 2 (26:36):
So decent bit more than Ochi, but still making the
list here, and that's still for I think it's still
an incredible value. Yeah, I'm shocked there's not. Here's Here's
one thing that's about this resort that gets me every
time we talk about it. We talk about how many
rooms there are. It's optically you would think there's way
more rooms, Like there's more rooms at Ochi than here,
which is kind of surprising to me because it seems

(26:57):
so big.

Speaker 3 (26:58):
But I like that it never feels crowd.

Speaker 2 (27:00):
I know, I like that too, So I think you're
getting a little added bonus here. Pro tip here. I
would personally, we love a private transfer, so I know
the sandals. It does come with free transfers, but it's
shared for that long of a transfer. I just like
going private. So if you're gonna save go into a
value property like this, might be able to splurge little
bit on a private transfer one way on the way

(27:21):
back and not as big of a deal, but on
the way there, kick off a k with a private transfer.

Speaker 3 (27:24):
Yeah, I would definitely agree with.

Speaker 2 (27:25):
We can arrange that for you. Yes, So it adds
to the romance.

Speaker 1 (27:30):
Yes.

Speaker 3 (27:30):
So there's two others that come in pretty low and
right around the pricing of this next one, but they're
in Jamaica. And I didn't want to just give you
all Jamaica, but I'm going to give you two honorable mentions.
So and I'm going to go ahead and give those
to you. So Sandal's and a Grill, great resort, especially
if you're a beach lover.

Speaker 2 (27:50):
Amazing beach tons of doing a grill.

Speaker 3 (27:52):
Yeah, five hundred and eighty eight dollars per night there.
And then Sandal's World Caribbean, which is in Montego Bay,
only ten minutes from the airport. That one's coming in
around six ready three at night. So, and a lot
of the rooms there have been renovated, pretty much all
of them.

Speaker 2 (28:04):
So in Roll Caribbean and I changed privileges with Montegobet. Yes,
so you can go to Mobay and it's like a
five minute ride. It's really great. And I like the
private island at Roll Caribbean. So yeah, it's awesome. Great mentions.
Now this next one, we're taking you off Jamaica. Yeah,
we're gonna take it to the other parts of the Caribbean.
But before we do, let's get in a quick commercial break.
We're and get thirty seconds spaced pockets meals. We'll be
right back. Are we are back and we are jumping

(28:27):
right back in the list. Now we just covered Jamaica.
Jamaica prices out the best in the Caribbean is what
it is, a great destination. I also shocked a couple
of these here that finished the list off didn't surprise me.
This one's the surprise. I'm surprised by this one. This one,
I can't believe it's such a good rate.

Speaker 3 (28:45):
So I oftentimes here, you know, I'm gonna go somewhere different,
like not Jamaica, punt connor Mexico. But you know, they
need something a little bit on the more affordable side,
and this resort is perfect for that. And this resort
is also very special. It is very special to us,
the two of us, because it is actually where we honeymoon.

(29:06):
So Sandal's Regency talk in beautiful Saint Lucia. So this
resort is about an hour and a half from the airport.
Transportations included. One of the things I love about Saint
Lucia and all the Sandals resorts is the other options
to get you to the resort outside of just a car.

Speaker 2 (29:24):
Yeah. Absolutely, Like this is such a great price at
a great resort. And I agree with you. I think
a lot of people that have gone done Jamaica, done Cancun,
because those are very popular destinations. You want something different,
you want something special. This is it and it is
going to be again it's third on the list, so
it's a little bit more in the first two. But

(29:45):
the value you get, like like I could see you
doing something like this and to kind of like not
break the bank because this is right in the middle
of the budget friendly options. Stay a night shorter and
you're still gonna get an incredible experience, you know what
I mean. Yeah, Like if you can't fully squeeze like
five six nights, I think four nights here is incredible.

Speaker 3 (30:04):
So Saint Lucia is known as the Hawaii of the Caribbean.
In my opinion, I think it's the prettiest island in
the Caribbean. Tons and tons of adventure type activities to do.
You can start your vacation with an excursion on arrival.
They have fairy transfer options to the resort. Yeah, also helicopters,
if you're willing to do that. We've done it. I

(30:26):
don't think I'll do it again.

Speaker 2 (30:27):
We've done it twice. It is beautiful, it's awesome. Yeah,
I just got to do it once.

Speaker 3 (30:31):
Yeah, I just I don't know. Helicopters scare me.

Speaker 2 (30:33):
So Janet has a fear of I.

Speaker 3 (30:35):
Mean, I already am not a good flyer, which I
know is surprising because of how much I have had
to fly and doing this career.

Speaker 2 (30:42):
We're about to fly a ton here, I know, but.

Speaker 3 (30:44):
I absolutely hate flying. I get really nervous, and like
the helicopter was just even more nerve wracking.

Speaker 2 (30:52):
So yeah, well we're well. Anyways, the helicopter's great because
it's like an excursion on the way to your resort,
and actually the helicopter cuts the time to travel by
ninety percent.

Speaker 3 (31:01):
Yeah, it's only beIN ten minutes to the resort.

Speaker 2 (31:03):
Yes, instead of taking a ninety minute transfer through windy roads,
a ten minute helicopter ride that's actually beautiful. You wear
a headset like it's very like it's it's kind of
like an experience because you put the headset on the
captain weares and you're actually can talk to the captain
to a headset. And it only seats like I think
six people max, right, five five or six. And you
can't take all of your luggage because of the weight

(31:24):
of the thing, because it's smaller. It's a helicopter, so
you can't. Your luggage will go via van via normal
transfer correct to the resort and they tag it and stuff.
I love this resort, litalk. Some of the best sunsets
in the Caribbean. Yeah, I have is from this resort
by the Butler Pool. Well like it's not really a
butler pool, but by the pool that's up on the hillside. Yeah.

Speaker 3 (31:45):
Go have dinner at the Italian restaurant. Get there right
before sunset or or right when they open so you
can get a seat outside to watch the sunset because
it's amazing. So three hundred and eighty rooms, eleven dining options,
seven bars. This resort does have exchange privileges with the
other two sandals in the area, which are called Sandals
Houcian and Sandals Grand Saint Lucian. From La Tac to Houcian.

(32:09):
A lot depends on the traffic and castres because that
can be really bad. But it should be about a
thirty to forty five minute ride, and then the same
for the Grand Saint Lucian, but sometimes they can take
up to an hour depending on the traffic. Yeah, and
then the shuttles run every two hours. Now, this resort
does advertise that they have a nine hole golf course
on resort that is currently closed, and I don't think

(32:33):
they're going to bring it back because they've built a
bunch of rendezvouls on what used to be the golf course,
So I don't think they're going to bring it back.

Speaker 2 (32:39):
But just think if they bring it back, it would
be awesome. I would like them to update it and
bring it back. I think it's got a lot of potential.
I think it would really for me, I mean, just
be personalit of golf, so it would add to the
allure of this resort if it did have a golf experience,
it was one of the only sandals outside of Egzuma,
which is now about be A beaches. It actually had

(33:00):
golf on site. Yeah what I mean you didn't have
to leave the resort to get to a golf course.
And it used to be just a little nine hole
golf course, very short, very you know, honestly, it wasn't
the most well kept. I think that's why they decided
to go the route to add some property to it. Yeah,
add some sweets. I think that part of in my

(33:21):
personal opinion, I think that part of the island is
probably very hard to very expensive and hard to manage
a golf course.

Speaker 3 (33:28):
Oh yeah, I can't even imagine.

Speaker 2 (33:29):
So yeah, it's just challenging there. But anyways, it was fun.
I played it a couple of times. It's fun.

Speaker 3 (33:33):
Yeah. So this resort, it is kind of a more
hilly resort, but they do offer like golf court transport
or van from like you know, each side if you
need it. I think that's one of the pretty things
about this resort is or awesome things about this resort
is it you don't really feel like you're in like

(33:54):
a big hotel because it's just like smaller buildings for
the most part. There's a couple of larger ones, but
just spread out. It has more of a village feel.

Speaker 2 (34:02):
I love that. I love that, and just like it's
it's so different than anything else in the Caribbe And
it's obviously it's a volcanic island. It's got a lot
of topography, a lot of big hillsides, cliff sides, smaller beach,
so not the not the most grand beach you've ever seen,
but it's still adequate.

Speaker 3 (34:17):
And it's a pretty beach. But it's not the best
for swimming. But they do have two main pools with
swim up bars, which is nice because not all of
their resorts have two swim up bars, and I think
it's great when there is two options for that at least.

Speaker 2 (34:33):
It's very it's I know, we I know I kind
of biased here as we went here for our honeymoon,
but it just it really is a very romantic resort. Yeah.
I describe it as romantic because it has these million
dollar views. It's not the biggest party resort. It's fairy.
It's a little more.

Speaker 3 (34:47):
Quiet, yeah, but they have you know, great entertainment every night. Yeah.
The pub they you know, do play all the sports
games in there.

Speaker 1 (34:56):
You know.

Speaker 3 (34:57):
Overall, I think it has a good mix, you know,
if you're looking for that, if you're looking for a
little bit of liveliness, it can have that, but it
is slightly more laid back.

Speaker 2 (35:05):
The Butler side of the resort is so quiet, like
if you want to get yeay, yeah, it's it's pretty peaceful.
And they actually have a lounge there too that's opened
up late. It's more of a quiet lounge like a
piano bar.

Speaker 3 (35:15):
Oh yeah.

Speaker 2 (35:16):
Then they had the piano bars, a little more chill lounge.
Then they have the pub which is open late's a
little more routing. Yeah, I can see it's a mix
of both, you're right.

Speaker 3 (35:22):
Yeah, yeah, yeah. A lot of the water sports are
done from the Grand Saint Lucian because of the beach
is not the best, but they do have they have
water skiing that you can do over at the Grand
Saint Lucian. Then they have hobbycats when surfing, paddle boats,
and then of course you're snorkeling and scuba diving.

Speaker 2 (35:41):
So one play at three can't beat it.

Speaker 3 (35:42):
Yeah, So this one is coming in at six hundred
and twenty dollars per night, so.

Speaker 2 (35:47):
Just just a tad more than South forst couple.

Speaker 3 (35:49):
Yeah, good deal, especially to get in Yeah, and especially
to get in to Saint Lucia. So it's a great option, great.

Speaker 2 (35:57):
Late Mother's Day gift for the wife. You know, if
you if you didn't get something from Mother's Day or
you're just behind and listen, we get busy. I get it.
Call it panic travel. We got you back here. We
wish a book that Sandal's Rego slyly the talk in
Saint Lucian. You can say, honey, I wasn't done getting
everything processed. Want to get this to you for Mother's Day.
The kids got it for you. But boom, we're going
to Saint Lucia.

Speaker 3 (36:16):
All right, there you go.

Speaker 2 (36:17):
All right.

Speaker 3 (36:17):
Next up on the list, different way, I don't know.
Next up on the list is Barbados.

Speaker 2 (36:22):
Oh, we're going to Barbados.

Speaker 3 (36:24):
So there's Sandals Barbados and there's Sandals Royal Barbados.

Speaker 2 (36:29):
High level of difference here for everybody.

Speaker 3 (36:30):
They are literally right next door and there's a sidewalk
that connects them. So no matter which side you stay at,
you have full access to both sides. So the Barbados side,
if you're looking to just get into Barbados in a
luxury level room. Least expensive option, that's going to be
the better option for you. And then I was curious

(36:52):
because so Royal Barbados only has club and butler level rooms. Now,
the Royal Barbados side is huge, and some of the
rooms are like very far back at the property, so
it could be like maybe a little over a ten
minute walk to the beach, which some people might not
like that. But the club level rooms on the Royal

(37:14):
Barbados side are actually starting at a less expensive price
than on the Barbados side.

Speaker 2 (37:19):
What's interesting about this resort is to me it and
I think to anybody else, it feels like one resort.
Oh yeah, like you don't know when you're walking around,
you don't know what's side, if you're on the Royal side,
if you're on the just the standard side. It's all
one resort. So a great value to this is you're
gonna get a lot more amenities than you normally would

(37:40):
the normal Sandals because it's two Sandals combined into one.
I think it actually has two butches on that right,
it does two Butcher's steakhouses, So like you've got options
here and you can just do whatever you want at
both resorts. A lot to do here. It's fun, it's lively.
I love the rooftop vibe that they have the rooftop
lounge and the pool.

Speaker 3 (37:59):
On the Royal side.

Speaker 2 (38:00):
But you can go to it, yeah you can. It's awesome.
So just a ton to do here. They have the
bowling alley, which the thing is unique.

Speaker 3 (38:07):
That's still yeah, and the bowling alley is really cool.
So high level, real quick. Two hundred and eighty rooms
on the Barbados side. I know that recently they were
working on some of the rooms and doing some renovations.
I'm not sure if it was like just one particular
building or all the rooms, but I do know that
some of them they pulled out a service and did

(38:29):
some renovations on recently. Fifteen minutes from the airport, so
it's great if you don't want to long transfer. Eleven
dining options on the Barbados side, plus everything on Royal side.
Eight bars on the Barbados side plus everything on the
Royal side. Has a bowling alley on the Royal side,
which is awesome.

Speaker 2 (38:45):
It's like, it's such a unique thing about that resort
that no other sound resort. It doesn't even know other
soAnd resort has anything remotely close to it.

Speaker 3 (38:52):
I wish they would. It's really fun.

Speaker 2 (38:54):
It's so much fun. Yeah, it's great. Yeah, I love
I love getting you giving you a beat down on
the wood.

Speaker 3 (38:59):
Oh my god.

Speaker 2 (39:00):
So, like I mean, I'll just be rolling strikes. And then,
you know, because I'm no mercy. When Jan and I
compete in anything, I'm not putting up the bumpers.

Speaker 3 (39:09):
Yeah, and I don't either, we.

Speaker 2 (39:10):
Do know, but and then sometimes you do beat me though.

Speaker 3 (39:13):
Yeah. So this resort, I do think that it has
like great nightlife if you're looking for that, you know,
if you want more going on at night. In my opinion,
this resort has a lot going on. The beach is huge,
and it's a very walkable beach. You can walk all
the way down the beach for probably least a mile

(39:33):
down in front of other resorts. It is on the
Atlantic side though, so the beach is not very calm here.

Speaker 2 (39:39):
It can be depending on whether it can be pretty rocky.

Speaker 3 (39:42):
Yeah, so it's not, in my opinion, the best swimming beach,
at least not the last time that we were there.
And then I do always mention this, I have always
found that out of all of the Sandals resorts Barbados,
the service can be a little hit or miss. And
it's not just the Sandals, it's just like an island thing.

(40:03):
So that's one thing I just want to mention as well.

Speaker 2 (40:05):
This is also the only Sandals resort that will the
service team members can accept tips. Yes, this is a
law that Barbados has in place that you cannot prevent
anyone providing a service at a resort from preventing, like
prevent them from getting tipped. So tipping, I guess you
can call it optional here.

Speaker 3 (40:25):
Yeah, I would recommend it. I think it'll help.

Speaker 2 (40:27):
Absolutely, absolutely so. So bring some ones, bring some fives.
We always do like five bucks, ten bucks for lunch,
for dinner, and then maybe a dollar drink or if
you're getting a few, just give them a five or
ten or whatever you want to do.

Speaker 3 (40:38):
I usually say a dollar per drink.

Speaker 2 (40:39):
Dollar per drink is safe, but yeah, it's it's you know,
there's so much to do here and at this price
where you're getting in at some of the one of
the best five prices in all of Sandals, and you
have a lot to do. This is one resort not
that you'll be bored at any of these, but this
one you definitely won't be bored. There's just so much
going on.

Speaker 3 (40:54):
Correct, and there's a lot of great things to do
off resort too.

Speaker 2 (40:57):
On the island, it's a very so Barbados. This is
a very developed island. I think it's one of the
more developed islands of the Caribbean if you compare it all.
Oh right, yeah, yeah, it's going to be in the
top half of just general development. Airport was being under
renovation when we were there, so I.

Speaker 3 (41:11):
Can't remember they had that Concordia jet right or.

Speaker 2 (41:15):
I think so they had one there, had it there,
but obviously it's not in service.

Speaker 3 (41:19):
But but yeah, I know, but it was like sitting
outside the airport there.

Speaker 2 (41:22):
Can we figure that out and bring that back? Like
we're about to go to Europe. I would rather go
to Europe be there in three and a half hours
versus these.

Speaker 3 (41:30):
Long five or poor George got to go to Europe
on a long flight five. No, I'm just like first
world problem.

Speaker 2 (41:36):
Nobody likes being on a plane for eleven hours. Nobody.

Speaker 3 (41:40):
We're not going to be on a plane for eleven hours.
I mean coming back it we're on a plane for
ten but okay.

Speaker 2 (41:45):
Okay, ten hours. No one likes being on a plane
for ten hours. If the technology is there, we're breaking
it up on the way there. So let's figure out
as a society how to travel faster. Okay. Now, faster
you travel, the easier it is, and then the more
time you have your station. It's a win win win,
I agree.

Speaker 3 (42:02):
Okay, So now we're going to move on, so to
the very last option. So oh Barbados. Sorry, seven hundred
and twenty three dollars per night for a couple.

Speaker 2 (42:09):
Okay, So again we started from the best price and
now we're creeping up. There's still a tremendous value that's
per couple. Yes, and this is a resort. I think
because it price is higher end. There's a lot to
do here. I wouldn't go here for a shorter stay.
I would try to swing for five nights, like there's
just too much to do.

Speaker 3 (42:27):
Yeah, so much to enjoy, tons of dining options, will
do them all even if you stay a week.

Speaker 2 (42:33):
So yeah, yeah, okay, beautiful last, but not least definitely,
not definitely, not least. This one's awesome. I love the
beach here.

Speaker 3 (42:40):
I was going to say, of all of these best speech,
this has the best beach. I agree, So Sandal's Antiga.

Speaker 2 (42:46):
Everything's focused around the beach at this resort.

Speaker 3 (42:48):
Yeah, and I think that they're finally going to start
like giving Antiga some love.

Speaker 2 (42:52):
It needs a little love and redo.

Speaker 3 (42:54):
Updates, yeah, and just renovating the rooms. I think it
needs it. To see them put like some swim out
rooms here. We did read this was what like a
year or two ago that they had Sandals had gotten
permits for overwater bungalows here, So that'll be interesting to
see if they do do that. There is a resort

(43:17):
in antiguarready that has them, the Royalton, so it'll be
interesting to see if that happens. But three hundred and
seventy three rooms, about twenty minutes from the airport, eleven
dining options, seven bars. This resort is also has a
pretty large footprint. It's big resort, two big pools with
swim out bars. So I love that the beach is beautiful.

(43:40):
If you're looking for that white sand, crystal clear blue water,
calm Caribbean sea that you can just swim in, this
is perfect for It is a public beach though, and
so you do get vendors, just tell them no, and
a simple no has always been fine when we've been there.

Speaker 2 (43:58):
We haven't been a little while. And I wonder if
that little floating beach bar still there. I can't remember
the name k K.

Speaker 3 (44:05):
I think I read very recently that it was still there.

Speaker 2 (44:09):
That thing is so cool. It's just like a guy
from somewhere in Europe, I think, yeah, he was from Denmark, Denmark.

Speaker 3 (44:15):
I think he's from Denmark.

Speaker 2 (44:16):
And he just moved to Antigua and was like, I'm
gonna open up a restaurant and a bar.

Speaker 3 (44:23):
Well he it's not a restaurant. It was you know,
he had the restaurant like on the beach, but then
he sold it and this overwater tiki bar.

Speaker 2 (44:32):
Yeah, and so like he literally has just like a
floating It floats and it's permanently anchored, and you you
have to get there, like if you're just on the
beach and you wave to him, they'll bring a jet
ski or a boat over and get you. It's like
a couple hundred yards off the coat. You could if
you want to swim there, You really could. If you're
you could. Yeah, and it's just a little floating tea
bar and it probably seats like, I don't know, fifteen people.

Speaker 3 (44:54):
It's not very maybe no, I think yeah, it probably
seats more than that.

Speaker 2 (44:57):
And people just jump in the water and you know, people,
he's got music out there, there's a you know, it's
just like.

Speaker 3 (45:04):
Yeah, there's no bathroom. The ocean is the bathroom.

Speaker 2 (45:06):
It's very simple. He's just got like a chest of
iced and he's got bottle of water, and he's got
all the different runs and mixed drinks and he's a
cool guy. He just sits there and you can talk
to him. One of the best stories ever heard is
he said he was he opened it up one day
and he's there and he's prepping. It was a slow
day and he said, I was just looking down on
my phone.

Speaker 3 (45:24):
And he said he was drinking and I think he's
too and.

Speaker 2 (45:29):
He was like, he's like, I was just looking out
on my phone just kind of you know, almost like dozing,
dazing off or whatever. And the thing had become unanchored. Yeah,
his little tig bar became unanchored, and before he knows,
he's a mile out in the ocean. Yeah, And he
looked up and he had to call someone like the
coast guard to come get on. I'm like, oh that's yeah,
and tow him back.

Speaker 3 (45:46):
That was pretty funny. Yeah, but it's a great spot.
So Antiga has a ton of things to do, beautiful island. Uh,
kind of similar to Saint Lucia in my opinion as
far as like adventure type activities to do and just
kind of like the late landscape of the island. Yeah,
but the beaches here are absolutely amazing.

Speaker 2 (46:07):
Dining concepts here too, Yes they do. They have like
the text Mex place.

Speaker 3 (46:11):
They do have the text Mex size.

Speaker 2 (46:12):
I love it, like it's just and everything here's kind
of nestled around the beach and the water.

Speaker 3 (46:16):
Say, yeah, most of the restaurants are all right there
on the water, with the exception of the Kimonos so
and yeah the Italian I guess in the pub, but
like a lot of the dining places are right all
along the beach.

Speaker 2 (46:29):
Yeah.

Speaker 3 (46:30):
Absolutely, as I love this retort. We need to go back.
So it's starting at seven hundred and twenty eight dollars
per night. Now, one thing I want to mention, so
how can I possibly save on some of these other
prices or on some of these prices. So actually at
Antigua right now, there's the Triple there's a room on
Triple seven Sail, making it six hundred and twenty eight

(46:52):
dollars per night that you can get in, which is
a great deal for Cantiga. Yeah, because Antigua is just
a more expensive island. So what is Triple seven deal?
So it is where every Wednesday, sandals take seven different
rooms at seven different resorts and they make them an
extra seven percent off, and they make them an extra
seven percent off of their crazy high starting marketing price.

(47:14):
So you'll see it's a good discount that they say,
like oh this this room starts at twenty thousand dollars
or fifteen thousand dollars, and then you get sixty five
percent off. They always have sixty five percent off, and
then but they give you that seven percent off of
like theirs crazy high price, so off of like the
fifteen thousand dollars price. So it ends up being a

(47:37):
pretty good discount that you can save. So those change
every Wednesday. And also if you're like, well, what if
I make a reservation but then my room goes on
the Triple seven sale. So if that happens and you
can see that it is applicable to your dates and

(47:58):
that the room there's the room has to be showing
available at that price. You can always get it adjusted
to the lower rate as long as you're not within
as long as you've not made the final payment, or
you're within cancel penalty. So that's something to note. Other
ways you can get some discounts are law enforcement, firefighter,

(48:19):
FEMA worker military. They offer ten percent off. I think
I just heard Friday that they were also going to
start offering a teacher discount. I need to verify that.
I like that, but yeah, so that's an option. And
then anniversary, so if you are interested in booking something

(48:40):
for your anniversary, they do one your seventh night free
if you book a club level or higher room category
and you're staying within thirty days of your anniversary. And
then the resort can't already have a seventh night free
promo on there.

Speaker 2 (48:55):
Yeah, you can't double up the promos.

Speaker 3 (48:56):
Yeah, which some of the Butler suites at different resorts
like Latalk has it, Ochi has it, Grenada has seventh
night free. You can't double that up on the Butler suites.
But that's another great way. And then I've had a
couple of people do this. So I've had some people
that they wanted to go to, say Saint Vincent, so

(49:16):
one of their most expensive sandals resorts, but they were
going to do also do an all inclusive vacation this year.
So what they did was they went to Ochi. So
that way that's an affordable vacation. They could go chill
for a few days get away and then rebook on property.
Oh because if you rebook on property, then you get

(49:39):
ten to twelve percent off. So then they did that
and rebooked for Saint Vincent, and that way they got
ten percent off the room category. I saved a decent
chunk of money.

Speaker 2 (49:47):
So I use are great tips.

Speaker 3 (49:49):
And you can always transfer those back to your travel
agent if you do that.

Speaker 2 (49:53):
So yeah, absolutely, and so those are great tips. I
think like some people look at these rooms at face value,
that these are very expensive, especially if you look at
the pre discounter price six percent off things that it's outrageous.
But these are really good prices, and there's even ways
to get even further discounts. I think it's great and
a great travel agent like Panic Travel can help you

(50:15):
navigate that and strike when the iron's hot if you're
looking for good deals, right, yes.

Speaker 3 (50:19):
And another thing I want to mention is, you know
why does sandals sometimes seem to be more expensive. So,
like we said, sometimes it is just the destination, like
for example, Saint Vincent. Saint Vincent is a more expensive
destination Antiga Grenada. They're just more expensive islands, and so

(50:39):
that is part of it. Also you have to think, like,
especially if you're a scuba diver. I think this is
the biggest thing. If you are a scuba diver, you
love to dive, and you're going to dive like every
day or every other day during your vacation, it's all
included if you're certified value. Yeah, and so you're going
to be saving hundreds, if not one thousand dollars by
that plus all of the other water sports that they

(51:00):
do offer. And it's actually snorkeling excursions, not just like
snorkel off. The beach tipping is included with the exception
of Barbados, so that is some things to consider when
you're looking at it. Also, transportation is also included, so.

Speaker 2 (51:17):
Yeah, so there's a lot that's include there. You don't
have to tip at most of these resorts. So like,
there's all these little things that add up to the
experience here that kind of apples to apples make it
a really good value. Yes, all right, guys. If you
want more information on anything you heard, you know where
to find us. We have all the links in the
description to get ahold of us. You can work directly
with Janet the cribbing Queen herself help you pick out
the best resort for you, because all these resorts are

(51:38):
very very different. They're not They're all unique and have
their own personality, so you really want to pick the
right one for you. So everyone has a different travel style.
Some people like to party a little bit, some people
like it very quiet. And the last thing I do
is want a quiet vacation. You're at a party resort.
So all these things we can help you navigate. Or
if you want to book on your own, we have
a link in the description. Click that link. It supports

(51:59):
the show and then you just it takes you right
to Sandals and then you can book there. It's attle
referral link that we have. We appreciate it. Are you
are we ready for question to the day. We have
one more thing to go through.

Speaker 3 (52:08):
I just want to mention. One more thing is go
to our YouTube channel because we have vlogs on oh yeah,
all of these resort except for OGI, which we're going
to get back to OJ so we can get a vlog.
But even on our honorable mentions, you're all Caribbean and
a grill, we have logs on all of these to

(52:28):
go check them out.

Speaker 2 (52:29):
Absolutely yeah, absolutely, all right.

Speaker 3 (52:31):
So, yeah, what's the question.

Speaker 2 (52:32):
I'm ready for a question of the day. Question out
of the day, here we go. I'm excited about this one.
We are going to get a little personal year on
the popat Okay, what's the most embarrassing thing that's ever
happened to you in public?

Speaker 3 (52:47):
In public?

Speaker 2 (52:49):
I can go first if you need time to think,
because I have.

Speaker 3 (52:53):
One that I can think of for you that's recent.

Speaker 2 (52:56):
Yeah, I think I know, Jim. Yeah, I was at
the gym and it was I haven't I've been very
busy with work and so I haven't been as consistent
going to the gym. And I was on this squat
rack like it was like a mobile smith machine type thing,
and I was tired because I wasn't fully awake.

Speaker 3 (53:15):
And I'm trying to say it was six am.

Speaker 2 (53:17):
I was trying to do squats and I lifted too
much and I fell and the weights went everywhere. The
bar slams on the ground. Everyone at the gym is
staring at me, and it's.

Speaker 3 (53:28):
I actually heard the crash. I was on this StairMaster
and I heard the crash, but I didn't know where
it came from.

Speaker 2 (53:33):
Yep, it was very And it's a huge gym. This
is like Lobo Gym, and it's a massive gym. And
I can feel the entire gym staring at me. And
I've been going to the gym a long time, like
I can squat, like I'm I'm fairly fit for my age.
And it was just crushing, I mean embarrassing, just at
all levels. And then obviously the best travel story is

(53:57):
when I got locked out of the interior room.

Speaker 3 (54:01):
That oh yeah, yeah, it was an inside room on
a Princess cruise ship.

Speaker 2 (54:04):
We're on a Princess Cruise ship. And people in the pod.
If you're a long time once, you heard the story,
but I'll cliff note it for those that haven't heard it.

Speaker 3 (54:11):
Let's see how Cliff notes.

Speaker 2 (54:13):
Well, yeah, I was this was this was really embarrassing.
This is all time I woke up the middle night,
and if for those that haven't had an interior room
on a cruise ship, it's very dark. If you just
cut all the lights out and there's no light, it's
super dark. So I get up and it's milan nite.
Jane and I had some wine the night before.

Speaker 3 (54:28):
Oh yeah, I was like straight passed out from too
much alcohol.

Speaker 2 (54:32):
Jane's out cold. Yeah, And I got up to pee
and it's milanite. And the door like you just the
door handles, Like if everything's pitch black, you just see
a door handle. You think it's the doorhandle of the bathroom.
That was a door handle of the outside. I'm just
I am in underwear and socks.

Speaker 3 (54:48):
Which why are you wearing socks?

Speaker 2 (54:49):
Because I don't know because we were out drinking, like
the I don't know, I don't know. I just remember.
I do remember I had dress socks on. I had
dress socks on.

Speaker 3 (54:56):
So, oh my god, that's even worse.

Speaker 2 (54:58):
Yeah, it's weird dress socks on, and I had boxer briefs. Yeah,
and I walk into what I think is the bathroom
because I'm like, I'm like half in and out, you know,
I'm not really, I'm pretty tired, and the door shuts
behind me and I'm in the hallway, yeah, and it's
like two in the morning, and I'm like, oh no,
and I can't get back in the room. I like,

(55:19):
I try, and I tried knocking, but you don't want
to knock two hargs and people will wake up and
come out see what's going on. So I'm trying to
like aggressively quietly. It was like three am, three am,
so it's really late, really and like I was like, oh,
this is not good. And so then then I'm just
in the hallway and I'm like and I still tope
really bad. I'm like, all right, I'm gonna run to
the bath. So I literally like sprinted because didn't want
anyone see me. I thin.

Speaker 3 (55:42):
The security was like, what is this random guy who's
in his box and socks doing running through the hallway
of Deck nine or whatever.

Speaker 2 (55:52):
I was sprinting. I like someone that just probably like
slept with someone's wife or something. I got caught and
I'm running, yeah, because like I'm running. Then I was
like like on like deck ten or something. So I
went down and then I could hear people and I'm like,
oh god. Then I went back up, and I'm like,
the buffets closed, and I know there's bathrooms by the buffet,
and I know it's closed. Its three am. So I
go up there. Finally found a bathroom.

Speaker 3 (56:12):
Pee.

Speaker 2 (56:12):
Now I have to figure out how I still have
the same problem. I can't get in the room solve
a problem number two. Problem number one still exists. Yeah,
so I remember. I remember I was like, I gotta
talk to an employee. So I went into the buffet.
The sliding glass doors open, and there's two guys like drilling,
like they're updating the buffet. They're fixing something, these maintenance guys,
and they just turn and stare at me, and I'm

(56:33):
just sitting there and all my glory and they were like,
can we help you? And I said, yes you can.
I said I need to talk to a manager, like
they called him.

Speaker 3 (56:42):
Man like, yeah, he definitely needs a manager.

Speaker 2 (56:43):
They got a manager on the walk talkie. I explained
everything and they said someone will meet you. Just go
back down your room, someone will meet you. And they
got me back in and I told you about it
next morning.

Speaker 3 (56:52):
Yes, And I was like what So that was all.

Speaker 2 (56:55):
The clip notes, but that was in very embarrassing. It
was very Yeah.

Speaker 3 (57:00):
The only thing that I can really think of for me,
and this is if this happened to me now, I
would not be embarrassed. But for some reason, I was
so embarrassed by this. When I had like my cart
full of groceries and I was at Public's in Columbia
and I just forgot my walt. They had bagged everything up.
Then I was like, oh, I don't have a way
to pay, and I literally left in tears.

Speaker 2 (57:22):
Embarrassing.

Speaker 3 (57:23):
I left in tears. I mean I came back and
you know, pay, but I left in tears. I do,
but now i'd be like, oh, whatever, I don't care
raped my wallet. I'll be right back. I don't know
why that was so embarrassing too, but that is.

Speaker 2 (57:36):
Kind of embarrassing. I guess that's the most embrassings happened
to you. You've done pretty good.

Speaker 3 (57:40):
I was gonna say, I think that that's the most
embarrassing thing. I can't think of anything else.

Speaker 2 (57:44):
Yeah, I think I think that's definitely, for me, the
most embarrassing thing.

Speaker 3 (57:49):
I'm trying to think of it. I'm sure like in
college I did some stupid stuff was embarrassing.

Speaker 2 (57:55):
So I've done stuff on purpose that people would think
it's embarrassing, Like I got sandals once I did that
dance competition. I killed them. For most people to be
embarrassed by that, Yeah, not you, No, no shame. But anyways, guys,
that's a podcast. We're gonna we're gonna stop the rambling here.
Let you guys get back to your beautiful week. Wherever
you are. Whenever I'm listening to us, we appreciate it.
We love you. Happy Mother's Day to all the moms

(58:15):
out there. Dog Moms count two.

Speaker 3 (58:17):
And if you want more information and anything you've heard today,
please feel free to reach out. Signed to our DMS,
go to Peniac travel dot com click request a quote,
it comes directly to me, or give us a call.
Winny hundred sixty seven four three two seven eight. We
are in the office Monday through Friday nine am two
five pm Eastern Time, except on Fridays. I try to
leave early. So yes, thank you so much for listening,

(58:38):
and we will catch you next time.

Speaker 2 (58:40):
I leave a review. Catch you next time

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