Back, from an absolutely fabulous time at the Royal Caribbean! This was our 3rd stay at the RC, and our 4th Sandal resort. To compare with other all inclusive resorts in Mexico, DR and Cuba, Sandals really is a much better bargain for your money. For paying the same price in another resort same star level you wont get all that Sandals can provide, and if you become a Signature guest (loyalty program) member (for free) you get a ton of bonuses, like after 70 paid nights – you get a free week at any Sandals, who else will give you a rewards program like that? We booked this vacation to celebrate our 25th wedding anniversary, and we were both very extremely happy with our 10 night stay. Although we chose butler level this time, I’ve included comments on the other category levels we previously stayed in.
Airport – Travel to resort
We have always found the wait for the buses to the resort to be either none at all, or approx. 15 – 20 min max., most of this is waiting for other passengers to clear customs and get to the Sandals lounge area to sign in. If there is a wait, great time for a glass of beer (in the lounge) and/or a quick smoke. Don’t forget to tip the driver as he does not work for Sandals and is not part of the “no tipping policy”. The short ride (15 min) to Sandals Montego Bay (for other guests staying there) and then on to the Royal Caribbean gives you a quick glance at the local scenery. One of my favourite views is the mountain side of the area, especially at night.
Check-in
The fresh cool damp towels, with champagne or a refreshing drink waiting upon your arrival is one of the delights of the Sandals chain that we’ve come to enjoy. The front desk staff are always smiling and have been very helpful to us every visit. A short wait and we were whisked off to the air conditioned Concierge room to wait for our Butler, Hughill to arrive.
Rooms Royal Honeymoon Swim-Up 1 Bdr. River Suite with Private Entrance. We had booked the Beachfront Royal suite, and were upgraded us to one of the brand-new ground-floor River suites. These new suites are absolutely stunning, thank you, thank you Leighton! These rooms are expanded in size with dark wood furniture, beautifully decorated with tons of closet space and a huge superior bathroom with a Jacuzzi tub for two. A separate living area, two plasma TV’s a, gorgeous huge bed; I could go on and on. The large outdoor sitting area has a built-for-two sofa that we are thinking of buying for our backyard because we loved it so much. We would sit by the main pool till after lunch then head back to our room to enjoy the lazy river. Hubby would take one of his afternoon naps, and when I heard Mario call out, `Pool volleyball` I would pour myself a glass of champagne and sit on the patio sofa thinking life can’t get too much better than this ;-). The room was cleaned every day before 10:00, and every night turned down with our robes laid out. One of the butlers would always check to make sure we had enough of everything.
Royal Grande Luxe Semi-private Pool view (ground floor)
We loved these rooms as they were nice and quite in the afternoon if you wanted to just get away & have some great chit chats with others or just read a book or soak up some rays. Our room was steps away from the pool, and we brought our ice bucket out and filled it with ice, beer and water. Nice sized rooms.
Royal Grande Luxe
This was the first room we stayed in, and we lucked in as the room we got was 125 and was set amongst the foliage and our large patio backed on to a wooded garden forest type area, that no one ever used.
All the rooms at the RC (except for the new River suites) contain basically the same you would find at any other all inclusive resort – except these come with a mini fridge replenished with at least water and pop at the min. Champagne, beer and a bar in the Concierge and Butler category. All of the rooms are clean, well maintained, (yes some of the older ones look older, but same can be said for any Caribbean resort). The cleaning staff is super, never a problem with towels or getting more water in our fridge.
Butlers Our butlers Hughill and Ellis (and for a few times Adia) were amazing in taking care of us. We asked for a plate of cheese and crackers one day and every afternoon there was always a treat waiting for us. We had an amazing romantic dinner on our patio, you can choose anything from any of the restaurants (excl. any that are closed & the Island as it’s pretty hard to get a course over on boat lol), we switched the night we were going to have our dinner as the French restaurant wasn’t open and I really wanted the escargot, so check with your butler early to determine the schedule for the nights the restaurants are open etc. so you get to enjoy your private dinner – Ellis did a wonderful job and was so discreet when he served us our dishes that we hardly saw the time go by and we were chatting so much that it was after 9pm…we, started at 6 lol. The butlers really do add a special touch and we are very glad we chose to spend the extra to have this service during our stay.
The resort overall
We love the fact that this is not a huge resort, or that it’s not a `party crowd`, however the drinking games at the main pool bar are a lot of fun to watch. “The rum is good all the time- all the time the rum is good! “ Verna and her team are always smiling and chatting while mixing our drinks. If you don’t know what to try ask Verna to make you something, she always comes up with a delicious concoction.The grounds are well manicured and beautiful landscaping with statues, flowers, pathways etc., and the ground and maintenance people really do a super job. The Playmakers are always active, getting us lazy sun worshipers out of our chairs ha ha. Consisting of a great team, to name a few; Marlon, Mario, Antonio and Julienne.Kudos’ to the staff working the Piano bar, after dinner the place gets hopping. The drinks are flowing and very tasty. Another great place to hang out after during and or for dinner is the Cricketer’s pub. Friday’s is beach party night. They have a local marching children’s band come (they start at the front of the resort and work their way to the beach) and these kids are great to watch and hear. After dinner there is; a steel band, fire dancer and dancing, definitely a must. Wednesday is the returning guest dinner with the Management team, one or two people we ran into were not aware that if you stayed at any Sandals resort previously, you are invited to join. If you don’t receive an invite by Tuesday afternoon, talk to Leighton or David K. the loyalty manager or any one of the Managers you see and they will ensure your set.
Mondays, is the Managers Wine and Cheese Party. It is wonderful to see the pride the staff here has in what they do. Various local performing artists play at the Almond terrace in the evenings. The RC has done new updates since our last visit, namely the new pool chairs by the pools – nice. Wish they had left the Cricketer’s open for lunch though. The beach is a great place to soak up some rays, but be mindful that it’s not a huge long walking one, so don’t be surprised.
Restaurants Wow, with Sandals Montego Bay and Sandals Inn a short shuttle bus ride away the dinning selection is more than you could possible need or want during a 7 or 14 night stay. Our favourites are; Thai, Le Jardinière (French), Regency, – at Montego, Tokyo Joe’s, and OK Corral. We have not dined at the Inn yet – still on the to do list ha ha. We always found that the buffet selections for breakfast and lunch along with the beach grill are perfect. If you get a bit hungry before dinner the beach grill is great place to get some snacks as well. The added a refreshment cooler at the main pool – contains water with fresh fruits and ice, great for when you’re looking to quench your thirst. Also and here’s a tip, when dinning at the Regency I asked for a different appetizer than what was on the menu – one from the Pavilion – shrimp tempura, and it was no problem.
On a final note, If you’re looking for; great food, drinks, meeting great people, pampering and a well deserved vacation, the Royal Caribbean is it. RC always makes you feel like family. The team at the RC is the main reason we return again and again.