Sandals Grenada

Get spoiled at this amazing all-inclusive, adults-only resort

Grenada was our second all-inclusive, adults-only Sandals visit (the first was Sandals Royal Plantation). This fabulous destination is on the beautiful and friendly island of Grenada in the Caribbean. Sandals Grenada is a top-notch resort with amazing service, incredible food, and beautiful facilities. 

In this post:

• Arrival/Flying to Sandals Grenada
• Check-In
• Pink Gin Oceanfront Room
• The Beach
• Water Sports
• Bars
• Dining
• Italian Oceanview Penthouse 1 Br. SkyPool Butler Suite (how to upgrade!)
• Party Vibe
• Excursions
• Caveats
• Recommendation

Arrival in Grenada

We flew in to Grenada’s small airport from Miami and got through customs and immigration fairly quickly. Proceeding outside, we went to the Sandals Desk, where we gave them our names and they gave us luggage tags. We waited until another couple got there and then got in to the Sandals Shuttle. We waited maybe 20 minutes once we were at the desk. The ride to the resort is less than 10 minutes. However, even though the resort is so close to the airport, we never heard any airplane noise at the resort.

Check-In at Sandals Grenada

We entered the open-air lobby and were escorted to the Club Sandals Lounge to check in on an iPad. There were several concierges there, and because we had a club-level room we were able to make all of our dining reservations at that time with them. Super easy. We were then taken on a tour of the resort and shown our room.

The Pink Gin Oceanfront Honeymoon Penthouse Club Level Room bedroom and sitting area. The open door leads to a very small balcony. This room has fabulous oceanfront views.

Our Room at Sandals Grenada—the First One

Because we are balcony people and love having a beautiful view of the sea, we had booked a Pink Gin Oceanfront Honeymoon Penthouse Club Level Room. We don’t like people walking by in front of us so we chose Penthouse level–which also has the best views. The room was a good size. It had a dining area, very comfortable king-sized bed, and a beautiful spa bathroom. It also had a large closet with a safe. The balcony was, however, a bit small. It only had room for two small chairs and a very small table. We had a good view of the ocean, and enjoyed drinks, morning coffee, and snacks out there. You really couldn’t eat a meal on the balcony, as the table was very small and low.

The beautiful spa bathroom in the Pink Gin room. The door to the left is to the toilet area, the shower is on the right.

The Beach at Sandals Grenada

Sandals Grenada sits on beautiful Pink Gin Beach. The resort has two large coves and the water is very calm and beautiful. The sand is very nice, and they have plenty of loungers. We never had a problem getting ones with umbrellas, but we did get up super early to do so. In addition, there are vendors on the beach, but they usually leave you alone after you tell them you are not interested. Each cove has large floating water rings, which are great places to float and relax.

From the pier, we saw beautiful sunsets beside the gorgeous cliffs at the end of the property. Sandals Grenada has great seating out there for enjoying pre-dinner drinks and the view.

Water Sports at Sandals Grenada

The Dive Center is wonderful and they are all very helpful there. We used paddle boards and took the hour-long glass bottom boat tour. Make sure you sign up in advance, preferably on your first day for best availability.

On our last day I finally convinced my Navy husband to go out on a Hobie Cat with me. He always says that he has spent too much time on boats and avoids them! The instructor went with us and taught us how to sail. The next time we go, we are going to go out every day with an instructor until we feel comfortable going out on our own. The Dive Shop monitors and watches everyone using water sports equipment, so if you get trapped and start going out to sea, they will come rescue you! We are not scuba divers, but the dive boat was constantly going out with lots of divers.

Bars

Sandals Grenada has a great swim-up bar at the party pool. It is always busy and the service is very good, very friendly and quick. The pizza place is right by the pool, so you can easily grab a pizza and drinks and sit in the shade (or sun).

You can also take your pizza over by the “Living Room” area, which has another very large pool on the beach. This pool has a sunken seating area and fire pit in the middle of it. It is beautiful at night to sit there. In the middle of the resort by this pool is the covered Living Room Bar, which has couch swings, lots of comfortable seating, restrooms, and small intimate rooms like the library. The bar is great and has wonderful service. 

Finally, on the beach is a Bar and Grill, which has steps that lead down to the beach. Beach bar service is available for most of the day on the beach and they are timely and attentive. 

Dining at Sandals Grenada

With club level rooms you can order room service from 7am to 10 pm. Butler level has 24 hour room service. The room service menu is, to me, a little limited, but it is good for breakfast and for snacks while you are getting ready to go out to dinner.

The restaurants at Sandals Grenada are very, very good and they have an extensive selection to suit anyone’s taste. For quick food, there is the Pizzeria as well as Cafe de Paris for ice cream, pastries, cakes, cupcakes, and coffees. 

On the beach is Neptunes, where you can eat lunch or dinner right next to the beach. 

They also have Soy, a sushi place, Spices for Caribbean food, and the Tipsy Turtle for British Pub food and a great bar atmosphere.

Our favorites were Butch’s Steakhouse (fabulous steaks and atmosphere), Cucina Romana (loved their Italian food and breakfast), and Le Jardinier (French with a fancy atmosphere and also a good breakfast).

Our most enjoyable dinner was probably Kimonos. Wow! This Japanese steakhouse was the best we have ever been to, in terms of the BEST chef for our table. He was so much fun, did all sorts of extra stuff (like having us each try to spin a raw egg and then toss it three times on a spatula, and then crack it). The food was excellent and the entertaining chef was incredible. We really enjoyed that evening.

Our (Second) Room

As we walked around the resort and looked at all of the rooms, we decided we would like to tour the Italian Oceanview Penthouse 1 Br. SkyPool Butler Suite. We went to the Loyalty office and asked if there were any available to tour. She arranged a visit for us on the second day, and can I just say, WOW. We were floored. It had incredible views, a beautiful private infinity pool, a balcony soaking tub, comfortable living room and dining room area, kitchen/butler area, and a beautiful bedroom with a huge spa bathroom.

View from the Skypool Suite of the balcony, soaking tub, and the gorgeous Caribbean Sea

The bedroom of the Skypool Suite. The bed is very comfortable, has luxurious bedding, and an incredible view. It has doors which lead to direct access to your infinity pool on the balcony.

The morning view from the bed–the infinity pool, the small hill, and the beautiful Caribbean Sea.

Worth the Upgrade

My husband asked if the Suite would be available for the rest of our stay, and it was. They gave us a bit of a deal on it, too. So we moved in on our third day and spent two nights in that incredible room. It came with a Butler, so we received even more top-notch service. He made sure we had designated loungers under an umbrella in the spot we wanted on the beach, a cooler full of drinks on the beach, and he brought us our lunch out there (pizza again, don’t judge). Our butler group (there were three that switched off) also made my birthday celebration night unforgettable, with a rose-petal decorated soaking tub prepared when we came back from the beach, and then a special dinner from Butch’s Steakhouse in our dining area, along with my favorite flavor of birthday cake.

Me, enjoying the lighted skypool, champagne, and the incredible sunset from the Skypool Suite.

Sunset view from the infinity pool and looking out of the bedroom doors of the Skypool Suite.

This room is truly a special treat, but was so worth the upgrade for a few days. There were, however, lots of doves who loved to hang out by the infinity pool and do some business in there, so you have to get over that. The pool was a little chilly in January but I was determined to use it and I did! The balcony was huge and it had very comfortable seating. The balcony tub was to us at first silly, but then after we used it we were sold on the idea.

The living room area of the Skypool Suite.

The spa bathroom is very large, and has a soaking tub, a great shower, and two sinks. There is also a great makeup area with a chair right outside the bathroom.

The incredible spa bathroom in the Skypool Suite. To the left of the soaking tub is the toilet area, to the right is a great shower.

Party Vibe at Sandals Grenada

We met some nice couples on the shuttle ride to the resort as well as on the beach, and enjoyed talking with everyone. There wasn’t much of a party vibe when we were there, although we didn’t really seek out a party. We enjoyed the Chocolate Night, where they had a really great selection of delicious treats. We also enjoyed watching Caribbean dancers one evening, but we truly loved sitting on our balcony and enjoying the sounds of nighttime and each other.

Excursions Through Sandals Grenada

We took a 4 hour dune buggy tour through Sandals Excursions one afternoon. A group of two couples followed a lead dune buggy around the island and tried raw chocolate off of a tree. Our guide showed us nutmeg and other spices growing on the island, too. We went to the waterfalls, were able to pose for photos with a monkey on our shoulders, and watched guys jump off of the top of the falls into the pools beneath. I recommend taking this tour, as you go all over the island and get to see most of the main sites, including the rainforest, marinas, and mud trails.

There’s a monkey on my shoulder! We encountered this fun opportunity on our Dune Buggy Island Tour excursion at the Waterfalls area. He was really heavy!

In front of the waterfalls during our Dune Buggy Excursion. It was a great, fun way to see almost all of the island. Locals will even jump off of the top into the pool below for you…for a good tip, of course. Talk about a fun job!

Caveats

Sandals turns the fire pits off at night pretty early, if I remember correctly around 10 pm. We would have liked to have sat there longer with drinks after dinner. The beach is usually pretty uncrowded, and people seemed to love the main party pool. That was were the action was. I guess since we didn’t go there much we didn’t really see much “party action.” There were also some animated volleyball games going on during the day. If you are looking for a party atmosphere, it was pretty tame here but perfect for us. In addition, the Pink Gin balconies were a bit small, so don’t expect to spend a lot of time on them. Finally, the Skypool Suite pool was chilly and had lots of bird action, but you can call our butler and they will have someone come clean it.

View from the seating area on the pier. You can see the beach, Italian Village area in the center, and Pink Gin area on the left. The Living Room area and Bar is the low, red-roofed building on the right. The Pink Gin Pool is between that and the beach.

Recommendation

My husband and I LOVED this Sandals resort. Before we visited, we thought we only liked small and intimate resorts, but we really liked this larger one. At Sandals Grenada, you can be as active or reclusive as you want, so it is a great fit for us. The food was excellent, the pools and beach were great, and the service was always friendly, attentive and top-notch. I would love to go to Sandals Grenada again. But…so many Sandals….so little time! 

Fairy Pools Hike

Hike the Fairy Pools on the Isle of Skye, Scotland

To see more of our Scotland Itinerary, click here.

On our recent trip to Scotland in July we spent 4 nights on the beautiful Isle of Skye. One of our priorities was a Fairy Pools Hike. We drove from Portree to Glenbrittle, at the foot of the Cuillen Mountains. It took us about 30 minutes from Portree.

The day was very overcast, cold and rainy, and as this hike was the first for our day, we arrived around 9 am. It wasn’t very crowded at all. We parked (for a small fee) and walked across the road. After a minimal distance, we found some small waterfalls. We then continued up the hill and eventually started seeing the large ones. Overall, the hike was very easy; however there are several small streams to cross carefully across slippery rocks. Just take your time. The day we were there it was also very muddy.

The Fairy Pools path climbs gradually up the hill alongside a series of beautiful waterfalls, streams and pools. With the rain the waterfalls were really strong. You can easily maneuver closer to the falls and pools at most points on the path. They were very beautiful and it was an easy hike of about a mile and a half. Allow at least 40 minutes for the Fairy Pools hike. It was hard not to take pictures and videos at each waterfall, as they were all so beautful!

The Isle of Skye is absolutely beautiful and the Fairy Pools are not to be missed. I even found an arrowhead at one point, but didn’t want bad juju from the “fairies,” so I just took a picture with it and put it back down. Please watch the quick video above to see just how absolutely beautiful and easy the Fairy Pools Hike can be.

For an overview of the hike, go to Isle of Skye Tourist Information.

Sandals Royal Plantation

A Review

Sandals Royal Plantation in Jamaica was our first visit to a Sandals. This all-butler, all-inclusive, adults-only resort sold us on Sandals forever. We became Sandals Addicts. Continue reading to find out why we love Sandals Resorts so much.

Planning

In the past, when I heard the name “Sandals” I thought of honeymooners and Michael Scott from “The Office” going to Sandals with Jan. We were planning a special birthday trip for me a few years ago and had decided on an all-inclusive resort in Mexico. Then I started reading about all the tainted liquor, tourists passing out and not remembering what happened to them, and the drug wars in Cancun, and I decided I wanted no part of that. I did some research and ended up on the Sandals Royal Plantation webpage.

What I really liked about Sandals Royal Plantation is that it is adults-only. When we go on a couples vacation, we are all about relaxing, recharging, and peaceful fun. No offense to those who travel with their kids–but there isn’t much peaceful fun when kids are around. I was intrigued by the all-inclusiveness of Sandals, how they had water sports, land sports, and all drinks and food included. I loved their beautiful rooms on the beach, their nice pools and uncrowded beaches. What really sold me on Sandals Royal Plantation was that this particular resort was all-butler and small and intimate. I double checked TripAdvisor reviews, did some web searches, and changed our booking from Mexico to Jamaica.

Peaceful beach at Sandals Royal Plantation. Beach Bar & Grill is to the right. You can’t get any closer to the water than that!

Swings and hammocks over the water. So relaxing.

When you visit Sandals Royal Plantation, you can fly in to Montego Bay or Kingston. The drive from either is about the same. We flew in to Montego Bay. Many airlines service Jamaica, so we could find a good, reasonably-priced fare.

What’s great about Sandals is you can check in online in advance. When you do that, you can write in your butler preferences before you arrive. Some items you can include are the types of liquor and wine you prefer to have in your fridge on arrival, if you want a fruit and cheese tray every day at 5, or any special requests. When you arrive, you are all set to go!

Arrival at Sandals Royal Plantation–the beautiful lobby

Arrival

We arrived at Montego Bay (MBJ) and customs/immigration did not take very long at all. The Sandals arrival lounge is easy to find, and we waited there for our shuttle to the resort. We were the only ones on the shuttle, and we had a great conversation with our driver about the culture of Jamaica, famous visitors and Bob Marley. It took about an hour and a half to get to Ocho Rios, where Sandals Royal Plantation sits on a lovely beach with calm water.

When we arrived, we were greeted by very friendly employees. They quickly checked us in and then gave us a resort tour and showed us to our room. We had upgraded to a higher category right before we left, and it wasn’t until after a few hours I realized we weren’t in that type of room. (Note: I was just so happy to be in such a great place!) We went to the front desk and showed them our upgrade confirmation, and they told us they would work on that for us and would show us the room the next day. The manager came and spoke to us on the beach, and apologized for the mix-up.

However, when they took us to the new room, the balcony was not very private (we love our balconies). So we decided we didn’t want to do that upgrade. In a shocking bit of fabulous customer service for this day and age, the manager again came to us and offered to upgrade us to the BEST room for our last two nights there. He was truly apologetic for the mix-up. Of course we jumped on that. This kind of customer service really impressed us.

Our Room(s)

Our first room category was the Monarch Oceanfront Suite. Sandals Royal Plantation is all “ocean front,” with some rooms closer to the beach than others. Instead of a true balcony, it had a “French balcony” which was basically large sliding doors that open up to the ocean front. It has a king-sized bed, a dining area, and bathroom with a tub/shower. The bed was very comfortable and we loved having morning coffee and breakfast in our suite with the doors open to the beautiful ocean.

Dinner from Le Papillon on the balcony of the Governor General’s Suite. We never wanted to leave!

For our last two nights, we moved in to the Governor General’s Suite and didn’t leave for about 18 hours! This room had TWO fabulous balconies on the top end of the West Wing, a huge living room and beautiful full bath and a half bath. It was the closest you could get to the water. We lived on the balconies! Our butlers brought us dinner from Le Papillon (the amazing French restaurant) and breakfast each morning to enjoy al fresco. We had absolutely fabulous views, with ceiling fans if we weren’t getting enough breeze. I highly recommend that room. We were totally spoiled.

Sunrise view from Governor General’s Suite balcony

Butlers and Service

Our butlers for our entire stay were Orayne and Ricardo. I highly recommend them. I know to us Americans, “butler” sounds really over-the-top, and we weren’t quite sure what we should or could ask of them. However, at Sandals Royal Plantation (and all Sandals) the butlers are discrete, friendly, hard-working, and everything we asked for was taken care of. They never said “not possible.” I wasn’t sure we could get dinner in our room from the restaurant, but they did it. Two orders each of appetizers from Le Papillon? YES! They even delivered me a pizza at the gazebo one afternoon, totally surprising me and it truly hit the spot. We absolutely loved them and felt very spoiled. They were truly top tier.

Selfie with our wonderful butler Ricardo

We celebrated my birthday during our vacation and they constantly surprised me with sweet messages, cards, room decor, a delicious cake, and more. At the time, we wondered that maybe that’s what all Sandals butlers do, and we just haven’t experienced it before. But we were very, very happy and impressed with them. They were always fabulous.

The disco lights cracked me up, but what a wonderful surprise to come back to after dinner

Many of the staff throughout the resort told me “Happy Birthday.” My husband booked a private dinner under the gazebo and it was super romantic and delicious. We were able to choose our menu.

In fact, our favorite place from 5-630 pm each night was sitting in the chairs on the gazebo pier, watching the light change as the sun went down, with drinks in hand and just being together.

The Resort

The resort is small so you never feel crowded or that it is too busy. We had one crazy night in the Wobbly Peacock (the British Pub), and the bartenders there were great as were the DJs. The best food was at Le Papillon, the French restaurant. The Terrace buffet for lunch was also good. Breakfast was always great, we loved the omelets and the coffee was really good. Lunch at the beach bar was good, and the beach waiters were very attentive.

The pool was very small but nice. We had afternoon tea on the verandah one afternoon, and that was delicious as well, with very attentive service. My husband used the paddle boards, and they were very nice and helpful at the water sports desk.

At Sandals Royal Plantation, not only can you use paddle boards, they also have Hobie Cats (and they will teach you!) and kayaks. They will take you snorkeling and on dives. Sandals is known for being great for those who love scuba diving.

You can visit their nearby resort, but guests at that resort can’t visit you

At a lot of Sandals, you have visitation privileges to other nearby Sandals Resorts. This way you have even more choices for meals, bars, entertainment, beaches, pools, and more. At Royal Plantation, guests can take a quick shuttle next door to Sandals Ochi. However, guests at Ochi cannot come over to Royal Plantation. That keeps Royal Plantation exclusive and much less crowded. You really feel special and that the entire resort is private and uncrowded.

Caveats

The only thing I would suggest is to maybe have more umbrellas on the beach–maybe optional ones to put up? You do have to play the chair game and get up early to get your best spot on the beach, so make sure you take towels the night before. They have shaded areas, too. And there is always the gazebo, which is actually a great place to while away the afternoon. But these are VERY minor things.

Rebook and save

A great Sandals secret is to book while you are on property and save. We booked to go back in 2020. We typically like to go somewhere different each year, but we were so impressed with Royal Plantation that we made an exception. The service, the people, the resort, the food, the location, and our fabulous butlers were all wonderful. However, after we got home we looked online at all of the other Sandals Resorts, and decided for our next trip to visit Sandals Grenada. That review will be coming up soon.

Tips

When we visit again, we would book a different room category. We love our balcony time for morning coffee, breakfast, pre-dinner drinks, watching the sunset and sunrise, and getting shade from the sun. The perfect room for us would be the Grand Duchess Oceanfront Verandah Suite. You have to book that one about two years out, as people tend to return over and over to this resort and that seems to be the favorite room. There are three of them and they book fast. It has a huge balcony, but is farther back from the beach. It is also in the West Wing, which has less obstructed views of the beach than the East Wing (unless they have recently cut back the trees by the East Wing).

I would also suggest that you book a table for Le Papillion as soon as you arrive, especially if you want outdoor seating on the verandah. We didn’t do that and ate inside, which was nice, but we were jealous of all the people enjoying the beautiful evening overlooking the ocean. Also, make sure you get up early if you want front-row loungers and umbrellas on the beach. If you are a sun-worshiper, you will have no problem, as there are lots of loungers on one of the jettys and without umbrellas.

This view from a window in the Governor General’s Suite shows the loungers on the jetty for sun worshippers

We aren’t big party-people, and aren’t necessarily on our trips to meet new people. But if you visit the Peacock and hang out at the bars, you will meet plenty of new friends. The nightlife isn’t wild here, so if you are looking for a party, I suggest you book Ochi next door instead. But we had just enough party atmosphere for us at Royal Plantation.

recommendation

If you love an all-inclusive, adults-only, all beachfront resort, and you love being spoiled by all staff and having a personal, super-friendly butler, plus delicious, top-quality food and drinks, I highly recommend Sandals Royal Plantation. It is an excellent place to reconnect with your sweetie and have a relaxing, wonderful time while enjoying amazing views of the Caribbean Sea.

Venice With Teens

Third post in my Italy series: Rome, Florence/Tuscany, Venice

Our final stop on our Italian trip was Venice, a great place for teens. Gondola rides, the Doges Palace, prisons, canals, boats, and great food make this a great destination for them.

We stayed at Hotel Antiche Figure. This hotel is very close to the train station, and also very close to the bus station for a quick, inexpensive ride to the airport. We arrived from Florence by train, super-easy to do. We exited the train station, went to our left, crossed the first bridge, turned right, and our hotel was within a block. The hotel had very comfortable rooms and included a great breakfast. It was really close to a water bus stop and not too far for an easy walk to St. Mark’s Square.

In front of the lions in St. Mark’s Square

On our first day, we stood in line for entry to St. Mark’s Cathedral. We didn’t wait very long, but it was very interesting as the square was flooded (it was March) and we stood on scaffolding while we waited. Many people were wearing waders, we didn’t and we did ok…we just had to carefully maneuver around some areas. The water was quite high, as it was high tide.

Flooding and scaffolding during the spring season in St. Mark’s Square

In the afternoon, we met up with our tour guide, Igor, from Tour Leader Venice, He took us on a three-hour walking tour and a one-hour water taxi tour. His tour included a guided tour of the Doges Palace, as well as an “off the beaten path” tour to learn about Marco Polo, famous Venetians, the Plague, and history of the city.  He also took us off the major tourist routes in order to see the “real” Venice, and told us stories of growing up in Venice and how it has changed. He also told us how Venice is built on wooden platforms supported by wooden stakes driven in to the ground. Very fascinating. Our water taxi tour really gave us an idea of all the different areas of Venice, and we saw all the different, beautiful architectural styles.

Venice from the water

Finally, he took us through the Doges Palace, and gave us a great background on its role in Venetian society. He showed us the “secret” way to accuse people (see photo below), and told us about the way the Doges ruled.

Insert your accusation in this “lion’s mouth” and justice may be done… you could be financially rewarded if they are convicted, and your identity will be kept secret

The next day we had tickets for the “Secret Itineraries” tour at the Doges Palace. It was much more interesting than the regular tour through the palace, and I highly recommend it. The guide told us about Casanova and his imprisonment, and showed us his cell and described his escape–an incredibly interesting, fascinating story. Our guide also took us up into the attic to see how the huge ceiling below over the Chamber of the Great Council (one of the largest rooms in Europe) is held up without columns, an amazing feat of engineering. We saw more great historic weapons displays, saw a torture chamber and secret rooms, and crossed over the Bridge of Sighs just like Venetian prisoners in the old days.

Photos from the “Secret Itineraries Tour” of the Doges Palace and Prison. Clockwise from top left: Weapons display; View through the small windows on the Bridge of Sighs; Walking the narrow passageways; Prison cells

In the afternoon, we took a free boat ride arranged by our hotel to a glass factory on the island of Murano, where we learned all about glass blowing and saw amazing pieces of custom, handblown glass–everything from full-sized clown figures to birds, bowls, and glassware. They had created almost anything you could ever imagine out of glass.

Glass factory in Murano

Finally, we had arranged for a special gondola ride with a very highly recommended gondolier, Luca. We met him in the Jewish Quarter and he took us through very quiet, peaceful canals while the sun set. He sang us a wonderful song, and told us about the tradition of gondoliering in his family. Your teens will love this activity in Venice very much.

Clockwise from left: Our awesome Gondolier, Luca; Getting ready to go in the boat around the Jewish Quarter; Beautiful decor on the gondola

We loved our visit to Venice, and you can do it all in two days. What we loved most was wandering down the different city alleys and discovering shops and restaurants and historic sites around every corner. The gondola ride was of course a hit, as was the Secret Itineraries tour of the Doges Palace. I highly recommend taking your teens to Venice and enjoying your time there with them.

Do you have any suggestions for great things for teens to see and do in Venice? Please share below!