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5 Best Sandals Caribbean All-Inclusive Beach Holiday Resorts
If you're trying to impress a spouse for forgetting their birthday, you could do a lot worse than booking a Sandals beach resort. Perhaps that's a bit over the top but the 15 Sandals resorts all offer five star Caribbean holidays in beautiful beachside locations.
They're all-inclusive resorts meaning that you can dine in a choice of restaurants and try out several watersports and activities. Needless to say, it isn't a cheap holiday but you can get some good deals if you pick one of the cheaper Sandals resorts and choose the quieter dates during the year.
We've picked out our top 5 Sandals Beach resorts after comparing customer reviews, awards, beaches, value for money, flight time from the UK, onsite facilities and other factors.
They're all-inclusive resorts meaning that you can dine in a choice of restaurants and try out several watersports and activities. Needless to say, it isn't a cheap holiday but you can get some good deals if you pick one of the cheaper Sandals resorts and choose the quieter dates during the year.
We've picked out our top 5 Sandals Beach resorts after comparing customer reviews, awards, beaches, value for money, flight time from the UK, onsite facilities and other factors.
1. Sandals South Coast - Jamaica - best Sandals Resort for a honeymoon
Sandals South Coast in Jamaica is the one which Sandals recommends for a honeymoon in one of their blog posts, although any of their resorts would have impressed my wife.
When we checked, it was getting very good reviews of 4.5/5 on Google Reviews and TripAdvisor and a score of 4.3/5 on Expedia. There are a few Sandals resorts which score marginally higher in reviews such as Sandals Grenada and Sandals Grande St. Lucian in Saint Lucia but Sandals South Coast has a lot going for it.
It's one of the larger Sandals hotels and has one of the best beaches and some of the best swimming pools of all the Sandals resorts. There are three swimming pools and nine restaurants onsite, plus several bars. It has also had some modernisation in the last few years and has plenty of onsite watersports including waterskiing. It used to be called Sandals Whitehouse, in case you visited some time ago.
If you can afford it (and if you book early) there are a small number of ultra-appealing bungalows over the water which sit on stilts over the Caribbean.
On the downside, it's one of the furthest Sandals resorts from the UK. Flight time and transfer time together will take you about more than 11 hours, plus checking in time etc. That's about two hours more than the closest Sandals resorts (Sandals Grande Antigua, Sandals Royal Barbados and Sandals Barbabos.
The weather in Jamaica is hotter than some Sandals resorts. The best time to visit is January to April when the heat is dry rather than humid, although you'll pay less for a holiday outside of these months.
Price: in our price comparison, Sandals South Coast was a mid-priced or sometimes lower priced option. We searched in March 2020 for the cheapest accommodation for two people for a week including flights from a London airport, all food and activities (apart from the odd one which you pay extra for). For a week in April 2020 it was £6288, August was £4760, early December was £3554.
When we checked, it was getting very good reviews of 4.5/5 on Google Reviews and TripAdvisor and a score of 4.3/5 on Expedia. There are a few Sandals resorts which score marginally higher in reviews such as Sandals Grenada and Sandals Grande St. Lucian in Saint Lucia but Sandals South Coast has a lot going for it.
It's one of the larger Sandals hotels and has one of the best beaches and some of the best swimming pools of all the Sandals resorts. There are three swimming pools and nine restaurants onsite, plus several bars. It has also had some modernisation in the last few years and has plenty of onsite watersports including waterskiing. It used to be called Sandals Whitehouse, in case you visited some time ago.
If you can afford it (and if you book early) there are a small number of ultra-appealing bungalows over the water which sit on stilts over the Caribbean.
On the downside, it's one of the furthest Sandals resorts from the UK. Flight time and transfer time together will take you about more than 11 hours, plus checking in time etc. That's about two hours more than the closest Sandals resorts (Sandals Grande Antigua, Sandals Royal Barbados and Sandals Barbabos.
The weather in Jamaica is hotter than some Sandals resorts. The best time to visit is January to April when the heat is dry rather than humid, although you'll pay less for a holiday outside of these months.
Price: in our price comparison, Sandals South Coast was a mid-priced or sometimes lower priced option. We searched in March 2020 for the cheapest accommodation for two people for a week including flights from a London airport, all food and activities (apart from the odd one which you pay extra for). For a week in April 2020 it was £6288, August was £4760, early December was £3554.
Sandals South Coast is a large beach resort...
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...with activities for couples
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2. Sandals Royal Plantation - Jamaica - best Sandals Resort for older couples
When we checked, Sandals Royal Plantation held the crown as the highest rated of all the Sandals Resorts. It was scoring a glowing 4.6/5 on Google Reviews and Expedia and 4.5/5 on TripAdvisor.
However, it's not for everyone.
For a start it is the smallest Sandals resort by a long way, so it doesn't have quite the same range of onsite facilities. For example, there are only two swimming pools and five restaurants compared to seven swimming pools and sixteen restaurants at the biggest resort (Sandals Ochi in Jamaica). Personally, I'd be happy with a choice of five restaurants for a week's holiday, but you might like a couple more for a fortnight.
It tends to be popular with older visitors, although younger adults certainly aren't excluded.
Sandals Royal Plantation is a good choice if you want to play golf at nearby Sandals Golf & Country Club. It also has the added bonus of being an 'all-butler' resort, meaning that all the accommodation is serviced by butlers.
As it's in Jamaica, you have the slight downside that it's a lot further away than the nearest Sandals resorts. In all, you'll travel for an extra five hours for a return journey to Sandals Royal Plantation compared to the Sandals resorts in Antigua and Barbados.
January to April is the most popular time to visit as the heat is dry. It is cheaper to visit during the humid months when the temperature is often in the low thirties (celsius).
Price: Sandals Royal Plantation was a mid-priced option in our price comparisons. It was from £6454 for a week in April 2020, £5202 for a week in August 2020 or £4108 for a week in a December 2020. That's the 'all-inclusive' price.
However, it's not for everyone.
For a start it is the smallest Sandals resort by a long way, so it doesn't have quite the same range of onsite facilities. For example, there are only two swimming pools and five restaurants compared to seven swimming pools and sixteen restaurants at the biggest resort (Sandals Ochi in Jamaica). Personally, I'd be happy with a choice of five restaurants for a week's holiday, but you might like a couple more for a fortnight.
It tends to be popular with older visitors, although younger adults certainly aren't excluded.
Sandals Royal Plantation is a good choice if you want to play golf at nearby Sandals Golf & Country Club. It also has the added bonus of being an 'all-butler' resort, meaning that all the accommodation is serviced by butlers.
As it's in Jamaica, you have the slight downside that it's a lot further away than the nearest Sandals resorts. In all, you'll travel for an extra five hours for a return journey to Sandals Royal Plantation compared to the Sandals resorts in Antigua and Barbados.
January to April is the most popular time to visit as the heat is dry. It is cheaper to visit during the humid months when the temperature is often in the low thirties (celsius).
Price: Sandals Royal Plantation was a mid-priced option in our price comparisons. It was from £6454 for a week in April 2020, £5202 for a week in August 2020 or £4108 for a week in a December 2020. That's the 'all-inclusive' price.
Sandals Royal Plantation is particularly popular with older couples...
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...and it gets outstanding reviews
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3. Sandals Grande St. Lucian Spa and Beach Resort - Saint Lucia - best Sandals Resort for younger couples
Sandals' Saint Lucia Resorts have a longer 'ideal time' to visit than the Barbados and Grenada resorts, according to most climate guides I've read. They reckon Sandals Grande St. Lucian is at its best from December to April when the temperature is in the mid to high 20s and there isn't much rain.
It's a large resort which offers a lot and also has the advantage of allowing you to use the facilities at the other two Saint Lucia resorts if you fancy trying out a different pool or beach one day.
Sandals Grande St. Lucian was joint second when we ranked all the Sandals resorts based on customer reviews in March 2020. It was scoring 4.6/5 on Google Reviews, 4.5/5 on TripAdvisor and 4.4/5 on Expedia. It is particularly popular with younger visitors as it offers plenty of nightlife and a total of 20 bars and restaurants onsite.
The beach is one of the best, according to Sandals and it is also a good choice if you are keen on either scuba diving or golf.
If you've got the budget, you can hire a bungalow over the water although these tend to get snapped up very quickly.
Travelling from the UK is somewhere around the middle when compared to the other Sandals resorts. The flight and transfers add up to about 10 hours 30 minutes.
Price: a mid-priced option when we checked three sets of dates for 2020. We searched for the price for a couple flying from a London airport and found the cheapest accommodation was £6252 for a week at Easter 2020, £5024 for a week in early August 2020 and £4260 for a week in December 2020.
It's a large resort which offers a lot and also has the advantage of allowing you to use the facilities at the other two Saint Lucia resorts if you fancy trying out a different pool or beach one day.
Sandals Grande St. Lucian was joint second when we ranked all the Sandals resorts based on customer reviews in March 2020. It was scoring 4.6/5 on Google Reviews, 4.5/5 on TripAdvisor and 4.4/5 on Expedia. It is particularly popular with younger visitors as it offers plenty of nightlife and a total of 20 bars and restaurants onsite.
The beach is one of the best, according to Sandals and it is also a good choice if you are keen on either scuba diving or golf.
If you've got the budget, you can hire a bungalow over the water although these tend to get snapped up very quickly.
Travelling from the UK is somewhere around the middle when compared to the other Sandals resorts. The flight and transfers add up to about 10 hours 30 minutes.
Price: a mid-priced option when we checked three sets of dates for 2020. We searched for the price for a couple flying from a London airport and found the cheapest accommodation was £6252 for a week at Easter 2020, £5024 for a week in early August 2020 and £4260 for a week in December 2020.
Sandals Grande St Lucian Resort is popular with younger couples...
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...and it gets some of the best reviews
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4. Sandals Ochi Beach Resort -Jamaica - cheapest and best value Sandals Resort
Sandals Ochi deserves a place in our top 5 as it was consistently the cheapest Sandals Resort in our price comparisons. A blog by Sandals also reckons it is usually their lowest priced resort.
It isn't the highest rated with customers, but that's not to say reviews aren't outstanding when compared with other hotels around the world. Customers on TripAdvisor and Google Reviews were scoring Sandals Ochi 4.5/5 when we checked whilst Expedia's average was 4/5. Those scores certainly aren't to be sneezed at, particularly when you consider that for some dates, Sandals Ochi was more than £3000 cheaper than the most expensive Sandals Resort for a week's holiday (based on two people, all inclusive in the cheapest accommodation available).
It won't be to everyone's taste but it is an ideal choice if you want a large and well-equipped resort which is popular with younger visitors and offers a good nightlife and golf nearby. The swimming pools are very good and there's a bigger choice than any other resort. It also has more restaurants and bars than any other Sandals Resorts.
One slight downside is the travel time from the UK. The flight time plus the transfer time adds up to 11 hours 30 minutes, compared to about 9 hour for the closest resort.
As with the other Jamaican resorts, the best and most expensive time to visit is usually January to April when the weather is hot but dry. If you can cope with humidity then the rainy season offers some bargain breaks.
Price: Sandals Ochi Beach Resort was the cheapest holiday in all our price comparisons, sometimes by several hundred pounds for a week's holiday. An all-inclusive week for two was £5046 at Easter 2020, £4266 in early August 2020 or £3058 in December 2020.
It isn't the highest rated with customers, but that's not to say reviews aren't outstanding when compared with other hotels around the world. Customers on TripAdvisor and Google Reviews were scoring Sandals Ochi 4.5/5 when we checked whilst Expedia's average was 4/5. Those scores certainly aren't to be sneezed at, particularly when you consider that for some dates, Sandals Ochi was more than £3000 cheaper than the most expensive Sandals Resort for a week's holiday (based on two people, all inclusive in the cheapest accommodation available).
It won't be to everyone's taste but it is an ideal choice if you want a large and well-equipped resort which is popular with younger visitors and offers a good nightlife and golf nearby. The swimming pools are very good and there's a bigger choice than any other resort. It also has more restaurants and bars than any other Sandals Resorts.
One slight downside is the travel time from the UK. The flight time plus the transfer time adds up to 11 hours 30 minutes, compared to about 9 hour for the closest resort.
As with the other Jamaican resorts, the best and most expensive time to visit is usually January to April when the weather is hot but dry. If you can cope with humidity then the rainy season offers some bargain breaks.
Price: Sandals Ochi Beach Resort was the cheapest holiday in all our price comparisons, sometimes by several hundred pounds for a week's holiday. An all-inclusive week for two was £5046 at Easter 2020, £4266 in early August 2020 or £3058 in December 2020.
Sandals Ochi is a good value resort...
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...with a big choice of swimming pools
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5. Sandals Grande Antigua - Grande Antigua - closest to the UK
It seems a little unfair to just highlight Sandals Grande Antigua because it's close to the UK. It's a great resort for many reasons and the travel time is a nice bonus. Personally, I get a bit bored on long journeys so a total of 9 hours flight and transfer time is plenty for me and it means you are spending a total of five hours less time travelling compared to the Jamaican resorts for a return journey.
It's a large and lively resort which is particularly popular with older visitors.
There are six swimming pools and a total of 18 restaurants and bars which give it a good nightlife and make it one of the best equipped Sandals resorts. It also has one of the best beaches you'll find at a Sandals hotel.
Customer reviews are very positive, although somewhere around mid-table once we'd ranked all the resorts together (Sandals Grande Antigua scored 4.4/5 on Google Reviews, 4.5/5 on TripAdvisor and 4.3/5 on Expedia).
According to the guides I've read, the best time to visit is right through from December to April whereas Grenada and Barbados have a much shorter three-month window when the weather is 'ideal' (which generally means dry and hot rather than humid and muggy).
Price: a mid-priced or lower-priced option in our price comparisons. An all-inclusive week for two people at Easter 2020 was £6442, August was £4572 whilst early December was £3812.
It's a large and lively resort which is particularly popular with older visitors.
There are six swimming pools and a total of 18 restaurants and bars which give it a good nightlife and make it one of the best equipped Sandals resorts. It also has one of the best beaches you'll find at a Sandals hotel.
Customer reviews are very positive, although somewhere around mid-table once we'd ranked all the resorts together (Sandals Grande Antigua scored 4.4/5 on Google Reviews, 4.5/5 on TripAdvisor and 4.3/5 on Expedia).
According to the guides I've read, the best time to visit is right through from December to April whereas Grenada and Barbados have a much shorter three-month window when the weather is 'ideal' (which generally means dry and hot rather than humid and muggy).
Price: a mid-priced or lower-priced option in our price comparisons. An all-inclusive week for two people at Easter 2020 was £6442, August was £4572 whilst early December was £3812.
Sandals Grande Antigua is slightly closer to the UK than the other Sandals resorts...
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...and it's a good-sized resort with plenty to do
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Images are from Sandals.
