Our 15 year Anniversary Vacation with Sandals Resort

A post I know you all have been waiting for and I have been so excited to share. But where do I even begin with our 15-year anniversary trip? I guess I should start off by saying there is not one single complaint about it. It definitely started off rocky with me getting the airport wrong on our way there. And if you live in Houston or have ever traveled there, trying to get from George Bush International and Hobby Airport during the middle of the week and day is nearly impossible. Things started to look up when our flight got delayed, which worked in our favor and we made the flight. We made it with minutes to spare, LITERALLY.

I have to mention here that we used a travel agent for this trip, and I don’t think it would have gone as smoothly without her. Aubree was amazing to work with this time around! She booked everything for us, and thanks to her the booking everything was a breeze!

Gold Bangles (code UPTOWNWITHELLYBROWN to save 10% off of the entire purchase)

We ended up going back to The Sandals Royal Caribbean in Montego Bay. This specific location was perfect because it was less than a 15-minute drive from the airport. The Sandals Resorts do have other resorts in Jamaica, like Negril, but that drive is about an hour and a half from the airport. We did also visit the Montego Bay resort for dinner one night, but I have to be honest that one is like 5 minutes from the airport, and hearing the airplane was a bit too much and a bit too close for me to stay there.

Something to note: Negril is apparently the top beach in Jamaica to be in with over 7 miles of beach. Montego Bay does not have as much beach as Negril does, but it’s a lot more quiet, more secluded, and more peaceful.

I saw and got the chance to speak to a few older couples that have been going to The Sandals Royal Caribbean for over 20 years and visit 2x a year. According to them, the best time to go is March-April and October-September. I think they are right. Back when we went in 2018 the weather was great; this time around in mid-July- IT IS HOT, and I mean HOT.

Also, while on this trip, JB and I both decided we needed to come here once a year! I mean, that isn’t the worst thing to agree on 🤪.

When you stay at any Sandals Resort, they have shuttle buses that allow you to visit their other resorts, but that wasn’t something we really did other than dinner one night. The Sandals Royal Caribbean was way too good to leave.

Another note I want to make is this resort is all-inclusive! Having our drinks and food always at our fingertips was so nice and one thing we never really had to think about. I know for me, when I am sitting at a resort, I want to think as little as possible and just sit back and relax. Our room also had a fully stocked bar 24/7.

Everything about The Sandals Royal Caribbean was amazing. The food at every single location was terrific. At Sandals Royal Caribbean, you have eight restaurants and 5 bars. Out of these restaurants, 5 of them are open for dinner. I think at the very top of our list was the Jerk Shack, and we had the tacos below that were DIVINE.

Dress

The staff was out of this world. Every single person there at The Sandals Royal Caribbean was amazing! Everyone was energetic, and happy, and made you feel right at home. You can tell that they loved their jobs and doing what they did. I have never experienced such excellent service. We meet a couple that have gone every 5 years like we have and have gone for over 15 years. They have visited other Sandals in different countries, but mentioned none top the staff in Jamaica!

At The Sandals Royal Caribbean, there are three levels (Luxury, Club, and Butler) of service, and what room you get depends on if you get a butler in your room. I HIGHLY recommend upgrading and getting a butler. They do anything and everything for you! Butlers can book your dinner reservations, reserve your beach chairs, turn down your room at night, and even unpack and pack for you.

Our butlers were absolutely fantastic, and I will say they really made the trips for us. Their service and hospitality were out of this world. 5 years ago, we met Charles through him being our butler, and we had him again this year. We are officially family now, and we joined him and his family at church Sunday. That in itself was beyond incredible, and I will never forget the experience we had!

If you can, do a split stay, and I would suggest doing the second half of the stay in the bungalows. You have to experience the room and view it at least once in your lifetime. It’s a DREAM.

The resort itself is beautiful; we loved just walking around! There are several different areas where you can either lie by the pool or on the beach. I know they are currently renovating one side of the resort and plan to slowly renovate.

Lastly, here are a few things I would suggest doing during your stay at The Sandals Royal Caribbean:

• Watch the sunrise in the mornings; every morning, the sunrise is different, and every morning it is breathtaking. It never got old seeing the sunrise or the sunset.
• Get a couples massage at the beach. The sound of the waves crashing and the breeze was a dream!
• Go snorkeling. JB loved doing this; they have the perfect little spot on the private island where you can see SO many exotic fish!
• If you stay at the over-the-water bungalows, have dinner on the patio for sunset, it was beautiful seeing the sunset on the open ocean.
• Try the Bob Marley shots and drinks… they were SO good!
• Have some fried plantain.
• Have dinner at the beach! They have two-time slots for those every night, 6 PM and 8 PM. I would recommend making the dinner at 6 PM because the sun sets around 6:30 PM so that you would get the full effect of a sunset dinner, vs. it being dark and seeing the stars (I guess it depends if you want candlelight or sunset dinner).
• Try the guava juice that’s in your room! I can’t remember the name of it, but it was the BEST juice ever. I’m currently on the hunt to find it here in the U.S.!
• Go to the private island for a day; It’s completely secluded and quiet (FYI, there is also a “clothing optional” side tucked in the private island).
• Try a sugar cane! It brought back so many memories of Brasil for me

Well, I think I hit all the points, and I don’t believe I forgot anything. Thank you so much for stopping by, and I hope you enjoyed details on our 15-year anniversary vacation! If you have any more questions, don’t hesitate to reach out! Feel free to check out our 10-year anniversary trip recap below.

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