We had never been to an adults-only resort before Sandals and were not sure what to expect. It was never in doubt – we loved it from the moment we arrived in Grenada and were met by the cheerful reps who whisked is on the shortest transfer ever to the stunning Sandals La Source resort where we were greeted with a rum cocktail to ease our check in.
The Sandals staff were the friendliest and most helpful you could ever wish for – we feel this in many parts of the world but the team here really stood out. As we checked in in the club lounge they made our dinner reservations for us, gave us the programme of events that we could join in if we wanted and generally made it clear they were there to ensure we had the best holiday. There also seemed to be a really genuine love of their roles and a pride to work for Sandals.
Sandals La Source lies in a gorgeous small bay, with stunning gardens and the absolutely beautiful Pink Gin beach. Our ground floor room led out on to the beach, a few steps from the calm Caribbean Sea. Our terrace had a deep bath around which you could pull a curtain and in which I enjoyed a soak every evening to the sound of the waves and the cicadas. One of the two magnificent pools was also a few steps from our room as was the hot tub which we sat in for a good half hour every evening sipping our cocktails under the stars. Our free mini bar contained bottles of rum, gin and vodka as well as beer and wine, but we struggled to touch it as the all inclusive resort meant, if you wanted, you were plied with cocktails from morning until night.
The complementary activities and water sports were endless, but at our quiet beach side end of the resort we were largely oblivious to them. We did enjoy an afternoon boat trip along the coast to the capital St George and a guided snorkelling trip, but what we did mostly was dive. Having never wanted to dive before, I found the little diving centre beach hut 100 yards from our room, with its dive boat moored in the shallow waters quite irresistible. Charlie was out immediately on some of the best dives he has ever experienced and so I decided to take a PADI course as I realised I was in diving paradise. The staff, most particularly James &Gary, were so professional and patient that I was able to qualify in 3 days. The sheer convenience of the set up, friendliness of the dive team and the close proximity (maximum 15 minutes) of so many prize dive sites meant that I was able to sample spectacular dives immediately.
We did head out a couple of days to explore the island however when in resort, if we weren’t diving or lounging on the giant sofas looking out to sea, cocktail in hand, we were eating. There were about 10 restaurants, only two of which we had to book. Coming from Europe, we gave the Italian and French restaurants a miss and headed straight to the seafood, Neptune’s, just on the beach. We ate lunch there every day as the fresh local fish was divine. In the evening after a cocktail or two mixed by Anthony at the elegant horseshoe shaped South Seas Pool Bar, we headed mostly to our favourite two restaurants, Butch’s steakhouse where we had delicious wagu beef and lobster tails and to the Japanese sushi restaurant, Soy, where we ate the best sushi we have tasted outside Japan. We also had a hilarious evening at the Kimonos teppanyaki restaurant watching the chef perform tricks with the food which culminated in him flicking pieces of omelette for the obliging guests to catch in their mouths.
And everyone was so friendly! It was effortless to strike up conversation with fellow guests, who were mostly American, and happy to pass the time of day chatting and sharing experiences before moving on. Being the reserved British type I never would have thought I would have found it so enjoyable, but the friendliness was so infectious and all the other Brits we met were as equally charmed by it.
We had one glorious week there and were so sad to leave. The staff congregated round our car as we left and sang us a song imploring us to return. And we will. The unique blend of luxury, fun and adventure that Sandals offers is addictive and we came home much happier and lighthearted for it.
Sandals offer an adults-only 5 star all inclusive product on Grenada, St Lucia, Barbados, Antigua, Bahamas and Jamaica. They also offer the Beaches, family all-inclusive, in Jamaica and Turks & Caicos. It is 5* all inclusive and goes beyond just food and drink to scuba-diving, tips and taxes also. All-inclusives don’t necessarily work for everyone and we have mixed views on how responsible they can be for the local economy – in our experiences Sandals La Source contributes significantly through it’s high levels of employment and the importance they give on staff development and welfare. Through the Sandals Foundation they are trying to ensure that they are the best of neighbours to communities throughout the Caribbean.
If you would like to find out more about the fantastic Sandals experience then give us a call.
by TMS