We just spent a week at the Sandal's resort and had a great time.
At the time of booking our vacation, we were assured by our travel agent that the only difference between the Caribbean Village and the Mediterranian Village was that the Caribbean Village was quaint with an old time charm. The lush botanical grounds around the Caribbean side were beautiful, but the rooms looked old and worn...Havanna 1950's. We immediately upgraded to the Mediterranian Village without any problem. It was beautiful and met our expectations completely. It sounded like this was the norm when we spoke to other guests...many people upgraded.
As for the dinner reservation problem, we found out about it on Trip Advisor and had our travel agent book our reservations with the concierge office prior to our departure. We reconfirmed them upon arrival. Once again, no problem.
As for the swimming pool seating problem, it seems to be the problem at most resorts. Rude people tie up chairs that they do not need or intend to use. One afternoon, we had a difficult time finding lounge chairs in the shade, I BURN badly in the sun. We noticed used towels laying all over the place on chairs but no bodies occupying the chairs. We asked a security person and a pool attendant what the rules were concerning pool chairs. We were told that if no one has actually been sitting in the chairs for a half-hour, they are to be considered vacant and just remove the towels and use the chairs. We asked a couple about loungers that we wanted to use and they informed us that no one had used the chairs for at least 2 hours! We removed the towels from the chairs and claimed them. Once again, no problem. Personally, I think that pool personnel at all resorts should be monitoring this persistent problem and enforcing rules, not just at Sandals. Aren't we all paying for the right to have access to all the facilities? Don't just blame the resorts, blame your inconsiderate fellow guests. It is a problem everywhere. The main pool is beautiful and clean. Heck, you don't even have to get out of the water to get a drink. We had a great time socializing with new found friends.
The night time entertainment is the typical resort faire, but at every opportunity we danced! It is what you make it to be.
The restaurant food was very good. One night my husband did not care for the spices in a particular dish. The waiter gladly got him something else that he enjoyed. At Eleanor's restaurant, we had a seat next to the railing near the beach. We saw a beautiful sunset, enjoyed our dinner and listened to a Steel Drum band. What a perfect island night! My husband, being Italian, enjoyed Mario's. The western restaurant served very good steaks.
We found all of the resort staff to be very accomodating. If you are nice to others, you are treated in kind.
One side trip that we enjoyed was a catamaran to Green Island and another remote beach. It was a lot of fun and we got to view some breathtaking beauty. We highly recommend it.
We also took the 21/2 hour trip to the downtown shopping area. Not worth it! It was dirty, smelly, and had plenty of pan handlers. We did not notice many police officers around. If you go, it is safest to stay right around the area that the ships dock. Further out it becomes scary and probably unsafe. We spoke to other guests who had the same experience.
We played a round of golf at the Cedar Valley Club. We got some exercise, but there are very steep hills and no grass on the fairways. Not what we are used to at home. I would not recommend it for anyone with heart or orthopedic problems. One gentleman that we met ,while playing, had a knee problem and was having a difficult time with the terrain.
The resort and beaches were beautiful. The food was good. We found the staff to be accomodating. We met a lot of fun, interesting guests of all ages. We had a great vacation.

Could not wait to get back to write this review after reading all the negative reviews before we went.
myself and my husband just back from our two week honeymoon spent in sandals and i can hand on heart say it was a very beautifull and romantic experience ..

We arrived at airport and swiftly moved through immigration.
arrived at hotel withn 20 minutes to be greeted with cold towel and glass of champers.. we were booked into honeymoon suite which was upgraded to garden of eden honeymoon premium on the carribean side.. this was for all the world a little cottage which was situated right outside the jacuzzi and carribean swim up bar adjacent to the meditaranian village,so you could say right in the centre of the resort...perfect for us.
.Initial reaction of the room was a little dated but became to love it ..as it did blend in with the surroundings of the carribean side which was very beautiful,winding paths,well kept gardens, and palm trees which was breathtaking...

This is my take on the resort....
The rooms were well kept and stocked daily with whatever refreshments we preferred..
the staff were exceptionaly friendly and no matter what time of day we were greeted with warm hellos from management to waitress to chefs alike ..could not praise them more ..
it does not cost alot to be polite an if your polite otrhers will be equally polite back to you...
The beach was gorgeous the vendors were a little annoying i have to admit ,but did take no for an answer if you did not want to purchase off them...
The food was great in all restaurants and had no problem making reservations,we just booked with the girl each day for the next two days in advance and never once encorrred any queues..
bayside had lovely breakfast and lunch and nice buffet selection for dinner.. ate here several days
ok corral huge portions but gorgeous..ate their twice
kimonos was gorgeous,had the emperors feast ,couldn fault it..
Barefoot on the beach had several lunches here and ate twice for dinner ..very good
Cricketers pub ,ate here three times for dinner and found it good and very friendly also...
marios for us was by far the best food for breakfast ,lunch and dinner...loved it here and had many many meals here
Their buffet selections were gorgeous,desserts fabulous,
The pizzeria was absolutely gorgeous ,always busy understandibly....never waited more than twety to half hour for pizza,we were in no rush anyway as we were on our holidays and never went up to it so starving that a little wait was much trouble ..worth the wait if you ask me ...
staff in swim up bar carribean grove side...very friendly and made delicious coctails ..loved them.
room service was excellent with daily linen and towell changes and turn down sevice in the evening ,i thought was a nice touch,,,
I found the beaches were always bein kept clean by the watersport staff,towels were not an issue ,yes the shaded seats were booked up early ,but in my book ..the early bird catches the worm.. no matter how early my hubby went to beach they were booked up but he always found alternative spot under a large tree for shade..
A place like sandals has to have maintanance work bein done and i found that yes there was always the odd job man doin little jobs here and there ,but sure ya cant fault a place for that,if they were not bein done the place would look unkept ,so i say fair play to all the hard workin staff..
on the negative side of things , we did find the entertainment a litttle boring and were dissapointed there was no disco or decent late night drinking spot.. we irish love a good session , tried the piano bar a few times but found it very quiet...Cricketers opened till 2am but lacked atmosphere...
not some where i would recommend if your looking for lively night life ..
my husband could not drink the local beer whatsoever and as he is not a shorts or coctails type of guy it was frustrating watching him tryin to drink the local brew...god if a man cant enjoy a few beers,local brand stuff purely wrotten.....
So if your not a beer drinker ..not a problem....they should include a few more commen beers ...
mediterranian village looked fab but to be honest we preferred the carribean side ,more romantic,and alot of the action seemed to be goin on this side also...

sunset cruise was wonderfull, and dinner on the beach a truly romantic experience,and wort the extra few bob..

So over all i have to say we had a great time and i would definitly recommend it for a honeymoon destination for some quiet chill out time with your loved one ...enjoy

So we just got back from our 10 day honeymoon at this resort. I think my husband and I agree that it was absolutely beautiful down there. However....

1. You are on a public beach which isn't that large and full of vendors. So even when you are sleeping you will be awakened by these vendors that have nothing anyone would be interested in.

2. The service was not good. We don't have extremely high expectations, but when we are paying the amount that we paid we at least wanted a smile. We had concierge with our room but they were absolutely worthless. If you are going to this resort you will need a butler to get anything done. We were only able to get one reservation the whole week we were there. We didn't want to get up at 7:45 and wait in line so we just did with the unreservation places or went with friends we met to the other restaurants.

3. The electric would flash in and out from time to time and we heard those that stayed in the new luxury hotel would get stuck in the elevators.

4. The larger pool was absolutely impossible to get chairs at. We also spent our whole first day there looking for towels and everywhere we looked they said that the laundry just hadn't gotten done yet. We ended up keeping the ones we finally found for a couple days and then would switch when we could find new ones.

I really probably could go on and on, but really when it comes down to it my husband and I decided that when they added on another half of the resort they just didn't staff appropriately and now everything is suffereing there. We have heard that St. Lucia Grande or the Whitehouse in Jamaica are much better so if we ever go back to a Sandals we will maybe try one of those two. Hope you have a better experience then we do if you are booked for there and if you aren't try another Sandals.

My wife and I had a REALLY GOOD time on this trip...April 12th thru 19th yes I read the reviews before our trip ( none of them made me second guess ever...even the bad ones) We own a small business and deal with the general public everyday and there are those that you just can't make happy ( some people do have legitimate complaints and we understand that)....Well enough of that on to the resort.
Our arrival was flawless,we landed, collected the bags went through immigration in a small line compared to other destinations we have been,went out to the sandals desk and within 10mins we were on the way to the resort. It is a very short trip maybe 15mins and when you arrive you are greeted with cool towels and champagne ( as usual ) , there is a brief check in process where they take a credit card for any charges you may want to add such as excursions,spa, or gift shop purchases, you are then taken by a staff member to your room. We booked the garden of eden premium category in the caribbean village ( we were on the border of the med village and the caribbean side,perfect for getting around the whole resort.The room was clean and comfortable, we had a minifridge that was stocked with sodas beer and juices/mixers, we also had liqour ( rum,vodka,gin,whisky) its so nice to not have to go out if you get thirsty after settling down for the night.
On the first night we ate at Bayside (no reservation needed) it was very good ,they had prime rib ,salad bar ,stir fry chicken and many other choices ( usually dont eat much desert but they were all good,( not just pretty they had good flavor). My wife and I are not big drinkers but we enjoy casual cocktails and meeting people from all over, so this leads in to the whole bar deal ,I never had a problem getting service at any of the bars,and the drinks were mixed well with lots of flavor , we drank quite a few of the "fruity" ones planters punch,sandals smile,sandals kiss,bbc, miami vice.....all past the taste test : )
Mornings start with us up around 6:30/7:00 get a chair at med pool have breakfast at bayside (once again very good) and back out to pool by 8:30/9:00 ( even this early at the pool was a shot in the dark to get a chair, we spent most of the days at the med pool and would see the "chair deal" happen daily....there were a large # of chairs with towels on them that we would never see used or people when done for the day would leave the towels on the chair ....so use common sense and pick up your dirty towels if you are finished for the day.
The dinner reservation line is amusing " The 8am Golden ticket " as I liked to call it. We did get to eat at Kimonos ( just to make it clear ,you choose appetizer,salad,and soup then they cook the whole menu so you get some of everything...they tell you this when you are seated and we still had people confused...)dinner was fantastic , Mr lover lover and the suga shack was amusing. Criketers for dinner (no reservation ) was also good.Marios (reservation) for dinner (also had lunch buffet)was nice.Eleanors had very good coffee glazed steak that was REALLY GOOD....I am trying to keep this short as possible if you want to contact me for more in depth please feel free. I almost forgot to mention the sushi bar (no reservations but can get crowded) Fantastic...
We took a private Island tour with Cecil ( best of Antigua tour)
pretty neat went to The fort,nelsons dockyard ,shirley heights and some other sites.( this may not be private tour depending on drivers available....ours was) The Circumnav boat tour was fun ...got a little rough in that big Cat on the Atlantic but still fun.(we did see a whale,and a few sailboats practicing for the regatta)
The only bad thing was hearing a few wedding parties complain about not getting dinner reservations for groups of 10 or more ....come on people...staff was wonderful and always greeted us ...there may have been a few that were not as cheerful ,but still pleasant.