Update on my Redo Trip

[trip style = all-inclusive]

Recently, I wrote about the upcoming Redo Trip I was about to embark upon.  I had a voucher from a stay at the Sandals Royal Bahamian, which I used toward the Sandals WhiteHouse.  A week later, I'm back from Jamaica with lots to share!  But first, here's how the Sandals collection of resorts compares...

Sandals Resort Collection As of this writing, the Caribbean-focused, Sandals all-inclusive Resorts have the following brands:

• Sandals: Adults-only/Couples.  Sandals Resorts, Sandals flagship brand, features 15 resorts (including the unpublicized Sandals Cuba) focusing on a romantic, all-inclusive experience in the warm Caribbean sun.  Like a high-end camp for adults, Sandals resorts offer multiple restaurants, motorized water sports, games and activities, premium drinks and much more.
• Beaches: Family-oriented.  Similar to the Sandals offering, Beaches also has children's Sesame Street and teenage DJ'ing programs so parents can relax and sip margaritas while their kids are occupied.  With 4 locations, around the Caribbean, the Turks & Caicos location is literally a super resort with 16 restaurants, 12 miles of beach and a 45,000 square foot water park.
• Grand Pineapple: The most affordable getaway option of the 4 brands. Both the Jamaica and Antigua value-driven resorts are less about "Luxury Included" and more about relaxing in the Sun.  Sure, you might not be able to water ski or drink premium brand drinks, but the Caribbean's natural beauty should make up for it.
• Royal Plantation Collection:  According to Sandals, Royal Plantation is for those of you who "insist only upon the very best", in other words, it is the most luxurious offering within the entire Sandals brand.  Currently featuring 3 properties in Jamaican and the Bahamas, each resort in the collection is very different.  One is in Jamaica at "Butch," the Sandals Chairman's private Villas. The second is also in Jamaica featuring a beach-front locale, colonial-style architecture and distinction as part of the "Leading Small Hotels of the World."  The final property is on a 50-acre private island in the Bahamas (this one has my vote).

Sandals WhiteHouse Set in a Jamaican nature reserve, the six-year-old Sandals WhiteHouse offers water views from every room and a far-reaching, spacious beach.  As one of Sandals' bigger resorts, couples can either find a private spot on the beach, or sit poolside and get involved in 'battle of sexes' activities or water aerobics.  I liked having the choice between quiet and rowdy; I chose quiet.  See my full Trip Advisor review here.

Sandals shines in the way they treat return guests, adorning them with receptions, t-shirts, a bottle of rum, etc... to show their appreciation..and hopefully get a return booking.

My only hesitation is suggesting Sandals to others is their phone and email service prior to leaving for our trip.  I dealt with multiple people via phone at Sandals head office and none of them was overly helpful, to put it politely.  Similarly, I submitted an email inquiry after I tried to check-in online and never got a response.

Overall, Sandals does a good job (in certain areas of their business) and appeals primarily to boomers and secondarily to honeymooners.   There are not many gen-x couples mulling around their resorts.  Either way, if you want a getaway where you don't have to lift a finger, want to eat at nice, varied restaurants and have a few sips of premium brand alcohol, Sandals may be a good option for you.

Some Additional Pictures of the Sandals WhiteHouse

Travel iphone Apps :: Kayak First Class Flight Search

[trip style = luxury] iPhone apps are revolutionizing travel.  If only hotels would rise to the challenge and make wireless free. I get that it's a cost center, but if I have two hotel options and one has wireless, I'd for sure book the property offering free wireless.

The most recent iPhone/iTouch travel app to make drool is Kayak First Class Flight (now called Kayak Pro) Search! It used to be $3.99 and now it's been reduced to $1.99, which Kayak is hoping won't be a barrier to entry if the individual can afford the first-class fare anyway. Either way, it's nice to have all the functionality of their free app, plus the added benefit of searching only business or first-class fares.

Details

• you can exclusively search business and first-class airfare
• has all the same functionality as the FREE Kayak App (in kayak's words "it can also search for economy fares when you feel like mingling with us commoners.")
• book online with hotel or airline site you wish to reserve
• OR, call and talk to a human
• the app will even show you hotels that you can't book online

Spotlight :: Jamaica "Mon"

[trip style = sun + beach]

Jamaica is hot and spicy, yet also laid-back Bob Marley-style.  Whether you know of Jamaica through a jerk chicken recipe, Bob Marley's "Jammin", the sweet sound of steel drums or the speedy Usane Bolt, this sun-drenched Caribbean island continues to make its mark and beckon the curious traveller.

I've been twice and learned a few things:

• Always negotiate your cab price before you leave and be firm about it.  Regardless of our negotiations, our driver took us to our Rick's to watch the crazy divers, waited for us, then demanded double the rate to return.
• I will never go to the depths of the ocean unless it's on a submarine.  I'm not a good candidate for scuba since I had trouble breathing through my mouthpiece in a pool (might have something to do with my breathing problem :))
• Dunn's river falls is: wet, sort of steep, extra fun in a torrential downpour, best experienced in a bathing suit and aqua socks, overcrowded and full of guides wanting to make spicy videos for tourists to take home.
• There is no shortage of sly guys, prowling the shore in boats in search of tourists wanting to experience the laid-back lifestyle (to the fullest)

OK, back on track....  Jamaica holds a special place in my heart.  My first time there was on my honeymoon.  I now realize that the only pictures I have of my honeymoon are, gulp, not digital and it was only 5 and half years ago!  We stayed in Negril at Superclubs' Grand Lido.  At the time, Grand Lido Negril was the crown jewel of Superclubs brand featuring the only 5-diamond restaurant in the Caribbean, nightly cruises on Princess Grace's honeymoon yacht and complimentary manicures to all guests.   Sadly, the resort has turned into a (Grand) Breezes.

My second Jamaica experience was a short cruise ship stopover where we were taken on a 'three-hour-tour' up to Dunns River Falls.  See my thoughts in the bullet points above.

Today I'm going for a Jamaican trio, travelling there for a third time in search of sun, fun, relaxation, a good resort experience (hopefully), unbelievable music and spicy chicken!  When I left Jamaica the first time, I told my husband we should come back the following year, he negotiated five.  Curiously, five and half years later, here we go again!

Stay The RockHouse hotel. Voted best boutique hotel in the Caribbean for fifth consecutive year with individual cabana-style rooms scattered on a rocky, sea-side outcropping. When I go back to Jamaica--maybe for my 10-year anniversary--I will stay here!

Entertainment Rick's Cafe featuring speedo-clad, daredevils diving into a steep, rocky bay from high-flying tree branches.

Do Rhino boat safari.  Not sure why the two-person boats are called rhinos, but I had the time of my life launching myself off waves and down shallow rivers on this ocean safari.

Getting There Canada to Jamaica - Fly with Air Canada (AC) or WestJet. In the winter months, AC offers direct flights from Vancouver. Year-round fly from Toronto with AC and WestJet.

USA to Jamaica - Fly with JetBlue, US Airways, Delta and United.

A Redo Trip

[trip style = all-inclusive]

Tomorrow I'm embarking on redo trip to the Sandals WhiteHouse with my husband.  What I mean by this, is we had a bad experience, wrote a letter and this upcoming trip is the company's attempt to gain back our business and loyalty.   Have you ever done a redo trip?

Situation Last year we booked a last-minute trip at New Years to the Bahamas, and it turned out badly.  We have never moved rooms at any hotel, but had to move three times during the first half of one week! From toilets semi-exploding and flooding our bathroom, to the resort almost refusing to wash the clothes that were caught-up in the mess, to our airport transfer driver taking half an hour to eat his lunch at the airport when we'd all loaded on to the bus, our time away was a little stressful.

Our Challenges Our challenges with the Sandals Royal Bahamian reached their peak before dinner New Year's night. We had to decide whether we were going to leave the resort or put our bad experiences aside and try to enjoy the rest of our trip. We chose the latter and made the most of our remaining days.

Writing a Letter Rather than writing a hateful review on Trip Advisor and dismissing the entire Sandals brand forever, upon my return, I wrote an email to the Resort's GM telling him what we appreciated about the resort as well as explaining what had happened to make our trip less-than-ideal.  [Note that I addressed the letter to the GM because I had already unsuccessfully dealt with multiple middle managers while at the resort.]  I was impressed.  Within 3 days I received a response addressing each point, as well as a voucher for 3 nights.

A Redo With the voucher, rather than returning to the Royal Bahamian, we decided to try another resort within the brand --one that won consistent awards both in the past and present-day. We opted for the Sandals WhiteHouse. When I heard they were closed for renovations in November I was excited, but then I learned that the upgrades were mostly electrical. Either way, it will be nice to laze on the beach for a week, soak in the Caribbean sun and hopefully turn last year's negative experience into a positive!

Complementing/Complaining in the Right Way There are constructive and deconstructive ways to provide feedback.   We've all seen people freak at baristas for making the wrong drink or yell at servers for bringing the wrong dish.  These people are only discrediting themselves.  After experiencing and observing many 'harry situations' in my travels, here are some of the rules I live by when providing feedback:

• Don't just tell people when you're disgruntled, tell people when you're happy with service too.  Whether travel-related or not, companies value positive feedback and reinforcement.
• If you are disgruntled, try to express a few positives in order to show level-headedness.
• If you are going to complement or complain, do so with class by ensuring
  • you tactfully tell the staff member and the manager
  • you understand the chain of command, and give the worker or manager an opportunity to respond before going directly to the VP or GM
• Before complaining, take a deep breath or time-out.  Don't let yourself get angry; approach the situation with dignity and a clear head.  You'll be taken more seriously when calm.
• Approach the challenge as an opportunity.
• Don't ever speak down to anyone --whether a housekeeper, server, manager or CEO.  Treat everyone with respect.
• Provide some background (if required) so your comment is taken with due credibility.
• We're human.  We all make mistakes.  Keep this in mind before complaining.
• Finally, do not spout-off on Trip Advisor before giving the hotel or resort an opportunity to make it right.  This is poor form.

More Pictures of the Sandals Royal Bahamian

2010: Best Year to Book Whistler Blackcomb

[trip style = ski]

As Whistler gears-up for the 2010 Olympics, bookings are down. Huh?

It's true. Other than the 2-week period surrounding the 2010 Olympics, the winter playground located only 1.5 hours from Vancouver and consistently ranked as the #1 ski resort in North America, has very few bookings for the 2010 season.

Reason The Olympic Aversion Effect.  Prior to this season, I didn't know if I was totally on-board with this notion, however, as someone who is closely tied to the Resort's booking trends, I now see the results.  Commenting on the aversion, Casey Vanden Heuvel, director of communications for Tourism Whistler, said "it's a phenomenon that happens at pretty much all Olympic destinations, where the typical consumer that is considering a visit, other than for the Games itself, avoids that destination, just with some assumptions of what that experience will be like." The truth: hotels have a lot of availability pre and post-Olympics.

2010 Whistler Blackcomb Opportunities

• Maximize your number of runs per day with little-to-no waits at the lifts
• Big sales posted at most hotels
• Smaller crowds
• Construction-free highway access
• Increased public transit
• Edge Card discounts (until jan 31)
• Last minute booking deals
• Book directly from an owner through Allura Direct.  You'll likely get a discount (because owners want to rent our their places).  Note: if you book during the Olympics, the owner should provide a highway permit for use during 6am - 6pm.

Facts

• Pre and post-Olympics, rates are similar or LOWER than last year's
• 90% of the mountain is open. Practical application: during the games most of Whistler and virtually all of Blackcomb will be open.
• Before 6am and after 6pm, people are free to drive the highway toward whistler without a permit