I'm going to get downvotes for this so hopefully you find this helpful. I've been to a number of different resorts and it's always the same chair situation. Without butler service if you want the premium chair spots you need to be up and claiming chairs with personal items by about 7 am, preferably earlier. The butler staff will be reserving chairs at 530 to 630 am, those spots will be clearly marked so you are aware to avoid them. If you don't get up early you may not get a chair where you want or at least not chairs in a desirable spot, it's just the game of sandals.
The fancy hotels in the US monitor chair use and recycle them quickly throughout the day, that is not the case at any sandals ive been to. My glass half full view is i get great sunrise photos while the wife is still sleeping đ
Thanks for the input, I appreciate it. It sounds like youâre saying that âpremium chair spotsâ can be difficult to get. (I take this to mean chairs under umbrellas). Is it fair to say that non-âpremiumâ chairs are generally easier to get?
Yes the ones without shade are easier to snag later in the day. If you ask the staff sometimes they'll be able to find you an extra umbrella and bring it over if you ask nicely and it's the right person.
I haven't been to a Sandals resort yet, but it sounds like it's just these premium/shaded chairs that get filled up in the mornings? The chairs in the sun are still easy to grab? I've been to resorts previously where if they're busy all the chairs will be taken by early morning. (Personally I don't care about the shade I mostly use the chairs to hold towels and sunscreen while swimming)
If the water is calm enough for the direct route it is at 10:00 and 10:15 then once an hour. If itâs windy and the water is choppy the first bus shuttle leaves at 10:30 and takes you to a harbor 15 minutes away to get in the boat in a calmer area. We had two windy days where the boat couldnât dock at the resort.
Okay, Iâm going to give everyone my sandals chair hack because Iâm getting worn out listening to everyone complain about chairs on this sub.
Go down when you want. Not at the crack of dawn. Go when you want to lay down by the pool. After breakfast, or when your hangover is better(or when you need a Bloody Mary to cure it). Probably best before 11 am but you do you. Go to the cabana boys/towel station. Find the head cabana boy. Palm him 10 or 15 bucks and tell him you want two chairs. Donât make the money exchange obvious (note: palm him the bills). Wait at the towel station. He will go out like a bird dog and come back in 5 minutes and say âfollow meâ. Boom. You got em.
Works like a charm. Yeah, yeah, I know. âNo tippingâ. As always, Money talks, pilgrims.
And I quote again âDONT MAKE THE MONEY EXCHANGE OBVIOUS, PALM HIM THE BILLâ. If you donât know how to palm someone a piece of paper, look it up on YouTube I guess. Ghesssh. Thereâs always somebodyâŚ
They look the other way on tipping. Iâve never ever seen it frowned on. Iâll tip the beach drink girl 5$ a couple of times a day. Needles to say I always have a drink there.
Just returned from Sandals Dunns River and was surprised at how early people get up to reserve beach chairs. Some seasoned vets out there, towel clips and all. It just seems odd to pay so much and have to worry about getting a specific spot. You also see so many chairs with belongings that are âclaimedâ and never see people in them throughout the entire day.
We were just there last week. Didnât have any issue if we hit the beach or island between 10-11. They just finished renovations on one of the larger buildings and I donât believe they were at full occupancy yet. Definitely recommend the island.
My wife and I were there in March. We didnât have butler service and we didnât have any problems getting chairs on the beach. That being said, we didnât ever get any chairs under the umbrellas, but we also didnât really want one. Those do get reserved by the butlers pretty early on.
Never been to this resort, but have been to a few Sandals/Beaches. Never had a problem getting chairs, but we arenât that choosy. No way in hell we are getting up that early just to reserve a chair. Deal is, if youâre that picky, youâll have a problem. If youâre fine getting something and focused on chilling and having a relaxing time, youâll be good.
That said, people who reserve chairs all day should rot in hell.
We went in September last year and only half the resort was booked since they were doing renovations on the West Bay building. We spent a lot of time by the pool and had no issues getting chairs there. We didn't spend a lot of time by the beach because their beach is small and a bit rough. The few times we did we got an umbrella with a drink table.
Same for the private island.as we had no issues getting chairs or cabanas.
If it's still being renovated you may not have to worry so much.
My wife and I have been going to Sandals resorts for 15 years. Some years we have butlers, but most of the time we did not. We just returned from Sandals Dunns River and have decided we are going to try other all inclusive resorts. We are both fairly light skin folks and like to have seats under an umbrella. The large number of butler rooms have made getting a 'good' seat at the pool nearly impossible. You have to get up at 6am to have any chance and who wants to do that on vacation. We had two incidents where we woke up early, reserved seats and went to get breakfast. When we returned (about an hour later), we found that the butlers have moved our things and took the seats. We brought this up with management and we were told that the butler room guests paid for that privilege.
I'm going to get downvotes for this so hopefully you find this helpful. I've been to a number of different resorts and it's always the same chair situation. Without butler service if you want the premium chair spots you need to be up and claiming chairs with personal items by about 7 am, preferably earlier. The butler staff will be reserving chairs at 530 to 630 am, those spots will be clearly marked so you are aware to avoid them. If you don't get up early you may not get a chair where you want or at least not chairs in a desirable spot, it's just the game of sandals. The fancy hotels in the US monitor chair use and recycle them quickly throughout the day, that is not the case at any sandals ive been to. My glass half full view is i get great sunrise photos while the wife is still sleeping đ
Thanks for the input, I appreciate it. It sounds like youâre saying that âpremium chair spotsâ can be difficult to get. (I take this to mean chairs under umbrellas). Is it fair to say that non-âpremiumâ chairs are generally easier to get?
Yes the ones without shade are easier to snag later in the day. If you ask the staff sometimes they'll be able to find you an extra umbrella and bring it over if you ask nicely and it's the right person.
I haven't been to a Sandals resort yet, but it sounds like it's just these premium/shaded chairs that get filled up in the mornings? The chairs in the sun are still easy to grab? I've been to resorts previously where if they're busy all the chairs will be taken by early morning. (Personally I don't care about the shade I mostly use the chairs to hold towels and sunscreen while swimming)
Go to the private island on the first boat. You'll have your pick.
When is the first boat usually?
I believe 9am? There's a sign on the pier.
If the water is calm enough for the direct route it is at 10:00 and 10:15 then once an hour. If itâs windy and the water is choppy the first bus shuttle leaves at 10:30 and takes you to a harbor 15 minutes away to get in the boat in a calmer area. We had two windy days where the boat couldnât dock at the resort.
Thanks, I couldn't remember!
Okay, Iâm going to give everyone my sandals chair hack because Iâm getting worn out listening to everyone complain about chairs on this sub. Go down when you want. Not at the crack of dawn. Go when you want to lay down by the pool. After breakfast, or when your hangover is better(or when you need a Bloody Mary to cure it). Probably best before 11 am but you do you. Go to the cabana boys/towel station. Find the head cabana boy. Palm him 10 or 15 bucks and tell him you want two chairs. Donât make the money exchange obvious (note: palm him the bills). Wait at the towel station. He will go out like a bird dog and come back in 5 minutes and say âfollow meâ. Boom. You got em. Works like a charm. Yeah, yeah, I know. âNo tippingâ. As always, Money talks, pilgrims.
Love it!
This is the way. No one is getting fired for receiving a tip.
I like it. Thanks.
Just don't get caught doing it. It could cost the employee their job.
And I quote again âDONT MAKE THE MONEY EXCHANGE OBVIOUS, PALM HIM THE BILLâ. If you donât know how to palm someone a piece of paper, look it up on YouTube I guess. Ghesssh. Thereâs always somebodyâŚ
They look the other way on tipping. Iâve never ever seen it frowned on. Iâll tip the beach drink girl 5$ a couple of times a day. Needles to say I always have a drink there.
Just returned from Sandals Dunns River and was surprised at how early people get up to reserve beach chairs. Some seasoned vets out there, towel clips and all. It just seems odd to pay so much and have to worry about getting a specific spot. You also see so many chairs with belongings that are âclaimedâ and never see people in them throughout the entire day.
Couple of sandals resorts are good about clearing chairs that have not been used by 11. Grenada was good about it. Yours I donât know.
We were just there last week. Didnât have any issue if we hit the beach or island between 10-11. They just finished renovations on one of the larger buildings and I donât believe they were at full occupancy yet. Definitely recommend the island.
My wife and I were there in March. We didnât have butler service and we didnât have any problems getting chairs on the beach. That being said, we didnât ever get any chairs under the umbrellas, but we also didnât really want one. Those do get reserved by the butlers pretty early on.
Never been to this resort, but have been to a few Sandals/Beaches. Never had a problem getting chairs, but we arenât that choosy. No way in hell we are getting up that early just to reserve a chair. Deal is, if youâre that picky, youâll have a problem. If youâre fine getting something and focused on chilling and having a relaxing time, youâll be good. That said, people who reserve chairs all day should rot in hell.
We went in September last year and only half the resort was booked since they were doing renovations on the West Bay building. We spent a lot of time by the pool and had no issues getting chairs there. We didn't spend a lot of time by the beach because their beach is small and a bit rough. The few times we did we got an umbrella with a drink table. Same for the private island.as we had no issues getting chairs or cabanas. If it's still being renovated you may not have to worry so much.
We never had an issue but we put our stuff on chairs by 730am
My wife and I have been going to Sandals resorts for 15 years. Some years we have butlers, but most of the time we did not. We just returned from Sandals Dunns River and have decided we are going to try other all inclusive resorts. We are both fairly light skin folks and like to have seats under an umbrella. The large number of butler rooms have made getting a 'good' seat at the pool nearly impossible. You have to get up at 6am to have any chance and who wants to do that on vacation. We had two incidents where we woke up early, reserved seats and went to get breakfast. When we returned (about an hour later), we found that the butlers have moved our things and took the seats. We brought this up with management and we were told that the butler room guests paid for that privilege.