ONE ISLAND AT A TIME
Team VFH
is living it up again, this time in The Bahamas. We are staying at another
Sandals, our second stop at this Caribbean chain of all-inclusive, adults only,
couples only resort. First started in Jamaica, there are now several resorts
throughout the islands. We had spent our honeymoon at a Sandals in Antiqua and
were quite pleased with the level of luxury and opulence we enjoyed. Here at
Sandals Royal Bahamian, an older, more compacted resort than Antiqua, we are
still enjoying the same level of food and drink and service as our first stop
with Sandals.
It’s not
“traveling”, but vacationing and so far, we like it so much we’re planning a
third Sandals to yet another one of their resorts. There is an incentive to
planning the trip while here, for we joined their “loyalty” program and we get “points”
and discounts when we act early like this.
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| SANDALS ROYAL BAHAMIAN |
THE
LAND OF NO “NO’s”
No matter
the request, no matter how odd the words may seem coming out of your mouth, here
at Sandals we have never heard the word “no”. At your surf and turf dinner you
want a second, or third, lobster tail, just ask. If you want Milk… does your
body good milk… you can get it at the swim up bar instead of a Zombie or a
Mai Tai. If you’re lolling by the water or the pool and you need a drink,
someone from Sandals will soon saunter by to fill your request, or fetch a new
towel if needed. Sandals is remarkably attentive and each request is filled
with aplomb AND brilliant unforced smiles.
HERE
AND THERE
Sandals
Grande Antigua was spread over a larger area and perhaps because of this had a
more sedate feel to it and seemingly an older crowd than in The Bahamas.
Stretched along much of the picturesque Dickenson Bay, Antigua catered to a
more international clientele with British and American electrical plugs in the
rooms, and it is a newer facility. Restaurants were scattered throughout the
grounds as well as requisite pools with swim up bars.
The
Sandals Royal Bahamian does not lack in swim up bars or restaurants, but it is
an older facility. Once called the Balmoral that had been acquired, repurposed and expanded by the Sandals Company, the place is a lot more cramped than Antigua. Yes, the
Sandals in The Bahamas offers everything Antigua did, but here it’s all
clustered in a much smaller area. Neither is it set off in a remote location, but
there are businesses and homes right outside the gate and even a Starbucks just a short
distance away. Most of the Sandals restaurants are
found in one building; Janet and I call it “the Mall”. We’ve also named the two
pools….the “quiet” one and the “noisy” one. Most of the crowds gather at the noisy pool for
the daily dance antics and foam wackiness. There are more younger Americans
here.as Nassau is just a half hour flight from Miami, and it’s much cheaper to
come to Sandals Royal Bahamian than Antigua.
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| BALMORAL ISLAND |
Although
the beach here is much shorter than Dickenson’s Bay with jetties helping
collect sand for the beach, there is also a private island off shore that has a
restaurant, pool and isolated stretches of sand. A launch takes patrons on a five minute ride out to Balmoral
Island and we have spent a couple of afternoons there. The sunlight here is
perfect for stretching out to tan; while at the pools one has to dodge shadows as the
day progresses. Although clothing optional beaches are illegal in The Bahamas,
evidently this rule is overlooked on Sandals Island. Balmoral Island is a very nice feature of this resort.
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| BALMORAL ISLAND |
GOING
DOWN
Aside
from all the decadent care afforded by Sandals are their watersports.
Everything from paddle boarding to kayaks to snorkeling to diving is free. In
fact, no other resort offers free diving like Sandals which was one of the
tipping points for us in selecting Sandals as our destination resort. Here
in The Bahamas the diving has been incredible. During this trip we have gone on
several two-tank divers (two dives in a day), swam with sharks and schools of
neon-blue fish coursing over the reefs like an underwater river, explored a
shipwreck, watched a massive sting ray flit out from beneath the sand and at
one point dove to a depth of nearly 80 feet.
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| BRIAN AND ME |
Diving
was an unnerving sport for a novice like myself, but the attentiveness and care
the fellows at both dive shops in Antigua and The Bahamas has gotten me
certified as an Open Water Diver. There is a cost for the PADI (Professional Association
of Dive Instructors) and if you want to rent a wetsuit from Sandals, but otherwise
it is all free, even the little sandwiches and fruit the resort sends along.
Instead of wetsuits we wore UPF protection long sleeve shirts and even though
it’s December it is The Caribbean and warm.
A few of
our dives were from the other side of the island, so the resort would transport
us to the boat. We got to see a bit of Nassau, New Providence, The Bahamas in
the process, an added bonus.
Given the
care and attentiveness, food and drink AND the diving, Sandals may be expensive
but it worth the visit.
Thanks for reading, now I gotta go get another Zombie.
Not our stingray, but just to give you the idea of the underwater beauty that awaits when you dive.
© 2019 by Greg Dunaj
© 2019 by Greg Dunaj
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