Help! Sandals St. Lucia, Sandals Antigua, Excellence or Secrets Resorts!

My fiance was born in St Lucia and we were thinking about going there as well. It looks like the cruise ship options is cheaper then sandals, however its a small ship that goes there and we wanted to via OASIS the largest ship. We are still undecided but if you find any good deals let us know.

We are going to Sandals Antigua, we chose Antigua vs St. Lucia due to the flight time, that was the only reason we chose the one over the other. We are choosing sandals because they are couples only, that appealed to us. Antigua is also a safe place to visit vs somewhere like Jamaica where you can't go off the resort. We have booked a fishing charter which we have to go off the resort for. We booked another boat trip that picks us up at the resort and takes us around the island we can snorkel and do things at each stop. We go Sept 21st so I can share more with you soon!

We did Excellence in Punta Cana and it was wonderful. Food, drinks, service - all awesome. Our room was great, the pool was lovely. Only down side was the ocean on that part of the DR is particularly rough so we couldn't go in, but the beach itself was very nice. We did the Excellence Club upgrade which I HIGHLY recommend. We loved it.

We are doing Sandals St Lucia. We know 2 couples who have gone there and said it was worth every penny. I'm so excited, can't wait!

Thank y'all so much! For the two ladies doing Sandals, if you don't mind me asking, what room category did you pick? And I would love to hear how your trip to Sandals Antigua goes this month! As far as the excellence, we are between the Playa Muejers and we like the Hard Rock in Punta Cana, but I will also check out the Excellence there. We weren't sure of how the beaches are there, because we definitely want a gorgeous one!

We are doing club level.

I only stay at Secrets resorts (unless my parents are paying for a like 5+ star hotel). However, any of the resorts you listed will treat you well.

@Melissa -- FH and I are going to Sandals St. Lucia as well!

@Heather -- Going to any of the three Sandals on St. Lucia will give you access to all of the Sandals resorts.. I have been to Sandals Royal Bahamian and it was the best experience of my life! I haven't stayed at the resorts you've mentioned but Sandals has been leaps and bounds better than other resorts that I've stayed at (although a lot pricier). The only other chain I've stayed at is Wyndham and it was absolutely awful.

ETA: I've hear mixed reviews about the butler service level.. I personally don't see the point of it. FH and I stayed in a regular room for much cheaper and it didn't affect what an amazing time we had.

@Angela, not sure. From what I understood, something about where the resort is located makes the waters particularly prone to currents/riptides, so there were red flags up everyday we were there (back in Jan 2014). I know people waded in a bit, and they have lifeguards - but I was content to sit in the pool all day. The beach is still open for lounging and drinks/food though.

I'd recommend looking at some of the excursions if you want to snorkel or anything, though. We wanted to do the snorkeling they say they do at the resort but we weren't able to. But on the excursions, they take you off-resort to where you'll see better stuff anyway. I wish we had done one. We did ziplining, which is awesome, but I wish we'd done a snorkeling one too!

Do you need help planning your honeymoon? I am a travel agent and would love to help anyone planning a trip. You don't have to pay anything extra to work with me, I get paid from the suppliers. And I am part of a group which can give me expert advice on just about anything.

Do you need help planning your honeymoon? I am a travel agent and would love to help anyone planning a trip. You don't have to pay anything extra to work with me, I get paid from the suppliers. And I am part of a group which can give me expert advice on just about anything.

Dear Heather,

From experience I can tell you Sandals Antigua is great. We just got back about a week ago and would go back. We had 4th floor club level. Not sure why its club level but anyway..plenty of booze in the room, nice sized bathroom....the room isn't huge but who goes to Antigua to sit in the room anyway. Since now is their slow season we could do whatever we wanted easily. 10 restaurants - all are good whether its buffet lunch or breakfast or sit down dinner. The pool is huge and had plenty of bartenders all day. They have games out there and a DJ every day. At night they have entertainment as well. Big beach with plenty of chairs and all the water activities you could want- snorkeling, sailing, kayaks.......

For excursions I strongly recommend the 360 boat that goes all the way around the island. They even pick you up on the beach at Sandals. No need to go anywhere to meet the boat. Awesome views, good crew, and they'll stop for snorkeling, swimming, and lunch. Food was grilled right there - fish, chicken, salad, rice, noodles. Absolutely better than you could imagine.

Different excursion we also took the ride across the island to Stingray City which is a cool trip if you like sea creatures like that. Once in a lifetime thing for us.

If you book at the right time you'll get some resort credit to cover an activity or two. The Red Lane Spa is first class as well but costs extra but you can use resort credit to that too. Try all the restaurants, just make reservations for your nights right when you get there and you'll have no problem. My only advice is watch out for MIA airport on the way home. That place is a disaster so if you connect through there to go home leave plenty of time (2 hours) to get through customs and then recheck your bags and THEN go to your new gate. We went Antigua to MIA to Chicago where we live. The way there is fine, going home is rough through MIA especially on a weekend.

Either way, if you pick Antigua you won't be disappointed. They check you in quickly, give you a glass of champagne to relax, and bring you to your room. Antigua airport is new building now about 2 weeks old. Nice facility and best part is that its about 20 min ride (they drive slow down small streets) to SANDALS. Don't have to sit in a bumpy van for over an hour just to get to your resort.

I can't speak personally for St. Lucia or Antigua, but good friends of ours went to Antigua and loved it! They did not stay on a resort. We honeymooned at Secrets Silversands in Riviera Maya, Mexico and LOVED it. I would absolutely recommend any Secrets resort, the service, food, drinks, everything was excellent!!!

Sorry it has taken me so long to reply, but we have narrowed it down (just a little) haha and actually added one more place. Right now its between Excellence Playa Muejeres, Sandals Antigua, and now added Sandals Emerald Bay! Still having so much trouble deciding wether to spend the money on a nicer room in Mexico vs a regular room at the sandals resorts. If anyone has been to Emerald Bay I would love to get advice! That one was added because the beach is beautiful!

We went to Sandals Antigua 2 weeks ago. It was beautiful, clean, the staff were very friendly and food excellent. People on the beach trying to sell you things was annoying but once you say no thank you they leave you alone. All of Antigua is public beaches so they are allowed to sell things on the beaches. There is lots to do, we went on a speed boat trip which took us to several spots to snorkel and swim with the sting rays. We went fishing and caught Mahi Mahi and Barracuda. Went Jet Skiing. Those activities were not included but the resort offers snorkeling, sail boarding and kayaking. Lots of options for nightly entertainments and several choices for restaurants. They were renovating one of the restaurants and one of the pools but we definitely enjoys ourselves and would go to another Sandals.

These are all great options! Please remember that with Sandals you have to book club or butler level in order to use room service or booze in your mini-bar.