THE BAHAMAS’ MOST ELEGANT RESORT
WITH ITS OWN OFFSHORE ISLAND

Adults-only resort, all- inclusive with 5-star Global Gourmet dining

A blend of European Sophistication with an exotic offshore Island adventure. 
12 World-class restaurants & 8 bars, 2 all new food trucks. 

All accommodations in the Balmoral Tower feature new tile flooring, solid mahogany furnishings, 42" plasma TVs, new bathrooms with soaking tubs and his & her vanities, and chic soft furnishings in calming shades of aqua and beige.

Beachfront rooms also boast balconies with direct ocean views. Walkout Suites and Swim-up Suites allow guests to step from their suite to their private patio featuring a firepit and lounge bed and then directly down to the beach!

If you're in the mood for a romantic Caribbean vacation inspired by old world elegance and royal hospitality, Sandals Royal Bahamian in Nassau, Bahamas may be your ideal destination. Nassau also offers convenient access to several casinos and authentic Caribbean shopping.

For a full description of the dining options, activities, accommodations and the not-to-be-missed private island at this resort, please see Sandals Royal Bahamian: Escape to Elegant Romance. Then, contact me to be among the first guests to stay at the all new Balmoral Tower.

Caribbean destination weddings are popular for a lot of reasons. Many brides dream of getting married on the beach. And if you go through a Certified Destination Wedding planner like The Sand Lady, a destination wedding can be much less stressful and time consuming to plan than a local wedding. You will work with one wedding "vendor" - me - rather than several vendors for flowers, catering, etc. 

Here are Four Reasons to Consider a Destination Wedding at a Sandals Resort:

Your Wedding. Your Style.

Sandals offers an array of colors from which to select your color palette. Your wedding can be as customized as you like. You can select from dozes of floral options, cake designs, ceremony and reception decor, entertainment and more to design the perfect celebration that reflects your personalities and style. For brides that prefer a professionally designed theme, Sandals offers 5 gorgeous designer themes to choose from. More on ceremony and reception design options here. 

$1,000 WeddingMoons Credit

Sandals resorts is currently offering a $1,000 credit to give you more choice and flexibility when designing the perfect Caribbean destination wedding. This limited time promotion includes $500 wedding credit to use towards your customized destination wedding and $500 honeymoon credit to use on items to enhance your honeymoon such as renting a private beach cabana, a catamaran cruise, honeymoon highlights video, etc. 

Special Inclusions for Wedding Groups

For brides and grooms who want to celebrate with friends and family, Sandals offers lots of extra inclusions to enhance the group's time together and to reward the bride and groom for celebrating their marriage with Sandals. Wedding groups of 5 or more rooms may earn a special group cocktail hour with hors d'oeuvres and signature cocktail, private pre-wedding celebration dinner for the group, complimentary plated wedding reception, manicure and pedicure for the bride, massage for the groom, and more. 

Gift Registry

Create a Gift Registry filled with memories to cherish for a lifetime. Your Sandals gift registry lets you create a wish list to make your destination wedding and honeymoon unforgettable. From a romantic couples massage by the sea, to an adventurous horseback ride on the beach, or an upgrade to a luxurious Love Nest Suite.

Read more about the destination weddings that we plan at Sandals resorts as well as real Sandals weddings here. 

Or click below to request your Complimentary Destination Wedding Consultation with The Sand Lady. There is never any fee for our service or obligation for the consultation. Let's get started planning your dream wedding!

[This is the second entry in a 4-part blog series on the Sandals WeddingMoon®. Previously, I talked about planning steps for "Before the Ceremony." Here, I will talk about designing the ceremony and reception. In subsequent posts, I will describe "Your Wedding Day" and "The Honeymoon." This blog series is intended to give a general overview of the many options Sandals offers through the WeddingMoon® product and show how a Sandals or Beaches all inclusive destination wedding can fit most any Bride's style and budget. It is not intended to be a complete guide to planning your destination wedding. That's where I come in! So at any point, please click the Plan My Wedding link on this web page to send me a note and request your complimentary all inclusive destination wedding consultation.]

Your Wedding, Your Style

Sandals and Beaches resorts offer 3 basic methods for designing your wedding day. These include the Free Wedding, several Predesigned Wedding Themes, and Your Custom Wedding.

The Free Wedding
Did you know Sandals and Beaches resorts offer a free wedding with qualifying stay? That's right. You buy your honeymoon and Sandals gives you your wedding day. The Beautiful Beginnings Package is a great option for an intimate wedding day or a couple on a tight budget. Currently, the only requirement is that your honeymoon be booked for 6 nights or longer, and you will be required to pay minister and government documentation fees.

Predesigned Wedding Themes
Sandals predesigned wedding themes are a great option for the bride who has a general idea of what her wedding day should look like, but she does not have the time or the desire to fuss with planning lots of details. Leave it to the expert! Sandals commissioned Martha Stewart to design 6 wedding themes. The first one is the complimentary Beautiful Beginnings wedding above. The remaining 5 are depicted below. The prices for these weddings start at $1700 and include the wedding ceremony and reception for the bride and groom plus 6 guests. Additional guests can be added. Currently, Sandals will also give you a $500 wedding "credit" toward your wedding theme.

Your Custom Wedding
Sandals has recently revealed the totally custom Your Wedding, Your Style wedding designer option. You can start by choosing a color palate for your wedding. You may choose any combination of up to three colors from 10 color options. Then, you will choose form literally 100s of ceremony and reception decor items. You can add special ceremony music, live reception entertainment, spa packages and more to complete your custom destination wedding. Below is just a few examples of the types of items that you may choose from to create your dream wedding.

Whether you want to plan each detail of your all inclusive destination wedding, if you need someone to handle the details of arranging for one of the predesigned wedding themes or even if you're loving the idea of a free wedding, all you need to do is click below to let me know that you'd like more information on how we plan your dream wedding!

Look for the next entry in this blog series "Your Wedding Day." That entry will discuss Sandals on-resort wedding department staff, what to expect when you arrive on resort, choosing your ceremony location, and capturing your wedding day memories.

SANDALS RESORTS’ LUXURY INCLUDED® SANDALS WEDDINGMOON SPECIALIST TRAINING 

According to Gary Sadler, Senior Vice President of Sales at Unique Vacations Inc., the worldwide sales representative for Sandals Resorts, relying on a CSS travel agent who is also a Sandals WeddingMoon Specialist, is one of the best ways that the Bride and Groom can get the most out of their Caribbean Wedding or Honeymoon experience.  “Vacations are memories in the making,” said Sadler.  “You don’t get a second chance to celebrate the perfect wedding or honeymoon. It has to be just right. Certified WeddingMoon Specialist agents such as Carlie to help us to match customers to their ideal Caribbean experience. We congratulate them for participating in our workshop, and wish them the very best.”

For the ultimate in exclusivity and indulgent pampering, escape to Sandals Royal Plantation, a small, boutique all inclusive resort and spa in Ocho Rios, Jamaica.

Sandals Royal Plantation is the only resort in the Sandals collection where all rooms are suites and include Sandals Personal Butler Service. Nestled within a magnificent coral bluff on Jamaica's lush north coast, this intimate resort of only 74 ocean-view suites is renowned for its personalized service, unmatched attention to detail and retro-chic sophistication - complete with all the world-class amenities for which Sandals in renowned.

This is the quieter side of Sandals.

All 74 suites at this resort boast a beautiful view of the ocean and include Sandals Personal Butler Service.

The range of impressive amenities includes a bluff top freshwater pool with two whirlpools and poolside butler service, beach butler service including dining and cocktails on the west beach, and Sandals’ comprehensive scuba diving program with a water sports pavilion on the east beach. Lovers of golf will be treated to complimentary green fees at the nearby 18-hole course at Sandals Golf & Country Club.

The dining experience at this resort is unparalleled. The award-winning Le Papillion serving French cuisine is one of the resort’s three gourmet restaurants, while the chic CBar is the island’s only champagne & caviar bar. Guests also enjoy exclusive privileges at the neighboring Sandals Grande Riviera which expand your dining options to 11 more venues.

Catering to those who appreciate refined elegance with an authentic island experience, Sandals Royal Plantation is the quiet side of Sandals and the ideal retreat for whenever you need to recharge.

Look for my next blog - a review of Royal Plantation and the Ocho Rios dine-around option by Neal Green, Owner of Knoxville's premier catering service, All Occasion Catering and Board member to the International Caterers Association Board of Directors.

There are so many features included with your stay that set the Sandals and Beaches resorts apart from other all inclusive Caribbean vacations. Sandals refers to these as More Quality Inclusions. One of my past guests' favorite inclusions - and my personal favorite - is Sandals exclusive Personal Butler Service.

Although I have had clients give me a hesitant look when I offer a room with Personal Butler Service, I have NEVER heard anyone (my clients or others) describe their butler experience as anything but overwhelmingly positive. Almost all of my clients who select a suite with Personal Butler Service come back from their vacation and report that they plan to do it each time they return to a Sandals property. They recommend it to their friends.

So you're kind of interested, because this is something very different than you've experienced - or most of your friends and family have experienced - before. But you're skeptical. "Why would I need a butler? I'm not high maintenance. All I need is a comfortable chair by the pool/on the beach, a cool drink in my hand and a good book/my loved one by my side." Yes, and I garantee you will enjoy your perfect vacation at a Sandals resort. You will absolutely love it. But should you choose a suite with Personal Butler Service, you will come back telling me story after story of how your butler enhanced the relaxation, the luxury, and the romance of your vacation. I've seen it time and time again.

It will take me three blog entries to give you the full picture of this remarkable feature of the Sandals and Beaches resorts.

Here, let me tell you just a few of the ways your butler will enhance your time on resort.

When you arrive, you butler will have already double checked that your suite is prepared and your preferences are already in-suite. He or she will greet you as you arrive on resort and escort you to your suite where he has prepared refreshments for you, and he will conduct your private check-in in your room. There have been times that my clients arrived on resort during lunch. Their butler knew they would be hungry and he escorted them first to lunch, then returned to take them to their suite for check-in.

Each morning, your butler will serve you breakfast on your patio/balcony or in your room if you like. I encourage my clients booking a suite with Personal Butler Service to choose a room on the ground floor. This way, your butler can set up your breakfast table without disturbing you. Once you are up and enjoying your view, he will serve your coffee and breakfast.

During your stay, your butler will make all restaurant and tour reservations for you. Most Sandals properties have one or two very popular restaurants with limited seating that require reservations for dinner. When you arrive, your butler will have already secured reservations at each of these for you. Of course, should you wish to change which night or time you dine, he will see that your reservations are changed. Each night, he will come escort you to your table in your chosen restaurant. And you will receive premium seating with the most beautiful view and romantic atmosphere.

Let me give you a personal example of how your butler will enhance your vacation. Your butler will give you a cell phone so that you can call his phone any time you need somthing. My husband and I were in the pool one day and met another couple that was raving about a catamaran tour they had been on the previous day. We decided we should try it while we were there as well. Normally, I would have gotten out of the pool, dried off, put on a cover-up and shoes, walked to the tour desk, stood in line, and made a reservation for our tour. Then, I probably wouldn't have wanted to get wet again and would have considered not returning to the pool. But I had a butler on this trip. So I grabbed my butler phone, called the only number saved in the phone, and my butler answered, "Jerry the butler!" in a tone that requires a smile. I told him which tour we'd like to try, and he said, "It is done." A few minutes later, he appeared at the pool to confirm our departure time for the tour the next day... and brought my husband and I a refill on our favorite drinks.

Our tour the next day took us off property for the whole afternoon and evening, and it included dinner. When we got back, our butler was waiting for us as the catamaran pulled up to the beach. He carried my bag and asked how our time was as he escorted us back to our suite. Then he left us at the door and said his goodnight. When we walked in, he had drawn a bubble bath, lit candles, and sprinkled rose pelals all over the bathroom. There was champagne icing in a bucket by the bath. He knew we would want to relax when we returned...

I sell Sandals Personal Butler Service to my clients whenever possible because it is an unimaginably supreme standard of service and luxury, where your every need is anticipated.

Look for Part 2 of this series on Sandals Personal Butler service - an interview with a recent guest who chose a suite with a butler at Sandals La Toc.

Or, if you already know your next vacation should include Personal Butler Service,

The Internet is not always your best option when it comes to booking your vacation. Find out when to call a travel agent... and why to call me. 

This could seem like a shameless plug, but rest assured, your level of knowledge on this topic is mutually beneficial to you and to me. In the age of doing everything online, there are times when working with a travel agent can save you money, time, stress and drama. 

Use a Travel Agent when the stakes are high

Whether you are planning your honeymoon, a big anniversary trip, renewal of vows, or really any trip that you consider to be a significant financial investment, working with a professional can give you peace of mind. The Sand Lady is a division of Royal Travel, a full-service travel agency. We have been a family-owned, family-run, local business in Maryville, TN for over 20 years. Our name IS our business. Each of our agents is highly motivated to provide exceptional customer service. "My goal with every client, no matter the type of travel or size of package, is for you to return from your trip so excited and impressed that you tell all of your friends to call me," says The Sand Lady Robbie. The Sand Lady consistently receives excellent client reviews. There is never any cost to you for our services. This is not true of all travel agencies. The resorts train me and compensate me for the service I provide, and we guarantee you will not find a better price on a Sandals or Beaches Resorts package.

Use a Travel Agent when you are unfamiliar with the destination

We spend weeks every year visiting the properties and destinations that we sell. I only recommend resorts that I have personally visited, and I maintain a personal relationship with the staff on resort. I expect that my clients will be treated as VIPs. I have stayed in or walked through the rooms I book. I have eaten in the restaurants, and I'll share with you my favorite drink from the bar. Since there is no cost to you to use my expertise, why wouldn't you let me customize your vacation and handle all of the details for you?

Use a Travel Agent when you are traveling with a group

I specialize in family reunions, golf groups and destination wedding groups, but I'll plan a trip for any type of group. I will do as much of the organizing as you let me do. First, I work with you to determine the destination and travel dates. Then you can invite the group, give them my contact information, and I will take care of customizing each individual's travel details. Many times, if the group is more than 5 rooms, I can get the group leader special perks or discounts.

If you do get in a bind, you have a well-connected friend.

In life, sometimes things don't go as planned! In the past 6 months, I have worked with my client's resort to extend their honeymoon at the last minute and no charge to them when their airline stranded them in Miami for 2 days. I have fixed problems with reservations that clients booked themselves online before calling me. (Although I love playing the hero, save yourself the tears and just let me book it the first time around!) 

I have also advised countess clients when changing their travel dates by 1-2 days or "upgrading" their room to a nicer category would actually save them hundreds of dollars. I look at the promotions available on a daily (ok, hourly) basis, and I know how to combine promotions to get you the best deal. 

 You don't need a Travel Agent if:

• You are only booking a flight - When you are headed to a friend's wedding or visiting your grandmother and all you need to purchase is your flights, it is generally just as simple and about the same price to book it yourself.

• You want to use your miles - The airlines and credit card companies will not allow me to redeem your rewards for you. "If you are booking a package such as an all inclusive getaway in the Caribbean, while I can include flights with your package, if you prefer to use your miles to book flights, I can advise you on schedules and you can book the flights separately. Just let me know about your needs," says The Sand Lady Carlie.

• You are using a timeshare - Timeshare companies manage their own timeshares. Travel agents do not book timeshares. Our agency generally does not book private home rentals except for a few very special properties in the Caribbean. 

• You are dead-set on a super cheap 3-4 night cruise with a discount cruise line - You know which one I'm talking about. I'm not saying don't call me if you're considering this option. I talk to at least one person every week who doesn't realize the costs involved with cruising outside of the upfront advertised price. Most of them end up booking an all-inclusive resort with me, and they come back thanking me!

The bottom line is, no matter what type of travel you are planning, you want your trip to be as relaxed and stress-free as possible. Using a travel agent may be the key. Since there is no cost to you for my service, I can't think of a reason why you wouldn't let me handle it for you!

If you are planning a honeymoon, love to hear from you!

If you're ready to get started, click below to contact me!