Sandals Emerald Bay - Our Stay

This was our 5th stay at a Sandals Resort since we got married 12 years ago, but our first visit to Sandals Emerald Bay.  It also happened to be Fall Reunion Week at all the Sandals Resorts for returning guests.  Apparently they were at 90% occupancy while we were there, but we couldn't tell.  We had a perfectly relaxing time.

Immediately upon arrival we were greeted by some of the management and staff who offered chilled towels to cool off with while we made our way inside for check-in.  Check-in is not officially until 3:00 pm, but no worries.  We were invited to enjoy the resort and find some lunch while we waited.  They informed us once our rooms were ready, they would show us the way and our bags would be in our room waiting for us.  Sounds good to me.

We made our way through the lush, tropical gardens and just enjoyed a few minutes in some lounge chairs while we took it all in and really began to relax.  We decided to have lunch at their pub, The Drunken Duck.  The food was excellent   Kristi enjoyed a very tasty bacon cheeseburger with steak fries while I had their fish & chips.  After lunch, and a few rum punches, we made our way back to the concierge lounge where we waited a few more minutes before I room was ready.  It was sad that some couples were really upset that their rooms weren't ready upon arrival.  I hope they eventually calmed down and had a nice stay.  Our room was ready by 3:00 pm and it was amazing.

We were shown to our room which was located on the 3rd floor of Bay House #4.  The location was perfect because it was close to everything we wanted throughout our stay.  The room had a nice king sized bed, a reading chair, a small dining table & chairs, stocked mini-bar, a beautiful bathroom with granite counter tops, a soaking tub, and a large walk-in shower, but best of all was the balcony and gorgeous view of Emerald Bay.  We quickly unpacked, changed into our swimsuits, and headed down for the Main Pool.

For the rest of the week we settled into a relaxing routine for us.  I actually got up every morning at 6:30 am and set up Kristi's stuff on a set of lounge chairs in a cabana located at the Quiet Pool.  I then had a delicious breakfast at the Bay House buffet.  Afterwards I returned to the room to gather my dive gear and departed for a wonderful morning of diving (I will post about that soon).  About this time Kristi would wake up and had her cooked-to-order breakfast delivered to the room.  Oh yeah, room service for our room was not advertised at all with our reservation, but it definitely was available for breakfast, lunch and dinner!  We used it many times and the food was great.  Anyway, after her breakfast, Kristi would get ready and head down to the Quiet Pool and her cabana I set up where she would enjoy the many books she read during our stay.  She did manage to finally have a massage at the Red Lane Spa one morning as well.

Upon returning from diving, I would meet up with my lovely wife.  Another plus of the quiet pool is that it has it's own bar so I would always request a nice rum punch.  After we visited for a few minutes, I would head over to Dino's and get us some pizza   They have their own specialty pizzas or you could order whatever you wanted.  The pizza was very delicious.  After lunch we would spend the rest of the day at the quiet pool just hanging out, talking, reading, and relaxing.  It was exactly what we needed.

Photo By Sandals

When it came to dinner we got pretty lazy.  We unfortunately did not get to try the fine dining at their French or Italian restaurants although I heard from numerous other guests that the food was spectacular.  We had dinner at Barefoot By The Sea one night where I had the Lobster & Steak and Kristi had the Grilled Shrimp. The food was very good, but we got eaten alive by the sand flies.  There is a reason they put bug spray in the rooms for the guests.  We also returned to the pub twice, but we usually ended up just ordering from room service.  I know, I know, but it made us happy and that's all that mattered!

The service, as always with Sandals, was wonderful.  Everyone was very cordial and made us feel at home.  They even tell you, as a returning guest, "Welcome Home!"  They go out of there way to ensure you have a great vacation.  If you want quiet and relaxing, you got it it.  If you want lively entertainment and activities, you got it.  I will honestly say the days in themselves did not go fast, but the week unfortunately did.  We had a great time and I certainly hope we can return much sooner than later!