Now What?!
Plan For Your Trip To Caribbean Paradise Below!
(Make sure to scroll completely down to see all frequently asked questions!)
Have you followed Addison & Reliant Destinations on these channels?
Many exciting things coming soon!
#1 Most Important Link: Your Booking Portal
(Check Details, Make Deposit, Make/Schedule Payments, Etc)
#2 Link: Pre-Book Your Favorite Enhancements?
Spa. Excursions. Private Dinners. Scuba Certification. So Much More!
Check Live Availability & Book Instantly
(Important: Use Your Booking #)
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Courtesy Info:
If you are traveling within 10 months of travel and haven’t yet booked your airfare, it is recommended you do so immediately. Due to the travel surge post-pandemic, flight prices are becoming very high and availability is extremely low with many air dates entirely sold out. Please view the air FAQ at the bottom this page for more info, if applicable.
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Thinking about where you will park at the airport?
Park ‘N Fly have some of the best available deals globally and are worth having a peek at.
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** This offer is not affiliated with Sandals or Beaches, but is a card I use for my own travel to maximize benefits and travel in luxury. It has brought me immense value and is likely to help you do the same, hence the recommendation. **
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Are you within 30 days of travel?!
Reminder: Make sure to submit your flight details to ensure your transfer is ready upon arrival!
Also, double check that passport to make sure you have 6 months of validity remaining before its expiration!
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Concierge Services: Ask Me Anything
It is requested that you please email/message rather than call.
Not only are you likely to get a quicker response this way, but this allows us to make our responses more personal and tailored to your booking, in addition to being able to share the appropriate attachments, visuals, links, etc with you to more thoroughly answer your questions. If you feel you still need to chat on the phone about something, please message to schedule a call.
Make sure to download the Sandals & Beaches App to access your booking, see dining options, submit preferences, and register for Sandals Select reward points!! Click below!
FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS:
My Booking
If you are confused by terminology, we are happy to help!
Reliant Destinations:
We serve as your dedicated Sandals & Beaches Resorts concierge team, complimentary for you and funded by the resorts on your behalf! As YouTube’s #1 brand experts, our services stretch far and wide, starting with providing an unlimited plethora of value through the immense knowledge in our videos. The ultimate goal we have is to provide you with the best possible value and experience on your trip! Value goes well beyond the monetary realm; yes, you will always have the best deal through this service, but the value we want you to experience is through knowledge and expertise!
We can confidently say: no service entity on the globe knows more about Sandals & Beaches resorts than we do! Visiting each resort at least once per year, we have developed amazing friendships with staff at all levels in the resorts and corporate executive offices and curate the wealth of materials seen in our emails and this info hub for your exclusive benefit.
Beaches Concierge Tier:
At Beaches Resorts there are 3 tiers of service: Luxury (entry-level), Concierge, and Butler Elite (excluding Beaches Ocho Rios). These service tiers are not to be confused with this service, as this goes with particular room types and is an in-resort benefit only, while our services are to help you prepare for the trip. You can learn more about the Concierge tier of service at Beaches Resorts here.
The term ‘travel agency’ has definitely shifted over the years.
In our lifetimes, this went from a brick-and-mortar corner store where agents had to call in orders over telephones to massive conglomerates like Expedia, Kayak, Booking.com, and more! Thus, it is safe to say that this term is now extremely broad.
So, what is Reliant Destinations?
Simply put, my team and I are Sandals & Beaches experts, specializing in providing you with every digital tool and resource you need to have the trip of your dreams!
As we’ve stated in our correspondence, we are thrilled that this service comes at no cost to you! Valuing service highly, Sandals & Beaches cover the costs of this service on your behalf.
While this does mean that we aren’t able to assist with non-Sandals/Beaches vacations, I have trusted colleague experts in every imaginable destination that I’m happy to introduce you to, should the time come for a trip elsewhere in the future.
For those who only book with Sandals directly, the only service options are generic chat or dialing a call center to speak to a random, script-reading phone representative (who likely hasn’t been to the resorts).
This service kicks things up a notch, giving you personalized service and the ability to always refer back to our communications! As we try to keep all correspondence in writing (such as email, Facebook Messenger, etc), this gives you an easy way to refer back to our conversation at anytime. No more, “I can’t remember what we discussed on the phone” or “I lost the notes I jotted down”!
In our correspondence, I’m able to share insider facts, maps, personal advise and suggestions, any much more. Something urgent? Just check out the “urgent” FAQ to learn more!
The best part?
As the leading digital service expert for Sandals & Beaches, I work closely with all the corporate executives and senior management in each resort. This means that when it comes to special requests or the need to escalate something on your behalf, I always know the right person to put this in front of on your behalf.
At the end of the day, we are here to support you in any way possible and it is my hope that this exclusive info hub portal (that only my clients get!) is the first step in you confidently preparing for the vacation of a lifetime! 🙂
P.S. – We are IATAN/CLIA bonded and accredited, of course. You can explore client testimonials here!
Yes, this is an awesome question!
I, Addison, serve as your primary personal concierge agent representative for each booking assigned to Reliant Destinations. I’m the one you typically see in the Mr. TraveLux videos and the primary individual responsible for assisting you in your stay!
Throughout the course of your booking, you will receive a set of communications. After the booking point and answering any questions you have, you’ll always receive final info around 2 weeks before you travel: tips and tricks, final vouchers, last-minute things to know, travel info, etc!
While you might receive some documents about your booking from one of my admin assistants, 99% off your questions, comments and concerns are currently answered personally – either by myself or by my fellow Sandals/Beaches expert and executive assistant Morgan. Both of us know these resorts intimately and are always thrilled to assist in any way possible!
All of us here at Reliant Destinations live and breathe Sandals/Beaches and likely spend more working with the brand than even direct employees of Sandals, so if we can’t get you an answer, we promise no one can! 🙂
If you need to get in touch at any time, just scroll up and hit the button for your favorite communication method!
We have a mechanism to support your urgent needs! All it takes is sending an email with the word “URGENT” in the title to hello@reliantdestinations.com.
Emails with this word in the title will be flagged for priority attention.
Inboxes are monitored 7 days a week (within reasonable working hours) for urgent needs.
Please don’t worry if your email isn’t responded to immediately; we typically will try to sort your urgent requirement before responding.
What is urgent?
Well, 90%+ of requests marked urgent actually aren’t.
If there are more than 2 or 3 rooms remaining of an amendment, this is priority, but not urgent.
If there is a single room remaining on a desired amendment, you are welcome to mark this urgent.
A travel incident on the way to resort that ends in a delay can be sent to us, but please also reach out to the resort directly using the contact details on your final provided voucher (the resort should only be contacted directly if within 24 hours of your stay).
Another example, however rare, of something that might be urgent would be a large issue in resort. If you’ve used LOOP and spoken to managers, but still have an issue after a reasonable time for the issue to be resolved, please email with an urgent note. These kinds of issues are incredibly rare, but I am able to loop in the resort executives immediately for urgent attention (but only after you’ve done the above steps).
You are, of course, always welcome to also reach out via Facebook Messenger for any needs – just remember that there is no way to mark a Facebook Message urgent, so it will be responded to in order of receipt like standard communication.
Great question!
On invoices, vouchers, emails, signatures, and other paperwork, you might come across a few different company names. To avoid any confusion, here are the names you might see:
Sandals/Beaches Resorts – the trading brand name of the resorts
Unique Vacations – the legal name for Sandals and who your trips is booked through
Unique Travel Corp – the corporation for Unique Vacations/Sandals, who handle the financial and paperwork side of your stay
Reliant Destinations – that’s me and my team: your concierge service experts who help make your trip perfect
Cruises & Tours – we are a member of a 6,000-professional host organization, to provide you with the best benefits and servicing power
ASAP Cruises – the legal company behind Cruises & Tours
TravelLeaders – an organization of professionals that conglomerate reviews and ratings for your safety
IATAN / CLIA – professional certifying bodies, giving you the top confidence that we are bonded, trained, and certified
( ** Info in this FAQ only applies to around 1/100 bookings and is there for those with associated questions ** )
Are you seeing a random booking in addition to yours on your email browser/software? If so, take a deep breath and don’t panic – there’s no cause for concern!
This is an AI (artificial intelligence) calendar error mostly by Gmail (affects around 20% of users and a few other email providers) and is so common it has a name in the industry: “phantom booking”.
Essentially, it is Gmail/etc trying to be too smart for their own good and creating a fake calendar item on top of the real one (typically is Grenada or Beaches Turks as the culprits).
While having an “extra” booking isn’t nearly as concerning as having an incorrect or missing booking altogether, we understand this can cause alarm for some mail users and want to make everyone aware of this issue.
It affects mostly the travel industry like Sandals/Beaches, Disney/Universal resorts, some cruise lines, and scattered other brands.
We’ve asked many IT folks to look into this over the months and we can not find any way to solve this issue as it looks like some caching issue on the back-end of these email platforms.
So, rest assured – all is good!
If you’d like to double/triple verify your booking, here’s what you can check to make sure all is good:
- Is the resort and date given in the confirmation email to you correct?
- Is all the info in the attached client invoice correct?
- When you load up your booking using the “my booking portal” button at the top of this page, does all the info look correct?
If you can answer “yes” to one or more of the above, you can rest easy tonight, knowing that your trip to paradise is secure! 🙂
Are you traveling in the next 10 months? If so and you have yet to book, the answer is – book NOW! Air is cheapest and has the best availability around 10 months in advance. The sooner you get to your date of travel and the fewer tickets available, price increases accordingly (last-minute discounted air is a myth for the Caribbean).
Do note that air is typically a little more expensive when added through Sandals or Beaches; this is because there is no money to be made on air, so they must add a fee on their end to support an air department. If you would like to add it through your existing booking for convenience, simply get in touch using one of the buttons above.
If you are after the best airfare deal, I recommend checking websites like Kayak, SkyScanner, and your favorite airline’s direct website.
Around 2 weeks before departure you are sent a special welcome link where you share your airline flight numbers and we will arrange your complimentary transfers!
It is a true honor to assist with your special trip – thanks for allowing us the pleasure of helping make this perfect! Sandals & Beaches believe in quality service and as such, allow this special program to provide you with personalized assistance and access to top expertise to answer all of your questions.
Please note that as Sandals/Beaches covers the cost of this service on your behalf, they will ask that you pass all requests and questions through us so we can help you on a more personal level. The quickest way to get a response is via email at hello@reliantdestinations.com or via instant messenger; phone lines are reserved for arranged appointments and both email and instant messenger platforms are monitored 7 days a week.
If you believe your request is urgent, please place “urgent” in your email subject so we can address this before normal operations. Inboxes are checked from 6:00am until at least 4:45pm eastern time daily; the collective average response time across all communications for this year is less than 45 minutes. By emailing or sending an instant message rather than calling, this allows us to provide a more personalized service so we can review your booking thoroughly prior to response and provide necessary attachments, visuals, links etc to give you the highest quality of response.
Each year every Sandals & Beaches resort is inspected thoroughly and it is a distinct honor to be your Sandals & Beaches expert; please feel free to drop a message anytime if there is something that be done to make your stay more exemplary!
Anytime before travel, I would be delighted to search upgrade availability and pricing for you to see if there are any enhancements that would delight you; with this, you will never lose any existing promotions or offers. Simply get in touch with one of the buttons above!
If you had a promotion such as a free candlelight dinner or couples massage added to your booking as part of a published promotion, this will show as a resort credit when you are in the resort. To redeem, either go to the front desk or Red Lane Spa reception.
Great question! When we hold airfare on your booking, this is an availability hold but is subject to ticketing guidelines before issuance. Simply put, though the airfare is held against your booking, until this is paid in full, it is subject to pricing fluctuations. If the airfare is not paid by the deadline, the booking is subject to forfeit. Accordingly, we always recommend that airfare is paid in full the same day as it is held; please note that the vacation deposit needs to be fully paid by this point at well.
Once you have paid the airfare on your payment portal, please send me a message and I will have the reservations team live issue the airfare tickets as quickly as possible. 🙂
You can do this 2 ways: you should always have the latest email invoice & terms and conditions in your email inbox and you can also check your details on the Beaches portal anytime here.
Arrival & Check-In
No hard copies are required, but we highly recommend taking a print off of the final voucher you are sent right before you travel. You will be asked for your last name by the Sandals representative at the airport who will then have all info on file.
Transfers are included for all resorts! Depending on your airport, upon arrival you will go to the Sandals/Beaches desk or lounge, where you will be met by a representative who will check your details and prepare your transfer. After a brief wait, you will be whisked away to paradise!
Note: Sandals & Beaches resort transfers are shared transportation, with the exception of a few private-car room categories which if you have, you will know. 🙂 If you are visiting Saint Lucia, make sure to ask me about a helicopter transfer possibility!
Check-in officially begins at 3:00pm at all Beaches Resorts. However, if you decide to arrive earlier, never fear! Your luggage is safely secured and you are free to start enjoying all the inclusive elements of the resort while your room is prepared!
Trip Preparation
Good idea thinking ahead!
So, all Sandals & Beaches Resorts do have USA-type plugs and USB ports, which you can use. However, islands with more recent British influence (like St Lucia, Barbados, etc) tend to have a LOT of British-style plugs. As such, you might find that you have more limited US-type plugs than you expected, depending on the room you are in.
A simple solution: if you head over to my packing essentials recommendations page (and scroll to the bottom), I have listed some cheap adaptor styles you might consider tossing in a suitcase! 🙂
You can find more information about Sandals accessibility and elevators here. This blog includes what the best resorts are for disabled guests, and which buildings within each resort have elevator access. Please reach out if you have any further questions or concerns.
As a client of Reliant Destinations, we will send you a packing list with your final pre-departure email; this typically arrives 2 weeks before travel. Furthermore, you can check out our packing video here!
Simply click your resort below to load the pre-departure checklist.
Vacation Enhancements
Great question! Here are the top 3 most popular additions to a Beaches package at the moment:
- Romantic Candlelight Dinner – a private, candlelit dinner on the beach or a beachfront gazebo with white glove waiter service
- Scents of Love Couples Massage – with this experience, couples can relax and experience massage euphoria together – each with their own selected style of massage
- Character Experience – an interactive breakfast or party experience with larger-than-life Sesame Street characters!
These, and many other possibilities, can be booked here (make sure to use your booking number!!).
Also, make sure to check out our video about enhancements at Sandals & Beaches Resorts here!
Short answer – 100% yes. These have limited availability and I always recommend you book these prior to arrival – you also guarantee the best price by booking in advance. You can check availability and pricing for your favorites here. Please note that while it says “optional” for your booking number, it is actually very important to add this while booking – otherwise, it is not attached to your booking and can be a nightmare in resort to locate on occasion.
Returning Home
Never fear! Within 14-days of booking your next vacation, you can assign me as your concierge agent with the quick 15-second process here. Please note that Loyalty & Travel bookings can only be transferred to me if you were currently my client during your stay.
Check out is 11:00am at all resorts. However, your baggage is collected and held until your transfer is ready for the airport, so if you have a flight later in the day, you can still enjoy yourself in paradise!
We have made this process simple for you: just use the secure vacation portal, where you can check your balance and make immediate payment or schedule future payments.
Beaches Resort Experience
Sure, you are definitely welcome to bring anything that will enhance your stay. Just remember that the resort can’t accept responsibility for lost/damaged personal items and these should only be inflated during use.
Of course, happy to help! Sandals & Beaches are very respectful of all dietary restrictions and/or requirements. For more information about the nuances with this topic, check out our blog on the subject here! Furthermore, we are happy to annotate any dietary needs on your reservation notes for resort management, should we not have done this yet for your reservation!
Yes indeed! I have this published just for you here! 🙂
(Quick disclaimer: I know this can be a highly politicized topic with strong emotions from some; this is simply a reminder in case you need to plan accordingly.)
In line with ocean environmental efforts Sandals & Beaches has ceased offering plastic straws at all the resorts and instead uses study, cardboard straws. While I have found these more robust and longer lasting than those you have likely had in your home cities, this can be an issue for some people who prefer a forever-rigid straw.
In this instance, I recommend that you simply bring a metal straw found on somewhere like Amazon; these can come in awesome, cool colors, are easy to pack (and often foldable), and allow you to customize your experience! Check out our shopping recommendations here!
As with most places with water in the world, mosquitoes love the Caribbean. However, Sandals and Beaches resorts discreetly fogs the resorts multiple times daily using a pesticide-free mixture that makes the resorts a more enjoyable experience. For example, mosquitoes LOVE to eat me, but if I stay in resort, I tend to only get 1-2 bites my entire trip – a lot less than 5 minutes in my backyard at home! 🙂 With this said, I always recommend bringing DEET-ingredient insect repellent to enhance your stay; furthermore, if you go outside of the resort this can quickly become a necessity!
At Sandals and Beaches, I’m very happy to say that this is a tacky-wristband-free environment! Unlike most other all inclusive resorts, you do not need to carry around proof that you are a guest while inside of the resort. If you leave the resort for any reason, please be aware that you will need to check out and provide details upon arrival again.
Oh yeah! You will find a multitude of beach towels throughout the resort – just look for your nearest pool/spa/beach entry and you will find these everywhere! Unlike most resorts, there is no check-in/check-out for these, just grab and enjoy!
Absolutely! You are welcome to book any offer you see with Loyalty & Travel while in the resort; please remember that when you return, you have 14-days maximum to assign me as your concierge for your new booking. It takes only 15-seconds, so don’t miss out! All the great details are here for you.
Because these breathtaking resorts start booking 2 years in advance and sell out quickly, it would not be fair to those who book short-notice or even months in advance for prior restaurant reservations to be permitted.
As such, all dinner reservations are made in resort. Luxury-tier guests can make these at the culinary concierge desk, Club/Concierge-tier guests can do this with their in-resort concierge, and all dining requirements for Butler Elite guests are handled directly by their butler.
Practical Info & Safety
We do recommend that all bookings have comprehensive travel insurance prior to travel.
Bookings booked before the end of June 2022 and that travel before December 31, 2022 have a basic travel protection plan included for free as standard. We do not consider this to be a comprehensive travel insurance plan, so recommend further insurance as standard.
If you would like Sandals’ comprehensive insurance plan through TripMate, this is $114 per person as of the last update of this FAQ (March 2022). This can be added after a deposit by letting me know at any time.
However, due to less-than-stellar service reviews on this insurance policy, however affordable, we are currently recommending RoamRight comprehensive insurance instead, who have delivered the most superior service and benefits to our clients throughout the pandemic. This insurance policy tends to be more expensive than TripMate above, but is also more comprehensive and covers baggage and airline issues, etc.
It is always better to have some insurance than none, so these are just some professional opinion recommendations above!
As I am not a licensed insurance broker, I cannot discuss plans further, but can just recommend some plan names above to further explore.
Some travel credit card holders might check to ensure you don’t have any travel insurance on that card as well.
If you are going abroad without the other child’s parent, there are definitely things you need to be aware of.
In particular, with child trafficking and kidnapping being prominent, border officials want to know that you have parental authority to remove the child from their country of residency.
As a general rule, you’ll want a signed/notarized letter from the other parent authorizing their international trip with you.
There are exceptions to this, of course, in relation to custody, etc.
You can and should review these requirements on the US State Department website, but I also recommend this attorney’s more easy read discussion on the matter.
It is always worth remembering that these stunning Caribbean islands are still developing countries and as such, crime can be very prevalent in various locations on any given island. There are many safe ways to experience these islands and I have never had a client have issues, but I always recommend an abundance of caution. Unless someone has spoken with various local staff members for recommendations and is an experienced travel, my general recommendation is to stick with official tours, excursions, and vetted attractions. If you look at the excursion list for your selected resort, you’ll see that there is a plethora of safe and verified choices that you can comfortably choose.
Never fear and the #1 thing to remember is that there are very few issues that cannot be solved. Also, a friendly reminder that the Caribbean operates on “island time” – a relaxed approach to life. You can do 2 things:
- In the Sandals/Beaches app, you get access to a button in this app called “LOOP” – only available when you are in resort. This allows you to leave a compliment, request, or concern and it gets escalated accordingly.
- You can also speak to a Hotel/Dining/Butler/Experience Manager if you have any requests or concerns and they will try to assist immediately.
In the extremely unlikely instance that you are not able to have your issued solved with either of the above, you are always welcome to contact me to intervene on your behalf.
Issues at a Sandals or Beaches resort are incredibly rare, but just remember that if anything arises, both the resort team and myself always strive to give you the best result.
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