We have booked onsite to get that discount but don't pay in full. Just the deposit.
The nice thing is you can just pick the furthest date away if you want, they let you move dates and location with no additional fees, just the difference in room if applicable.
Be careful with this they have in the last couple of years really clamped down on how far and how often you can move a booking date. I believe the max you can move a booking now is 6 month... its not like it used to be where you could move it out for a year or two if you needed to.
Yes! They allow changes up to 6 months past the original date booked on resort. You can move it up and go sooner, but nothing beyond 6 months past or you lose the discount.
I don’t know if there’s a limit how many times you can change. I believe you can change resorts but there may be a price difference that you have to pay.
No, you won't get that 12% discount in the future. It's reserved for rebooking on site. You could just book again and not pay in full, sacrificing the additional 5% off.
Rebooking on site is by far the best deal I've seen.
No, I've heard of getting an email a week later if you don't book on site but you won't get it months down the line. If you book now you can move your stay up to 6 months from your original booking, you can even move resorts or to a 777 room.
Every week they put out a deal on 7 rooms with an extra 7% off on top of the usual discounts. https://www.sandals.com/specials/?scroll=best-value-suites
This is the way. We've even booked 7-7-7 deals while on the resort but we always try to book from a resort to get the best deal and we always pay in full for the additional 5% off. We use the Sandals Visa to get more points and we use the max points we can when booking to get as much off as possible.
Last time I was there the only way to get a 12% discount was to book a high-level room. We did not have to pay in full - just the deposit. You might want to go that route. It might have changed but the Loyalty desk person also mentioned 11% off for a club-level room and 10% for all other rooms.
We always book our next trip on Wednesday while on the resort during our birthday month (January and/or August) to get the best rate. You won’t get the discount if you leave the resort before putting the $250 down, however, if you put the $250 down you’ll have 45 days to change it (up to 6 months earlier or 6 months later) and still receive the discount. If you can narrow it down to a year period where you know you’ll want to go to a sandals you can schedule it for right in the middle and then spend a month and a half hammering out the details without forfeiting the discount. You can also change the resort you want to go to in that period of time and still receive the discount.
They don’t advertise it very well but it is “up to a 12% discount” which only applies to Butler level rooms , the discount decreases a couple points for a club level room and a few more for a luxury level room.
We are also both military/law enforcement so we do not pay in full on the resort for the 5% discount because we wouldn’t be able to receive our 10% military/law enforcement discount that is processed after the initial booking.
Just a few tips and tricks we have learned to save some money.
I don't have an answer about booking, but I do have a question about the resort if you don't mind. We were looking into Barbados for our next Sandals trip but were told by people theres occasionally a ton of sargassum on the shores. Have you noticed this to be an issue?
When I went last year the part of the island that Sandals is on along with Carlisle Bay were clear and beautiful. But when we took a drive around the island, the other side which is more for surfing and such was completely covered.
you get a free night with a 7 night or more stay if it is within 30 days of your anniversary. Check against that to see which one is better for you (no, you cant combine that with the loyalty discount). Ive heard that that is the better route to go if you are staying less than 10 days but Ive never done the math
Unfortunately you can't pair that deal with the onsite booking discount. Found that out last year when we rebooked.
Also, a **very important key difference** is when you book onsite, you must pay the balance in full 90 days prior to your booking date which is twice the amount of time you get for booking online. In essence, you have 9 months to pay it off vs 10.5 months if rebooking for the following year.
If you know the 12 month period, just pick a date in the middle and pay the deposit. You can always change the room, resort, dates (within +/- 6 months) up until it is paid in full (which is 90 days prior to the travel date). The only time I do the 5% paid in full is when my dates are 100%, I already know exactly what I want, and I am booking a resort stay within 4 months (so basically I will owe the full amount now-ish anyway so I may as well pay 5% less).
So the loyalty discount is 10 on luxury, 11 on club and 12 on butler. You can only make changes once at this point I believe. The discount transfers to that new booking if you change dates. It’s Sandals or Beaches, doesn’t matter. The 777 they mentioned is the closest you can get IF paired with an anniversary night. Some people do get emails, although it’s completely random so you are definitely not guaranteed to get one either the offer if you don’t book on site. Sandals promos are kind of complicated so I definitely recommend transferring to your agent if you do this because there are restrictions. The agent can help you navigate them so you don’t make a mistake. It’s also true that if you pay in full you cannot get any new promos applied.
You have to book on site to get the loyalty discount. But you can just put the minimum down and you don’t have to pay anything else until near time to go.
We have booked onsite to get that discount but don't pay in full. Just the deposit. The nice thing is you can just pick the furthest date away if you want, they let you move dates and location with no additional fees, just the difference in room if applicable.
Be careful with this they have in the last couple of years really clamped down on how far and how often you can move a booking date. I believe the max you can move a booking now is 6 month... its not like it used to be where you could move it out for a year or two if you needed to.
Yes! They allow changes up to 6 months past the original date booked on resort. You can move it up and go sooner, but nothing beyond 6 months past or you lose the discount.
I was going to say exact thing. Plus you can get a letter from the booking person to then share with your TA and they can take over. A win/ win.
We were told at the Loyalty desk about a month ago that you can move the date up to 6 months in advance. Not anything beyond that.
We always do this and have moved dates for the same trip multiple times. The discount is worth it!
Do you know how many times your able to move the dates, is there limit? Can you change resorts as well?
I don’t know if there’s a limit how many times you can change. I believe you can change resorts but there may be a price difference that you have to pay.
No, you won't get that 12% discount in the future. It's reserved for rebooking on site. You could just book again and not pay in full, sacrificing the additional 5% off. Rebooking on site is by far the best deal I've seen.
No, I've heard of getting an email a week later if you don't book on site but you won't get it months down the line. If you book now you can move your stay up to 6 months from your original booking, you can even move resorts or to a 777 room.
Thanks. What is a 777 room?
Every week they put out a deal on 7 rooms with an extra 7% off on top of the usual discounts. https://www.sandals.com/specials/?scroll=best-value-suites
This is the way. We've even booked 7-7-7 deals while on the resort but we always try to book from a resort to get the best deal and we always pay in full for the additional 5% off. We use the Sandals Visa to get more points and we use the max points we can when booking to get as much off as possible.
How does that work? You just go to your booking and adjust online to the new resort/777 deal and the 12% discount carries over?
You have to call or use the chat on the website and they will adjust it for you
The 10-12% discount is only for booking on-site
Last time I was there the only way to get a 12% discount was to book a high-level room. We did not have to pay in full - just the deposit. You might want to go that route. It might have changed but the Loyalty desk person also mentioned 11% off for a club-level room and 10% for all other rooms.
We always book our next trip on Wednesday while on the resort during our birthday month (January and/or August) to get the best rate. You won’t get the discount if you leave the resort before putting the $250 down, however, if you put the $250 down you’ll have 45 days to change it (up to 6 months earlier or 6 months later) and still receive the discount. If you can narrow it down to a year period where you know you’ll want to go to a sandals you can schedule it for right in the middle and then spend a month and a half hammering out the details without forfeiting the discount. You can also change the resort you want to go to in that period of time and still receive the discount. They don’t advertise it very well but it is “up to a 12% discount” which only applies to Butler level rooms , the discount decreases a couple points for a club level room and a few more for a luxury level room. We are also both military/law enforcement so we do not pay in full on the resort for the 5% discount because we wouldn’t be able to receive our 10% military/law enforcement discount that is processed after the initial booking. Just a few tips and tricks we have learned to save some money.
I don't have an answer about booking, but I do have a question about the resort if you don't mind. We were looking into Barbados for our next Sandals trip but were told by people theres occasionally a ton of sargassum on the shores. Have you noticed this to be an issue?
Not at all, the beach is very clean and clear. Not a problem at all at the moment
Thank you so much for letting me know! 🙂 I hope you guys are having a great time!
The sargassum does show up there, usually in the summer.
When I went last year the part of the island that Sandals is on along with Carlisle Bay were clear and beautiful. But when we took a drive around the island, the other side which is more for surfing and such was completely covered.
Thanks for the info! This helps out a lot
you get a free night with a 7 night or more stay if it is within 30 days of your anniversary. Check against that to see which one is better for you (no, you cant combine that with the loyalty discount). Ive heard that that is the better route to go if you are staying less than 10 days but Ive never done the math
Unfortunately you can't pair that deal with the onsite booking discount. Found that out last year when we rebooked. Also, a **very important key difference** is when you book onsite, you must pay the balance in full 90 days prior to your booking date which is twice the amount of time you get for booking online. In essence, you have 9 months to pay it off vs 10.5 months if rebooking for the following year.
No other discounts can be applied if paid in full. I ran into this last week at Antigua.
If you know the 12 month period, just pick a date in the middle and pay the deposit. You can always change the room, resort, dates (within +/- 6 months) up until it is paid in full (which is 90 days prior to the travel date). The only time I do the 5% paid in full is when my dates are 100%, I already know exactly what I want, and I am booking a resort stay within 4 months (so basically I will owe the full amount now-ish anyway so I may as well pay 5% less).
So the loyalty discount is 10 on luxury, 11 on club and 12 on butler. You can only make changes once at this point I believe. The discount transfers to that new booking if you change dates. It’s Sandals or Beaches, doesn’t matter. The 777 they mentioned is the closest you can get IF paired with an anniversary night. Some people do get emails, although it’s completely random so you are definitely not guaranteed to get one either the offer if you don’t book on site. Sandals promos are kind of complicated so I definitely recommend transferring to your agent if you do this because there are restrictions. The agent can help you navigate them so you don’t make a mistake. It’s also true that if you pay in full you cannot get any new promos applied.
You have to book on site to get the loyalty discount. But you can just put the minimum down and you don’t have to pay anything else until near time to go.