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@@amyhart8067 glad you enjoyed! I don’t, but it was in the very back, if you’re staring at the entrance to the resort, we were on the right side in the back.

Hi! Thank you so much for watching! 1. Definitely be prepared to do a lot of walking! They have the restaurants and the rooms separated pretty far from one another, I actually enjoy getting some steps in because we usually just lay on the beach all day. However, it is a little bit annoying if you’re in one of the pools and let’s say you wanna go grab a coffee, it is a bit of a walk to get over there. 2. The restaurants were amazing and they have vegan and vegetarian options at almost every restaurant. There is a little symbol next to the meal that is offered that shows it’s vegan/vegetarian. However, if I recall correctly, there may have been only one-two vegan/vegetarian options at each restaurant. But they usually have some sort of salad at every restaurant. 3. The entertainment was great. They have an inside auditorium entertainment area, and then an outdoor one where they had a DJ each night. There are so many games randomly around the resort as well. They have pool, connect, four, chess, shuffleboard, checkers. I’ll be making another video in the coming weeks where I chat through all the specifics so be sure to keep your eyes peeled for that one and please let me know if you have any other questions!

@@laurahoffman979 Thank you so much for your reply. I looked at the restaurant options and there are several with no dinner hours or no veggie options so we would probably end up repeating, which is not our first choice. It's something to consider. I would definitely like to see your other video but we might have to make a change in our choice by next week. This is a 20th anniversary trip so we want it to be perfect!

@@PaulDorfman-j3v yeah it might be a challenge finding enough vegetarian options for the duration of your stay. We were there for seven nights, so we had to repeat a restaurant for one of the nights. Regardless, I think you will have an amazing time, this resort is so stunning, the most beautiful sunsets I’ve ever seen!!

@@PaulDorfman-j3v Paul, we have been to South Coast 3x (last in April 2024). It is a big resort and if you are concerned about walking distances, it is a valid concern - it is a solid 20 minute walk from one side of the resort to the other. The Silver Sun section is closest to most things but is now the oldest section, we like the east side of the Starlight section (butler (like the poster stayed in) and higher club level rooms (SUP and DVS)) because they are about mid-way between the majority of restaurants and watersports in main area and the better beach, very near the lunch restaurants and Latitudes on western end. The DVS rooms have the best sunset in the resort. Our experience is, unless you are a hardcore vegan, that at most-all of the restaurants the chef's will make you vegetarian meals that are not on the menu.

@@Janekang718 Juan definitely had his panties in a bunch! 😂 thanks for watching!

@@user-we2np8pl5h Thank you for watching! The beach is pretty much the same at breathless, pretty narrow and the chairs are very close together unfortunately. The restaurants are fantastic and if you’re staying at breathless you have to go to the rooftop restaurant, it’s breathtaking and food is delicious!!

@@annneal3218 Thanks for watching and great question! My husband and I are currently discussing the hurricane risk because it looks like this year will be the most intense hurricane year that we’ve had in a very long time. We are planning another Jamaica trip in September but it will be sandals not secrets. I would look into possibly getting trip insurance because that will usually give you a full refund if you cannot attend your trip. If you have something booked already, I would also look into the cancellation policy as well, for sandals resorts you have to cancel 45 days in advance of your scheduled trip and you can receive a full refund. We are considering doing that since Jamaica was just hit pretty hard by the hurricane. In Jamaica, it usually rains in the afternoon for several hours, usually the mornings are pretty clear, but it does depend upon what time you go during the year. The best thing about the rain is you will always have the most gorgeous sunsets!

I have a full chatty review about everything on this resort on my page and it mentions the food, you can watch it here, but overall the food was pretty good! ua-cam.com/video/Qb2z3eRLZW0/v-deo.htmlsi=Cdn11rt77Dp3TkZl

Yes! We will be back next year! Thank you for watching!

I hope not!

Your lack of or low tipping is why people don’t like Americans… you want a St Regis experience on a Riu budget…..

Glad you enjoyed it, have an amazing time!!!

Thanks so much for watching! Yes, they do! They hold it outside of the Market Café which is the place where they have the buffet set up for breakfast and lunch. We didn’t go to any of the entertainment but I walked by one night and it looked pretty neat, something different every night!

That’s a great point! We are headed to Sandals South Coast Jamaica in September so I will report back on how the service is at that resort. We got the butler service so they usually treat you very well when you do that. When deciding between Cancun and Jamaica, I would choose Jamaica because the water is much clearer and there’s no seaweed issues like they have been experiencing in Cancun.

@@laurahoffman979 Thanks

Thanks for watching! They have the little club at night which is fun and dinner restaurants stay open until 1030 usually, but that is pretty much all there is to do at night. But for three days, that should keep you occupied!

@@laurahoffman979 we also booked a standard room on points. did you try to ask for an upgrade?

@@windnsea26 we did but it was outrageously expensive!! They always try to upsell you when you check in.

Thanks for watching! So when we checked in we asked them that question and they told us midnight, but it appears that it doesn’t close till 1 AM. We were in there at 12:30am and it was still open. Enjoy your trip!!

Glad you enjoyed the video, thank you for watching!

Thank you so much for watching! I’m glad you found it helpful! I think you will enjoy it no matter what, the preferred club is a nice benefit because you get the separate lounge area and expedited check-in, but it’s definitely not a necessity!

If you go to the prior video you will see the Vlog where I show the entire property. Watch that one and then see what you think. Thanks for watching!!

Yes, it’s absolutely stunning and scenic, but I definitely think the service has gone downhill from when I went back in 2014. Also, I’m personally really bothered by people that bring speaker boxes to the beach and play their music really loudly, just ruins the ambience for everyone else and it seems like there are a lot of people there that do that and the staff doesn’t regulate it, so that’s why the experience wasn’t as good for me personally. However, the entertainment is pretty good and the food and drinks are good, and it’s just a beautiful resort overall.

Thank you so much for watching! I definitely think the restaurants at breathless are swanky and more exotic inside! They have an absolutely stunning rooftop restaurant that you absolutely have to go to, we ate there twice because it’s so beautiful! There’s even a pool and a beautiful bar up top, I think I have clips of this in the vlog I posted if you’re interested in seeing it!That is a must go-to restaurant! There also was a pretty fancy restaurant near the lobby in breathless. On the secrets side, the restaurants are great, they’re all kind of clustered together right along the edge of the water and they always have entertainment in the center so you can eat and usually watch or at least hear the entertainment every night, all of the food is pretty comparable between breathless and secrets so you can’t go wrong wherever you go!

Hi @@laurahoffman979 ! Thanks for the reply. Yes, I saw the clips from the rooftop in your vlog! I am looking forward to that above all else. On more question - do you recall what kinds of alcohol was available in the minibar? I understand the preferred rooms have additional options. I might have missed it in your vlog!

Hi!! Thank you so much for watching and I’m glad you enjoyed the video! You will have a blast! We did the preferred club there, sandals has the butler service, secrets does not. If you get the preferred club you usually have expedited check-in and a separate lounge area with drinks and snacks at your disposal, you can also do breakfast there as they usually have a breakfast buffet every morning, it’s definitely worth it if you like to treat yourself!

That’s a great question! I can absolutely do a video on that! My husband and I are headed to Secrets los Cabos in early April so I’ll have another video coming very soon! We also plan to do a sandals later in the year. Overall, I’d say you can’t go wrong with either, secrets seems to be a little bit cheaper and more affordable in terms of pricing than sandals, I also like the service options that you get at sandals with the butler service. They do not do a butler service at secrets, but they do have the preferred club which gets you a few extra benefits. Overall I think they are close tie. I will absolutely do a video on this, thank you for the suggestion!

Thanks for watching!! Yes, sandals south coast was fantastic! I did a review on sandals Grenada on my channel so check that one out if you’re interested in another Sandals! That one was fantastic, we just visited there last September!

@@laurahoffman979 I will check that out, I've heard it's wonderful!!

Thank you so much for watching and I’m so glad it was helpful and you enjoyed it! Grenada is beautiful, you will have so much fun when you visit!!

Hi!! Thank you so much for watching and I’m glad you enjoyed! That is a tough call but I would have to say either sandals Grenada because the service was fantastic and the beaches are stunning! Or secrets Capa Cana in Punta Cana because the beaches were so wide and the service was also excellent!

Okay thank you so much! We are foodies. Did both resorts compare foodwise?

@@laurahoffman979 Also what about nightlife?

@@JC-yz4ki food compares at both but in my opinion is a little better at sandals Grenada, I had the best steak of my life there! Nightlife is quiet at both. I have a Grenada vlog on this channel you can check out to see that resort. At Grenada they have local entertainers at night which is fun! And at punta they had a piano bar in the lobby.

I don’t know about secrets isla, but I can tell you sandals St. Lucia La toc was also one of our choices but one of my friends went there and said it was not worth the money and everything was very outdated.

Thank you for watching!!

Thank you! Glad you enjoyed!

Hi! Thanks for watching! The preferred club pricing is per person per night. If you already booked and didn’t book the preferred club, you can probably just add it on when you were there on site, but they can help you with that when you check in.

@@laurahoffman979 ok thanks! 👍🏿

Some of them do and some of them don’t. The area where we were there were no umbrellas, but if you don’t mind sitting close next to someone else you’ll be in an area with umbrellas.

@@laurahoffman979 oh okay, I would like an umbrella, so maybe I’ll ask my butler to put me on the “end”… or I guess I’ll be making new friends 😂🤣

@@cinnaminstixx you can definitely ask your butler to be under an umbrella, there are some more spaced out areas with some umbrellas that you could ask them to put you under, they are very accommodating!

@@laurahoffman979yes I will also add the bubble bath 🛀 and champagne 🍾 to my request list too! Thanks for the ideas. 😊

@@laurahoffman979we definitely requested an umbrella and chairs over in the corner cove area. It was private and perfect for snorkeling!!

I think if you want to have access to the resort next-door, the preferred club is worth it!

I’m sure you will have a great time! Despite the cons, we still had a wonderful time!

Hi! That’s a great question and it’s at your discretion. It is allowed but it is not required so it is really up to you how much you would like to tip. We tipped based upon our experience with each butler so each butler got a different tip because we had different experiences with each one. We brought a total of $200 split to between the three of them. Hope this helps!

​@laurahoffman979 Great! Thank you!

Thank you for watching! It’s really hard to say but I think in terms of the beaches we really loved secrets Capa Cana in Punta Cana, the water wasn’t the best but the beaches are so wide and private and the sands are so white that it might take my number one spot! But I think Grenada is a close second because the water is just so gorgeous!

Of course, glad you enjoyed! The beaches are very narrow and they’re mildly long, but it depends what you consider long. I would say it would take you about 15 to 20 minutes to walk the whole thing one way, but it depends how fast of a walker you are! Overall the beaches are very narrow and it is not a place you would go to get a very wide beach. There are other resorts in Jamaica that have much wider beaches. We’ve been to sandals south coast and their beaches are much wider and more spacious. Hope this helps!

@@laurahoffman979 Yes that helps a lot, Thank you! We like long beaches so where thinking perhaps Secrets Maroma, Punta Cana, Cap Cana or Akumal. Beach is nice at Playa Mujeres but I hear that Secrets is closing in April for full reno and we want to go late march so sure I want to be there just as they are closing. Sorry to keep asking questions but of all the Secrets you've stayed at which did you like the best and which did you feel was best value for your $??

@@spinedoc893 no worries at all, happy to help! We’ve actually been to all the secrets that you mention above! Out of all of those, Capa Cana was actually my favorite, by far the biggest widest beaches, the chairs are so far apart, especially on the preferred club side, so I think it was my favorite just because I like my privacy when I vacation and it literally took so long to get out to the beaches since they were so wide! Maroma and Akumal and playa were also pretty large however I would be cautious about the seaweed problem they’ve been having, it kind of ruins the beaches if you really like the beach, they were bulldozing it while we were there and making huge piles that were super smelly!! So just something to keep in mind if you’re considering Mexico.

@@laurahoffman979 Thanks, that is helpful. I have been having second thoughts about mexico because of the seaweed issue. Have you stayed at Secrets Royal Beach in Punta Cana? I've stayed in that area before and the beach is great there too. It seems to be quite a bit cheaper than Cap Cana. It looks quite nice in videos etc but Cap Cana looks a bit more upscale. Just wondering if you'd been there and if Cap Cana is worth the extra $?

@@spinedoc893 Thats actually one that I have not visited, but I agree the beach and resort looks beautiful, it’s definitely on my list to visit! I think I heard they did several upgrades to that resort in recent years so it should be pretty nice!

Thank you for watching and glad you enjoyed! We stayed at the resort (St. James) last September and then we stayed at wild orchid back in 2014. Unfortunately that is one issue with this resort in my opinion, because the beaches are man-made and very narrow as the resort sits on a bay, they tend to be very crowded and the chairs are very close together because the beaches are just not very wide. This also might depend on what time of the year you go, we go during hurricane season in September and I would still say it’s fairly crowded.

Thanks for watching! I haven’t been to Iberostar so can’t comment on those, but with secrets you don’t have to make any reservations except for hibachi! It’s very convenient! My husband and I are currently at sandals Grenada so I’ll have another review of this one coming soon, enjoy your trip!

Thanks for watching! I think it depends upon what type of vibe you enjoy, I personally found breathless to be a bit of a younger crowd and they had more activities and a party- like atmosphere. Secrets was more relaxing and they don’t have as many activities, but you can still find that party- like vibe at some of the pool bars. personally, my husband and I are not big partiers and we keep to ourselves so we like the quiet atmosphere that secrets provides, but again it depends upon what you like on a vacation! We have also been to sandals south coast in Jamaica, another beautiful resort but definitely pricier than secrets and it takes quite a bit of time, about an hour and a half to get from the airport to the resort and they have cats everywhere, so if you don’t like cats it’s definitely not for you! But it is a stunning resort and the beaches are much bigger. Hope this helps!

It does! Thanks so much for responding! I'm not really into a big party scene but enjoy a bit of both worlds while on vacation - quiet/relaxing with a bit of lively entertainment mixed in.

Thanks for the recommendation and for watching the video! I’ll have to check out that resort! My husband and I are headed to sandals Grenada next so we’ll see how that one is!

@laurahoffman979 we are going to Secrets St James...hoping it's an OK resort. IMO the Sandals Resorts are overpriced. I've been to 4 of them, Beloved blows them out of the water.

@@molly8002 Yes they definitely seem a lot pricier than Secrets, I will have to look into beloved for our next trip, thanks for that recommendation!

Thanks so much for watching! Yes, pack your snorkel kit, lots of fish in the water to see! I’m not sure if you can rent bikes to ride around the island, I definitely don’t think the resort offers that but I’m not 100% sure. Personally, my husband and I always stay at the resort, the surrounding area is rather impoverished which you will see during the 15 minute ride from the airport to the resort, so it’s totally up to you, a lot of people do leave the resort, but we like to play it safe and stay put. They do have water sports that you can do at the resort like kayaking and I think they might do a glass bottom boat tour as well!

@@laurahoffman979 Thank you for your honesty!

So glad you enjoyed it! Honestly, the resort is beautiful, it’s just that the beaches are very small so you end up being very close to other people on the beach which doesn’t give you much privacy, and I think the understaffing has been a challenge for them, but overall we still enjoyed our time in Jamaica, it’s an absolutely stunning location!

Hi! thanks for watching and glad you enjoyed the review! In my personal opinion, I really don’t think there’s much of a difference, my husband and I actually visited Wild Orchid several years ago and I think the rooms are pretty much the same. With Wild orchid you might have a little bit of a better view because you’re going to be closer to the end of the island, but honestly, it’s so scenic and beautiful from any room. I would save your dollars and just stick with the cheaper option because they’re essentially the same!

Thank you so much!

Hi! Thank you for watching! I’m glad you enjoyed! I would say a moderate amount, they have a specific seafood restaurant at every secrets resort, I believe it’s called the ‘Oceana’, that is the place where they serve the most seafood. But at most of the restaurants you can get a seafood dish; however, I don’t recall there being a lot of lobster options.

I was there last week. There was no lobster or crablegs but they have dishes with different types of shell fish in them.

Hi! We did not get the Butler service at this resort. We’ve had Butler service at sandals and it has been fantastic, but never at a secrets resort. In my opinion, I don’t think I would do the preferred club at this resort again, the benefit was the preferred club lounge and you’re supposed to have expedited check in, but they were so understaffed that it still seemed rather slow. I would say save your dollars and don’t do preferred at this particular resort.

Ok, thanks for responding & thanks for the review! We’ve already booked with the butler service in Sept…so I’m hoping the service is much better. Hate your experience wasn’t favorable 😞

@@msgloria1979 of course, happy to help! Regardless, your money will not go to waste, you’ll have an amazing time! Even though there were some hiccups, Secrets really does it well! Most likely they’ve increased their staff since last year, so you’ll probably have a better experience than we did. Enjoy your trip!!

@@msgloria1979 I will also be there in September on the 14. What day will you be going?

I agree! Some people looked super depressed working there and usually that is not the case, you don’t want to pay thousands of dollars to see an unfriendly face on your five star vacation! My husband and I are going to sandals Grenada this year so I’m hoping to have a better experience at that one.

Of course!! Let me know if you have any questions! And enjoy your vacation!