As Sandals Select members, Mike and I always like to take a yearly vacation to a Sandals or Beaches resort. Beaches Turks and Caicos is by far our favorite destination, however this year we decided to give Sandals La Source Grenada a try. And I have to admit, I absolutely loved it. Usually we find that nothing can compare to Beaches Turks and Caicos, but this resort and island were top notch. Below you will find my comprehensive review of both the resort and island along with some pictures to get you itching to discover it yourself.
Travel time:
If you live in the United States, be prepared for a LONG travel day. We had about 6 hours total flight time stretched to a 16 hour day due to layovers and long waits for the flight to leave out of Miami. Because of this, we decided to book 2 extra days at the resort to compensate for the missed time, however the downside is, you arrive at the resort around 9PM at night. Which after paying full price for that day is a bit of a buzz kill. We did hear that new airlines and airports will be offering additional flights soon, however I have no confirmation on when and where or how it will be improved upon.
Accommodations:
Absolutely beautiful. We had a river pool walk out room. It was really private and convenient for early morning or late night swims. The gardens made us feel like we had our own private oasis. We were however close to the “loud” pool so if you like to sleep in, you would want to be closer to the beach. On vacation, we tend to wake up early to enjoy the day, so this was of no bother to us that music started around 9:30 am. In fact we enjoyed the action and music vibe of this side of the resort. It really depends on what you are looking for out of your vacation.
We loved our room. Just 10 steps to the private pool and a great patio to relax on. They are definitely set up for romance and couples. They have an open shower and two well placed mirrors that do not allow for much privacy. My husband and I didn’t mind at all, in fact it added to the spark of the vacation.
Grenada, the island and resort grounds:
Grenada is hilly and beautiful. So expect hills on the resort grounds as well. The resort is actually situated in a valley and completely surrounded by hills on all 3 sides with the beach at the front. If you don’t like to walk hills you may want to inquire with the resort which room would be best for you. We like to walk and are active, so again, this didn’t bother us and in fact was one of the things we really loved about the island and resort.
Grenada is a less than 1% crime island. Please, I beg you, leave the resort to explore! I understand all inclusive resorts can keep you not wanting to leave. But on this island, it’s a must! You can book with Island Routes if you are into the group tour method of seeing the island. But I actually recommend renting a car or scooter, walking or riding a bike to explore the island.
If you do nothing else, walk out of the resort, make a left as if you were going toward the airport. Walk about about 10 minutes (less than a mile) and on your left is a place called “the Aquarium”. Walk down the hill and have lunch or a drink on the beach. It’s totally worth it. This is what Grenada looks like unspoiled by big resort grounds. Totally Amazing. My favorite picture below:
Included bonus:
Please take advantage of the included sightseeing boat tour. They run daily at 3pm. We were lucky enough to go all the way to the harbor and see St. George’s. This made up for the fact that both of our scheduled tours got canceled due to not enough people interested, which was a real bummer. If we had known from day one that our tours were going to get canceled we would have just gone out and explored by ourselves. This isn’t the kind of island you want to spend all of your time on the resort. However this sightseeing tour provided by Sandals is amazing. I hear it can differ from day to day, however we thoroughly enjoyed our trip.
Food/Drink:
All of the food was great! We were not disappointed. The restaurants are very clean and well taken care of. The staff is incredibly friendly. Of course, like most Caribbean destinations, the bar staff are slower here than we have experienced at other resorts, however that’s just “Caribbean Time”. So be prepared to wait for your drink, sometimes a very long time especially at the pool bar.
This Sandals resort is also the first ever to offer a steak house restaurant. All I can say is I had the best Filet Mignon I have ever had in my life. Hands down.
The Beach:
Right off of the resort, the beach is small. There are two large cliffs (rocky areas) on each side that prevent beach walking. If you love the beach and want more of it, you will need to leave the resort and check out Grand Anse beach.
Other tips and tidbits:
Grenada gets dark every single day of the year at 6:30pm.
The resort offers both electrical outlets for your convenience the US and UK versions.100 – 127 V and 220 – 240 V
Typical crowd was honeymooners or retirees. Very little in-between age range. (at least when we were there).
