I am sure many of you can relate to how strenuous it can be booking a honeymoon! Talked to Travel Tom (who's very attentive and knowledgeable), and also went on TripAdvisor and got very confused from so many + and - reviews on anything I liked.
We're going in June. So as difficult as it's been to decide, we have narrowed it down to:
1) Punta Cana - 'Excellence Resort' 2)St. Lucia - 'Sandals Regency' or 'Sandals Grande' - don't know which one is better? Travel Tom also recommended a day or two at the Ladera.
We love luxurious accommodation, great food, great beach, and of course having a private balcony with a jacuzzi or a pool wouldn't hurt. Our budget is under 6K though.
Your suggestions, advice, and tips would be mostly appreciated in this 'difficult' time :) !!!!
Maria31
Posted:
Member since
Re: Honeymoon -St. Lucia or Punta Cana, DR?
I've never been to St. Lucia but DR is absolutely beautiful! Whatever you decide, you will have an amazing trip!
JackieV
Posted:
Member since
Re: Honeymoon -St. Lucia or Punta Cana, DR?
i have never been to st lucia but i have been to DR... it is sooo beautiful there. We booked our honeymoon at Sandals Antigua (private pool, private villa, 24 hour butler service). We also looked at st lucia but i liked Antiguas private villas better and we got a better price. St lucia is beautiful though.
MayWeddingGrl
Posted:
Member since
Re: Honeymoon -St. Lucia or Punta Cana, DR?
I've heard a lot of good things about Excellence resorts.
I do all my research on hotels with TripAdvisor. Here are reviews from people that have been there
i absolutely loved loved LOOOVED the regency in St. Lucia...its the largest & newest of all the sandals resorts..most variety of restaurants, lots of young people, etc. I've heard decent things about the grande too - just can't speak from personal experience...we hopped over to two restaurants there - one i was not happy with, the other was yummy for lunch - and i will say the sunset veiws were beautiful. My cousin did Punta Cana - she LOVED it. she only had raves. can't really go wrong i guess! the only reason we went with the Regency as opposed to the grand was because of the bigger variety of everything. good luck!
bluegreen08
Posted:
Member since
Re: Honeymoon -St. Lucia or Punta Cana, DR?
Posted by jtgarsik
i absolutely loved loved LOOOVED the regency in St. Lucia...its the largest & newest of all the sandals resorts..most variety of restaurants, lots of young people, etc. I've heard decent things about the grande too - just can't speak from personal experience...we hopped over to two restaurants there - one i was not happy with, the other was yummy for lunch - and i will say the sunset veiws were beautiful. My cousin did Punta Cana - she LOVED it. she only had raves. can't really go wrong i guess! the only reason we went with the Regency as opposed to the grand was because of the bigger variety of everything. good luck!
Is the Regency really the largest and newest? I thought I heard the Grande was, but I could be mistaken.
beram63
Posted:
Member since
Re: Honeymoon -St. Lucia or Punta Cana, DR?
my boss just came back from punta cana. she her criticisms were (1) you have to stay in the resort bc of poverty & crime, (2) while the sand was nice, the water was rough and not especially clear. she really loved her resort and had a great time, but it wasn't her favorite island locale.
another co-worker stayed @ sandals st. lucia and said it was totally quiet & tranquil with pristine beaches.
teenigrrl
Posted:
Member since
Re: Honeymoon -St. Lucia or Punta Cana, DR?
we just stayed at the Excellence Riviera Cancun, and it was amazing!! We loved Punta Cana when we went two years ago, and would love to go to the Excellence in Punta Cana. Our decision was between Sandals Grande St Lucia or Excellence Riviera Cancun, and we couldn't have been happier with our choice. We actually like the beach in Punta Cana more than in the Riviera Maya, which is why we think we'd love the Excellence in Punta Cana. Good luck, they're both great choices, I'm sure you'll have a blast at either place!
GinaZ
Posted:
Member since
Re: Honeymoon -St. Lucia or Punta Cana, DR?
I dont think you can go wrong at either place!!!
Christine N Ralph
Posted:
Member since
Re: Honeymoon -St. Lucia or Punta Cana, DR?
I have been to Punta Cana...I really loved DR...I thought that the water and the beaches were beautiful and clean...However we did have a problem with communicating with people sometimes...Not all of the staff spoke english
MAY24BRIDE
Posted:
Member since
Re: Honeymoon -St. Lucia or Punta Cana, DR?
I'm going to St. lucia....so that's my vote...although we're not staying at the sandals.
we did consider ladera but ended up booking jade mountain instead
DLM107
Posted:
Member since
Re: Honeymoon -St. Lucia or Punta Cana, DR?
Posted by bluegreen08
Posted by jtgarsik
i absolutely loved loved LOOOVED the regency in St. Lucia...its the largest & newest of all the sandals resorts..most variety of restaurants, lots of young people, etc. I've heard decent things about the grande too - just can't speak from personal experience...we hopped over to two restaurants there - one i was not happy with, the other was yummy for lunch - and i will say the sunset veiws were beautiful. My cousin did Punta Cana - she LOVED it. she only had raves. can't really go wrong i guess! the only reason we went with the Regency as opposed to the grand was because of the bigger variety of everything. good luck!
Is the Regency really the largest and newest? I thought I heard the Grande was, but I could be mistaken.
The Grande is the Newest one. It is only 5 years old. I just got back on Sunday from there. It was great!!
ido07
Posted:
Member since
Re: Honeymoon -St. Lucia or Punta Cana, DR?
Excellence is the BEST!! We went to Sandals Antigua for our HM and we wished we just went back to Excellence PC b/c for a third of the price we paid we would have had incredible service, great food, and a much better time!!
Pics in album
nycerika318
Posted:
Member since
Re: Honeymoon -St. Lucia or Punta Cana, DR?
If you are on a budget of 6K, I would suggest Crystals (look on Tripadvisor) in St. Lucia.
We stayed both at Crystals and at Sandals Regency for our October 07 honeymoon. Based on my experience at the Regency, I would be hesitant to book another Sandals. I heard that the Grande was nicer from friends who stayed there and visited both resorts. Sandals is on the expensive side for St. Lucia. There are a lot of less expensive places to stay that are beautiful, especially in the southern part of the country, Soufreire.
nycerika318
Posted:
Member since
Re: Honeymoon -St. Lucia or Punta Cana, DR?
BTW - I noticed you are getting married at Glen Island Harbor Club. It is gorgeous! I almost booked there, but I decided to go more local. Best of luck to you!
debismom
Posted:
Member since
Re: Honeymoon -St. Lucia or Punta Cana, DR?
My Daughter, Debi, and FH, Fred, are going to Excellence Punta Cana. My Niece who married in Sept. also went there, and loved it!!!!!!! Mary MOB
jtgarsik
Posted:
Member since
Re: Honeymoon -St. Lucia or Punta Cana, DR?
Posted by DLM107
Posted by bluegreen08
Posted by jtgarsik
i absolutely loved loved LOOOVED the regency in St. Lucia...its the largest & newest of all the sandals resorts..most variety of restaurants, lots of young people, etc. I've heard decent things about the grande too - just can't speak from personal experience...we hopped over to two restaurants there - one i was not happy with, the other was yummy for lunch - and i will say the sunset veiws were beautiful. My cousin did Punta Cana - she LOVED it. she only had raves. can't really go wrong i guess! the only reason we went with the Regency as opposed to the grand was because of the bigger variety of everything. good luck!
Is the Regency really the largest and newest? I thought I heard the Grande was, but I could be mistaken.
The Grande is the Newest one. It is only 5 years old. I just got back on Sunday from there. It was great!!
wait wait wait - maybe i wrote this wrong....The Regency just underwent all new renovations & construction last year....this is why i wrote it was the newest. Because everything is brand new lol..sorry if that was mis-understood. Doesn't make a difference anyway, they're both beautiful resorts. I preferred the Regency because it has 7 restaurant options...food was important to us! ..and yes it's the largest...which was great for us since we're 'walkers' and we lucked out with a bungalow right in the center of the resort. People that stayed in the $$$$$ bungalows up on the bluff preferd to take the little cars around because the resort IS huge...so thats something to keep in mind. It also has the largest pool on the entire island i WILL say that because the Grande is on the bay, the water is much more calm & water sports are almost always open....the Regency is on a bluff - on our honeymoon we had gotten there a week after there was some bad weather so the water was still rough on certain days...so they had closed the beach & watersports for a day or two...didn't matter anyway 'cause the pool was amazing! really u can't go wrong either way. they're all beautiful resorts.
Soon2BMrs.T
Posted:
Member since
Re: Honeymoon -St. Lucia or Punta Cana, DR?
We booked Sandals Regency in St. Lucia. I know of someone that is from the island and also a few people that I spoke with said that they had an amazing time. So I got a lot of good reviews.
mjay
Posted:
Member since
Re: Honeymoon -St. Lucia or Punta Cana, DR?
Ive been to DR it is gorgeous.. our honeymoon will be in St lucia. Not Sandals. we have a private villa with our own pool and personal cook.. I dont think you can go wrong with either or.
jtgarsik
Posted:
Member since
Re: Honeymoon -St. Lucia or Punta Cana, DR?
Posted by mjay
Ive been to DR it is gorgeous.. our honeymoon will be in St lucia. Not Sandals. we have a private villa with our own pool and personal cook.. I dont think you can go wrong with either or.
how did u go about doing this??? i know another bride who did something like this in costa rica - i've always been curious!
