our next trip will be with non-divers, so we were thinking about a Sandals resorts as we can do 1-2 dives a day and still have things to do during down time.
Curious as to why you're jumping immediately to an all-inclusive Sandals-type resort simply because you'll have non-divers with you? There are thousands of places where you can get some dives in and still have non-diving stuff to do without needing to go to an all-inclusive situation.
If you want AI for other reasons, that makes sense. But it wouldn't occur to me in a million years that AI was a good way to balance the needs of divers and non-divers.
---------- Post added September 22nd, 2015 at 01:02 PM ----------
My 16 year old daughter is excited to go on a trip with her parents, and I think I have won the lottery every time we go.
Interesting that you mention her age. Have you been to an AI since she's turned sixteen?
We have two kids - 11 and 17 - Beaches-type places are off the table for us because when our daughter turned 16 she was then considered an adult. This means we could no longer book a room that is fine for "two adults, two children" and had to book larger, far-more expensive accommodations that are for "3-4 adults, multiple children" which sends the cost through the roof. Add to that the fact that my 16yr old "adult" will not be drinking booze and will be eating four chicken nuggets or a half a grilled cheese sandwich or similar for dinner and the cost-benefit equation of an AI resort goes out the window.
In T&C a few years ago we were able to rent a luxurious beach-front 4br villa (that makes the Beaches 4br Butler Villa's look like a Motel 6.) Infinity pool, secluded beach, private chef for dinner, all food, all booze, all activities, and even airfare for far, far less than it would have been to stay at Beaches... even at their best price. Since doing that once several years ago, that's now our approach to family vacations. We often go in with my sister's family (who were long-time Beaches T&C guests) and the nine of us rent some huge villa on a beach somewhere.
I know some people love the AI thing - and Beaches T&C is a great example. They are great for couples... or families with young kids. But there are often oddities about pricing that make them silly. Even if you have the money. Try this exercise:
- Find the best deal you can for five adults (one of whom is 16) and four children to stay in a 4br beachfront villa at Beaches T&C.
- Divide that amount in half.
- Search the web for what kind of private luxury villa rental accommodations you can get for that price.
For example, the beachfront 4br Key West "Butler Villa" at T&C Beaches would be $32,500 for a week. (And that's at 65% off their "rack rate" which is north of $90k.)
For $16,000 you can get an awful lot of private villa. Of course, you won't have a water park... or two thousand friends to share the pool with.