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Travel Like Champs, Nassau (2026)

05/05/2026

● Room review ●

Island Village Walkout Butler Hideaway Villa Suite w/ Private Pool"
VPS category
Room number 748

•Location•
This area of the resort is super relaxing and there's a small quiet pool/hot tub.
Despite being in a building near the road, we didn't hear cars too often.
The upstairs neighbors can be quite loud.

•Privacy•
There are 2 upstairs rooms that can see areas of our patio but downstairs it is completely private from next door neighbors or the walkways.
I wish there was a privacy curtain on one side of our outdoor tub, that would block one of the upstairs neighbors view.
We didn't see anyone on their patios though.

•Pool temperature•
I did get in our pool after we'd unpacked on check-in day. It was around 5PM and while it was cool at first it was refreshing.
In the afternoon there was sun over most of it, but it could be a bit warmer during cooler months.

•Miscellaneous room details•
We did have to call for the wifi because we hadn't officially been checked in, but it was a prompt fix.
It worked great once it was linked.

When the shower first came on I was worried we didn't have hot water, but it just took a little longer.
Once it was hot, it was hot!

A/C kept our room very cool.

Bed was comfortable.

Never had an issue with bathroom items being restocked.

748 is larger than the VPS we saw on the Sandals website.
We actually asked if we were in the right room, but it is one with a bigger space (that we weren't upset over).

I believe all private pools in the Island Village are very similar in size and patio layout.

Room video tour posted as comment🎥

🇧🇸

07/04/2026

Day 8 - pt 3
Airport experience✈️

Our transfer was scheduled for 2:45PM, but they were running a bit behind.
Jackie & Dushane saw us off just after 3PM.
Our room category designated "private transfer" but not specifically the Rolls Royce, however that is what we had.
Our driver, Ricardo, had us to the airport in about 10min and it didn't seem too busy.

We'd already checked in via the American Airlines app 24hrs prior, obtaining boarding passes, and since we do not check bags we headed directly to TSA.

Nassau airport (NAS) actually has US customs, which was such a nice change from prior trips.
Once you enter the airport take a left all the way to the end for TSA.
We have Global Entry, which includes TSA PreCheck.
The first zig zag lines just before the automatic doors were empty but there was someone checking boarding passes to direct you to the
correct lines (TSA PreCheck or regular)
TSA PreCheck was very far left and again empty.
We continued on to Global Entry kiosk and had nothing to declare, then we were through to the gates once we went up the escalator.
Gate area was pretty full, but we found seats, and our flight was early leaving NAS.

NAS -> MIA arrived 15min early.
Landed in E, next gate was D so we made our way over.
MIA -> STL was originally about a 2hr connection but we unfortunately had a significant delay, almost doubling our time.
Thankfully, we could enjoy the AA lounge and their amenities.

We finally made it home around 4AM where 2 pups and one kitty were very happy to see their moms 💙

Room review/room tour video incoming 👀

(Airport photos aren't mine, I swiped them from Google)

06/04/2026

Day 8 - pt 2

Courtesy Room

This was the first time our flight had been later in the day for us to need what Sandals calls a
"Courtesy Room"

We checked out of our room at 11, walked our bags to the lobby, went to the butler lounge to officially check out, but kept the butler phone.

After we enjoyed lunch at the beach Jackie & Dushane escorted us to our CR to freshen up before the airport.
We left the beach around 1:30, private transfer was scheduled for 2:45.
We were told to take our time, the room was ours.

We went to room 104 which I believe is
East Bay Poolside walkout Club level (PC code)

It was a gorgeous room! Lots of space. Nice patio.
Good location (I could anticipate it may be loud some evenings, depending on entertainment)

After a quick shower we headed back to the butler lounge to drop off our phone and say our goodbyes.
Watched a few new arrivals have the Welcome Home reception with the additional Welcome Home Week flare.

Private transfer, airport experience,
& travel day incoming 👀

05/04/2026

Day 8 - pt 1

Eviction day.
Our morning started on the beach thanks to Jackie & Dushane (trainee).
We enjoyed a light breakfast at our chairs.

We were kicked out of our room at checkout, but our private transfer wasn't until almost 3PM so we continued to have full access to the resort (more to come on that)
We went to the butler lounge to officially check out, but kept the butler phone.
Stopped by the photo shop to grab our complimentary 5x7 photo (this replaced the t-shirt),
then my favorite part of ending a trip... booking a new one😍
We already have our anniversary & Cara's birthday booked so we snagged LaToc for next year's anniversary.
We knew our dates and what we wanted, so CoCo had us back to the beach in no time. She was great.
We didn't receive any physical copies of anything, all went right to email.

Dushane brought us burgers & fries at our chairs.
First burger I had this trip, it was delicious.

They had everything ready to go for (Reunion) Welcome Home Week

Courtesy Room information, airport, etc incoming 👀

04/04/2026

🎂 Day 7 🥳

My birthday was nothing short of fabulous.
Thank you to everyone who sent birthday wishes💙

I started my morning as usual, letting my wifey sleep in as I write up my recap from the day prior with a mimosa by our pool.

Jackie had a special birthday cabana set up.
She delivered crepes & cappuccinos from Sweets n Tings.
Soaked up the waves & sun before she called to ask us to meet her by Kanoo.

She & Garth surprised me with a birthday lunch in the gazebo.
Coconut shrimp
Lobster tail & mashed potatoes
We had made our way to the Island Village pool before they could sneak in dessert, so we had that poolside.
Chocolate covered strawberries 🍓
Red velvet tiramisu with Happy Birthday chocolate 🎂
Wow! They knocked it out of the park!

After some time in the pool and hot tub we hung out at the room before getting ready for dinner.
Garth met us by the cats (our favorite meeting spot) and escorted us to La Plume.
We had drinks at Mr. B's bar thanks to Hope who was very sweet.
Felicia was hosting that evening, always happy to see her smiling face.
Chennela, currently here from SMB, was wonderful to us for our dinner.
Our meals were very similar
French onion soup
Filet
I had the les profiteroles, Cara creme brulee.
It was all delicious, but I think Butch’s was our favorite on property (Sapodilla for Dine Out program 10/10!)
We were finished in about an hour, or less.

We walked the resort a bit.
Tried to catch the sunset, but it was cloudy.
Had a few more resort photos taken (will be choosing one for our freebie today)

Returned to the room to find Garth had us in a fun disco lighting with the Happy Birthday banner from lunch.
Then my sneaky wife had light up bath beads for our outdoor tub.

Here's to 36!

03/04/2026

Day 6🏖

Returned to breakfast at Kanoo.
They were busy, but everyone was moving.
Service and breakfast was good.

Garth had a cove style cabana reserved for us to enjoy for a few hours before the VIP luncheon.
I opened the cooler to find sweet flowers.
Little things like that may not seem like a lot, but I love those little touches💙
He spoiled us with yummy drinks, but we told him no snacks since we were saving room for the lunch.

Around 11:30 we cleared our chairs and headed to the room to get ready for the luncheon.

● VIP luncheon ●
Diamond, Pearl, & Ambassador level guests are invited to what they call the "VIP luncheon" which is typically held Thursday afternoon.
It is usually much smaller than the Return Guest Dinner, but this one was the smallest we've attended.
We were one of 4 couples, but it was lovely.
Yesterday it was held in Butch’s.
The table was set up beautifully.
Various staff join and discuss the resort and it's always a lovely conversation.
The food is usually some of the best we have during our stay, and this definitely was!
They also give out a gift to each couple at the end of the meal.
Unless we are moving up a level or receiving our free week we've skipped the RGD, but we always attend the luncheon.
It was roughly 90min and we were back to our room to enjoy our pool.

We played waterproof Uno Flip in our pool, relaxed, and hung out for a few hours.
Jackie brought us a snack and cookies.
Once the sun left the pool I turned our outdoor tub into a personal hot tub until we got ready for dinner.

We tried to catch the sunset, but it was behind the clouds.
The did serve at Gordon's on the Pier, but it was a bit windy.
We had one of the photographers offer to take a few photos, which we were glad because that was actually the first photo we had taken.
Sandals now offers a 5x7 photo (printed or digital) in place of the t-shirt souvenir, so we needed our photo taken.
*The free photo cannot be from one of their scheduled photoshoots.

We went back to Soy for sushi.
Jackie met us there.
The hostess didn't seem too excited to be there, but our waitress was very kind.
Cara had the wonton soup.
We shared Spicy Crispy Shrimp & Caribbean Dynamite, and I tried their Signature roll
All delicious.
Soy is always one of our favorites at every Sandals.
Service was quick and we were finished in under an hour.

We listened to a bit of the entertainment playing by Kanoo before relaxing in the room for the evening.
Jackie came by and laughed that we were already in our robes before 9PM.

03/04/2026

🎂 Another trip around the sun 🥳

🎉🎉🎉

(This video is evidence of why I don't have a YouTube channel 🤣
I have zero patience for editing)

02/04/2026

Day 5 - pt 2
Sandals Dine Out program

Sandals® Island All-Inclusive Dining In Bahamas https://share.google/CodjUJkSKZevjx5Ap

Link above is specific for the Dine Out program, and should answer any questions.

We told Garth & Jackie we were interested, and they took care of the rest.
We had a 6:30 reservation with a 6:00 pickup from the lobby.
Garth saw us off from the lobby.
We enjoyed the Rolls Royce there and back.

We chose to dine at
Sapodilla Estate
From the time their doors opened I knew we were in for a wonderful evening.
Our driver escorted us inside and spoke with the staff to coordinate a pickup time.
90 minutes was decided and was perfect for our night.
Our hostess Joy was so sweet and welcomed us like we'd been there a hundred times.
Earldapearl was our waiter who took excellent care of us.
Every staff we encountered was very welcoming.

Our meal - wow!
Cara had a Moscato 🍷 I had a Cranberry Amaretto
The bread & butter alone was great.
Appetizer - caviar chicken nuggets
Cara - Snapper, then Banana Flambe
Me - Angus Striploin, then chocolate cake
Everything was incredible.

The banana flambe was made tableside by Earldapearl.
My chocolate cake was accompanied by not only a candle but the entire staff singing Happy Birthday
🎉

(Grab the tissues, or stop the post now)
There was a live pianist who had been playing beautifully all evening.
As we were about to leave just after a few notes I had goosebumps.
Cara didn't realize it, but
"Somewhere over the Rainbow" was being played.
Of all the songs that could've played...
the video comment is only the very end because I was a wreck.
I don't post our personal life here - but, I lost my mom, unexpectedly, last February and The Wizard of Oz was her absolute favorite movie.
Cara said "She's saying Happy Birthday"
💜

02/04/2026

Day 4 - pt 3 / Day 5 - pt 1

After our excursion we returned to Garth had left us some love in our room to enjoy before dinner.

He escorted us to Butch's and grabbed our first round of drinks.
Corie took excellent care of us for our dinners.
Appetizer-
Cara had the crab cakes & I had the seafood clam chowder. Both were very good.
Their bread/butter were also good.
I had the "surf & surf" with salmon and lobster tail.
Salmon was very good.
Cara had surf& turf, very good. Best steak on property that we'd had.
Chocolate Sin Pie & W***y Wonka Brulee were both the best desserts we've had too.

Butch’s, for us, it's typically one of our least favorite meals at Sandals (with the exception of Grenada, and most recently St. Vincent) but it was wonderful here.
We arrived around 6:30 and had dessert by 7:10.
Meals have all been great in wait times every day.

We walked the resort a bit.
Saw some "private" dinner set ups.
For us, those aren't worth it (especially if you have a butler) but most times they aren't private and you may end up with more sand than food.

Day 5 - pt 1
My morning started earlier than my sleepy wife (which is when I write these, as I am now)
I enjoyed the patio for a bit before ultimately "poppin' bottles" which gave us a good laugh (see video comment 🤣)
Our room sometimes comes with a visitor 🐈 but if you would rather not have this room feature they'll go away if ignored.
Back to La Plume for breakfast which was wonderful this round.
Rona is a great hostess and our waitress, Arthea (sp?) was wonderful.

Jackie had us on the beach and spoiled us with yummy drinks.
The water was warmer than it had been.
Boat was taking people to the private island.

After hearing someone's personal speaker and smelling their ci******es... we retreated to our room.

We noticed no one at the pool in the Island Village and decided to hang out there.
It's a nice set up. Towels are back there.
They keep a large cooler stocked with a few choices.
The pool was very comfortable in temperature.
Jackie brought us lunch (burger for Cara / fish & chips for me - both pretty good)
and then brownies & ice cream

After a while we did head back to our room to get out of the sun & ultimately prepare for our dinner out thanks to
Sandals Dine Out program
(More to come on that 👀)

01/04/2026

Day 4 - pt 2 - Excursion

Typically we do Not book our excursions with Island Routes/Sandals, but rather with a local company/driver I find recommended from the resort specific groups.

The exception to this is if we have a booking promo credit, which we did for our original SRC booking.
We also never book prior to arrival because credits cannot be applied to pre-booked services.
We've never had an issue with tours being sold out when we've waited.

Cara is a big history buff so we went to the IR tour desk to discuss which tour they'd recommend.
Pirate Jeep Tours is what I had previously thought and what was recommended.
It was fabulous!

There are 2 timeslots available, 10AM or 2PM.
Tour is roughly 3 hours in duration.

We checked in with IR at 1:45PM and waited outside of the lobby for our 2PM pickup.
Captain Cannon rolled up just after 2:00 and away we went.
We loved his energy and personality and knew it was going to be a great afternoon.

We stopped at The Island Caves first.
Drove by locally eateries, beaches, an old lighthouse, on our way to our next stop Tasty Teas & ice cream
(Pirate tours come with a discount with any purchase here)

Queen's Staircase was very cool.

Graycliff cigar factory, chocolate factory, winery
(Pirate tours come with a discount with a purchase)

St. Agnes cemetery

Fort Charlotte, which was closed the afternoon we arrived, but still neat to see the outside

Statues of some of the greats

Eddie Murphy purchased the island in one of the last photos for a mere $15mil

The excursion was a lot of fun, informative without being boring, and a quick getaway from the resort.
Highly recommend Cpt Cannon!

Travel Like Champs

05/05/2026

07/04/2026

06/04/2026

05/04/2026

04/04/2026

03/04/2026

03/04/2026

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01/04/2026

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