This Island of Grenada:
Grenada is known as the “Spice Island” because almost every spice grows and thrives there. I bought a large variety of local spices to use at home, and so far, I have been very impressed with the ones I have tried.
The Resort:
We stayed for 6 nights at Sandals La Source in Grenada. The resort was less than 5 minutes away from the airport, so after a day of traveling, this was awesome. I have stayed at Sandals resorts in other islands that were hours away from the airport. So this was definitely a win for Sandals La Source.
My only complaint of this entire trip was the fact that there were camera crews and models walking around all day at the resort working on new photos and commercials for Sandals. This was a neat experience at first, but it got old fast. They would often shut down parts of the resort for shooting purposes, often without notice. This did not truly disrupt our vacation, however, as much money as we were paying to be there, we should have been able to do whatever we wanted whenever we wanted.
This was my third stay at a Sandals Resort and I have loved them all!! I can talk about them all day long and would recommend them to anyone! You simply cannot beat their level of excellence for an all-inclusive resort.
The food:
I am a pretty decent self-taught cook. I know my way around a kitchen and cook pretty extensive meals from scratch on the regular. With that said, the food at Sandals is PHENOMENAL. Most people think of gross buffet food when they think of all-inclusive resorts. NO. These are five-star, white table-cloth restaurants that serve fabulous breakfasts, lunches, and dinners. The food is one of my favorite parts about staying at a Sandals Resort!
I tried to remember to take photos of the food as often as I could. However, obviously I did not get every meal…mostly because I was too exited to eat. Dinner is typically served as a three-course meal. Each person orders their own appetizer, entrée, and desert (if desired). This sounds like a lot, but keep in mind that these are upscale restaurants; the portions are somewhat small, especially the appetizer! It is not something that is meant to be shared; they are tiny!! But, I love the concept, because this allows you to try different types of food, but not get too full to try everything. I was always full after every meal. But, the great thing about all-inclusive is, if you aren’t full… then order something else or go somewhere else and eat again LOL.
My last piece of advice about the food is try something new! It is all-inclusive, so why not try something new that you wouldn’t normal pay for back home? If you don’t like it, order something different! Over the years, I have tried shark, swordfish, lamb, etc.
The rooms:
The rooms at any Sandals Resort are always top-notch, regardless of the room category that you choose. Grenada was one of the most recently built Sandals (if not the most recent), therefore, it is very modern. We stayed in a basic room on this trip and we still had a beautiful, huge soaking tub on our balcony. This was one of my favorite parts of our stay.
The entertainment:
Sadly, I don’t have any good pictures to showcase how awesome the entertainment staff is at Sandals, especially Sandals La Source Grenada. However, let me just tell you that it is phenomenal and they do a great job of doing different themes each night and having a variety of different local bands, singers, etc. I melt at the sound of a good steel drum band, and they had some of the best live steel band performances that I have ever seen.
Day 1:
The Beach:
We spent most of this day simply enjoying being at the resort by soaking up the sun on the beach! One thing I absolutely love about the beach at any Sandals Resort is that they have these yellow raft-like things anchored to the ground in the ocean so you can go out and relax on them like a float.
The water is crystal clear and the sun is very hot; so hot, in fact, that I had just recently dyed my hair a reddish color and the strong sunlight in Grenada faded it to just brown in a matter of days. But it was worth it.
Night Time:
James and I had dinner at the Italian restaurant at Sandals. This was one of our favorite restaurants at Sandals La Source Grenada. We actually ate here twice. I had shrimp scampi pasta and James had spaghetti with the largest meat balls I have ever seen in my life. The theme at the resort that night was Caribbean night. There was a live steel drum band and they had me on the dance floor dancing while holding the Grenadian Flag!
Day 2:
Island Routes Excursion #1: Pilot Your Own Boat
We always like to do at least one excursion on our trips, in order to truly see the island. I don’t see the point of traveling to these nice resorts if you are not going to go out and really see some of the culture and beauty of the island itself. We love using Island Routes to book our island excursions!
Our first excursion was a “Pilot your own boat” tour. This was one of my favorite excursions that I have ever done. We drove around on a small raft-like boat from a nearby harbor and went out and toured the island. The island of Grenada is beautiful not only has because it has marvelous clear water beaches, but it also has very high mountains, making the contrast between the two absolutely stunning.
Underwater Sculpture Park:
After boating around for a while, we went snorkeling at Grenada’s underwater sculpture park. You can read more about the history behind this here.
Seeing these underwater statues was a bucket-list experience and I would recommend anyone going to Grenada to check it out. However, I will admit that there was not much marine life to see in this area.
After snorkeling, we got back on our little boats and drove to a nearby secluded beach. Our guide swam out into the ocean and came back with a huge conch shell with a baby octopus inside. This was one of the coolest things that we got to see! I could feel it suction-ing and un-suction-ing from my hand as I held it.
Night Time:
For dinner, we ate at the French restaurant at on the Resort Grounds. French cuisine was new to me, but it was phenomenal! I had lamb, and James had a ham and cheese stuffed chicken breast. The theme at the resort on this night was local Grenada night. The resort hand-picked vendors that were able to come in and sell local spices and hand-made items. This was a nice touch because there was only one local vendor selling a small amount of items on the beach. We always like to buy things from the locals, to support them and to have a few unique items to take home.
Day 3:
Snorkeling Trip #2
We spent this day at the resort again, mostly relaxing by the beach and the pool. However, we did enjoy snorkeling so much that we went again through the resort. Sandals offers free snorkeling trips several times a day. On this trip, we saw a lot more fish!
Celebration of July 4th!
This day was July 4th, US Independence Day! There were different activities and celebrations going on all day. For dinner, we attended the Sandals Select Guests Dinner. This is a special private dinner that you get invited too once you are considered a “returning guest” at Sandals, which just means you have been to a Sandals more than once. This is always an elegant and fun event. There was a cocktail hour outside and then we moved in to one of the restaurants that they closed for the private event. We enjoyed a four course dinner, made special for this occasion!
Day 4:
Island Routes Excursion #2: Jeep and River Tubing
We did another excursion called the “Jeep and River Tubing” excursion. We started out in a large open-top Jeep where we drove around and were able to see about 75% of the island. This tour allowed us to see a lot of the natural beauty and had a blast admiring the color and mountains of Grenada. During the ride, we had a local tour guide telling us about the different regions and historical sites that we were passing; I enjoy really learning about the history and culture of the islands that I visit.
Our first stop was at a local sulfur spring. The water running down the mountain into the spring was crystal clear spring water that you could refill your water bottle up with and drink. It was delicious. However, once it ran down over the rocks into the pool of water that was at the bottom, it formed a warm pool of sulfur water that you can soak in for natural skin healing benefits. I am always down for natures hot tub. The sad news is, I don’t have any photos of this.
Later, we got back in the jeep and went over to the river tubing. This was a first for me and it was a blast! We rode in single tubes down the rapids of a local river. The people who were working there stood in the river to help you along if you got stuck and to make sure that you didn’t somehow make a wrong turn. The experience in itself was a little shorter than I would have liked it to be, but it was worth it!
Night Time:
We had dinner at Butch’s Steakhouse. You had to make reservations at this restaurant, which we did when we first arrived. This was another excellent meal; I had lamb again and James had filet mignon. I do not remember the specific theme for this night, mostly because we stayed at the pool bar, making friends rather late so we missed some of the nightly entertainment (our dinner reservations weren’t until 8:30). Also, there was karaoke in the pub later that night, which I always love going and watching!
Day 5:
Beach Bums:
This was our last full day at the resort. We actually went snorkeling, for a third time, through Sandals. Most of the day was spent relaxing by the beach and pool, dreaming about staying here forever!
We ate dinner at the Italian restaurant for the second time. I had carbonara pasta and James had lamb. The food is always to die for! The theme for this night was “all white night”. Everyone wears all white clothing (so make sure to pack some) and they have a chocolate buffet with all kinds of house made chocolates and pastries.
Conclusion:
Our stay at Sandals La Source Grenada made my 3rd stay at a Sandals Resort. I have stayed at Halcyon Beach in St. Lucia. (read about that here and I have visited the other two resorts in St. Lucia). Also, I have stayed at The Grande Antigua (read about that here). Also, I have stayed at several other Caribbean resorts, including Atlantis and Breezes. With all of this said, I would have to say that La Source Grenada was my favorite, even with the photo shoot going on.
I can without a doubt say that THE PEOPLE OF GRENADA IS WHAT MADE THIS TRIP SO MEMORABLE. Of all of the islands that I have been to, these people were the most kind, friendly, and grateful people who I have ever met. They loved their country and they loved their tourists, even though I’m sure some tourists did not deserve their love and kindness. They worked everyday with a genuine smile on their face! Everyone we met greeted us with a smile and a simple “hello” or “good morning”; and although this is a simple, sometimes unnoticed gesture, it was truly noticed and appreciated by us.
Again, I highly recommend Sandals Resort, from the bottom of my heart!!
Happy Travels! Please reach out and let me know if you have any questions!
XOXO
This is not a sponsored post – All travel expenses were paid for by myself – All opinions are honestly and organically my own.
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Looks like an amazing trip! You make me want to go on vacation so badly!!
It was one of my all time favorites!!
I am so jealous! I want to go on all of these vacations haha
Haha! Traveling is my hobby! Some people shop or collect things, I travel! 😊