Paradise By The Numbers

Hi everyone!

Some of you already know me, but I figure that, since I’m going to regularly be posting again, an introduction is in order. 

My name is Teri, and I live in a small town in northwest Ohio with my husband and dog.

My first introduction to Sandals Resorts was in 1993. My aunt and uncle honeymooned at Sandals Grande Antigua that fall. When they came home for Christmas later that year, they brought their photos & told us all about it. I remember thinking even back then that one day I’d make it to one. I didn’t care then if I even ever got married: I’d take a friend if I had to. 😆

That trip took almost 23 years to fit the budget, and we took our first trip in late August of 2016 to Sandals Ochi. It should be easy to guess by now that I was taken, hook, line, & sinker. 

Between 2016 & 2019, we stayed 32 nights. COVID and life got in the way for a few years, and we’re now back to visits every year or every other year. 

Part of the reason I’m the Sandals nerd I am can be blamed on my good friend Jen. I met her in one of the Facebook groups very shortly after our first Sandals trip. I pestered her at first for the calculations for the anniversary night discount ( don’t judge if you know me – it took me a minute to get it down! 😆), and eventually we became pretty good friends. Our trips haven’t overlapped enough for us to meet IRL yet, but you can blame her for my nerdiness and my aunt for the introduction to the company. 😉

When I couldn’t actually get to the Caribbean, I immersed myself in it the only way I could: the website & pricing. I’ll be honest: When COVID first came along and shut down travel, I was skeptical. I didn’t understand how in the world Sandals was still discounting hotel rooms with the 777 sale, especially when they had no clue when those rooms would fill again. A large part of me wondered whether they were increasing prices before discounting them, resulting in a discount amount in reality that was less than advertised. 

It was with this skepticism that I started a spreadsheet that I still update to this day. When COVID shut things down, I had even more free time on my hands than I’d had previously. I used that time to obsessively track the pricing. 

I didn’t see what I originally expected to see. There were a few rooms here and there whose pricing differed from what was shown on the booking engine, but it was rare. And they were usually in the consumer’s favor, not in their favor, like I’d expected skeptically. I didn’t realize it then, but there were a few rooms as early as 2020 that were simply glitching in our favor. Nothing shady like I’d thought whatsoever. 

That skeptical spreadsheet led me to do some Sandals math stuff that I never dreamed possible. I won’t bore you with all of it, but every time I crack deeper, I simply chuckle, look to the heavens, and say, “Nice try, Butch, but not today.”  😉 There really isn’t much at all that gets by me regarding Sandals math.

Over the course of the years, I’ve come to the assumption that there’s a need for the nerdy components of Sandals. And thanks to Jen starting me on it, I feel I am that person. I won’t pretend to understand why some hotels offer an attached free night, while others don’t. I do know that I have more free time than the average bear. I also know that people aren’t thrilled with all of the price increases everywhere these days. So I’m here (or back, for some of you) to give you the tools to get the best deal humanly possible on a Sandals or Beaches vacation.

If you’ve made it this far, welcome to Paradise by the Numbers!!