Originally, we booked our Sandals Grande Ocho Rios vacation in August of 2007 through a travel agent who was also a friend of my fiancée. We planned on vacationing between Christmas until just after the New Year. We paid a $1,200.00 deposit, which included prepaying Air Jamaica's entire airfare in advance as well as a $400.00 deposit toward Sandal's charges.

Unfortunately for us, as well as a few hundred thousand Florida homeowners, the real estate market tanked. My fiancée, as a Realtor, saw her income literally disappear. In a Suzy Orman-like move of fiscal conservatism, we decided that we should play it safe and cancel our vacation. 

Sandals, to their credit, promptly refunded their portion of our deposit, which we greatly appreciated.

Air Jamaica, on the other hand, refused to refund a single penny, even though we canceled over 45 days prior to our departure date. I suppose they were unable to fill those seats with such short notice and they remained vacant on that particular flight (and can I sell you a bridge?). However, our agent told us that Air Jamaica promised we would be credited if we re-booked another vacation within one year minus a penalty of some yet-to-be-determined amount. I guess it just depended on the mood of the agent at the time of our re-booking. 

Over the next year, we saved our money and through our travel agent, did try to re-book in September of 2008 for another attempt at a Christmas to New Year "luxury included" getaway.  

Air Jamaica informed our travel agent that they were only kidding before. They would keep our entire $800.00 for our original seats that were, I'm sure, vacant in 2007 and would not offer any credit, not one Jamaican cent toward a new flight.

At this point, Air Jamaica was my least favorite airline in the world.

Our travel agent, not wanting to let us down, took the initiative and contacted a Sandals VP and asked her to intervene. 

To make an already long story only slightly shorter, the Sandals VP, to her credit, tried to get Air Jamaica to show some love. When that failed, she offered to upgrade our room free of charge.

Here's where lack of communication reared its' ugly head.

Prior to a marathon, three way phone conversation between my fiancée and I, our travel agent and the Sandals VP, I had already given up hope and kissed our $800.00 goodbye. Through the wonderful Homeaway Site, I found a secluded cottage, literally steps from a private beach in the Bahamas for $1,000.00 a week. The guest reviews were all raves and I contacted the owner directly. She responded within 24 hours, the cottage was available and I was ready to book. The air fare would have cost $400.00 round trip and I estimated $500.00 (generously) for food and booze. I had no problem (and actually looked forward to) cooking for my fiancée and myself. At least I knew we would be eating well.

What convinced us to plunk down an additional $1,500.00 and go with Sandals? The very generous (or so we thought) upgrade included an ocean view, honeymoon villa with Butler service. We even asked for clarification; "Butler service?" We were assured our every whim would be provided for. Plus, Sandals promises world-class cuisine. I'm a damn good cook,  but I wouldn't consider myself "world class".

Frankly, the butler service didn't impress me much as I didn't think we'd need one just to lay on the beach every day, but what sold us (or at least me, who was gung ho on the Bahamian Cottage) on the Sandals vacation was the simple fact that it was a very generous offer by the Sandals VP, as we had seen the inflated prices charged for this room class by Sandals. 

Considering all the work our travel agent and the Sandals VP had done on our behalf, we (and by we, I mean I) made an on-the-spot decision to ditch my preferred private Bahamian cottage steps from the beach for the promise of an ocean view villa, personal butler service, "unlimited premium booze" (Sandals catalogue, page 3), water sports galore and "restaurants that capture both the ambiance and the flavors of the world's greatest cultures" prepared by "internationally trained chefs" from the "finest restaurants around the globe" who used their "renowned talents and the freshest local and imported ingredients to prepare dishes that delight the eye and satisfy the soul" (Sandals catalogue, page 43).

Can you guess what happened next?

When we received our fancy leatheresque Sandals portfolio with reservation details, I noticed that we had the Honeymoon Plantation Villa 1 Bedroom Suite with Pool, not the Honeymoon Oceanview Villa 1 Bedroom Suite with Pool and Butler, as promised.  

What's the big difference? No ocean view. No butler, which were the main selling points to get me to ditch our Robinson Crusoesque Bahamian cottage in the middle of nowhere.

I called my travel agent immediately and she took all the blame and said she misunderstood the Sandals VP, although my fiancée swears she also heard the VP promise butler level accommodations during that phone call. It was gallant of our agent to take all the blame, however, it didn't change the fact that the SOLE AND ONLY REASON I ditched the Bahamian oceanfront cottage and coughed up an additional $1,500.00 was based on the illusory promise that we would have an OCEAN VIEW and some guy tending to our every need. 

Oh well. I remained optimistic and literally counted the days until our "luxury included" vacation" At least I would have "internationally trained chefs" from the "finest restaurants around the globe" cooking for me. 

Read on for the full story.....