“I have never posted on one of these sites before, but I thought this was necessary. What an awful experience with Sandals and their customer service.
My wife and I booked a November trip to Sandals Jamaica in early March-- it’s now September. We bought our flights through Sandals because we thought it would be easier for transportation and if necessary, flight changes through the airlines. Worst mistake ever!
We planned our flights strategically so we could make the most of all of our days in Jamaica and to help save some money, since we (like most) are on a budget. We went with Copa Airlines. A few months go by and everything is confirmed and purchased with no problems until August comes and I get an email saying my flights have changed. Not much of a big change but now our layover is longer, but I can deal with that. Then, a week later, I get another email and it is the same thing—schedule is changed. But this time our flight coming home is now opposite of what it should be. Our flight from our connecting city (Panama City) to home (LA) was leaving Thursday and then our flight from the Jamaica to our connecting city (Panama City) did not leave until Friday. HOW DOES THAT EVEN MAKE SENSE? What is the point of booking flights through Sandals if they are not going to pay attention to your travel details? Not only were our return flights wrong but they put us on a flight leaving LA a day later than what we planned which would have caused us to miss and entire night of our trip. We also bought flight insurance.
I first call customer service on a Monday with my wife. The first person we talked to was not helpful at all. They said there was nothing they could do except give us a refund for our flights. However, since it is now 2 months before our trip the flights are now twice as much as they were back in March when we originally booked our trip. We asked to speak with a supervisor. The supervisor then proceeded to tell us there was nothing she could do but she could have someone call us within 24 hours from the “air desk manager” between 5-7pm. Never got the call back so I call them again a few days later and they tell me the same thing-- I have to wait for someone to call me back. (Btw- These calls all lasted 2-3 hours each because of the hold time and having to explain my story over and over. Also, they said they had no record of me calling previously about this concern, even though they asked me questions verifying my account and the changes we requested during our first call).
After we called again, since we did not receive a call back, it was another 3 hour phone call. I finally was able to get our flights changes but ended up having to pay $190. Sandals would only cover half of the difference even though we had travel insurance. They said there was nothing else they could do, and it is not their fault the flights changed.
This is not the first time we have traveled to a Sandals resort. The first time we booked our own flights because we stayed in another city before traveling to our final destination. This is the first time we have used the flight booking through Sandals, and we will never again book this way. I would be surprised if we returned to a Sandals after this experience. We have many friends getting married and have recommended Sandals in the past. WE will NOT be recommending anyone to ever travel to a Sandals resort after this experience. The customer service and inhospitality we encountered were extremely disappointing for Sandals and would I expect more from a company who prides themselves on “creating romantic memories of a lifetime…through our outstanding team members”. These “outstanding team members” could have at least answered my questions instead of continuing to pass me off from one person to the next. I understand some of these things may not be their fault directly, but the rude service was unacceptable. I just hope others do not have to go through this experience. Good luck!”
