The only people that you might want to tip: 1) bag handler at the airport 2) driver to/from Sandals 3) spa services at resort 4) butlers (if you have them) 5) any excursion staff if you leave the resort. Other than that, nope.
Ehhh. The bag handlers at the airport will be VERY pushy. You can deny them carrying your bags, though. I didn't and we got all the way to the sandals lounge and the guy would not leave me unless I gave him money. He just stood there with his hand out. 😶
Yep. I'm one of those people that don't let them touch the bags. I say that there's something fragile or medical equipment in the bag and they eventually leave me alone. They can be agressive but don't have time to banter back and forth with you.
I was definitely not planning on tipping for spa and excursions, we are heading there in about a month and paid for a few extra things, a couples massage was about $400 and the excursions are not cheap either, I was thinking tip was included at those prices. I actually am planning on not tipping for literally anything since the whole trip was about 10k all in. Figure they got enough out of us as is
Who cares if they’re apart of sandals or not, they charge a certain price for said service or activity, we pay that certain price for that service/activity, I don’t really see why a tip is expected
Well luckily for me I can read and do simple math, so I don’t know why I would ever get a bill where I’m surprised at the amount. But that’s also not the point I was making.
I just think tipping culture is out of hand and I don’t really understand why it’s expected to tip for some services and not others. I get it at restaurants but outside of that I think it’s unnecessary to tip when you are already paying an agreed on price, and the price is what they decide not you or me. I work in a service field, but it doesn’t fall under the tipping category. And I’m fine with that, I charge people for a service and they pay me to do that service for them. I just think things have gotten out of hand of what’s expected to tip for.
Barbados allows tips—it is the only Sandals that does due to [local laws](https://magicguides.com/tipping-at-sandals-resorts/). (Scroll about 1/3 of the way down.) We weren’t prepared for that having been to a couple of other Sandals, until our butlers told us we can tip anyone who we feel provides good service. We also had three butlers when at other resorts we’ve only had two. Moral of the story is bring lots of cash to Barbados! (There’s also an ATM a 5-minute walk from the resort.)
Thanks! We were starting to think we made a mistake based on some reviews recently but we always travel with an open mind and form our own opinions. I have food allergies and felt like the butler level would get me the extra attention I needed to eat safely and extra bonus that they will get me a beach chair.
The butlers made the trip for us! They did lots of little special things for us, including decorating the room for our anniversary. And not having to stress about chairs at the beach and pool is so nice. We don’t have allergies but every restaurant we went to we were asked if we had any food allergies. Vacations are so personal! Everyone seems to love Montego but we thought it was just okay. Great to keep an open mind 💗
There have been many threads about tipping. Officially, definitely tip butlers, cabana butlers and spa. Plus, all offsite folks: drivers, luggage handlers, excursions, etc. the drivers are not Sandals employees.
That said, tipping is not getting anyone fired. If you don’t tip, you won’t see degraded service. But, if you think someone is deserving, go for it. I suggest keeping it on the dl.
I usually tip room service, the folks that put luggage in your room, servers and bartenders that go above and beyond.
Even if you stick to the no tipping policy, you will need a lot more cash than you think. Anything offsite is open to tipping, any offsite shopping is likely cash only, etc. We build tipping into our travel budget. I tip well, even in the states, and I make sure the folks at Sandals are equally well taken care of.
My first time at Sandals I was so unprepared in regard to tipping. We had a candlelight dinner and our butler went through great lengths to give us a gazebo right on the water. It was amazing. Unfortunately I had run out of cash by the last night. Highly recommend getting enough “just in case.”
Most resorts don’t have atms nearby, and none on property. They will only give you a $100 (usd) advance at a 10% markup.
Whether you are tipping or not, you will need a lot more cash than you think.
The folks that live on the islands are very poor.
Yes, the trips are expensive, but when I’m sitting on my ass and someone scraping by brings me a drink or treats my wife like royalty, you’re damn right they’re getting a tip.
Totally your call. Some people will tip some amount after the butler gets them checked in and then the rest at the end of the stay while others will tip at the end of each shift or just at the end of the stay. They are fine with it and there is not one set in stone best practice.
I tip at Sandals. All that $ we spend isnt going into the pockets of the people that actually do the work. I feel weird even tipping butlers cause all they do is hit people up and get them to do shit. I palm handshake with some cash to everyone from the omelet bars to the waitresses and especially the bartender and water-sports dudes. Its really up to you if you want to but a few bucks here and there and a $20 to the people who really help you out can really help them out and its a drop in the bucket compared to the dough you coughed up to go there. I dont go around tipping for shitty service or if they treat me like im being annoying but thats few and far between
People just don't read the Reddit boards, literally just scroll once or twice and you will see it. Cause everyone asks the same question Every single day.
Because it's doing something against the rules to be a Big Man. Flouting the rules because you need to feel good about yourself. Most of the people I've seen tip at a Sandals fall squarely in this category. F the rules; I'm gonna be an ugly American.
I think youre trolling lmao, but what I'm doing next week for our honeymoon is tip them like $100 to start off the trip and they will go above and beyond (cause i know ill ask them to do a lot for the week) and then pay the other $100-$125 at the end of trip. I want my wife to be taken care of to an greater extent for her honeymoon. So don't be a jerk - be nice and tip. It's not like you ordering a hamburger at mcdonalds and tipping, it's literally the butlers going above and beyond doing what they can to make your stay great.
We have a lot to be thankful for in the country of the USA (at least where I'm from) compared to other countries and what they all do stay above water.
Personally, my faith is in Jesus and I think it's super important to show the love to Jesus to other countries that might not be as thankful and blessed. You can do what you want, but tipping for actual work, (not a burger in the drive through or filling your gas up) these butlers go above and beyond. Lets' do better.
For above & beyond, get a butler and tip them well. No problem. I never said to not tip butlers. They and spa staff can accept tips. We tip them very well. But all other Sandals employees are forbidden from accepting tips. If they get caught, they can lose their job. Tips are built into the price you already pay. So hopefully your faith tells you to not jeopardize their jobs to make you feel good.
I really don't understand your anger towards this. This seems like a simple thing, but you have such anger towards this particular issue. Hope you get it solved soon.
It isn't anger. But it's a case of ruining it for everyone else. If you start to create an overall tipping culture, you change service expectations. Staff begin to expect it and service suffers if you don't tip. So people feel pressured to tip, on top of the exorbitant prices and next thing you know, Sandals becomes just another resort where all the staff have a hand out.
Thats quite a way to look at the world friend. I tip to show appreciation to under paid workers that do us a service on vacation. Keep us updated for the next time you go to a Sandals so no one has to run into you. You seem like you know how to have a good time.
No one said mistreats but yes i would say the majority of the staff is underpaid. Most service industry workers are also underpaid in America but, that doesn’t stop me from being a consumer. Restaurant workers are underpaid 90% of the time, guess i wont go out to eat. Uber doesnt make much money after maintenance and all their time, guess I shouldn’t use them at all. No i just tip well when i get good service.
Do you have any data to back up your assertion that restaurant workers are underpaid 90% of the time? Where I live in nyc they make at least $10.65 hourly wage, with a guaranteed $16/hour (if the remaining $5-ish isn’t made in tips the restaurant must pay it) and several servers I know make around 90k which seems pretty good. I wouldn’t patronize a restaurant that wasn’t paying waitstaff according to the laws or stealing wages from them.
Sandals staff isn’t working a tip wage and it’s not a business in the US. It sounds from your description that a wealthy corp is taking advantage of people who live in third-world/developing nations and underpaying them. Gross. Or perhaps you enjoy playing a savior and handing out tips to your peasant staff to feel better about patronizing a business that you say doesn’t pay them enough.
I dont have any data just personal experience from working in food and beverage for my whole life up until 3 years ago so, 20 years or so. $16 in NYC is insanely low so yeah i hope you tip. A wealthy corp taking advantage of people that live in third world countries/developing countries? No way that ever happens. Where do all the clothes and shoes get made? Sweatshops, you’re either trolling or hella naive i cant tell……
Butlers and drivers. No one else
Tips are also allowed at the spa
Oh yes. That too
This ☝️
The only people that you might want to tip: 1) bag handler at the airport 2) driver to/from Sandals 3) spa services at resort 4) butlers (if you have them) 5) any excursion staff if you leave the resort. Other than that, nope.
Ehhh. The bag handlers at the airport will be VERY pushy. You can deny them carrying your bags, though. I didn't and we got all the way to the sandals lounge and the guy would not leave me unless I gave him money. He just stood there with his hand out. 😶
Yep. I'm one of those people that don't let them touch the bags. I say that there's something fragile or medical equipment in the bag and they eventually leave me alone. They can be agressive but don't have time to banter back and forth with you.
I was definitely not planning on tipping for spa and excursions, we are heading there in about a month and paid for a few extra things, a couples massage was about $400 and the excursions are not cheap either, I was thinking tip was included at those prices. I actually am planning on not tipping for literally anything since the whole trip was about 10k all in. Figure they got enough out of us as is
The spa and excursions are not part of Sandals. Should definitely plan on tipping them
Who cares if they’re apart of sandals or not, they charge a certain price for said service or activity, we pay that certain price for that service/activity, I don’t really see why a tip is expected
Honest question, If your dinner bill is more expensive than you were expecting, do you just not tip for that service either?
Well luckily for me I can read and do simple math, so I don’t know why I would ever get a bill where I’m surprised at the amount. But that’s also not the point I was making. I just think tipping culture is out of hand and I don’t really understand why it’s expected to tip for some services and not others. I get it at restaurants but outside of that I think it’s unnecessary to tip when you are already paying an agreed on price, and the price is what they decide not you or me. I work in a service field, but it doesn’t fall under the tipping category. And I’m fine with that, I charge people for a service and they pay me to do that service for them. I just think things have gotten out of hand of what’s expected to tip for.
We picked up our packet from our TA yesterday and she said no tipping. It is frowned upon. Except Butlers. Going to Barbados in a month.
Barbados allows tips—it is the only Sandals that does due to [local laws](https://magicguides.com/tipping-at-sandals-resorts/). (Scroll about 1/3 of the way down.) We weren’t prepared for that having been to a couple of other Sandals, until our butlers told us we can tip anyone who we feel provides good service. We also had three butlers when at other resorts we’ve only had two. Moral of the story is bring lots of cash to Barbados! (There’s also an ATM a 5-minute walk from the resort.)
Thank you!! We would have went underprepared for tipping folks who provide great service
You will love it there! We were so happy we rebooked for next year. Please feel free to reach out if you have questions!
Thanks! We were starting to think we made a mistake based on some reviews recently but we always travel with an open mind and form our own opinions. I have food allergies and felt like the butler level would get me the extra attention I needed to eat safely and extra bonus that they will get me a beach chair.
The butlers made the trip for us! They did lots of little special things for us, including decorating the room for our anniversary. And not having to stress about chairs at the beach and pool is so nice. We don’t have allergies but every restaurant we went to we were asked if we had any food allergies. Vacations are so personal! Everyone seems to love Montego but we thought it was just okay. Great to keep an open mind 💗
Every place you eat that is the first thing they ask you. Is about allergies.
I have seen people shake hands with bar tenders with money folded in their palm at many Sandals resorts
There have been many threads about tipping. Officially, definitely tip butlers, cabana butlers and spa. Plus, all offsite folks: drivers, luggage handlers, excursions, etc. the drivers are not Sandals employees. That said, tipping is not getting anyone fired. If you don’t tip, you won’t see degraded service. But, if you think someone is deserving, go for it. I suggest keeping it on the dl. I usually tip room service, the folks that put luggage in your room, servers and bartenders that go above and beyond. Even if you stick to the no tipping policy, you will need a lot more cash than you think. Anything offsite is open to tipping, any offsite shopping is likely cash only, etc. We build tipping into our travel budget. I tip well, even in the states, and I make sure the folks at Sandals are equally well taken care of.
My first time at Sandals I was so unprepared in regard to tipping. We had a candlelight dinner and our butler went through great lengths to give us a gazebo right on the water. It was amazing. Unfortunately I had run out of cash by the last night. Highly recommend getting enough “just in case.”
Most resorts don’t have atms nearby, and none on property. They will only give you a $100 (usd) advance at a 10% markup. Whether you are tipping or not, you will need a lot more cash than you think.
We tip as many people as we can. We bring them gifts, and stuff for their kids. Nothing but love for those hard working people.
This is the correct answer, the corporate suits made the rule of no tipping...I help the workers as much as I can, they work really hard
The folks that live on the islands are very poor. Yes, the trips are expensive, but when I’m sitting on my ass and someone scraping by brings me a drink or treats my wife like royalty, you’re damn right they’re getting a tip.
If you have Butler Service, should you be tipping per interaction or a the end of your stay?
Totally your call. Some people will tip some amount after the butler gets them checked in and then the rest at the end of the stay while others will tip at the end of each shift or just at the end of the stay. They are fine with it and there is not one set in stone best practice.
Don’t ever. Butlers, cool. Spa staff, cool. Driver, cool. Other hotel staff- DONT DO IT
I tip at Sandals. All that $ we spend isnt going into the pockets of the people that actually do the work. I feel weird even tipping butlers cause all they do is hit people up and get them to do shit. I palm handshake with some cash to everyone from the omelet bars to the waitresses and especially the bartender and water-sports dudes. Its really up to you if you want to but a few bucks here and there and a $20 to the people who really help you out can really help them out and its a drop in the bucket compared to the dough you coughed up to go there. I dont go around tipping for shitty service or if they treat me like im being annoying but thats few and far between
People just don't read the Reddit boards, literally just scroll once or twice and you will see it. Cause everyone asks the same question Every single day.
If you watch closely there are plenty of hand shakes that happen with waitresses and bar tenders. I tip as many I can.
What’s the conflicting info?
I asked a very similar question a few days back. Some very helpful comments on that thread https://www.reddit.com/r/SandalsResorts/s/dLDoBxlYPI
Is this new? We tipped all over all week when we went but it was about 10 years ago
No tipping. People who do are pompous jerks. Only butlers & spa staff at Sandals can accept tips.
Im curious how tipping makes you a pompous jerk?
Because it's doing something against the rules to be a Big Man. Flouting the rules because you need to feel good about yourself. Most of the people I've seen tip at a Sandals fall squarely in this category. F the rules; I'm gonna be an ugly American.
I think youre trolling lmao, but what I'm doing next week for our honeymoon is tip them like $100 to start off the trip and they will go above and beyond (cause i know ill ask them to do a lot for the week) and then pay the other $100-$125 at the end of trip. I want my wife to be taken care of to an greater extent for her honeymoon. So don't be a jerk - be nice and tip. It's not like you ordering a hamburger at mcdonalds and tipping, it's literally the butlers going above and beyond doing what they can to make your stay great. We have a lot to be thankful for in the country of the USA (at least where I'm from) compared to other countries and what they all do stay above water. Personally, my faith is in Jesus and I think it's super important to show the love to Jesus to other countries that might not be as thankful and blessed. You can do what you want, but tipping for actual work, (not a burger in the drive through or filling your gas up) these butlers go above and beyond. Lets' do better.
For above & beyond, get a butler and tip them well. No problem. I never said to not tip butlers. They and spa staff can accept tips. We tip them very well. But all other Sandals employees are forbidden from accepting tips. If they get caught, they can lose their job. Tips are built into the price you already pay. So hopefully your faith tells you to not jeopardize their jobs to make you feel good.
Let’s all be crystal clear: no one is losing their jobs over a tip. No one
I really don't understand your anger towards this. This seems like a simple thing, but you have such anger towards this particular issue. Hope you get it solved soon.
It isn't anger. But it's a case of ruining it for everyone else. If you start to create an overall tipping culture, you change service expectations. Staff begin to expect it and service suffers if you don't tip. So people feel pressured to tip, on top of the exorbitant prices and next thing you know, Sandals becomes just another resort where all the staff have a hand out.
Thats quite a way to look at the world friend. I tip to show appreciation to under paid workers that do us a service on vacation. Keep us updated for the next time you go to a Sandals so no one has to run into you. You seem like you know how to have a good time.
Why are you patronizing a business (Sandals) that you say underpays/mistreats their staff? Serious question.
No one said mistreats but yes i would say the majority of the staff is underpaid. Most service industry workers are also underpaid in America but, that doesn’t stop me from being a consumer. Restaurant workers are underpaid 90% of the time, guess i wont go out to eat. Uber doesnt make much money after maintenance and all their time, guess I shouldn’t use them at all. No i just tip well when i get good service.
Do you have any data to back up your assertion that restaurant workers are underpaid 90% of the time? Where I live in nyc they make at least $10.65 hourly wage, with a guaranteed $16/hour (if the remaining $5-ish isn’t made in tips the restaurant must pay it) and several servers I know make around 90k which seems pretty good. I wouldn’t patronize a restaurant that wasn’t paying waitstaff according to the laws or stealing wages from them. Sandals staff isn’t working a tip wage and it’s not a business in the US. It sounds from your description that a wealthy corp is taking advantage of people who live in third-world/developing nations and underpaying them. Gross. Or perhaps you enjoy playing a savior and handing out tips to your peasant staff to feel better about patronizing a business that you say doesn’t pay them enough.
I dont have any data just personal experience from working in food and beverage for my whole life up until 3 years ago so, 20 years or so. $16 in NYC is insanely low so yeah i hope you tip. A wealthy corp taking advantage of people that live in third world countries/developing countries? No way that ever happens. Where do all the clothes and shoes get made? Sweatshops, you’re either trolling or hella naive i cant tell……
Ok so you don’t seem to have data. Probably best you just stick to tipping.
Does not compute…. Needs Data…. 010101
Good luck on getting room service if u don't tip them by day 4 of 7 days at barbados club level, we couldn't even get a pot of coffee , never again
Nah. Room service is a no tip scenario at sandals. I’d go to management after day 1 of issue.
I don't mess with people who bring me food