Grand Pineapple closing August 11th...

[Clarity]

NegrilIrene & GregandKelly - Negrilaholic had reservations at GP and she was transferred to Sunset at the Palms which looks like a beautiful AI. I've heard nothing but wonderful things about SATP. this resort is in Negril as well. I doubt they would make you pay more to stay at their other Sandals resort in Negril. They have inconvenienced you and You may end up with quite an upgrade. Yes Beaches and Sandals are the same. (From what I have read, Beaches Sandy Bay is also closing.) I hope everything works out for both of you.

Negrilaholic - I'm happy to hear that they transferred you to such a nice hotel and that it worked out in the end. I was worried for you too when I first heard of the closure. I'm sure you'll have a fantastic time there.

Sweetness - I've been thinking about Courtney the Carver too... I visited him at Grand Pineapple last April, It was so great to see him...I wonder where he will go now...

[NegrilIrene]

Thanks Clarity. I called them after I posted and they said they don't have any official information so they couldn't tell me anything. I booked them through Orbitz and Orbitz said that Sandals had contacted them about my call. I do not want to stay anywhere except Negril and just want to get away from Sandals completely.

I just checked my e-mail and got this from Orbitz:
We have been contacted by the Grand Pineapple Beach Negril that they are unable to accommodate your reservation. The Grand Pineapple Beach Negril has oversold their hotel rooms. On behalf of the hotel we truly apologize for the inconvenience this may cause.

To secure your accommodation upon arrival in Negril, we have arranged your stay at the Beaches Boscobel at no additional cost. The property is of the same star rating and you will be provided the same or comparable room type. You may click the link below for further details:

http://www.beaches.com/main/bo/bo-home.cfm

Kindly reply to this email if you agree with the above information. Should you decline this alternate hotel, we can cancel your reservation and process a full refund.

Also, we are more than happy to help you find a comparable hotel which you may consider reserving at current hotel rates. Please let us know your decision at your earliest convenience.


Again, we sincerely apologize for the inconvenience and look forward to doing business with you in the future.

Thank you,

Mae
Orbitz Customer Service

***************************

This is not acceptable. I do not want to stay at Beaches Boscobol! My reservation was for an AI in NEGRIL, not somewhere else.

[gerryg123]

Then again, I just checked the rack rate -- it's 600 per night!

[negrilaholic]

I just want to make clear that Sunset At The Palms is not a Sandals resort, and the transfer to SATP was arranged via the booking agency and not Sandals resorts, so the first people you might want to contact if you need to make arrangements to find other resorts, either within, or outside of Sandals, would probably be the booking agency you used. Also, from what I understand, Beaches Sandy Bay is also closing, but I don't know any of the details of that at all, just that I wouldn't think it would be an option if they are closing too. I for one personally would suggest getting out of any obligation with Sandals at all given the way they conduct their business, and while I don't know anything about legalities, to me what is right is that since they broke their word, that should be considered a breach of contract and anyone should be able to get their money back. Now how that works in the real world, instead of how things should be, I honestly have no idea if that is even doable or not, but I wish everyone making arrangements the best of luck in their endeavors and really hope things work out for the best for everyone.

[Jenn]

We were going to book GP for our daughter's wedding. At the last minute, she changed her mind to Riu Tropical Bay. I wasn't too happy with the change of venue. However, now...I'm so relieved! Having to worry about 25 people rebooking would have been a nightmare. Thinking of those losing their jobs and hopefully they find something better.

[Baghera]

From what I understand Beaches Sandy Bay was leased by Sandals from the man who owns the water park across the street. He opted not to renew their lease and is taking the property back. I believe it is going to close for a while for refurbishing and then reopen with the original owner's family managing it.

I have stayed at GP for the last 6 years every year and am going to miss it terribly!

I wonder what happens to our "loyalty" points that were accumulated. I almost had enough for a free week at GP.

[Fred Stripe]

SATP is a nice alternative but you do have to cross that busy street to get to the beach,they have guards.They also have a fairly new oceanfront bar/restaurant. Bloody Bay is nice, Natural bar and others to the left side of the beach. The island you will see to the left,Booby Cay was used as the aerial shots for Gilligans Island.

[gregandkelly63]

Clarity, my travel agent said the same thing. He thinks it's a blessing in disguise! He said that no matter where they offer to send us, our rates are locked in at the GP rate. Now it's a matter of waiting until Sandals contacts my travel agent! (I am not a patient person, but I guess I will learn to be!) I will post whatever I eventually find out!

[7milelover]

I have a reservation for 2013 and all Sandals will do is relocate me to Boscobel Beach in Ochi. The room would be an upgrade but I have no desire to stay there so I will get my deposit back and have to start looking again in July[ wasting 5 months thinking I had a res for 2013}. At least I didn't get my air ticket yet, so I am flexible on dates. I really liked GP, hope it reopens soon under new mgt.

[lisapat]

Guys...you wanna know how ROTTEN sandals is?....Rob started this thread on Sunday...I just discovered it today....but booked directly through Sandals by phone on FRIDAY, Jul 6th....got a discount for being a returning guest, and have the printed invoice, e-mail confirm. and everything for a Mar 2013 GP stay....they HAD to know that the property was closing(ok, maybe the booking clerk on the phone didn't) but still allowed me to book, for 8 MONTHS OUT!!!...I don't have a travel agent to work with, as I went directly through them, and am waiting for them to contact me, to tell me where they will put us, I told them that we wouldn't be "showing up" at the Sandals desk at Sangster since we will already be staying a few days at Seastar Inn(also, already booked)...I need either e refund from them, or guaranteed in writing accommodations at Sandals Negril....Beaches won't cut it....to be continued, I guess