My husband and I are fans of the All-inclusive resort experience, particularly adults-only all-inclusives. It takes the guess-work out of budgeting, planning where to eat, how to book activities, etc, and allows time to relax and recharge together.

In the last few years we’ve become fans of the Sandals brand and have tried out a number of their resorts. If you’ve ever researched a Sandals vacation, you’ve probably seen that Sandals offers different tiers of rooms – luxury, club, and butler levels – that feature different amenities and services.

There is also quite a bit written about whether it is “worth it” to go for the butler service and higher end rooms. Based on our experiences travelling both with and without butler service, we wanted to share our recommendation.

First of all, many people seem to get hung up on the class structure of having different services provided for different room categories. At all three levels of Sandals rooms, couples will get all-inclusive drinks and dining, activities, and swanky accommodations. For those who want to go above and beyond that, they have the option to pay significantly more for extra attention. My thought on that is, don’t hate on the people who shelled out more for additional care to be given to them on their vacation. Maybe it’s not for everyone, and that’s okay – that’s why there are levels to begin with! Even at the luxury level, Sandals provides a great couples experience. If it’s in your budget for a higher level of service, go for it.

So to answer the “is it worth it?” question, I say yes. As someone who can be independent and self-efficient to a fault, it is extremely freeing to let go of that on vacation and allow myself to be pampered. That’s what a vacation is after all – a chance to vacate everyday life, right? For me, that means not having to plan, overthink, or worry about the details, and butler service takes care of those things.

Here are some of our favorite things about the Sandals butler level rooms and service that make it, in our humble opinion, worth it.

• Extra-special rooms. The top-tier rooms at Sandals are beyond amazing. We have stayed in rooms with private pools, walk-outs directly on the beach, enormous soaking tubs, and views to die for. Top-tier rooms also include upgraded liquor and room service menus.
• Private transfers. While not available at all resorts, a number of Sandals locations offer private transfers for butler-level guests. This means you can get to the resort and get your feet in the sand as possible!
• Orientation. Your butler will help you get settled in, unpack your luggage, and give you a tour of the resort if you like. That way you don’t have to wander around looking for that restaurant you heard was good.
• Reservations. Most Sandals resorts have reservation-only restaurants. Your butler will help you get seated at your preferred time and location, no trouble at all. They can also make your spa and excursion reservations, and at some locations, reserve your favorite spot on the beach or by the pool. This is one of our favorite features as there is no need to rise early to get one of the best loungers.
• Special touches. Our Sandals butlers have gotten to know our favorite drinks and snacks and seem to have almost uncanny ability to sense when we might need or want something, showing up at just the right times. We had a butler meet us with cold drinks as we came off a dive boat, decorate our room for our anniversary, draw us a hot bath, and arrange for coffee to be delivered fresh to our room each morning – little things we didn’t think to ask for but made the vacation extra special!
• Liaison with other staff. Your butler serves as your point person for just about anything you might need at the resort – housekeeping, concierge, transportation, etc. If anything goes wrong for any reason, they will get on top of it for you so you don’t have to waste precious vacation time dealing with mundane concerns.

Some people worry that butlers will hover or intrude, but we have never experienced that. They are so well trained to know how to get a sense of how much interaction their guests want and need, and really provide top-notch service.

One of our favorite memories was a trip we took to Sandals Royal Plantation’s Villa Plantana with two other couples to celebrate my husband’s birthday. Our butler arranged a special in-villa birthday dinner with all of his favorite foods, beautiful decorations, cake, and endlessly flowing bubbles. Despite the fact that we were miles away from home, we were treated like family by the Sandals staff – they definitely have loyal customers in us!

So I say, go for the butler level room, enjoy the wonderful service you’ll receive, and come home feeling relaxed with treasured memories!

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