We really enjoyed our stay at the Sands Resort. Each suite is actually a separate bungalow with large, comfortable rooms and wonderful AC. There is an onsite restaurant that serves all day as well as a beach bar that serves snacks/meals during the daytime. It was very relaxing to be able to have all of our meals on the property. The staff were all very friendly and professional. Everything about the staff and property was wonderful.
The hotel also offers excursions. The nice thing is that they are private which entailed having a driver and tours that were just for our party. However, I would not recommend doing the "swim with dolphins" excursion because there are too many other boats doing the same thing, and we didn't feel safe going in the water with so many boats moving around quickly to try to bring their passengers close to the dolphins. So, we stayed in the boat. Also, there were no life jackets available, and it was unclear how we would get in/out of the boat without a ladder or rope; the snorkel and other equipment was old, and we didn't get a chance to try the snorkel/mask before going on the water. We also did the Jozani Forest/Butterfly excursion, which was interesting to do to see the monkeys, mangroves, and butterflies, but the price the hotel charged seemed disproportionately higher than the experience merited; please note that I say this without knowing how much the hotel paid the driver to stay with us for several hours and for the forest guide.
