My Run in With Hurricane Matthew

Last week, I was in St Lucia for what I thought was going to be three nights, staying at the beautiful Sandals Regency La Toc.  This was part of a Sandals site inspection tour where I had the opportunity to see all three Sandals properties that are on St Lucia, as well as experience an excursion offered by Island Routes.  It was a great trip and I had a lot of fun - St Lucia and it’s people are beautiful.  I say that I thought I would be there for three nights because that was the original plan.  However, Tropical Storm Matthew (in his baby days before he became big, ugly Hurricane Matthew) rolled in and had his own ideas about this.  

​Wednesday morning, we left Sandals Regency La Toc for the hour drive to the St Lucia airport.  I had checked my flight as we were leaving and everything was looking good.  As a matter of fact, the plane that I was taking home was flying in from Miami and was already in the air on its way to St Lucia. About 10 minutes before we got to the airport, a decision had been made to close the entire airport due to Tropical Storm Matthew and no flights would be coming in or leaving that day.  The flight from Miami had to turn around and head back to Florida and we were ushered into the Sandals arrival lounge.  While the staff in the lounge were coordinating with the Sandals resorts to welcome back the guests that had just left, we were able to grab a drink and snack, and most importantly, hop onto the wifi to update our social media statuses!

What is the Sandals Arrival Lounge?
Every island that has a Sandals resort has a Sandals arrival lounge in the airport.  This is an air-conditioned lounge with lots of comfortable seating, bathrooms, snacks, drinks and wi-fi.

​After a short wait, we were all taken back to the resort.  We were given rooms to stay in until our flights were rescheduled, which for some, was several days.  Sandals also has a policy at all of their resorts that if there is a natural disaster like this, they give you the first night for free.  After the first night, they offer a discounted distressed rate.  This is just one of the many things that Sandals does that makes them stand out as an exceptional company.

Although it was rainy, most of the guests seemed to be in good spirits.  There were a lot of things to do indoors - card games, dancing, karaoke, game shows and more.  The fitness center was open and the Red Lane Spa was also a great way to pass the time.  Of course, there was also plenty of food and drinks.  Nothing improves my mood like a full belly and a cocktail!  Even with all of this distraction, I was still a little nervous.  I'm a midwest girl and we don't have tropical storms or hurricanes to deal with!  What eased my mind the most is that the General Manager, Michael James, and the Resort Sales Manager, Shamaine Tench, were always visible.  If you had any concerns, they were both easy to find, very easy to talk to and did whatever they could to help.  I was lucky to be in a well-run place like Sandals Regency La Toc, where I felt safe.  Oh, and a place that had a great backup generator system in place.  When the electricity went out on Wednesday night, it was only for a moment before the generators kicked in and the lights were back on.  

The grounds after Hurricane Matthew. This was before I left for breakfast...

...and after I came back an hour later. Good as new!

Tropical Storm Matthew did eventually pass and I was able to fly home on Friday after a two day delay.  Although I was thankful to be home, I came back with some “souvenirs” that I wasn’t expecting - my extra expenses incurred during my extra, unplanned days.  In my next blog, I’ll tell you why I’m not too concerned about spending that extra money.