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Sandals Royal Bahamian Resort

Gfreeatx

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Gfreeatx Apprentice
Gfreeatx
Posted

My husband and I just took our first vacation since my diagnosis last year and it was great so I thought I would share my experience. We booked through a travel agent who deals with a lot of clients who have celiac disease or are gluten intolerant so that helped tremendously in our research to find the best resort within our budget for my needs. She highly recommended Sandals and after our visit I can see why. I was so nervous before our trip about being away from our kitchen, but I was determined that I was still going to travel since it is something I have always loved. Our experience started with an email from the Sous Chef about 60 days before our trip letting us know that she had received our request for gluten free meals and how they would be able to accomadate me. This definitely put my mind at ease, but of course I was still a little nervous since I know we have all been told before by well meaning individuals saying they understand gluten-free and CC issues only to get glutened so I am always a little leary.

After my arrival at the resort we met with one of the chefs to discuss again what they would have available for me and what I should expect during my stay. All of the chefs are trained on CC issues and assured me they would take good care of me. They do offer gluten free cookies, pancakes, bread and pasta. To be honest though I decided not to try them since it was more important to me to enjoy every day of my trip I didn't want to chance any cc issues since they do bake gluten products in the same kitchens. Each time I would go to a restaurant I would let the waitstaff know that I need to eat gluten free and the chef of that restaurant would come out to meet with me. They would ask me what I what I felt like eating and then the chef would prepare my meal of choice and deliver it to my table to make sure there were not any chances of something getting mixed up coming out of the kitchen. All of the chefs really treated me like a queen and I didn't have a single day feeling sick. My husband was even a little envious of the meals they were preparing for me since they were all so good.

Here are some of the meals I had during my visit. Balsamic glazed chicken with grilled vegetables, chocolate covered strawberries with a strawberry whipped cream, king crab legs, chicken curry with coconut rice, steak with bearnaise sauce and roasted potatoes, Mahi Mahi in a champagne sauce with veggies and potatoes, creme brulee, lobster tail, scallops with orange sauce. I did bring with me a stash of gluten free snacks just in case, but I came home with most of my goodies since I ended up having plenty to eat at the resort. :)

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modiddly16 Enthusiast
modiddly16
Posted

Thank you so much for posting this! We're going to the Sandals Royal Carribbean for our honeymoon in October and after asking a few times on this site, I hadn't gotten much response. This makes me feel much better about the trip!

Gfreeatx Apprentice
Gfreeatx
Posted
  • Author

Congrats on your wedding!:) I hope you have as great of an experience as we did on our trip.

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    • knitty kitty
      Desperately need a vitamin D supplement. I've reacted to most brands I've tried.

      By knitty kitty · Posted

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    • Jane02
      Desperately need a vitamin D supplement. I've reacted to most brands I've tried.

      By Jane02 · Posted

      Thank you so much @knitty kitty for this insightful information! I would have never considered fractionated coconut oil to be a potential source of GI upset. I will consider all the info you shared. Very interesting about the Thiamine deficiency.  I've tracked daily averages of my intake in a nutrition software. The only nutrient I can't consistently meet from my diet is vitamin D. Calcium is a hit and miss as I rely on vegetables, dark leafy greens as a major source, for my calcium intake. I'm able to meet it when I either eat or juice a bundle of kale or collard greens daily haha. My thiamine intake is roughly 120% of my needs, although I do recognize that I may not be absorbing all of these nutrients consistently with intermittent unintentional exposures to gluten.  My vitamin A intake is roughly 900% (~6400 mcg/d) of my needs as I eat a lot of sweet potato, although since it's plant-derived vitamin A (beta-carotene) apparently it's not likely to cause toxicity.  Thanks again! 
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    • Scott Adams
      Desperately need a vitamin D supplement. I've reacted to most brands I've tried.

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      I do not know this, but since they are labelled gluten-free, and are not really a product that could easily be contaminated when making them (there would be not flour in the air of such a facility, for example), I don't really see contamination as something to be concerned about for this type of product. 
    • trents
      Desperately need a vitamin D supplement. I've reacted to most brands I've tried.

      By trents · Posted

      Contact them.
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