From Your Couch to a Catamaran… Introducing Sandals Swipe-Stakes

For millions across the globe, a year indoors brought a hiatus from mingling and bar banter, and a new era of digital romance. Dating app usage surged in 2020 amid pandemic lockdown. In March, Tinder reported 3 billion swipes in one day, OkCupid reported a 700% increase in dates, and Bumble saw a 70% increase in video calls. People sought out human connection in any form with little hope of returning to life as it once was, but even in times of pure isolation, lovers across the world found a way to connect.

Dinner reservations were replaced with FaceTime dates and contactless delivery of bottles of wine. For some, virtual dating was a passing fad, and for others it was the impetus for lifelong love. For those special couples, the “honeymoon period” involved binge watching television on the couch and flirting through face masks.

At Sandals Resorts, we believe the honeymoon period should never end, and it surely should not be skipped. As we step back into the world, we have an opportunity to rekindle our human connections through travel, bringing our digital relationships into the physical world.

For the lucky lovers who found love in a hopeless place (AKA from a social distance), Sandals Resorts is giving couples the chance to get the honeymoon phase they never had with the ultimate romantic vacation of a lifetime - a three-night stay at one of our sixteen all-inclusive resorts in Jamaica, Antigua, Grenada, Saint Lucia, The Bahamas, Barbados or Curacao.

Do you fit the bill?

Take us back to the start. Show us that you found a digital love of your own by uploading a screenshot of your dating app match or first social media DM (starting March 2020). You trusted the algorithm to make a match, now trust us with the romance.

During their three-night stay at Sandals, the winning couple will enjoy the comfort of resort exclusives like king sized beds in airy oceanfront bedrooms, fully stocked in-room bars, and 24-hour room service. In our tropical paradise, the pair will be pampered to the max with a relaxing couples’ massage, served a romantic candlelight dinner, and taken aboard an adventurous catamaran cruise, trading the quiet of an empty apartment for the serenity of the ocean.

Pandemic date nights made delivery apps essential, but meals together have been far from white-glove experiences. Forget take-out with plastic utensils and opt for a delicious meal, paired with a visual ocean treat. Let’s leave behind the blue light screens and welcome the warm orange shimmer of a romantic candlelight ambiance. What was once a night lit by the glow of a late-night facetime call will soon become the glow of a rising moon as the sun sets over a vast ocean. At Sandals, blissful couples can choose between as many as sixteen unique restaurants per resort serving up local flavors, finishing off with a nightcap at Latitudes Overwater Bar – Sandals’ first overwater bar concept featuring 360° ocean views and an array of cocktails.

While sharing your most beloved movies and tv shows with your special someone can be romantic, it’s the adventures taken, and experiences had that bond us to one another. It’s been a long road taken in the back seat, living vicariously through our favorite characters. The time to ditch the couch and hop aboard an adventurous catamaran sail around the Caribbean Sea has arrived. Under sunny skies and amid the crisp coastal breeze, sea-bound couples will feel the ocean spray across their skin, embarking on an unforgettable day at sea with their online crush turned life partner and the laughter and chatter of other joyful guests. These are moments that weren’t made to be watched on TV but to be remembered and cherished for years to come.

A year ago today, a thrilling date aboard a catamaran or a tranquil couples massage were just daydreams, so far removed from our reality of Zoom calls and video dates. Today there is a light at the end of the tunnel, and we invite all lucky lovers to walk through that tunnel together.

Here in the heart of the Caribbean, we’re celebrating the power of love in this most unusual year. This time, swipe right on Sandals - and enter the Sandals Swipe-Stakes who says lightning can’t strike twice? Submit your entrance anytime from August 10th to September 10th and embrace the opportunity to usher your virtual love into the real world- Sandals style.

To enter Sandals’ Swipe Stakes, visit https://www.sandals.com/swipestakes/