How We Choose the Resorts We Recommend
An honest look at our methodology, who's behind the reviews, and how we make money — so you can trust what you read here.
Most "best honeymoon resort" lists online are ranked by whoever paid the most, not by what's actually good. HoneymoonGuru.ai exists because couples deserve better than that.
We're a small, independent site. We don't run sponsored placements, we don't sell "featured" spots, and we don't rewrite our rankings when a brand asks nicely. What you read here is what we'd tell a friend planning their honeymoon.
Our Methodology
Every resort ranking on this site is built from the same four inputs — weighted, compared, and re-checked when things change.
Firsthand + verified guest feedback
We combine our own resort visits with hundreds of recent, verified guest reviews — not just the polished ones on the resort's website.
Like-for-like comparison
We compare rooms, dining, beach, service, and value on the same scale across every property so a 9/10 at one resort means the same thing at another.
Honeymooners first
We're not ranking for families, spring breakers, or golf trips. Every score is filtered through: is this actually a great honeymoon?
Price transparency
Rankings account for real per-night cost — not the sticker price. A resort that's ‘good for $900/night' is not the same as ‘good for $500/night.'
Who's Behind the Reviews
Kristin Freeman
Founder & CEO, FlyOver Travel by Beach Happy · Sandals & Beaches Certified Specialist · Resident Honeymoon Guru
Kristin Freeman is a luxury travel advisor and destination-wedding specialist with more than a decade in the travel industry, and the Founder & CEO of FlyOver Travel by Beach Happy — an award-winning, multi-advisor agency she has led for over eight years to a 4.9-star Google rating. She holds the Sandals & Beaches Certified Specialist credential and plans Caribbean all-inclusive honeymoons, destination weddings, European river cruises, private yacht charters, and group travel.
In 2024 Kristin was named to the ALG Vacations® Advisory Board for Independent Contractors — one of just fourteen advisors chosen from more than a hundred candidates nationwide — where she helps shape the future of leisure travel alongside the leadership behind Apple Vacations, Funjet Vacations, Travel Impressions, Southwest Vacations®, and United Vacations®. Her agency ranks in the top 1% of a 10,000-advisor host agency for both individual and agency sales, and has been named Best Travel Agency by the Kansas City Star, Kansas City Magazine, and The Pitch.
She is also a frequently cited travel expert for media covering luxury vacations, honeymoon trends, and destination weddings. Before founding FlyOver Travel, Kristin spent her corporate career in human resources leading leadership-development and employee-recognition programs — the origin of the client-first, listen-first approach she brings to every honeymoon she plans.
She's personally visited resorts across Jamaica, Saint Lucia, the Bahamas, Antigua, Barbados, Grenada, and Curaçao, and has planned honeymoons for hundreds of couples. Every ranking, review, and comparison on this site is fact-checked against her firsthand experience and her advisor network — not scraped from other websites.
- 10+ years in travel; 8+ years leading her own agency
- Sandals & Beaches Certified Specialist
- 2024 ALG Vacations® Advisory Board member (1 of 14 nationwide)
- Top 1% of a 10,000-advisor host agency
- Best of Kansas City travel agency — KC Star, KC Magazine, The Pitch
- 4.9-star Google rating across hundreds of trips planned
Kristin does her advising through Flyover Travel. If you want personal help, use our Talk to a Guru form — it's free, there's no obligation, and she'll get back to you personally.
Kristin during on-property visits — the resorts on this site are ones she's actually walked.
How We Make Money
We'll say this plainly, because most sites won't: HoneymoonGuru.ai is an affiliate site. When you book a Sandals or Beaches resort through a link on this site, we earn a commission from the resort — at no extra cost to you. You pay the same price you'd pay booking direct.
Here's what that does not change:
- We do not adjust rankings based on commission rates. The resort that pays us most is not automatically our #1.
- We do not hide the resorts we think are overpriced or underwhelming — you'll see those called out honestly.
- We do not accept payment for reviews, "featured" listings, or paid placements. Ever.
If a resort isn't worth your honeymoon, we say so. Losing the affiliate commission on a bad recommendation is a much smaller problem than losing a reader's trust.
"We'd rather send you to the right resort and lose a commission than send you to the wrong one and keep it."
That's the standard. It's also why we built this site the way we did — clear resort breakdowns, real cost data, honest comparisons, and a real person you can talk to if you want a second opinion.
Want a second opinion on your shortlist?
Tell Kristin what you're considering. She'll give you her honest take — no pressure, no cost.