The Jewel Dunn's River Beach Resort & Spa

…… I stayed at the SANDALS Dunns River Villagio in Jamaica.
As a travel agent for over a decade, I have stayed in some beautiful places and some fantastic hotels in the world ……. but this was by far the best!!!
I have had great service in the past but at Sandals the service was exceptional. The rooms looked great in the brochure and they certainly had the wow factor upon arrival.
We were met at the airport and guided directly into the ‘Sandals Lounge’ were we able to freshen up and were handed refreshments whilst our luggage was taken ahead of us. After a comfortable transfer we were then met at the hotel lobby were again we were met with refreshments (champagne), had a brief explanation from a member of staff and were than shown by a very friendly porter to our room. Not only did the porter take our luggage into the room, he showed us where every thing was, opened the curtains and balcony doors, explained the procedure with the mini bar and reassured us that there was ‘NO tipping’ and we should not feel uncomfortable about it. That is 1st class service which I had never experienced before.
Every inch of the hotel and its grounds were immaculately kept. Staff are polite and friendly, would always ask if you wanted to join in any activity but there was no pressure what so ever. Food was 24hours and as a fussy eater myself, I went without nothing! Food was fantastic and if they didn’t have it, they got it!
Activities and excursions were extremely well organised. A shuttle bus ran frequently to other Sandal properties along the coast.
To top our fantastic holiday off, we were asked to be witness for a couple from New York for their wedding ceremony. It was so romantic and beautiful. Their wedding photographs were top class and they were made to feel very special throughout their stay. There were never two weddings close together, so as bride & groom they were never made to feel that their precious day was shared with other wedding couples.
Top class hotel!! 12 out of 10!!!!

Very disappointed in the Sandals resort in general.
We booked a villa apartment which was old and not particulary clean, certainly not anywhere near the 5 star standard that we were expecting.
We paid an extra £70 to have a "mini bar" which constituted a couple of bottles of wine and a bottle of rum which we had to ask for a replacement if we had any wine as the staff never checked.
The food was terrible; we actually gave a few evening meals a miss! and the staff were rude and quite frightening in their agressive attitude.
Trying to eat breakfast while the staff stood next to our table talking derisively about the guests was just perfect after queuing 20 minutes for a fried egg!
I am so glad that I went on this holiday before getting married because if it was my honeymoon I would have cried. I thank my lucky stars that it did not cost me a ridiculous amount of money as it was discounted during a special offer, but it will prevent me from ever booking a sandals holiday ever again!

Very let down. Expensive trip, and was not at all satisfied with my stay. The food was terrible. The resort was old and tacky looking.

Unsafe and misleading
The gospel truth of things is that I have never made a complaint of this kind before and I have traveled on every continent except Antarctica.
In March 2007 my wife and I decided to try an all-inclusive trip to a Sandals resort in Jamaica. While at Sandals, Ochos Rios our room was robbed and we lost cash, credit cards and personal belongings. The resort was unsympathetic and almost seemed to think we were lying about this event. Finally they agreed to refund a portion of our fee. That was ten months ago and we have not seen a cent.
Additionally, we had booked a different Sandals close to the airport but when we landed we were told that it was sold out and that we had to go to Ochos Rios--two and a half hours away by crowded bus and that we would be upgraded to a suite for our trouble. We got the bus ride but no suite and no apology.
The service was horrid. The food was below average and stray cats roamed the grounds including the restaurants. They loved jumping up on the chairs with us at mealtime.
Sandals is not safe and misleads customers.
David F.
Ohio

We were both expecting this holiday to be truly amazing as it cost over £7000. It disappointed us in so many ways.
The initial flight was amazing; we flew first class with virgin, which was a treat as it was our honeymoon. This was true luxury and I would highly recommend this to anyone who is on a special holiday as we were.
When we got to the hotel, after a fairly traumatic journey on the Jamaican roads. We found the staff on the whole to be disinterested and unfriendly. It seems that the no tipping rule means that you get no service. The head waiter in our main restaurant was beyond rude, he was rude several times to us and we saw him treating others in the same way. The food was not amazing and was very samey, as was the entertainment. This hotel is clearly aimed at people who only stay for a week, which is basically all the Americans that were there.
Our room was disappointing; it was in dire need of re-decoration and didn't look very clean. Our fridge was meant to be topped up on a daily basis but this didn't happen and in the end we had to ask to have more drinks. We also had squashed bugs in our room that were there when we arrived and were still there when we left! Not nice!
The restaurants on site we had to queue for every night, anything between an hour and two and half hours. One restaurant we never went in as the wait was always over 2 hours and we weren't prepared to wait that long when we were hungry.
All in all our holiday was very disappointing, there are so many aspects I could talk about that were horrible but I'd be here all day! I don't recommend this as a holiday destination at all!

We booked to stay 14 nights at the Sandals Resort Ochos Rios for our honeymoon in Jun 2005. The First Choice flight was excellent, as we had upgraded to their premier class cabin. For an extra £180 per person, this was well worth the extra expense.
On arriving in Mo Bay, the porter service was forced upon us - so it is recommended you have plenty of small change on arrival, otherwise you may get stung for a large tip - not the best of starts for the holiday!
The transfer to Ochos Rios took close to 3 hours for a 60 mile journey - the roads are still undergoing construction and are not the best in the world. However, we were well aware of this before we went - so we knew what to expect. I would imagine that with the cricket world cup in 2007 - this should be much improved.
The welcome at Sandals was first class - couldn't be faulted. The hotel room was very night - roomy and the air-con provided a welcome break from the heat of the sun. The decor in the en-suite bathroom left much to be desired - the tiling was appalling, and the protective wrapping which the bath had been delivered in was still in place! Interesting considering this was by no means a new installation!!!
The resort itself was very nice, the facilities, food, drink and staff were all as to be expected. The provision of water sports and the roving photographers was well organised and helped to enhance our stay.
My only gripe was with the entertainment programme which was very "samey" and was obviously planned around persons taking short breaks. Being there for 2 weeks we saw many of the same acts/shows on more than one occasion. For us, 2 weeks felt a bit long - but is did not detract from what was a great holiday.
I would certainly recommend it as a holiday destination - but would not go again.

We booked a two week holiday to Jamaica with the intention of getting married there in June /July 2005. we wanted to make it special and didn't really want to stay in just one resort for the full 2 weeks and so booked the first week at sandals Ochos Rios and the second week at sandals royal Caribbean (Montego Bay).
We flew with Air Jamaica who were ok. The plane seemed quite old and had not been updated. The leg room wasn't too bad though and the luggage allowances were excellent (which was a good job as we had our wedding attire with us). The staff were friendly and the drinks were free.
Upon arrival at the airport we were greeted by Sandals staff and shown into the Sandals' lounge where we helped ourselves to free drinks. A short while later the coach was ready to take us to Ochos Rios. The ride was something of an experience. The driver spent most of the time on the wrong side of the road with his foot to the floor whilst either texting or speaking on his mobile. The upside to this rollercoaster of a ride was that we made it to the resort in what must have been record time. It took about 90 minutes.
When we got into the resort the staff greeted us and our luggage was taken up to our room. The room itself was huge. There was a kitchen, a lounge area and the main bedroom with an Ensuite bathroom.
We went down to the pool the following morning (what a pool!) and it was absolutely stunning. There was a swim up bar and lovely gardens. The beach was very nice and the weather was sunny all week. The food was very good quality and (as has been the case in some of our past all inclusive holidays) we didn't spend the week craving British food. The staff were all very friendly and we couldn't fault it there.
On the second week we went to the Sandals Royal Caribbean which is supposed to be a superior hotel. We got married there and we both honestly wish that we'd stayed at Ochos Rios. The staff at the Royal Caribbean were unfriendly and impolite. It was as if they were constantly looking down on a lot of the guests. This was remarked upon by a few people I spoke to.
When we went into the wedding office the staff were very unwelcoming until we told them we had booked a wedding package. It was such a contrast to the first hotel.
We got married there and it was beautiful. There was food laid on by the hotel but I got food poisoning from the sea food that was on offer. Luckily my wife doesn't like sea food so whilst I was sat as close to the bathroom as possible for the next 4 days she was able to get down to the pool.
There was a hurricane for the last 2 days we were there and as a result Sandals did give us a letter stating that we were entitled to 3 free days with them if taken within one year. I'm sure that was great for the large amount of rich Americans who were there but it's not the sort of holiday I could afford on a yearly basis to be able to take them up on the extra 3 day offer.
All in all, I would definitely recommend Sandals in Ochos Rios but definitely not in the Royal Caribbean.

We travelled to Jamaica as a party of 8 for my son's wedding and it turned out to be the perfect holiday. Not only because it was obviously a special holiday, but also for many other reasons.
The journey to the resort took nearly 2 hours (after a 10 hour flight!) but our mini bus driver was so entertaining with little anecdotes about each place we drove through and Jamaican life in general, the time and the pot holes soon passed.
Upon our arrival at the hotel we were given champagne and ice cold towels (very welcome) before being shown to our rooms.
Initial reaction to 2 of our rooms was a little disappointing as one looked out over a flat roof with a noisy generator and one had very noisy air conditioning, and both smelt strongly of cigarette smoke. We were then given alternative, satisfactory rooms - but felt it was a shame to have started off on the wrong foot, especially as this is a 5* resort.
However the rest of the holiday was wonderful - the 3 days before the wedding were spent lazing about by one of the several pools or on the beautiful beach. For the more active, there are water sports available included in the price of the holiday.
The hotel is for couples only and it was nice not to have lots of children running about.
Everything was included in the price and we couldn't fault either the food or the drinks. From the beach snack bar, buffet restaurant, grill restaurant, romantic candlelit restaurant on the beach, to the Italian restaurant - there was something for everyone (including vegetarians). We were allowed to use the restaurants and all facilities in the other nearby Sandals resorts with free transport there and back.
The staff were wonderful - so helpful and friendly. As no tipping is allowed, we felt the excellent service from them was sincere. We spent time chatting to quite a few of the staff and also some of the locals on the beach, through the fence that separates the private beach from the public section. This was as entertaining as the water sports!
A special mention for Joe in the Piano Bar - who anticipates your next drink before you do and has it ready on the bar before you can order it!
The wedding day was just so perfect in every way possible. Nothing was too much trouble.
The day after, we went swimming with dolphins and had 2 dolphins between 6 of us. In spite of the fact I can barely swim (my life jacket was round my ears like an Elizabethan ruff) it was magical and although I was very nervous (of the sea not the dolphins!) it was an incredible experience.
Jamaica and the Jamaican people will always be special to me. I could go on for ages about this holiday and the wonderful memories that will stay with me for ever.
Barbara.