We stayed 4 nights at Sandals Dunns River in May 2008. This is our second stay at the resort. Jamaica overall was much nicer this trip than our previous visit in 2006. The airport has been renovated (and now includes air conditioning) and the roads are now paved all of the way to the resort.

Although the transportation to this resort is tiring (about a 2 hr. bus ride), you become energized once you arrive at the resort and are greeted with Champagne and a wet towel.

As a returning guest, we were immediately upgraded to a concierge room (free of charge), which included nice amenities included a fully stocked bar, granite bath, jacuzzi tub, room service, etc.

The food is great in most restaurants. Our favorites included Kimono's (Japanese steakhouse) and Marco Polo (steak/seafood). The firegrilled pizza is great for lunch, too.

My wife and I are in our late 20's and were a little disappointed in the nightlife at the resort. There are nightly shows (of which most appear tailored to an older crowd). We would have prefered more live bands, comedy shows, etc. This is our only complaint about the resort as it became pretty dull by around 10pm.

The staff throughout the entire resort are happy to assist in any way and are extremely nice. We took an ATV tour, which I highly recommend. The views are incredible and you end the tour with a jump into the ocean in a private lagoon. This was the highlight of our trip. You can book this tour at the resort.

I will be returning to Sandals again, although I may try one of the other destinations next time to see how it compares.

My husband and I just returned from our honeymoon in Jamaica and we are very happy we chose this Sandals resort. We loved the atmosphere, the smaller size, and most of the people were very pleasant and helpful. There were a few that seemed truly unhappy to be working there, but they were out numbered by the happy workers.

The food was excellent, and we really enjoyed the snorkeling. Be sure to look up John in the water sports and he'll take you on an awesome "tour" of James Bond Beach by hobie cat!!

The vendors at the end of the beach are very annoying in that they are constantly yelling to get people's attention. They will not be ignored, you have to acknowledge them and tell them you are not interested. We also didn't care for the jet skis, and how they hung around the swimming area of the beach, trying to get people to rent from them. The good thing is that there are always Sandals security guards sitting at the fence, so they can't really come onto the beach. If you can tune all of this out, you'll really be able to relax on the beach!!

The only disappointment we really had was the fact that it was our honeymoon, and there were supposed to be "special touches" because of that fact. I followed all the on-line instructions to verify it was our honeymoon, and the only thing we received from them was the flower petal turn down service our first night there. There was supposed to be a bottle of champagne waiting for us, as well as breakfast in bed one morning. We waited until about midway through our stay and asked the front desk. They seemed surprised that we hadn't received these things and assured us that it would be corrected, but we never received anything from them. When we returned, I sent an email to the honeymoon site for Sandals, just to inform them of the disappointment, and to make sure that no other honeymooners were let down as we were. That was 2 weeks ago, and I'm pretty sure I won't be hearing back from them! It was still a very special honeymoon, but we did book our honeymoon there for those special touches from Sandals and were let down....if you book this for your honeymoon, make sure you get what you paid for!!

Arrived MoBay airport, claimed luggage, cleared customs and went to the Sandals private lounge. Luggage check with Sandals personnel seemed somewhat disorganized but everything got there so no real complaint.

Stopped halfway to the Hotel at a roadside bar. Got a Red Stripe and continued to Sandals. We were greeted by the Concierge, checked in and showed personally to our room which overlooked the pool and ocean in the Genoa Bldg. Beautiful. Stocked frig., private balcony. The room was great.

Sunny mornings, breakfast buffet at Colombo's, and out to the pool by 8:30 or 9 was great. The only real drawback we experienced the whole week was the "water aerobics" at 11 AM. The music was techno pop and LOUD, so there was no way to escape the noise anywhere on the property. It also lasted for hours, all throughout the afternoon, so it was enough to make us go elsewhere. We complained to mgt, and from that day on, no more noise. The entire mood of the vacation changed with that since we were literally so sour about this that we would have left.

The property isn't huge compared to the Riu, which is immediately next door. As one of the staff described the Riu, "900 rooms, 800 kids." The beach is nice but small, from side to side and in depth. Jet skis from the locals who hang out at the borders of the property constantly cruise back and forth along the beachfront enticing people to ride. This is an annoyance for sure and it kept us from wanting to hang on the beach. The pools were great with swim up bars and solid drinks.

Snorkeling, scuba, glass bottom boats, and a four hour excursion ending at Dunn's falls were all very enjoyable. Note: Plan to visit Ocho when there are no cruise ships in port.

Food was very good overall. Drinks were not "top shelf" with local rums and vodka's replacing those we might find in the States. But, rum is rum in a Pina Colada so it's not that big a thing.

Departure and check out were perfect and done exactly on time. The GM and his staff came on the bus prior to our departure for the airport and wished us well, thanked us with a song, and it was a very nice personal touch.

The staff is very friendly and very well trained. They keep the place clean and orderly. Everyone will talk to you if you engage them in conversation and it's fun to talk about Jamaica with them.

I would go back without hesitation. No problem mon.

We had a great time and everything was WAY above expectations. We travel quite a bit and stay in a lot of hotels, this was our first time in an all inclusive resort and we were very leary of trying this. I have to tell you we really enjoyed every minute, from the time we arrived at the Sandals room at the Airport in Montego Bay to the time we left Jamaica. The service was excellent, food was great and the rooms and property were beautiful. The highlight of our trip was the Zip Line tour and the beautiful hike out. We also went against all advice to go off property and had a GREAT day in Ocho Rios. Enjoyed visiting the REAL Jamaica without a tour group and felt completely safe and actually came across some great deals on souvenirs.
The Entertainment Staff was fun, wait until you meet Shana Banana (Twin Towers of Jamaica!). The only complaint is the work out equipment in the gym sucks.