Sandals Dunn's River Falls

We found reviews a very important part of our trip planning so forgive the length of the post. The standouts of our stay were our 5 star service from our butlers Stanford and Patrick and our stunning room on the beachfront. WEATHER FORECAST I saw many posts about the weather forecast - ours called for 40-60% chance of rain for the duration of our stay. It rained once in the morning the entire time. All other times/ days it was a mixture of some clouds and mostly sun. RESORT The resort shines in comparison to Sandals Royal Caribbean and Montego Bay. Both feel tired in comparison to this resort. All of the facilities are impeccably kept and maintained. It really is a beautiful resort. Are there some blemishes - sure but they are minor and easily overlooked with one glimpse of the gorgeous blue water. POOLS We spent all of our pool time at the main pool. We did have a butler so securing a chair was never an issue but I will say that my impression is there were chairs available all day every day. Even with a butler we could not get attached to one particular spot, but there were always seats available. We only went into the hot tubs once finding them way too HOT to stand to be in for long. The pool was cool but in a refreshing way not cold. BEACH We didn’t spend much time on the beach itself but there was always plenty of chairs with or without shade. The beach is beautiful, a decent length and the staff keep it clean. BREAKFAST We loved the buffet at Saltaire. Custom made omelets, fresh fruit and pastries galore. The gal making the omelets is fantastic and keeps up extremely well. LUNCH The Jerk Shack is a standing favorite for us. Either going there or having it delivered to the pool chair - the flavors are great. We also enjoyed Pizza from Isola and Cheeseburger and fries by the pool. Don’t miss the soft ice cream machine right next to Isola. DINNER Cascata was our favorite - so much so we went twice. We enjoyed the Shrimp Bruschetta, Pollo ala Parmigiana (we chose to substitute Alfredo sauce for the tomato sauce) and the lasagna was out of this world. We attending the welcome home reception our first night and the beach party on Friday night for dinner and both offered buffet style food that was delicious. BARS We are not huge drinkers so we did not spend much time at the bars themselves especially having a butler that was bringing all kinds of things. Our favorites were the Coral Delight, Pink Panther and of course a few Bob Marley’s. The other thing I particularly enjoyed was the specialty drinks at each of the restaurants. All of them were excellent. ACTIVITIES It was quite windy a few of the days so we were only able to go out on the glass bottom boat and go snorkeling. We had a blast snorkeling- glass bottom boat was not too exciting. TRANSPORTATION We booked a private transfer from MBJ through Ultimate Excursions so I can’t comment on the bus. We found that to meet our needs much better than the bus, giving us flexibility to stop on our way to the resort 🌸 and on the way back 💵. RETIE THE KNOT My husband surprised me with the Retie the Knot package in celebration of our anniversary. We had mixed feelings about this experience. First and foremost, the staff led by Javel were spectacular and the pastor who conducted the ceremony was a blessing. It was only the two of us so the mixed feelings come in with what follows the ceremony portion of the package. We would have foregone the cocktail party with hors d’oeuvres, cake and dance for a more intimate dinner on the beach by candlelight. Our dinner was at Edessa and we ended up just ordering from the menu. The food at Edessa was not good in our opinion. It would be great if a more simplified package could be offered when it is just the 2 of you. SPA I had my hair and makeup done for our ceremony and they did an excellent job. I was so pleased with the results. I wish they would change the scent of the spa products in the room - it is awful and smells like an old man’s cologne versus a spa. BUTLERS Our butlers Stanford and Patrick truly made our week spectacular and we now consider both gentlemen amongst our friends. They went above my expectations in every way and we will request them every time we come back. I will not spoil surprises for others but the butler experience is well worth every penny.

This is a stunning resort, though a bit on the small side. The grounds were impeccable and the decor in the room, restaurants, and other spaces was tasteful. Customer service overall was really good. As this was our sixth Sandals resort experience, and first one at Dunn’s, we know a few things about how it works. The good: The breakfast buffet at Saltaire, the food at Edessa, Cascata, Banyu, Zuka, and Hanami. We had delicious iced lattes every morning from Blum. The pools are nice and well kept. Swim up bar service was on point. I did participate in aqua zumba one morning, which was fun. Chad is a good time. The beach is kept up well, especially when you compare it to how dirty the beach was at the neighboring resort on the other side of the pier. We enjoyed jumping waves and generally hanging around in the water. Housekeeping did a great job every day. We stayed in a Club room, and our drinks were replenished early every day. Entertainment every night was generally good. Some nights are better than others. We especially enjoyed the Jamaican cultural night and the acrobatic show. There is live music every morning on the pool deck. We enjoyed the steel pan player’s music the most. The not so great: April is a windy month for Dunn’s. We did not know that before we booked, so every day of our stay except for the last one was a red flag day, meaning all water sports were unavailable. On our last full day, they took us out for a sight seeing ride on the glass bottom boat. They did not open up the glass bottom because it was still a bit windy, so the ocean was churned up and there wouldn’t have been anything to see. Pool chairs. Literally every single chair at the pools are taken before 6:30 am. My husband is an early riser and he struggled finding us pool chairs. At one point, I did contact the club concierge and told them that this was madness, we all paid to be there and there shouldn’t be a shortage of pool chairs for the amount of guests you have at the resort. They saved us chairs one morning in response, which was appreciated. Just because you don’t pay for butlers doesn’t mean you should be “downgraded” to only getting a beach chair during your entire stay. Of course, I got flamed on the Dunn’s FB group for saying so. The noise level at this resort is high. We had a Mammee Bay OJS room with an ocean view, but we heard loud music from the pool and entertainment areas every day from 8:30 am to 10:00 pm through our closed balcony doors. If you’re looking for a quiet, relaxing time, this resort isn’t it. The pizza my husband and I split for lunch one day made us both immediately sick to our stomachs. Try at your own risk. They went all out for the returning guest dinner since it was Welcome Home week. The food was good, but overall we found the experience to be boring, when we really wanted to like it. Overall, it was a nice vacation, but not our favorite Sandals resort.

This resort is amazing. The weather shows all rain on any weather app - never rained but maybe one day cloudy. The main problem was the wind. It was strong!!! My room was in the maumee bay building with ocean view. Room was huge and impeccable. Restaurants were all delicious. Only the French takes reservations and they was delicious! We loved the entertainment team - Conrad was so great getting the people to join in whether it’s a Congo line in the pool or a dance move! Orion from the same team was a blast to play volleyball with almost everyday. He’s very competitive as well as my husband. Could not leave out our fabulous butlers of Stanford and Patrick. They were fun and full of personality! They were always there when needed.The beach party Friday night was so much fun! Thank you sandals for a wonderful week! We definitely be back! My only complaint would be the music at the non quiet pool. We needed upbeat fun music playing. Other then that, ever thing there was sonamsind!

Wow, what a wonderful vacation! This is my seventh Sandals vacation; at the very least, Dunn’s River is tied for first place. The food was excellent, with all different restaurants from my previous Sandals stays. I stayed in the Mammee Bay Oversize Club Level Jr. Suite, which is large. The patio is small, primarily due to the oversized soaking tub. My room was on the second floor, which allowed me to see the ocean, but the resort view was partially blocked by the restaurant on the first floor. I was in room 2202. The room service was excellent, and my room was restocked every day. The entertainment was outstanding, with a wide range of choices. Nightly entertainment started at eight and ended at ten. In addition, they also had karaoke after the main entertainment at ten. If you are a late-night partygoer, the rum club stays open until one. The rum club was a lot of fun and my favorite spot. The swimming pools were spacious and uncrowded. Like most Sandals resorts, getting a seat in the morning at the pools is hard, but you can always find a seat at the beach. The resort had numerous bars, and I never had to wait more than five minutes to get a drink. All the employees I spoke with were very friendly. When I was walking around the resort, I was always greeted with "Hi, and how is your stay?" I want to give a shout-out to the following employees: Sherdene, Food Services; Gabriell, Lobby Bar; Tyrell, Pool Bar; and Denzal, Rum Club. These employees truly made my stay wonderful!!!!

What a great vacation! This was our first stay at SDR, but our 30th at various Sandals resorts. GM Deryk Meany has done a wonderful job with the staff and management here. Everyone was engaging, enthusiastic, stopping to talk and enjoying their work. SDR isn't a big resort, but it didn't feel cramped either. There are 6 restaurants that serve dinner and 4 more that serve lunch. Every meal was very good with a strong service culture. Two suggestions for improvement - breakfast at Edessa was SLOW. It should never take over an hour for food to arrive. We saw a number of couples leave before their food was served. Slow breakfast at a la carte restaurants is bit of a common issue at Sandals - not sure why. We aren't there so sit around; we are there for a nice breakfast and then to get on with our day. The second is to offer dinner at the beach restaurant (Galene), offering another choice for people like us staying a week or more. Some shout outs to some truly great people - - Tenesha, manager of Edessa - Butler manager Kamika - Eugene, in Hanami - Tafarise in Watersports - Jada 'from the bar' - one of the hardest working people on the resort - Rebecca-Jane in entertainment - Our butlers Romeo and Vivian - 2 first class gentleman who made our stay special. Room recommendations - The Mamee Bay building has the best views, but you can see the water from the Tuffs buildings as well. The pools in the Rondoval suites looked good if you like something more private. Evening entertainment - lots of options, something happening every night. The Rum Bar was excellent - great drinks, staff and entertainment every night. Coffee and pastries in Blum were excellent as well, very different from the Cafe au Paris at other Sandals, even if the process/ops guy in me cringed at the set-up. The golf course is a 20-minute shuttle that runs every two hours. Nice course to play, but if you miss the return trip you have to wait a bit for the next one. Green fees are included, but you pay for carts and clubs if you need them. Scuba diving leaves right from the resort - no shuttles. Great team, nice to see Lincoln from Emerald Bay (Emerald Bay forever!), but the location on the island means you can be winded out, which happened to us several days. Thanks again folks, and see you next time!