Hi

Is the resort you've booked?

Pippy

yes its great isnt it, thanks

hi, does anyone know that if you are celebrateing a specific occassion and visit sandals dunns river do they free upgrade if theres availablity? we are off there in april and are staying in a honeymoon concierge suite. even though we are very excited about our current arrangements i have read on trip advisor that if there is availablity they will always upgrade you. any ideas anyone?????. or is it just americans and canadians that get the upgrades. never gone with sandals before so dont really know how they operate.
its my husbands 50th birthday, and our 21st wedding anniversary whilst we are staying, so lots to celebrate.

also if anyone has been to this hotel would love to hear regards dress codes, disco and resturants, which is best etc.

also if anyione has been to jamaica recently and stayed either here or ochos rios how long is it taking to get to these areas of the island from the airport with the ongoing road works at the moment.
thanks for your time in reading my questions, jeanette

If anyone can assist by posting a review, please do so http://www.holidaytruths.co.uk/reviews/caribbean/

Thanks.

Pippy

Hi Jeanette

My girlfriend and I returned from Jamaica last October. We also stayed in Ocho Rios, our hotel I am pretty certain (looking at the photo's on the Sandals website) was next door to the hotel you are staying in, although I cannot comment on the interior the exterior looked as though it could do with a bit of maintenance etc, mind you our hotel was less than a year old at the time of our stay so any comparisons would not be favourable.

On the subject of the journey from the airport, our's took 2 hours and the road works were very considerable and a nightmare at times. Hopefully three months down the line things have improved considerably as they need to be finished in time for the Cricket World Cup later on this year.

Jeanette don't let this spoil your holiday as we had a fantastic time and will almost certainly return, in fact have plans to do so to celebrate my 50th in 2008, even thinking of taking my girlfriend's and my children with us (5 boys and there respective partners)!!

If you need any more information/advice you can either PM me or ask me directly via this fantastic site?

Nick

thanks for the time taken to reply regards the hotel and ochios rios xfer times. im hoping the road will be finished as the cricket in jamaica starts the end of the week we are away, so should be nearly finished if not done i would think.

our hotel the sandals dunns has just had a 2.5 million dollar make over end of last year so it probably looks better now than in october when you were there.
another question if you dont mind. were there any local craft shops, souvenier etc around the area we are in within walking distance. how safe is it out of the hotel in this area. and is ochios rios a good shoopping area. many thanks
jeanette

Hi Jeanette

Afraid I cannot personally comment on shopping in Ocho Rios town as girlfriend and I never went but from what other holiday makers told us there is a local shopping centre in town with craft stalls etc but be prepared to haggle, whatever price they tell you take off 10-20%!! Also go on a day when cruise ships are not in town as for some unknown reason prices go through the roof!! Finally if you do not want to buy just be polite and say "EVERYTHING IRE MAN", smile and walk on the Jamaican people are very friendly.

Ocho Rios town is just a short taxi journey from hotel and regarding safety just be sensible when going out don't go dripping from head to toe in expensive jewellery etc.

Girlfriend and I went on four organised trips whilst out there and I can recommend ALL of them, Dunns River Falls, swimming with dolphins, horse riding and Martha Bray rafting. I have no doubt you will have a fantastic time!!

Nick

We have been to sandals resorts seven times and stayed at Dunn's River last year. We enjoyed it very much and yes it was beginning to show it's age in some parts but as you say, it has just had a complete makeover, so you can be sure it will be very nice. the beach is lovely and the pools are very nice with lots of padded sun-loungers and never too busy. There is a smaller and quieter pool up near the watersports end and that was perfect if you just want to get away from the crowd. The main pool usually has activities going on so it can be noisier but saying that it is notlike your pools in spain etc. It has a wonderful swim-up bar and is a great way to meet new friends but the quieter pool also has a bar. What I like about Sandal resorts is the fact that more or less everything is included and that includes premium brand drinks and the cocktails are the best you will get anywhere. if you like your cocktails then I would reccommend trying these....BBC-(Bailleys, bananas and coconut rum), Dirty Banana and their strawberry and banana daquairis are to die for!!! If you are going out to the shops then we actually hired a car and driver and he will take you to the shopping malls, will wait on you and then return you to Sandals. We booked it through the excursion desk in the resort. I cannot remember how much we paid but it was not expensive at all. You must go to Dunn's River falls as we had a brilliant time there. You can also get the free shuttle bus to take you over to Sandals OchoRios and you can use their facilities or go over to their restaurants for a change one evening. We are Sandals signature guest so we were upgraded automatically but htere is a good chance they will upgrade you if you are celebrating something, although it would be subject to availability. A few years ago my husband was celebrating his 40th birthday and one evening at dinner they came out with a birthday cake and sang happy birthday to him. That was a nice surprise, and when we went back to our room, there were chocolate covered strawberries and champagne waiting for us. The Sandals staff are so genuine and they will go out there way to make your stay as wonderful as possible. If you want to find out more about Sandals resorts there is a wbsite called tropictravelonline and there is a forum there and it has discussions and advise about all the Sandals resorts. Check it out. You will be glad you did. hopethis helps.

THANKS really appreciate the time it took you to write such a great report. We are really counting down the days now and cannot wait. everythin i hear about sdr just makes all the more frustrateing that its another 12 weeks yet!!! im sure after this visit we will become signature returning guests as i think once you have been to sandals anything else would never live up to the standards, thanks again and i will look up the site you mentioned. i will post a report on our return to say how things have gone. jeanette xx

Maryjo,

How did this hotel comapre to other Sandas hotels?
All the best
gc

We enjoyed Dunn's River as much as any of the other Sandals resorts. As i said there were parts which could have done with a spruce up, but that did not bother us and ofcourse it has been all renovated. The room we were in was also a lower category than we normally chose, but it was still very nice, just not as big as we normally are used to. The pool is really lovely too with a feature representing Dunns River Falls itself. One thing I can say is that the entertainment in the evening in D.R. was the best of all the Sandals we have been too. You will love it there and the choice of resturants is excellent. The staff were really lovely too and really go out their way to make your stay memorable. As for the cocktails, they are the best you will taste anywhere.