Sandals Dunn's River Villagio Golf Resort and Spa Ocho Rios

My husband and I went to Dunn's River March 9-15 and it was undoubtedly the best time and place to take a vacation. For starters, from the time we arrived at the resort, the service was nothing short of amazing. We never had to touch our luggage and were offered champaign and cold towels before even taking a seat. We were upgraded to a penthouse suite without even asking for it and the view from the balcony looked exactly like the pictures in the brochure. Yeah the room had a somewhat worn appearance but was large and very clean. (Who goes on a trip like this to spend a lot of time in the room anyway?)The restaurants were pretty good but we absolutely loved The International, the food was excellent, the white glove service was impressive and the ambience was sooo romantic. Even the food at the bar/grill was made to order and was quite good too.The playmakers are so much fun. A little piece of advide, get to know them and you're sure to have a great time. (And tell St. Nick and Lilly that the new "cracked mooners" said hello!)One thing I noticed was that every employee, from the concierge desk to the lawn maintence staff, always offered a smile and friendly chat. And I think that the attitude rubbed off on the guests because I didn't meet one rude person the entire week!My only piece of advice would be to get involved in the activities. Also, bring some pepto or some type of antacid because the wonderful food, the unending flow of alcohol, the sand, the sun, etc all catches up with you in the mornings before you do it all again each day.

my boyfriend and i just returned on march 21, this trip was just great we could not find any faults at this resort from the food to the staff, this was our 2nd trip to a sandals resort the first was to st lucia we plan to visit sandals negril soon we've been happy with both properties.

Got off the plane with high expectations. The web-site tells you that limo-service will take you from the airport to the hotel if you pay for a suite - which we did. It didn't tell us that the limo was a 1940 school bus that all people staying at the "Resort" would use to get to the hotel. Along the 2 hour ride through the dump that is Jamaica we had the feeling a bigger let-down was coming! We were right. The hotel is marginal at best. Upon entering our room we were beset with bugs - the balcony had a break in it that left the room open at all times. A day later the hotel moved us, but for $450 a night I expect to be treated like royalty. Sorry to say, but your average $25/night Motel 6 was cleaner. Also, the food was poor and the room service was just as bad. They replied "out of stock" several times when we ordered from the all-inclusive menu! Also, luxury liquor, etc is a big joke. All liquor is Jamaica brand - no variety at all, no recognizable Brand Names...NONE. Overall, the place is a total scam. Every point they advertise is completely false. No Limo, no real liquor, poor food, poor service, cheap rooms, etc. I could go on. Conclusion: Stay in the US. You can have better service, better food, better accomodations without being solciited to buy pot every 15 minutes by simply going to Disney!

This Sandals was Awsome! Ihave been to 3 different Sandals resorts & this was by far the best! VERY CLEAN. Our Room was immaculate. Playmakers were motivated. The food was excellent at all of the resturaunts. If someone was not happy here it was probably because they do not have a clue how to enjoy life!!

I must say Jamaica was something else!! Sandals Dunns Rive Falls was the best! My husband and I got married there July 2002 and everything couldn't have been more perfect. The wedding was coordinated excellently. We had 14 people travel with us the only dilemma we had was the expensive day passes for 6 of those who stayed at another hotel(due to Sandals accepting couples only)however we were aware of these charges beforehand.

The service was acceptional. When we arrived the attendants seated the women, provided us with a glass of champagne and a spa pack. As we arrived at our room it was everything we expected. We were on the back side of the hotel between the gardens facing the ocean it was a magnificient view. The rooms were immaculately cleaned daily with plenty of fresh towels. I never did turn on the TV-hello I'm on vacation to see the awesome beach and experience all there is to experience!!! I don't believe Jamaica is known for their excellent t.v. viewing or programs.

The patio restaurant was magnificient. The best shrimp you will ever eat! And the Italian Restaurant was also very good. The snack bar was always flipping out jerk burgers and hamburgers and fries-and the alcohol...Everyone seemed to stand in the same line, so go down to the piano bar!! They are sure to give you a great creation and create many memories for you. The playmakers were awesome!!! Christian, Nicholas and Lili!!! How they could remember everyones name I'll never know. Take the time to talk to them, it was quite interesting to hear how luck they were to gain their positions and just how much money they make.

Yes, , I must say it got quite annoying listening to the locals just past the property on the other side of the gate yell "hey lady let me braid your hair"!!! I must say though all annoyance aside, they are a poor culture just trying to get a buck and they sell the same shirts the hotel gift shop does for a quarter of the price-if you are brave enough to step over there tell Veronica I said Hi. They managed to keep quite during our wedding ceremony and then cheered afterwards-soon going back to their business trying to earn a couple of dollars. The hotel was excellent!! However once you got outside of the property... Beware of drunken taxi drivers and locals selling drugs!! However if you do decide to stay there which I highly recommend, and you plan to take back some of the great Appletons Rum head across the street to the local grocery store, they sell it for half the price the hotel does, and if you fall in love with the jerk seasoning, they sell it for about $1 a jar!

I am looking to going back Summer 2003!

In a effort to do something really special for my wife on our 10th wedding anniversary, I decided to take her back to Jamaica where we spent our honeymoon together. Only this time, I brought along a couple of friends of ours as an added surprise! In fact, this couple is primarily responsible for putting us together in the first place.

At any rate, I began the search for just the right destination and vacation package in Jamaica with a little bit of help from my friends at Expedia---who were absolutely second to none---Fabulous Customer Service!!! Finally, I decided to book an all-inclusive vacation similar to the one we enjoyed so much 10 years ago at Montego Bay Jack Tar Village. Well, after I had finalized all the necessary arrangements for the 4 of us (in early August for a mid-November departure date), the hotel called me 2 months later and said that they were closing and relocating us to a "similar arrangement." Naturally, that didn't sit well with me and I was a bit miffed! So I got back online with Expedia and started all over again---this time deciding to spend a little extra money and go for a Sandals all-inclusive package! Again, Expedia was more than willing to ensure my complete satisfaction and not only did I get all my money back from my last package but they gave me a couple of $50 coupons for my new Sandals all-inclusive package. They were super!!

Now, just when I thought we were "out of the woods" with no more "surprises," Sandals called me (about 2-3 weeks before departure) and said that they were going to have to relocate us due to some renovations they were conducting at Sandals Inn Montego Bay---UGH! That was the bad news. But the good news was that they were relocating us to Sandals Dunn's River & Golf Resort at Ocho Rios! WOW, what a steal of a deal!!! We couldn't have asked for more of an "inconvenience" as this place, from hotel accomodations, friendly and service-oriented staff to outstanding & plentful food and a wonderful & relaxing beach was just what we needed!

We would go back in a heartbeat and spend a few more days (I only booked a 5-day, 4-night package) enjoying a great vacation paradise---beautiful people on truly the best island of the Caribbean---Jamaica! SANDALS IS IRIE MON!!!!!!!!!

My husband and 4 others stayed here Nov.28thruDec. 4 2002. We had a wonderful time mostly because we were at a different lattitude with our vacation attitude! The Staff at Dunn's River was wonderful, starting with the front desk and esp. Omar. Even though our room wasn't ready right then, our luggage was taken care of and we had lunch at the beach grill, which had wonderful salads, jerk chicken and other things. While we were eating our room keys were brought to us, we finished eating first. Our room was a Honeymoon Grand Luxe and even though it was a little musty, it was nice and large with a nice patio overlooking the garden. Our vacation was great also because of the Playmakers, esp. Rashida, Christian and Dwayne. These young people are very nice, and if you take the time to talk to them you see they are smart and really enjoy their work while still having ambition to do other things in life. Most are saving money for school. The bar staff at the beach bar and piano bar are friendly and nice. Most people think Red Stripe is the only beer but I liked the RealRock beer too.The cooks and wait staff @beach grill were happy to make anything you asked for if possible and the wait staff even had suggesstions, esp. Mark and Rita(?). I did have a couple of complaints: On certain days (we stayed 6) the beach didn't have enough lounges and there were some rude guest. Guest should remeber if you treat staff with respect and kindness you will get the same in return, plus. I didnot like the jet ski hawkers with thier smelly jetski's and noise. The hawkers on the other side of the fence are ok if you ignore them(Iwent over and bought some things, because it is a poor country and they are trying to make money too). The furniture and carpets do need to be replaced(cleaning will not help), some lobby furniture I didn't want to sit on.

The disco was closed for remodel so I didn't get my fill of reggae. The Best thing at SDR is the Staff.

This was my second Sandals trip(SMB), and I plan on taking the kids to Beaches next thanksgiving and plan to spend a day at SDR on that trip just to say hi. Vacationers should remember, you are in a foreign country and just because you are on vacation your manners shouldnot be. Thanks SDR for a great time.

Lets just start off by saying I too do not recomened this resort. My husband and I went to Sandals Dunn's River for our honeymoon in may 2001. When we arrived we waited about 45 mintutes to get checked in and up to our room. When we arrived at our room we were very shocked. Our room was in the corner of the resort in front of some ugly bushes. Not only did we recieve a crappy room when we asked for a honeymoon suit but the room looked run down and unclean. Needless to say i aksed for a new room.

Not only were the rooms bad but I found that the rest of the place was a scam. Nothing like the brochure. The beach was half of the size that was shown in the brochure. If you went into the ocean, the natives would come up to you and sell you drugs. You would tell them "no" and they would still ask you about 3-5 times. When I went to say something to the upper management they said that there was nothing they can do about it because they were in the ocean. If they came to land, then they could get them away. If you walk down the beach (not even a mile) you will come to a fence were there is a shack. In that shack is natives trying to sell you things and trying to get you to braid your hair. Word of caution: Do not get your hair braided by them, they have lice. If you want to get your hair braided, i recomened going to a different resort because the women in the beauty salon do a terrible job. My hair came out two days after I got it done. I was extremely upset.

The food for the most part was okay. The chinese resturant was closed the whole time I was there and I don't know how many times the beach grill bar closed do to bugs. A larva came out of my husbands hamburger. Needless to say, we didn't eat there again.

Another recommendation, do not go there in the spring. It rained for 6 out of the 8 days we were there. The hotel flooded because of it. The playmakers are not very entertaining and the employees are rude.

On a scale of 1-10 I would give this place a bug fat 0.It was a waste of money and I

Negril before and Beaches was far out better than Sandles Dunn River. They have some work they need to do.

I have just returned from this excuse for an ultra inclusive holiday. And like the reviewer from Nashville, I too have experienced the total lack of service, poor quality of food and terrible conditions of this so called luxury holiday.

After arriving 24hrs late due to a cancellation of our Air Jamaica flight (Owned by the same company as Sandals) we arrived at the hotel? to be told that our rooms had been resold due to our late arrival. After a wait of over an hour we were then given the late check out room. First appearances should have warned us about this hotel?, a paint stain outside our room about 18" in diameter. Service in the bars was extremelly slow due to understaffing, the staff grossly undertrained and the service of which Sandals prides itself virtually non-exsistant.

The public areas and grounds were not only filthy, but due to the amount of exposed electrical wiring an extreme healh hazard,(I wonder if our Tetnus And Hepititas injections were because we were gong to Sandals).

The furniture was not only worn but torn and dirty, the sun loungers soiled and broken.

Entertainment was of the lowest budget you could imagine, local singers and dancers brought in for the "Great Saturday Night Live" other nights it was entertain yourself.

Food, although four restuarants were available the menus never changed, bland psuedo Caribbean food and Italian of which Italy would be ashamed of.

Premium drinks would take a dissappearing act and be substituted for cheap local alternatives, of which for fear of legal recourse I would swear were watered down, but I will not.

overall the holiday was a waste of the £4,5000 that I paid, of which I could of spent in an "inferior 4* Hotel in the Canaries" of which I have recieved superior service and entertainment on past holidays.

i could go on forever about this shambles of a hotel, but if you are thinking of trying the Sandals experience, feel free to contact me @ karaokefaz@aol.com

I spent about $470 a night for my room at Dunn’s River. It probably seems I am complaining here about everything. Unfortunately I could have complained about even more. I actually was trying to be brief. In this review I did not mention any of the good things and there was nice things about my vacation at Dunn’s River. They are pretty much the same for everyone, such as spending time away from kids, work etc. So, assume all that when reading the negatives then base your decision on Sandals. Everything I say that I expected after paying about $3,500 for the week not including tax I am very sorry to say did not happen. The Motel 6 on a beach in Florida and dinner at Ryan’s and a blender with a bottle of Cuervo and Margaritta mix would have been about the same quality of food and better booze and I would have saved $3000.

I expected prime rib, choice cuts of steak, (rib eye, filet, New York Strip etc.) crab legs, gourmet chicken and pasta dishes, lobster, fresh fish, variety of salads and soups and flavorful desserts. I expected it to be served in an upscale looking restaurant. I expected to be able to get in any restaurant I chose any night I was there. I never expected not to be able to get reservations at all at the only 2 that accepted reservations. I never expected that I would have hour long waits just to sit down in some restaurants. I expected to be served breakfast in under an hour. I expected a choice of at least one full service restaurant for lunch.

I expected the bars to have more than one type of call brand for vodka, gin, bourbon, and scotch. There was no Kahlua no Myers Rum, no Cuervo, no Bacardi, and absolutely nothing slightly different like flavored vodkas or Myers or Malibu Rum. There were not imported can or bottled beers. The only choices of beer are two types of draft beer or Miller Lite in the can. I expected to be able to get served a drink in less than 15 minutes.

In my hotel room I expected nice furnishings, new unstained carpet, and a television that was under 10 years old. I never thought the picture could get that dark and the television still work. I expected to have sound on all of the stations. It was cloudy or raining almost every day that is why the television was important. I expected my bathroom sink not to be in my bedroom. I expected the sink to have a stopper. I expected the tiles in the bathroom not to be chipped and worn. I expected a closet to hang my clothes with real hangers, more than 6 of them, not a rod next to the sink. I expected maid service before 3 in the afternoon.

I expected the grounds to be well taken care of. I expected the beach to look a little like the one that was in the brochure. I expected the beach to be private and not screamed at from the vendors only a few feet away.

I expected that the water sports that were included were available and not always booked. I expected to learn how to scuba dive but I could not because they were booked. I expected more than one of those water trikes for everyone to use. I expected not to have to wait a couple of hours to go water skiing for 3.5 minutes.

I expected there to be professional nightly entertainment. I did not expect that 5 out of the 6 nights I was there, in some sort of fashion, the hotel guests were the entertainment. A toga contest, karaoke, talent show etc. was the main event of each evening.

I expected the grass to be cut on the pitch and putt course. I did not expect golfing at the free course in Ocho Rios to cost me $116 for two people.

I expected Sandals to make provisions so that I would not have to wait at the airport for 5 hours before my flight. (This is too complicated of a story to explain. It was the last way for Sandals to show me their complete lack of customer service.)

I did have a good time while I was there because after spending that much money per night, I did not want to worry about it then. But, now that I am back I am going to take every opportunity I can to warn others so they do not suffer from the same fate I did. If you do not expect the same kind of things I do for $470 a night then you will be satisfied with Dunn’s River but if you expect that and more then I would look for an alternative vacation destination.