I spent last week at Sandal’s Jamaica Dunn’s River (it was a vacation, not a honeymoon). I have to say, I was absolutely blown away by how fabulous both Jamaica and Sandal’s were.
Nancy, the blogger, enjoying the swim up bar at Sandals!
I have also tweeted already how I went from skeptic of the swim up bar, to a true believer!! My one suggestion is that Sandal’s build a swim up bar at/in the beach! I realize most people prefer the pool over the beach (not sure why) but I’m a beach nut. It sure would have been nice to get in the Caribbean, swim on up to bar in the sea and order a cocktail. No worries, I made do with the swim up bar at the pool!
Ok, so Sandal’s for a honeymoon. Absolutely!! Sandal’s for a vacation. YES!! I am not being paid to blog or promote Sandals – my experience there was just that good. (Although I will say at times I did feel the staff was a bit “Stepford Wives-ish” — but I would take that over complaceny and bad service.) Sandals is over the top in service, hospitality, and a “no brainer” vacation or honeymoon. The food was excellent, the wine was quality, the drinks were great, the staff was so gracious, accomodating and friendly. I never really understand the Sandal’s formula until I went there – and they have perfected it.
The one surreal thing about Sandal’s Dunn’s River to me (and this by no means a complaint, just a comment) was the Italian theme. The lobby was gorgeous — but Italiante. The restaurants were great — but named things like Columbo or Marco Polo. I had to remind myselves several times that we were in Jamaica. You could spend a whole week there and never leave the property – and if you didn’t, you could probably convince yourself you had honeymooned on the Italian Riviera. We however, wanted to KNOW that we had vacationed in Jamaica. So we ventured off the property to explore a bit and get a “feel” for Jamaica (although we did miss it while we were away!)
If you want to get out and explore or take tours — and we did, Sandal’s can help you with that too. We rented a car and drove out to Port Antonio. Port Antonio is where the Hollywood set goes in Jamaica but it is largely ignored by the typical tourist crowd. The resorts there and the beaches were, however, spectacular. Anyway, the road is new and it was a gorgeous drive (on the left) with several stops in small charming Caribbean/Jamaican towns. All the while we had stunning sea views on one side and gorgeous, lush, tropical mountain views on the other side.
Here is a NOTE: If you are in the area of Dunn’s River or Ocho Rios, don’t take a tour to Dunn’s River Falls. We almost didn’t go visit them because the guide book said it was overrun and overrated. However, we stopped there on our way to return the rental car at 8:30 in the morning right when they open. (If you don’t rent a car, take a taxi.) We had the entire place to ourselves. But for the employees, there were no tourists there at all. Just us. When we left at 10 a.m. the first 3 buses of tourists were showing up and hundreds of people were headed toward the falls.
Back to Sandal’s, if you are on your honeymoon (or just a really romantic vacation), they do an excellent job of creating romance. DO put things on your Simplicity Life Travel Honeymoon Registry like their “private dinner for two on the beach” or “private beach cabana rental”. If you can swing it, go Concierge service all the way. (We didn’t and I found myself coveting the “concierge services” of those that did!)
I would definitely return to a Sandal’s property – and by the # of the returning guests in their Signature Guest program, so do many others.
One last thing, I haven’t actually done the math, but with all that is included with Sandal’s ultra all inclusive, I do now believe that with the quality and luxury of the accomodations, the excellent food, snacks and beverages, the included activities like kayaks, hobie cats and even SCUBA, that a Sandal’s vacation is actually more affordable than a comparable “a la carte” vacation with the same volume of food, alcohol and diving added up. It just feels like more because you pay a lump sum up front rather than doled out over time.
Trust me, it’s worth it!
(and don’t forget to book your honeymoon with Simplicity Life Travel and use the Simplicity Life Travel Honeymoon Registry!)
