Thank you so much for the review and information. My husband and I stayed at Dunn’s River Sandals in the late 90s. Looks like they made a lot of beautiful changes and we plan to visit again.
I listened to your podcasts on the plane on our way down. I have to say I totally agree that SDR is now my top Jamaica resort. The concepts there(Rum Bar & Blum) were amazing. We had the skypool room and it was nice, our first butler experience. I do believe we would have liked the swim up better. The new lounges were great, the morning music was fantastic. The beach was nice too, and the pools were excellent. I can't wait until they build the Royal side so we can come back!!
Another nice video review by your both. We were there for 7 nights in late August and thought all of the new concepts were fantastic: loved the variety of bars (although in August's 90 degree heat, Ocarena was uncomfortable in evening attire) and new dining options, plus the Blum coffee wagon at the beach at 6am with live music at breakfast. There is zero doubt that when the Royal side opens up in late 2025 (with many more dining and bar options and another larger stretch of beach), that it will be the best Sandals property - despite how much we enjoyed it, we still liked Royal Barbados (there in 2022) better. We expect/hope to go back in the Spring of 2026.
Heading to Royal Barbados’s in Feb 2024. We mainly want to go to that resort since we like craft beer and heard the bowling alley has a good selection.
If you look at the menu for Lover's Lane bar (which opens at 5 pm_, it gives you the "craft beer" list - other than their Brewhouse brand local beer, everything else is pretty main stream for the USA: Grolsch, Becks, Spaten, Duval, Molson, Peroni, Red Stripe, Pacifico, Anchor, Blue Moon, Sam Adams, Sierra Nevada & Shiner Bock. If you like citrus fruity, the Bayhouse beers were reasonably good. All the beers are in bottles. Everywhere else on the resort the beer served is tap Banks Lager or Light, which is on par with Red Stripe.@@andrusticYT
Do not book your flight through sandals, in one month my flight has been changed two times when I ordered the flight. The flight ordered at the time was one of the most expensive flights. The flights they offering me right now where the cheaper flights at the time, and JetBlue is not even trying to reimburse me the difference in price from the original time we ordered the flight. When you talk to Sandal’s customer they are very quick to tell you to get a refund. Not keeping in mind that if you do get a refund you have to pay like almost $500 more than what you paid originally. We booked this for our honeymoon, And all we have had was headaches between sandals and JetBlue
I hate jet blue! I changed my vacation destination just bc I don't want to fly with jet blue. They are so expensive and I always feel like I'm on spirit airlines when I fly with them. They advertise wifi, no wifi! The hostesses are rude af and it's like they send the planes that are in the worst conditions to the caribbean. I hate Jetblue
What month did you guys take this trip? I am worried about booking and having terrible weather, but it looks perfect in this video. I know there is always a chance, but I've heard some months are much higher in chance.
We are Sandals Emerald members and always do club mobay when traveling to Jamaica; however, we normally just go straight to sandals lounge on arrival vs mobay lounge, and only use the Mobay lounge for departure. How does that work with transportation? Normally the bus is waiting as soon as you get to the sandals lounge…
Enjoyed the video. Curious about the beach. Is it murky or can you swim and see the bottom? Is it calm or wavy? (Water looked a little cloudy). Also how far from the airport?
Thank you for your video, it looks like a pretty amazing resort. A couple things give me concern though for booking here - The lengthy drive from the airport is one but of even bigger concern is the travel advisories which recommend not travelling to Jamaica due to safety concerns surrounding criminal activity and gang violence. Curious as to what are your thoughts, etc ??
Looking to book an honeymoon stay later this year. We are interested in sandals resorts and looking into secrets. Seems that secrets is definitely cheaper but if price was not an issue would you say that you prefer sandals resorts more then secrets?
Depends on which secrets vs which Sandals as well as what your specific travel preferences are. If you’d like some help deciding please feel free to submit a quote request.
The beach and Dunn’s River was great, very rich blue water that we weren’t expecting. We’d recommend securing a beach chair on the way to breakfast if you’re going to lounge all day at the beach
Depends on a lot of factors as to what you’re specifically looking for/ care about in your trip. Both are great resorts but offer something alittle different to each traveler. We just did a podcast on comparing these two exact resorts.
Not very appealing. Just another large resort with no Jamaican vibe, despite being Jamaican-owned. There are so many other truly wonderful choices in Jamaica. We stayed at Sandals Montego Bay on our first trip to Jamaica and enjoyed it but have since discovered so many more inviting and authentic Jamaican experiences.
Great video. You showed everything I wanted to see!
hey, I have a video review on my channel too. It’ll give you more details and a different perspective if you’re planning on visiting
Thank you so much for the review and information. My husband and I stayed at Dunn’s River Sandals in the late 90s. Looks like they made a lot of beautiful changes and we plan to visit again.
Me and girl need a vacay baddd! This vid convinced us!
We can help! 🍹🇯🇲
Amazing video, y’all did a great job, this resort is now on my list, thanks for sharing ✌️
Glad you enjoyed it!
What a wonderful recap/review! Thanks so much for sharing!!
Thanks for watching!
I listened to your podcasts on the plane on our way down. I have to say I totally agree that SDR is now my top Jamaica resort. The concepts there(Rum Bar & Blum) were amazing. We had the skypool room and it was nice, our first butler experience. I do believe we would have liked the swim up better. The new lounges were great, the morning music was fantastic. The beach was nice too, and the pools were excellent. I can't wait until they build the Royal side so we can come back!!
Yes!! We loved this resort also! Can’t wait to see the Royal side! You can’t beat great butler service!! ☺️✈️🏝️
We always appreciate and look forward to your videos. Will be reaching out for our next sandals vacation!
Thank you so much!! We would be happy to help and we’re glad you’re finding the videos beneficial!! ✈️🏝️☺️
@@PenyakTravel sure just curious any recommendations on all inclusive that’s have a good beer selection of ipa’s?
Great video, thanks for posting.
Glad you enjoyed it
Another nice video review by your both. We were there for 7 nights in late August and thought all of the new concepts were fantastic: loved the variety of bars (although in August's 90 degree heat, Ocarena was uncomfortable in evening attire) and new dining options, plus the Blum coffee wagon at the beach at 6am with live music at breakfast. There is zero doubt that when the Royal side opens up in late 2025 (with many more dining and bar options and another larger stretch of beach), that it will be the best Sandals property - despite how much we enjoyed it, we still liked Royal Barbados (there in 2022) better. We expect/hope to go back in the Spring of 2026.
Heading to Royal Barbados’s in Feb 2024. We mainly want to go to that resort since we like craft beer and heard the bowling alley has a good selection.
Thank you so much for tuning in!! We really appreciate it!! Glad you guys had a great time as well!
If you look at the menu for Lover's Lane bar (which opens at 5 pm_, it gives you the "craft beer" list - other than their Brewhouse brand local beer, everything else is pretty main stream for the USA: Grolsch, Becks, Spaten, Duval, Molson, Peroni, Red Stripe, Pacifico, Anchor, Blue Moon, Sam Adams, Sierra Nevada & Shiner Bock. If you like citrus fruity, the Bayhouse beers were reasonably good. All the beers are in bottles. Everywhere else on the resort the beer served is tap Banks Lager or Light, which is on par with Red Stripe.@@andrusticYT
It looks awesome! I'll add it to my list!
It’s a fantastic resort!!
Beautiful Jamaica 🇯🇲✈️🏝💯❤️🌎🇯🇲🇯🇲🇯🇲
We love Jamaica!!!
Thanks for the video! Any recommendations for excursions? Also is it pretty easy to hop between dunn river and ocho rios? Thanks!
Nice video, thank you. Might I humbly recommend slower transitions? Visually it was a bit difficult to watch with the quick changes.
Thanks for the feedback!
Great video. How many nights do you recommend to enjoy the resort
Do not book your flight through sandals, in one month my flight has been changed two times when I ordered the flight. The flight ordered at the time was one of the most expensive flights. The flights they offering me right now where the cheaper flights at the time, and JetBlue is not even trying to reimburse me the difference in price from the original time we ordered the flight. When you talk to Sandal’s customer they are very quick to tell you to get a refund. Not keeping in mind that if you do get a refund you have to pay like almost $500 more than what you paid originally. We booked this for our honeymoon, And all we have had was headaches between sandals and JetBlue
I hate jet blue! I changed my vacation destination just bc I don't want to fly with jet blue. They are so expensive and I always feel like I'm on spirit airlines when I fly with them. They advertise wifi, no wifi! The hostesses are rude af and it's like they send the planes that are in the worst conditions to the caribbean. I hate Jetblue
What month did you guys take this trip? I am worried about booking and having terrible weather, but it looks perfect in this video. I know there is always a chance, but I've heard some months are much higher in chance.
We are Sandals Emerald members and always do club mobay when traveling to Jamaica; however, we normally just go straight to sandals lounge on arrival vs mobay lounge, and only use the Mobay lounge for departure. How does that work with transportation? Normally the bus is waiting as soon as you get to the sandals lounge…
Enjoyed the video. Curious about the beach. Is it murky or can you swim and see the bottom? Is it calm or wavy? (Water looked a little cloudy). Also how far from the airport?
Thank you for your video, it looks like a pretty amazing resort. A couple things give me concern though for booking here - The lengthy drive from the airport is one but of even bigger concern is the travel advisories which recommend not travelling to Jamaica due to safety concerns surrounding criminal activity and gang violence. Curious as to what are your thoughts, etc ??
Usually they pack the shuttles with a few couples and once you’re inside the resort, they have security
Is there enough shade on the beach/pool area?
Looking to book an honeymoon stay later this year. We are interested in sandals resorts and looking into secrets. Seems that secrets is definitely cheaper but if price was not an issue would you say that you prefer sandals resorts more then secrets?
Depends on which secrets vs which Sandals as well as what your specific travel preferences are. If you’d like some help deciding please feel free to submit a quote request.
How would you describe the beach? However, how long is the beach and did you have trouble obtaining beach chairs.
The beach and Dunn’s River was great, very rich blue water that we weren’t expecting. We’d recommend securing a beach chair on the way to breakfast if you’re going to lounge all day at the beach
trying to decide between Dunn's river and Royal Barbados, coming from west coast. Have been to South Coast and Negril so far... opinions?
Hello. Would you do this sandals or Sandals Curacao? Looking to go end of August 1st week of September
Depends on a lot of factors as to what you’re specifically looking for/ care about in your trip. Both are great resorts but offer something alittle different to each traveler. We just did a podcast on comparing these two exact resorts.
how is the night life at this resort? Is it entertaining with different planned events? Does the pool close at night ?
They have a few spots that are hopping at night. The pool does close at night. Thanks for tuning in!
Club Mobay- worth the cost?
I loved the airport... Going home that it. Do your research
Let me know . I will never go to sandals again. Down since Butch has passed.
boarding group 4 but in first?
Not very appealing. Just another large resort with no Jamaican vibe, despite being Jamaican-owned. There are so many other truly wonderful choices in Jamaica. We stayed at Sandals Montego Bay on our first trip to Jamaica and enjoyed it but have since discovered so many more inviting and authentic Jamaican experiences.