First of all, absolutely stunning property. Very well decorated and the check in crew at the front are delightful. Club sandals staff/concierge were very helpful during our stay via WhatsApp. This feature should be pushed more so that everyone staying in a club level room can maximize their benefits during their stay. There were staff here that we wanted to recognize for their kindness, attention to detail and professionalism:
Alshean-pool bar
Kelvin-pool bar
Akeelaha- entertainment
Big j/big sexy- entertainment
Shion- entertainment
Rebecca-Jane- entertainment
Latona- Rum bar
Jillian-waitress
Ronaldo-waiter
Ronaldo-wine tasting staff
Lancelot- wine tasting staff
Mercina- waitress
Samantha-jerk shack
Panda- pianist
Thank you guys for being so lovely. We will miss you dearly!
We also wanted to highlight Zuka and Hanami. The best places to eat on the resort hands down. The Jerk Shack with chef Gregory is also fantastic but make sure you ask for the daily specials. If you don’t ask, you might miss out. Also, if you choose to book here, make sure you stop by Galenia for the Jamaican beef patties daily. We were here for 7 days and had no clue until the last day that this was available. They are bomb! If you book a club level room, they have events for you throughout the week exclusively for you. Make sure you take advantage of those! Also, if you’re a beach person, this beach waves are pretty rough so keep that in mind when booking.
After all of the research we did for Dunn’s river, my partner and I are fairly disappointed. This place is twice what we would pay for an outstanding trip to Mexico or DR…and this was our first time at a sandals. There were staff that made our experience worth while, when every other experience was average at best.
Our flight was delayed 2 hours so when we arrived it was for a late check in. While the club sandals staff were great, we did not receive an orientation. So from the jump, we were new and knew nothing. Whenever someone comes to the resort, orientation should happen before guests are taken to the room to help better understand what the resort is about, what it has to offer and where to go if you need anything. Not have people come back the next day at 10 AM.
This resort is short staffed. There are not enough people rotating on the beach or around the pool to serve drinks or food unless to break the bank for butler service. From what I heard, if you can afford it, go for it because then you won’t have to worry about a thing. Most of the time, you have to go searching for someone and you can’t even tell who is apart of which team. The uniforms should be updated with things like, “entertainment”, “grounds crew”, or “management” on the back. I believe this would help a lot. They need more help at the coffee shop and it should be open an hour later so that the staff don’t get rushed just before 10 which was our experience every time slowing down the service significantly.
Also, not everyone is trained the same for drinks. We were under the impression that there was a daily drink menu and then drinks of the day that the resort was known for. All we saw was a menu at the Dunn’s rum bar and the daily drink specials. Most were super sweet which is not my favorite. Ordering one drink at the pool bar and then ordering the same drink the beach bar, guaranteed you will get different drinks every time.
I’m also the type of person that likes to experience the culture and food of the country I’m vacationing. Sandals Dunn’s River is very Americanized and the food is subpar. The room service menu is basic and stops serving at 10 PM. When you’re out drinking at Lapidus Lounge or the Rum bar until 1 AM, you would think coming back to the room and ordering some food to soak up the alcohol would be appreciated. I know I would have appreciated that had it been an option. More Jamaican traditional foods are preferred.
Everywhere closes early except Lapidus lounge and the Rum bar. Lapidus is very chill and quiet, so much so that for our last night, we were sitting in the lounge with no bartender or staff onsite. Someone saw us passing and came in to check on us, making us a quick drink and then went back to their post. The actual staff assigned to the lounge came in an hour after we sat down…pretty crazy.
For the entertainment activities, I would have appreciated more options with arts and crafts and not just be limited to making one per person. For how much we paid, for example, if I wanted to make an anklet AND a bracelet, I should have had that option. The Iconic Band was fabulous! Big sexy and Akheela were my favorite. They were very personable, funny and made my partner and I feel seen and special. I can’t say that for everyone on staff.
In summary, for the amount of money we paid, the experience was not what it was talked up to be. Maybe if we paid less, this review would be different but seeing that’s not the case, if I could give the review a 2.5, that would be my honest rating.
