HAS SANDALS CHANGED ?
Sep 25, 2026 pdw141
Has Sandals Changed?
So we had to think long and hard before doing this review as we are diamond members and have had many wonderful holidays with Sandals. We’re going to give a review from our perspective but although we had some issues whilst there, this may be your ideal holiday.
Firstly the basics, Sandals Dunns River is a beautiful resort…
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Has Sandals Changed?
So we had to think long and hard before doing this review as we are diamond members and have had many wonderful holidays with Sandals. We’re going to give a review from our perspective but although we had some issues whilst there, this may be your ideal holiday.
Firstly the basics, Sandals Dunns River is a beautiful resort with excellent restaurants and the best Sandals staff we have ever encountered. So we just want to note some of the really wonderful ones.
Randy in reception looked after us really well and was always ready with a smile and a wave when he saw us. Nothing was too much trouble for him.
Jahvoy, Tiffany and Kadian were our servers at Saltaire and they made us feel welcome every day. Jahvoy is so cute and has the loveliest smile. We went there for breakfast and lunch. We found the food selection somewhat inferior to that we had experienced at other Sandals resorts previously. The room in which the food is set out is quite small but on the positive side there were no birds and few flies.
Oswald and Adrian are the security guys and they do a great job ensuring that all the guests are kept safe. Oswald, in particular, is a legend. On our wedding anniversary he gave us a handwritten card with a poem he wrote himself and a plate of cheesecake.
Toni-Ann is the wedding co-ordinator and she is just gorgeous. Whenever she saw us she would come running over to greet us. Such a warm, lovely person. If you want to get married here, she’s the best person in the world to organise it.
Kevin, the GM, was out every day walking around the resort and chatting to guests. It was nice to see a GM taking such an active role and not simply hiding away behind his desk all day.
We had dinner in Banyu a couple of times and our servers were Tevin and Tonishae. They were great and we really enjoyed dining there. It was our favourite restaurant. We must also mention King who seemed to be in charge there. What a character! He made sure every guest had the best dining experience.
Demario at the Edessa bar poured us the best gin and tonics- just as we like them and we enjoyed a bit of banter with him.
Gabriel and Shannice at the Rum Club were great. We went there several times and they looked after us really well.
And we can’t write this review without mentioning Mercina at Zuka. We had such a laugh with her. What a special lady! So full of life!
Now to the serious stuff. Sandals sells its self as the resort of romance and couples. Below are some of quotes from their own website.
“Couples-Focused & Kid-Free: Designed exclusively for adults (couples 18 and older), ensuring an intimate, tranquil, and completely romantic environment.”
“At Sandals, the entire property is adults-only. For couples, this changes the experience in ways that go well beyond the absence of noise. It changes the feeling of freedom. The ease of movement. The sense, from the moment you arrive, that this place was built specifically for the two of you.”
“A lot of resorts describe themselves as adults-only. Fewer deliver what that actually means for couples. What makes Sandals Resorts different….is not any single feature. It is the commitment to the whole. Every day is built around the idea that you came here to be with each other, and nothing about the resort should get in the way of that.”
Okay so why did we not feel that this is simply not true of Sandals any more?
For us it was the DJ playing a whole mix of loud upbeat Caribbean, reggae and rap music every afternoon at the pool. The whole pool area, including the beach, has speakers spaced out around it. If you want seclusion or a place to just lie quietly and read your book it’s very difficult. You couldn’t even escape the noise on the beach. We were baffled by this as the resort does have 2 pools. Why not play the loud music around one pool for those who want it and not the other for those who want quiet. We found that the only place which was moderately quiet was the very far end of the beach past the jerk shack. However when it’s windy you get sand blasted and the beds there are really uncomfortable. We did complain and were told the noise level would come down, and to be fair, it was a bit quieter, but that lasted 1 day. Interestingly we noticed one day that the music was blasting but only around one pool and the bar area, however that was so it didn’t disturb a wedding going on at the far end of the other pool. But it just shows that they could have a quiet pool if they chose to do so.
The Rum Club is a great addition to Sandals. Snacks, drinks air conditioning. However, later in the evening at 10pm it becomes a nightclub which we attempted to visit but, alas, the music was utterly deafening, and as usual the DJ was playing exactly what he wanted with absolutely no thought to anyone else. He cleared the place just as quickly as a fire alarm.
Most of this resort was completely rebuilt and it is absolutely stunning but for us the tranquillity and romance disappears with the loud music that literally assaults your senses and from which you can’t easily escape.
We would also mention that during our second week the resort seemed full and even though we were up at 6am every day most of the sun loungers by the pool were already taken by then. One day we booked on a morning tour and when we got back to the resort at midday there wasn’t a single sun lounger available round the pool.
Our other disappointment was that during our second week we found it very difficult to get into the restaurants in the evening. Unless we arrived by 6.30pm we were put on a waiting list and told to come back later as the restaurant was full. On the day of the beach party it was raining so the beach party was held in the plaza. We decided we didn’t fancy it as once again the music was so loud, so we went for a pre-dinner drink and then made our way to Banyu at 7pm only to be told there were 15 couples in front of us on the waiting list. So we went to Cascata only to be told there were about 10 already on the waiting list and it could be an hour before we got a table. All the other restaurants were closed so we walked up to the Rum Club and had some of their snacks instead. Not what you expect of a 2.00 Sandals resort.
On a good note, the designers at Dunns River have built the perfect bedroom for guests. So many times my wife has complained about poor lighting for make up, no full length mirror plus loads of other things. But the Sandals bedrooms and bathrooms have been properly thought out and we can’t fault them. Pity we can’t say the same for the rest of the resort but then that’s just our opinion. We know that a lot of the guests, particularly the younger ones, love the party vibe there.
Having said that, romance, love, tranquility, couples - not in our view.
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