I travel on at least 4-6 trips per year to visit all-inclusive properties, where we do much of our business. Here is my review on our 4 night stay at Sandals Dunns River in September.

Location - Resort is situated about 75 minutes from the MBJ airport, closer than most of the Ocho Rios all inclusives. It sits next to the new Riu Ocho Rios.

Rooms - In comparison to other area all inclusives, the rooms are much nicer and more recently renovated than those at the nearby Sandals Grande Ocho Rios. Due to the smaller size of the resort, all of the rooms are close to the main pool and many have pool/ocean views. I stayed a concierge one-bedroom suite with ocean views that was just a great room, with huge bathroom, jacuzzi tub, and amazingly nice TV/living room area. I visited regular oceanview and poolview rooms and felt that they were all nicely renovated about 3 years ago. Only design flaw for me was that they put the shower in the jacuzzi tub, and on the wall - which was too low for me and I'm only 5'10". Taller individuals would be very uncomfortable.

Food - Nobody will confuse their food with gourmet food but it is better than the average all-inclusive in Jamaica. We found the service to be very professional, the grill and pizzaria shined in comparison to my last stay at other Sandals/Beaches properties. Again, due to the smaller resort size, we felt as if the resort was empty although we were told they were 80% full.

Grounds - Top notch...not as elegant as Sandals Negril or Sandals Whitehouse, but very well designed. Biggest disappointment was the chip and putt coarse at the resort which was in awful shape and should be changed into something more fun like a great mini-golf course.

Beach - Not a great beach. I would highly recommend for beach lovers to consider properties outside of the Ocho Rios area....the beaches in Negril and Montego Bay far surpass both this resorts beach and all of the other beaches in the OR area. Water was crystal clear however for those who wanted to swim, snorkel, or SCUBA.

Entertainment - Entertainment at the resort was limited. As with most honeymoon oriented properties, the evening entertainment isn't usually attended, the night club was basically empty, and the activities during the day were not as well participarted as other Sandals properties (Montego Bay, SGOR, etc.). Benefit of the area is that you can go into town (Margaritaville, etc.) if you want to "party".

Golf - The golf course at Sandals is pretty good for Caribbean golf. Not overally challenging and nothing like a resort coarse in the US....it is generally pretty with some challenging holes. Very short for women who are long hitters. The best 2 things about golf there are the caddies, who are among the friendliest people in Jamaica, golf nuts, and very good teachers; and the new practice facility. Sandals will begin offering a golf school and the new practice facility - free for the school or for guests, is unheard of in Jamaica....you can spend hours practicing while your spouse is in the spa.....great idea.

Overall - I enjoyed my stay on property. Found it generally nicer than the other area Sandals property (SGOR) and would want to go back. Love the location due to its proximity to Dunns River Falls, Dolphin Encounter, and other area attractions. Love that it's recently renovated, especially the rooms. Loved some of the service that we received that was exceptional (Alain, Anna Kay, etc.).....Didn't love the entertainment/night life which I felt was weakly executed and didn't like the beach at all.

Feel free to message me if I can answer any additional questions and this or other area properties.

I travel on at least 4-6 trips per year to visit all-inclusive properties, where we do much of our business. Here is my review on our 4 night stay at Sandals Dunns River in September.

Location - Resort is situated about 75 minutes from the MBJ airport, closer than most of the Ocho Rios all inclusives. It sits next to the new Riu Ocho Rios.

Rooms - In comparison to other area all inclusives, the rooms are much nicer and more recently renovated than those at the nearby Sandals Grande Ocho Rios. Due to the smaller size of the resort, all of the rooms are close to the main pool and many have pool/ocean views. I stayed a concierge one-bedroom suite with ocean views that was just a great room, with huge bathroom, jacuzzi tub, and amazingly nice TV/living room area. I visited regular oceanview and poolview rooms and felt that they were all nicely renovated about 3 years ago. Only design flaw for me was that they put the shower in the jacuzzi tub, and on the wall - which was too low for me and I'm only 5'10". Taller individuals would be very uncomfortable.

Food - Nobody will confuse their food with gourmet food but it is better than the average all-inclusive in Jamaica. We found the service to be very professional, the grill and pizzaria shined in comparison to my last stay at other Sandals/Beaches properties. Again, due to the smaller resort size, we felt as if the resort was empty although we were told they were 80% full.

Grounds - Top notch...not as elegant as Sandals Negril or Sandals Whitehouse, but very well designed. Biggest disappointment was the chip and putt coarse at the resort which was in awful shape and should be changed into something more fun like a great mini-golf course.

Beach - Not a great beach. I would highly recommend for beach lovers to consider properties outside of the Ocho Rios area....the beaches in Negril and Montego Bay far surpass both this resorts beach and all of the other beaches in the OR area. Water was crystal clear however for those who wanted to swim, snorkel, or SCUBA.

Entertainment - Entertainment at the resort was limited. As with most honeymoon oriented properties, the evening entertainment isn't usually attended, the night club was basically empty, and the activities during the day were not as well participarted as other Sandals properties (Montego Bay, SGOR, etc.). Benefit of the area is that you can go into town (Margaritaville, etc.) if you want to "party".

Golf - The golf course at Sandals is pretty good for Caribbean golf. Not overally challenging and nothing like a resort coarse in the US....it is generally pretty with some challenging holes. Very short for women who are long hitters. The best 2 things about golf there are the caddies, who are among the friendliest people in Jamaica, golf nuts, and very good teachers; and the new practice facility. Sandals will begin offering a golf school and the new practice facility - free for the school or for guests, is unheard of in Jamaica....you can spend hours practicing while your spouse is in the spa.....great idea.

Overall - I enjoyed my stay on property. Found it generally nicer than the other area Sandals property (SGOR) and would want to go back. Love the location due to its proximity to Dunns River Falls, Dolphin Encounter, and other area attractions. Love that it's recently renovated, especially the rooms. Loved some of the service that we received that was exceptional (Alain, Anna Kay, etc.).....Didn't love the entertainment/night life which I felt was weakly executed and didn't like the beach at all.

Feel free to message me if I can answer any additional questions and this or other area properties.