A lot to do – on or off resort
By Eileen Ogintz
Sandals Resorts founder Gordon “Butch” Stewart spent happy childhood days playing in the water on the Ocho Rios Jamaican shore at what was then the Arawak Hotel known at the time as a glamorous Caribbean hotel.
He bought the property in 1991. Today, the company remains family owned and there are 20 Sandals and Beaches resorts (the Sandals brand is all-adults; the three Beaches resorts are designed for families). They are spread across the Caribbean, including seven in Jamaica, Antigua, Saint Lucia, the Bahamas, Grenada, Barbados, and Curacao.
Nearly 20 years later, Sandal’s Dunn’s River has been re-imagined as a 21-st century 260-room luxury resort with all the bells and whistles. It was the last project Sandals Resort Executive Chairman Adam Stewart worked on with his dad before Butch Stewart’s death in January 2021.
About a 90-minute drive from the Montego Bay Sangster International Airport, Ocho Rios is famous for its waterfalls (especially Dunn’s River Falls) and its eight rivers. What once was a sleepy fishing village on Jamaica’s north coast “Ochi,” as the locals call it is now a bustling tourist destination with beautiful beaches, a myriad of hotels, a cruise port, and popular attractions including Dunn’s River Falls (about 180 feet high and naturally terraced like giant stairs. The first James Bond film, Dr. No, was filmed here and the Golden Eye Resort, once Ian Fleming’s home and where he conceived the James Bond thrillers, is near here.
Maybe you’ll want to climb Dunn’s River Falls, go birding on the Black River, go Bamboo River Rafting on the Martha Brae River, or get up close to dolphins (among the off-resort adventures).
But there is no need to leave the all-inclusive adult-only resort—not with butler suites with swim-up access or private pools, 12 different places to eat, nine bars (including the Dunn’s Rum Club with 30 kinds of rum and signature rum cocktails. Blum, a coffee shop, serves pastries and coffee drinks with famous Jamaican Blue Mountain coffee. The Red Lane Spa is an expansive spa with locally inspired treatments and a 24-hour roof-top fitness center.
That’s not counting all of the watersports- sailing, kayaking, paddle boarding, snorkeling, diving among them. Even golf is complimentary.
I’m here with my two oldest grade school friends, meeting up for the first time since Covid derailed our annual getaways. Two of us share a butler suite which works well as there is a king-sized bed and a big chaise lounge that we have made up as a second bed. I can get used to butler service. Akeem makes sure we have chairs at the pool with a cooler full of beer and soft drinks, can schedule activities and even walk us to dinner if we can’t find our way on the expansive property.
We can be as lazy or busy as we like—pool volleyball and aerobics, wake-boarding, reggae dance class, karaoke or a Jamaican cultural show in the evenings, jewelry making or a mixology class.
The vibe here is relaxed elegance with as many or more grey-haired guests than honeymooners (though Sandals is very popular for weddings as well as honeymooners). There are many repeat guests. “I really like that everything is in one place,” said one woman from Indiana who has vacationed at Sandals many times.
The only decision is do you want to hang out at the pool or the beach, go on an excursion, or what kind of food you want to eat. Breakfast is a bountiful buffet. We opted for Jerk chicken for lunch, our toes in the sand. We had Greek food last night and Asian tonight. Reservations are required only at the French restaurant, though our butler makes sure we won’t have to wait.
All-inclusive fans like that even tips are included (except for the butler and at the spa), that premium liquors are served at no up-charge and that most activities are included, though there is an extra charge for those off property.
Ron and Angie Hart have been going to Sandals resorts for nearly 11 years with Ron’s sister Janie Simms and her husband Jerry. Because they were treated so well during Hurricane Beryl last June, “this place feels like home,” said Angie Hart, who lives in Tennessee. That’s why after Jerry died unexpectedly late last year, they decided to return with Janie Simms and her daughter Faith, even getting towels printed with photos of every trip they took.
“It’s the people who work here who make it special,” Angie Hart explained as a smiling server came around the pool deck wit Caribbean Delights, the drink of the day (rum, brandy, pineapple, and lime juices.) “That is what sells us,” she said. “It’s genuine, not over the top. “
This is the family’s third trip here—they came earlier this year with their two adult kids. “And the staff remembers our names…It makes us feel really good.”
And that, after all, is what you want from vacation.