Sandals Whitehouse is absolutely amazing. We stayed there from August 24-August 29, 2006 for vacation. The resort is gorgeous, beautiful landscaping, white beaches, spacious. We never felt cramped, Sandals Whitehouse is such a large resort that it always feels as though it is a slow time. The staff is remarkable, they seem just as happy to be there as the guests are. It has three different themed areas, French, Italian, and Dutch. We stayed in the Italian and it was perfect, basically right in the middle of the resort so we were close to everything, although with how beautiful the resort is, walking from one end to the other is nothing to complain about. We booked in concierge level room, and when we got there they upgraded us to concierge suite. The food and drinks are also wonderful...plenty of options. Have a dirty banana and visit Tummings, the bartender at the main pool bar. I enjoyed eating at Bayside. The atmosphere was so relaxing, the outside tables are right along the beach with a beautiful fountain next to them. They served a large buffet for breakfast every morning. Monday nights they have a huge dinner buffet which is to die for, they have ice sculptures and so much variety you won't know where to start. I thought Eleanor's would be my favorite restaurant but it ended up being my least favorite. Giuseppe's chicken parm. is a must. As for excursions...we did the YS Falls excursion and the Fonthill horseback riding excursion and they were both worth every penny. I wouldn't recommend either of these for anyone who cannot move around easily as it can be a bit physically demanding, but they were both such wonderful experiences. At the YS Falls excursion you actually climb through the falls, and the guys there are willing to take as many pictures for you as you want. You can also swing off of ropes into the falls. Take water shoes. It is about a 45 min. drive there. With the horseback riding we were first time riders and no problems at all...it may just take a few minutes to get the feel of being on a horse but the horses are extremely well-trained. You ride through a path in a wooded area to the beach where you ride through the water. If you go, say hello to Prince Charles for me! This excursion is about a 20 min. drive there. Remember to take money with you for tipping as the excursions and the drivers to and from are not part of Sandals. We did not do the spa, although we did tour the facilities which are amazing, and even booked treatments but ended up cancelling due to sunburn. This resort really is nothing short of a tropical paradise. I've heard people complain of the ride to the resort from the airport which is an hour and a half ride, but it is nothing to complain about. I actually really enjoyed it as it allows you to see parts of Jamaica you probably wouldn't see otherwise. I would highly recommend this resort to anyone looking for a getaway from the realworld. You are treated like royalty, but please remember to show respect and courtesy to all the staff as they are very deserving of it.

Sue and I visited SWH from 16th to 23rd Aug 2006 from (just outside) London UK.

One of out favourite drinks is a French spirit called Pernod, we like it mixed with blackcurrant cordial. Having picked up the e-mail address from this site, I
dropped SWH (Jeremy Jones) a line asking if they stocked Pernod, they did not but they said they'd try and locate some for us. Sure enough, some time later I got a mail telling me that they had some Pernod in stock now. Slight problem was the blackcurrant cordial which they could not locate for us on the island, no probs we said, we can bring some of that from home ! So far so good, excellent service we felt. A week or so before we were due to arrive I mailed them again, we particularly wanted to see the ocean and sunsets from our room. I was concerned since I understood that as we had booked the lowest room category our view may be obscured by the trees/bushes or whatever. Within a few hours I had received a reply saying that an upper floor in the Dutch area would give us the best sunset views and that they would see if they could accommodate our wishes. Great, even better - superb service !

Our flight from London was long but fine, we waited about 30 mins for immigration and went to collect our bags, no real hassle. From there we go to the Sandals lounge and get a drink and give them our bags. Drive to SWH from Montego Bay airport lasted about 2 hours of winding narrow roads, but in England our roads can be worse so no worries for us There were three other couples on the bus journey.

On arrival we were greeted by all the staff and after identifying our bags we all relaxed with cold towels and champagne - mmmm nice ! All four couples received upgrades, we went from Deluxe to Grand something or other (I think the check in guy said we had upgraded 5 levels!!!). We ended up in room 2327, third floor Dutch one room from the end (near the French area). Room was spotlessly clean, large and well equipped. Stocked fridge (soft drinks, water etc), TV and DVD (we didn't use the TV or DVD!), CD player (we brought a selection of our CD's having read this site so often), alarm clock, everything you'd need. Nice balcony, perfect view of the pool, ocean and sunset. One thing, if you like to use shower gel as opposed to soap - bring your own. As an extra bonus (for which we were really grateful and impressed) there was a huge bottle of Pernod for us in our room, I can’t tell you how impressed we were (and still are) with the service we have received from Sandals WH management and staff.

Housekeeping was fine if a little erratic in the time they turned up, turndown service was good also. We left small gifts for the housekeeping (with a signed note so they could prove that they were gifts when they left to go home with them) and turndown teams as tipping is a big NO NO here.

Food, well, you wont go hungry the restaurant selection is truly excellent. We tried all of them. On our first morning we went to breakfast at Bayside, as we walked in we were greeted and offered a Mimosa, had to ask what a Mimosa was, but we were converted once we tried them and had them with breakfast every morning - yum yum. All food we had was of top quality, there was no waiting to be seated (appears to be a quiet time to visit SWH), the service was top class and friendly too, nothing is too much trouble for them. And, you'll never go thirsty for water, rum, cocktails, you name it ! Certain of the restaurants maintain a dress code. I have to applaud this, it made it all the more special that virtually everyone dressed well for dinner each night, for guys smart trousers (pants for you US readers!), closed toe shoes and shirts with collars are required. In the most part, the ladies were all wearing very smart dresses and heels. But the ladies can also get away with skirts and tops and trousers and tops. No flip flops. If you really don't want to dress for dinner there are a couple of more casual restaurants, personally for us, dressing for dinner makes the holiday that bit more special. Be aware that not every restaurant is open every night, but maybe that does not apply in peak periods, Jan and Nov are the peaks according to the bar staff. A nice touch is that the bar tenders will remember your drinks, if you ever have the same round twice that is, it’s so nice to have that personal touch.

There are several bars, our fave was at Arizonas on the large patio areas by the sand, look out for Ewart and the very shy Oneil both of whom helped us consume many cocktails such as:
Dirty Bananas
Humming Birds
Jamaican Smiles
Brain Haemorrhage (yes, I had to check the spelling too!)
Harvey Wallbangers
Royal Flushes
Smirnoff Screwdrivers (that blow your head off)
Woo Woos
Ewart Rum Specials (no two ever the same!)
Hmmmmm - cant remember some of the ones we had later.... Not sure why!

Ask Ewart for a Londoner's Secret (remind him it's made with Pernod), you'll
love it !

All the pools are fantastic, we preferred the Dutch, we were told the Dutch was for the 'newly wed and nearly dead' neither of which describes us ! The French has a good swim up bar and water volleyball (Every muscle I have ached after playing just one game) twice a day, a bit more lively. The Italian only has a hot tub and when we went there it was deserted, but it is right next to the main pool. This pool is beautiful, there are quite a few activities taking place there every day. Since we were after a “relaxing couples chill out” type of holiday this pool didn't appeal us, but it was nice to look at and we did see other people enjoying it when we did pass by.

Water sports, well I wimped out, half way through the Scuba diving course (US$70.00 each) I hated not being able to gulp fresh air and decided to drop out. Sue was fine with it and went on to complete the course and do the 34 feet deep ocean dive the next day, well done Sue. Other then that we tried – water skiing, hobbie cat sailing, kayaking and snorkelling. All water sports were easily available at any time due to the fact the place was not packed out – a good time of year to go to SWH. There is a young girl who takes the bookings in the watersport’s building who is full of energy and smiles and will never fail to brighten your day – I wish I could remember her name but I just can’t.

We took lots of pictures, which I will be posting up on Snapfish shortly, look
out for them. There are photographers all over the place who can take pictures of you as a couple. Nice sunset pics and all over the place. In fact once we were lying in a hammock and said wouldn't it be great if we could get a picture of us in this. Within about two minutes a photographer called out asking if we wanted some nice pics taken - wow, what service. One tip with the photographs, the photo shop will put your selected pictures onto a CD for you if you don’t want to have them printed there. They charge US$5.00 per picture, and on your last day you have them loaded to a CD to bring home and enhance/print them at your leisure. They do not advertise this service, you need to ask if you want to do this.

The beaches are fantastic, and get raked every morning (I want that job please !). One day we walked way beyond the security hut, perhaps a mile and half of untouched beach, we were like cast aways, completely alone. Now, that night Sue noticed that my back had been bitten by something around 20 times. Luckily the bites did not hurt and went down, although they are a little itchy now. Lucky Sue, they didn't like her as she didn't get bitten once.

On our 4th day, there was a lot of condensation on the underside of the air con unit, now this sits right above where you hang all your clothes. As a consequence, all our good clothes felt damp and my shoes had little puddles in them. A quick call brought the duty manager (Maksim) to our room. Within minutes all our clothes were whisked away for full laundry service and later that day Maksim brought some help and we moved up to room 2427, directly above our first room. This one was on the concierge floor and had the benefit of bottles of Rum, Gin, Whisky, Vodka, red and white wine, red stripe beer, champagne and all the mixers and soft drinks. Other than that the rooms are all exactly the same, apart from the butler suites I think. Obviously I'd rather not have had to change rooms but it did go to prove the high standards of service that the Sandals team deliver. And to reinforce this standard of service, whenever we saw Maksim after this he always came over to us to check that we were happy and that everything was fine with the room and service etc – well done Maksim.

To sum up, this was the best holiday we have ever taken, and we have travelled quite extensively and have stayed in some super luxury hotels before, so we know how good service feels. We felt we were treated like royalty at SWH, we met some nice people, we drank some (OK, OK - lots of) cocktails, we sunbathed, we swam, we ate, we……..

Sadly all good things must come to an end, our week was up far too quickly. We intend to come back to SWH next year (would come next week if we could!) and can’t wait. The pictures in the brochure and on the website cannot do this place justice; you have to see it for yourself. There is an army of behind the scenes workers who are continuously tending the gardens and carrying out general maintenance to keep up the high standards. The service is excellent, the people are so friendly, if you are thinking of going I'd say go for it - you wont be disappointed. I'd defy anyone to not have a great holiday here, if you want night time fun its there, if you prefer quiet you can have quiet, daytime poolside fun and activities - go to the main pool or the French area, relaxing quiet times - go to the Dutch area or the beach. I'd be happy to answer any questions by e-mail should you wish, you can mail me at - davebryant500@hotmail.com

SWH has it all - and we want some more of it !

Sandals Whitehouse - See you next year.....

Our honeymoon at the Sandals Whitehouse was unbeleiveable. The trip was our first to anyplace worth talking about and we would love to go back. As many on this website have stated, they don't understand how anyone could find anything bad, we feel the same. Here is a little step-by-step of our week.

Left Sunday morning to a transfer in Charlotte then to Montego Bay. Upon arrival at the airport it was like a cattle herd rushing to customs. When we got to the immigration room (after standing in the hall for about 30 minutes), the line snaked around for about an hour until we finally actually got into a line. All in all, customs took about 2 hours. No biggie, just a little confusing, hot and tiring. The next thing is the tagging of all your bags and being ready to run the second they say your van is ready, then the van ride --- not nearly as bad as people say.

When we arrived, we were warmly greeted and given our room assignments. Going to our room was strange as the lady that was bringing us to our room couldn't wait to pawn us off onto someone else to show us to our room...4313 in the French Village.

The week we were there was great. We spent our first full day at our French Pool. It was definately a more up-beat pool. Volleyball began at 11 and went on just about all afternoon. We decided that that was enough and planned our next days at the main pool. Tuesday was a "feeler" day because the area was much much larger than the French Pool but on Wednesday morning we laid out towels on chairs that had shade on our way to breakfast (the Butler's were doing it, so I guess we could too!). The only thing that was a hot commodity was the foam pool floats but about 5 minutes of waiting usually got you one. This was our routine for Thursday and Friday as well.

Food and drinks were great. We never had to wait too long for a drink and we had a great time having early dinner drinks at the Martini Bar, the bar set up in the Piazza or the bar outside of Arizona's. We like Eleanore's for breakfast. Sit down service was a little slower than the buffet at Bayside, but we enjoy'd being waited on hand and foot! The fruit platter is highly recommended along with the Eggs Benedict. Lunch at Guiseppe's was delicious Brick Oven Pizza. Get two different pie's and split them, for a change get a burger at Arizona's. All of our dinners were delicous and we usually tried dishes that we wouldn't usually get in New York.

We tried to take the Hobie Cat's out each day but they were very picky on the weather, but I'm sure its all for safety.

Can't wait to go back, hopefully someday! We would definately recommend this resort to anyone. Pictures don't do the resort any justice!

My husband and I recently stayed at Sandals Whitehouse, 8/12-8/19th. We have been married for two years and are both very busy, and decided we needed a break! After much research, we decided on Whitehouse. We had an absolutely wonderful time!

We arrived in Montego Bay and got on our way to the resort. I will advise that the driving is certainly not as safe or anywhere near the same as the US. A car actually hit our bus (all were safe/unharmed). The roads are very windy, however the scenary is just amazing. You can really get a feel for the Jamaican culture. After arriving at the resort, we were greeted with cold towels and champagne, and a very easy check-in.

The resort is completely as advertised. The pictures provided on the website are true to form. It is absolutely stunning. We stayed in the Italian village on the first floor with beach access from our patio. The rooms are very nice, the maid service is great, the fridge is stocked every day. The water is just wonderful! Very calm, clear, and the sand was very soft. I am hypersensitive to all little biting bugs and I used some Off, and I had absolutely no problem with any sand fleas. The beach is swept every night, and there are plenty of recliners and umbrellas. The pools are well-kept, and there are plenty of recliners, umbrellas, and floatation devices for all. The bar service is just wonderful! We received drinks less than a minute from going to any bar; swim-up, or other. The grounds are very well maintained, the staff are very pleasant, and the resort never feels overcrowded. We liked the variety of restaurants, and found the service to be wonderful, the atmosphere very romantic, and the quality of food to be very good. There was usually live entertainment each night and it showed some really amazing talent. I would like to give a special recommendation to the food and beverage manager, Dimitris, who treated my husband and I like VIPs at all times. He is an incredible asset to the Sandals corporation!

We participated in the Black River Safari/YS falls tour, and really enjoyed ourselves. It wasn't far, it didn't consume your entire day, and was very interesting and had stunning views. The water at the falls was so refreshing! We also participated in snorkling at the resort. This was only my second time snorkling, so I am not a great judge of quality, but I saw pretty fish, reefs, and just had a great time out in the middle of the ocean!

We went for relaxation, and we got treated so well! we relaxed-too much! I didn't want to come home. I also partook of the spa services, and it was heavenly. My husband used the gym and thought it to be more than adequate. I would recommend this resort to anyone who consulted me! Thanks for all who posted reviews, as they were certainly a big part of my research! Feel free to contact me with questions. ladybugobgyn@yahoo.com