My husband and I stayed here in early Aug with our 16 month son and we were so disappointed with the overall experience that we decided to move resorts half way through the trip (first time ever and we are seasoned travellers).

I read all the reviews before deciding to book the vacation and knew it wasn't going to be a 5 star resort but for what we paid the food, drinks, property and the way in which the owner (Frank) spoke to us when we highlighted some issues was terrible.

Firstly the pros:-
- our nanny Latasha was wonderful. She took care of our son really well and clearly enjoyed her job
- the staff are very helpful and friendly
- no mosquitos

Now the cons:-
- the food is TERRIBLE. There was no flavour or taste to most of what we ate
- the resort is really old and needs a total make over
- there is no back up generator so when the AC goes out (as it often can in the Caribbean) the AC doesn't work in the room (not a pleasant nights sleep)
- the hot water is generated via solar power so when there is no sun there is no hot water! We had to give our son a bath in tepid water on 2 occassions
- the kiddies pool is very small and not really a pool....not really sure how to describe it

When we asked to speak with the owner to discuss some of our concerns he could not have been more rude to us. He essentially told us that he "didn't want our money" and if we didn't like the resort we could leave - so we did. We went to Grand Bahia which was 10 mins down the road and beautiful.

When I spoke with a number of other staff members they told us that it's more common for people to get to the resort and leave immediately and that many other guests had done what we did as they didn't think the quality of the resort was what they had paid for.

Finally, my son caught the Coxsackie virus the day after we left FDR and although I can't say for sure it was from there my hunch is that it was given the resort did not seem that clean.

I agree that the nanny service is great but I wasn't planning on having the nanny look after my son for a majority of the holiday anyway - we decided upon FDR as it meant an extra pair of hands when we needed it.

We went to Club Med Sandpiper in April this year and I have to say that was a far better holiday hands down. I am very disappointed with FDR and certainly will never be returning.

Better believe all the good reviews about this place. This was the best family vacation we ever had! And it is thanks to all the employees in this resort who know what service is, but especially our nanny Tania!

Our 5 and 3 year old children immediately took a liking to her, and she made it possible for my wife and me to spend a lot of time with just the two of us, even doing excursions like an ATV ride or going shopping in Ocho Rios without the kids (although we also did a lot of stuff with our kids of course). So this was relaxing and fun for all of us. They have separate programs for children, pre-teens and teens, and a kids club if the weather isn't so good with PCs, game computers and toys, which our children loved.

The resort itself has very nice facilities, a swimming pool, a small and a big water slide, a small beach (cove) with shallow water perfect for children and a bigger beach next door perfect for adults. Food at the resort is nice and tasty but not top notch, although the beach and Jamaican buffets twice a week were very nice. Nice also is that they have a grill place that is open all day and evening until midnight where you can get burgers, fries, pizzas, patties etc. which is great if your kids don't like the regular food served, or if you are hungry outside of dining hours. They also have nightly entertainment which ranged from ok to nice.

We had a one-bedroom which was kept immaculately clean by our nanny and which was big and comfortable. It had a TV in each room, and a DVD player in the main room as well. Beds were great. There is Wifi in the rooms and in the resort with fast internet speed.

Also nice is that this resort is close to several nice excursion opportunities like Ocho Rios (Dunn River Falls, Mystic Mountain, Dolphin Cove are all only 20 minutes away) and along the north coast (Chukka adventure tours, Green Grotto Caves, Outameni), and the resort can arrange excursions to all of them. We had a rental car though and did all of our excursions on our own, but the front desk was very helpful with information when we planned them.

We also met the owner of the place who is very down to earth, and who knows that the main thing about this place is the excellent service there. We loved this place and we will definitely be back, if not next year then the year after!

This post is a long time coming...my wife and I traveled to FDR in Nov 2011...We loved it.Our little boy fell in love with his nanny,Miss Lisa...he still talks about her to this day.It was a great balance of alone time as a couple along with time as a family with a nanny to help watch our boy.We like traditional island cuisine..the jerk chicken was to die for...some food items were simply okay,but the overall experience was fantastic.We met so many return visitors and know why....this place caters to families,especially ones with small ones.We had planned to go back this year,but travel plans changed...We will be back it was just that great!We truly felt like a big family...all the staff and the other visitors meld into a family with one thing in mind...Have a great time and make certain the children have fun and are safe...

I had a great time, very friendly and accomodating staff, I go every year with either friends or family, When my son was little we had the Nanny and she was great when he got older her participated in the teen club and also had a good time. Last year I went with my cousin and her son and he wanted to take the nanny home with him, Althea is the nanny my sister requests everytime she goes there she is great.