Jamaica

From my review:

Whitehouse was our fourth stay at Sandals. Overall, we enjoyed our stay, though as returning guests we noticed a few minor issues. What we liked: We enjoyed the great service, and would single out Keon at the Casa Blanca Bar (and his colleagues, including Fletcher) and Kevin at the Dutch bar as favorite bartenders. We had a great view on the fourth floor in the Dutch complex. The views of the water were amazing. We really enjoyed having the flexibility to dine anywhere without reservations. It made ours days less-structured, and we could enjoy a drink before dinner without rushing to an earlier than desired reservation. The food was good, though the restaurants weren’t quite A-plus quality. Favorite foods included grilled tuna and calamari at Neptunes, the ice cream at Café Paris, chicken and pork from the jerk pit, fresh fruit like mango every morning, and the filet at Eleanor’s. We found Giuseppe’s fairly ordinary; the lobster ravioli was bland and over-cooked. The beach was fabulous, and perfect if you enjoy kayaking or swimming or a run along the mile-plus stretch of water. We had a good snorkeling trip, where you could see quite a few fish along a reef not too far from the beach.

We were celebrating our anniversary at Sandals (where we also honeymooned), and we were taken aback that it wasn’t acknowledged despite our mentioning it when we made reservations and when we checked in. The following day (after I mentioned it to the concierge), we received a card and a piece of cake in our room late in the evening. It was a bit of a letdown, particularly since we saw other guests’ anniversaries acknowledged on the actual day of their anniversary. We also were a bit disappointed in the Piano Bar; performances started at different times each night, and it would have been helpful to have books to sing along. No one seemed to know the lyrics, including the pianist.  However, we still enjoyed ourselves.

Overall, I’d recommend this resort if you really enjoying swimming and other water activities; it’s by far the best reach we’ve been to. The lack of a reservation system also offers great flexibility. The grounds are meticulously maintained. The ride is long and bumpy (1:45 going there; 90 minutes coming back); be prepared by either booking sedan service and/or taking some Dramamine.  

From my two cents...great vacation. Too short, but after six days (two traveling ones), it was time to come back. I feel a little refreshed and ready to tackle things here. And first class coming home wasn't so bad, either.