My husband and I stayed at Sandals Whitehouse from 04/26/08- 05/02/08. I read many TripAdvisor reviews in the months before our trip so I thought I had a good idea of what to expect. We have vacationed at Sandals Regency St. Lucia, Montego Bay, and Royal Caribbean. Overall we had a great time finding some aspects of the resort really wonderful, and others aspects less so, At the bottom, I have listed items others mentioned to bring in their reviews and I found this information really valuable.

The Great
The beach- Gorgeous long beach was wonderful during the day and for long walks in evening. Sunsets at the Dutch and French parts of the beach were breathtaking. There are starfish of many colors everywhere in the water. We were sad to see people killing the starfish thinking they were some kind of souvenir.

The Grounds –Perfectly manicured and beautifully landscaped 50 acres. The walk from the French pool to the Piazza was no big deal. Like others mentioned, the walk was a good thing after all the good food.

Rooms- We booked the lowest room category and were happy to be upgraded to a room on the third floor of the Dutch Village,(rm 2314). It was the best room we have had at all our stays at Sandals resorts, and had everything we needed without paying extra for Concierge or Butler service. We figured we could rough it and make the two minute walk to the Dutch bar when we needed a drink.

Pools- All the pools are wonderful. The huge piazza main pool is busy with loud reggae music and games going all day. The French pool has pool volleyball and a rowdy poolbar. The Dutch pool is much quieter but still with a fun atmosphere. Floaties for everyone and nice cushy pool chairs. We met some fun people at the Dutch pool and stuck with it for the week.

Café de Paris- I bake for a hobby and loved everything about Café de Paris. This is one the most clever things Sandals has come up with. The pastries were excellent and small enough to be able to sample many during our frequent visits.

Jasmine’s- I read so many reviews that stated Jasmine’s had terrible food. Because of that we ate here after trying all the other restaurants first. We had two consistently excellent dinners at Jasmine’s that were our best during our vacation. I wished we had tried Jasmine’s sooner. We ordered three/four appetizers and three entrees between us and the amount was just right.

Bluefield’s- We ate at Bluefield’s right after we checked in and at least four other times for lunch. Try the jerk calamari and jerk chicken. Outstanding every time and the location on the end of the French beach was beautiful!!!

The Good
Food/Restaurants
Bayside is great for breakfast and no waiting.
Guiseppe’s – Great dinner with the exception of the snapper entrée. Try the crème brulee- it is to die for. We went back once just for the crème brulee.
Eleanor’s- Great dining experience and service. Elegant atmosphere but still fun.
Arizona – Good sandwiches for lunch but we did not have dinner here.
Don’t miss the chocolate buffet at 11:00 PM on Tuesday. Wow!!! Insane!!!!

Drinks – Plentiful and full of alcohol if desired. No complaints here. Try a BBC

Activities- scuba, sailing, glass bottom boat, etc. were enough to keep us happy. We also attended the Sandals Returning Guest dinner and met some great people.

The Bad

The Water sports guys have a BAD attitude. They are condescending and act as if they are doing us a BIG favor just to take out a sailboat. We have encountered this at other Sandals resorts and wished these guys could do one thing – their jobs without the attitude.

The Drive- I am susceptible to motion sickness so I took Dramamine before the trip. Yes, it is 1 1/2 hours of potential sightseeing across the island but way too long and jarring for my tastes. Thinking it was just me, I also heard several couples say they were dreading the return trip back to the airport.

Art Auction- This was a bizarre distraction that was pushed on all of us. All the people we sat with at The Sandals returning guest dinner thought it was a bad idea and just a way for Sandals to get more $$$ out of its guests.

Tips and Things to bring

Sunscreen- Yeah sounds pretty basic but we both got some sunburn sleeping under the pool umbrellas and with 30 block on. Lube up and often!

Bubba Kegs – I was embarrassed at first to get these filled up at the bars but the staff did not mind at all. Our sodas and drinks were kept cold for hours. We were asked by many guests where we bought them.

Shower gel – The soap Sandals provides was not enough to cut through all the suntan lotion we applied. I was happy I remembered the shower gel tip from another review.

Bring a bag or container to take pastries and muffins from the patisserie for the plane ride home!

Room Safe and Internet – Safe is large enough to accommodate a large laptop and Internet service is available in the room. Bring an Ethernet cable.

Overall we had a great romantic week at Sandals Whitehouse. It is a gorgeous resort. However, we found we missed the cozier, charming atmosphere of Sandals Montego Bay. The staff at Montego Bay were so much friendlier and personable. The Whitehouse staff were doing their jobs only. To be fair, Montego Bay has been perfecting their customer service for years and Whitehouse has only been open since 2005.

My husband and I went to Sandals Whitehouse for our honeymoon two weeks ago. We stayed for 7 days but it was definitely not long enough! It was honestly better than anything I could have imagined. The beach and ocean were absolutely beautiful! We got upgraded to a honeymoon suite with butlers when we arrived and it was fabulous! Everyone was so friendly, the food was fantastic - we felt like we were in paradise. Our room was always clean, everything was available when we needed it , it was wonderful! We came hoping for a relaxing week in a beautiful setting where we could unwind and enjoy some time together after all the wedding planning was over. We got all we were hoping for and more - we already booked our next trip to Sandals Negril!

My husband and i have returned from a 5 night stay at Sandals Whitehouse--the resort and the staff were fabulous--
The ride from the airport is an hour and a half with a pit stop 1/2 way-the roads are narrow and bumpy, but what an opportunity to get a glimpse of jamaica--our drivers were knowledgable and enjoyed sharing thier countrys culture with us--
one we arrived, we were greeted with open and welcoming arms--checkin went smoothly and we were off to our room--
all rooms face the ocean and we could see the beach and ocean from our room--we stayed in the italitan village--
the beach is gorgeous--soft sand and crystal clear water--they also have the largest starfish we have ever seen--some are the size of dinner plates--
We went on the snorkellling trip everyday and the reef is blossoming with colorful fish--the crew are really alot of fun and will jump in the water with you and point out things--we even saw a 4 ft nurse shark--he didn't bother us--but very cool to see--
entertainment staff really work hard --we really enjoyed some of the afternoon games and especially the music at night--
food was also really good--our favorite restaurant was Guissipies--and we had a blast at the martini bar with the pianist Rodney--
we also had the opporunity to meet the manager Jeremy Jones who is awesome to not only his guests, but his staff as well--
we will be back to this resort--it is so lovely to be desolate and to be the only resort on this stretch of beach--what a wonderful vacation--
email me if you have specific questions and will be happy to answer-
thanks Mon !

My husband and I are not seasoned travelers actually outside of visiting family this was our first real vacation. Upon arriving at Sandals Whitehouse we were greeted with wine as they escorted us to our room (which they voluntarily upgraded). The room was nice, we were at the beach not like we would be spending much time in there anyway. After we settled in we went exploring the resturants are very nice and the food was great especially Eleanor's they had the best Steak. The staff was very well educated and extremely friendly. The playmakers (activity directors) were awesome. Keri ( our personal favorite) was so much fun. She gave dance lesson and taught us many other games like schuffle board and sink the ball. She really made our trip a lot of fun. The beach was beautiful and not to many people. You could choose from one of three pools which was nice because each had a very differant atmosphere. The main pool is where it was happening, the other two smaller pools we quiter and more laid back.
We did get married at the resort and my wedding was stress free. We met with the wedding planner the first day it took about 30 mins and we just finalized all the details. From there we did not have to do anything but, show up. Which is exactly what we did. The ceremony was beautiful, short, sweet and simple. The reception following was nice. We ate cake, drank champagne and danced. The photos turned out beautiful ( if anyone would like to see I will gladly email them drop me line mandysue64@yahoo.com). I truly would not have changed a thing. I can not wait to go back :)