Sandals Whitehouse European Village & Spa Review

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A few weeks ago, Sandals invited my husband and I to a “Romantic Getaway” press trip at their Sandals Whitehouse European Village & Spa in Jamaica. Needless to say, when this type of invite comes in, you go. I’ve been dying to experience this all-adults, all-inclusive resort in Jamaica and our 3-days away didn’t disappoint.

If you are looking for a fabulous getaway without the kids to a beautiful island destination that is known for service, accommodations and features, you will definitely want to consider this Sandals resort.

ROOM

We stayed in a one-bedroom, butler suite that had an amazing view. FYI – all rooms at the Sandals Whitehouse have an ocean view so there isn’t a bad room at the resort. The room was spacious, clean and set up for romance with rose petals on the bed and around the large bubble bath that welcomed us.

We had a sitting area with desk, couch, chair, mini bar (that was INCLUDED!) and TV right off the ocean view balcony. A separate bedroom had a king size bed, another TV, a luxurious bathroom and another ocean view. You can’t escape the beauty of the ocean at this resort.

We also had a personal butler that was available at any time via the cellphone that they gave us to use at the resort.

BEACH

The beach was amazing. It was well taken care of and the water was breathtaking! A perfect spot to relax and hang out with a loved one.

RESTAURANTS

There are seven restaurants on property that range from everything from Italian to French to Pan-Asian to seafood. We are a couple who are not afraid to eat so we dined at all seven restaurants during our stay and our favorite was the Pan-Asian Restaurant, Jasmines, that is open for dinner only in the evenings.

The make-your-own crepes at Cafe de Paris and lunch at Neptunes were close seconds. The beauty of an all-inclusive is that all food is included. Eat as much as you’d like, when you’d like and there is always something for every palate. Sandals (and Beaches) has always had delicious food at the resorts we’ve visited in the past and the Whitehouse property didn’t disappoint this time either.

BARS

You can’t really talk about an adults-only, all-inclusive without mentioning alcohol. Yes, alcohol is included too and we are talking about the top shelf variety. With six full-service bars, including two swim-up bars, there is a place always open for a drink. Our favorite was the martini bar because not only does it have a piano and a great vibe but the bartenders were super friendly, fast and knew how to make pretty much every martini we threw at them.

WATER ACTIVITIES

There are plenty of activities to do at the resort. Sure, you can just hang out in one of the 4 pools and 4 whirlpools, but we highly recommend that you take advantage of all the fun water activities. You can sail, scuba dive, windsurf, kayak, paddle board and more.

We had an amazing time paddle boarding one afternoon on the clear blue waters. My balance isn’t great anymore but we sure did make it look easy.

Hobie Cat sailboats will be waiting for you on the shore to sail into the ocean with or without a guide. As we have sailed before, we chose without.

LAND ACTIVITIES

Not all the activities take place on water at Sandals because there is plenty to do on land too.  Tennis, volleyball, outdoor chess and shuffle board, billiards, and tons of board games.

RED LANE SPA

It didn’t seem right to have a romantic getaway without a trip to the spa. We spent an afternoon getting pampered with a couples massage that ended with us lounging in the hot tub in the middle of the outdoor spa area. If you visit this Sandals resort (or any of the Sandals resorts for that matter!) I would highly recommend at least one visit to the spa. If you are there for the week, why not throw in a couple? 🙂

YS WATERFALLS

We went off property twice with two excursions during our visit with Island Routes Caribbean Adventures. We took about an hour bus ride to the beautiful YS Waterfalls. I’ve done the Dunn’s River Falls climb a few years back while on a Caribbean cruise but I have to say that I liked the YS Waterfalls better. While the Dunn’s River Falls were beautiful, I thought it was a little weird that you just make a human chain with a ton of other strangers as you zig-zag up the falls.

The YS Waterfalls were different. It was more secluded and less tourist-y. Don’t get me wrong, it’s a tourist destination with guides ready to take you to the falls, BUT you get to stay in your own group. My husband and I had our own guide who was willing and waiting to grab my camera to capture our fun and beautiful moments. (Our guide even taught me something about my iPhone that I didn’t know when it comes to taking video and photos.) We did get to venture out in the water (without holding any stranger’s hand thank you very much!), go flying off a rope swing and jump over one of the smaller falls.

If you visit Sandals Whitehouse and want to venture out on an excursion, I highly recommend the YS Waterfalls. My only tip would be to bring some extra cash as there is a fabulous little store with all types of great Jamaican gifts and a zip line that would have been amazingly fun over the falls if we had brought the extra $40/per person that it cost.

 PELICAN BAR

The other time we left the Sandals property was to take a catamaran ride out to the Pelican Bar.

This is the coolest Jamaican bar that is set out in the middle of the ocean (you can only access it by boat!) that is made entirely out of driftwood. We drank Red Stripe, listened to Jamaican music and ate the most amazing lobster and rice lunch. It was all very low key (just like you’d assume an Jamaican ocean bar would be!) as we ate off of paper plates while sitting on a walkway made of driftwood watching the ocean and stingrays swim by. Another great excursion that we highly recommend!

WRAP-UP

If you are looking for an adults-only getaway with a Jamaican flair, we’d highly recommend the Sandals Whitehouse European Village and Spa. From food that is delicious to an amazingly beautiful property with plenty of land and water activities, Sandals exceeded our expectations.

It’s definitely not a budget-friendly vacation, but if you are looking to visit one of the most beautiful spots at a resort that will bend over backwards to make you happy, this should be on your list.

To find out more about the Sandals Resorts, please visit: http://www.sandals.com/all-inclusive/

*Disclosure: Thanks to Sandals Resorts for paying for my travel expenses to visit the Whitehouse European Village & Spa resort and Island Routes Caribbean Adventures for providing our excursions. As always, all thoughts, statements and opinions are my own.