My wife and I are celebrating our 10th wedding anniversary, but when the DJ asks, “Raise your hands, newlyweds,” we feel like supporting players in a choppy sea of romance.
So many hands go up that it’s impossible to count them, and soon couples of all ages, including ourselves, are strutting across the dance floor to Bob Marley under a starlit sky.
The snake-hipped waiters join in, their bodies spinning on the floor.
The music goes up in volume. The dancing becomes more frenetic. She had never seen so many smiles on so many faces.
A young couple from Michigan appears to be about to blast off into space.
Sandals Dunn’s River is located on the coast of Jamaica and is near the city of Ocho Rios.
‘Everything will be fine! Yes, everything is going to be WELL!!’ You’d have to be awfully jaded not to get caught up in the moment.
It’s not just about the rum, although there is plenty of that, as this is an all-inclusive resort, with complementary meals and drinks.
Leaving aside love, the glue that unites us is the passion for the Caribbean, surely the most romantic of all destinations: sun, sea and sand dancing in harmony to the rhythm of calypso.
Sandals opened its first resort in the region in 1981, and there are now nine of them in Jamaica alone, of which the new Sandals Dunn’s River, overlooking a sandy beach on the northeast coast, is the most elegant yet.
From beach bars to rooftop bars, from spas to boutiques, from elegant pools to luxury restaurants, there is little left.
Max Davidson describes the resort as a feast for the eyes and the lobby certainly meets these requirements.
Newly built resorts can sometimes look a little soulless, but this one is a joy to behold and fits perfectly into the lush tropical surroundings.
Just looking at the sea, surrounded by palm trees, and seeing the incredibly blue water and the small waves breaking on the coral reef that protects the bay, makes the heart sing.
It is an adults-only resort and the target audience, without shame, are couples who have been directly hit by Cupid’s arrow.
Romantic grace notes abound, from candlelit tables for two on the beach to roving photographers ready to snap the perfect honeymoon photo.
This is not the time to be British and low-key. In our luxury balcony suite, complete with private pool, the bed has been covered with red petals that spell WELCOME. He has cheese, but there are times when you need it.
Each room in the resort has dedicated butlers who are on hand to serve champagne.
“Champagne, man?” asks Michael, our dreadlocked butler. Think Jeeves with a Jamaican twist. Or, rather, one of our butlers. At Sandals they don’t do anything by halves.
Our other butler, the soft-spoken Taniefa, could be a Bond girl, which is apt, given the setting. This part of Jamaica will forever be associated with James Bond and his creator Ian Fleming, who had a house on the island.
Do you remember Ursula Andress emerging from the sea in Dr. No, wearing that bikini?
It was filmed on a beach just around the corner from the resort, which certainly calls for a vodka martini or two.
Next to the beach is a luxury villa owned by Jamaican-born English soccer star Raheem Sterling.
A lot has changed here in the 70 years since the first Bond novel was published in 1953. The economy stutters. Locals complain about inflation, politicians and rush hour traffic.
But this exquisite tropical island, with its densely forested mountains and more than 100 rivers, has lost none of its power of charm.
While we generally stuck to the resort, we enjoyed a memorable day exploring the surrounding area with a guide from the Jamaica Tourist Board.
A street kiosk selling coconuts around Ocho Ríos, on the island’s north coast.
Highlights include hiking Dunn’s River Waterfall, splashing in rock pools, and then taking a wooden raft down another river, covered in trees and vines, with nothing but songbirds to listen to.
Another treat is lunch at Miss T’s Kitchen, a rustic open-air restaurant popular with locals.
Grilled fish, caught that morning. Fresh mango. Rum punch. Local gossip rumors in the background. At the resort itself, simple Jamaican food is offered in the wooden beach hut, but it’s the variety and quality of the international cuisine that has us drooling, night after night.
The resort has many dining options, from French to Japanese to Latin American.
An elegant French restaurant is topped by an even better Japanese one, which in turn is topped by another that serves a wealth of Latin American culinary riches.
It is next to a splendid rum club, full of young and beautiful people.
We quickly learn that if we want to do dinner justice, we’ll have to be careful not to overdo things earlier in the day.
No more than two glasses of Buck’s Fizz with breakfast becomes a rule of thumb.
Daytime entertainment here ranges from beach volleyball to trivia contests to pottery and salsa classes. Nothing too strenuous. In the background, saxophonists or steel bands maintain the atmosphere.
A couple of times, a heavy tropical rain sends the newlyweds running indoors. Club sandwiches get soggy. The saxophonist almost fell into the pool. Even in paradise it must rain a little. But the lobby pianist picks up where the saxophonist left off.
“Come back soon,” our butlers chant, all smiles, as we say goodbye.
We could do it. If James Bond had stayed here, he would have had such a good time that he would have completely forgotten about saving the world.