Our family of 5 stayed at the Holiday Inn Sunspree for one week (May 28-June4, 2007). There was my husband and I and are three children (17, 14 and 6).

We definitly recommend that you go to the Holiday Inn Website and register for the PRIORITY CLUB. It is a FREE service and you can print your membership number off immediatly. (We did ours literally hours before we left). The Priority Club lets you keep your room until 2 p.m on your last day, and there is a quicker line when you arrive at the hotel to register.

Overall, our trip was very nice. This is a great resort if you have a family with small children.

I was a bit nervous after reading some other reviews for this hotel, but as usual, I think people tend to exaggerate problems. Basically, you can't control weather and things like that, HOWEVER you can control how much fun you have. The people blaming the service or rooms on ruining their trips must really be unhappy people. :)

We basically only had one "problem" which was our room. We had booked with a tour guide and she told us that a joining room might not be available for us to use right away, and to ask for one immediatly upon arrival. We were given one no problem, however the room we were given was not very nice. The air conditioner apparantly had broken or something and there was a very musty smell in the room. BUT the next day they moved us into a BEAUTIFUL set of adjoining rooms in BUILDING SIX overlooking the ocean and they were wonderful.

FOOD- My son loved being able to go up and order his own pizza/popcorn/icecream! I enjoyed most of the food. We had dinner in the italian restaurant one night and I loved the pasta! There could have been a little more variety, but the food was okay.
I like the fact that there was a grill bar where you could get hotdogs or hamburgers and nachos too.
And the slushies are great- especially for the children
The staff are very quick and nice and make sure you have everything you need and will bring drinks right to your table for you as well.

ROOMS- Our first room was not nice, but the problem was quickly solved (no hassles) and we received a beautiful room in building six. It was a quiet building and had a spectacular view. We liked the joining rooms because the girls could have some privacy, but we were still all together. The showers are clean and the bathroom is big. I loved our patio balcony! And there are little drying racks out there so you can hang towels and bathing suits.

BEACH/SWIMMING- I was a little disappointed with the beach because I enjoy the waves crashing on the beach and being able to swim deep in the ocean, HOWEVER, I knew ahead of time that the beach was not going to be that, so that's okay. The beach is EXCELLENT for children because it has been surrounded by rocks and does not get any deeper than an adult's waist. There is a nice little island that you can walk out to.
TERRIFIC for snorkelling and discovering shells. We found crabs, a sting ray, a sword fish, some bright blue fish, nemo like fish, yellow fish, conch shells, starfish, oh- so many different kinds of fish. Very good exploring! They also have boats to take out for free and a glass bottom boat.

POOL- LOVED IT! Great for children and great for adults too. And seriously, we NEVER had a problem EVER finding a lounge chair near the patio OR on the beach. We never reserved one and we never got up early to get one, so I don't see why so many people have complained about that.

SHOPPING- I am not a shopper, but did do some shopping this time- probably because we had teenaged girls with us. There is a shopping place across the street (be ready to deal) and they also have people come in with their stuff a few times during the week upstairs in the main lobby area. Fridays for sure. Be prepared to deal as the vendors are very persistant, and at times a bit overwhelming. And if you have your young children with you and they see something they like, the vendor will make sure you leave with it!

NIGHT LIFE- They had some cool events, and my son became a night dancer. He was literally known throughout the entire hotel before we left! Some nice shows and dancing. The Jamaicans were so friendly and enthuastic and seemed so happy!

KIDS CLUB- Excellent! The staff geniunely care for the children and they do LOTS of activities. Our son loved going there, and we had no hestiation at all. The have a nursery for babies and a bigger playroom for the older kids (equipped with movies and toys) and a big playground. Face painting, crafts- they had a lot of fun. It was touching because the staff get teary when one of the kids are leaving to go home.

PEOPLE/SERVICE- Fun and happy! We met lots of friendly people and our son loved the attention and by the end of our first day was greeting everyone with "respect" and "yeah, mon" and "no problem"----as you will learn, "in Jamaica we don't have problems, we only have situations". The people were one of the trip's highlights for me.

EXCURSIONS/TRIPS- We booked three trips:

DUNNS RIVER- We did not know that this also included a shopping part, and had we known that we would have paid a taxi cab to take us to the falls separately because we spent too much time being dropped off at various locations to shop. You are basically kicked off the bus and forced to go through the places. Now, had I realized this, and enjoyed shopping, then it would not have mattered to us at all, but we just wanted to get on to Dunns River and enjoy the beauty of the falls. We walked up the falls , and it was an AMAZING EXPERIENCE. I am glad we did this, but, like I said, if we were to do it again, we would pay for a taxi and spend the entire day at Dunns Park because we were kind of rushed along. Definitly buy a waterproof camera before you go because it is a wet trip!

NEGRIL BEACH/SUNSET- Negril Beach is AWESOME. Now that is the beach I want when I go to the carribean. Blue waters and white sand and waves crashing you on to the beach. We all loved this day. We spent four or five hours swimming and sunning and there is a little restuarant to have lunch. One of the trips highlights for us. I LOVED THE BEACH!!!!!! The last part of the tour is at Ricks Cafe and they have amazing cliff jumpers and it was a rocking place. Nice sunset- but not the colours I was expecting.

SUBMARINE TOUR- This got cancelled the first day and the second day we got out on the ocean and had to go back because it had rained the night before and the water was too murky to see anything. We got our money back ,but at least we got a nice boat ride.

WEATHER: Overall it was pretty nice. It typically rained for about 15-20 minutes each afternoon, but cleared up quickly. We loved it anyway. One day there was a storm, but it was still neat and we just danced in the rain. Remember- you're in Jamaica, and if you get upset about something as uncontrollable as weather and let it ruin your vacation you need to lighten up, mon! :)

There were 6 of us that went to Jamaica for our first time this year. Holiday Inn Sunspree was “deal of the day” so we decided, why not try it. Only a 10-minute drive from the airport was a nice change from other places we have stayed at.

In general we were all quite pleased. If you had a family with you it was great. Remember, Holiday Inns due cater to families and this one was no exception. Lots of play area for children and they all seemed to behaving fun and keeping busy, either with the “games” , playing in the sand along the beach or in the “wrap around pool” which was quite shallow and good for all ages. There was also an Adult pool at the far end of the resort with a swim up bar (that’s where you found us!) The island was a very quiet place to be, but there was absolutely no shade there. Lounges were reserved very early in the a.m. so if you preferred a specific spot or shady spot – get up early. There are lots of lounges so you were never without one.

Food – no complaints – for children there was lots for them to choose from and also the “ice cream/popcorn” hut was always quite a busy place. The grill @ pool had a choice of grilled cheese/hamburgers/hot dogs & fries”. (bar on the side as well)

The Jerk Hut had awesome Jerk Chicken (and pork). Very spicy – make sure you have a cold beer beside you! We enjoyed the Italian restaurant (airconditioned) the best. Although choices were limited, it was delicious and relaxing. I, personally, found the choices @ the buffet limited, but everything was good. There was a BBQ a couple nights of the week and there you had many choices and again all was tasty.

Rooms – basic – some views, of course, are better than others. Building #1 was a “pain” to get to because you had to go thru the pool area, but other than that, they were all the same. No complaints re cleanliness, etc.

Beach/Swimming – not the best beach but certain areas were great. Pools & beach were well used.

Shopping – there is a “strip mall” right across the street – but buy your Appleton’s rum at the Airport on the way home-much cheaper!

Some of us did the “Dunn’s River Falls” day trip – awesome view / busy place / not a relaxing time as they really need to “push” you along so you don’t have too much time to actually enjoy the scenery but we all had fun – that’s the important thing!

One couple went on the Martha Rae Trip – they enjoyed it – very relaxing. Another couple did the “Canopy Tour” – exiciting and fun.

Night Life – most of the time we were too tired as the sun takes so much out of you, but we did spend one evening in the Karaoke bar which was packed and a lot of fun. Most of the time it was quiet, but there is a bus that takes you to Margarittaville and returns every hour or so. We heard it was a good bar but why pay for your drinks when you go to an all-inclusive?

Here is a review of the Holiday Inn Sunspree in Jamaica. My wife and I visited for ten days in May 2007. We had some disappointments and will not be returning to this resort, but overall, I have to admit it’s still a decent value for the money. If you are flexible and not too picky, you can have a good time here.

Rooms
The Holiday Inn is an older resort. The rooms are basic but clean and neat. We saw no sign of bugs. The room safe did not work, and others at the resort confirmed that none of them do. Our view was very nice (ocean view room). You probably wouldn’t be happy with a room on the first floor, so try and get one higher.

Service
Service at the hotel is generally poor. If you have a problem (like trying to get your safe reset) it probably won’t be resolved without four phone calls and the throwing of a fit, but this is not uncommon in the Caribbean at basic resorts. And its the norm in Jamaica. Bartenders are pretty nice and always put a least some booze in your drink. Service at the reservation restaurants is excellent.

Food & Restaurants
We were unpleasantly surprised to learn that half of the restaurants would be closed during our stay because it was the slow season. That said, we enjoyed the food. The buffet was good and they changed it up a fair amount. There is lots of really well prepared Caribbean dishes. The reservation restaurants are very good, especially the Italian Cappuccinos. They also have a beach buffet sometimes with jerk chicken and ribs and the like on a huge grill—very good!

People
Some of the resort employees were nice and others not so much, but mostly everyone was ok if you treated them like people. Take $10 in ones for each day you’ll be there! That helps. The guests were all very nice and we met people mostly from Canada, the US, and England.

Beach & Pools
The beach is shallow and calm and is protected by a reef the whole length of the resort. The water is very clear and warm but has lots of seaweed (not a big problem). There are many fish if you like to snorkel. The bottom can be rocky in places as well as on the beach. Buy a pair of those water sippers, they work good here. The pools are pretty much a yawn.

Jamaica is beautiful...you can't go wrong in the Carribeans.

We (age: 29) stayed from March 11-18th. As it was "spring break" season, there were many young children at the hotel.

SKY SERVICE FLIGHT:
From Vancouver via Calgary, flight was about 9 hrs. Like most other airlines, seat space and food is lacking. Service was pleasant. Unless you have your own private jet, don't expect too much. It would be advisable to pay the $15/person pre-booking of your seats because you and your partner may otherwise be seated apart from one another to and/or from Jamaica. Unless you don’t mind sitting apart, then it’s a small price to ensure you have the seats you wanted. In particular, the west coast flight that combines Vancouver and Calgary.

WEATHER:
Amazing! It rained for a couple of hours on 2 days, but luckily we took a tour on those days, therefore not wasting it away inside the hotel. If you don't like the heat/sun, perhaps go to Switzerland.

CURRENCY:
Don’t bother changing your USD to Jamaican dollars. USD is accepted in 98% of the locations you’ll most likely plan to visit. Change is also returned to you in USD if you use it. Just bring several $1 bills if you plan to tip a lot. Especially on excursions or taxi rides as the tour operator and drivers always remind you that tips are appreciated.

CHECK IN:
As mentioned in other reviews, sign up for Priority Club on Holiday Inn website (this is free of cost. (Remember to print out and bring your priority club number if you did not receive the actual card in the mail). It allows you to skip line up at check in and check out at 2pm rather than 11am. It also gave us an upgrade to oceanfront view, when we paid for garden view room rates. If traveling with more than one, we suggest one person wait for your luggage and the other go straight to check in. Luckily, Holiday Inn was only 10 minutes from the airport. We were also greeted with a fruit punch drink! (NOTE: people with yellow bracelets are PC members and other guests without PC are green) Check out is fine, and they have a secured room manned by 2-3 workers to take care of your luggage if your transfer or flight leaves much later than your check out time. For Sunquest guests returning to Calgary/Vancouver the bus (transfer) departs at 5 pm for your return flight at 7:20 pm.

HOTEL GROUNDS/ROOMS:
We would rate this hotel a 3.5. The rooms are a bit dated, but clean. Unless you plan to sit in your room for 2 or more hours of the day during your 1-2 week stay, there should be no complaints. Buildings 1, 2, and 3 are closest to the bars and main areas (therefore, most noisy/busy). We stayed in Building 4 which we requested because we wanted to be equidistant as much as possible to both extremes of the resort without the noise. We requested this building based on some of the other reviews and doing some basic research on the hotel. NOTE: Buildings 1A, 2, 4, and 6 have the most rooms that either have a full or partial view of the oceanfront. Buildings 3, 5, and 7 have the most rooms with garden views and limited (partial or full) ocean views.

We left our maid notes and gifts each day. She actually was much more appreciative of the personal notes that we wrote than the actual gifts/tips we left each day. Take the time to write them a note, if you can, it does make the world of difference for your maid as expressed by ours. Thank you Annette, hope to keep in touch! Lobby was well-maintained and nice. Service in all areas was very pleasant.

BAR:
No shortage of rum here. Obviously, if you grow an affinity for one bar tender then feel free to tip them for better service in the future. We both aren’t huge drinkers so we didn’t frequent the bar as much. There are several bars but bring a large insulated cup if you wish to keep your travel time to the bar to a minimum.

FOOD/A LA CARTE:
3 main a la cartes, which you are able to book everyday starts at 3pm for the next day seating. We suggest you book early, as they fill up quickly. We ate once at Sea Breeze, once at Trattoria and twice at Cappuccino. We enjoyed Cappuccino the most, for it’s inside dining experience and AC environment. At the Cappuccino/Trattoria, the beef tenderloin, lamb chops, and snapper filet were excellent. Trattoria is the casual version of the Cappuccino with very similar menus. Sea Breeze restaurant is more casual dining and they serve an array of spicy jerk meats and fish dishes. Cappuccino has a dress code in effect (long sleeve shirt with collars and pants for guys) but rarely did we see them enforce this rule. Trattoria and Sea Breeze are casual dress. At the main buffet, called Sailor’s Restaurant, the selection was moderate. Do try the national Jamaican dish "Ackee” and the curry goat. It’s tiresome to hear people complain that the food was too spicy. Clearly this is subjective. If you wanted to eat burgers and pasta - stay home. This is part of their culture so enjoy it with an open mind. Sure some dishes are spicy, but we were still was able to enjoy the taste for a large number of their dishes! In fact, the buffet exceeded our expectations.
To us, neither of us got sick, which gets a passing grade for food. Barefoot Grill, Beach Hut Bar and Jerk Hut offer mid day snacks such as burgers, grill cheese, hot dogs, fries, nachos, pizza, popcorn, ice-cream and jerk meats.

BEACH/POOL:
The main pool consists of mostly children. (Here’s a shout out to our man, Issac!) The main stage is directly in front of the main pool therefore, if you wish for peace and quiet, the main poolside is not recommended. There is an Adult “only” pool which is located on the west side of the resort. The adult pool has a “swim up” bar. The beach is man made, therefore, not an abundant amount of "sandy" areas. You often can find the lifeguards doing their best to sweep up seaweed up to try to keep the sandy areas as clear as possible. The beach and pool chairs are taken early in the morning and saved with towels and personal belongings (especially the chairs underneath the bamboo like umbrellas with some shade). It's frustrating when people do this and not use those chairs for pretty much the entire day! The water is nice, but not as crystal clear as some other Caribbean countries that we have been to.

ENTERTAINMENT/HOTEL ACTIVITIES
Your typical "all inclusive" entertainments: bingo, dancing, water aerobics, games. In the evenings, mostly singing and band performances. Couple times a week, the hotel moves their entertainment and buffet to the far east side of the beach. Nice change as there are different performances and different atmosphere from eating in the buffet. Most of the entertainment involves young children, therefore this is a great hotel for families/children. Free water activities include: kayaking, pedal boats, sailing and snorkeling. There is a tennis court, great work out room, shuffle boards, teen room, daycare, playground, piano lounge and club. Part of the all-inclusive package is free entry to Jimmy Buffet’s Margaritaville in Mo Bay. Shuttle to and from there is free and runs on an hourly basis starting from 10pm.

EXCURSIONS:
We did three tours. Two of them were combined in a special combo packaged offered by Sunquest. It was for $60 US pp that included the Dunns Falls/Orcho Rios Shopping Tour (all day excursion) and the Negril Sunset Tour (all day excursion). This was a pretty good deal considering that you got two full day excursions for that price. Dunns Fall is beautiful. Bring aqua socks as strap on sandals are not acceptable. It may be difficult for young children (5 and under) and those who have difficulties with physical activities. It’s somewhat safe to bring your digital camera as the tour guides for Dunn falls hold your camera and are more than willing to take your photos at certain stops. However, we brought our own water camera so that we can take pictures whenever we wanted to because you’ll need your own two hands to help you climb the 600 ft limestone rock falls! In fact, we separated from the group just so that we can enjoy the falls a little better and take pictures more frequently. Negril is amazing! Beach and water is crystal clear. The area is primarily occupied with young adults (this may have been so, because it was “spring break”). It started with a tour through Freeport and Lucea, before we ended up on the 7 miles of sandy beach. We stayed their for a few hours, then we were transported to Rick’s Café where we had a chance to grab a bite, see the sunset fall and jump off the famously known cliffs at Rick’s. Without hesitation, my bf took the 35’ + plunge. A must do!! Our last was the Montego Bay Shopping trip ($20 US pp). While we knew shopping would be a large part of the trip, however, we thought we would get a chance to actually walk through the city of Montego Bay for a short while. Unfortunately, that wasn’t the case and it was basically a drive through the city. It was okay, but we wish could have had the opportunity to give the city square a walk-a-bout. But otherwise, it was irie! In general, with all our excursions, we were disappointed with all the “craft market and duty free” shopping on every tour. They take you to 3-4 shopping stops… when 1 or 2 is plenty. However, we understood that this was a large part of their industrial trade. We would much rather spend that time seeing the culture and scenery of Jamaica instead of another rum/alcohol and t-shirt shop. Therefore, if you are with a group of four or more, I would recommend renting your own vehicle or private taxi and go exploring. Overall, there are plenty of excursions for all ages.

SHOPPING
As tourism is Jamaica’s main industry, expect to spend that few extra bucks.
BARGAIN, BARGAIN and BARGAIN, especially when buying multiple quantities (ie. Coffee, rum). We went into a shop and the shopkeeper said in a cool voice to me “I’ll make you a good deal, take 3 bottles for $50.” I retorted, “how about 3 bottles for $36”. After a few minutes of jabbering back and forth, suffice it to say, we walked out there paying $36 for the three bottles. Also, don’t let them give you “we have to charge you tax”. If it’s a duty free store, then no tax! The rum cakes in the hexagon shaped boxes are delicious with ice cream. We wish we brought back more. NOTE: Buy your alcohol at the airport as it is cheaper per unit. You may not likely get to bargain, like on some of the shops outside of the airport however, it would be cheaper and if you do not want to bother with the hassle of bargaining.

We went to Sunspree for 2 weeks in February and had a great time. This review is written from the perspective of a parent traveling with kids under ten. Here is why you should consider this resort if you have kids:

Health and Safety: we had no problems. We all drank the tap water. No mosquitoes or any bugs whatsoever. Slept with the patio door opened almost every night (full front ocean view, nice to hear the waves). Felt safe at all times. We went shopping across the road – no problem, just mind the traffic when you cross the street. We did not go outside the resort, otherwise. Also, there is a nurse on site (no charge for this service) and Montego Bay has one of the 2 major hospitals in the country (in case of an emergency, help is close).

Location: 15 min by bus from the airport. (Getting thru customs in Montego Bay was a major pain – slow, slow, slow… After that, it was all good.) Resort and rooms: family friendly, with many other kids around. Lots of opportunities to find a play mate for the little ones and meet interesting people for the grown ups. As the resort is not very spread out, little feet will welcome the fact that everything is in close proximity. Avoid rooms facing the pool area, as this are noisy (the guys and girls at the reception will change your room if you go and talk to them – no problem). Buildings are interconnected by covered walkways, so you never have to walk through the rain to get to the restaurants or reception. Rooms could be in better shape, but they’re ok for most part. The main downside of the resort, in my opinion, is the proximity to a busy highway – we could hear honking and traffic noises from our first room; asked to be moved and we got a much better room the next day. Avoid “standard rooms” – just sign up for the free Priority Club rewards on the HI site and you will get a free upgrade. The staff at the reception are very accommodating, but be aware that some might give you a “lesser” room at first (this way, if you’re happy – great, if not, they can easily find something better for you).

Beach: water is shallow, warm and calm, with no sudden drops. No big waves ever, as these crash on a reef, far from the shore. Snorkeling on the north side of the island (away from the resort) with little ones is safe (water is chest deep at high tide) and you will see hundreds of tropical fish. Same for the waters in front of the sports center near the rocks where they usually anchor the rescue boat – these are teeming with fish, feels like you’re floating in an aquarium. Keep some bread in your hand and they will come and eat it. At low tide, if you walk on the grassy patch that surfaces, you will find star fish under rocks and sea urchins. We also saw a large barracuda and spotted a stingray near the west end beach. The east end beach has lots of urchins (green and softer than the black spiky ones), bring water shoes. Scuba diving – 5 min away by boat - is excellent, if you could try it.

Kids/teenage clubs: three of them in total, one for babies, one for children (both opened 9am-9pm) and one for teenagers. The teenagers club has free air hockey and fusball (my 7 year old loved this), as well as the latest equipment in video games (nominal charge applies). The kids club is the one we used the most: the women there are amazing and the facility is very nice and seems new. Large playground in front. My daughter celebrated her birthday and what they’ve done certainly exceeded our expectations: she had a customized cake (you have to order the day before), balloons, candles, a little gift, games and activities for the kids that were present at the event. No cost for all this (we tipped them, because they’ve really done a great job!). Food: loved it. Good choices for the little ones at every meal. Do try the Jamaican dishes – you will be pleasantly surprised in most cases. (The only people I’ve heard complaining about the food were those filling their plates with everything offered at the buffet, eating themselves sick day after day, and then complaining that “everything tastes the same”. Duh! Pick 2 or 3 different dishes every day and try to enjoy the food, don’t just stuff yourself to “get your money’s worth”!) Anyway, some of the buffet offerings included: lamb, duck, turkey, curried goat, plenty of fish and fresh fruits (loved the pineapple). The desserts may be a bit of a let down, for those with a sweet tooth, although the cookies offered were good. “Jus’ kidding” on the beach has ice cream cones 12-7pm, as well as popcorn and nachos.

Pool: gradual entry, great for little ones. We did not use it much as we prefer the beach. Water is colder than the sea.

Facilities: The computer access (for internet, excel, word or whatever) is expensive ($5 for 15 minutes); internet is cheaper in your room if you bring your laptop: $15/day or $40/week – we did not do this, though. Get up early to reserve a good shady spot (or maybe tip one of the guys at the water sports center to do it for you). Free laundry facilities (keep this in mind when you pack), just bring some detergent.

Entertainment: During the day, they have games for kids around the pool. The night shows are good: the resident band and dancers are excellent, but the shows could really use a good MC - someone who can stand up and say a good joke between acts. The shows were different every night during the 2 weeks we were there. Sunday/Monday seems to be mostly singing acts, might not be visually interesting enough for the little ones, but it does get better as the week goes on.

Activities: tennis, including free lessons for kids and adults, basketball court, volleyball, mini-golf. Water sports: kayaks and catamaran trips included (don’t miss these); there is a small sailing boat you can take out if you like. Snorkeling gear included, but better to bring your own. Glass bottom boat was not working while we were there (major letdown for us, but we got the scuba diving guys to give us a ride and snorkeled along the reef there).

We went last week Jan. 7th and just came back last night (the 14th) - we travelled with 4 adults and a 5 year old.

First thing, if you have children this is a great resort for you. They have a free kids club and allow you to drop your children off at any time between 9 nd 6 and then back again at 7:30 for a movie. The nice thing is if they only want to do a few from the agenda items - you can pick them up and drop them off through out the day.

Food - We really enjoyed the food, the resort has 3 a la carte restaurants but because the resort wasn't full, only two were open. If you like authentic Jamaican food, you want to reserve Seabreeze, and the Italian restaurant is called Cappucino - the food was really good, we went to Cappucino 3 times in one week. You can book by 3pm the day before. Even the buffet was really good, it is best to go at the beginning of the dinner times, the food is really hot and fresh... I was impressed as I have done many all inclusives and this is the first time I didn't get sick from the food or water...You can DRINK the Water, it was great! I have never been able to do that..
The Jerk Hut has great chicken and pork from 12pm to 5pm everyday, my husband loved it!!
There is also a place to get ice cream, popcorn and pizza from 12pm to 7pm as well - great for the kids.

Beach and Pool - The pool is a really nice pool, has a deep end and a shallow river that goes around the stage whic is pretty neat. The Beach was very different then what I am used to. It does not have a long stretch of beach, but has break walls and they curve around the island and then there are small pockets of beach, the far end of the beach is very windy, it is more secluded near the pool area. Not the best beach - if you are expecting Varadero beach that is not what you will get here. We were lucky as it wasn't too busy and always got a spot, but it was more crowded on the 14th the day we left, so it may not be as easy duriing prime tme.

Rooms - The room was a typical Holiday Inn room. It was clean, good working safe, the bathroom was nice and we had a balcony. There are 7 buildings and are numbered 1 to 7. Number 1 is right beside the pool on one side and the 2 to 7 is on the other side. If you don't want to listen to evening entertainment or the disco in your room, you don't want 1 or 2, we were in 3 and you could still hear the entertainment. 3 was perfect for distance to everything, lobby, food, pool. 7 is great if you are interested in hanging out at the small adult only swim up bar pool. Otherwise it is a long walk to the large pool.

Excursions - We did the Canopy Tour - it was $77 U.S. it was a lot of fun, but a little overpriced, but hey you are on vacation right? We also rented a car for two days and drove to Ocho Rios and did the Dunn's River Fall (great) and the Prospect Plantation. Another Day we rented a car and drove through the interior to the Appleton Rum estates (interesting tour we paid $15) but it is a long drive, then drove along the coast to Negril to see a beautfiul West Coast sunset on the 7mile beach there. The Holiday Inn has free entrance to Margaritaville, so this was the perfect bar to go to and park and then you are right on the beach...kids can come in :) We saved a lot by renting as entrance to the Dunn's River was onlye $15, and the plantation was $27 whereas doing an excursion with the hotel it costs more. However, be careful driviing, many of the roads have been rebuilt but there are many sections still being fixed and there are many potholes. We drove at night from Negril to Montego Bay, you need to be careful as the road dashes are not that clear and there are not many signs that a curve is coming. Note - Honking is not like in Canada, honking is to let you know they are passing you, or just to say hi, or to let you cross the street, very different than here :)

If you do rent a car, find a good map, we just had the one from the hotel, and it was not very detailed. Unless you are in a city there are not many road signs, you mainly travel based on what town you just passed through, it made it very interesting :)

Across the street - there are many shops across the street - t-shirts, jewellery, alcohol (for alchol we paid way too much across the street, it was $6 cheaper for a bottle of rum at the airport). There are also a few shops at the hotel.

Grounds - they did a great job at keeping the grounds really clean.

Staff - the staff were really friendly especially the front desk and the guest services. They always helped us when we needed something. It is really big to tip in jamaica to help the staff out, if they deserve it go for it. We left something in the room every day for the housekeeping staff (kids toys, cosmetics,etc...)

Entertainment - the entertainment was probably the one thing I didn't enjoy as much, they had one great show of drums and dancers it was fantastic, but most other nights there didn't seem to be too much going on that interested me, but hey you might love it!!! Never made it to the disco, the sun tired me out. But they have the witches disco that was suppose to be good.

I recommend the hotel for sure, but just keep in mind it is on the North coast so there always seems to be a wind going on, Negril apparently is much calmer weather wise...and you get the beautiful sunsets (also go to negril to Rick's Cafe, and you can jump off the cliff - it is up by the lighthouse). It was a pleasant place to stay and hey only 15 minutes to the airport , you have to like that :)

Just be prepared for the airport going home, ours was a little chaotic, we left almost 2 hours late, The airline Skyservice was actually really good both going there and coming home.

My boyfriend and I just returned from our Jamaican vacation, we went from dec 11th to dec 18th. First the weather was BEAUTIFUL every day was sunny and around 30 degrees. We had a wonderful vacation but I feel it was in spite of some things.

Food
First the food is not very good at all. There wasn't very much selection and it was almost the same thing every day. One good place to eat though was the Jamaican restaurant, i was very pleasantly surprised. Also the jerk hut that we were very much looking forward to going to was closed until jan or feb. Also the food at the barefoot bar was good.

Room
The room was fine, a standard hotel room, my problem with it though was that this hotel is sooo close to the road you would constantly hear honking and sirens on your balcony. Coming from Toronto I was looking for some peace and quite, which did not happen.

Pool
I really liked how the pools were set up. It was a very nice area to lounge in. We spent a lot of time in the adult pool, which was also very nice with its swim up bar. This was because I don't have kids and did not really want to hear them while I was trying to relax.

Beach
The beach was great. I loved the island. My only complaint was that the bar was soo far and awkward to get to from the beach.

Trips
We went to Dunns River Falls, this was an amazing trip and I would recommend everyone go there. It was beautiful walking up the waterfalls. The only thing that bothered me was our tour guide mislead us. She told us we should not bring our own digital camera because it would get wet and the guide would not carry it, instead we should buy the 40$ dvd of our trip up. We decided to bring the camera the guide carried it for us, took our pictures and it did not get wet at all. We got some amazing pictures.

We were 4 adults 3 kids aged 4 yrs 7 yrs and 16 mos.

Arrived Nov 26th and depart Dec 3.

We paid $625 CAD plus tax.

Skyservice flight out of Pearson ( I wont tell you how the flight went because its irrelevant but lets just say it wasn’t the nicest due to a few loud mouthed annoying passengers who made it difficult for the civil and rational people on the plane)

My overall beforehand opinion of this place was that it was cheap, great for kids and close to the airport- all of which were important to me.

Check in;
We didn’t wait for the bus- we took a 20 dollar cab ride- saved us an hour of waiting for other people to finish their cigarettes or bathroom breaks or whatever but to me that was worth $100.

Check in painfully slow especially after a long travel. But we got there eventually, and were just happy to be in the tropical air.

Priority membership is an absolute must- late check out which is helpful for later flights.

And turn down service and upgraded room pending occupancy level.

Room;
We had a partial Ocean view which we were happy about. I don’t really consider this to be an upgrade since many of the rooms either face or are somewhat facing the water.

It was typical HOLIDAY INN which is what you must remember when booking so you don’t have unrealistic expectations of the rooms. It has a bed to sleep in - a bathroom to wash up in- a TV to watch if you want- a coffee maker if you cant wait the 3 min walk to the buffet and a safe. What more do you really need? If you need/want more room then get a suite. A room is a room.

Our room was a little outdated but I wasn’t offended since it’s a HOLIDAY INN. Most of the rooms are in the process of being upgraded on Jamaican time so when they are done they will need to start at room one again (Smile)

It was clean and neat and stocked- I am not living there ,so I could care less what kind of wall paper or sink they had. The maid service was the best. Pullout couch was gross when pulled out so I wouldnt expect to sleep someone on it. Folded up it served its purpose.

Grounds;
Were immaculate every single day. Beach was hand raked daily at 6 am walkways were swept, pool was cleaned and shocked. Every staff was busy cleaning something at all times between 6 am- 11 am. They have a rain path so when it rains you don’t have to walk out in the open but your still outside under a canopy. We loved that feature! The lobby and buffet and lobby bar are all on one level with a large open concept and you can even see the pool from anywhere in and around there.

Main Pool ;
Is huge and there is room for everyone. It goes from shallow to deep to shallow to deep all over the place. It also has lazy river type shape to it throughout. Its modern and clean and it faces the entertainment stage- which is a great layout. From the buffet restaurant you can see the pool and the main stage (literally 5 feet from it) and the ocean. There are a few small bridges over the pool that are cute and convenient and add to the oasis feeling.

Kids pool;
its very small and really only useful for small kids under 2 or 3 I would say. It only goes to max on one side of about 2 feet. Perfect for infants. It also has a water fall which can be fun if your child likes water.

Jacuzzi;
Didnt use it but it was really hot all the time. It over looks the ocean.

Beach.
There are several bays instead of one long beach I was hesitant about that but it actually turned out to be perfect. If you want to sit on a beach and not be trampled and kind of have your own little private beach to your self you can. Or if you want to join a bunch of people you can do that too at one of the larger bays.

The Island is pretty popular but there is no shade whatsoever. I saw someone bring a table umbrella from home and I cant decide if its stupid or smart? The island is great for kids and its fun to pretend your on survivor if you’re an adult and just want to get away. But beware that there are a few pedlars with boats who hang there all day just off the island in the water who can be annoying and loud. It s very shallow between beach and island and its perfect for kids or putting your chair right in the water to lay there.

The water was always crystal clear and clean. I read that it can get murky????. I really truly have no idea how or why that would happen - if you look at my pics you’ll wonder the same. I just didn’t see that at all. The water is always warm in Jamaica no mater what part your in. If you go a little further out just to the left of the island there is a mat they have placed to keep seaweed down on the ocean floor that can feel spongy but Id rather that than swimming in seaweed- if you don’t like that feeling just don’t go to that area. Your not allowed to hold chairs with towels as some Europeans try to when on vacation. They come by and pick them up as lost and found- I have incl a pic of a sign stating so. Chairs are very new and clean and typical.

Sand can be pebbly (is that a word?) In some places so if your cranky about that than I’d suggest bringing aquasocks. But it wasnt rough at all.

There is an adults only beach at the far left of the property which is not as nice as the family beach area. But they have a beautiful pier there. Some people were sitting on it staring out /some were reading on it. Some used it to take pics of the property since it juts out so much. Either way I really liked it. You can look down and watch the fish the water is so clear and deep there.

Adult pool; was very nice and very modern with a sit in pool bar. They had some light music playing and it was kinda quiet.

Tennis courts were very new, clean and well kept. Same with Gym. Great equipment and amazing view. Basketball courts next to gym and beach volleyball next to that . BUT the beach that volleyball was on was much less nicer than the family area.

Mini-put- forget about it altogether. Its dingy and water collects in the holes and its hard for them to maintain well, through no fault of their own. Its just a bad area to have built it.

Wedding gazebos were both nice and overlooked the ocean.

Shopping in hotel was reasonably priced and comparable to the shopping strip across the street. But not as much interaction so if you want culture then go across the street.

Jewellery store was VERY reasonably priced.

Casino is basically about 20 slots- I am not into them but the last night there were about 10 people in there. Lobby bar is a great open air large bar - great for meeting people and chatting .

Buffet was average. Breakfast was always the best there- its very hard to screw up bfast especially with all the fresh fruit and a great omelette station. ‘ROBERT’ is THE omelette guy- a little bit of a flirt but it comes with the territory. He will hook you up with a big stuffed omelette with a smile on his face even though its 100 degrees! Now that’s service with a smile! I tipped him at the end of the week because he really did make the best omelettes and you never waited long- he was fast and friendly and sometimes he sang while cooking- he was just a good employee and a nice guy.

WE only did dinner twice at the buffet .I wasn’t crazy about it but the people I was with loved it. They seemed to have a good selection of food. I read some reviews that said something about ‘re-using the left over food from the night before’- yeah they do sometimes- and so?? Restaurants do this everyday with ‘specials’ you just don’t know it unless your in that industry. What would you like them to do with it - through it out? They’re there to make money, it’s a business and on top of that unlike spoiled N. Americans they are taught not to waste food so gimme a break. If that was a problem then you should just eat at home ALWAYS.

Seabreezes Jamaican
LOVED it. Its right on the beach too. I highly recommend NOT getting the steak though. A few of us tried it and it has a different texture from N. American steak than we’re used to. They don’t pump their cows with steroids in Jamaica so all beef is a slightly different texture because they are virtually free range . But the Jamaican chicken fajitas were AMAZING!

Cappuccinos
Atmosphere was nice. It was the nicest of the restaurants . Best service too. It’s a little higher end than the rest. Salmon is great and the rack of lamb as well.

Disco;
Didn’t go but looked like it would be fun when its busy. Needs a bit of updating though.

Piano bar;
Didn’t go but looked quiet and cozy and they have the net in there too if you needed it for business which my hubby did so it came in handy.

Day entertainment;
Was always a lot of fun. Lots of trivia/ lessons and challenges . They do everything to keep you entertained and there was a good audience participation especially with the kids- they loved all the games.

Night entertainment is really good. They start off every night with a band that you can watch while laying on the loungers- very relaxing. Then they do shows. We all agreed that the shows were 5 star. They work SO HARD and they ENJOY it too. They are all amazing dancers and very charismatic.

Anyone that thought the night entertainment ‘lacked’ -I really question their judgement. The staff were so friendly and fun and talented- very talented.

You could relax if you wanted to good music or you could sit at the lobby bar and still hear the music.

Service;
When your in N. America and you wait 1.5 hours for a crib to be delivered to your room- you have a problem -because our way of life is fast paced which is why you go on vacation in the first place - to sloooooow down. But when your in Jamaica and you wait - you have to smile and appreciate the laid back attitude - or you should vacation in N. America. An entire country is not going to change for one week to satisfy some uptight A-hole . Some of the service reviews I have to laugh at. I wonder how many cups of coffee you have drank in your life with spit in it? Don’t think it doesn’t happen because I have worked in the service industry for 15 yrs and I guarantee anyone who complains needlessly or ruthlessly drinks spit on a daily basis. The staff all try very hard and are pleased to help you. The one area I thought that could use some improvement was Management- front desk mostly. But the employees who are hands on and interact directly with guests were the best.

Jamaicans;  My husband has been there 4 times and I have been twice and we both love and get inspired by the slang and terms. Its fun and they love when you try to fit in. I never once felt unsafe even in downtown Montego bay. We were the only white people in a sea of 1000 Jamaicans. We were stared at a bit probably for one of two reasons;

1) Hardly any travellers venture outside of the safety of the craft market or bus drop shops.

2)Maybe they want us to know what it feels like to be a visible minority for once?

Either way didn’t matter- I never felt in danger as I had been warned by some when going to Jamaica. You don’t want something you just say no thank you.

Kids clubs;
Our son is 16 mos and he took his naps in there and stayed there each day for 3-4 hours.

They were awesome with him.

Ordeth, Patricia and one other girl whose name I cant remember were all very nice and caring.

It looks just like a prof daycare complete with bathrooms/tub/kitchen/nursery and toys. I incl pics because I was really very impressed by this dept.

The 4- 12 club is being renovated but it is pretty big and it was nice before they started reno’s so I am sure it will be even nicer when done. Because our son is young and needs more attention than the older kids we tipped the ladies each day. We also offered to bring them lunch when he ate because they have a crappy staff caf and we wanted to treat them nicely since they were in charge of our most prized possesion.

4 man Catamaran is free and it’s a GREAT jaunt out into the ocean- he takes you pretty far into big waves but he was experienced and it was a lot of fun. We tipped $2 we loved it so much.

‘Just kiddin’ playarea and snack shack is perfect for kids big or small. I don’t usually eat ice cream but I had one every day. Playground is new and got lots of use.

Airport;
if you’ve never been to Jamaica- I have to warn you- its very slow and you may be waiting in line for up to three hours. But here’s a BIG tip; Take a cab to the airport on your own time when leaving (really no need to get there when the tour reps say) we got an extra 2 hours at our resort while everyone waited at an airport. When we got to the airport we got an official porter (red cap) who scooted us to the front of the line because we had a baby with us . But even if you don’t have a baby or a young child if you time it correctly you will only have to wait about 30 mins to check in rather than 3 hrs. I cant tell you how frustrating it is waiting for your transfer bus to and from the airport- especially if you’re a non smoker because your waiting for people to finish their butts. I HIGHLY recc taking a cab to and from on your own. Its completely safe and even more so than taking the bus. When you take a cab upon arrival the driver helps you to the cab himself and your already paying him. When you take a bus upon arrival someone is always trying to grab your bags to help you get to the bus because they want a TIP. When leaving you can tell the cab driver to find you an official porter to assist. If you‘ve never been to Jamaica it can a be scary and confusing process.

Bottom line; we had one of the best Vacations ever. It was fun or relaxing- whatever you wanted it to be . It was cheap and for the kids you just cant beat it or find a better resort geared to kids.

The layout was perfect the weather was perfect the staff were the best. I would HIGHLY recc it to anyone travelling with kids especially under 10.

We brought walkie talkies and that was a great idea. The kids can use them so you know where they are or if your with another couple you can find each other etc.

Just returned from a week, July 1-8th at the Holiday Inn SunSpree in Montigo Bay, Jamaica. I've been to Jamaica before, in Ocho Rios many years ago and about 5 years ago to the Wyndham Rose Hall and Breezes in Mo Bay. I wasn't impressed then with the hastles we got from the locals outside Breezes, but we were right in the city and didn't experience it this time. My girlfriend and I were planning to stay in Canada, possible drive to Montreal for Jazz Fest when she suggested we look around and see what we could find for a deal south. We found the Holiday Inn Sunspree at and amazing price for a week, and being all inclusive, it would be a hastle free vacation.

We read a number of reviews about the hotel on Trip Advisor and Debbie's Caribbean Vacations forums, and one of the reviews summed it up...."It's all what you make of it". Here's the good and the could be better.

** GOOD **
- great layout of a hotel with 7 building perpendicular to the water, so no big walk from hotel to beach
- staff is friendly and willing to help out, especially around the bars, buffet restaurant and beach
- the Jerk Hut / Bar is a great place to grab a cold drink and good jerk chicken/pork for lunch.
- you can walk across the main road to a variety of shops. We were only approached once, by a local offering us taxi service. It was a no hastle approach.
- Lobster tails ($$extra) and beef tenderloin in Cappuccino's restaurant was good. Ate there twice and they did up a nice cake for a surprise birthday.
- No limit on the number of times you can visit specialty restaurants. Just book at 3:00 the day before for best selection.
- Onsite nurse is free and we visited her once for a reaction to the sun.
- Very hard to get sick in Jamaica from food/water. Tap water is purified.
- Free kayaks, sailing, windsurfing.
- A really great gym, modern equipment, air conditioned. Also tennis courts.
- We didn't bring kids, but people raved about the kids programs.

** COULD BE BETTER **
- Check in was very slow. I have been a Priority Club member for 15 years, had requested a king size bed and we ended up with two doubles. Talked to other people who had requested doubles and got a king size. Miss-management at the front desk was obvious, and unfortunately you had to be in their face to get things resolved.
- Rooms: This is really a hotel and not a resort. You get a very basic hotel room for your money with plain and simple furnishings. Maid service was okay, heard complaints from others about rooms not being swept or mopped, cracks in the walls.
- Beach: The beach runs the length of the resort, however shade is very limited. If you haven't got a shady spot reserved by 8:am you will be in the sun all day. The beach is a little rocky, once you go out about 15-20 ft into waist deep water you will be in mud/sea grass. The deepest water is about chest deep.
- Buffet: First breakfast is fantastic, lots of selection, made to order omelets and more. Lunch is okay but dinner disappoints. There are two flavors at the buffet 1) tasteless or 2) really spicy. As an example on the menu was Jalapeño Chicken, that had absolutely no flavor at all, but they would also have jerk chicken the next day, that was unbelievable spicy, and I can handle some spice. The salad bar was very plain with lettuce, mini corn, beets from a can.....every day. After a week we were dying for some good properly cooked vegetables.
- Staff levels at bars and restaurants. The staff in the bars and restaurants are flying around trying to do to many things. It shows sometimes in the level of service you get, or long lines. Management could do some more hiring.
- Specialty restaurants. Be prepared for SLOW service in Cappuccino's and the Trattoria. If you want a drink, order two, or stop at one of the bars and bring it along.
TRATTORIA :