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Introduction We stayed at the newly rebuilt Jungle Bay Dominica which was destroyed by hurricane Maria more than two years ago and re-opened in June. This hotel is an eco-resort with villas scattered on manicured grounds; it is not a traditional hotel where you have lots of guests in a single large building. The design of the resort is a perfect match for Dominica which is nicknamed the “Nature Island” and is the most unspoilt island in the Caribbean and one of the least touristy destinations one can find in North America. In addition, service is a strength at this property – bottom line I can highly recommend this hotel for adventurous guests who love nature and who want a unique experience in a relaxing environment. Location The new Jungle Bay is on the southwest side of the island and it takes about one hour 20 minutes to reach the hotel from DOM airport. An alternative is flying to Martinique or Guadeloupe and to take the ferry from there to Dominica because the Dominica ferry terminal is in the capital city Roseau which is less than 20 minutes from Jungle Bay. Common Areas The common areas of Jungle Bay look fantastic and the villas on the property are in perfect harmony with the environment due to the green roofs and the wood and stone constructions. This is a suitable hotel for guests looking for a mix of hiking or diving tours and relaxation / yoga at the hotel. As a matter of fact you get a zen feeling when on site, in part due to the buddhist theme which adds to the relaxation atmosphere on the resort. Tropical wildlife is omnipresent on the resort, for example you can see several small lizards going about between villas. Room Jungle Bay has villa rooms (40 sq meters) where you share a wall with one neighbor and villa suites (80 sq meters) which are free standing villas and therefore more private. We had the latter which are very spacious and since it’s a newly built hotel the villa was in great condition. We particularly liked the shiny hardwood floors, high ceilings, and the colorful bedding. We also found the wood finishes and the little details to be a good fit for a hotel of this kind nestled in the jungle. The shower area is a highlight because it is very large and has wood beams for the window, with small spaces between them to allow fresh air in so you can have the impression of taking your shower outdoors, but yet keeping privacy intact. Bathroom amenities are available in large dispensers to avoid plastic waste and shampoo + soap is biodegradable to match with the eco-friendly theme of the hotel. Dominica does not have many mosquitoes because the island is so mountainous and does not have much stagnant water sources, so even when we took a walk in the jungle during the day we hardly saw any mosquitoes and did not need mosquito repellant spray. It is no different at Jungle Bay: bugs are a non-issue but in any event there is a net above the bed for people who want to use it (at least for us, we did not find it necessary). The hotel is perched in the mountain so you have great water views in addition to views of the mountains on each side. In the past we have been to many hotels with great water views, or great mountain views, but very few of them give you both at the same time such as Jungle Bay. Each villa on the resort is facing the sea and has its own balcony. Restaurant and Pool The restaurant and pool area of Jungle Bay is the heart of the property. The views are even better than from the villas and the restaurant is wide open so you get a fresh ocean breeze at all times and the cathedral wood ceiling contributes to make the place gorgeous. You can also enjoy the views from the infinity pool which sits in front of the restaurant. There were plenty of chairs available to use and it was not busy. Dining Dining is a strong point of this hotel and we thought it was good value for the money. First of all the hotel grows several organic fruits and vegetables on site which means food served in the restaurant cannot be more fresh. Among others things, we enjoyed having the grilled fish “Dominica Delight” a few times during our stay and the portions are generous relative to the modest price. Alcohol is also reasonably priced – it’s not too common that you can have a bottle of wine at the hotel bar or restaurant for 20-30 USD. During our stay we visited the new Kempinski hotel in Dominica for lunch and while food quality there was good as well, the size of portions leaves you hungry and the price level was out of line, making Jungle Bay look very attractive in comparison.For breakfast we were pleased to see that they do not serve standard and boring breakfast hotel items such as bacon, sausages, etc. The food offered is of the healthier variety including for example cucumber salad, a cod fish dish, etc. There is also a made-to-order omelet station near the buffet. The coffee is local and they also had a special cocoa tea which I had not seen anywhere else before our visit to Dominica and it was certainly interesting. Service Service was great throughout and several staff were helpful on a proactive basis which is always a good sign of a service-oriented hotels. People were very friendly, always smiling and making guests feel welcome. The one area of improvement about service would be housekeeping which we found to be more inconsistent. Sometimes we got a phone call in the morning to ask when we wanted the room to be serviced and we were told they were calling (instead of coming in person) because they wanted to respect our privacy. However other days someone came knocking at our door before 8am while we were still in bed. Most hotels have a do not disturb sign that you can hang at the door – this would partially help but if someone from housekeeping comes to the villa early morning, even if they don’t knock they could see in our villa if we did not pull the blinds down so it’s not like in traditional hotels where housekeeping can walk in the corridor and you would not know it. Gym The gym could probably use an elliptical machine and/or a treadmill rather than only having a couple of stationary bicycles. Also the lack of air conditioning in that room was somewhat of an issue while exercising especially since that building does not get as much wind as the villas or the restaurant down below. The gym is actually part of a room which has a ping pong table, several books, and board games. Overall Overall we had a great relaxing stay in a resort which provides a different experience than cookie-cutter hotels. Nature lovers will be in their element at Jungle Bay and given that Dominica is one of the least travelled destinations in North America, there are probably not many hotels of this kind somewhere else, making it a unique resort.