Katrina L. C. Tanner

Review of Sandals Grande Ocho Rios

My husband and I visited Sandals Ochi July 30-Aug ...

My husband and I visited Sandals Ochi July 30-Aug 5 for our 1 year anniversary. We originally were scheduled to depart Aug 3, but before we arrived, we extended our stay 2 nights. And we are so glad that we did! We both have very busy lives and this was the perfect mix of relaxation AND entertainment and so much spirit of love in the atmosphere. Upon entering the resort, being greeted with a cold rag and served with a cool rum beverage was just enough to get our minds and bodies in the islandlife mood. 7 days, 6 nights and the best hospitality we have ever received. Thank you Jamaica!

So that it does not go unnoticed, I want to start this with our Thank Yous to those that stood out. Everyone I worked with via the Sandals chat option helped select the perfect surprise anniversary trip for my husband, working within my budget, making selections, and attentive to the type of vacation we dreamed of. Tenelle (sp) in the Concierge office welcomed us with open arms and we genuinely felt like she was our friend the moment we met her, wanting to even stop by to say goodbye. Lawri (sp) in the Concierge office, best orientation and orientation guide ever! Shanice, housekeeping for keeping our room spelling good and clean and for the sweet little notes and towel animals. Jerene, our fabulous candlelight dinner server, so sweet and punctual and kept us updated on our courses throughout the meal. Dakashi (sp) our candlelight dinner photographer, just a great sport all around. Fun and uplifiting. Some pictures even better than our wedding pictures. And Marlan, server and Matrei 'd, made room for us when we were late for our reservation at one restaurant and then another restaurant on a separate night, moved our food order along when our server was preoccupied. There were so many more throughout our stay, but these are the people that stood out the most. Thank you for making our 1st anniversary so special

IMPORTANT

- Ask if your preferred room is Hillside or Beachside. If Beach side facing the beach or the garden.
- Bring cash for the arrival and departure tips for bag handling and airport transportation and other local craft vendors on the resort that may not take card.
- Club Mobay, at least on your departure. We did not do this, and it was a bit of a downer after such a wonderful stay. It would have made things way more smooth and worth the money. You can purchase it through Sandals or other vendors like Costco.
- Get Club Level or Butler level. We did Club and the concierges helped make all of our reservations for us.
- We loved this location, but being that it was far from the airport and we had a layover flight, it made for a long travel day. In our situation, we would have stayed near the airport at a different sandals the night before.
- Ask the attire for the restaurants and nightly events. (We showed up in black to the white chocolate party, the all white party!)
If you are planning an event at the resort (wedding or family reunion), there are multiple locations on the property to do that. However, not only do you want to find out what activities will be occurring NEAR the event but also what time. For example, there was a pool party with a DJ right next to where a wedding reception was going on with a live steel pan band AND trying to give speeches (and vows) over the techno music.

DON'T

- Smoke outside the recreation areas. ANYTHING. Even though marijuana is legal in the country, it is NOT okay in the non-smoking areas.

NOTE TO SANDALS STAFF

- There are chairs inside and on the balcony that have plastic or metal legs and feet and create the sound of nails on a chalk board. We had some early risers near our room and that sound is not what we call a smooth awakening. Please put some rubber or felt coverings on the bottom of the chairs to minimize this noise.

- I don't need central A/C everywhere, but more fans in the common areas would be nice. We wanted to play pool but it was very hot and humid and no air circulating. Fans would make it more pleasureable.