Sandals Grande Ocho Rios Review

Great food and great service. Just a gr3at vacation spot

Great Place to Have Fun, My only Complaint is they Have NO Railing to get into their Mail Pool where the Pool Bar is! They Discriminate against any Disabled or Elderly Person trying to use their pool! I Guess they're waiting for Someone to Fall, & Sue them If they Fall and Injure themselves, because it's Very slippery by the Pool Stairs & there's Nothing to Hold unto!

My husband and I stayed at the Sandals Ochi resort for our Honeymoon. We chose to go all out this time since it was a special vacation, so we opted for the Romeo and Juliet Honeymoon private sanctuary with a butler. It was more expensive but the best choice we could have made!
The private sanctuary gave us the feeling of complete privacy, our own waterfall pool, hot tub, lounge chairs, outdoor shower, living/dining room, and separate bedroom with a large California King size bed, a shower and soaking tub. Our butler service was great! They had our itinerary and kept us on track with the activities we wanted to do as well as suggesting and setting up our reservations for meals (food allergies are taken seriously), bringing our meal to our room if we chose to stay in, keeping our fridge stocked with the drinks of our choice, picking us up and dropping us off, and anything else we chose. It was like the Disneyland effect and it was worth it. There were special touches everyday. Whether they show up with a snack and fresh drinks out of the blue, turn down your bed in the evening with a special note and rose petals, or come into your room after you return from a day out to find a bubble bath with heart shaped bubble formations, they go out of their way. The butlers have many couples they tend to and it amazes me that they always have a smile and general happy attitude in their hectic schedule. The sanctuary had everything you needed except the beach. We stayed in it most of the time, only venturing out for a "beach day", meals at the restaurants, or for our excursions. It was quiet and tucked away on the hillside overlooking the ocean. The resort offers a bus called The Hop to shuttle guests to and from the 3 hotels Sandals owns. It runs every 15 minutes and the only downside is the drunk people ruining it for everyone. One hotel is for the more upbeat party crowd at the Beach side. The next is the quieter crowd with a smaller more intimate beach and restaurants, and then the 3rd is the hillside with no beach but a great view and large pool area with entertainment. There are many restaurants to choose from, many hidden pools to relax by, some great nightclub entertainment as well as live shows, and the staff is always handing out the drinks to keep you refreshed and comfortable. They have so much entertainment that every night there is a list to choose from at either side of the resort and never the same. Over all we had a great experience at the resort however we feel that it was due to our room and butler. If we chose a regular room, no butler, it would have been a regular experience at a resort. The VIP treatment and the sanctuary away from the party atmosphere and the drunk people made our trip amazing. We felt like we could go out for a night on the town, and go "home", not back to a hotel room. The people in Jamaica seemed kind and outgoing. The tours were great except for a small bump along the way with a bad attitude from a guide, but in general we had a great time and look forward to going back some day. PS. We had to leave our prepaid trip early due to a Medical Emergency. We had a full day left but knew it was a loss as my husband needed to get back to the States immediately for an appendectomy. Our butler handled getting us to the airport as quickly as possible and set up a room credit for the exact amount of $ we (prepaid) had left for our last day. This way we can have a free night in the future with no expiration date on the credit. He made sure we had everything packed up and ready to go as soon as he got our call. It was a smooth transition and easy to complete our task. We were able to wake up, pack, and leave to the airport within an hour. Amazing service! The only sad part was leaving so quickly as we had become friends with our butlers, and we didn't get to purchase our professional photos we had taken on the beach. The company didn't have a way to purchase them online. We were saddened to not have those memories. But having to fly back to the States on short notice went very smooth !

We stayed here for our honeymoon, it was wonderful and super relaxing! I think it's time we go back!

Food was great other than Tappas. Loved the pool by the Manor and grabbing lunch at the Jerk Shack. I've stayed at equal or nicer resorts for less though.

A wonderful place to come and relax great music lovely food excellent staff

It was our second time there. The staff is unbeatable. Manager (Alvaro) went out of his way to make our stay memorable. Cant say enough about our excellent service there. Thank you to every one there.

My wife and I have visited this Sandals two years in a row. When we visited in 2015 there was a lot of updates going on and construction. It was a little annoying but they have to do it sometime. The food was great for dinner every night. Breakfast was good not amazing and lunch was good as well. We spent most of our time at one of the three swim up bars. All three were fun with great bartenders. 2016 had the updates finished and the resort looks amazing. Food and fun still the same. Percy the bartender in the speakeasy is the best. So many old faces and met new staff members. The shows this year at the amphitheater were top notch. Dancing and singing that was of a high level. I love the people of Jamaica. They have such a positive outlook on life. Would go back a third time sooner than later. I did play golf there. Worth it if you love golf but makes for a long day.

We had an amazing time. The downfalls are the beds are beyond uncomfortable, they need to update their beds. The wait time for food is crazy one night we got up and walked out of a restaurant because I was getting a headache from being hungry he took our order and an hour later we still had no food. I am celiac and the options were awesome,I still dream about the GF bread everyday! They always have stuff going on which was a blast ! The trip from the airport to the resort is a bummer yes but it was well worth it in my eyes.

Love ochi! Have been here twice, the first time last year we got married at the resort. Our wedding was perfect and the staff Is consistently amazing!

Not worth the premium price. Visited 3 other Sandals resorts and this one is not even close.

Look, the water and sand are beautiful. But everything else is slightly off. The best example is the food. Our flight landed at 1 and by the time we got here, it was 3. All we wanted was to grab lunch, but only one of the restaurants on our side of the resort was open and it took more than 45 minutes to get food and they were out of one of the things we wanted to eat, anyway. We kept being reassured that there was a big buffet party that night but we couldn't wait that long too eat! I know it's a joke that people like to complain about food being bad and having small portions but it sort of feels true.

We picked this place because it looked like a stress-free, chill place with enough to do that we wouldn't get bored. Most vacations I take involve more planning and organization and we liked the idea of an all-inclusive honeymoon because we wouldn't have to make decisions. Except, they claim it's all inclusive but they keep trying to upsell you things. For example, there aren't ever enough free chairs at the beach or pool if you get there after 10 but there are a ton of available private cabanas that you have to play extra for. And towels and lifeguards are theoretically at pools and beach between 9-5, but I never saw a towel before 10:30 or after 3. I know I already complained about the food, but one of the reasons we picked this particular resort was that they advertised having a ton of different restaurants so we thought we'd have good options. That's not really true because many are only open for dinner, and every non-buffet restaurant has been incredibly slow, partially because people with private butlers get their food delivered first no matter how much earlier you get there. It's great that there are a million bars, but none of them have food -not even like popcorn or potato chips - and late at night there's only one place open for food on each side and the waits are really long. This seems dangerous when people are getting hammered but can't get food to make them less wasted. Also, most of the food was bad! I was particularly unimpressed with their "fancy" Italian restaurant, Valentino's, with dry fish and incredibly sugary tomato sauce.

And details are off in more minor ways than constant upselling and no food. The water pressure in our room was terrible. It was very difficult to wash my hair and it actually turned off completely for several minutes while my husband tried to shower. There were much more minor inconveniences as well, which feel churlish to complain about but really compounded to feel like the details were ignored. There's an order form in the room, but no pen to fill it out. They deliver a newspaper with daily activities, but when you ask reception a question such as "The newspaper says there is a movie showing tonight. What movie is it?" no one can answer.

If all you want is water and sand and nice weather, you're probably fine. And that can be enough! Just don't expect anything else.

My husband and I spent the week of Dec.. 21- 28th at his resort ! We were there to celebrate our 50th birthdays and of course Christmas! When we arrived at the resort we were quickly met and taken up to the Club Sandals lounge for our private check in! We were quickly briefed on a few details and them handed our room keys and off to our room we went! The room was lovely with a huge king size fur post bed and lovely furnishings! Waiting for us was a fully stocked bar complete with four types of hard liquor a cold bottle of white wine and champagne,red wine cold beer and cold pop fruit juices and bottled water! Our concierge, Horatio came up to our room a few moments later and welcomed to Sandals answered a few questions and let us know they were there for us should we need anything!
The staff at this resort were all amazing! Everyone was friendly and greeted you with a warm smile and acknowledgement! Our sever on the beach who's name was Annalee was the Best ! She kept us in refreshment and was great to visit with she treated us royally and she quickly became our friend! We will never forget her! Another wonderful young man we met was Londale! Londale was our guide on the glass bottom/snorkeling boat as well as he groomed the beach area! He was quick to answer your questions and visit with you ! He shared some funny Jamaican stories with us , he also became our friend you could not help but like him! We also cannot forget Andre who worked behind the bar in Jamies Sports bar! He has a permanent sincere smile on his face and always greeted you with a warm"Yah mon" every time he saw you he also entertained all of us with his singing and dancing, that guy never stands still , he does an awesome job and is a great person as well!

We treated ourselves to a couples massage on the ocean and we LOVED it! Our therapists were Lorna and Jackie and they did a wonderful job we did not want it to end! Totally relaxing and efficient I would highly recommend them if you are looking for a great massage!

The food was fantastic with so many places to choose from! Everything was fresh and delicious and I tried not to over eat but it was almost impossible! The cocktails were lovely and plentiful! I love white wine and really enjoyed the Berringer estate pinot grigio the served!

This was our first trip to Jamaica and our first Sandals experience but it will most definitely NOT be our last! From start to finish our experience at this resort was fantastic! I had read some reviews prior to our departure and noticed some guests had complained about something at the resort and all I can say is that some people must be very hard to please because I could not complain about anything except the fact that we had t leave this paradise! Thanks again Sandals and hats off to an amazing staff and an amazing resort ! WE WILL BE BACK!

The service is great with dive crew especially being great along with Shelley and Javada the playmakers. Best thing is that everything is included, no tips needed at all. Food is superb with good portions and if you want more then just ask.

The best vacation distention I ever been to ,bar none

OMG it exceeded my expectations my butler was spectacular the food was delicious the drinks were great everyone was so pleasant and welcoming I didn't feel harassed for tips people generally seemed happy with their jobs I love this place

I went here for my honeymoon, it was absolutely beautiful very professional and accommodating to our needs. The only downfall was that when we got there we waited several hours to check in and we ended being the last ones to get in..they said our butler was helping another couple but to wait hours is something you don't want to do after several hours on a flight and traveling from the airport.. other than that.. exceptional service!!

Stayed there a week for a wedding and it was beautiful!. Clean resort and great restaurants very nice people. Had a wonderful time. We will be going again!!

This Resort is Top notch... The friendliest staff ever and the best food I've ever had, I was surprised the food was that great in all inclusive resort, every corner in this resort is filled with activities, sports, Parties, and staff that's on top of everything. I had a wonderful Vacation thanks to Sandals Ochi! Highly recommended.

Butler Service Awesome, we had Danny & Michelle they were a dream team. They made our visit special. With surprises in our room with reservations taken care of. Totally awesome please ask for Daniel& Michelle. Delroy at the bar was awesome he kept the drinks flowing. Orane was good to at the bar we autually got to see Shaggy in concerts. Ok here comes the bad housekeeping can use a little bit of improvement. Kesha at Neptunes is a star. Delmoer at the Southern Table keep smiling awesome service

It s all included! But it also means it s all prepared in large batches, and everyone else is waiting for food/drinks as well. Be prepared to wait. I mean, you are in the Caribbean.

Stayed for a week with my girlfriend and we had a great time. Great property and extremely friendly staff. I would recommend it!

We were here on our honeymoon. There was so much to do between the shows and the restaurants everything was amazing. The staff was exceptional I can't say enough great things. Dennilee was very friendly and made sure that me and my husband had a great time!!
We had an ocean front view with a balcony and it was beautiful. We would sit on the balcony have coffee and read the Footprints paper that had your daily events. I would get the same room again.

Great place... The most healthiest I've ate the entire week i was there... The beach was amazing and just spending a week here was spectacular.... Service and all the people ive came across was great. What a wonderful beautiful anniversary i spent here..

Wow a great resort! Food is amaaaaazzziing. Shout out to the French restaurant. Also wonderful bars and nightlife options. I especially loved the speakeasy (very cool!) And the ethyls piano bar. I didn't know where the piano bar was at first but we stumbled upon it. Bartenders are very nice at the piano bar as well as great entertainment tonight And last night ! Reggae show was also phenomenal. Great place with a lot of hard working staff.

The best mattresses I have ever slept on! Fully stocked mini-fridge and fantastic food.

Great relaxing resort. We liked the upper part vs. the Riviera beach part

Super fun all week long. The playmakers are amazing some of the hardest working and genuinely nice people you can ever meet. Shout out to Ronaldo, Javada, and Kenton.

This is such a great resort! Josie and Kevin are amazing butlers!

Was overall a great experience. The service was a little slow, and you can tell it's one of the older resorts. However, everyone was hospitable, and welcoming. When you get there go over to the Beach side pool bar and get to know the awesome bartender named Everton. When you go to reserve the next trip make sure you talk with Narisha and Rojay. It is a three part resort, so make sure you look at the map when reserving your room. We stayed in the cabanas close to the beach. They do have a bus that will take you to each side.

Employees were great. Amenities were awesome and the beef patties were to die for.

When you say Hey Man! In Sandals Jamaica everyone says Hey Man! back

It's one of the best place I've stayed staff workers are extremely well mannered. And I had a grand time

We had a GREAT time! The best customer service in the world!

Friendly staff!!! Beautiful scenery. Friends and I went on the Catamaran to Dunns River Falls. Snorkeling and Partying on the boat. It was Awesome!!!

Just had a great time. So relaxing and the staff is all so friendly and nice

Jamaica is beautiful, Sandals is an excellent all inclusive resort!

Sandals Ochi is a dream! It honestly takes you into a brand new world where you are stress free and always ready for something fun to do. The staff makes it their mission to ensure you are having a good time. I recommend this place to the young and young at heart.

This place is amazing! I literally went through withdrawals for 2 weeks after returning home from being treated like royalty. I went in 2010 and plan on going back very soon. HIGHLY recommend this place.

Staying at Sandals Ochi has been wonderful. The staff has been extremely attentive along with good food. My only complaint so far has been my experience at their Japanese restaurant that did a poor job seating my wife and I for our 6:30 reservation. We had other events scheduled and the setback with dinner could have seriously jeopardized our evening plans. We were able to leave there and go to the Manor House Restaurant and get seated and served in a timely manner. Kudos to the staff at The Manor House for their help with keeping our evening plans on track.

The best resort ever visited. The playmaker staff were amazingly talented and friendly. The night time entertainment was excellent. The weather was perfect and reggae music playing everywhere was the best. Always something going on. Leon was our favorite playmaker. The butler service is worth the money they take care of everything and so very sweet. I can't say enough about the food. The jerk chicken shack, wood fire grilled pizza, French restaurant , sushi, Kelly's seaside dock. All was amazing.

I have to tell you about our wonderful snuba instructor Jovian!!! She was amazing!!! She made our experience of Under water activities memorable!

Guess this place have a all you can eat and drink service

My husband and I took a trip to Sandals Ochi this past summer for our honeymoon and had an AMAZING time!! We stayed on the hillside in the club level villas with a semi-private pool. We would definitely recommend that when visiting you book at least club level. The concierges were so incredibly kind and helpful. They truly went the extra mile to meet all of our needs and to answer any questions that we had. All of the staff was wonderful, but we especially loved our concierges.
The food was good; however, we were not impressed with the desserts. Our favorite meals were breakfast at Southern Table, dinner at Kimonos, and lunch or quick meals at the pizza restaurant on the Hillside.
We went on some really awesome excursions to Luminous Lagoon, Dolphin Cove, and on a shopping trip guided by one of the Concierges. We would definitely go back and would recommend it to friends. We are actually working on planning our honeymoon to another Sandals resort! It was fabulous!

Great Carribean Resort. Fish I amazing.... especially the sushi. Beaches are clean and well maintained. Also so many great amenities that are all included.

Great place to vacation and relax!!! Everyone was very nice, super friendly and always there to help! Fun fitness options with Ryan, great shows/entertainment, free options for fun at the resort, variety of pools and restaurants and everything encourages you to relax! Down side to not being able to tip bartenders is service was not great at peak times I guess because they have no incentive to pay attention to who is next up and seems service is poor when you want water but great when you want alcoholic drinks... Overall amazing getaway and they definitely made it easy getting through the airport, customs and the shuttles.

We picked a honey moon villa because we wanted to have a pool by our room, of course it was more $$ but as long as we could get a pool by our room w privacy we didn't care. Well since day 1 of 5 the pool was nasty! It was fool of insects, leaves, flowers, it smelled like human pee and the water tasted horrible (didn't mean to taste it! It was by accident) I called and requested for them to clean it on day 1,2,3,4 and they actually sent someone to clean it the night before we left around 7pm and we where leaving at 4am the fallowing morning but the worse part is that the pool guy just went with a net and cleaned a little bit of the leaves and flowers and left. Also, they advertise that they have snacks in the room and they had 0 snacks. Also, room service was only until 10pm and if u called at 9:30pm like I did they wont answer the phone. I started calling at 9:25pm and continued calling until 10:02pm when finally someone picked up and told me they where already closed!!!!!!!! Really?????

We planned our trip 14 months ago ,to celebrate our 37th anniversary. We had 4 couples booked into the butler suites. We had gags planned, surprises planned and a Anniversary party planned because we were all to stay at the same villa. When we got there we were booked in four different villas all over sandals. We didn't even know where anyone was for the 1st day. As hard as we tried sandals would not accommodate our request to put us all in one villa. All of our plans were ruined and our vacation was ruined because we were spread all over the sandals compound. The villa my husband and I stayed at had 3 open rooms for 3 days. Our family and friends could have easily been moved into the villa, but Sandals refused. I will never book another vacation with Sandals. You spend that kind of money to have it ruined because we couldn't be together like we had booked it.

Everything was spectacular! The room was amazing, the transport and food options were very convenient, and the staff was so friendly! Kamille in the Spa made us feel so welcomed, Karen and Stacey Anne gave us the best massages, and all of the staff, Dexter, Dannilee, etc., were as friendly as could be! We will be back to see you all soon!

I would like to begin from one positive thing that I had from whole vacation - is cleaning ladies and waiters. They were very high class! But my wife s birthday - purpose of our trip - was ruined. For the less than week we got only once so called unlimited diving and didn t have a room service. Nothing but sorry was all we got. Drinks and food were definitely unlimited and free flowing - if your goal is to become alcoholic and obese this is the place for you. Rooms were nice, but obviously worn and needing refresh. None of the jacuzzi jets worked. Often the pools or jacuzzis were out of service for one reason or another. The playmakers were great at offering bingo and water aerobics, but unfortunately were are not at the geriatric stage of our lives yet. The beaches were ok, but certainly didn t make you feel like you were in Caribbean paradise. For the cost of this trip I d find much better places around the world. For us the value was just not there.

My husband and I got Married at Sandals Ohci in 2014. The staff was amazing! We have been back a total of 3 times and each time we requested the same butlers Richard and Jeremy. The night entertainment is fun and exciting. The food and the amount of resturants is over the top! Yes the resort is split because of a road that divides it but there is always a shuttle to take you from one side to the other. Our hearts are in OCHi.... Thank you Sandals for always being perfect!

My husband and I recently stayed at Sandals Ocho Rios (Dec 29 to Jan 2 - but we left one day earlier due to being so deceived and disgusted.
Rooms not what you see on the internet. Extremely deceiving. We paid for the highest level in Club Building. After traveling from 8 AM we finally got there at 5 PM (Was lied to about the amount of time it takes to get to resort from Airport. Was told a little over an hour. It took 1.75 hours!) . Was shown to our very very small room. The minute we walked in we both said this will not do . My husband is a throat cancer survivor. He rarely sleeps in a bed. He needs a comfortable living room chair, which he puts a pillow against a wall and leans into it. There were 3 high back hard dining room chairs! Although the internet picture showed a comfortable sitting chair. For the first night they put us in a lower level room which was more spacious and they brought in a love seat. The problem with that is they placed the loveseat directly across from the A/C unit and my husband was freezing. The next day Jamal took us to a few rooms including one on The Hill (which was so small, both of us could not fit in front of the bed together). we ended up in 4408 a lower level room (of which we deserve a credit since we paid for a higher level room) with the loveseat under the A/C unit. we wasted 2 days! .
We could not make dinner reservations for the next few days. There was not one reservation available in any of the restaurants! We asked several staff about reservations when we arrived and they said no problem. They will handle for us. Guess what - They couldn t. Now I asked Jamal to speak to the property manager. He said I had to go through the Director of Guest Services first. I spoke to Maxine who was extremely kind and understood. She tried to get us into restaurants but to no success - on that date. And the Skye restaurant was terrible for dinner. Our oysters had sand and stones in them, the shrimp scampi had shells still on and was swimming a bed of mashed potatoes. New Year s Eve Maxine managed to get us into Valentino s. Right before going to dinner, we met another couple who was there the night before. They told us not to order the Shrimp appetizer or Chicken Parmigiana as her husband got food poisoning and was still sick. A great thing to hear right before our meal! The menu was not a typical Italion menu - no veal dishes, only 3-4 pasta dishes.
Some other issues were we never had our ice bucket filled with ice the entire stay. On New Year s Eve we called several times and it was not done. The liquor bottles left in the room are not premium alcohol as the ad states. And not everyone gets the same alcohol. We got a no name gin, rum and wine. We had to ask for a no name vodka, club soda and tonic. The stair cases through out the property are illegal in the US. They are multiple heights, and have no bannisters. The entire complex is terrible for anyone with a physical disability. The public bathrooms have no handicap stalls. We were not aware of all the stairs you had to go up and down to get to the beaches and restaurants. There were no elevators to the beach level. I have a damaged knee and it has gotten worse due to all the climbing we had to do! There are no bannisters on the steps that go from the lobby floor of the club building to the level were the office is, billiard are, and bar is. Beach was not a beach as far as I am concerned. It certainly is not what it is pictured. Another deception. The beach is cut up into 3-4 beaches with mud like sand. The beach chairs are all taken by 7 AM by guests running down to put towels on them to reserve. There are not enough beach chairs for guests. And there are no umbrellas. You can pay for a beach cabana - but this is an all inclusive, so again deceiving

Amazing experience. Please give some extra recognition for Roger-Neil and Reynaldo the Butlers who went above and beyond. Shantal at the polo club bar. And Devar at the pool bar. These folks delivered day after day in making a great experience

A little bit more lively than Royal Plantation with a nice beach and multiple pools. Really liked the people, food, rooms, pools, drinks and location.

My wife and I spent 7 nights at Sandals Ochi, celebrating our honeymoon. Although it is around a 2 hour drive from the airport, transportation was easy and our driver even offered to stop for food and drink on the way. From the moment we arrived at the resort, we were blown away by the exceptional service.

Our room was beach side concierge level, with a balcony on the 4th floor. The view from our room was stunning, although we wish the balcony was just slightly bigger. Our minibar was fully stocked and replenished daily. The room was very clean and our housekeeping staff was on point. They even left rose petals and towel animals in our room to celebrate our honeymoon.

"All-inclusive" here really means that everything is included - food, drinks, entertainment, water sports, etc. We never went hungry or thirsty. We tried most of the restaurants on property but the sushi restaurant, Soy, was our favorite. We were really impressed with the quality and taste of the sushi and ended up eating there two nights during our stay.

Entertainment was top notch, with nightly shows or parties ranging from beach parties to talent shows, to musical performances. The Playmakers made sure everyone was having a good time and we enjoyed participating in the activities that they hosted on the beach.

We had always been big on cruising but after this trip we are already looking to plan when we can return to Sandals.

We were only there to get on the catamaran for snorkeling/Dunn's River Falls trip....but it looked really nice.

Very clean hotel. Well manicured lawns. The ambiance is breathtaking; cordial, intelligent and professional staff; cozy and clean rooms/bathrooms; clean and relaxing pools/jacuzzi; good entertainment package; great food.

This is my favorite resort. Great service, food and drinks. Beautiful resort with plenty to do.

I'm am so happy to have started my Sandals membership at Sandals Ochi! They have some of the best staff of anywhere I've ever stayed! The staff at Ochi helped my wife and I get around the resort and answered all the questions we had. Everyone goes above and beyond the call of duty and I'm proud to be a sandals member. I can't wait to vacation with Sandals again.
I had a butler suite and it is so worth the cost.

Awesome place. Feels like home. Some.issues with a main water pipe.

Very upscale, but very busy restaurants at night. But plenty of choices, but also very spread out, kinda difficult to get around, always waiting on a hop bus.

If you are looking to be served and taking care of sandals is the resorts.

Work and lived there for five years the place is awesome