Sandals Grande Ocho Rios Review

Food is awesome. Service is friendly but move in island speed. Not a lot of places to run or walk.

An amazingly beautiful place to do absolutely nothing together with the one you love! My husband and I enjoyed a wonderfully relaxing 4 day vacation at this fabulous resort.

It was very good.
Staff were very courteous

The staff absolutely make this place they are all so friendly and helpful!!! Food and drink is good. Sandals assertion of "Luxury included" needs to be taken with a pinch of salt! They do tend to use a bit of poetic licence. The part of the resort we stayed in was a bit tired, the hot tub by the pool was out of action for the duration of our 10 days. Hand driers in the gents toilets never worked, facial tissues were the offered alternative when provided plumbing in our room Ie. toilet and shower were problematic but got sorted. I could go on but for the bargain price we paid it was ok. Would we return? Highly unlikely.

Very much enjoyed our stay at the villa. No complaints. Great place. Great service. Highly recommend!

I loved the little boat ride to Dunn's River Falls. With Geary & Kelly (watersports). It was awesome. Loved the beautiful ocean, weather, the food, the workers were all so friendly & felt like we were friends for ever. Great time cant wait to go back ; )

The resort was as advertised! amazing water
All the staff was so friendly and would help in anyway possible to help make it an amazing 5 days!

This is the most beautiful place. They make you feel like a king or princess! Just relax and enjoy!

There are dozens of videos & travel bloggers who can tell you the best times to go, tips & tricks, what to look out for, etc. but in the end like all things in life, it's what YOU make of it. Like all Sandals, Ochi is truly structured for couples and the best advice I can give at this point is...if you have issues being alone for an extended period of time with that "significant other", do-not-go! Otherwise, you'll have a blast. It's their largest resort with 2 sides; seaside (ocean) and hillside. We went to seaside a few times to experience the ocean; beware there is not much of a "beach", in fact it was pretty lame. But there are nice lounge chairs on the dock where you can perch yourself to enjoy the breeze, get some rays, and then jump in the water whenever for a swim. We preferred hillside most of the time - the pool is much nicer, less crowded, not as noisy, and there are some more "private" areas with an additional 2 pools which are both away from the noise, crowd, and music. Oh the music...worst part (for us anyway). I had to literally write a note to the DJ letting him know that several guests lost consciousness due to an overexposure of reggae & island rap. We're rock & 80's metal fans, but we can totally handle our share of reggae & other tunes, but this was absurd so be aware of that & bring ear buds.
The food was fantastic. Restaurants were very good but be sure to make reservations as soon as you can...it really fills up fast. The buffet was best for breakfast - lunch you can do whatever or pick up a pizza / sandwich from the cafe's - hit the restaurants for dinner. Kelly's Dockside was probably our favorite. We're big sushi eaters and it was decent but very limited menu.
Drinks - poolside they were little more than sugar-water. We recommend going to one of the inside bars; yeah you have to walk a bit but it's worth it. You've also got to tell them how you want it, otherwise they just water it down.
Excursion - We did "best of Ochi" and it was fabulous. Chukka Tours is the biggest on the island and they really know how to handle it. You'll be tipping but they all work hard and deserve it.
We had Butler service. Would we do it again? Yes. It's a very nice convenience to have because they do a lot for you but again...you have to ask for certain things so let them know you want lunch brought to you at the pool, or drinks from time to time, or have them set your restaurant reservations for the whole week for you, etc. Have fun!

Went to Jamaica with a group of couples. This place was amazing! We stayed in one of the butler villas and had a fantastic time. Anything we needed they provided. One of our butlers actually went off site to grab us some lemon Red Stripe. They had a shuttle that took you to the other side of the resort that was one the beach. They had several pools and you had a private pool at your villa. The food was great everywhere we went. We would definitely go again!

Ocean-view Room - Although the rooms had newer furniture, they were severely outdated. No ventilation in the very small bathroom, dirty old ceiling fan above the bed and pealing paint on the baseboards and window seals (Lead). The WiFi was iffy and the room service was 75% wrong when you received your order, plus the room service food tasted bad. The ice machine was broken all the time, along with many other things around the resort. 75% of the Service staff around the resort was rude and extremely unfriendly. I always felt as if I had to beg to be served and when we received our food from the restaurants, it was most of the time wrong, cold and very small portions. All of the bars and restaurants were severely understaffed which made the time for us to get a drink 15-20 minutes. All-Inclusive... Please! They boast of 16 restaurants which is a trick because although they have 16 different places to eat all of the food comes from only 4 kitchens = Cold food. There was no island feel to the place and the fun night life was non-existant. Finally, they boast of a great selection of Robert Mondavi wines but they only had 3 to choose from and if you want anything outside of those 3, you had to choose from an overly expensive wine list in which they charge to your room. I have been to many all-inclusive resorts and this has been my WORSE experience yet. Stay away!

Me and my Husband would definitely recommend this place to anyone looking for a place to get away as a couple. We will definitely be going back to this Sandals resort in the future. We stayed on the hillside in the butler villas and LOVED the butler service. The staff was all pretty friendly and helpful when needed.

It was a good time but the good and drinks weren't impressive, but plentiful and the staff was good

Well, it s the first night of our honeymoon and after traveling for hours we get here, have a butler suite. Well ultimately, we try to order room service, have waited 2 hours and multiple calls, no food, huge leak under our bathroom sink and water is in a puddle on the floor, go to turn the shower on and the faucet shoots off the wall. We are in the process of switching rooms, after their engineer says they cannot fix it, and still no food. Great start to our amazing honeymoon that we decided to splurge on and get the butler suite ...

First let me start with the manager Maxine Williams, thank you for the amazing experience you and your staff went above and beyond the call of duty @sandals Ocho Rios. We had an amazing time and was absolutely grateful for the love, food and entertainment. I can t imagine ever staying anywhere else again. My husband and our friends can not stop talking about how much fun we had, being around the all adult environment made the trip so relaxing we look forward to seeing you guys again soon! Thanks so much Ms. Williams property manager for making it feel like home.

D&G Johnson

Beautiful resort, great value, very friendly and attentive butler staff. Calicia is AMAZING, we always request her as our butler. Food could be better, the French restaurant, Le Gourmand, has the best breakfast and dinner and the hibachi is fun too. So many pools, bars, restaurants and water activities. We have been to Sandals Ochi 3 times and still haven't seen everything.

The service was above and beyond! Thanks for the amazing vacation!!

The food, service and playmakers we're awesome. Unfortunately the property is split by a road and you have to take a small bus to go back and forth between the ocean side and the hill area with most of the Butler suites and large pool and some restaurants.

Not impressed they dont play much jamacian dancehall or jamacian music in general

Long story short, very nice resort but its not perfect. 4 stars is a fair assessment of the place. Food is good not great. It is gorgeous and pretty well maintained. Lots of fun to be had and the drinks were plentiful and strong. Our only complaints were the food as a whole could have been better as a whole but their was delicious items to be had. Our other complaint was not their fault but it was a red flag every single day. With it being an east wind every day, i dont see how you would ever be able to do watersports, which we felt cheated out of. It was one of the main reasons we picked sandals. The 2 people at the resort that stood out the most to us were Washington and (i dont know how to spell her name) Tameika. Washington was a young bartender but he was a lot of fun and very knowledgable, very much enjoyed our time with him. Tameika stood out far and above the rest though. She is the late night chef at tapas and made the absolute best jerk chicken. Jerk shack was supposedly the best on the resort but it wasnt even close. We had the jerk chicken 3 times and every time was way better than jerk shack. On Tameikas night off someone else made it and it wasnt as good. On top of that, Tameika is the only person on the resort to remember us by name. She treated us like one of her friends and was one of the best chefs on the entire resort. Cannot say enough good things about her. Tameika made our trip.

The Resort is absolutely beautiful!
It is manicured to perfection. The common areas and rooms are kept really clean. The staff is one of a kind. They were fanomanl!

Best vacation to date! Everyone is so nice and polite, really makes a difference when people care! :) You have to go on the booze cruise to Dunn's River Falls, and the glass bottom boat ride to the ship wreck for snorkeling. We can't wait to come back!!!

Now I've been to every Sandals in Jamaica, this resort is great.

You've got to experience it to believe it, first class service every step of the way.

Food was ok, bed was horrible. The worst bed I've slept on in my whole life!!!

The map online is very deceiving, if youre staying at the grand house, the only way yo the beach is via shuttle. Its not terrible, but the map made it look like a walkable distance... Its not. The food here isnt as great as other Sandals, wouldnt recommend the fish sandwiches or quesidillas.

I had a Horrible stay! We were rushed out our room! Our flights were delayed by weather and they gave us no help but pay a large amount or leave the premises. Bad customer service as well. I would never stay at this resort and I love Jamaica.

Loveded it! Would go again, and again. Service was impeccable, staff extremely helpful!

We enjoyed our stay at Sandals. The staff was very nice and attentive. The rooms were clean and the air conditioning worked well. The French restaurant on-site was by far our best dinning experience, make sure to ask for Melissa, AMAZING service.

What I didn't like, this resort is across the street from the beach. So you have to take a bus to Ochi Beach resort and that shuttle can take up to 20 mins to get there. One night it took extra long, which put a damper on the night. Also, if you are looking to book a tour, check trip advisor first....we saved 50% on our trip to Blue Hole by not using the resort sponsored tours.

Shout out to everybody who gave this five star... Its awesome anyway

Great, all inclusive with wonderful staff. I went for a scuba focused vacation and it did not disappoint. Lots of great dive sites and the night dive was very cool! The food is also really good. I especially enjoyed the sushi place, Soy! The place was clean and well maintained.

1st night was Terrible had a bedroom After we got a new Room everything was fineBut it was hard to get them to switch us down the Hall To a new Room

Everything was outstanding except for food in some restaurants for our wedding July 21st! Service OUTSTANDING!
Soy, Pizza, and French restaurant had best food!

Stayed at Sandals Ochi for our 25th anniversary from May 18 thru May 24th 2019. We stayed in a Honeymoon Hideaway Garden Cottage. A concierge sat down with us at the beginning of our visit and put together all our restaurant reservations and gave us a tour of the property. This took about 90 min, but was worth it - you get a feel for the property which is pretty huge, and see how to use the "Hop" (the resort shuttle) to get around.

The property is in great condition - it is constantly being cleaned & maintained. Check out my pictures - the water is beautiful, the sunsets were amazing, and there are many places to hang out and enjoy the views. Our favorite area was the seaside section of the building that had the beach bar on the ground level, Valentinos on the second level, and an outdoor bar with shaded chairs on the third level. If it rained (which it only did one afternoon) we got many drinks in the Beach bar and hung out with other guests, if it was sunny I snorkeled and my wife sunbathed. In the afternoon we'd grab coffee at the outdoor bar and sit and watch the ocean.

We weren't looking for adventures and excursions on our trip, just relaxation - so no reviews of the off resort trips. But we were in no way bored during our six days. Restaurants were all very good. The French place was good, but not great, and Tapas is along the beach and is mediocre, but is best for a quick snack, not a meal.

For our trip, the mornings were beautiful, and then the skies became overcast about noon. The skies clear off again about 6. The sun comes up at 530p, and sets at 630p. We got up early between 6 and 7, enjoyed the beach in the morning (breakfast at the buffet at 730 - unlimited cofefe and bacon for me :D ), grabbed lunch and coffee when it was cloudy, and had dinner reservations at 630 to see the sunset - worked perfectly. I'll admit we went to bed about 9-10pm each night after a few drinks.

So much to talk about, but that's the scoop for us. Really enjoyed our time. Would love to do it again.

Amazingly tranquil resort with a super staff will surely visit again.

Had a great experience! Staff and everyone was great

My husband and I visited for our 18th anniversary. The grounds are a tropical paradise. So many places to hang out. U guys need a night club though. The staff was very friendly especially Susan and Natoya from the Sky restaurant. My husband is a strict vegan but there was hardly anything on the buffet line or the restaurants for him. Susan and Natoya however ensured that the chef was informed ahead of lunch and dinner of his requests. There are many foods that vegans have that others will have too if it is available. This will avoid having to make a special request for a vegan for each meal. Thank you lots Susan for taking our feedback in a positive way. You are so accommodating.

This place is awesome. Back my second year in a row

Had a great time. Chantel took real good care of us at the photo shop. I was able to pic out great pictures we took at the resort. We got hooked up with a great photo package

This was the fourth sandals my wife and I have attended. We had a club level room for 4 nights. As always sandals never disappoints but the biggest draw back in my wife and mines opinion was the layout of this resort. In our case we did alot of walking around the resort (but it's a big resort) if we had had a butler that may have been different since they will transport you around. The food was great. I loved that there were chocolate chip cookies everywhere. The service was great and the resort is in great shape regarding the landscaping and buildings.

My husband and I stayed at Sandals Ochi Beach Resort from Jan 30 - Feb 6 2017. Leading up to this trip, my husband and I were so excited to stay at a Sandals resort for the first time. Since Sandals claims to cater to couples, we were sure that it would be amazing. Unfortunately, we had the opposite experience.

Most disappointing of all was the fact that our anniversary was hardly acknowledged. I realize that 80% of their guests are likely celebrating some kind of special occasion, and you can't fawn over every one; however, Disney World & Secrets Capri have both made us feel much more special. This vacation at Sandals was for our 4th anniversary, and the only time it was ever recognized was by one of the ladies trying to pressure us to spend more $$$ at the spa. In fact, this money-grubbing attitude seems to be widespread. Ex:
- When I booked through the Sandals website, I told an agent that it was our anniversary. She neglected to mention that there is a special offer for a free night. I found this later, hidden on the website. However, you have to fill out a form & upload an picture of your marriage certificate within 14 days of booking. I tried to call in to speak to someone as it had been 17 days, but was passed off between 3 people in different departments, and so I finally gave up.
- If I am paying thousands of dollars for a Luxury Included resort vacation, I expect not to be hounded by employees of said resort trying to get me to pay hundreds more for spa & tour experiences. Every day walking through the lobby was like walking a gauntlet. I do appreciate not having to worry about tipping, but when we stayed at Secrets (which does allow tips), we were NEVER approached in such a manner.
- We had a $185 spa credit, but there is also a 12.5% service charge that you have to pay out of your own pocket. Also, the staff are very reluctant to book any services that total less than your credit value. (Same goes for the tour staff when we tried to book our complementary catamaran cruise.)
- Our package included a $605 airfare credit. When I inquired how to use the credit (as we were booking airfare separately), I was informed that it is deducted from the total cost of the booking; however, there is absolutely NO indication of this in the offer, and the only booking confirmation/bill I ever received conveniently lacks a price per person/night breakdown, so I have no way of verifying this.

On top of the trip costing almost $1200 USD extra, the lack of recognition of our anniversary, and the pushiness of all the different reps hawking their services, there were still more issues. Although the staff are friendly for the most part, they were disorganized when any issue cropped up. Ex:
- My husband was sick on our first day & five different people told us that "help was on the way" before the resort nurse finally arrived 2 hours later.
- They checked us in with the wrong group so we missed the orientation tour on arrival, and we weren't provided with a map. So we had trouble finding a place to eat the first night.

Overall, the food was OK, but mostly mediocre except for 1-2 exceptions:
Snack Shack - 1/5
Kimono's - 2/5
Kelly's Dockside - 2/5
Vista Gourmet/Sky Terrace & Southern Table - 3/5
Jerk Shack - 3/5
Tapas on the Riviera - 3/5
Reef Terrace & Manor Restaurant - 4/5
Valentino's - 4/5
Le Gourmand - 5/5 - This was the only restaurant that we really found was worthy of being on a 5-star resort. By comparison, when we stayed at Secrets, we would have rated most of the restaurants as 5/5, with a couple as 4/5.

Sandals also requires reservations at half of the dinner restaurants, which was annoying. We went to the culinary desk the morning after we arrived (Jan 31), and the soonest we could get a reservation was Feb 2 at 9pm.

Overall, as I've said, it was a disappointing trip. Definitely not worth what we paid. We will not be going back to Sandals in the future. We will be more than happy to book another Secrets vacation instead.

Having food at Manor tonight! Excellent. Hubby had the Goat delicious!

No hot water in villa and flooded bathroom . #worsthotelexperience

Dont go. Just a big scam. Tell you everything after refund date. Horible people. Really quite disgusting. Save your money and go anywhere elese but sandals.

This resort is nice. Its pretty much quiet. The waters on the beach are shallow enough stand in. The food was far better than expected at an all inclusive resort. The staff was very friendly and accommodating. The entertainment was ok, which is the only reason i didn't give 5 stars. If you have a chance to try authentic Jamaican food, go to Ms. Jeans. Which is just down the road from the rssort. You can even go by small boat.

Sandals Ochi is absolutely gorgeous! Everyone was so kind! Service was wonderful! Highly recommend for a romantic getaway for you and your significant other!

Sandals Ochi was a little disappointing but my expectations were quite high. First I'll talk about the good. The staff is quite friendly and everyone does their best to take care of you. They have entertainers always around making sure you're having a good time (this could also be a bad thing if you are just trying to relax and they drag you to some games and dancing). If you like rum you're going to have a great time. They have bars all over the place to grab a drink (pool bars were my favorite) and they are very heavy handed with the alcohol. The place is beautiful, once you are in the resort you feel as though you are in a tropical paradise (just don't venture off the resort). Now for the not so good...first I have to say the food was a low point of the trip. My wife and I dieted a month prior so we we're very excited to let loose and eat all the food they had to offer. The dinner restaurants required reservations so it's hard to get to try everything. The Italian food was probably our least favorite. The appitzers we're under cooked and the main dishes were just not good. Everytime I got a steak I asked for medium rare. Sometimes I got rare, sometimes I got medium. Never what I asked for. Now to their credit they always asked me to check if it was cooked properly. The problem is y wife and I were usually very hungry from drinking and swimming, so I wasn't about to send it back and wait while my wife's food was ready. They offer lighter fares available all day and night where you can get burgers and chicken and even pizza. But none of it is outstanding. It will do the job when you're hungry but I never felt I ate anything that was truly on par with the atmosphere the resort was selling. Next I want to say we went with an all inclusive resort because we didn't want to worry about spending money while on vacation (plus the resort and flight we're expensive enough). Too bad that wasn't the case. They have plenty of extras they try to sell you pretty hard (massages, higher end wine and champagne, photos, extra excursions, etc). They make it very hard to say no, I expected this outside the resort but not within. This was probably my least favorite thing.

Overall my wife and I were happy with being in the carribean instead of at the states during a snowstorm. The weather was nice, the pools we're great, and the carribean waters we're beautiful. We also did an excursion to Dunn's River which was amazing (but alot of hard work). The last thing I'll note is we had a Butler for our stay. Two actually that worked as a team. They were both very nice and did a great job but the butler experience at sandals was not what I was expecting. They handle your reservations and what not but you become dependant on them to get to and from places so they give you a cell phone with terrible reception so sometimes you can't reach them.

Had dinner at Manor House and Kelly's Dockside at Sandals Ochi while staying at sister resort Royal Plantation. Absolutely some of the best food I have ever had. Kelly's requires reservations and we understand why. Manor House had the best meal from start to finish with amazing service. We hope to return soon!

Most beautiful and relaxing place I have been to date

Beautiful property. Rooms were bigger than we expected. There is a main road through the property that requires the use of a shuttle to get around - not a big deal, but it does make getting around a bit more complicated. The restaurant food was excellent. The room service food was less impressive. The pools were in good shape, and there was plenty of seating / activities.

This place is fantastic. Everyone is so kind and helpful. The food is amazing!

What an amazing stay! Truly the diamond of our honeymoon! The grounds are beautiful kept. The staff is very friendly. We opted for the Butler suite. It was pure majic. We had Samuel and Richardo as our butlers. It was a truly special vacation. I am never going anywhere but Sandals ever again.

Left here for a catamaran ride to Dunn river falls. Thanks staff was very helpful and professional. We are staying at Beaches Ocho Rios.

Absolutely beautiful. Great food and entertainment. All the people who work there are so amazing! I really enjoyed the time spent there. Certainly would visit again.

BEAUTIFUL RESORT! My room had a private pool. Wish I went with a beau, it would've been romantic. Since its a huge resort, they have a great gulf cart and bus system to get you around the resort and between the 2 other resorts across the street. While being there, you get to eat at the other resorts except Sandals Plantation. I got a chance to check out plantation and it is even more amazing. Can't say enough about it. Must stay.

Great place to come as a couple to enjoy a honeymoon!

Honestly there isn't a lot of beach at this whole resort. The beach club side looked nice. We didn't use it because it looked crowded. Because of the lack of waterfront the seating and space went pretty far back from the water.

Unfortunately, my entire vacation was adversely impacted due to the resort informing me upon arrival that the room type and accommodations I paid for and confirmed were unavailable and their representative should have informed me that my confirmation would be usurped as a result. I was quite displeased.

We had a wonderful time at the resort, the customer service and attention to detail was out of this world

Great view from our room and there are a number of fun amenities/events but parts of the resort could use some updates.

Little known tip...
Looking for a section of the beach that is a little more secluded than what's available at Ochi? Thinking you would like to go lay in a couple's hammock 12" above the waters surface and 20' out to sea? Or maybe watch the waves break from swings in the ocean?
Our favorite way to get there.....
*walk past the Spa at Riviera
*turn left past the tennis courts
*turn right and give your room number to the employee at the gate
*walk out of the resort
*cross the street
*turn left and walk 200'
*cross the street to the left again and give the employee at this gate your room number
*walk up to and thru and out the back of the main building
*weave your way to the right around the amazing (nearly empty) pools
*take the ramp to the right down to the beach
*take off your sandals and walk out to the hammocks or over to the swings

Duration of walk: less than 10 minutes from end to end.

(If leaving the resort for this quick walk is to much adventure for you, just tell the front desk you would a shuttle over to the Royal Plantation)
Good luck