Sandals Ochi

Sunday arrived approximately 130 room not ready no problem went to eat and enjoy beach. Tapas food was good but we didn't order enough. Waved waitress over got menu back after about 15 mins. Then tall thin girl came over we said what we wanted she said is this a reorder we laughed thinking she was joking and said yes sorry we are hungry. After 45 mins no food I went to another waitress shorter and older than first waitress a d said can we get our food? She said you didn't get it? No. Within 5 mins we had our food. I said what happened. She said I can't tell you.

Monday ocean bar approximately 1. First waiter said afternoon buddy how are you. He said what did you call me I said hey buddy. He said don't call me that. what does that mean at home I said hey friend pal etc. Like a good greeti g for friends he then said don't ever say that again it's bad here. I was like I'm sorry how about hey man? He was like that's worse. I was like what am I supposed to say and he walked away. Few hours later thin bartender. Very good at his job entertaining good drinks etc. It started to rain so we all came inside made us drinks. Large group of ppl. He said in front of everyone is it customary to tip where you are from. We all said yes but then we all said we were told not necessary here? We all tipped because we felt guilted into it. Don't advertise no tipping advertise tipping optional if that is the way staff are going to treat ppl.

Older gentleman gave me shit for coming in to ocean bar without drying off. No signs no nothing indicated this was mandatory it's a beach bar.

Tues called for water to be delivered to room. Never came.

Rooms are dated. Construction was ongoing all night long some sort of jack hammering. Internet is weak at best. Price of sandals should not have to pay for upgrading internet. Waterfront walkway was supposed to be open in August. Asked if anything special. It was anniversary. Did nothing. Don't expect anything but don't ask if you don't care.

Some staff have been amazing don't get me wrong.

I have travelled to Jamaica at 6 times and the rest of the Caribbean at least 2 times a year for 30 years. so I'm not a rookie traveler. This place is a 3 star at best. I will never be back [Details]

We had a great stay! Everyone was very friendly and helpful. The resort is older but very clean. We didn't wait long at all for anything, food, drinks, room service, rides or the Hop. It is a big resort with lots of options for food. I will say not all restaurants are open every night but we were flexible and there were lots of choices. More on the beach side but we had excellent meals if not our favorites on the Hillside. The beaches are small but clean. The dock is damaged from a large storm right now and not accesible but I would love to have seen it when it was open. [Details]

We checked out and left a day early!! Too many issues to list here. I will be writing a lengthy complaint to the hotel. Starting with a small, dingey room that overlooked the parking lot, uncomfortable beds/bedding, unfriendly staff. Immediately disappointed and left early. Definitely not worth the cost!! [Details]

We had an amazing stay this past week. The staff works very hard to make it the best experience possible. The food was incredible and you can tell they take pride in the maintenance of the grounds because you can see that they've been cleaning and grooming the beach, gardens, etc. This is the most lively of the Sandals resorts and good for people that enjoy some socializing, but also quiet enough for those that just came to relax.
The only downsides are the distance from MBJ (1.5 hrs) and the beaches are small. They are nice, but if you want a long beach to walk on this is not the resort (or area of Jamaica) for you. There are three nice cove-like beaches.
Overall we had an incredible time and would come for again in a heartbeat. [Details]

See below on the good and bad [Details]

We stayed at Sandals Ocho Rios from September 3rd -10th 2017. We were married on September 5th, 2017.

We can't say enough wonderful things about this resort, and the amazing staff, food, etc.

Since we were there during the tail end of Irma, the beach was closed for the end of our visit and as such we didn't get to experience the water sports or our sunset dinner at Kelly's Dockside grill on the night before we left. Even though it was windy and wavy, the staff went out of their way to make sure we were happy, entertained, and well fed.

Our wedding day was perfect, and exactly what we wanted. We eloped, and I thought I would miss my family - but the Sandals staff, especially our wedding planner Kerry-Ann and our photographer Ricardo made sure we FELT like we were surrounded by family.

Particularly Tenniel in the Club lounge, Oshean at the front desk, Javada in the entertainment crew, were wonderful. But also - every single server remembered not only our names, but what drinks we liked. It was truly remarkable service.

This is a truly all inclusive resort, and there is fantastic service from every person you meet. They take care of everything ! I am now a Sandals for lifer - I won't go to another resort, as they just can't compare. [Details]

Great hotel! what a lovely place for couples, every corner has been design specialy for us... they really have a touch in service, all the staff was kind and seeking how to serve us. small but beautiful beaches... the one in front of the building is like a pool, but I loved the beach near ochi club with deeper waters. restaurants are great, animation one of a kind. we took the transportation and spent a day at beaches hotel where we could use the all inclusive as in sandals... excellent way to get to know both hotels. [Details]

We had a wonderful time at this resort. The hotel was great. Lots of different restaurants to choose from. The room was very nice. The entertainment was great. Big Momma at the Rabbit Hole was amazing.
The message by the beach could be more secluded. Your having a romantic couples massage and you have guests walking by talking, laughing, guests are waiting for the catamaran cruise. Does not seem very romantic to us. [Details]

Our room was quite nice, however we were expecting a balcony but because we were on the second floor we didn't have one. The shower had very poor water pressure. Very comfortable bed. The food was excellent. We booked our meal reservations first thing the next morning after the night we arrived and the earliest we could get was 9 pm for most including Kelly's on the dock and La Gourmand on the hillside. Still a great meal, but come that late we were almost to the point of not wanting to eat a meal. The staff were very professional, accommodating and friendly. Be prepared to answer to staff asking you to book your spa appt everywhere you go. We swam in the ocean everyday and only went in the pools to experience the swim up bars as the pools were so cold. Weather was nice. Resort was clean. Washrooms were few and far between. Close to several excursion locations - Dunn's River Falls, Mystic Mountain, Blue Holes and River tubing, Horseback Riding, etc. Seven days was perfect, 10 days would have been too long for us. Overall a great location for our honeymoon. [Details]

Everything about this resort exudes class.The staff were amazing and friendly, as were the resort guests. Environmentally speaking, every square inch of this resort is absolutely beautiful! The gardens, beach, pools, etc. The grounds are kept immaculate. We had a butler villa with a private pool. The rooms were clean and perfectly sized. The restaurants were all very good and the food was spectacular. Each night our butler made us reservations so we had a chance to try all of the a la carte restaurants. The butler service was an awesome addition as well. Aside from booking us our dinner reservations each night, we could call them (via our cellphone the resort provided) and have them pick us up and take us to wherever we wanted to go. They also would call to check-in on us throughout the day and ask if there was anything we needed. They often brought us drinks. They also booked our massages on the beach. I highly recommend the butler service. It just made our stay that much more relaxing! Aside from the butler service- all of our wait staff was great. All of the bartenders were super friendly, efficient and accommodating. The 'Playmaker' staff also knew how to get the party started. They often rounded us up for games and fun activities throughout the day but were also sensitive to your needs if you just wanted to relax. There's a lot of selection when it comes to food- aside from the a la carte restaurants- there's a jerk chicken shack, make your own pizza bar, and many buffets scattered throughout the resort. Put it this way- you will never go hungry and there's always somewhere open to eat. There's also a 24/7 room service menu. We ordered breakfast to our room regularly throughout our stay and we would have our own breakfast on the patio overlooking the resort. Overall, this resort is beautiful and the staff are amazing. They will accommodate you any way you need. Highly recommend upgrading and getting the butler service for a truly all-inclusive experience. We will be back! [Details]

We were disappointed with the resort, especially our room. The room was very "tired" and the bathroom was even worse with a broken toilet lid, mildew in the caulking around the tub, broken tap handle and very old bath tub. Only one of the two elevators were operational for the week we were there. In general, this resort needs a good sprucing up. For the money we paid, we were expecting a much nicer resort and therefore will not return. [Details]

The Sandals experience at Ochi Beach in Ocho Rios was phenomenal. Excellent food, great quality drinks, awesome atmosphere and our butlers were fantastic. There was lots to do and keep you entertained, but also lots of places to just relax and enjoy the sunshine. We stayed in the villa with the pool, and although it was shared with 3 other suites, we never had issues of privacy or our pool ever being overcrowded; we had privacy to it whenever we wanted. [Details]

My husband and I and another couple stayed at Sandals Grande Riviera from January 31/14-February 7/14.The drive from the airport was quite long, about 1.5 hours. The highway is not too bad and we were in a small van with 1 other couple. Overall, the resort is quite big, divided into two parts. We stayed on the Riviera side in a regular room. We did not have a butler. The beach is quite small and the pools on this side were small and limited seating. The pool on the Manor side was very large and beautiful and we spent most of our time there. There is a shuttle between sides and it was there every 5 minutes or so to take you back and forth. The bar service at the beach and pools was excellent! The girls came around every few minutes to bring you drinks or whatever you needed. The food for the most part was fabulous, especially the lobster at Sabrina's and the food at China Doll. There was always a waiting list at Valentino's and when we finally got to eat there, it took nearly 3 hours to complete our meal. The resort is very clean and the staff was very friendly and always accommodating.We had a couple's massage at the spa and it was wonderful. Overall we had a very romantic, relaxing vacation and would go back again! [Details]

Wonderful service, food and drinks. [Details]

We arrived in Christmas day, Sandals handled everything getting from the baggage pickup to providing a comfortable ride to the resort. Room , personalized Butler service was above and beyond, restaurants and the meals were excellent. New Years eve party was fantastic. We really enjoyed the trip. I highly recommend it. [Details]

Couldn't ask for anything better. Excellent food, top of the line service. The butlers went above and beyond their requirements to make sure our vacation was perfect. [Details]

amazing trip best vacation ever :) staff are unbelievably friendly and so helpful :) you cant go wrong with this resort..absolutely amazing!! :) [Details]

At first both me and my girlfriend were getting to know the resort but did not know where everything was. A little confused with directions so we had to actually go through the whole resort to know where everything was. Other then that, had a great time! Highly recommended! [Details]

As returning Sandals SSG members, we were we greeted and treated very well. We love the friendly people and lush gardens. We stay on the Riviera side closer to Watersports as we enjoy the use of the Hobies and kayaks. There are many fine restaurant choices, many of which are air conditioned. The nice thing is that you can have exactly what you want, simply by asking. [Details]

Outstanding. Great in the off-season too. [Details]

- nice room given
- hotel has been renovated about 2-3
yrs. ago and looks even better and
cleaner; pretty atmosphere
- food varies depending which of the
many restaurants you eat at. For us
the mountain side had good places;
although we stayed at the Ocean side
- service was overall very good. A
couple of sourpusses but probably no
resort can have perfect staff, were
all human and have stresses; I tried
to avoid the trouble - lack of service
- when it arouse and move around it.
- although beach space is at a premium
(probably standard in Jamaica), the
layout is very pretty and the main
beach is clean and the ocean bottom
very sandy smooth. No clogs needed
here but perhaps on the secondary
beach on the Ochi side.
- had a beach party one night and the
food was excellent
- had chocolate sweet table small party
one night on the mountain side -
sweets were good; good live music
- same night had Kareoke in mountain
side main bar; very good; very scenic
bar
- some of the restaurants have very
scenic views
- lots of activities available
- friendly crowd; many people on
honeymoon - definitely a younger crowd
so if you are in your 50's like us
don't expect to see to many people in
that age range [Details]

Loved our short stay at Ocho Rios Sandals. Ideal romantic getaway. Resort was beautiful, lots of spaces for couples to relax. Also nice for groups. [Details]

The picture of the beach is deceiving. It is VERY small. Beautiful water though. We stayed on the Villa side so we had to take a shuttle over to the beach. Maybe we didn't read the description properly but we were surprised. The shuttles ran constantly so it was never a problem. We found the music quite loud and they will not turn it down. Good for the younger crowd. Food was average. Our butlers, Richard and Jeremy were great, they couldn't do enough for us. We came back in January from Sandals Emerald Bay, Bahamas and that resort is alot smaller but alot better. We wouldn't return to the Grand Riviera as there are better resorts and the drive from Montego Bay is 2 hours. A bit long for a mediocre resort. [Details]

There is so much to tell!! Flew into Kingston, for a 4 day getaway from it all vacation. According to Sandals "Luxury Included"We travelled through mountains to get to resort, lots of scenery, but dangerous, the van was sub-standard and possibly unsafe. old van, guy stops for gas, goes over a speedbump, and rear bumper falls off..delayed while he fixed it and away we went. 1.5 to 2 hour drive, yeah right,it took us 3 , cars were passing us left right and center lol. Had one really close call, that I think even scared our driver...
We get to Sandals resort, get to our room, no alcohol in rooms, no beer. Air conditioning did not work...fan in bathroom did not work..."luxury included"...I don't think so. They gave us a little packet with info in it for the spa, problem was there was no map of where the restaurants were and what was available. We stopped by a nice restaurant on the pier, but you could only eat there with butler service?? Then we went to another one, I didn't see the hostess stand, or a hostess for that matter, and was chased down and told I had to check in and wait to be seated. Oops! Went to another restaurant, open air, ordered a bottle of their featured wine, "Beringer White Zinfandel", only to be given a $38 tab for it...what??? It is under $10 where I come from...food was ok at best.
Breakfast buffet was good. But again, you had to wait to be seated and rarely a host or hostess standing there waiting for you.
if you wanted a nice bottle of cold beer in your room, it was $3 each, for Red Stripe!!! This is not what I was expecting from an all inclusive...but weather is nice and the service at the beach was great. We were expecting reggae music at the beach...know what we got?? Justin Bieber lol. How could they ever think that is what the guests are expecting...it was on a loop, so the same songs kept playing lol.
So this night we head for dinner, 2 people in front of us waiting to be seated...15-20 minutes later when there is now 25 people waiting...we are told that because it started sprinkling, they had to move guests inside. But...they already had the inside tables set for breakfast..so they had to clear them all reset them and move the guests. Leave your name and room number and go to the bar for a drink. Some great guitar playing for entertainment. We get seated 1/2 later, food was again yuck! Wine was good though at another $38 dollars for the bottle
We again spent the rest of day at beach, listening to the "Biebs" lol. Had a burger at a beach grill which was ok..we didn't go for dinner this night.
We receive notice that our checkout time is 7am. Huh? Our flight is early afternoon. Bus will be taking us back to airport at 7:30. No coffee or tea in lobby, go had to go to breakfast buffet down by the beach to get some. Glad I did cause van didn't show up until 830...it was a lovely, clean safe ride back to the airport. And only 2 hours.
We are laughing about it now, but having stayed at many resorts and thinking we were getting something special by going to Sandals...no way.
Thank you for your inquiry! [Details]

Well priced resort with better than average facilities and knowledgeable and helpful staff, especially our two butlers. Food was OK. [Details]

We stayed on the Hillside and we are glad we did, the riviera side was crowded. Didn't know there was a main road between the two sides, which was surprising. Food is excellent, beach was disappointing, very small and dirty. They offer butler service and while lots of people apparently like this, I believe that they are digressing and should not offer (we had and declined) butler service. Jamaicans pride themselves on their ancestors and history of slavery, their independence etc., yet this type of service just feels like they are digressing! [Details]

Don't bother, the hotel is too expensive and definitely not a 5 star, 3.5 stars max.
The beach is tiny and lots of seaweed on the shore, which is barely cleaned by staff. Food is average, nothing spectacular. Rooms are tiny. The ocean view we paid for is a joke - it's on the other side of the road and it's a pool view.

Everything is pretty expensive and the quality of service does not justify the price. Go to Mayan Riviera instead, it's cheaper and much better overall. [Details]

As usual Sandals provides a resort that is clean, with plentiful food and beautiful manicured lawns and grounds. I have to admit confusion about a "luxury" resort chain not providing microwaves in the rooms, when even budget hotels like the Red Roof or Howard Johnson do! This left my husband asking staff to warm in a pan a meal, which they did not infact warm at all, but simply served on a hot plate. Need I mention Red Roof also provides free Wi-fi Internet, which Sandals charged $14 US for one day! Outrageous! Also, I found that there were several efforts to "nickel and dime" guests, by providing 3 antiquated internet kiosk (one of which did not work), that would only work when it collected money, but would freeze or not load web pages during the Internet session. Also, there was no posting on the in-room phones for a charges for local calls, so to my surprise I was met with a $20 US bill for 7 calls, none of which were longer than 7 minutes. The staff were pleasant, accommodating and courteous for the most part. Particularly the IT manager who promised to waive the charge for the useless internet kiosk. The bathroom sink fell apart and I had to have it serviced. The room was otherwise clean and well appointed. I have been to Sandals twice and will likely go again, knowing that I need to plan ahead for some major inconveniences, because the staff, resorts, and restaurants are worth it if the price is right. I had to call the front desk myself to remind them of the day of my departure, as they did not provide departure instructions as is customary, to my room. Having spent $13,000 at the Negril site 3 years ago for my honeymoon, and having a spectacular experience, this was a let down. [Details]

My boyfriend and I travelled to Jamaica for a week and we loved every second of it. The staff would bend over back for you they were so friendly. We left Jamaica with many new friends. The food was awesome, we quite enjoyed the sushi place as we started there every night for appetizers and sake bombs. What a blast! I recommend booking Kelly's and Kimonos when you check in as e heard other people couldn't get in. I have travelled to 3 other all inclusives in Mexico and Cuba and this resort was awesome! It is a little far from the airport but worth it. If you want a long beach this resort doesn't offer hat. [Details]

This was the best vacation I have taken. The staff were amazing and so helpful. We loved the food and everything Sandals had to offer. The free snorkeling was great! We really had nothing to complain about. [Details]