Latest Reviews for Ochos Rios

Sunset Jamaica Grande was the worst holidays we have ever had 1 the staff were lazy and slow 2 the hotel was not a 4 star but barely a 3 star 3 the standard of the rooms were poor the first room smelt of mould 4 the entertainment was very very very bad and I mean big time 5 there were plastic cups all over the place on the beach and littered on the bottom of the sea 6 the food was not that bad but not a big choice ok if you like jerk chicken very nice 7 pool was ok but only a hand full of sun umbrella’s Jamaica had not much to offer bob Marley trip was ok but a lot of money of the trip dun river falls was good but if you go make your own way there it was a lot cheaper in Jamaica everyone wants a tip for doing sod all . we have been to the Dominican republic north and south and had a excellent time nice people beautiful place and Mexico and St Lucia and they knock spot off Jamaica I would never go back to Jamaica the Sunset Jamaica Grande Sorry for my spelling

Visited this hotel in may for 2 weeks. Read a lot of reviews, but must say It was a great holiday. I travelled with my husband, 4 yr old and 10 month old. Resort is beautiful. Plenty restuarants, we were in the standard rooms, you can eat in all the restuarants apart from the japenese retuarant. We did go- my dad flew from america and had a room which was a suite, so they got to eat in the japenese retuarant and we were there guests.Don't pay extra for a suite, its so not worth it. My standard room was better!! Wouldnt worry if you can get in ( japenese retuarant), you wont be missing out on anything. You get the same sushi at the chinese, which is the best place to eat. But be warned you have to phone to book these places and its a nightmare trying to get through.

Entertainment is amazing, they put on amazing shows.

The staff are so lovely. I wasn't happy with my room when we arrived, I asked for a family room and was given 2 double beds in the room, I complained and got given a king size bed and a double bed and a balcony with sea view. They were very helpful.

Great cocktails at the pool, each bar staff had their own speciality. Would go back, if the flight wasn't so long 10hrs from uk. Great holiday, go for it!!!

Bonus, having small kids you have to retire to bed early, however the room fridge is stocked with fizzy drinks, bottles of water, and every room has an optex of gin, brandy, vodka and jamaican rum. spirits are named brands no local stuff, which is surprising for all inclusive.

your kidz will love it.

We saw nothing of Ocho rios itself as we spent all our time within the Sandals resorts. We didn't need to leave as we had everything on site we could wish for! Had we been there longer we would have liked to have explored Ocho rios more and maybe gone to visit the Dunn's river falls which we heard many other guests raving about.

We spent our honeymoon at Sandals Grande over the Christmas and New Year period and had an absolutely amazing time!! I had been worried about whether we had made a mistake booking here after reading numerous reviews on this site slating the resort. I have to say we found them all to be complete and utter rubbish!

The room we stayed in was a honeymoon penthouse suite in the riviera building overlooking the beautiful, lush gardens. It was immaculately clean with fresh towels placed in every day, our bed turned down at night and soft music playing for our return after a night out. We had a fully stocked bar which was re-filled daily containing soft drinks and every kind of alcohol imaginable.

The resort is split into 2 sites - the riviera(where we stayed, by the beach) and the manor side (easily reached by a frequently running minibus service). The beach was small but lovely and we never struggled to get a sunbed. The pools at the riviera side were also gorgeous and peaceful.

Both of us thoroughly enjoyed the food we ate whilst away. We have to recommend the candlelight meal on the beach which is a perfect treat for a special occasion. We ate a 4 course meal by candlelight in a secluded area of the beach with a private waiter and champagne. Pure bliss! This was made even more perfect by the sound of a steel band playing in the nearby amphitheatre. We enjoyed buffet breakfasts and lunchwhere numerous delights were available in abundance and we really enjoyed dining at San Gennaro, Arizona, Bayside and the reef terrace restaraunts in the evenings. Check out Beverley's piano bar too for a nice chilled out evening drink.

My favourite pool area was on the manor side - the main pool - which has a fab swim up bar. Again we rarely struggled to get a sunbed and there was often entertainment available too.

On the whole we found Sandals Grande provided us with our dream honeymoon and we thoroughly recommend it to everyone. Total honeymoon bliss!!

Few minutes walk from the hotel. People often ask you to buy stuff, but a no thank you was all that was needed.

This was my 5th time at the Sunset Jamaica Grande. My room was spotless and staff were excellent. The manager at the front desk was not at all helpfull, but after going to the return guest cocktail party, I spoke to other managers and found them very pleasant and helpfull. I would definately go again, as long as I can stay in the South tower.

We have just returned from this holiday thoroughly disappointed. Grande it wasnt!!

Our rooms smelt so badly of mould that we couldn't have the air conditioning on, the bathroom was awful and there was continuous work being carried out throughout the hotel, we were woken up very early in the morning to drilling and banging. The buffet restaurant was ok but nothing special. Out of the three speciality restaurants I would only recommend going to the Asian, the other two were so dark you could hardly read the menu or see what you were eating. Most of the staff were friendly and everything is no problem! We did all like Jamaica though the country is beautiful and the swim with the dolphins was the best thing ever. Would also recommend going on the horse riding, this was amazing.

Would definitely go back to Jamaica but just not to this hotel.

hotel very clean and staff couldn't do enough for everyone. beach cleaned every day and no need to rush for sunbeds around any of the pools. Nice to see the huge cruise liners coming in every day but Sundays. Would not recommend going out of complex at night-time but ok through the day. Plenty of choice in food and drink but evening entertainment could have been better. Be very careful when anyone checking bags at airport on the way home cos we had a memory card taken out of our camera and did not know until we arrived home .....with no photos of our magical holiday! Must climb Dunns River Falls but rememcer to tip the guides! Another must would be Dolphin Cove ! would definately return as the hotel was spot on

Jamaica is a beauful country full of beautiful people. The Couples resort at Ochio Rios reflects this in it's staff and accomodation. The hotel itself is clean and is located in beautiful gardens and surroundings. The staff team here from the entertainmet gang, Dervin, Ricardo, Tanesha and Suzanne are brilliant and make you feel welcome from day one. To the bar staff Ricardo, Omar, Howard, Cheryl ect ect I could go on but the service they offer is second to none.

The food is plentiful and tasty and the drinks are branded names with the local beer being Red Stripe. Most activities are free as are some trips. One trip definately worth doing besides Dunn's River and horse riding is Dolphin Cove where you can swim with the dolphins. This trip was actually $100 cheaper if booked through your travel rep.

This resort is like a litle piece of paradise in itself.

It's worth upgrading for your flight as the service in premier is excellent especially with it being a long flight.

We will be travelling back to Jamaica and would stay at this resort again if we didn't have children, as this stay was for our ";honeymoon";.

If you have booked to stay here you will not be disppointed..

im going to keep this short. i read lots of reviews before we booked, some great some very bad.this place was excellent and ive been to lots of hotels
the food was fine very big selection lots of choice of restraunts some you had to book no problem just phone around 9 in morning it takes about 5 mins to get through service was great in restraunts and bars .as regards being hassled didnt get hassled anywhere id just like to add we were hotel around easter the hotel was completly full and for such a big hotel you would think there be queues for buffets and wait for drinks ,no sunloungers well think again this hotel is so well organised you dont wait for anything .

its not often i say i would like to go back to same hotel but this place i 100% would

Amazing Amazing Amazing!!!
Can't possibly say it all here but suffice it to say that we are very fussy when it comes to our holidays! Couples in Ocho Rios, Jamaica is the most fantastic place we have ever been. The accommodation is spotless, large, airy, bright with fantastic views.

The staff are wonderful and cannot possibly do enough for you. They are all so kind regardless if you tip them or not.
The food is fantastic and there are 4 different restaurants to chose from. All of which were better than most restaurants we have been to on any other holiday......you want lobster or dressed crab...you got it! Nothing you can't have.
Drinks are mostly cocktails (excellent)with all the brands not just local drinks which is usually the case in All Inclusive holidays. You can have absolutely anything you wish to drink, including Champagne, which isnt just cheap bubbles and comes served in a hugh ice bucket!!
Room service is totally free, so if you want breakfast in bed or a midnight snack just call and they will bring it to you.

The free trips out which include Dunns River Falls (not to be missed, exhilarating), Horse riding on a plantation (again not to be missed) The sunset boat cruise - fantastic. Scuba Diving, Snorkelling, rowing, etc etc are all absolutely great (and free too!)
The cleaners work incredibly hard and your room is cleaned twice a day virtually every day and on your return there will be swans and orchids on your bed! The swans are the towels of course but the flowers are real.
Went shopping into town which is an experience, yes they do want you to buy their goods but hey lets remember they really don't earn good money at all and all their crafts are hand made and virtually cost next to nothing (just a couple of punds). They are not at all aggresive but can be quite pushy. All in all we found them very friendly you just need to know how to say no thankyou if you really don't want anything.
What more can I say. It was everything we dreamed it could be and more.

One last thing.......the private outdoor jacuzzis......we had great great fun in the middle of the night (which is what they are there for)!!!
I would not hesitate in returning to this resort tomorrow.
You lucky people if you are reading this in anticipation of going to Couples, Ocho Rios!!!!

Oh nearly forgot.......the beach is lovely too with plenty of sand and palm trees. Don't forget to have your own private dinner in the evening on the beach, its wonderful.

This was our first trip to the Caribbean and we picked Sandals as we were celebrating our Silver Wedding Anniversary.
We had booked the upgrade to Star Class Premier for the flights, and we certainly think it's well worth the money. The check in at both ends was painless and both flights were good with friendly staff, good food and a wide range of entertainment.

On arrival at Montego Bay airport we were shown into the Sandals lounge with its self service bar offering soft drinks or Red Stripe. After a wait of about 20 minutes we were told to make our way to the bus for our transfer to Ocho Rios. We sat in the 40 seat bus with another couple waiting to move, however we were then taken to a 7 seater which made sense, until they tried to get 2 more couples on board. We eventually left with 6 of us on board and our driver McIntosh, who was a real character began his running commentary of our trip.
The roads are every bit as bad as they tell you, and then some. They were supposed to have them upgraded in time for the Cricket World Cup this Spring, but sometime in 2015 seems more likely, given the ";relaxed"; attitude to most things in Jamaica.

After our planned refreshment stop (why?) we eventually arrived at Sandals Grande. In the reception area we were ";greeted"; by one of the most unfriendly, almost rude members of staff that we encountered during our stay. There was no cold champagne for us or the others honoured to have her greet us. I could only think of the negative reviews we'd read and hoped had been wrong.
We were taken up to our allocated room in the main building and, having been awake for 17 hours or so by that time, hoped all would be well. It wasn't!!

The previous occupants of our room, several hundred ants, had not checked out prior to our arrival and were still treating the room as their own. Had they ventured into the bathroom they might have fallen through the crack in the bath, but this was not to be. So, tired and cranky I went to reception and managed to get a change of room, this time a one room affair, part of one of the villas up the hill.
The room was small with only ";the bed"; and a couple of sets of drawers and the unit housing the TV. No chairs to sit on either, which might not have been a huge problem had the bed not been a prop from Land of the Giants requiring some degree of athleticism to get on and off. I'm 6 feet tall and my legs didn't reach the floor when sitting on the edge of the bed!
After eventually falling asleep through exhaustion to the strains of some inane dance music we got a few hours sleep and awoke to be greeted by bright sunshine and clear blue skies.
Sorry, I slipped back into a parallel universe for a second. We were wakened by the sound of torrential rain which lasted for ages - a recurring theme during the first week. The brochures said ";25 mm of rain during January in Jamaica";. I'm sure we had more than that for each of the first 5 days, and that was before breakfast!
You'll have gathered the weather was a bit ropey - which is saying something because we live in the West of Scotland. It did improve into the second week but by them we had developed webbed feet.

The restaurants were good, but I'd advise you to go reasonably early if you want to get in straight away.
We enjoyed Valentino's and Arizona, however you'd better eat your carrots before you go as they don't believe in wasting much energy on lighting. We also had a wonderful evening at Kimono's Japanese restaurant at Dunns River Fallswhere our chef, Mr Beautiful, cooked us wonderful food and really kept us entertained with his flowing wit.
Having had our fill of loud obnoxious travellers from the Land of the Free, we spent our last few days at Dunns River resort, which was much quieter and had the most amazing pizzas for lunch - with a couple of glasses of red wine to wash it down.
To summarise, we were disappointed with Sandals in general, because it isn't anything like the adverts or the brochure. We expected, and paid for, a 5 class experience which was not delivered. We still enjoyed our holiday, but it wasn't the 25th anniversary occasion we'd hoped for.

We wouldn't recommend Sandals Grande Ocho Rios, although most of the staff were great.