Sandals Ocho Rios Jamaica Review

bingham101

After spending a week at SGOR we were sad to come home. There are so many topics that I think the best way to do a review is by sections. I give the overall resort a B. To start off there are a few main things you need to know about this place, neither were a big issue to us but are to some people. The resort is divided by a main road in Ocho Rios. The resort on both sides is fenced in and safe but the safest way to go from one side to the other is by their shuttle bus that runs every 10 minutes from early in the morning until 2AM. I also want to mention the stairs.  This place is full of stairs and there is no easy way around them or any easy way to get from point A to point B.  The bus ride to the resort as others have said it is a long one right around 2 hours depending on how long you stop at the rest area. I think each bus stops somewhere different. The place we stopped at wasn’t horribly priced. Check In- D Checking in was probably the worst part of the resort. They herd everyone there like cattle, pass out paperwork and then your left wondering what you are supposed to do. At this point the staff is so busy and the area is so noisy it was just very chaotic and nerve wracking after traveling for so long you just want to go to your room.  Our Room – B-We stayed on the manor side with the huge pool and had to take the shuttle back and forth to the other side with the beach. We loved our side but the other side was just as nice. We originally purchased the second to cheapest room they had and we were upgraded to a beautiful room with a balcony. When I saw our room I wanted to cry I was so happy after reading all the horrible stuff on here.  It was just beautiful. The safe was very easy to use and we never had any problems with it or stuff in our rooms. The issue we had with our room was the noise. You could hear the piano bar karaoke at night. Which to us was not a huge deal but to others this would have been really annoying.  The Resort itself- A++I have never seen a more beautiful kept place. The fountains, the pools, the gardens and the beach was all so beautiful and kept so very nice. The staff always looked nice and professional and treated you that way as well.  The Beach B-The water was blue and sand was soft but there was just no easy way to walk along the beach. You had to go up stairs and then back down them and then up more stairs to get to the grill or inside the resort. It was just so poorly laid out. However we never has a problem getting a chair and it was never too crowded.  

The Food B

They have a bunch of parties like a street party, a beach party and a chocolate party. Any time they have a dinner party most of the restaurants close and all the staff works the partys. They are so much fun with live entertainment and the food is beautifully presented and tastes good to. I was happy with everything except breakfast and regular dessert was lacking. The breakfast food was more about quantity than quality. The desserts tasted frozen. Except the chocolate party it was yummy. The restaurants serve four course meals for the most part (Arizona has a salad / chili bar). The portions were on the small side and made more like a fancy restaurant style more than just a pile of food on your plate. However, if you are a big eater you have order more than one entre or if you are like us make a fourth meal and head to the grill around 11pm and get a cheeseburger and fries. Because dinner comes in courses it takes a bit longer plus service is a little slower than we expect here in the states. None the less they still take care of you. The Bar A+The bar staff were awesome. They would make a drink any way you wanted it. They would double it or use the expensive stuff if you asked. Note that they use Jamaican rum and other local products but if you ask and they have it they will use another kind. They always filled your cup all they way to the top. For those of you who do not drink or not as much there are fountain self serve machines with 

bingham101

I forgot to mention if you have any questions about the resort or Jamaica just let me know.

Icaj1998

We just booked right next door at Sandals Dunn's River and are planning on stopping here for dinner one or two nights.  Thanks for the review.  Did you do any excursions while you were there????

jennybean2010

i'm not a fan of jamaica. i dislike the people. it's very, very poor. stick to the resorts.

however-dunns river falls is my favorite thing to do there. i highly recommend it. it doesn't look like it'll be any fun, but i've done it twice and convinced family members to go with me and they've loved it just as much. it's a good time.

other than that, we usually stop at margaritaville. that's about it.

bingham101

We went shopping one day. We took a taxi in to Ocho Rios and went to the duty free shops. For the most part the people we met were very nice and most are respectful. A couple were pushy, but they didnt ruin our trip. After we went shopping our driver took us sight seeing and to a local resturant which I would do again! My husband had a drink in a local bar and he loved it.

We stuck to hanging out at the beach and just relaxing. There are tons of trips you can take. Some friends we met did something almost every day. However, if you wish not to do anything the resort has tons of stuff you can do. We actually just enjoyed sitting outside and playing a board game or hitting up the hot tub. Have a great trip!

Even though most of the people are poor they are a lot more happy and upbeat than we are used to. It seems most try to do something to make a living.