Nice vacation spot!

We spent one week here and loved it. My only complaint is that the room was a little rundown. When we arrived there was a stain on the carpet in the bedroom and the room could have used a deep clean. Otherwise a nice vacation.

Wedding anniversary at Ochi Beach resort

This was our fourth time at this resort in the last 5 years. Numerous improvement were done and some more are in the works. Ochi Beach resort is Sandals biggest resort with 2 separate sections and hop bus system that is wonderful. The staff at this location are still amazing and so are the five star restaurants. We had the butler villas which we selected because of the cost for sure but our last experience was so outstanding this is the way to go. Any thing you want,desire it will be done. On ou [... read more]r anniversary day, open the front door to see roses on a white towel with happy anniversary written, spent day at our semi private pool then cap of with a tremendous supper on our patio. Spent 7 glorious days with little rain on 1 day in the morning,pools were cleaned and very soothing, plenty of drinks around (would recommend Caribbean Blue which is made of vodka, less sugar so you don't blow up) Entertainment every night whether at both auditorium (outdoors) or watch a movie on soft sofa while getting some nachos,popcorn or pizza and our favourite is at Mama's house (Rabbit hole) she sounds like Adele. I would definitely go back again, lot's of water sports to do, contest every day if you wish, beach or pool volleyball,rock climbing,croquet,basketball,tennis,golf. The staff in this location are extremely happy and helpful no matter your issue. Best thing is put your wallet away, no tipping at all.Fantastic food throughout the resort at any time....

Stunning Ocean Front Hotel

The hotel was a dream come true. Upon arrival, we were met with cool towels that were lightly scented with a mild relaxing fragrance. We identified our luggage and it was taken by or porter. We were asked to check-in which was not your ordinary hotel check-in process, we were escorted to comfortable chairs and met with champaign while we checked-in. We went to our room and it was exactly like the pictures we saw online. It was clean, beautiful, and fully stocked with amenities. The food was impe [... read more]ccable, the service was consistently amazing, the beaches were picturesque, and the talent they had at the resort was unbelievable. It was the best vacation that I ever had!

Beautiful grounds in an excellent location.

Resort is very large, spread out, does not have an intimate atmosphere. A shuttle ride operates between the two different sections. Staff are extremely pleasant and efficient, very attentive. Entertainment was terrific, awesome dance troupe! Rooms at the Riviera Seaside Village were clean & well maintained by the friendly staff, but a bit dated. Lots of stairs need to be climbed in order or to access the beach and some restaurants. Beach area is pristine, very well maintained by staff . Swim [... read more]ming area cordoned off made it safe and accessible. The food was somewhat disappointing for the level of the hotel, especially the Terrace steak house. It is also difficult to get booked for the specialty restaurants due to the large number of guests staying at both sides of this resort.

Great time

we just returned from 7 days at this resort and had a wonderful time. The staff were phenomenal. These workers put in very long hours day in and day out with a smile on their face and always trying to please their guests. We ate at all the restaurants and while one doesn’t specifically stand out as a favourite each one offered variety and the food was consistently excellent. We stayed in a riviera bamboo grove premium room which was located in the lily building. We found our room not ver [... read more]y luxurious compared to other 5star resorts we have stayed out. The room was very dated and the reason why I did not give a 5 star rating. The nightly themed entertainment was average but the entertainment at the rabbit hole was a favourite for us. We went there 3 nights to enjoy phylia “mama” perform. There are two private beaches. The riviera beach which a little more quite than the beach club. We loved both beaches. All in all I would recommend this resort as a great destination

Luxury and relaxing vacation

We spent 1 week in January, the resort is organized, clean and staff is very friendly( they not expecting any tip its a resort`s law), the meal selection is huge, the jerk chicken is delicious and the French restaurant as well. A lot of entertainment options inside the hotel, if you go outside choose the organized tour, its expensive but be safety. Over all, I have no complain.

The Staff Work So Hard to Keep Us Happy!

The four of us were very impressed with how hard the staff worked. The pool staff, the Butlers, the bar staff, the cleaning and maintenance etc. Always friendly and asking if we needed anything. We were very impressed with how well the grounds were kept. Every morning the grounds crew were blowing the leaves of the roads and walk ways. The resort was immaculate! Thank you Sandals Ochi!

Great resort

Sandals in ochi was awesome. They staff are amazing. So friendly and warm. The resort was clean and food was good. I felt bad for the cats on the resort I wish sandals would have a vet come fix and give them shots and sell cat food on the resort . I saw a lot of people trying to feed them. They all said they enjoyed the cats. We had a great relaxing time . The beach is so nice crystal clear water.

Best Couple Resort Experience!!

This hotel had everything we where looking for and more. This property was fun and exciting but also had privacy when we needed it. We stayed in the butler suites and enjoyed our own private pool. During the day we would go to the one of many pools or to the Oceanside and enjoy the beach. The food is above average and the service was incredible. With Sandals you pay a little more but get treated like royalty. Truly the best vacation experience we have ever had. Thank you Sandals for making our t [... read more]rip perfect!!!!

Another great group trip with Kim Hartlen to a Sandals resort

We recently arrived home from a great 10 day vacation at Sandals Ochi.. It’s a long trip from the airport to the resort, on most days 1 ½ hours, but the day we arrived it was a 3 hour trip because of the annual kite festival, which tied up traffic. The resort itself was very nice, however seemed “cut up” because of 2 distinct parts – below the main road near the ocean and above the main road. It was hard to walk around the resort much because it is very hilly and the roads and path [... read more]s do not connect well for a long walk. The food was excellent, overall the best of any of the 7 different Sandals we have stayed at over the last 7 years. The main pool at the upper level was great and we spent a lot of our time there, but did spend some time at the “quiet pool” on the upper level as well as at the beach. We found the playmakers fun and full of energy. Service at the pool bars was good. We always wonder about the thoroughness of cleaning of the drink glasses at the pool bars, maybe more care could be taken there, but we have seen that at all the resorts -- possibly one of few weaker points of Sandals. We found the staff very friendly and helpful, overall the best staff of any of the Sandals we have stayed at. We have to mention our room attendant, Sashana Campbell, who kept our room very clean all 10 days we were there. She was definitely the best room attendant we have seen at Sandals. She was very friendly and continually surprised us with her “towel animal creations” each day. Restaurants -- for evening meals -- we enjoyed all evening meals and ate at all restaurants except for The Southern Table. Our 2 favourites were the French, Le Gourmand, and Italian, Valentinos, restaurants. We ate at both twice and had fabulous meals with great service every time. We had Jenthrow for a waiter 3 times (both times at the Italian restaurant and for breakfast at the French) and he was excellent and went over and above to make sure everything was perfect for us. The sushi at Soy was excellent and the meal at Kimonos was very good – but the “chef show” there was short and just average. The only meal we had that wasn’t up to par was at Kellys and it was because they had run out of some of the ingredients, which we only found out about when the meal came. We had ordered the penne with peas and mushrooms and a side order of mixed vegetables. The meal consisted of just penne – as they had run out of peas, mushrooms, and mix veg, quite disappointing as we had heard such great reviews from others in our group. Tip – eat early in the evening there to ensure they have all the ingredients for the meals. Lunch – The buffet at Sky Vista was very good, the buffet at The Southern Table didn’t seem as good. The pizza was good at Bella Napoli, as was lunch at The Mariner, and The Great House Café. Breakfast – Mostly we ate at The Southern Table for breakfast. The omelets there were excellent as were the smoothies. You have to ask for a smoothie but they will gladly get it for you. The buffet breakfast at Sky Vista was also excellent. A pleasant surprise was the meal and service at the French restaurant for breakfast. Our experience at other Sandals has been that at the a la carte breakfast restaurants the service is very slow and the meals inconsistent. However we ate at Le Gourmand three times for breakfast and the service was good and the food excellent. Other waitresses / waiters we found exceptionally good and friendly were Meldon and Melissa at the French, Kimoy at Southern Table and Manor, and Massian the maitre’d. Royan from the loyalty desk was always very friendly and helpful and we seemed to run into him every day. Evening entertainment was very good on most nights; we especially enjoyed the steel band and the staff talent show. The Rabbit Hole was fun and worth a visit at least once or twice. We went on a catamaran cruise with “Island Routes” which was very enjoyable and well organized. Definitely worth checking out. The gardens didn’t seem to be as colourful as some of the other resorts, but there were plenty of trees and shrubs. Maintenance – we had a few minor problems which were fixed up quickly by maintenance, however a few in our group had more issues which were not fixed as quickly. Concierge service was inconsistent with 2 calls one day for a request resulting in nothing happening. Also we didn’t have any white wine for 2 days and had to call concierge twice in order to get this fixed. A couple of suggestions:  Garbage cans around the resort were very hard to find, a few more would be nice.  It was very hard to walk down to the main road as there were no sidewalks once on the resort once you got closer to the road. A good sidewalk plus a pedway going over the main road would make the 2 sides seem joined together more, and be a nice walk to get a little exercise. (the shuttle does travel between the 2 sides every 10 minutes and is easy to catch). Overall we really enjoyed the resort and would rate it in the top three of the 7 Sandals resorts we have been to.

Sandals Failed in their Promise of a Luxury Included Vacation

The resort is very old and dated, our pool was dirty and the filters were clogged with leaves. There was no relaxation due to the noise from the traffic and maintenance workers. We had money stolen.

Sandals Ochi staff make this resort!

We stayed over on the opposite side of the resort from the beach club side and was amazed at how great all staff where on this resort,always in a great mood and upbeat,food was excellent and drinks great.We where in a butler unit with 3 other rooms and your own small pool outside our deck, the other couples in the same complex as ours where with our group so worked out great for us as we all hung out around the pool and on our deck.Rooms in this area are idue for some freshening up,but where al [... read more]ways clean and exceptable.bed was extremely comfortable.Always lots of beer and drinks in the room and snacks,our butlers did an awesome job with looking after all and we our not the type that where constantly calling on them to get things,This side of resort is built on a bit of a hill so there is a bit of walking up and down ,so can be a bit of a pain if you don't like hills,but there are tons of little shuttles and golf cart running aroung that will pick you up if you wait.On the beach side there are 3 small beaches,I you like big beaches and walking them there is none of this here but there was always lots of chairs and staff around to serve you if you need anything,the beach side was a lot busier than the villa side. Over all this is a beautiful resort with excellent staff, a bit on the bigger side than I like but we had an awesome time with our group from the Kim Hartlen Trip Central escorted trip.

Feels like home

We have been to this resort 8 times. The service and the food are first rate. Lots to see lots to do or places for quite if that is your thing. The rooms are clean and well maintained. Beach is great but could use a few more shaded spots. Staff are helpful and upbeat.

Good resort great food nice pools great transportation system

Grounds were very nice,public areas were very well laid out easy to use,dining was to Sandals standards.We stayed on the road side of the resort would like to see more transportation for guest requesting rides up the hill to their rooms.

Dissappointing

Dissappointing! Room Service took 2 hours for food to be delivered. Our beverage fridge was never re stocked, always had to call which was very frustrating Beach towels never replaced unless we asked Our pool was dirty on arrival, we had to remove debris from filter daily So noisy with the golf carts n Hop vehicles driving, So fast up and down the hill with loud mufflers French restaurant chicken Cordon blue so dry n burnt. Was not the typical wow factor of Sandals Resorts that we are [... read more] accustomed too. A few guests had Glass beer bottles in pool and at swim bar , nothing done. (Drunk as hell) Rules ... No glass bottles in pool area ummm I guess it's ok! So sad we feel we wasted our money ! On a good note we had a great time with our great friends and our BUTLERS WERE AWESOME Moira and Sheana

Great Vacation - Nice Resort

My wife and I enjoy our 7 day vacation at Sandals Ochi. Personnel/Staff are awesome, friendly, genuine. Food was excellent, with lots of choice. Drinks were also very good. We didn't really go to the beach and spend the majority of our time by the pool and it was very nice, clean. Rooms were good, but there's a little room for improvement - we had some issue with lack of hot water, noisy ceiling fan, pool with some algae - rooms were clean and bed was comfortable - but a little bit more emp [... read more]hasis need to be put on room maintenance, making sure all is functioning properly; maybe time for some renos. Bottomline, we would go back again, as we enjoyed ourselves - great vacation.

Loved every minute of it !!!!

The resort was amazing....our butlers Alshane and Ormondo were super, especially Alshane. All the staff were very helpful. The highlight of our trip was the catamaran excursion. Absolutely loved it!! The only issue we had was the Southern kitchen restaurant, specifically the ribs I ordered, all fat, no meat. Other than that the restaurants were great. This was our trip of a lifetime as we cannot afford Sandals but we wanted to go all out this time.....Sandals did not disappoint !!! Hopefu [... read more]lly someday we can do it again :)

Fantastic property with amazing staff

I absolutely loved Ochi and would go back in a heart beat. Loved all that they had to offer. Only issue I did have was dinner at Kelly's was 7:15pm and didn't get out of there until 10:15, way to long.

The People are What Makes it 5 Stars

My wife and I just returned from Sandals Ochi Beach Resort. It was the third Sandals we've been to and we had a great time but it wasn't the resort itself that made the trip memorable, it was the people. This was our first trip to Jamaica and we really didn't any preconceptions as to what to expect. My wife's parents and another couple went along with us and we were just looking to relax and enjoy as much as we could. The vacation ended up having a mix of very positive and partly negative el [... read more]ements. I'll break it down fore review: Getting There Getting to the resort after landing in Montego Bay was painful. It's a long drive. On a good day it's probably 90 minutes. When we went, there was a kite festival going on which jammed traffic and extended the trip to over two hours. It was somewhat entertaining to watch cars, trucks and big buses passing us on both sides of our bus while police at the side of the road just let it happen. It's amazing there aren't far more accidents. The Resort Layout Sandals Ochi is two resorts in one. There is the hillside butler village and great house, which used to be a separate resort until Sandals bought it. Then there is the original beach resort. The two pieces are separated by the main road that runs through Ocho Rios and you go back and forth using The Hop, which is a shuttle bus. The system runs well and we never waited long to go from one side to the other. Even though the Hop is efficient, we found this division in the resort to be a real impediment to taking part in a lot of activities. Most of the nightly entertainment occurs on the beach side. After an active day in the sun, we often did not have the energy to wait up, get on the bus, go beachside for the show and return. I much prefer just being able to walk to whatever is happening. This element is probably the one that will prevent us from returning to this particular Sandals resort. The Resort Facilities The resort provides a wide range of service and activities. Everything from a spa to water sports, golf, other games and activities has enough to keep you as busy as you care to be. Even just staying around the pool or the beach can keep you active as the Playmakers roam around and engage guests in various games. We had no complaints at all in this area. Guest Rooms We stayed in the butler village in a four unit building with it's own pool. Of the three Sandals I've been to, this one was probably the most dated as far as the accommodations were concerned. The suite we had felt "old" and while comfortable was not what I would consider luxurious. For the first couple of days we had no hot water and the air conditioning system had a hard time cooling the living room. We raised these matters to staff and they worked quickly to resolve them. We eventually got some hot water but it was never really sufficient for a good shower and certainly not a bath. We heard that some units had problems where they had too much hot water and couldn't make it cool enough. It seems that the upper units got less hot water and the lower ones got more. Our private pool needed a good cleaning before any of us would use it and on the third day we were there someone came by and scrubbed the algae off the walls. Restaurants There are a lot of restaurants available serving different styles of cuisine. Overall, the restaurants and the food quality were very good. Each restaurant had its own distinct styling and ranged from glamorous to casual. We ate in a different one each night and had no complaints about any of them, other than for slow service in one, but we were on vacation and in no rush. The People When we went to Sandals Halcyon years ago we fell in love with the people who worked there in St Lucia. Then we went to Emerald Bay the year that it opened and had a distinctly different experience as the Bahamians seemed far less outgoing and engaging. The staff at Sandals Ochi brought back the magic. I have to say that everyone we met who worked at Sandals Ochi were simply amazing. They were incredibly friendly and approachable. My wife and I got to learn a lot about Jamaica just from speaking to the staff every day. By the end of the week it was like talking to old friends. And they weren't just friendly, they tried really hard to make sure that anything we needed was provided....from the resort General Manager through to the grounds keepers. I can't imagine a better team to work with than the Sandals Ochi team. They were simply awesome. The Best for Last We stayed in the butler village and were incredibly lucky to have Shenae and Moria as our butlers. These two ladies were the highlight of our vacation. To say they were our butlers is a disservice. More accurately, they were Jamaican ambassadors, cultural representatives and great new friends. Shenae and Moria provided anything we needed and many things that we never even thought to ask for, working invisibly to us, setting up little surprises that made us smile. They would stop by to see how we were doing and then stay and talk, answering all of our questions and giving us insights about Jamaica and the Jamaican people. My wife and I renewed our wedding vows while we were at Sandals Ochi and Shenae attended the ceremony after driving us over and walking us to the gazebo where it took place. At the pool, we also had cabana butlers. Richardo and Odeon also were incredible. Basically, anything that comes across as a negative in this review was far overshadowed by the incredibly positive experiences we had interacting with the staff at Sandals Ochi. Final Impression We loved our vacation and especially the people that we met. You will not regret staying at Sandals Ochi, but I'm not sure that I would go back. The split resort concept and the drive to get there are the two factors involved. I suspect that we will go back to another Sandals in Jamaica. We are thinking about Sandals White House...though I hear the drive to that is pretty bad as well, but there is a helicopter option which we might try.

Great Resort

Great Resort from the rooms to the service and the pool area. Loved the restaurants we ate at: Kelly's, Valentino's, The Sky Terrace, Southern Table. We spent most of our days at the Great House Pool and enjoyed the daily activities. Service was outstanding at the restaurants and the swim up bar.