Sandals Grande Ocho Rios Beach & Villa Resort

By All-Caribbean User from ohio • Stay away from Sandels

Overall Rating: 2    • Service [2]

We are doing our honeymoon through Sandels and have had nothing but problems that have essentially ruined our honeymoon. We began by calling for information from their agents before deciding to book there. We were given details on their resorts, price quotes, discount quotes (for military discount), and wedding information. We were pleased. THEN it all went bad. When we called back to book, we were put off for days by agents who told us they could not book our trip because we needed to talk to special travel agents to arrange the military discount. During this time, we were told by a supervisor that because of the delay, he would hold a room under our name until an agent was in the office to book us. Finally the next week we were able to get someone on the phone to help us, but he informed us that as of that day the military discount had been lowered drastically and on top of that, he also told us that there was no record of the room being held. After 3 hours on the phone we were told again to call the next day to talk to a supervisor. Surprise, surprise though, that didn't help and we had to cut down our trip 3 full days to compensate for the drop in the discount. Then, when I called to book the complimentary wedding package we had been promised by 3 seperate agents, we were told that there was a $200 fee associated with the ceremony since we would not be doing paperwork through the resort, something no one else had told us. With my non-returnable wedding dress already purchased, we couldn't afford the extra $200 and would have no ceremony. When I spoke to a supervisor on this matter she told me that I should calm down because brides have a tendency to get so upset over little things. She also suggested that I should just be glad I was getting married at all and that my fiance and I should have a pretend ceremony on the beach with just the two of us and then have a guest take a picture of it. Can you believe that?
Thanks Sandels for ruining my honeymoon.
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By latinacowgirl1 from California • They Ruined our Honeymoon

Overall Rating: 4   Location [8] • Room [6] • Service [2] • Value [6]

We reserved the romeo and juliet suite paid in full before we arvived and then were told it was not available. They bounced us around for 3 days before we actually got in the right room. Butler service was terrible. They never did any of the things they are required to do which included packing and unpacking our bags. they never even offerd this service. The didnt pick us up from our room to catch the bus home. Oh and they say no tipping but they make sure there is a letter saying they expect you to tip your buttler since they provide a better service. customer service was terible also. We were promised 3 days credited back to our credit card for the mistake in rooms and now they wont honor that letter. Customer service just keeps hanging up on me. Very dissatisfied customer.
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By redbarons97 from Winston-Salem, NC • The Best Honeymoon

Overall Rating: 10   Location [10] • Room [8] • Service [10] • Value [10]

The Sandals Grande was an awsome place for my wife an I to have our honeymoon. First of all the bus ride. Other reviews say it is horrible hot and long. Well it is long and a little bumpy but not that bad. It actually has beautiful things to see along the way as well as the way they live in Jamaica. It will give you appreciation of where you live. You will stop along the way so enjoy the ride. First the food, we ate at all the restaurants but Orchids was the best with Valentinos a close second. The Arizona was not that good because it rained the night we ate there. The service was great and the staff there were nice. We stayed on the Rivera side which was great for us because it was close to the water. The Bamboo Grove was a pretty good building to stay at. The only night we went to the Manor side was to eat at Orchids and Nicoles Night Club. Nicoles was a great club but there were not that many couples there. We still danced and had a great time. If you go make sure you go to Nicoles. We had a good time on the resort and was worth the trip alone but doing activities off the resort such as shopping and the Dunns River Falls will made it the best. Only shop at the gift shop if necessary. Go on the shopping tour. Its only 20 bucks per couple and you can get items a lot cheaper and getting off the resort is worth it. Another negetive is the return trip to the airport. You leave like 5 hours before your flight leaves so when you get to the airport you end up spending about 2 hours there before your flight leaves. But I guess its better than being late for your flight. Some reviews are negetive and I don't know why. Don't let the negetive reviews keep you from trying the Sandals Grande. It is a great place to vacation for couples and well worth the trip. I would recommend any one to go there and look forward to returning myself with in the next year or two. I will let you know if you are single or going with a group of friends this in not the place for you. This is for couples and catered to that. It is fine if you and your partner go with friends that are couples but not individuals. Thats about it hope you choose this resort you will not be disappointed.
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By bonniebul420 from Rapid City, SD • AMAZING HONEYMOON

Overall Rating: 10   

We love the the Sandals Grande Ocho Rios resort sooo much!!! We did not know what to expect but the service and the resort itself blew us away!!!I loved the fact that as we were waiting to get checked in they brought us cool towels to wipe our sweaty faces off!! The chilled champagne was great also while we were waiting. The honeymoon villa that we stayed in was sooo nice. We were right next to a private pool that was shared by 3 other villas. Plus we were very close to a swim-up bar which became our daily hang-out spot!!! All the restaurants we went to were fabulous!!! What's great is that you can order two entrees, two desserts, two of everything if you like!!! The beach facility was beautiful. Nothing like sipping your Mai Tai, reading a good book, and doing absolutely nothing!! This resort is divided into two parts. The Riveria, where we stayed is close to the beach. The upper section, the Manor has a beautiful large main pool area, complete with swim-up bar and other great restaurants. We loved being so close to the beach. If you do any excursions, we highly recommend the Dunn's River,snorkeling, catamaran cruise. WELL worth your money and time. It's so much fun and the crew are very friendly, and fun!!! The beach party on Monday night is a blast!!! They have a wonderful buffet with so many differant types of food!! For entertainment there were steel drums which really put you in the "oh my gosh, I'm in Jamaica mood". The resort is amazing!!! Everything was great!!! We're looking forward to going back again soon!!!
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By All-Caribbean User from Vero Beach FL • Married in Paradise!

Overall Rating: 10   Location [10] • Room [10] • Service [10] • Value [10]

Sandals Grande Ocho Rios was wonderful! 1st rate staff, excellant food & beautiful grounds.
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By radgifice from Minneapolis • Sweet

Overall Rating: 10   Location [8] • Room [10] • Service [10] • Value [10]

So relaxing and beautiful. The service was excellent, the food was great. The drinks were plentiful!
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By stuartpc from Wasilla, AK • Wonderful Weddingmoon

Overall Rating: 10   Location [10] • Room [10] • Service [10] • Value [10]

My wife and I were at SGOR from 3/24 to 3/31. We had a Sandals Weddingmoon at the resort, and we stayed in the Romeo & Juliet suite. Our entire Sandals experience was truly wonderful at Grande Ocho Rios. Our Romeo & Juliet suite was simply amazing. It is easily the largest room we ever stayed in. It is basically 2 completely seperate rooms, with a courtyard large enough to have pool, a hot tub, a table with 2 chairs, and 2 pool loungers. The first room is like the living/dining/kitchen/bar room, and the second is the bedroom/huge bath&shower w/ seperate toilet area. The bed was quite comfortable. Everything was clean in our rooms. The bar was well stocked, and so was our fridge. We had the basic hard alcohols, beer, and soft drinks, as well as fruit drinks, and fruit/cheese plates. All were restocked daily. I would say that if you want privacy and newer rooms, then the Manor villa suites are the way to go. We ate at every restaurant at SGOR except Orchids, and also ordered from room service a few times. Every meal we had at the restaurants was great. We tried many different types of food; jamaican, international, and typical U.S. We both thought our meals were tasty without being overly spicy. Room service was provided by our butlers, and they did a great job getting our food to us and setting up the meals. Overall our wedding experience was wonderful. We used Suzette as our coordinator, and she did a fantastic job. She went over everything in great detail with us during our initial meeting, and really put us at ease. Especially since we met with her just 2 days from our wedding day. We had our wedding at the Reef Terrace gazebo, which is near the piano bar (if looking at the Sandals site virtual tour map). The views are spectacular out over the ocean, and it does not show the construction at all. It was just us for the wedding so Sandals supplied the minister and the 2 witnesses, and they were all nice and made our wedding very enjoyable. The wedding meal was a 7 course arrangement, and we got to pick the restaurant where we had the meal. We chose the Arizona restaurant, because we wanted to eat right down next to the water, and we were able to do that. In fact by the time our meal was almost over, water was starting to come up to our feet!! The most fun we had at any of the bars was the swim up pool bar at the Riviera beach pool during the day, and the piano bar on the Riviera side at night. The jamaican piano player there is amazing. He plays songs karaoke style. Our butlers, Fawna and Sabina were awesome. They were friendly, courteous, prompt, and they did sooooo much for us, we couldn't believe everything they did on a daily basis. At the end of our week we took them out to dinner (they are allowed to have meals with their guests) at Valentino's and it was a wonderful evening. Tipping is accepted and encouraged by Sandals of the butlers, but is solely at the discretion of the guest for how much to tip. They did so many little extra things for us, it really made our weddingmoon super special. Almost every day we came back to our room to find that one of them had done up special decorations with the towels, flowers, and candles in the room. It was really cool. Everyone else is super friendly, especially if you are polite and friendly with them.
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By AnonymousUser1 from camp hill, pa • Well worth the money

Overall Rating: 10   

Where do I begin... The resort is exquisite. The people are incredibly friendly. They will go out of their way to make sure you are satisfied. From the moment you arrive, to the moment you leave you feel safe. They watch your bags for you until your room is ready so you can begin enjoying your stay at the resort the moment you set foot on the property. The food is out of this world. You will not go hungry. There is always something being served that even the pickiest eaters would enjoy. The drinks are top shelf, and the grounds are clean. The spa is one of a kind, and they even have registered nurses on staff in case anything should happen. Overall my experience at Beaches was wonderful. My wife and I are already talking about a return trip.
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By AnonymousUser6 from Charlotte NC • Paradise

Overall Rating: 8   

My husband and I stayed at Beaches Grande Sport for our honeymoon in May 2002. We loved it. The staff was great. We were able to eat anytime we wanted to. We felt like we were in Paradise. The beach was across the street from the resort, but the beach belonged to the resort. A bus ran between the resort and the beach every 15 minutes, which was fine with us. The only complaint we had was that all the water activities were canceled every day for the time we were there due to the choppy water. We would stay there again.
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By AnonymousUser3 from sewell new jersey • not that great

Overall Rating: 6   

visit beaches grand sport in august,2002.property not that great as stated in brocheur.I Was upgraded from a delux mountainview to a one bedroom villa and i can see why the delux mountainview the rooms are run down and need refurbing.The one bedroom villa need refurbing also but was a tod improvement from the mountainview rooms.The landscaping on the resort was obviously neglected for a long time,ovvergrown shrubs and weeds.The staff were great,the food was good.The Asian restaurant excellent.This resort is definetly not living up to the sandlas name.
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