Wow! I have only great things to say about Jamaica. Beautiful country with beautiful people. We thoroughly enjoyed our stay at Sandals Grande Ocho Rios. The staff were friendly and helpful, the grounds are beautiful and lush, the food is good and there are 7 restaurants and 3 grills to eat at, the selection of beverages was excellent and they don't skimp on alcohol like some all inclusives, there is a variety of activities on site to choose from. Excellent facilities. Some may complain that the grounds are too big but I thought it was perfect. There are jitneys that transport you from the hotel lobby/restaurants/pools to your rooms and shuttles that transport you to the other side of the property where the beach and more restaurants are located. We however walked everywhere on the property. We were located on the manor side of the hotel and walked everyday from our hotel room to the lobby, to the beach, to dinner and it was no problem. Manor side of the resort is all hills but when you're indulging that much you need to exercise! I would give this resort a 9/10 and am planning on going back next year.

ROOM:

I absolutly loved staying here. We upgraded our room to the Grade Luxe Oceanfront Veiw room and it was the greatest view I have ever seen. There was a Plasma TV and mini fridge with soda, juice, and water that was stocked every day and a king sized bed wtih turn down service every night. Everyone one there was so warm and inviting. They really do make you feel like you could stay forever. Sandals Ocho Rios was a pretty big resort. There were two beautiful sides: The Manor Side and the Riveria Side. There is a little bus that shuttles you to each side that I thought was going to be a hassle at first. You know how those go...waiting for a bus forever, the long ride over, ect., but it wasn't like that at all. They say a bus comes every 15 minutes but it was really more like every 5 minutes. It was also air conditioned and the ride over only took a minute or two. The Riveria Side has the ocean and the Manor Side has the beautiful pools that you see on the Sandals website. We took a swim over on the Manor Side at night and it was gorgeous and very relaxing.

FOOD:

The food seemed to take a long time, whether you was the first or only person, or if you were the last person in a crowded room. I think this was just the calm manner of the Jamaician atmosphere. A lot of places has a salad bar or would bring your appitizer to you pretty soon so it really wasn't that bad. The food wasn't bad but I am also a vegitarian so there wasn't as many choices for me to pick from as there were for the meat eaters. There was, at least, one thing that I could pick off the menu in every restaurant I went to but, as stated before, there wasn't near as many choices to pick from as there were for meat eaters. I am also a huge fan of midnight snacks and I would go down to the grill, which I think was open all night, and get a vege burger and fries. Those were really good. I was never disappointed when I got one of those.

ACTIVITIES:

The activities were great! They put on a show everynight and the water activities were so fun. They take you way out on the Hobie Cats, I learned how to wind surf, and you can go forever down the beach on the kyaks. The glass bottom boat ride was so cool and the snorkling was fantastic. We purchased some floaties in the gift shop to lay in the ocean with but they were a little expensive so, if you would like to relax in the ocean on an air bed I would get a cheap on and bring it with you. I wish I had. They also had other things like a casino night or a crafts session. There was so much to do. IT REALLY IS LUXURY ALL-INCLUSIVE.

SAFTY:

I also felt VERY safe the entire time I was there. There were supposed to be two couples all together that were going to Ocho Rios (me and my boyfriend and my best friend and her boyfriend) but they got called out on a job so rather than cancelling our trip my friend and I invited two other of girl friends and just had an awesome vacation with us girls! So it was very important to us that we felt safe and, if I ever take a vaction with a bunch of girls again it will be to a Sandals Resort rather than some singles resort. I take a vacation to relax not to party and I feel like I got everything I wanted.

SPA:

I even got 50 minute sampler massage at the Red Lane Spa and Salon. I have had many massages but, and this is no lie, this was the best massage I have ever had. I wish I had purchased a longer one, they are pricey, but it was well worth it.

I have no complaints and I will be going back. I plan to put up a video in the near future, either tonight or tomorrow, on youtube of what our room looked like. It was taken with a camera phone so its not the best but you can get the idea. Just keep checking at youtube.com/user/aGirl789 to see it.

We planned a wedding moon with a group of 25 people at Ocho Rios Sandals Resort in Jamaica. The trip was fabulous, we booked our trip through Carleen Brown, the Sandals rep for the DWF area. We began planning about 8 months in advance. The trip went off with a bang and kept on firing!! We had a blast!! When we arrived at the airport we scooped up some cocktails at the sandals lodge, then head off in a bus to Ocho Rios with plenty of red stripe in tow yeh mon!! We made a stop 1/2 way at a little shop and bar, you could buy souvenirs that were very reasonable and the guy would give you a great deal, I bought stuff from him there and back and he remembered me and congratulated me on my wedding because he even remembered I was getting married. Then we continued our journey with Aerie our driver and my friend Dawn navigating. We stopped for a bathroom and cocktail break at Dunns River falls, which made us only anticipate our arrival of our resort even more. You almost forget what waiting ahead because it has been such an amazing journey thus far. Once we arrived at Grande Ocho Rios there was there Jamboree just beginning to start, the music and spirit tucked away in the the lush gardens was amazing, beautiful spirits began leading us to the lobby, where we were greeted with champagne or red stripe or both. We were then told our butlers names Kesmit and Moria. We acted like we forgot we had butlers, and sat mesmerized. The occasion of being in the service industry and we work for the service industry was a treat. We both endured he hospitality, professionalism, and the promptness of our personal butlers. Their friendship was awesome and we felt Kesmit who we met first, and began mapping out our week when we arrived to our lovely cottage tucked back in the Manor side with a semi private pool, which I highly recommend. Anyway Kesmit sat us down and explained everything from wedding to what excursions we were thinking of doing etc. He made things a lot easier and we really appreciated it because there would have been no way we could have pulled everything off as easily without the help of our butlers services. Personal butlers, not something I am used to but, enjoyed the company to it's fullest. The company I say because felt like they became our friends and we appreciated our butlers, and hopefully didn't bother them too much. Kesmit and Moria expressed gratitude, teamwork, and upheld the highest standards of the English Butler Association, A.K.A. Jamaican culture at your service. The both of them teamed together to make our stay pleasant, eventful, and fulfilling. We can appreciate this and look forward to getting back in the Summer of next year. Thank You with many thanks, just remember if you ever meet Kesmit or Moria, listen to the culture and the advice of your surroundings, you will sure come away with a memorable experience of a LIFETIME!!!! Special Thanks to Arlene our wedding coordinator,her assistant and the staff that worked our wedding reception at San Gennaro's Restaurant they were amazing, making our wedding a great time. Thanks to the guys who filled in for the garder toss. I'm sure we'll remember that moment as much as you will. Our wedding was all we hoped for and much more. We love you guys!!

Our trip was wonderful. I really couldn't have asked for a better vacation. We were very blessed to have had our wonderful butlers who made our experience exceptional.
The facility was beautiful and the staff wonderful. Thank you for making our trip memorable.