Couples Sans Souci

Ocho Rios, Jamaica

Star rating

The hotel

The award-winning Couples Sans Souci continues to offer renowned cuisine and first-class service in an elegantly tropical setting. Sans Souci is French for 'without worry', and what could be more appropriate for a laid-back holiday in Jamaica, especially in a resort of this quality? Set into a pretty, 35-acre hillside garden that leads to 2 white sand beaches, the resort offers you a blissful retreat.

Amenities

  • Golf
  • Sailing
  • Scuba Diving
  • Snorkelling
  • Water Skiing
  • Windsurfing
  • Honeymoon
  • Wedding
  • Bar
  • Evening Entertainment
  • Fitness Centre/Gym
  • Internet Access

Where is it

On a golden beach, 4 miles east of Ocho Rios. Transfer time from Montego Bay airport: 2 hours 10 minutes.

Hotel information

150 ocean-facing suites on up to 3 floors in 7 buildings. All with air-conditioning, LCD flat screen TV, iPod docking station, tea/coffee maker, personalised mini-bar, safe, iron and board, nightly turndown service, bathrobes and hairdryer. Deluxe Garden Suites with sliding doors lead to a private balcony and large master bedroom with 1 king-size bed, sleeping maximum 2 adults.


All-Inclusive of: all meals and snacks, all drinks (including premium brands) and all activities and entertainment unless otherwise stated.
Ocean Suites have sea views from a furnished balcony, a spacious master bedroom with 1 king-size bed and large walk-in showers, sleeping maximum 2 adults.

Beachfront Suites are located near the Bella Vista and Palazzina Restaurants, and have a spacious master bedroom with living area, sleeping maximum 2 adults.

Premier Ocean Suites have a balcony, expansive sea views, living area, and a spacious master bedroom 1 king-size bed sleeping maximum 2 adults.

Penthouse Suites available on request.

Palazzina Restaurant (Bistro Fare, buffet breakfast and lunch, à la carte for dinner - reservation required), Beach Grill & Bella Vista (grilled specialities for lunch at the Beach Grill and authentic Asian dishes for dinner at Bella Vista), Casanova (traditional cuisine fused with Caribbean and Jamaican ingredients, dinner, reservation required). Sunset Beach Grill (buffet-style lunch of casual fare, including fresh-grilled burgers, French fries, and nachos). Java Cafe (pastries and caffeinated beverages). In-suite dining available 6:30am-10:30pm. 7 bars: swim-up pool bar, Charlie's Veggie Bar, Beach Bar, Sunset Beach Bar, Palazzina Bar, Balloon Piano Bar and Martini Bar.

Weekly Jamaican beach party. Friday night Starlight Gala. Resident band and pianist. Strolling musicians. Live nightly entertainment. Weekly Wine-Tasting Party.

3 swimming pools (1 natural mineral pool), 3 Jacuzzis, 2 beaches, 1 for au-naturel sunbathing. Water sports with instruction including water-skiing, scuba-diving – resort course and one complimentary dive per stay for beginners, and one complimentary dive per day for certified divers (a second dive is subject to availability), night dives are available*, snorkelling trips, Hobie Cat sailing, windsurfing and glass-bottom boat rides. Fitness centre and gym classes. Spa*. Unlimited complimentary golf including green fees and transfers to Upton Hills Golf Course (mandatory caddy*. Golf clubs available for hire*).

Complimentary WiFi.

3 nights from 3rd January-25th December and 7 nights 26th December-2 January.

* Denotes local charge.

Dress code: applies in à la carte restaurants.

This is an over 18, couples-only resort.

Please note: this hotel is not suitable for guests with walking difficulties due to the location on the cliffside.

Rating summary

  • Location Image of the Tripadvisor rating
  • Sleep Quality Image of the Tripadvisor rating
  • Rooms Image of the Tripadvisor rating
  • Service Image of the Tripadvisor rating
  • Value Image of the Tripadvisor rating
  • Cleanliness Image of the Tripadvisor rating

Traveller rating

  • Excellent (3843)
  • Very good (994)
  • Average (306)
  • Poor (100)
  • Terrible (63)
Image of the Tripadvisor rating Amazing first time, and will not be the last!

May 31, 2025 mcmmbinkley1 Asheville, North Carolina

First time to Couples San Souci and will not be the last. Property is amazing! Lush grounds situated around the cliffs. So much to see and explore. Wonderful beach for relaxing and taking in the amazing views. just enough entertainment if you want to do something (unless sand gravity gets you first!). And the staff exceeded expectations. … Read more
First time to Couples San Souci and will not be the last. Property is amazing! Lush grounds situated around the cliffs. So much to see and explore. Wonderful beach for relaxing and taking in the amazing views. just enough entertainment if you want to do something (unless sand gravity gets you first!). And the staff exceeded expectations. We are repeaters to Couples Resorts, and we have now found our second home. San Souci, we will see you soon again! Read less
Image of the Tripadvisor rating Not as we expected

May 30, 2025 ronnies153 Angleton, Texas

First I’ll start by saying this resort is absolutely beautiful and very well taken care of. The staff is amazing and were there to take care of your every need. We vacation twice a year at all inclusive resorts, typically stay at a Riu or Dreams or Secret properties. We were expecting the same variety of foods, restaurants and things to do. … Read more
First I’ll start by saying this resort is absolutely beautiful and very well taken care of. The staff is amazing and were there to take care of your every need. We vacation twice a year at all inclusive resorts, typically stay at a Riu or Dreams or Secret properties. We were expecting the same variety of foods, restaurants and things to do. This resort has 2 restaurants and a very limited menu. The menu is the same every day. No buffet, no choices at all. Extremely disappointing Things to do…..don’t let the website fool you. There’s no actives, no music at the pool, nothing. If you’re looking to not do anything and not have much food choices then this resort is for you Read less
Image of the Tripadvisor rating Couples San Souci - Fabulous Stay

May 25, 2025 Spike1969a Derby, United Kingdom

We have recently returned following an 11 night stay here and we thought the whole experience to be fabulous, from transfers from the Couples Lounge at MBJ (bear in mind this takes around 1.5 to 2 hours) through check was smooth and friendly. Our room - we stayed in a Garden view room, room was modern, great aircon with all the facilities and a… Read more
We have recently returned following an 11 night stay here and we thought the whole experience to be fabulous, from transfers from the Couples Lounge at MBJ (bear in mind this takes around 1.5 to 2 hours) through check was smooth and friendly. Our room - we stayed in a Garden view room, room was modern, great aircon with all the facilities and a lovely bathroom with walk in shower, kept immaculate by our lovely housekeeper, Ivaney. There are a lot of steps to and from the rooms on the hillside; not a problem for us but if you have limited mobility you might want to look at A and B blocks. Resort has 2 pools plus another on the Au Natural side, all the grounds were immaculately kept. Lovely spa plus gym and yoga area and a couple of Jacuzzis, main beach small but perfectly formed with lots of included watersports again great staff. Food - we ate at all the restaurants and couldn’t fault the quality and service, Casanova is elegant, Bella Vista (Asian) was great and Palazzino (Breakfast and non reservation) was as good as the specialty ones plus the grill was very good. The Staff - These folks are what make the resort. Pretty much everyone was fantastic; standouts for us were Yasheken Campbell Ivaney (housekeeping), Sanisha (pool bartender), Carol (singing egg lady) Phillip (list isn’t exhaustive). Entertainment was great, the staff were fab and all the acts great quality; it’s low key and finishes fairly early as this isn’t a party resort but is to our taste. In summary, we had a fantastic time and wouldn’t hesitate to recommend this resort. Read less
Image of the Tripadvisor rating Fantastic Hotel

May 19, 2025 rmpguitar1966

San Souci Comprehensive Review The hotel is truly wonderful. The layout is sublime. You feel that the hotel has been incorporated into the beautiful natural surrounds (rather than the other way around). It was like a hotel in a rain forest, with beaches! The grounds had parrots, turtles, pelicans and Macaws (plus some friendly cats), even a few… Read more
San Souci Comprehensive Review The hotel is truly wonderful. The layout is sublime. You feel that the hotel has been incorporated into the beautiful natural surrounds (rather than the other way around). It was like a hotel in a rain forest, with beaches! The grounds had parrots, turtles, pelicans and Macaws (plus some friendly cats), even a few long tail humming birds. There are so many lovely quiet areas to sit and maybe swing in the many hammocks scattered around the place. We fell asleep in a few on our way back to our room some evenings! Our premier ocean view room (G201) was massive, with great balcony views over the foliage and ocean in the background, which made for some amazing sunset views. The shower enclosure was huge, as was the bathroom and bedroom. The air con (thankfully) worked a treat. Great balcony as well, with a double bed on it (we fell asleep on that a few times!). The only issue was it was a little overlooked by two rooms in block F to our left. It could do with a polycarbonate opaque shield to the left of the balcony for more privacy. The staff were fabulous, so attentive and friendly and we had many a good chat and a laugh with them. Even the hotel guests were some of the nicest friendliest people we have ever met on a holiday. The whole vibe of San Souci is very relaxed and friendly. The effort the hotel puts in to arranging gala nights and the like is tremendous. It takes them nearly all day to set things up on the main lawn (outside block B and A). The entertainment and quality of the bands was also superb (and I'm a musician that appreciates such things). The food was also superb. We also particularly liked going to the Martini bar for a few drinks before dinner. It is set in a lovely peaceful location on the hillside, high above the mineral pool area. The water sports team were also a great bunch of people and very helpful. You could do most things you wanted and I did (snorkelling, windsurfing, waterskiing and even a complimentary scuba dive thrown in, with great instruction). We like the fact it was a NO tipping resort, as we spoke to some others at Dunn's River who although were all inclusive at another hotel, were constantly (and almost, expectantly) giving a few dollars here and there to the waiters, just for doing their job and bringing a drink to them. The no tipping policy, takes all that awkwardness out of being served as you should be (this should be the norm). IF you were to be hyper critical of San Souci, you could say the beaches were not the greatest on the Island. The main beach is ok, but only about 4ft deep right out to the bouy markers and the waters around sunset beach itself are quite stoney (water shoes a must) , with a cold flow from the white river entering nearby, but apart from that, San Souci Jamaica is faultless. We spoke to some guests that had been there over twenty times, when they could go anywhere they wanted in the world, which says all you need to know about how good the place is. Pierre, the manager who we spoke to, is retiring after many years in charge and he must be very content with how he is leaving the place. We hope the new management/manager keeps everything as it is, as the old say goes “If it ain’t broken, don’t try to fix it”. All the staff were fantastic but there are a few we would like to mention in particular (sorry to those we missed out) Yeshekan the team leader in the restaurants for her lovely warm, smiley welcomes. Shanae and Horace: for serving us well (and Horace for getting us a table at Bella Vista when the booking app wouldn’t let us). Amoy: for all her service on our 25th wedding anniversary private meal in the most beautiful of secluded locations (well worth booking). Andre: for the great scuba lesion and taking me out for my dive (with Leon piloting the boat). Malachite and Morta: for their patience regarding my dodgy waterskiing attempts (finally got there) and also for their humour on the boat trips. Hopeton (one of the gardeners), who gave us a lovely impromptu tour of the garden surrounding the lake on morning. Lastly, who could not mention Carol, our lovely singing, omelette making lady? Best wishes to you all and maybe we’ll see you again one day. Richard & Lisa Room G201 May 2025 Read less
Image of the Tripadvisor rating Enjoyed The Full San Souci Experience

May 12, 2025 Bob_N_Ruthie Pensacola, Florida

This was our second trip to Couples San Souci, but the last time we were there the resort was under renovation and there weer a lot of places off limits. This time, the entire resort was open and we got the full San Souci treatment. First, we flew directly into Ian Flemming Airport in Ocho Rios. This is a game changer. Our last trip, we flew… Read more
This was our second trip to Couples San Souci, but the last time we were there the resort was under renovation and there weer a lot of places off limits. This time, the entire resort was open and we got the full San Souci treatment. First, we flew directly into Ian Flemming Airport in Ocho Rios. This is a game changer. Our last trip, we flew into Montego Bay and the bus ride to the resort was 3 hours. This time, we were having our first drink a half hour after our plane landed. We will ALWAYS do this when traveling to Ocho Rios from now on. Check in was very pleasant, the remodeled lobby was bright and airy and welcoming. San Souci is built into the hills and the lobby is up top, so we were given a ride to our room which was one of the beachfront suites. The rooms are the same category we stayed in last time and they are remolded and roomy. nice big bathroom with a walk-in shower. No tub, if that's your thing. We headed straight to Sunset Beach, the large nude beach area. It has a beachfront, pool, bar, hot tub, shower and bathrooms. If you enjoy nude recreation, this is the best we've seen in the islands. The actual beach is tough to use. The bottom is very rocky and water shoes are a must. There is also a freshwater rivers that empties into the beach and that water is chilly. Most people who ventured out used the floats that are in every beach lounger. The main beach is much nicer if you want an ocean beach experience. A sandy bottom and warmer water. There is also a beach bar nearby. You just, you know, have to sit around in a wet bathing suit all day. The vibe around the pool is fantastic. There are trivia games during the day and pool volleyball most afternoons. The rules are pretty much made up as you go along, which makes it a lot of fun. Shanae and Ashley are wonderful at keeping things fun and lively. Trudy-Ann is a great bartender. Lunch is served at Sunset Beach every day, with a grill set up for burgers and jerk chicken and a little buffet for side dishes and seafood. We had lunch here almost every day. Monday nights there is an au natural dance party around the Sunset Beach pool and it is a total blast! We are not youngsters, but still had a great time. The vibe cannot be beat. The restaurants are hit and miss. There are buffet dinners on the beachfront lawn two nights a week. other nights you can go to one of three restaurants, or order room service. We've had better food at other Caribbean resorts, but we are not "foodies" and really don't go to Couples for the food. We were also very impressed that almost all the guests respected the smoking rules and kept to the smoking sections. We enjoyed a very relaxing couples massage on the hillside, and enjoyed exploring all the hidden spots to just hang out and enjoy the scenery. We have already booked a return visit in December. Read less