Sandals Ochi Beach Resort

This was my husband and my third Sandals resort. We did not originally book for this resort, but ended up coming here last minute! This was not my top pick resort (at first) and we had low expectations with not booking butler level this time, but we were blown away by the staff! Nicolas took us to our room and handled our luggage. We were upgraded so we had a farther walk than originally planned, so he was awesome and let us know just to call and he would be up ASAP to help us up/down the hill. We ran into him several times, and he always had a big smile and checked on us. For the dining: We always choose Sandals because they are so good with allergies, but I truly cannot explain how thankful I am for the above and beyond the staff went. Chef Kerri Ann took it upon herself to come out and introduce herself and assure me she would take care of anything I needed. She even specialized a dessert for me! She even called to the French restaurant the next day to talk to that chef to ensure I was once again taken care of. Thank you! Philip took care of us at the French restaurant and had excellent table service manners. Janiel went above and beyond too to make sure I once again had a great dining experience with my food allergies and made me a dessert. I even went one night I really wanted something sweet, and she had an extra GF/DF chocolate cake she was able to make for me!! This made my night! At Neptunes with Chef Kerri Ann, Valencia and Shantoya also had amazing table service and were so genuine. I even stopped and chatted with them when we weren’t dining there. Shantoya was genuinely funny and it was really cool to hear her goals in traveling one day. Angelique took amazing care of both my husband and I at the Tapas bar for lunch and helped us at Manor for dinner. She remembered our room number and my allergies specifically. She even related to the dairy free struggle. Kelley’s Dockside was another great experience, and the chef created a special dessert as well. I wish I could remember specific names here, but the service, views, and food were amazing. Zoe and Maxwell rocked it at the main pool on the hill side! This resort had something for everyone: quiet, music, party, dancing, tranquility. It was a much bigger resort than we anticipated, but once we got the hang of it, it was great! The Hop was always running. Can’t wait for our next trip!! Read less

We went for 5 day 4 nights trip as an 34th anniversary celebration and experienced the worst Sandals stay that we have had out of 5-6 different trips. Arrival day- was supposed to be co-located with friends in butler village. This was requested upon trip purchase by both groups. Also during 2-3 calls to resort. We ended up on opposite sides of the village. Upon arrival at the resort it took over an hour for butler to arrive and get us situated. Once in the villa we requested 2 restaurant reservation. Did not happen. Only got 1 at a time more than 2.5 hours later than requested and was not told about time/day until end of second day. Day 2 - meals at no reservation restaurant (Southern Table) was terrible. 1 steak arrive well done requested medium the other came out blue/rare. Day 3. - butlers took over an hour to bring a cooler with beer to our location at beach. This is when the butler said “they were able to get us a reservation at the Italian restaurant that day at 5:30”. Arrived at Valentino’s for dinner and there wasn’t a reservation but we were seated. It must have been hard to get the reservation as when we arrived there was only 10 people (we were 4 of the 10). The lasagna was ok but the seafood with linguine and butter wine sauce came out completely dry, cooked pasta and shellfish but no sauce at all. Attached photo is the "busy" restaurant with no available seats, that remained at this capacity for an hour. Went to concierge to talk to a manager and was referred to the Butler Manager. Manager called 1-2 hours later and informed me she was out that day but would have Director of services get with me. After 4 hours I had not received any contact from management so called Butler Manager again. She replied they had tried to reach me on both the room phone and butler phone phone but could not reach me. The butler phone was beside me at outside table while the wife was resting inside with room phone 10 feet away. NEITHER phone ever rang, more excuses. Day 4 - was ok but still had very slow response from butlers. Day 5- was departure day. Arrived at butler services and asked to speak to manager about subpar stay and they didn’t show up until 5-10 minutes before we had to leave. That said they were just there to give lip service not to listen and fix the problems. We ended up only getting to go to 1 of 2 restaurants request. Sad to see that the Sandals standards does not apply equally to all resorts that carry the name. It is obvious that management at this resort only wants your money and doesn’t care about your experience or to make it better for others. Also if you accept any form of compensation they want you to sign an NDA so you don’t let other people know about your experience. I DO NOT recommend Sandals Ochi Jamaica especially the butler program at this resort. Read less

Pure luxury in the Butler Villa "Just back from an incredible stay at Sandals Ochi Beach. Staying in the Butler Villa made our holiday so special from start to finish. Our butler took care of everything — reservations, room requests and little surprises, nothing was ever too much trouble. The resort is beautiful, well kept and right on a lovely stretch of beach. Food was delicious with so many great restaurants to choose from, and the staff were all so warm and friendly. It was the perfect relaxing getaway and we would definitely recommend it. 10/10!" We booked with a travel agent you can find her on all social media under RedRoute Travel highly recommended this company 👌 Read less

Sandals Ochi did not disappoint. We flew into the small airport in Ocho Rios and from the time we cleared customs it was a vibe. Sandals had an area outside to the left for you to freshen up, cool down, have snacks and drinks while waiting on your ride to the resort. Once we arrived at the resort we were greeted with cool minty towels for our face and neck. We were escorted the butler elite area were they had drinks and mini deserts for us to partake in while waiting on our butler and checking to see if our room was ready. Our room was not ready due to us arriving fairly early. Our butler Shenae came to greet us and escorted us to the jerk shack to enjoy some lunch. The food and drinks were very tasty. We had the option to change clothes to take a dip in the pool while we wait, walk the grounds, or head back up to the lounge. We opted to wait for our room to be ready while having drinks in the lounge area. Shenae came back to escort us to our room and let us know how butler service work. We enjoyed the golf cart ride. The resort is huge and has multiple sections so there is a bus called the "Hop" that runs every 10mins this is very helpful and it is always on time. Our Butlers were amazing!!!!! Shenae explained how the butler phone works, and she informed us the Daniel would also be our other butler. When I tell you they were both AMAZING, kind, funny and extremely helpful at all times. They both made reservations for us at multiple restaurants, reserved cabanas for us at the pool, put in our room service order for the day we didn't want to leave the room for breakfast, and put in food orders from the manor multiple nights for us and delivered it to our room. Shenae called to check on us when she hadn't heard from us one day by 12 due to us hibernating in the room. She and Daniel both met us at each restaurant when we had reservations to check us in, get our drinks started and make sure we were settled before dining. Room: We stayed in a butler suite along with 3 other neighbors, two upstairs and one next door. It was very nice and peaceful we had our own private pool area for the four of us. Our first morning there my husband took a nice swim at 6:30am haha. Our bed was very comfortable, the safe was a challenge, but I found the trick to make it work. the mini kitchen was stocked daily with beverages and a cheese or fruit tray due to my shellfish allergy. They would alternate it was nice and refreshing to come into this after a long day out. Our butlers had written down our daily speakeasy code and any reservations that we had coming up. The bed was comfortable for us as well as the air. Everything worked fine and we had plenty of space for our luggage and clothing once it was delivered. The housekeeper came daily to freshen up our room during the day and for turn down service at night. There was a button near our door for privacy or service I thought it was pretty cool. We enjoyed the dual shower sprayers and the shower gel with aloe helped our sunburns. The Management Team: On my husband's actual birthday it just so happened this was the day that the management team came out to the pool deck to introduce themselves and their departments. My husband was called up to the pool deck they had friendly banter about singing for his birthday. They then had Ms. Kayan sing happy birthday to him and she did her thing she can saaaaaang it was amazing and made my husbands day. My husband was known as the birthday boy and the guy that had the password to the speakeasy for the night. The Entertainment Team!!!!!!!!!!!! They are amazing from the top Lady O, Damein (Breezy), Panda, and there was another young lady with locs I forget her name she gifted my husband a wooded shot glass with his name carved in it, but they were all amazing and never forgot us. It didn't matter what side of the resort we were on those were our people! The trivia games at the main pool was very entertaining, soca night at the theatre was fiya and they served us drinks during this time! The beach party, and the speakeasy were also a vibe. Kayan sung multiple songs at the speakeasy on the night of my husband's birthday, and although she sung to him on the pool deck earlier that day she still performed another special happy birthday to him at the speakeasy. We danced and partied in there. There is a password to get in if you're in a Butler suite they have it written out for you. There are other ways to get the password though. Activities: Some water sports were included my daughter and her husband enjoyed those. They also have tennis courts which we saw, basketball my son in-law enjoyed, a pool table, and the large chess game are all enjoyable if thats your thing. Food: The food and drinks did not disappoint and I consider myself to be a very picky eater. Each restaurant has a signature drink and most of them were delicious. The Reef had a beautiful view but take bug spray for your clothing due to it being near lots of greenery. The Manor was delicious they gave us so much food I didn't have space for desert. I did have our butlers bring desert to our room though on a different night from the Manor. Kelly's Dockside has a beautiful view of the beach and sunset we enjoyed the food here so much that we dined two nights in a row Vista Gourmet also has good food and an amazing sunset view. We had an issue about seating and our Butler Daniel got everything situation for us. We did have a long wait due to our seating issue. Lady O saw us waiting and asked if we were okay. My husband informed her that we had been waiting a bit too long she went over and checked on things for us as well. The hostess was very apologetic and the senior person at that section of the restaurant also continued to check on us to make sure everything was going well. We ate at the food truck (Sweet Wood) on the beach while on that side and it was delish. The birthday cake they had in the room for my husband was a nice surprise, he liked it so much he wanted another slice. This spoke volumes about the cake as he only eat homemade cake that I bake. My daughter and son ate at Soy, Tapas on the Riviera, the Mariner, and Le Gourmand they were both pleased with their food. (They stayed on the club level Rivera side) Pools/bartenders/Cabana: The amount of pools the resort has and the fact that you do not have to only stay on your side you can enjoy all the perks is amazing. The main pool cabana guy Miguel does not miss a beat he makes sure you have food and drinks whenever needed hands down my fave cabana person beef patties, and the jerk shack were our go to pool food. There is other food you can order while there. The bartenders at the swim-up bar make sure your drinks are to your liking and will make a mystery drink if you ask haha Shoutout to Basil, Shane, and Samira for keeping the party going at the bar. Samira is on the beach side and she helped us out with drinks while we were on that side. Loyalty Desk: Keisha at the loyalty desk in the Riviera is a vibe she matched my husband's silly energy and got us booked for another trip. Con: The only con I have are the amount of cats that are at the resort. It was a disruption for me during dinner time and while I do understand the propose of having some cats, I think it was a bit excessive. We had a pool outside of our suite and I didn't enjoy it due to me not waiting to lay out or swim and have cats on/near me. All and all a great vacation! if you are looking for good entertainment, some old charm, but also a laid back scene I say give sandals Ochi a shot. If you are looking for a complete party scene, crowd of young people, and modern resort this isn't for you. Read less