Sandals Ochi Beach Resort

We had been looking forward to going to Sandals for years, and saved a lot of money to do so. We even went for the Club level package to celebrate 10 years together. The experience felt more like a decent motel, rather then a 5 star resort. Here are some issues. - On arrival we could not hear our concierge due to a extremely loud karaoke session going on in the lobby. - There was no hot water for 2 days when arriving so after 12 hours of travel, we could not wash. Staff were unhelpful and did not provide solution just said they are "working on it" - Mini bar fridge seal was not working and fridge was hot when arrived. It took 5 days for them to even send someone to look at it. - Stairs up to room were damaged and filled with wood filler. - Water would not stay hot and it was rare to get even flow of hot water for one shower. - Bathroom sink drain stopper was detached and did not work. - A/C unit in room constantly leaked water on to table entire time. - We were supposed to get turn down every day, only happened on the very last day. - Room service was estimated at 40 mins, but took 2 hours each time. - Could not get our own ice due to no machines. Room service took 2 hours to bring ice. We were suppose to get ice every day, only happened once. - They do not wash cups in room properly, looks like they just rinse in sink. Still lip marks all over cups and bathroom cup was never touched all week. - Staff were unfriendly at dinning establishments and unhelpful. - We booked for our 10 years. We got a printed generic card, and a small cake slice. Others got flower pedals etc. We only got these items after we complained to manager about having so many issues. - Furniture was not the best. Dresser Drawers would not close all the way, same with cabinet mini bar was in. Shower head was damaged and sprayed water on the wall, no pressure. - On last day, we tried to shower before leaving and there was no water period. We had to wash using water bottles. Staff did not help. - Often when going to eat, we would have to hunt down cutlery and water cups ourselves due to lack of service. - Food places often were very slow. 1-2 hours to get food. - Often food on menu was not what was brought. It was cheap and poorly cooked. Often plates were burning hot from sitting under heat lamps for too long. - We brought up these issues so many times that we had to talk with a manager. They tried to "resolve" issues but it just got us ice and a slice of cake. Issues still persisted. - They tried to offer us points for next Sandals trip, but never followed through. Bridge is now burnt and we likely will never go to Sandals and will advise all family and friends to avoid. - The hot tub in our area was never hot. It was cold. The manager said they would fix but a week in, nothing fixed. - Some serving staff just mumbled and seemed to hate everyone. Made it awkward. - Broke a glass (Our fault) and they would not replace in our room until we got manager involved. - Room doors had to be slammed due to painting over same paint instead of sanding down properly. - House keeping service had a chance of showing up at 9 AM till 4 PM. This make it super hard to get a proper time to be out. Often we would eat breakfast and when we got back to room around lunch, nothing had been done. Other times we would be sleeping and they would knock before we even got up to go to breakfast. - Ordering room service was so slow, they also did not bring all of the food. 2 Hours for overcooked cold eggs and some potatoes. - No menu item said how much food was per portion. Staff would not explain. Ordered a Jamaican beef patty and a single chicken patty was brought the size of a credit card. - Often ingredients listed on menu was missing from what actually was brought to the table. While other items there was no description on what we were ordering and staff were not helpful. - We spent close to $8000 all in for this Club level elevated experience at a 5 star resort. It felt like I would have been better off at a hotel. - I see tons of photos and reviews they really cater to people. We had to go out of our way to keep calling and going to the front desk for help. We were not taken care of and honestly it felt like a joke. Read less

Overall, we enjoyed our stay at Sandals Ochi. It’s a beautiful resort in many ways, with some lovely staff and plenty of positives. However, there were also several areas that we felt fell short of the standards expected. Arrival We arrived from the UK at around 11pm, so it had been a very long day travelling. The staff who greeted us were pleasant and welcoming, but unfortunately, arriving late meant that we missed the usual welcome and introduction to the resort. We were taken straight to our room without being given much information about the hotel, its facilities or how everything worked. Disappointingly, nobody followed this up the next day either. As a result, we spent much of the week gradually discovering things that would have been useful to know from the beginning. We feel there should be a better process for guests arriving late, perhaps with a proper introduction the following morning. It would have made a real difference to our experience. Room We were kindly upgraded to a beautiful one-bedroom villa with a pool shared with just one other villa, rather than the four we had originally booked. This was a lovely gesture and very much appreciated. We really liked our room and the pool area. We also had some very sweet little visiting cats, which added a lovely bit of character to our stay! Housekeeping Unfortunately, housekeeping was one of the more disappointing aspects of our holiday. When our room was cleaned, the standard was good. However, the service was extremely inconsistent and unreliable. On numerous occasions, our room wasn’t serviced until 4–5pm, and on one day it wasn’t cleaned at all. We also had to request fresh towels. We raised this several times and asked for housekeeping to be completed in the morning, as we had specific needs that made this important. Unfortunately, this wasn’t always followed through. Evening turndown service was also provided on only two occasions during our stay. For a five-star resort we would expect housekeeping to be much more consistent and dependable. Butlers Our butlers were lovely, friendly gentlemen who were always pleasant and responsive whenever we contacted them. We are fairly independent travellers, so we didn’t make extensive use of the butler service, but they were happy to help whenever needed. One particularly sweet touch was that they escorted us to dinner each evening, which we really appreciated. They also put towel animals on our bed one evening which was cute. A positive experience with our butlers. Food Overall, we thought the food was good and enjoyed dining at most of the restaurants across the resort. One particular highlight was the romantic beach dinner, which cost $199. This was absolutely fantastic and something we would highly recommend. A really special experience. Our only genuinely disappointing dinner was at Valentino’s. Although our waiter was very lovely and helpful, the food was unbelievably rushed. We had all three courses within just 35 minutes, and our main courses actually arrived while we were still eating our starters! It completely took away from what should have been a leisurely, enjoyable evening meal. We also visited Sandals Dunn’s River one evening and ate at the sushi bar, which was fabulous. We thoroughly enjoyed it. Room Service Room service was excellent. Plenty of choice and very tasty. We had breakfast most days by our pool. Entertainment The entertainment was varied, but we felt there was room for improvement in both its organisation and duration. Live performances, including singers and piano entertainment, often lasted only around an hour, which seemed rather short. We also found it frustrating that entertainment would take place on the hillside one hour and down by the beachside the next, meaning yet more journeys on the shuttle buses. The daily poolside quiz was another missed opportunity. It featured exactly the same questions every day! By the second day, the novelty had certainly worn off. We attended karaoke one evening but were told we couldn’t sing our chosen song because someone else had already requested it. We thought this was a rather silly and unnecessarily restrictive rule. After all, everyone is on holiday to enjoy themselves! We ended up leaving rather than staying for the evening and truly felt quite unwelcome by the way the lady spoke to us. Another disappointment was only discovering the water activities on the day before our final day. We managed to enjoy a Hobie Cat, which was great fun, but were frustrated that we hadn’t known about these activities much earlier in our stay. This goes back to the lack of information provided when we arrived. On a much more positive note, the White Party, foam party and Silent Disco were brilliant! We really enjoyed both. The Rabbit Hole was disappointing, however. We arrived at 9pm but couldn’t find anywhere to sit, so couldn’t really enjoy the experience and had to leave. There is plenty going on at Sandals Ochi, but we feel better communication and organisation would make the entertainment experience much more enjoyable. Bars We were surprised and rather disappointed that there isn’t a central lobby bar where guests can gather for an evening drink. This is something we particularly enjoy at resorts, and we felt its absence. The Vista Bar was lovely, with beautiful views and a very pleasant atmosphere. In contrast, the hillside bar looked dated and tired and could certainly benefit from some refurbishment. The swim-up bars were good and enjoyable places to spend time during the day. Beach The beach areas are absolutely beautiful, with some extremely pretty little spots to relax and enjoy the surroundings. However, due to the way the resort is designed, you cannot enjoy a long, uninterrupted walk along the beach. The individual areas are lovely, but we did miss being able to stroll along a continuous stretch of sand, which is something we normally enjoy on a Caribbean holiday. Resort Layout & Buses For us, this was probably the biggest drawback of Sandals Ochi. The resort is huge and very spread out, with the hillside and beachside separated by a main road. This makes getting around very inconvenient and means relying totally on shuttle buses. The butlers could only take us as far as the bus terminal, where we then had to wait for a shuttle to continue our journey. On one occasion, it took my husband 45 minutes for a round trip from the room to the beach, simply to take our towels to the beach! It was such a waste of precious holiday time. You really cannot just pop back to your room if you’ve forgotten something or want to freshen up. Everything becomes a journey, which takes away some of the spontaneity and relaxation of being on holiday. The buses themselves could also be unpleasant in the evenings. The resort is marketed as a couples resort but there are lots of large groups. The buses were often noisy, with some guests who had clearly had rather too much to drink being very loud. Not always the relaxing experience you would hope for. We appreciate that the layout is simply part of the resort’s design, but it’s something we hadn’t fully appreciated before arriving and it had a significant impact on our enjoyment. It’s definitely worth considering if you prefer a resort where you can wander freely between your room, restaurants, bars and beach without constantly needing transport. Memorable People to Thank Please thank: Dalmar and Melford the butlers - thoroughly lovely and helpful gentleman Noel the pool guy - Noel cleaned our pool very day. He was friendly and discreet. Such a nice man. Verona waitress in the Sushi bar at sandals dunns river - she was delightful! Aldra breakfast waiter in the French restaurant. Such a positive, kind man Daina dinner waitress in the French - Daina was a little ray of sunshine. So kind Crystal Sky terrace bar - she went out of the way to make my mocktails pretty. I appreciated her! Rajuan waiter in Kelly’s - a lovely young man. Very sweet and kind Jaden Hobie cat boat - gave us an excellent tour and wa a very kind Richann waitress candlelight beach dinner - such a lovely lady Tipping We were disappointed by the tipping policy, which we understood only permitted butlers to receive tips. There were other members of staff who worked incredibly hard and provided excellent service, and we would have liked the opportunity to recognise them personally. We feel this is something Sandals should reconsider. Good service deserves recognition, regardless of someone’s role within the resort. We have highlighted some particularly lovely members of staff in this review because we wanted their efforts to be acknowledged. We sincerely hope management will pass on our thanks and ensure they receive the recognition they deserve. Overall Impressions Sandals Ochi is a lovely resort in many ways, and we certainly had a lovely and enjoyable holiday. There are beautiful areas, some excellent dining experiences and genuinely friendly staff who help make a stay memorable. However, we also felt that parts of the resort were looking rather dated and could benefit from some updating. The inconsistent housekeeping and lack of information for guests arriving late were also disappointing. Most importantly, the sprawling layout and constant reliance on shuttle buses really detracted from the experience for us. We feel the overall experience should be a little more seamless. We’re glad we visited and have some lovely memories of our stay, but ultimately the inconvenient layout, reliance on buses and tired appearance of certain areas would put us off returning to Sandals Ochi. A nice holiday overall, but one where some thoughtful improvements could make a considerable difference. Read less

we spent two weeks in Jamaica the first week was in Negril which we have visited a number of times, we then moved over to Ouchi , Negril is a smaller resort with a great beach but only a small pool, Ouchi has a great pool but the Beach is not so good. The staff on the whole are great though the staff in the loyalty team maybe not quite as good, This year we have noticed a few changes though minor indicate a turn for the worse Firstly Sandals operate a loyalty scheme meaning once you’ve been there for so many nights you get a free week, they also operate a member level scheme based on gem stones ie emerald which gives you further discounts and points etc They have a weekly loyalty dinner for members where they recognise guests and provide a free gift etc. a bit American but still good, The lesser points this year they have now stopped the welcome dinner If you have certain wine you have to pay for it but you get a discount based on your membership level, we noticed they reduced our discount to a lower level we noticed this and reluctantly the staff adjusted the discount to the correct amount and unless you go through the bill this could have easily been missed If you are on resort if you book your next holiday with the loyalty scheme you get a discount with a further 10% if you pay the whole amount the loyalty team were not forthcoming with this and listed various t&c’s that aimed at either reducing the percentage or trying to remove all together. We happened to have a free week for next booking but the on resort team will not allow you to use the free week as part of a longer vacation when booking in resort they refer you to the corporate team in the UK, all really to stop you booking in resort and getting 12% discount let alone the further 10% for paying upfront. Summary I know Sandals has sold out their majority share to a cruise line company however these minor penny pinching approaches to what is an expensive vacation leave a sour taste to the point this year where for the first time since se have been going there we didn’t book our next holiday as the loyalty team made it too difficult. Read less

Disappointing Experience – Not Worth the Price Unfortunately, our experience at Sandals was disappointing, especially considering the price of approximately $800 per night. While the resort has some beautiful features and a few good dining options, the overall service, food quality, room condition, and included amenities fell well short of expectations. For a resort marketed as an all-inclusive luxury experience, there were far too many issues to justify the cost. The Cons Room Quality and Housekeeping The rooms were dated, with chipped tiles and noticeable wear. Our in-room minibar and refrigerator were never restocked, and our room was not cleaned on one of the days. On another occasion, dirty plates were left outside our room for two full days before anyone removed them. These are basic housekeeping responsibilities that should never be overlooked at a resort of this price point. The carpeting in the common areas was filthy, which further detracted from the overall appearance and cleanliness of the property. Poor Service and Long Wait Times Service was one of the biggest disappointments. Staff frequently appeared moody or bothered when approached, rather than welcoming and accommodating. Room service could take as long as two and a half hours, which is unacceptable for a luxury all-inclusive resort. There was only one bartender at each of the pool bars, resulting in extremely long waits for drinks. We also repeatedly encountered requests for tips despite tipping supposedly being prohibited under the resort’s policies. This made the experience feel less inclusive than advertised. Food Quality and Limited Selection The food was another major letdown. Menus were limited, options were repetitive, and the same selections appeared day after day. Breakfast was particularly underwhelming, with only two locations offering essentially the same limited choices. The experience was only a slight step above a typical hotel’s continental breakfast. The overall food quality did not meet expectations, either. Some of the beef dishes did not taste like beef should, and the texture was inconsistent. There was also a disappointing lack of premium seafood and steak options, including lobster, shrimp, crab legs, scallops, clams, and oysters. For the nightly price, we expected considerably more variety and higher-quality dining. Wine selections were limited to just a couple of options, and there seemed to be a strong emphasis on encouraging guests to purchase full bottles. To make matters worse, all food options, including room service, closed at 10 p.m. That is surprisingly restrictive for a resort that is supposed to offer an all-inclusive experience. The ice cream machine was also broken during our stay. Amenities That Were Not Truly Included One of the most frustrating aspects was the disconnect between what was advertised and what was actually available. Water sports were not as inclusive as expected. Even snorkeling required an additional charge or the purchase of your own equipment from the gift shop. Kayaks were unavailable, and boat rides came with additional charges despite the resort advertising included activities. Golf was another example. Although green fees were included, club rentals cost extra, and purchasing a caddie was mandatory, adding a significant expense. The fitness center was very limited in its equipment and workout options, and the nightly entertainment was minimal. The airport shuttle was also a major inconvenience, taking approximately two and a half hours each way. Drivers also requested tips. Safety Concerns The tile floors and concrete surfaces throughout the common areas were incredibly slippery. We actually fell a couple of times, which raises legitimate concerns about guest safety. This is something the resort should take seriously and address. The Pros To be fair, there were some positives: The pizza shack was pretty good. The sushi restaurant was good. The hillside pool was very nice. The resort has plenty of pools to choose from. The beach access was nice, especially with the floating loungers. The view from our room was beautiful. The coffee throughout the resort was good. The chicken dishes were very good. The cats, ducks, mongoose, and turtles around the property were fun and unique features. Final Verdict Sandals has the potential to be a great resort thanks to its pools, beach, scenery, and a handful of enjoyable dining options. Unfortunately, the positives were overshadowed by inconsistent housekeeping, dated accommodations, slow service, disappointing food variety, limited entertainment, additional charges for supposedly included activities, and serious concerns about slippery walking surfaces. At approximately $800 per night, the expectations are understandably high. Guests should not have to wait hours for room service, chase down basic housekeeping, stand in long lines for drinks, deal with limited food choices, or repeatedly pay extra for activities they believed were included. Overall, this resort did not deliver the quality, service, or value we expected from Sandals. An all-inclusive luxury vacation should feel relaxing and seamless, not like a constant series of inconveniences and unexpected limitations. Based on our experience, the price simply does not match what you receive, and we would have a difficult time justifying a return visit. Read less