Never again at this hotel
May 27, 2026 Richard L London, United Kingdom
OCS is sold as a 5* AI hotel on the north coast of Jamaica but was ultimately disappointing and we will never return. We stayed in May 2026 and here is the review:
Good Points
It is around and easy 45 minutes from the airport and set on a quiet area all by itself yet fairly easy to access nearby points of interest. The food is generally very good…
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OCS is sold as a 5* AI hotel on the north coast of Jamaica but was ultimately disappointing and we will never return. We stayed in May 2026 and here is the review:
Good Points
It is around and easy 45 minutes from the airport and set on a quiet area all by itself yet fairly easy to access nearby points of interest. The food is generally very good indeed with several speciality restaurants with short waiting times (if any). Buffet is small but has good selections that are changed every day. Most dining is located in one area, the Boulevard, with the fish and jerk restaurants near the beach. Service is typically Jamaican but good nonetheless. The hotel layout is quite compact so not far to walk around (but there are a few steps). Rooms are well appointed, clean and there are lifts to all floors. There is a good range of facilities including a lazy river, bowling, sports bar, kids pool, snacks, jerk chicken, outdoor music and so on. Sunbeds are always available on the beach but the pool can get busy after 10am. Beach towels are easy to obtain without the usual silly towel card nonsense. The are some local market stalls outside the hotel near the beach - you will be hassled a little if you go but its not overbearing.
The Bad Points
Check-in is incredibly slow with long waits. The beach is small and sandy but the water is VERY rocky. No attempt has been made to remove even the loose sharp rocks - its like wading through a flooded building site. For a beach holiday this is awful and ultimately a deal breaker as only about 20% of the water is actually accessible of swimming. The water is shallow and never more than waist deep. Next is the weapons-grade upselling of stuff that, frankly, we have already paid for. We paid a considerable amount for a 5* hotel only to find we were not allowed to have premium drinks, sit on one side of the pool or beach, or even walk in certain areas - this is all reserved for Premium upgrades at a considerable costs uplift. Guests we spoke to who paid felt they did not get value for money. Ultimately, this hotel shows discrimination is alive and well which is shocking. I thought aparteid was a thing of the past. There is relentless pressure from sales staff to attend sales talks to upgrade and purchase the things we had already paid for. So we did NOT get a 5* experience - maybe more 3*
We will never return.
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