My husband and I booked our first vacations to a Sandals resort after hearing so many wonderful things about these resorts. We travel lots and have done numerous trips to the Caribbean in previous years. We finally decided to try a Sandals resort. We stayed at the Sandals Grand Riviera in Ocho Rios.

As in someone else's review, it is true that the internet fails to make it clear that the resort is split into TWO parts. ONE part is down by the beach, the OTHER part is separated by a road and is a ways from the beach. However, prior to booking, we knew enough that we specifically chose to book down on the beach area. We specifically booked a "Luxury Cottage", right by the beach so that we did NOT have to take the bus down each day.

We first arrived and they said they "Upgraded" us to a room - which happened to be up on the hill, so now that meant we had to take the bus every day to the beach. We spoke with the manager and she said that was an "upgraded room" Perhaps it was, but now I was miles away from the beach. I specifically told her why we booked the other room. Long story short, our room that we had booked was unavailable until the next night. This was absolutely unacceptable. And we were very surprised that this was something that happens at a Sandals. I expect this maybe at a 2-star resort, NOT Sandals.

Besides that experience, here are the pros:
- Food - great at all the restaurants. Valentinos, Kimonos and Manor are three fav's
- Beach - not a long walking beach, but for just relaxing and sun basking, it was great
- Water - warm as bath water, clear and clean
- Service - expected much better for a few reasons. I had to call down to reception THREE times, two days in a row to ask for more water in the room.... Coffee at breakfast was slow to be served.... and of course the whole "upgrade" situation.
- People - friendly
- Water Sports - great! Lots of snorkeling!

Not rushing back to a Sandals just yet.. There are plenty of other amazing resorts out there, often less expensive and you don't get "upgrade" to a room up on the hill, a mile away from the beach!

My husband and I visited SGR January 25th-February 1st and wanted to share our amazing vacation experience. We have been to several all inclusive resorts throughout the carribean and Mexico, however this one tops them all. We like to try different places and have been to Sandals Whitehouse, Sandals Grand Antigua, Sandals La Toc, Sandals Grand St. Lucian and last but not least Sandals Grand Riviera. SGR is the only resort we have returned back to. We originally went in June 2012 to celebrate our 1st wedding anniversary and had such an amazing time we just had to return. My husband took me back to SGR 6 months after our anniversary now to celebrate my 30th Birthday. I had the best Birthday that was just beyond my dreams. All the staff members remembered us which was nice and really made us feel good. Jason, Marva and Lennox on the Conceirge team were all great and so friendly with any request we had. Any time we needed something and simple call to one of them and within 5 minutes they would be at our door with our request. As soon as we arrived they had asked if there was anything we needed. Having been to the resort before I knew I wanted to go to Kelly Dockside for my Birthday which was only the very next day and thought my chances were slim as Kellys books up so quickly. Sure enough Kellys was completely booked however Marva told me to give her a little to work some magic for me. An hour later she called to let us know she got us the reservation for Kellys on my Birthday. On our 2nd day we were upgraded to the beachfront conceirge penthouse suite. On my Birthday the conceirge team delivered a Birthday card and plate of assorted fruit with chocolate sauce for dipping. Everything was just as amazing as it was 6 months ago, from the staff, restaurants, pools, bars, entertainment...SGR is just that perfect romantic getaway that we all dream of. This time we tried some restaurants that we didn't get a chance at last time. The reef terrace, bayside, kimonos and kellys are definately our favorites. Unfornately, the weather didn't corporate too well with us but that is beyond Sandals control. There was a tropical front that had moved in on our first day and stayed for 4 days. Wind, rain and rough seas made the first part of our stay challenging however the playmakers always had something going on to keep you busy when the weather would take over. One of the days they even turned Jamies Nightclub into a day club to keep us out of the rain and the fun going. Saturday and Tuesday nights were the best nights at Jamies nightclub. The other nights would be 70's, 80's and regae.The pools were very cold, however it rained the first 4 days we were there which didn't help. We did find the ocean much warmer and would spend more time by the ocean than the pool which is different for us as we are usually the opposite. Finally by the end of our stay the weather improved and the pools started to warm up. Definately attend the beach party, chocolate buffet and couple's game show as all are a lot of fun. Sgr really is the best vacation and is now our primary vacation spot for all our vacations (our home away from home).

Based on my other Sandals trips, this one was a let down. The internet fails to tell you that the resort is separated into two and you have to take a bus daily to get to the beach and most of the main restaurants.

We were there with a group and they messed up just about everyone's room. Some people in our group were compensated with upgrades or massages. We got nothing. We had checked in online like we were told, only to have to re-do everything on paper once we got there. The concierge told us online check in "doesnt matter." Then whats the point? They also did not pay attention to our special request to have rooms close to the others in our party. That took about an hour to work out upon arrival.

Finally once in our room, there were no amenities and no nice flowers or cool towel designs on the bed like there usually are. It took us four phone calls and a trip to the concierge to finally get our room stocked with toiletries and liquors.... the next day!

The food was not good either, small in portion, bland and the fish was really fishy tasting. We found ourselves eating at the late night burger spots instead. The pizzas are excellent though!

There were two days that the maid and turndown service did not come. One of the nights the turndown service came at 10:30 when we were already in bed watching television.

The staff overall did not go out of their way to meet any of our needs. My friend had called prior to the vacation to make a dinner reservation which he told was on the books and was supposed to be at 6:30 on the first night we arrived. When we got to the restaurant we were told there was not one. Whoever he talked to totally ignored his request. This resort wasnt worth the two hour bus ride. There were no night time activities and the few that happened in the theater are not worth going to.

Lets just say I can cross this one off my list.

My wife and i just got back last night, and wanted to share what a good place this is. we would give this property a 7 out of 10 overall. We have a lot of experience in travelling, and i would say Sandals really goes above and beyond on customer service. Here is how i would rate the major catagories at this resort, on a scale of 1 thru 10. Without exception, all of the staff, especially Tanisha and Shena, in the customer service office, are the best i have ever encountered. Kudos to them for making our trip special.

BUS RIDE FROM AIRPORT TO THE RESORT. LONG AND DISORGANIZED-5
FIRST IMPRESSION AFTER ARRIVAL AT RESORT-7
CUSTOMER SERVICE AFTER RECEIVING THE WRONG ROOM ON ARRIVAL-10
GARDENS, POOLS, GROUNDS, BEACH-10
QUALITY OF FOOD AT THE MAIN SIT DOWN RESTAURANTS-9
QUALITY OF FOOD AT BAR AND GRILL AREAS-6
WAITSTAFF, WATERSPORT STAFF, MANAGEMENT, MAIDS ETC.- ALL 10
ACTIVITIES IN THE EVENINGS ARE LAME OR NON EXISTANT-2
ROOM CLEANLINESS AND ATTENTION TO DETAILS-9
CONCEIRGE SERVICE ON 5TH FLOOR OF THE BEACH SIDE RESORT IS NOT WORTH THE MONEY-3
POOLS, BEACHES-10
GIFT SHOPS-9
THE VIEWS OF THE BEACH, MOUNTAINS AND GROUNDS-10
SURROUNDING VIEWS OF THE OCHO RIOS AREA IS QUITE POOR-5
WAITERS, CHEFS, BUSBOYS, BARTENDERS ETC. -10

Our only other comment to improve this location, would be to have pool staff supervise the use of the beach and pool chairs. People would come early in the morning, drop a book or towel on the pool chairs, and maybe not return for hours. None of the staff would intervene to ensure that all persons would have somewhere to sit. They either need more chairs, or better supervision.