My advice to all who read this is....if you're dead set on going to a Sandals Resort, Ocho Rios is not the Resort to choose. It's poorly managed both on the food service side and customer service side. Aside from a few friendly employees, most were non-commital and sometimes down right unfriendly. Food service's large events were great but daily dining was below average in both food quality and service. The grounds were well kept but the actually facility on the Rivera side needs a great deal of work. We were on the 4th floor and the elevators were out of order at least 40% of the time. I sent my complaints to Sandals and they did offer me a small credit towards another stay next year but my experience was so bad... I declined their offer.

Overall the experience was disastrous, from the time we got on the bus at the airport in Montego Bay until the day we departed. It was truly an unpleasant vacation as the following occurred: my ipod was stolen, the grill staff seem to be lacking manners and was lazy at times, a peeping tom was observing us while we swam at the Villa pool, members of staff seemed pushy and if you miss breakfast or lunch, the only restaurant that was open was the grill at the Manor, were the menu remained the same throughout our stay. The hotel lacked a disc jockey and they did not play reggae music at the pool or club and the hotel night club was empty all of the nights and the drinks were water down and cheap. In addition, as soon as I arrived back home, I experienced severe cramping from contaminated food. Some of my favorite staff that deserve recognition include: Tracy-Ann (playmaker), "Happycow", Rayon, and Adrian.

This vacation greatly surprised us. The resort, butlers, and staff all could not of been more helpful and pleasant. Our villa and personal pool was exquisite, tropical, very clean, and we always had a surprise waiting when we returned to our room each day from one of our excursions. 8 Restaurants on the grounds to choose form and plenty of tours and fun things to do and experience. Spa was excellant - and a must to get ready for the sun and fun.

If I had to chose the Best to Least attractive - Best (Butler Service a must) Worst-(too far from Air Port - but work the wait)

We would definetely do it again and not change a thing.

Our stay at Grande Ocho Rios was very pleasant. There was a lot to do and the resort is beautiful. We did get a 3 room updrade once we arrived which bumped us from the Manor side to the Riviera side which was very nice. We had a great time. This is my third Sandals resort. The only downfall for us was that it was just too big. The resort is split by a road and there are shuttles that take you back and forth so that is a plus. It seemed that the staff wasn't as attentive as they were at the "smaller" resorts and there was usually a shortage of things, such as towels, etc. A lot of walking especially on the Riviera side to get from the Watersports side to the pool side, up and down stairs. Other than that, we had an awesome time!