My wife and I were there for a week as part of a wedding celebration. i have to admit, that after a 6.5 hour flight, the 2 hour bus ride to the hotel was not very pleasant , although the driver did his best to keep us entertained. When we checked in the staff was very friendly and accomodating. I had previously visited the Caribean but my wife had not. Needless to say, she was not prepared for the musty smell that is a result of the constant high humidity in the Carribean. To compound the problem, we arrived late at night and it had been raining a little. As a result there was a bit of a musty odor in the hall leading to our room and in our room. My wife did not like this and my explanations for the presence of the smell fell on deaf ears. I could only promise her that everything would be different to her in the morning.
Well, the Sunset Jamaica did not dissapoint. The next morning brought the expected sunshine and fresh air from the ocean. The musty smell had all but dissapeared and suddenly, everything was great. Over the next few days we found the food to be great, now I'm not talking French restaurant in Paris great, but the buffet was always a good selection and the service prompt and friendly. incidently, since tipping is not allowed, you have to be very sneaky about getting the well deserved tips to the attendants. In fact, a couple of the servers flattly rejected a tip offered.
The rooms were large and had all the ammenities you would require and were brightly decorated. You could see by the formidable crown moulding at the ceeiligs that this hotel was once the cream of the crop but it has lost some of it's previous luster. This is not to say that it wasn't a great stay, just that over the years some of the detail has been missed and a refresh of the decor might be in order, although the rooms were kept very clean by the staff. I don't recall even so much as seeing any crawling critters in the room.
We found that there was always plenty of room on the beach or by the pool and the bartenders were always generous with the refreshments.
The beach was nice although there was sea weed just 20-30 feet out.
Before we knew it, our time was up and we were headed home wishing we had at least another week there.

My boyfriend and I stayed at SJG from 2/17-2/24. I was a little hesitant booking there after reading some of the other reviews on this site, but it was the best deal we could get for our budget and it was awesome. Please dont be discouraged by some of the other reviews. People that didn't like this hotel must have been spoiled brats, because we thought the hotel was awesome. The 2 hour ride to the hotel from the airport was a little long, but once at the hotel we found the staff to be polite and friendly. We stayed in one of the beachfront cabanas. (so worth the extra money). We never had to use the elevator and we were far enough from the entertainment complex that we heard no noise from our room. A little advise to anyone, TIP your maids. It is so worth it. Our maids left nice gifts in our room daily and fresh flower pedals. The rooms aren't huge, but you're in jamaica, who's planning on spending time in the room There are like 5 pools on the property and 2 swim up bars. Plenty of beach chairs at the beaches and near the pools. Theres always something to do. The food is good. We ate at the buffet mostly, but we did try all 3 restaurants, we personally liked La Diva the most, but it was fun to go to all three. You have to dress up, so guys make sure to bring a pair of khakis. Skirts are fine for women. We also went to dolphins cove (so worth the money) and did the Cool Runnings cruise, which also takes you to the falls, The falls are beautiful (buy your water shoes at home, way cheaper) and cruise was fun as well. Be prepared to tip your drivers if you are doing any tours, your guide at the falls and places like that, these guys make hardly any money and relie on the tips to survive so try to bring lots of ones. They love american money so there is no need to change it to jamaican. The resort overall was extremely well kept, the beaches and pools were cleaned daily. The staff is polite and friendly. We had an awesome time and would recommend it to anyone. I was a little worried about there being a lot of kids there, but the kids that were tehre werre all well behaved and no bother to us. Overall we had a great time, and wouild go back anytime.

My friend and I visited the Grande the week of Feb. 11th - 18th.
Not going there for three years due to construction and all of the negative reviews, I decided to give them another chance. I was pleasantly suprised! The Entrance Lobby Area is so nice, although I think it could use a little more entertainment besides the trio that was singing, it has been totally remodeled. I got checked in, in less then 15 mins. I stayed in the South Tower which was always my favorite and was able to experience the view of the Ocean and the sound of Reggae Music that was coming from town. It was the week of Valentine's Day, and you could definitely feel the LOVE! The food was great, the new pool areas are great, the entertainment hall is great, and so are all of the bars. The only thing missing was the old staff, I saw three guys that worked there prior to the change over, (BIG-UP Devon)but I was pleased with the new staff. Hello Shaun! The hotel is continuing to do more work, but it in no way disturbs the guest. Along with the Hotel making improvements, the town in Ochi is looking real good. There is a Hard Rock Cafe, Margaritaville, Shopping Malls, etc. The "Grand is the place to be....trust me.

Got back from SJG on Feb. 11. Went with another friend who had never traveled. She was totally wowed! I have traveled more extensively so couldn't help but make comparisons to other resorts.

About two hour bus ride to Resort, but sit back and take in what Jamaica is really like outside the resorts. You're on vacation - no reason to hurry. Both check-in and out went smoothly. Sunshine all week long.

The resort was very clean, if a bit dated. While it is a 700+ room resort, the grounds are not extensive at all so no issues with walking from place to place. The employees were friendly for the most part. A smile given is usually met with one in return. I thought the buffet was average, not as extensive as most I've seen, but I'm not a picky eater so could always find something. The specialty restaurants were great. We had no problem booking them. Didn't even bother to do the ealy morning thing, just stopped by the desk whenever we were passing thru and were able to get in all three restaurants during our one week stay.

The pools were beautiful, but if you're more of a beach person, you might want to look elsewhere, as the beach was rather small and the bottom, while clean, had a good bit of seaweed. The South beach was much quieter than the North, as the daytime activities around the pool were happening next to the North beach. No problem at all with availability of beach lounges, although not a lot of spaces in the shade.

No shortage of alcohol. If they don't pour heavy enough, just ask for a bit more and they'll accomodate.

I'd rate the resort as 3-star but certainly feel I got my money's worth. Enjoy your vacation and don't sweat the small stuff.