Sandals Grande Ocho Rios Beach and Villa Resort
Ocho Rios, Jamaica

JamaicaTripper Review:

Just down the road from Sandals Dunn's River, Sandals Grande Ocho Rios is well, literally two properties in one. What began as two separate hotels is now one hotel with two very different options.

On the beach side of the road sits the "Riviera" side of the resort. This low-rise hotel has beautiful groundslavishly planted grounds that bloom with birds of paradise and buzz with the sound of hummingbirds.Sandals founder Butch Stewart grew up on these grounds; the building used for the piano bar on the "Riviera" side of the property was his grandparents home.

Across the North Coast Highway (the two are connected by tunnel and by shuttles) sits the "Villa" side of the property. This side offers hillside villas; many are four per building and share a private pool. It also has a greathouse which houses much of the public area; here you'll find more traditional resort rooms as well.

Which side should you choose? Having stayed at both, personally we like the Riviera side best. To get to the beach from the villa side, you have to take a shuttle (or plan for a very long walk). The pool complex at the greathouse on the villa side is much nicer but, all in all, we like the beach. The beach is also home to a newly expanded dock with dining right over the water. (Of course, you're free to dine here no matter which side of the property you stay on. And you can also hop a free shuttle and visit Sandals Dunn's River to dine there as well at no charge.)

Clientele: Couples (no longer restricted to male-female couples)

Good Choice If:

you're looking for a couples-only resort
you're getting married on your vacation
you'd like to see what it's like to stay in a villa on vacation but would still like the conveniences of a resort

Bad Choice If:

you'd like a small, intimate resort
you've got a very short (three-night) getaway; pick one of the Sandals resort in Montego Bay if you've got a short getaway.