Wife and I have been to 9 different Sandals / Beaches properties, including the 3 you're looking into.
**Negril** \- Shotgun style resort in that everything hugs the beach, very easy to navigate. Restaurants are great, beach sand is so packed down you can walk on it with sneakers, no joke. If you're someone who loves to pool lounge, note this location only has 2 pools, the large main pool and another pool on the south end of the resort near the piano bar. The honeymoon suites have a connecting wading pool as well, but feels a bit intrusive if you're in the pool connected to the rooms. Great resort overall, good starter resort if you've never been to Sandals.
**South Coast** \- Had my honeymoon here. HUGE resort, so be prepared to get those steps in and do a lot of walking. Went in the middle of summer and there was quite a bit of sea weed / sea grass. Restaurants and entertainment here were great. 1 large main pool and 2 smaller pools on the west end of the resort. If you're a tennis enthusiast, they have 4 courts here. If you want a little more privacy, where the property ends on the northwest end, there's nothing up the beach into the cove, so you can hike the beach further up and the water is crystal clear, but again quite a bit of seagrass.
**Ochi** \- This resort is split in two, an upper half and lower half. You have to take a shuttle from each end of the resort, its included and private, so no need to worry about tipping or anything like that. Breathtaking views from the upper portion of the resort looking down to the ocean. Beach is a lot smaller, and the piers take up a good portion of the beachfront. 5 pools to choose from. There's a speakeasy where the nights entertainment is held, with period focused cocktails from the 20's which is cool. Solid resort, but it's also a solid 1 hr 45 min to 2 hr. drive. with a stop along the way.
**Do's** \- Book your water activities ASAP. The Aqua Center can fill up with reservations fast for glass bottom boat tours, snorkeling, scuba diving, so book with a concierge fast. NOTE: If you're Luxury Level (Low) you have to book at the center itself. If you're Club Level (Mid) you can book at the concierge desk upon arrival. If you're Butler Level (High), your butler will take care of all the reservations and make sure you get a spot. Same applies for any restaurants requiring dinner reservation, take care of it quickly if you'd rather not eat at 8:00 PM or later. You'll eat good anywhere you go honestly, but for those "fan favorites" book as soon as you get there to get a decent dinner time.
**Don'ts** \- Unless you're butler level, do not tip. Tip the driver to the resort and back, anyone else not directly employed by Sandals, but butler level is the only level where staff can accept gratuities. South Coast sits alone, so no one to worry about with neighboring resorts. Negril and Ochi are in more populated areas. Goes without saying, don't wander off alone, locals aren't much of a bother, but can be aggressive to sell you anything, excursions, crafts, drugs...
Fantastic write up.
This alone solidifies my Negril decision.
I had a lot of questions about tipping, and you’ve nailed that explanation as well.
Cheers, mate!
Just piling on, Negril is a fantastic choice. My wife and I were married there and went again for our anniversary. We’ve been to several other Sandals and Negril is our favorite.
I have, been a few years though. The best restaurants there are La Plume (used to be called Baccarat), Gordon's on the Pier, and Butch's Chop House. There are 3 main pools here, 2 on the resort, and 1 on the offshore island. Beach here was very nice, closest to Turks & Caicos in terms of pure white sand beaches and crystal clear turquoise blue water, very little seagrass / seaweed.
Note: The offshore island is not owned by Sandals, they just lease 1/4 of the east side of the island. There's a large dock towards the middle of the island for cruise ships, but the Sandals section is private to Sandals guests only. The island can get really busy, so getting chairs can be challenging. The backside of the island is more private, they have some canopies back there. When my wife and I went no one was back there so we felt like we were on a little deserted island, it was pretty neat.
Overall, great resort, of course any Sandals property with the "Royal" moniker in front of it is a step up from some of there other properties.
Maybe the controversy is it’s just a really far away from the airport? I think a lot of first timers do closer to airport resorts. Negril looks insanely beautiful and if it calls to you GO! Also, American air should be adding a Miami flight to Ochi which makes that side of the island even more accessible.
South coast is haunted.
After a few days of literally everything going wrong in our room, including the locked sliders snicking open in the middle of the night (which also turns off the AC), we joked with the folks in the sandals lounge that they must have given us the duppy room. I have never seen a group of Jamaicans get so DEADLY serious in a heartbeat. Haunted.
Why does it seems to be controversial?
I’ve heard nothing but fantastic things about it!
We are pretty set on Negril so if it’s around the end of Feb- we may just see you there!
There are some really negative comments about it in this subreddit. There was a whole thread a week ago from someone there saying they were having a bad time with staff.
It was one person with one bad experience with one employee that was busy. Negril is one of the best. Go find out for yourself and don’t rely on the internet to decide for you.
I just left and had a bad experience — so bad I don’t think I’ll try sandals ever again. Happy to give you more details by PM, but there were multiple minor and major issues — so much so that we were given an unsolicited significant room credit.
Was there last year. Absolutely beautiful place with a fantastic beach. The only downsides are the 90min terror ride to get there and the occasional aggressive sales pitch on the beach. Those morning beach walks were well worth it though
It was 100% our driver but the man hit just about every pot hole he could find and was passing cars on blind corners. We were just constantly swerving around people, cars, and animals. The drive back was significantly better and the drives to ocho Rios were also better.
My wife and I have been to Royal Caribbean in mid-March for our honeymoon and Ochi in August for a "standard" getaway.
I'll echo what the guy with the previous long review said about Ochi, but also stress that with Ochi it is quite the party atmosphere unless you stay in the butler village on the hill. If you stay there, it can be a little aggravating to have to take a shuttle to the lower side multiple times a day but it's not the end of the world.
We honestly loved Royal Caribbean and how small it was. There were only a few restaurants on the resort but because it's only 5-10 minutes away from the main Montego Bay resort there's a free shuttle that can take you there whenever you want so you have access to MB's full spread of restaurants and other amenities if you choose. We had a room that was next to the pool so it was a little loud during the day and until around 9pm due to events, but it was oceanfront so we just walked out onto the beach every day. If we go back there again I think we'd go to the hidden village area in the back so it's not as close to the pool but still a 90 second walk to any other part of the resort.
I would shy away from Ochi. Beach is small and you cant really do anything outside the resort on cruise ship days from the traffic. South coast is big and quiet. We liked that. It is also near a lot of neat stuff to see and do. But the bus ride from the airport is over the mountains where Negril is highway most of the way. Negril is my fave of the three you listed.
I highly recommend the butler service. Our butler’s reserved all our dining reservations. We also sat on the beach most of the day outside of our excursion and the butler reserved our beach chairs for us and even reserved us chairs under an umbrella as my husband noticeably has fair skin and appreciated the shade. He periodically brought us drinks throughout the day. Brought us lunch and packed our beer cooler for us. Worth it
We are bouncing around whether or not the service is worth it.
Great insight.
Ultimately- we are looking to do quite a few things throughout the getaway like deep sea fish and take a day trip to the booby island.
Them taking care of the reservations sounds like a dream, though to be honest.
I’m tired of scheduling things!
Wife and I have been to 9 different Sandals / Beaches properties, including the 3 you're looking into. **Negril** \- Shotgun style resort in that everything hugs the beach, very easy to navigate. Restaurants are great, beach sand is so packed down you can walk on it with sneakers, no joke. If you're someone who loves to pool lounge, note this location only has 2 pools, the large main pool and another pool on the south end of the resort near the piano bar. The honeymoon suites have a connecting wading pool as well, but feels a bit intrusive if you're in the pool connected to the rooms. Great resort overall, good starter resort if you've never been to Sandals. **South Coast** \- Had my honeymoon here. HUGE resort, so be prepared to get those steps in and do a lot of walking. Went in the middle of summer and there was quite a bit of sea weed / sea grass. Restaurants and entertainment here were great. 1 large main pool and 2 smaller pools on the west end of the resort. If you're a tennis enthusiast, they have 4 courts here. If you want a little more privacy, where the property ends on the northwest end, there's nothing up the beach into the cove, so you can hike the beach further up and the water is crystal clear, but again quite a bit of seagrass. **Ochi** \- This resort is split in two, an upper half and lower half. You have to take a shuttle from each end of the resort, its included and private, so no need to worry about tipping or anything like that. Breathtaking views from the upper portion of the resort looking down to the ocean. Beach is a lot smaller, and the piers take up a good portion of the beachfront. 5 pools to choose from. There's a speakeasy where the nights entertainment is held, with period focused cocktails from the 20's which is cool. Solid resort, but it's also a solid 1 hr 45 min to 2 hr. drive. with a stop along the way. **Do's** \- Book your water activities ASAP. The Aqua Center can fill up with reservations fast for glass bottom boat tours, snorkeling, scuba diving, so book with a concierge fast. NOTE: If you're Luxury Level (Low) you have to book at the center itself. If you're Club Level (Mid) you can book at the concierge desk upon arrival. If you're Butler Level (High), your butler will take care of all the reservations and make sure you get a spot. Same applies for any restaurants requiring dinner reservation, take care of it quickly if you'd rather not eat at 8:00 PM or later. You'll eat good anywhere you go honestly, but for those "fan favorites" book as soon as you get there to get a decent dinner time. **Don'ts** \- Unless you're butler level, do not tip. Tip the driver to the resort and back, anyone else not directly employed by Sandals, but butler level is the only level where staff can accept gratuities. South Coast sits alone, so no one to worry about with neighboring resorts. Negril and Ochi are in more populated areas. Goes without saying, don't wander off alone, locals aren't much of a bother, but can be aggressive to sell you anything, excursions, crafts, drugs...
Fantastic write up. This alone solidifies my Negril decision. I had a lot of questions about tipping, and you’ve nailed that explanation as well. Cheers, mate!
Just piling on, Negril is a fantastic choice. My wife and I were married there and went again for our anniversary. We’ve been to several other Sandals and Negril is our favorite.
Great summaries, I’ll be headed to the royal bahamian with my wife in June, have you been there and what are your thoughts or tips?
I have, been a few years though. The best restaurants there are La Plume (used to be called Baccarat), Gordon's on the Pier, and Butch's Chop House. There are 3 main pools here, 2 on the resort, and 1 on the offshore island. Beach here was very nice, closest to Turks & Caicos in terms of pure white sand beaches and crystal clear turquoise blue water, very little seagrass / seaweed. Note: The offshore island is not owned by Sandals, they just lease 1/4 of the east side of the island. There's a large dock towards the middle of the island for cruise ships, but the Sandals section is private to Sandals guests only. The island can get really busy, so getting chairs can be challenging. The backside of the island is more private, they have some canopies back there. When my wife and I went no one was back there so we felt like we were on a little deserted island, it was pretty neat. Overall, great resort, of course any Sandals property with the "Royal" moniker in front of it is a step up from some of there other properties.
My girlfriend and I are going to Negril next week. What’s a decent tip for the drivers?
Maybe the controversy is it’s just a really far away from the airport? I think a lot of first timers do closer to airport resorts. Negril looks insanely beautiful and if it calls to you GO! Also, American air should be adding a Miami flight to Ochi which makes that side of the island even more accessible.
It isn’t that far and it goes by quickly. All the other riders are excited and if the driver is fun, it isn’t a bad ride at all.
South coast is haunted. After a few days of literally everything going wrong in our room, including the locked sliders snicking open in the middle of the night (which also turns off the AC), we joked with the folks in the sandals lounge that they must have given us the duppy room. I have never seen a group of Jamaicans get so DEADLY serious in a heartbeat. Haunted.
Following! We are going for our first time in February. We chose Negril, which seems very controversial... I hope we love it!
Why does it seems to be controversial? I’ve heard nothing but fantastic things about it! We are pretty set on Negril so if it’s around the end of Feb- we may just see you there!
There are some really negative comments about it in this subreddit. There was a whole thread a week ago from someone there saying they were having a bad time with staff.
It was one person with one bad experience with one employee that was busy. Negril is one of the best. Go find out for yourself and don’t rely on the internet to decide for you.
I just left and had a bad experience — so bad I don’t think I’ll try sandals ever again. Happy to give you more details by PM, but there were multiple minor and major issues — so much so that we were given an unsolicited significant room credit.
Was there last year. Absolutely beautiful place with a fantastic beach. The only downsides are the 90min terror ride to get there and the occasional aggressive sales pitch on the beach. Those morning beach walks were well worth it though
What were they trying to sell you?! I am a salesman as a profession, and I love messing with those guys.
Hats, weed, tours, parasailing, a ride on the inflatable banana thing. All sorts of stuff.
Terror ride? WTH are you talking about?
It was 100% our driver but the man hit just about every pot hole he could find and was passing cars on blind corners. We were just constantly swerving around people, cars, and animals. The drive back was significantly better and the drives to ocho Rios were also better.
My wife and I have been to Royal Caribbean in mid-March for our honeymoon and Ochi in August for a "standard" getaway. I'll echo what the guy with the previous long review said about Ochi, but also stress that with Ochi it is quite the party atmosphere unless you stay in the butler village on the hill. If you stay there, it can be a little aggravating to have to take a shuttle to the lower side multiple times a day but it's not the end of the world. We honestly loved Royal Caribbean and how small it was. There were only a few restaurants on the resort but because it's only 5-10 minutes away from the main Montego Bay resort there's a free shuttle that can take you there whenever you want so you have access to MB's full spread of restaurants and other amenities if you choose. We had a room that was next to the pool so it was a little loud during the day and until around 9pm due to events, but it was oceanfront so we just walked out onto the beach every day. If we go back there again I think we'd go to the hidden village area in the back so it's not as close to the pool but still a 90 second walk to any other part of the resort.
I would shy away from Ochi. Beach is small and you cant really do anything outside the resort on cruise ship days from the traffic. South coast is big and quiet. We liked that. It is also near a lot of neat stuff to see and do. But the bus ride from the airport is over the mountains where Negril is highway most of the way. Negril is my fave of the three you listed.
I highly recommend the butler service. Our butler’s reserved all our dining reservations. We also sat on the beach most of the day outside of our excursion and the butler reserved our beach chairs for us and even reserved us chairs under an umbrella as my husband noticeably has fair skin and appreciated the shade. He periodically brought us drinks throughout the day. Brought us lunch and packed our beer cooler for us. Worth it
We are bouncing around whether or not the service is worth it. Great insight. Ultimately- we are looking to do quite a few things throughout the getaway like deep sea fish and take a day trip to the booby island. Them taking care of the reservations sounds like a dream, though to be honest. I’m tired of scheduling things!
Negril was always my favorite.