Sandals Ochi Beach Resort reviews
14582 TripAdvisor reviews
Welcoming staff but tired resort
Annamaiacrane (London, United Kingdom) on Mar 24, 2024
The floor below us was being renovated leading noise and smells of varnish and pant throughout the day. I chose this resort based on reviews and the promise of gluten free options at every meal, this was sadly lacking particularly at breakfast. Be aware that although this is a beach front property the swimming area is very limited
Nichola, Ammiga, Josie and Caddock are the Best Butlers ever!!
pwalfajeep (Dominican Republic) on Mar 23, 2024
Third visit to Ochi, we kinda like and understand how the place runs and its a decent resort. We were in a butler villa with semi private room and whilst i get people saying they are tired, we find them really comfortable, beds are bloody incredible, bar area great and air con works just fine. Its a great routine to spend the morning at the main pool and then the afternoon at your own pool, it will also be interesting to see the refurb being rolled out in butler village too. On restaurants they can be a bit of a mixed bag, steaks seemed to have suffered a drop in quality and food overall seems to be the same for last 8yrs when we first came, but its ok and the restaurant service largely excellent. The stand out though and what made our fortnight as two couples were our team of 4 butlers named in the title. They were awesome, superb thoughtful and attentive with excellent service, who knew i could have a sushi starter from Soy in the Manor reataurant :-). All 4 are a credit to the Sandals Butler Elite programme and were great company too. Pete and Felicity (and Lou and Loz)
Highly recommend
LeAnn R on Mar 23, 2024
Lengthy, as I prefer a lot of details when reading reviews. My husband and I went for our tenth anniversary. We booked a luxury room in the main house on the hillside; upon arrival, we were upgraded to a villa with a large room and shared semi-private pool. The room was beautiful and roomy. Our mini-bar was stocked daily. Rides to and from your room are encouraged and offered at a moment's notice. However, we typically walked to and from our room to enjoy the scenery. Both sides are beautiful, but I was glad we chose the hillside as it is a tropical paradise. Our preferred pool is also located on the hillside. We took the Hop to the beachside daily to enjoy beachside activities or have dinner. I highly encourage trying out the different water sports options that are available. We loved the small catamarans and kayaks; however, our favorite activity was snuba. We went in the morning to see the shipwreck along with the reef. We had discussed scuba; however, I am happy we had the snuba option. It allows you to get a feel for breathing while still being able to go over 10' down. Shout out to our instructor Shevall. The food was good. Some restaurants were better than others, as expected. My husband and I reside in the Southern United States and love spicy foods. However, we were unimpressed by dinner at Southern Table. We found it bland; again, I'm sure that is a cultural and personal pallet difference. The breakfast buffet there was great. I highly recommend the made-to-order omelets. A few of our favorite restaurants include Vista, Soy, and Reef Terrace. We did not have a chance to try Le Gourmand, Kimono, or Valentinos. The Sky Terrace and Speak Easy are great options for spending the evenings. If you plan on spending a day at the main house pool, I recommend renting a cabana. They are inexpensive and worth all the amenities. The staff was phenomenal, the views breathtaking, there was an abundance of activities, and good food. The only downside to this resort is being so far from the main airport; however, that is a minor inconvenience.
Sandals Ochi Beach Resort
Beachlover888 (Saline, Michigan) on Mar 22, 2024
Sandals Ochi is about a 2 hour bus ride from the Montego airport, which is okay, just make sure that on the return you figure that in when booking your flights. The resort is divided between the beach side and the hill side. A shuttle bus, the HOP, runs frequently and is easy to use. Both sides of the resort have a lot of steps to negotiate, so, maybe not the best location for people with mobility issues. Did not bother us, we enjoy walking and moving around. We booked a 1 bedroom Butler suite hill side. One week we stayed in the old style suite, which I enjoy since it reflects the Colonial style of Jamaica and is warm and cozy. The second week we stayed in one of the renovated units which are light and airy and very enjoyable, but these rooms/suites can be found in other hotels as well, they are just modern and updated with no real distinction. That's just my opinion. The younger travel crowd nowadays desires something modern and sleek and that's what Sandals has to cater for. Sad to see the old style go, but I can understand. My husband and I are long-time Sandals guests and enjoy all the perks offered during the stay. Sign up for the Loyalty program and you get discounts on future travel and get invited to the returning guest dinner and a lot more. The program to sign up is free. We had Butler service and our two Butlers Melford and Richardo were very nice, efficient, always available and ready to help when needed. Thanks guys!!! The Manor pool up hill is large and there are lots of lounges and umbrellas to have. Up until about 8 or 9 am it is easy to secure a place, later on, shady spots are not easily to come by. My favorite restaurant was Southern Table, especially for breakfast. Sitting outside on the terrace overlooking the pool is wonderful. The buffet is plentiful and the service was mostly excellent. RomarioN is an outstanding server. Southern Table is also open most evenings with a Southern themed menu and we enjoyed going there several times. As you might have read, Kelly's restaurant dockside is currently under construction because a February storm demolished even the foundation. It will be a while until it is rebuilt. One can dine on the Kelly's menu at the Sky Vista restaurant, sitting inside. Of course, not the same ambience, but the food is good. The Sky Vista restaurant is open for B/L/D and has a buffet for breakfast and lunch and in the evening offers dishes like Surf/Turf. Server Trae at Kelly's is outstanding and very professional. We enjoyed his service. Kimonos restaurant is very lively and it is fun seeing the chefs cooking before ones eyes. But it is a noisy restaurant. Speaking of noisy, Le Gourmand, the French restaurant on the hill has great food and decent service, but as soon as there is a table that has more then 2 people, it gets loud and definitely takes away from the dining experience. The Reef restaurant on the Beach side has wonderful views over the bay and a nice menu including Ribeye steak. Service there is great as well. Server Davia did an outstanding job. The weak area for that resort is the limitations for lunch. Sure there is the jerk shack, which is okay, always crowded, and while I like jerk chicken and pork, I was hoping to get a plain jerk burger which is not on their menu!!! Then there is Dino's pizza, which makes good pizza but is always very busy and it takes awhile to get an order filled. The 3rd venue in that area is the Greathouse Cafe that offers burgers and other lunch items. Pretty good, I had the fish burger, but when one is there for 2 weeks, one runs out of options. On the beach side, besides the Vista buffet, there is Mariner which has a nice menu and decent food. Service there is very slow, so be prepared to sit back and enjoy the view to the ocean before your meal arrives. We did one evening trip to the new Sandals's Dunn River via complimentary shuttle (drive time about 20 minutes max). The resort has been totally redone and is very nice. We ate at the Italian restaurant which has outstanding food and a wonderful wait staff. In summation, I can say that while Sandals Ochi resort might not be for everyone because of the lenghty commute and the division between hill and beach side, we had a great time. Scuba diving almost every day and the dive shop is top notch. Sandals Ochi, right now, is still one of the least expensive Sandals resort in Jamaica, so we booked a return visit down the road. For all the guests who run into problems during their stay, or have a grievance of some kind, please contact the management staff while on the premises to get things resolved. Reporting problems on Tripadvisor after the vacation doesn't solve anything. If you have questions about that resort, feel free to contact me; maybe I can answer them.
Sandals needs revamping HUGE
vivalavidalisa (Ontario, Canada) on Mar 22, 2024
Our 4th trip to sandals and this one was a huge disappointment. We invited friends as a 1st time to all inclusive to sandals hoping it would be a sandals experience for them. Our room was a disaster then we moved-dripping ac into a puddle on moldy carpet. No hot water. Mold in bathroom. Toilet didn’t flush. Sandals needs work. Won’t be returning.