We have visited Sandals Ochi twice and greatly enjoyed enjoyed it. The largest and cheapest Sandals resort, it is located in Ocho Rios, Jamaica, and has a lot to offer. In this real and honest Sandals Ochi review we’ll tell you all about it so you can decide if it’s the right Sandals resort for you!
Things to Know About Sandals Ochi
First off, this resort is huge! The map makes it look like everything is close together, but it is spread out and separated into hillside and beachside areas. Decide where you want to stay based on what activities you’re most interested in.
Wherever you stay, though, there is a shuttle service called “Hop” that comes around about every 10 minutes to take you where you want to go if it’s too far to walk.
When we are at the resort we always ask other guests if they are enjoying themselves and we hear two main complaints, slow service and people who like a part of the resort far from their room.
Sandals Ochi is the largest Sandals Resort and there is a shuttle running between the two areas so it can be annoying if you choose to stay on one side but want to spend your time on the other side. You can remedy this by doing your research beforehand or talking to a Sandals Certified Travel Agent (like us).
For dealing with slow service, we recommend going to dinner around 6:30 to avoid longer wait time, but to be honest we never really experienced long wait times.
For excursions, there are several nearby including Dunn’s River and the Blue Hole. We also loved relaxing by the pool, getting drinks at the swim-up bar, and grabbing a fresh pizza for lunch. Just thinking about that makes we want to go back!
Getting to Sandals Ochi
There are three international airports in Jamaica. Most flights arrive at the main one, Sangster International Airport in Montego Bay, but the closest airport to Sandals Ochi is Ian Fleming Airport. It is just 15 minutes from the resort, but you might have a hard time finding a flight there depending on where you’re coming from. However, there are now new direct flights from Miami to Ocho Rios. Hopefully, those flights will increase since we have never aligned with out travel plans.
If you fly into Montego Bay, it’s a 90-minute trip from the airport to the resort. The third airport is in Kingston, which is about the same distance, but the roads are more winding so avoid this if you get car sick.
As at every Sandals, your roundtrip airport transfers are included. You could pay extra for a private transfer in a luxury car, but we don’t really see the point.
FYI, if you go through Montego Bay, your shuttle driver will probably offer to stop on the way to Sandals Ochi at a Caribbean jerk shack. You can also opt for the Club Mobay service, which gets you through the airport faster.
Pricing at Sandals Ochi
As I mentioned before, Sandals Ochi is the cheapest Sandals Resort. Having visited every Sandals Resort, I think this is mostly because it has the majority of rooms further away from the beach and the rooms located on the beach are fairly basic. They are making improvements constantly to the resort so previously run-down rooms are now much better.
Starting at $211, I think Sandals Ochi is a great value. There are still great deals like the weekly 777 deals, last-minute deals, and seasonal discounts which you can check here.
Starting Your Trip Off Right
Once you arrive at Sandals Ochi, one of the best benefits is knowing you can relax with most things included in your stay.
When I arrive at a Sandals Resort, I like to make dinner reservations and go to the watersports area to understand when they do scuba dives and snorkeling and how to reserve a spot.
Next is to go to Island Routes to decide if I want to take an excursion and to the spa to make any reservations there.
Sandals Ochi Rooms and Suites
Accommodations are divided between the hillside and beachside areas, into “villages.” Each area has a check-in desk, and there’s a road between the areas with regular shuttle service.
The hillside also has the main pool, some restaurants, a fitness center, and a spa.
The beach area has a variety of accommodations as well as restaurants and bars, beaches, and more pools.
Our Check-in and Room at Sandals Ochi
We were in a butler suite, so once we arrived at the check-in area, we waited in the Club Lounge until our butler came to take us via a golf cart to our suite.
We stayed in a Butler Village Poolside Suite in the hillside area. We liked this area because it was nice and quiet. It had a terrace with a private pool we shared with one other room, and it came with butler service. We got a phone we could use to contact the butlers for any requests we had, like making restaurant reservations or bringing us drinks or snacks on the beach.
The suite also had a separate living room with comfy furniture and a bar area and stocked minifridge; a separate bedroom; There were U.S. outlets and USB connections by the bed, and a full closet with Sandals robes and slippers, iron and ironing board, and the safe. Our butler offered to unpack for us but we didn’t feel like we needed it.
We also learned that these suites have been recently renovated with a new coat of paint, new bathrooms and new furniture.
We also checked out a room on the beach side in the Riviera Seaside Village: the Riviera Honeymoon Beachfront Room. It had a nice view of the water and a private balcony.
Food and Restaurants at Sandals Ochi
We found the food here to be really good. We suggest that when you stay here—or at any Sandals resort in Jamaica you make all of your dinner restaurant reservations as soon as you are assigned your room. This way, you’ll make sure to get in where you really want to, since some restaurants require reservations.
If you like fast service, book your meal earlier. And wherever you eat, but especially at places like Soy that offer a lot of unique dishes, feel free to order as many items as you want to. Remember that all meals and snacks are complimentary and unlimited at Sandals!
Sandals Ochi has the most restaurants of any Sandals resort, with 16 different options.
You can have a buffet or a la carte breakfast. We really enjoyed the buffets, and our favorite was the Southern Table restaurant at the Manor in the hillside area. It had fresh stations for eggs, smoothies, pancakes, French toast, and omelets.
A good choice on the beach side is Vista Gourmet. You can also get room service if you’re staying in a club or butler level room.
There are lots of options for an easy lunch; we really liked the brick oven pizza at Dino’s, the quesadillas at The Mariner, the Caribbean Jerk Shack, and the fish tacos at Tapas on the Riviera.
Our favorite dinners were at Soy, which serves sushi; Japanese teppanyaki at Kimonos; Vista Gourmet for surf and turf; the Italian restaurant Valentino’s (loved the lamp chops and insalata caprese); and the French restaurant, Le Gourmand. Other restaurants serve fresh seafood, Caribbean, Mediterranean, American Southern, grilled selections, international, and tapas.
You can also get room service if you are staying in a club or butler-level room. Club rooms get it during limited hours, but Butler Suites have 24-hour room service. We did that a few times and found it great for late-night snacks and leisurely breakfast in the room.
What to Know about the Pools at Sandals Ochi
There are 105 pools at Sandals Ochi, but just 6 of them are public (the rest are all at suites). The main pool is the largest one. Located at the Great House, it has party vibes and a swim-up bar. There’s usually music playing, and there are activities like water volleyball.
There are two other pools in this area as well. One is right next to the Great House Café if you want to enjoy your lunch in the water.
Our favorite pool was the Riviera Pool, which was a good mix of fun and relaxation. Smaller than the main pool, it also has a swim-up bar, and there’s a pizza stand next door.
The Hidden Pool is quiet and small, and doesn’t have a bar. It’s perfect if you want to just chill. There’s also the peaceful Riviera Garden Pool.
The Ochi Beach Club Pool is set just off the beach, and has a swim-up bar. The final pool is where you can learn to scuba dive.
Sandals Ochi Activities
There are so many complimentary activities available at Sandals Ochi. It has the most watersports of all the Sandals resorts, including snorkeling, paddleboarding, kayaking, windsurfing, aquatrikes, Hobie Cat sailing, and glass-bottom boat rides. Instruction and equipment are included for the nonmotorized watersports.
Scuba diving is also included (two dives a day) if you’re certified. You can also pay a fee (currently $120) to get certified onsite and then enjoy the free dives. I was able to get certified for open water diving in three days.
On land, you can play basketball, tennis, squash, rock climbing, pool, table tennis, and more. There’s also a free fitness center with exercise classes.
Golfers will love the beautiful golf course nearby, and green fees are complimentary as is a roundtrip shuttle. We suggest making sure you get out as early as possible—it gets quite hot later in the day.
If you feel like indulging, the Red Lane Spa offers all kinds of spa services, but these are not included in your stay.
Sandals Ochi is located close to great natural attractions like Dunn’s River Falls and the Blue Hole, which you can visit on your own. There are also excursions there that you can book through Sandals, as well as tons of other excursion options like sunset sails, ATV tours, ziplining, and more. We didn’t find the ATV tour or the horseback riding to be worth it, but did think the ziplines were cool.
We took the excursion to Dunn’s River Falls and the Blue Hole and loved it. We suggest taking the catamaran to Dunn’s River so you can bypass the shops and the pushy salespeople.
If you want to book excursions through Sandals, you can wait until you get to the resort. We recommend doing a max of two a day—sometimes there will be long waits during excursions so you don’t want to schedule too close together.
We do not recommend doing more than 3 activities in a day or going to anything that takes over 45 minutes to get to.
Sandals Ochi Bars and Nightlife
This Sandals resort is one of the liveliest, with a ton of nightlife options including live entertainment like Broadway-style shows, karaoke, live music, and theme nights like talent night, Caribbean night, Michael Jackson night, and White Night. There’s also a beach party that features fire dancers.
There are 11 bars including a piano bar. One of the coolest is a speakeasy (the Caribbean’s first) called The Rabbit Hole, which you need a password to get in. It has a hip vibe, live jazz, and one of the best bars at any Sandals resort. We loved it. The Ochi Beach Club also has events happening at night.
During the day it’s pretty lively as well, with music and activities at the main pool. You’ll never go without a drink if you don’t want to, as there are swim-up bars at most pools, and servers come around at the pools and beach to take your order.
The Beach at Sandals Ochi
The white-sand beach here has calm water and is separated into three sections.
The Sandals Ochi Beach Club is a lively spot, with a beachfront restaurant and a nearby pool that has a swim-up bar. There are chairs on the beach, some under the shade of trees. There are also some floats anchored out in the water for lounging.
The next section is in the Riviera Seaside village, and it has docks, restaurants, and bars.
The longest beach is in front of the Riviera Beachfront Tower, and this is where you will find the watersports. There are also beach chairs and shade trees.
Is Sandals Ochi a party resort?
Yes and no. Sandals Ochi has the most active nightlife and daily entertainment scene of any Sandals resort. However, it’s not a wild party atmosphere—it’s fun but not crazy.
Is Sandals Ochi a couples-only resort?
No. Although Sandals resorts have mostly been aimed at couples on romantic trips, they are starting to be more relaxed about this. We’ve noticed family groups with grown children as well as friend groups at Sandals resorts. Sandals Ochi would be a great choice for a large group of friends since it has so much to do.
However, all of the rooms at Sandals have king beds and are generally priced for two people. You can request rollaway beds, but these are not guaranteed.
How far away is Sandals Ochi from the airport?
The answer to that depends on which of Jamaica’s three airports you fly into. The closest airport to Sandals Ochi is Ian Fleming in Ocho Rios, which is just 15 minutes away. The other two—Sangster International in Montego Bay and Norman Manley in Kingston—are each about 90 minutes away. Airport transfers are complimentary.
What is included at Sandals Ochi? Is alcohol free at Sandals Ochi?
Yes, alcohol is included at Sandals Ochi!
As at every Sandals resort, stays at Sandals Ochi include all meals and snacks at all restaurants; unlimited non-alcoholic and alcoholic beverages including unlimited premium liquors and unlimited Robert Mondavi Twin Oaks wines; a minibar in your room that is refreshed daily, stocked with juice, water, soft drinks, wine and beer; a coffee maker with Jamaican Blue Mountain Blend coffee; unlimited nonmotorized watersports such as snorkeling, paddleboarding, and kayaking, including equipment and professional instruction; scuba diving (including equipment) for certified divers; unlimited land sports including golf and tennis (at most resorts), beach volleyball, etc.; a fitness center with state-of-the-art equipment; daily and nightly entertainment; WiFi; roundtrip airport transfers; private airport arrival lounges at some locations; and roundtrip shuttles to other resorts and access to their facilities (at some locations).
What’s not included at Sandals Ochi?
Although everything you could want for an amazing vacation is included at Sandals Ochi, some things cost extra. These include spa services, scuba diving certification courses, pool cabana rentals, and offsite excursions.
Highlights from Online Guest Reviews
- Beautiful Manor pool and well-maintained surroundings
- Convenient access to Sandals Golf & Country Club with green fees included for guests
- Lively Rabbit Hole nightclub within the resort
- Immersive tropical experience due to its location amidst lush hillside gardens and nearby jungle
Key Amenities and Services
- Comfortable and luxurious accommodations, with many offering fantastic mountain and ocean views
- 105 pools and 22 whirlpools on the property
- Free Wi-Fi access for all guests
- Convenient shuttle service within the resort, including transportation to beaches and golf club
- On-site concierge for any additional requests and upgrades