Sandals Ochi, Jamaica – Resort Review

Our honeymoon feels like a million lifetimes ago now, but it’s only been two months since we returned. We had the most incredible (and indulgent) two weeks away and sometimes it doesn’t feel real that we went.

If you’ve been debating a sandals holiday, or specifically going to Ochi Rios in Jamaica then I’m hoping this post will help give you an idea of the area and resort.

Why we chose Sandals Ochi

We’d been on a Sandals holiday before in 2019 to St Lucia. So we knew we wanted to head back to another resort. For us the main reasons were that it’s a luxurious type of resort that really feels special, it’s adults-only and it’s best kind of all-inclusive that we’ve been to.

Sandals operates exclusively in the Caribbean and to be honest we didn’t really look at locations when booking, we looked at resorts. For us we were going to relax, enjoy the sunshine and make the most of everything included in our holiday. So it didn’t really matter what country we were in.

We knew we wanted to be away for two weeks and for us food is one of the most important aspects. So we looked through all the resorts to find one with the largest choice of restaurants so we wouldn’t get bored. Luke can be quite picky with food so the Ochi resort seemed like the best choice for us.

Our accommodation

Having already been on a Sandals trip before we wanted to make this one extra special as it was our honeymoon. We loved the idea of having our own semi-private pool and the idea of a butler was a dream. So we went for a poolside one bedroom villa suite in Butler Village.

Each villa has two suites downstairs and two upstairs. And those four rooms share one pool. We were lucky to have a downstairs suite so our room opened right up to the pool. There was only one day in our whole trip where all eight of us were around the pool. And most days it was just us and one other couple, so it was super relaxing.

The suite itself was everything we could have wanted. There was a bedroom with the largest bed I’ve ever been in (we could have easily slept four people in it!) We had a living area which was nice to sit and relax in and a mini-kitchen space with a fridge, microwave and fully stocked mini-bar. The fridge (and spirits in the cupboard) would get restocked every single day with the things we loved so we always had cold waters, juices, fizzy drinks and a supply of gin.

The restaurants

As I mentioned above the food for us was the most important aspect and there were three breakfast options, eight lunch spots and 10 restaurants for dinner. So a lot of choice, and this doesn’t even include two late night snack spots and the option for room service.

As the resort is split across two sites (beachfront and hillside) with a short 2 min ride between the two, both sides had a buffet spot for the breakfast. And it’s the best kind of buffet where you can get absolutely everything. We went here four times over our stay, but our favourite was the French spot for breakfast. While I worked my way through the menu Luke had steak and eggs there every morning we went.

Lunch spots ranged from a jerk chicken shack and pizza spot to a world-buffet and sit down restaurants. Some of my favourites were the Jamaican patties (I could eat these forever), the quesadillas and a great tapas spot.

Dinner was a massive choice and we didn’t actually end up eating at all of the restaurants in the end. Choices included French, Italian, Sushi, Seafood, Southern American, Caribbean and Teppanyaki. And every single restaurant was just incredible from the service to the food and drinks. And drinks are all included (excluding high-end wine/ champagne) so we took advantage of the restaurant special cocktails.

The rest of the Sandals Ochi resort

As I mentioned above the resort is split over two sides which spread everyone out so it never felt too busy anywhere despite being peak season. On hillside where we were there was a large main pool with a few jacuzzies and an infinity pool. Then on beachside alongside the beach you did also have another pool. As we had our own pool we didn’t spend too much time outside of this but I loved the chilled vibe on the beach.

If you’re an active person or just want to do things there’s so much you can do from workout classes, water sports and scuba diving to activities like painting. We were there solely to relax so didn’t take advantage of any of these. But next time!

The indulgence of having a butler

I have never felt so bougie in my life than telling people we had a butler on our holiday. It was unnecessary, but it was also the most incredible thing.

I’m going to do a whole post about whether the cost of having a butler is worth it, but if you can afford it I would highly recommend it.

When you’re going on a holiday to relax and do nothing they can ensure that. They made all our dinner reservations, drove us around the resort on a golf buggy (because of the hills are big), they brought us cocktails as we were laying by the pool and so much more.

Have you ever been to a Sandals resort or somewhere similar?