2007-Sandals Grande Ocho Rios

The ultra all inclusive vacation is the way to go if you want no worries. You can be a busy as you want to be or as relaxed as you want to. There is an activity for everyone.

Quick Tips:

Check out the ampitheater, there is a wide variety of entertainment for all. Check out some of the tours. The Dunn's river falls is a must see. The shopping excursion worked well for me, as I am not a big shopper, so the three hour excursion was just right to pick up a little something for the ones we left behind.

Best Way To Get Around:

I recommend the excursions. I did not trust any of the public transportation, yet some people took taxis to town.

This is an all-inclusive resort. All meals drinks, entertainment, and many water activities are included. There are two sides to this resort, the Riveria and the Manor side. Both sides have numerous restaurants, bars, activities, spa and gift/photo shops. There is a complementary shuttle from side to side. The Riveria side is closest to the water and where most of the action is. The Manor side is located across the street and is more private and secluded. We booked a Deluxe Grove room but we recieved a complementary upgrade to a Plantaition Villa with a shared pool. We traveled with two other couples and we were all placed in the same Villa. Our Villa was located up a hill (a jitney ride is provided). Upon entering our Villa we walked into a sitting room furnished with a sofa, coffee table and a desk. French doors opened up to a private balcony overlooking the shared pool, off to the left you could see the ocean. A small kitchenette off the sitting room contained a coffee maker, small sink and a fridge stocked with soda, water and wine. Our bedroom was furnished with a amiore, TV, chair and two nightstands. In the closet was an iron, ironing board and a safe. The bathroom was a good size and has a hair dryer, shampoo, conditioner, soap, lotion and after-sun. The grounds on both side are well kept and beautiful. The staff are very personable and helpful.

This is located at the Sandals Grande, it is part of the all-inclusive. The restaurant is located on the candle lit Pier on the Riviera side. It is only open a few nights a week, arrive early so that you can get a seat. The food has a Southwest flair. The wait staff are derssed in jeans, cowboys and girls. We had the steak and shrimp. The salad bar(salsa) was fabulous, I kept going back for more.

We decided to dine on the patio overlooking the ocean. We are not big fans of Italian cuisine, but we had to give it a try. We were not that impressed with the salad bar. The meal choices were vast. I chose the chicken parm, and my husband chose a shrimp dish. The presentation was fantastic. They had a singer and pianist, the singer sang at each table personally for a song. The best part of our meal was the dessert. Although the names of the desserts would have left me clueless as to what I was ordering, the descriptions were a big help. The amaretto infused chocolate something or other was fantastic. This restaurant is included in the all-inclusive resort.

Don't miss the shows that are in the ampitheater on the Riveria side. They have a variety of shows including the steel drums, dancing and a couples show. All were well worth watching or participating in. I was ALMOST tempted to purchase my son a set of steel drums.

Everyone must make the climb.

Things to bring from home:
Water Shoes, water proof camera & zip lock baggie.
Things to bring:
Towels, singles, & money for the market afterwards.

Lockers and water shoes are available for rent. Pair up with one of your fellow bus mates and share a locker. A DVD and photos of your climb are available as well. We purchased the DVD, I thought it was worth it.

We start our adventure just past the gates, our tour guide gives us a breifing of our journey. Here we can purchase water shoes and cameras too. Off to the locker rental area. Next to the bottom of the falls. We form our human chain adn start our climb. I personally found it easier not to hold hands. As we climbed our tour guide would stop for some photo ops. They would use your camera to take your pictures too. The tour guide, the locker rental guy, and the camera guy all expect tips, so bring ones. We chose to visit the falls when there were no cruise ships in port. There was only our human chain on the falls as far up or down that you could see. The one tour guide said on cruise days there can be as many as 500 people on the falls at one time.