Couples Ocho Rios

• February 16, 2008
• Rated 4 of 5 by sizemoretravel from Jacksonville, Florida

My husband and I decided to spend five nights at Couples, Ocho Rios in Jamaica. We had a pleasurable trip from beginning to end. We flew into Montego Bay Airport and after going through customs and collecting our luggage, we went directly to the Couples lounge where we were offered a beverage such as Jamaican Red Stripe Beer as we waited for our shuttle to depart for Ocho Rios. The trip took approximately 1.5 hours as the country's roads are rocky and curvy. If you are prone to motion sickness, you might want to take some non-drowsy motion sickness medicine such as Bonine.

When we arrived at the resort, we were taken care of like royalty. This resort has a wonderful history:

It opened in 1949 as Tower Isle Hotel. Word spread quickly and Tower Isle soon became a popular Hollywood hangout. Stage and screen stars, sports heroes and political figures frequented the resort. Walt Disney, actress Eva Gabor, screen sensation Debbie Reynolds, movie star Errol Flynn, boxer Joe Louis and playwright Noel Coward are just a few that were drawn to the old world charm of the resort. Even Princess Margaret stayed at the resort on one of her many visits to the island. It is an older hotel, but kept up well and very charming with a secluded stretch of beach that is gorgeous.

Our room was Deluxe Ocean category. It had:

-View of the Caribbean Sea and Tower Isle- Air conditioning
-King size bed
-private bathroom with luxury toiletries
-Satellite TV
-CD player
-Blow dryer
-Nightly turndown service.
-Private balcony

The hotel has been recently refurbished and is better than ever.

It has five restaurants offering gourmet meals, included, unlimited premium alcoholic and non-alcoholic beverages, no tipping policy, free motorized and non-motorized water sports (snorkeling, scuba diving, water-skiing), nightly entertainment, several lounges

-Au naturel private island
-Four bars, including Private Island & Piano Bar
-Horseback riding
-Glass-bottom boat tours
-Dunn’s River Falls tour
-Shopping excursions to Downtown Ocho Rios
-Catamaran Cruise
-Unlimited Golf (transfers and green fees included. Caddy mandatory at a nominal charge)
-Shuttle to Island Village, home of Jimmy Buffett’s “Margaritaville”

I loved the horseback riding excursion especially. The food was excellent, the staff very attentive. My only complaint is that there isn't much nightlife. The piano bar is supposed to close when the last couple leaves, but on our trip, we and another couple were encouraged to leave around 1am because the bartender said that he had to work in the morning. We did complain to management and received an apology.

Beware of the sun. I am fair-skinned and got a bad sunburn on the first day. Needless to say, I stayed in the shade for the rest of the trip.

The resort does have Tower Island, the au nautrel area. I did not go to the island, but many people did. It has a swim up bar and men are not allowed unless accompanied by a woman.

I wouldn't hesitate to recommend Couples to anyone wanting a relaxing Jamaican vacation.

From journal Relaxing Jamaica

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Couples Ocho Rios All-Inclusive

• April 9, 2007
• Rated 5 of 5 by kathyjohanna from Stratford, Wisconsin

Everything about the Couples Resort in Ocho Rios is top notch. I honestly can’t say enough about how wonderful this all inclusive resort really is. This resort is only for couples (male-female). Everything is included in the cost and tipping is not allowed. Although I’ve never actually stayed at a Sandal’s Resort, I think that Couples is very comparable but a lot less commercial and more personal.

We were picked up at the airport and drove to the resort. The second we stepped out of the van we were given cool clothes to cool off with and rum punch. Being we were honeymooner our room had a bottle of chilled champagne and we received free massages.

The food and drinks were delicious. The resort has five restaurants. Most were causal but one required reservations and has a dress code of semi-formal. The drinks were easily assessable at all times. You could order anything and mean anything (my personal favorite was called a hummingbird). If you ordered a drink and after a sip you didn’t like, the staff will gladly toss it out and make something else that you’d enjoy.

At the resort you can stay as busy or relax as much as you want. My husband and I tend to enjoy being active on vacation. At the resort we took advantage or many of the free activities including; horseback riding the plantation, snorkeling near the sunken ship, bingo in the pool, Dunn River Falls, kayaking, the shopping trip in Ocho Rios, and the Sunset Catamaran Cruise (which is more or less a booze cruise). We only stayed for five nights, and if we were to do it again we would stay longer and do some of the other activities like wind surfing and scuba diving.

Although we have a taken a couple other nice vacations this trip remains to be my husband’s all time favorite and it’s because of how unbelievable the Couples Resort is.

From journal Yeah Mon!

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• June 16, 2006
• Rated 5 of 5 by a traveler from Travelocity.com

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Couples Ocho Rios

• November 21, 2004
• Rated 5 of 5 by lsuth from Clay, New York

This is a wonderful resort that is truly all-inclusive. It even includes off-site tours to places like Dunn's River Falls. There are many nice places on the gorund for a couple to be alone. The food is great and the staff is beyond compare. We have now been to this resort five times and always have an exceptional time.

From journal Couples Ocho Rios Jamaica Aug-Sept 2004 trip

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