We returned home from Sandy Bay on Friday 4/25. We have to say that we had a wonderful time overall. I was a little worried after reading some of the reviews on here. I became obsessed with logging in every day to see new comments. Well here are mine.

I traveled with my wife and 2 children (2&5) & another family that was 2 adults and 2 children (1&4).

I booked my vacation by visiting the Beaches Website. Which I had no problem with at all. We originally booked a 1 bedroom Ocean view Suite, but a couple weeks before we left we got a call from Beaches asking is we wanted to upgrade. I figured how much is this going to cost me. But I have to say that it was the best thing that I spent the money and upgraded. It cost me an additional $450 for the week. But this upgraded me to the top of the line room in the resort, the 2 Bedroom Ocean view Suite.

We flew out of JFK airport (NYC). We boarded Air Jamaica Flight, first thing they tell us is that there is no entertainment. Then they served the breakfast, I think it was supposed to be French toast. At least we got food not like other airlines that are not supplying food anymore.

We landed in Montego Bay 15 minutes early. We left the plane and flew through customs/immigration and we were escorted to the Sandals waiting area where it was nice and air-conditioned and self serve drinks. We waited approximately 20 minutes before we were then put on a vehicle. I am not going to call it a van or a bus, but it was sort of a mix of the two. The trip to the resort took us 1.5 hours and the seats are NOT comfortable. But the driver also acts as a tour guide and tells about the country as we went to the resort. If you get car sick, I would be ready to get in the vans. If anyone has been in a NYC cab, this is 10 times worse.

We arrived at Beaches Sandy Bay and were immediately greeted and given a cold wet towel and drinks if we wanted. We had to complete some check-in forms at this time. If you want to do web check in you must do that at least 3 days BEFORE you arrive. The web check-in completes these forms for you. We went to the buffet and ate lunch. If you are thinking that you are going to get 5 star meals you are mistaken. The food was OK. We were then taken to our room which was beautiful. Yes they do need to be updated but the room was fine. But hard for me to compare since we had the top of the line room of the resort. The view was awesome, we had a full view of the ocean.

We spent every day on the beach in the morning, the kids loved it. We did not use the Kid's Camp at all. We at mostly at the buffet, the breakfast was the best of all. Lunch and dinner were OK. We ate at the Caribbean Restaurant, the food was good but small portions. If you want to eat at the sit-down restaurants you better get there by 6pm minimum if you want to eat early. People line up to get early seats. We also ate at the Italian Restaurant, I thought that the food was very good, same deal to get early seats.

It seemed that most of the wait staff were not that nice. I am not saying that they are mean. But when you walk down the path and the guy sweeping stops and says hello with a big smile, then you go to eat and they barely say a word. There was one female at the buffet who always had a puss on, and didn't say a word to anyone.

The beach is spectacular. Fine soft sand that is not hot. I did go down to the beach early in the morning to save seats under shade. But even if you didn’t save seats there were always some that went unused. We did not have to sign up for water sports the day before, except for the glass bottom boat, which I was not impressed with.

We received a letter under our door to visit the "SOON COME BACK" desk. Here is where they want you to book for next year. It is very misleading. They tell you that they are going to give you a nice discount for your return trip. It is not true at all. First of all the prices for next year are ridiculous. Comparing to what I originally booked for, they prices are about $1500 more NOT including airfare. This I will not pay. When I got home I checked the prices on their website, and guess what...... They are the SAME prices that I was quoted at the hotel. What kind of savings was I going to get by booking there? NONE. At those prices I don't think that I will be going back. But that takes nothing away from the vacation we had. IT WAS WONDERFUL!!!

Also there is Internet access available, which is actually not that expensive. For a 7day pass it was only $35. I have paid more in the past at other places. But the only problem is that it is only available in the lobby. I did not get the Internet access, because I was not going to lug my laptop back and forth. If they were to get the access in to the rooms I would have definitely got it. And I will be that a lot of other people would also.

I just have to comment on our ride from Beaches to the airport via the transports. It was the most horrifying trip I have ever had in a vehicle. The driver was crazy. He drove on the wrong side of the road passing cars (but this is normal for Jamaica). He probably missed cars in the opposite directions by like 10 feet or so, and that is not an exaggeration.


Please contact me if you have any specific questions. I would be happy to answer them.

We just returned from a six day stay (April 20-25). Originally, we were booked at Boscobel but a week prior to leaving changed to Sandy Bay. I too read all of the comments about other Beaches properties and was nervous.
If you are going to the Caribbean you want to be on a beautiful beach with crystal clear water. Sandy Bay is part of a seven mile stretch of beach. It was wonderful.
1. Yes, the ride is 1 1/2 hours long but at the airport you go to the Beaches check-in get beer or soda and start to relax. My husband was happy to have beer at 10am. Red cap porters will take your bags to the bus; tip them $1 per bag they touch. It is a depressed economy so what is an extra $5-10 when you have spent so much already. Use the ride to teach your children how other people live and how fortunate we are to be able to travel and see the world.
2. Upon arrival we were greeted with cool towels and told our room wasn't ready. After reading other reviews I knew this so I packed our children's suits in carry-on bags with lotion and they jumped in the pool after getting a bite to eat and drink. (Bring lots of sun screen, I suggest 40+, because our children did burn and the sun is stronger in the Caribbean.) We waited about an hour for our room to be ready at 1 pm.
3. We had a Honeymoon suite(7301) which was fine for our family of five (three girls, 13,12,8). Very few ants on the third floor and our kids HATE bugs, they didn't even notice. All caribbean islands have ants. We had to live in house in Puerto Rico filled with ants; it's a way of life down there. Two pullout couches, (semi- comfortable), a seperate bedroom for us, two tvs with U.S. shows and cartoons; big bathroom, kitchenette with fridge filled with water, juices and tonic. The room was brightly painted and yes the bathroom was a little worn out with sloppy repair work but you are there for the beach. Bed was comfy. Room cleaned everyday with fresh towels, restocked fridge and turn down service. They say tips are included but again leave tip money for the maids if you were happy they deserve it.
4. When traveling with girls, the locals will bother you to braid their hair. If you want to do it, get it done right away so they will stop bothering you. It is $45 -75 at the hotel with tip or $25-30 cash just off the property. Everyone is nice and I'm sure it's safe but we did it on site with Teneisha. Ask her to do the diamond pattern I've never seen it before and your kids will be the talk of the school. (Had a massage with Winsome which was very good but the spa at Beaches Negril is gorgeous so book over there if you can!)
5. The food is fine. Talking with other cruise and all-inclusive people the food is good to great and so it is at Sandy Bay. (Had lunch at Beaches Negril which was excellent!) You don't go the Caribbean for Italian food and so the food at the Italian restaurant was ok but not true Italian though the desserts were great! Buffet food was good to very good, breakfast was excellent. Dinner on the beach was great. The Sundowner food was very good also. My husband and I are experienced at eating in all types of restaurants and have travelled around the world so we are picky. We were very happy with the food. Two of our children are picky and they loved the constant supply of chicken nuggets and fries at the grill on the beach. Watch how many strawberry frozen drinks they have! Our middle had at least 6-7 a day. The jerked meats at lunch and dinner are great. Yes, Veronica the omelette lady is friendly and tell her you read about her on-line she loves to hear it.
5a. To off set the eating go to the gym. The aerobic equipment is fine and the humidity helps you sweat off extra weight while you work out. Keep moving over the length of your trip and you won't gain weight from the constant drinking and eating. I just lost 20+ LBS and didn't want to gain it back. Came home the same as I left.
6. Water activites were fun. We never had to rush to sign up. We never had to fight for lounge chairs. There were always free ones available and the hotel said they were at full capacity. Many people go to Beaches Negril, which is bigger and very crowded with few empty chairs and a larger area to walk around.
Went snorkling twice in 12-15 feet clear waters. Oliver is very nice and will let any frightened children wait on the boat for their families. They say three times a day but I think they went out more.
7. Beaches Negrl was nice; bigger beach front with more life guards and security but if you want your children to be able to walk freely within shouting distance of yourself Beaches Sandy Bay is the place to be. We enjoyed the quieter hotel.
8. MAKE YOUR OWN FUN! Our children are pretty friendly so after tye dying shirts one day they became friends with other kids and that's who the played with. We didn't sign them up for camp; they just joined in with other kids when playing in the pool or bingo etc. Older children will not like the Sesame Street stuff but we as parents can sit back and watch other little ones enjoy it and think back to the good old days when ours were that young and managable!
9. I saw two teenage brothers befriend the activities guy and the three would organize soccer and volleyball games on the beach by going around and asking other guests to play. If you make friends with the staff they are willing to help get things going. (The ladies of Jamaica love romance novels for some reason. A was approached by three different ladies about the books I was reading and they asked if I was finished with them. I gave two books to one photo shop girl, she was thrilled.)
10. We are from NY and our children have never been to Europe. Many of the guests were from other countries. Again it was a teachable moment for our family to introduce them to families from Germany and Australia while we were there. Also we befriended a family from Montreal and our daughter who takes French could say a few words to the children. We exchanged information and hope to see them in future travels.
11. Husband and oldest golfed one day at the Negril club. He felt it was overpriced (no freebees or signs to mark each hole) $75 a round, $40 cart caddy at $14 per person plus tip. But if you love golf you'll enjoy it anywhere.
12. If you book through Beaches including airfare be aware that Air Jamaica doesn't guarentee seats so the flight down was crazy for many people whose families were split up. Most people rearranged seats to help each other out so kudos to friendly New Yorkers.
We were pleasantly surprised by our Beaches experience and would gladly reccomended Sandy Bay to others. Feel free to contact me about one trip we took or anything else. My husband and I are both teachers who have travelled alot and like to get the most for our dollar so we feel it was worth the expense to switch to Sandy Bay.

We just returned two days ago from Beaches Sandy Bay. First off, we were originally booked at Beaches Negril, so it was not a monetary decision to stay at Sandy Bay. We changed our booking on the advice of our travel agent and two families that we know; one who stayed at Negril, one at Sandy Bay. We have a 19 month old daughter, and we were told that she would be better involved in activities at the smaller resort. Also, she would be able to interact more with the Sesame Street characters. This was absolutely correct. We are so glad we changed! My husband and I are both educated and well-traveled. We have stayed at 5-star hotels and resorts in multiple countries, but feel that the Sandy Bay is by far our favorite vacation. Bottom line: the employees make this resort.

As far as the rooms are concerned, I felt they were nice. We had a 2 bedroom suite in the Cherry Blossom building. We had 3 adults (my 73 years old mother joined us) and 1 child. We had ample room. It was kept extremely clean, and was freshly painted.

The food was good. We ate on site for every meal, except for one. For that one we went to Beaches Negril. Big mistake. I would say that the food is typical all-inclusive fare; except for the Italian restraunt. My husband is from Sicily, and his family has been in the food business for over 30 years. He loved this place. I would suggest to stand in line starting at 6 p..m. to get in. It is well worth the effort. We also enjoyed the buffet and the Sesame Grill. We fed our daughter at 5 p.m. every night from the Grill, then we all ate later.

The beach is awesome. Again, we have travelled frequently, so have a lot to compare it to. The staff keep it very clean, and there are plenty of chairs and sand toys for the children.

The shows and activities are amazing! We all had so much fun. The characters made a point to approach my child, as she was a bit timid at first. By the end of the week, she was shouting their names and hugging every one of them.

In conclusion, this resort may be older, but it is provides an amazing vacation. The staff is awesome; most of them knew my child's name by the 2nd day. We were always treated extremely well by any staff member we came in contact with. We went to Beaches Negril one day, and came back as soon as possible. The staff was indifferent, the grounds needed picked up; basically it was a totally different experience. We wanted to immediately book a trip for next year. The only reason we didn't is that I am working on my doctorate, and do not know my schedule for next Spring.

We just returned from a week at Sandy Bay and it was great. This was our second visit and we booked for next year already. We had some issues when we first arrived, however, I am dealing with Beaches directly.
First of all, the beach is absolutely beautiful. The beach is clean and the water crystal clear! The water sports are plenty and never crowded. Our children had a great time (9 and 12).
The food was great. Veronica makes excellent food, whatever you want. There is also an abundance of buffet food. We never had any complaints about the food. We went with friends who had a son with a life-threatening food allergy and they were extremely accommodating. Oral and Lorraine went above and beyond cooking for him. Because we were with them they made us a special dinner and dessert! What a surprise. You could not have asked for better service or people.
That is what makes Beaches extra special, the people. The place is small and everyone knows your name. They make sure they know you personally, and that is why we are going back.
Eileen is a fantastic woman and she went out of her way to make sure we had top notch service.
The rooms are dated, but comfortable with great views.
Negril is much bigger with more restaurants, but like I said Sandy Bay is smaller and more intimate.
Sorry for the long review but I really think it is worth it to know the true facts and what a great place Beaches Sandy Bay is!!!