My husband and I got married at Beaches Sandy Bay on April 26th along with about 25 of our family and friend ranging in age from 3 years to 84 years old.

To start- we got through immigration and customs in no time. Less than an hour after our plane landed we were sitting in the Sandals lounge. We had just enough time to run to the bathroom and grabbed some water before we were loaded onto a bus. I'm not sure if we just had a good driver, or if we're more used to crazy drivers because I didn't think the drive was bad at all. It took about an hour and a half, we didn't stop, and I wasn't nervous at any point during the drive. Our driver (we believe his name was Bonsai) was very funny, told a lot of jokes and narrated the trip for us. It seemed to go by really fast.

When we got the Beaches it was about 1PM. We were greeted with a cold towel and rum punch and were told to go have some lunch at the Bayside and it would be time to check in when we got there. Check in went pretty fast and we were led up to our room by 2:30. It took until about 3:30PM, however, to get our bags so I recommend packing you bathing suit in a carry-on and bringing it up to your room with you.

We were upgraded to room 5305 in the Gardenia building (I believe it was the Luxury Oceanview Room category) and it was a great room. But to be honest, we spent maybe 7 hours a day there- to sleep, shower, and change into our bathing suits! I'm not sure if the TV worked because I never turned it on.

As far as the resort goes- I LOVE Beaches Sandy Bay. For our group it was perfect. It's small and intimate and if you needed to find someone you could do so in a matter of minutes. It was especially nice for my brother and sister in law who had their two kids (7 and 3) with them. The kids had room to run around and play and you could always keep an eye on them. We went over to Beaches Negril with them once and we all felt we had to watch them like hawks because that place is huge and there are so many places a three year old can wonder off to and get lost. Also my 80 y/o grandmother has some problems walking, but never felt overwhelmed by the resort. She could walk to the beach, the restaurants, and the beach easily. And while the beach is a bit smaller than Beaches Negril I felt the water was clearer and since there were fewer people there- more calm!

As for the food, we ate breakfast at the Bayside every day and even came back after leaving for our honeymoon at Sandals Negril to get an omelette from Veronica. The rest of the breakfast there was great, too- much better then at the buffet at Sandals Negril. We usually grabbed lunch at the Beach Grill, and then ate dinner at all three restaurants during our stay. I'm not a big fan of the Bayside, but the Sundowner and La Vista Sul Mare were wonderful. I had the steak at the Sundowner and it was great, but my husband had the snapper and I would highly recommend that!

The employees were all so nice! Always greeted us with a smile and a hello and when possible would chat with us about our stay. And we were always asked how things were and if they could do anything for us. Veronica was entertaining to watch at breakfast time and Natalie with the entertainment befriended one of our guests and would always come over and say hi when she spotted us.

The wedding was great! There are a few things that I thought were a little bizarre- for instance they have the minister stand in front of the couple instead of between them under the arch. I didn't like this because it felt awkward and the minister and videographer blocked the view of my husband’s side of the family so they all stood up and walked over to the other side of the gazebo. If something like this would bother you, too, feel free to say something during your meeting with the coordinator. I made a few requests of the resort and they honored all of them.

My only real complaint was the timeline of the wedding. There was another large wedding party before ours (we had a 4PM wedding, they were at 3PM) and because of the casual pace of the resort the stylists were running really late. I didn't get into the chair to get my hair done until 3:10. By the time I was done I didn't think I would have to rush to get ready since the 3PM wedding had still not started, but at 3:58 they were knocking on our door telling me it was time to start... I wasn't even in my dress yet! So that portion got rushed, but otherwise it was great! Also, I thought their reception options were too overpriced (especially for an all-inclusive) so instead we just all went to the Sundown and asked for a table for 25 and they accommodated us (for free).

I would highly recommend this resort to large wedding parties as well as families with small kids. Once our honeymoon started it was nice to move to the quieter Sandals Negril, but while our family was around it was great to be at Sandy Bay where we could all just hang out and enjoy ourselves as a family.

My husband, 2 year old daughter, and I went to Beaches Sandy Bay April 27-May 3, 2008. It was by far the worst vacation of my life. The property is run-down, not well-maintained. Our room was filthy--there were dark streaks in the bathtub. It was so filthy that my daughter could not take a bath--try holding a squirmy 2 year old in the shower while your spouse tries to scrub her clean--not a fun experience for any of us.

The floor was outdated tile and covered with grit, probably sand leftover from the last occupants. The room was tiny--my husband and I couldn't even pass by each other. We'd emailed Beaches and inquired if they had cribs. The emailed back and said they did. Their definition of a crib is a dirty Pack 'n Play, and they had no sheets for it. We draped a sheet over the mat and my 2 year old slept there all week, poor baby.

The food was horrible; it had no taste. Every morning was the same offering at the Bayside Restaurant--runny scrambled eggs, burned bacon (they call it "crisp"), and potatoes. They boasted you could also use Beaches Negril property, so on day 2 we gave it a shot. Beaches Negril was better, but by no means fancy. My daughter enjoyed the Lazy River and pool. The beach there was much deeper, unlike the beach at Sandy Bay, which barely was deep enough for a beach chair. We attempted to make reservations at the Kimono restaurant, a Japanese steakhouse. We called the number listed on our daily bulletin and I was advised I had to call another number to make reservations. I called the next number and was told we had to make reservations at the Front Desk at Beaches Negril. We took the shuttle to Negril and the Front Desk staff informed us we had to make the reservations at the restaurant itself. When advised that the restaurant was not open, she merely shrugged her shoulders and turned away. Great Customer Service!

With the exception of dear, sweet Tanneshia at the Last Chance Saloon/Restaurant, the staff was rude, unaccomodating, and unapologetic. Three nights in a row at 9:15, someone attempted to get into our room with a Master key. Thankfully, we had the chain pulled and they were unable to gain access. When I went to the Front Desk, I was told it was probably someone making a delivery. When I asked what they would possibly be delivering at 9:15 at night, she acted dumb and said she wasn't sure.

The biggest disappointment was their Kids programs. When we took my daughter to the camp, we discovered it was a dark room with no lights on, one child sitting on the floor watching VH1, and a staff member who never greeted us. Needless to say, we were not about to leave our child there. She got to see the Sesame Street characters for about 15 minutes total per day, most of that time while they were onstage. If we had known their childrens programs were practically nonexistent, we would have booked elsewhere and saved a lot of money.

I will absolutely never stay at a Beaches resort again. We are not wealthy people--this vacation was something we saved for and carefully chose because of its online boasting. It was a major letdown. I would not recommend this resort to anyone--it was the worst vacation of my life.

Family from Cornwall, UK - 2 adults and 2 kids age 17 and 15. this is our third visit to Beaches Sandy Bay and still find it fabulous. Although the rooms are little tired and getting in need of a little TLC they are spacious, very clean and have satellite TV and mini fridge which is restocked everyday. The main restaurant is by the pool and you have the choice to sit inside or outside. The food is good and there is always plenty of choice but not so if you are a vegetarian and the salad bar could be improved.. Breakfast has everything you can think of and a wicked omelette station. There is a beach grill which does fab jerk chicken and two restaurants which serve caribbean or italian but these are very hard to get in and you cant book. The staff are very friendly especially the entertainment team, special hello to Kenniel and Karron and Kadene the shopping consultant. Every Monday night is beach party and food is served on the beach. Not much to do here in the evening but after a long day on the beach we didnt really need it, sometimes the entertainment left a lot to be desired but a couple of good bands did play some easy listening music. The setting here is fab you cant get any closer to the beach than this! Perfect beach and crystal clear sea, the only annoying thing about this resort is the Security guards they are an absolute pain, you have to give name and room number everytime you walk up and down the beach, once they even followed us to the toilet and asked if we were staying here, so we had to complain about being hassled by them and we werent the first to do so either. Dont be alarmed because there are guards it is to stop the locals coming into resort and hassling you with goodies while you are asleep on your sunbed!! Resort always appears quiet and never feels busy there are always sunbeds available at any time of the day. You can use Beaches Negril which has a water park but wouldnt like to stay there, so noisy and busy and not such a nice part of the beach. Not many British people here nearly all Americans, who can be a little loud at times but always appear friendly enough. There is a great watersports team and scuba diving twice a day, my kids went everyday and saw turtles, dolphins and sharks, excellant part of the holiday. The grounds are wonderful and very well looked after. The sunsets here are fantastic and you never tire of them and always come back with loads of good piccys. Getting milk for coffee in a morning was a problem but all in all this is a great hotel and rumour has it that it is being refurbished in August anyway. Would definately go again and recommend it to everyone! A visit to Ricks Cafe is a must when you come here.

Beaches Sandy Bay was just so wonderful! We have never met a friendlier culture. As others have written, I just don't understand where the negative reviews came from??!! Maybe if you have younger children, it could be more stressful. Our kids are nearly 10 and the other 11 and they said it was the best vacatin we have ever done. They ususally fight constantly, but really got along well! Must be a Jamaican miracle. I think it was so great because we had no agenda. We simply put on our swimsuites with shorts and headed to breakfast and from there we did whatever came our way. The bar opens at 10, so we often had a drink in hand at that point. The bartenders are quite friendly as was everyone. Really! And everyone takes such great pride in their jobs and keep the grounds perfectly manicured. We spent some time down at Beached Nigrel, but really felt there was more of personal attention at the smaller Sandy Bay. Definitely quieter and more relaxing and easier to find chairs. Always one available at Snady Bay. Definitely eat at Kimonas at Beached Nigrel. Go to front desk in the am and they will tell you the times open for that evening. Also, the banana boat rides are a lot of fun for any age. they only come to BSB around 11, so it might be a better plan to catch it at BN. You can walk to MArgariita Ville from BN in 15 minutes. There is a trampoline in the water that the kids had fun jumping on. Noone noticed that we didn't buy any drinks there. For massages, Tenicia is AWESOME! Big, strong hands. Yes the bathrooms are a bit aoutdated. I suppose they could renovate and jack up the prices. They are very clean. We brought my mother-in-law and had two adjoining rooms. We got the cheapest room available. We were phoned before we left about paying extra $$ for balcony room. Chose not to, yet our romm had a balcony anyway. Seems that all rooms have view of Carribbean. Also, we took 10 mile radius walkie talkies, so the kids were always "in range." Tipping may not be allowed, but I think it is appreciated greatly. Many woman in Jamaica are the breadwinners with kids at home. Also, highly reccommend having Shane or Cleto take pictures at sunset. It is at no cost. We had it done twice, as we needed some more shots for the photo book we orderd. We spent just under $600 for a beautiful canvas family portrait and 100 page photo book with CD rom. The photo book arrived in mail within 5 days of being home. Top quality! Again, go and enjoy.