“Sandals Ruined our Honeymoon with Sickening Food & Invasive Staff”
Sandals Grande Ocho Rios Beach & Villa Resort
LuxuryExcluded
Smithfield, Rhode Island
Our room included a bed and dresser each featuring broken wood. A mattress that was so uncomfortable and filthy it looked like it was 25 years old. An air conditioner that sounded like an attack helicopter (loud enough to wake us up in the middle of the night). A balcony door that was nearly impossible to lock/unlock without my husband's help. Mildew on the shower curtains. Ugly greasy stains on the ceiling from mold/mildew/god knows what. And ants *inside* the sugar packets for our in-room coffee.
Service? Well, there is no room service for a standard room. That was disappointing considering the rigid schedules for resort restaurants and eateries. The maids skipped cleaning our rooms at all for 2 out of the 7 days we were there. One day we did not receive any restocking of towels, called the front desk to request some be brought, none were brought (we had to swipe them from a nearby cleaning cart), and the following day we received FEWER towels, as if in retaliation. Same problem with toilet paper, which was at a premium since we were sick to our stomachs after *every* meal, no matter which restaurant we chose.
Staff was invasive, ruining private romantic moments with idle chit chat... starting a gas powered leaf blower 10 feet away from us after just getting out of the Garden pool, covering us with dirt & dust... waiter at the Reef Terrace made a suggestive comment about my chest after never bringing the remainder of our meal... Spa staff corners you into talking every time you walk by them in an effort to sell you a package at the spa that is NOT included... We had the same Sandals employee approach us 4 days in a row on our way to the pool attempting to sell illegal drugs...
I couldn't possibly begin to include all of the negative experiences we had while staying at the Sandals Grande Ocho Rios in Jamaica. Perhaps the worst of it all was that food quality was unpredictable. Breakfast buffet at the Bayside included a large steamer full of GRAY eggs and another with Bacon that was only partly cooked. The most authentic Jamaican food that was available was the beef patties and even those were stale and flavorless. The Arizona restaurant had a 45-90 minute wait every night, just to find out that the appetizer buffet within consisted of stale tortilla chips & bowls of sour cream & guacamole that were obviously scraped clean long ago from the hard crust around the edge of the plates. Frozen beverages (daiquiris & pina coladas) were handed to you without the alcohol being mixed into the frozen drink mix.
Glass bottom boat ride consisted of a 30 minute tour, of which 10 minutes was spent looking at the reef and another 20 minutes was spent showing us the other available resorts that Sandals has in the area.
All attempts to relay our experiences with staff members were met with feigned surprise, no apologies, and some simply walking away as you spoke.
I would note recommend a vacation at this resort to my worst enemy.
Service? Well, there is no room service for a standard room. That was disappointing considering the rigid schedules for resort restaurants and eateries. The maids skipped cleaning our rooms at all for 2 out of the 7 days we were there. One day we did not receive any restocking of towels, called the front desk to request some be brought, none were brought (we had to swipe them from a nearby cleaning cart), and the following day we received FEWER towels, as if in retaliation. Same problem with toilet paper, which was at a premium since we were sick to our stomachs after *every* meal, no matter which restaurant we chose.
Staff was invasive, ruining private romantic moments with idle chit chat... starting a gas powered leaf blower 10 feet away from us after just getting out of the Garden pool, covering us with dirt & dust... waiter at the Reef Terrace made a suggestive comment about my chest after never bringing the remainder of our meal... Spa staff corners you into talking every time you walk by them in an effort to sell you a package at the spa that is NOT included... We had the same Sandals employee approach us 4 days in a row on our way to the pool attempting to sell illegal drugs...
I couldn't possibly begin to include all of the negative experiences we had while staying at the Sandals Grande Ocho Rios in Jamaica. Perhaps the worst of it all was that food quality was unpredictable. Breakfast buffet at the Bayside included a large steamer full of GRAY eggs and another with Bacon that was only partly cooked. The most authentic Jamaican food that was available was the beef patties and even those were stale and flavorless. The Arizona restaurant had a 45-90 minute wait every night, just to find out that the appetizer buffet within consisted of stale tortilla chips & bowls of sour cream & guacamole that were obviously scraped clean long ago from the hard crust around the edge of the plates. Frozen beverages (daiquiris & pina coladas) were handed to you without the alcohol being mixed into the frozen drink mix.
Glass bottom boat ride consisted of a 30 minute tour, of which 10 minutes was spent looking at the reef and another 20 minutes was spent showing us the other available resorts that Sandals has in the area.
All attempts to relay our experiences with staff members were met with feigned surprise, no apologies, and some simply walking away as you spoke.
I would note recommend a vacation at this resort to my worst enemy.
This review is the subjective opinion of a TripAdvisor member and not of TripAdvisor LLC.
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ReplyDeleteBefore I discovered all the online complaints about these "Sandals", I always thought it was strange that the commercials (that are airing non-stop)never mention where the hell these places are located !
ReplyDeleteWonderful review! I love reading your blog.
ReplyDelete