Surely you have seen a Sandals commercial gracing your TV at some point with fun music, perfect white sand beaches, couples having the time of their life, and the promise of a luxury included vacation .. and that is exactly what I got when I stayed at Sandals in Montego Bay, Jamaica. I’ll admit, I was skeptical – the commercials I see at home show people always smiling and doing amazing things – BUT that is what its really like at Sandals Montego Bay!
**Tip: always get a window seat flying in and out of the island .. the views are unbelievable!
Sandals Montego Bay The Resort:
Sandals Montego Bay
Beachfront Village
The Sandals Montego Bay location is located about a 10 minutes drive from the Sangster International Airport and set on Jamaica’s BEST private beach. From the moment we arrived in Jamaica, all our needs were taken care of. The hotel provided a private car transfer to the resort (this feature is available with butler suites, otherwise you will get a complimentary transfer via shuttle) and we were on our way to Paradise!
When we arrived we noticed that most of the resort has an open air concept. I really loved this because the property is steps from the beach and you get the breeze from the water. Because we had a butler suite, we had a private check-in separate from the main check in. We came to a smaller building next door and were greeted with a cool towel and a welcome drink. After we checked in we met our butler where he gave us a personal phone to contact him for whatever we needed and he showed us around the Sandals Montego Bay property.
The main entrance to the resort is the lobby and called the “living room.” Sandals Montego Bay wants you to feel at home when you are there – and you do. Most of the restaurants & bars are located right off of the living room in each direction overlooking the water, the rest of them are just on the other side of the main pool. I found that the resort was not overwhelmingly big and just big enough for everyone to have privacy and spread out but close enough to get to everything in under a couple minutes – nothing was ever far and very walk-able.
Living room
Living room
Lobby
Outside the entrance
The gorgeous beach is lined with chairs, umbrellas, cabanas, and activities. In addition, you will find outdoor showers throughout for you to rinse the sand off before returning to your room. I actually love this feature because I don’t love sand and it is hard to get rid of – but having these showers makes it so much easier.
Sandals Montego Bay lies on one of the most stunning beaches I have ever seen and they have plenty of chairs and beachfront views for the guests. If you have a butler, you can have them hold seats for you in the morning or you can go out and grab some you prefer.
Beachfront Cabana – these are for rent
If you walk out here you can see most of the resort
Beach volleyball
Outdoor showers
Lazy beach days
The best part of Sandals Montego Bay was the VIEWS!! In every direction it was gorgeous! We had amazing weather our entire stay and really felt like we were in paradise. Each morning was a magical sunrise and each night a sunset. We could not have asked for a better 3 nights.
Each morning and night the sky lit up as if to put on a show for us.
Balcony sunrise views
Dinner sunset
Sandals Montego Bay All-Inclusive:
When Sandals Montego Bau says they are the only 5 star resort with luxury all inclusive, they truly mean it. High end spirits, gourmet food, Mondavi wine, impeccable service, land and water sports, scuba, WiFi, entertainment, and so much more! – its included.
Sandals Montego Bay Exchange Program:
One of the best benefits of staying at Sandals Montego Bay was that we had the option to stay at 1 resort play at all of them. This exchange program is available to all the resorts in Jamaica in their locations. There is a shuttle that leaves every hour and goes to the other 2 local resorts where you can explore the resorts, eat at their restaurants, use the facilities, etc.
Bonus: your WiFi works at all the resorts!
We met a couple during our stay and we all went over to the Sandals Royal Caribbean on the shuttle to spend the afternoon on their private island and eat jerk chicken and pork at the Jerk Shack. During this adventure we also got to see the over water bungalows adjacent to the private island and they are STUNNING (please adopt me)!
Sandals Royal Caribbean
Sandals Royal Caribbean
Sandals Royal Caribbean
Sandals Royal Caribbean – private island
Sandals Royal Caribbean
Sandals Royal Caribbean – the Jerk Shack
There was a beach party at Sandals Montego Bay on one of the nights we were there and they brought out all kinds of food, beverages, entertainment and fun for everyone to enjoy. I was so happy that the crowd was able to play along with the entertainment they had – seemed like everyone was constantly laughing and having a great time.
Beach party foods
Dancer
Dancers at the beach party
Fire dancer
Crowd dancing 😉
Sandals Montego Bay The Rooms:
Beachfront Village
Sandals Montego Bay offers quite an array of rooms to suit every need. During our stay we checked into a ‘Beachfront Super Luxe One-Bedroom Butler Suite w/ Balcony Tranquility Soaking Tub.’ Trust me, it was as amazing as it reads. Offering modern Caribbean color decor, 2 HD Smart TV’s, custom wood bed, bistro dining set, sofa, tranquility soaking tub on the balcony overlooking the ocean, massive spa like bathroom with walk in shower, vessel sink, and luxury bath amenities, 24 hour room service, fully stocked bar and spirits, butler, and 24 hour room service.
Beachfront Super Luxe One-Bedroom Butler Suite w/ Balcony Tranquility Soaking Tub
In room bar
Tranquility patio tub
Luxury bath amenities
Bathroom
Room service breakfast
Self service bar
Enjoying a local beer from the patio
Caribbean Village
Butler villas
One of the things I really loved about our butler Jermaine, was that he was so kind. I had my sunscreen taken away at the airport and he went out and found me some, drew me a gorgeous bath with flowers, got us last minute reservations at restaurants, and was just an all around fun guy to be around. He would find us on the resort and make sure everything was going good – basically he is the best and you should request him when you visit!
Sandals Montego Bay Restaurants and Bars:
Outdoor dining: cuciana romano, bayside & oleander
Jerk Shack
Cafe de Paris
Cucina Romano
Tokyo Joe’s
Tokyo Joe’s
Dinos Pizzeria
Cafe de Paris
Tokyo Joe’s
Cucina Romano
Cucina Romano
Tokyo Joe’s
Front row dinner sunset views at Stew Fish
Sandals Montego Bay is known for being a 5 star luxury included vacation, which includes food and alcohol! The Sandals Montego Bay Resort has 9 restaurants and 4 bars, not including room service and the self service bar we had in our room. In the 4 days/3 nights we were there we were able to try 7 of the 9 restaurants and the food was delicious in all of them.
My favorite restaurant though was a toss between Stew Fish and Cucina Romano. Stew Fish offered delicious seafood and Cucina Romano had sensational Italian food.
*You do need a restaurant for both of these restaurants so plan ahead.
My favorite bar was the swim-up bar at Sandals Montego Bay! We met a lot of amazing people hanging out there and the bartenders played the best music and were always engaging. Definitely try the specialty drinks they make. I cannot pick a favorite but the dirty banana and the hummingbird were top contenders.
Piano Bar
Swim up bar
Pool
Sandals Montego Bay Weddings:
Fun fact, I was actually married at Sandals sister property Beaches in Turks and Caicos. They are the same, except Beaches is family friendly whereas Sandals is a couple resort.
There are many places at this resort to get married, including a chapel! I took a tour of the chapel and the wedding planning area and I think the grounds are just beautiful and having had a wedding with the Sandals team, I can tell you that it was near perfect and effortless on our end to put together.
They do everything for you – all you have to do is make selections on what you want for your special day, pick a location and show up – easy as that.
**One of the cool features that was pointed out to me was in the bridal room mirrors – there are 3 sets of lights you can press so that you can see what your make-up will look like in different scenarios.
Wedding Salon
Bridal room
Chapel
One of the outdoor wedding sites
Sandals Montego Bay Overall:
LOVED the resort – I cannot get over how perfect it was for me. I hope to return to Jamaica and explore their other resorts on the island. The hospitality is excellent and it shines in the Jamaican culture.
**Disclaimer: I was hosted by Sandals, but as always, opinions are entirely my own.
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I love your photos and that they are not cluttered with people and they look magazine quality. How do you manage to do this?
Author
Thank you – that is so sweet <3 To be honest, I like my photos without people if I can swing it – I get up very early before everyone else so I can get empty photos. Sometimes this means 430am wake up calls.
Nice write up. My wife and I like visiting new places and I was happy to see you liked it here. You are right about being skeptical as we aren’t big on all inclusive hotels but we are going to give it a try now and go April. I’ll let you know how it goes after we get back.
Author
Awesome! All inclusive can be a hit or miss in my opinion but Sandals knows what they are doing. Can’t wait to hear how your trip is ?
We went to Sandals in Antigua. LOVED it!! We hope to go to another Sandals next year. Love your post too. Amazing pictures! ?
Author
Aww thank you! How did you like that property?
It was amazing! And we toured the island by water, and took a land tour. We’d go back, but we want to try somewhere different. I have some unbelievable beach pictures. The weather was perfect when we went.
Gorgeous !!!! What does the inside of the room on the water look like? I want to stay there!!! I had no idea these were so close to me!!!
Author
I actually don’t know … but on the website they have photos on the interior
I went to a Sandals in Nassau about 12 years ago. Your post is making me think it is about time to try another one! 🙂
Author
I really want to go to both sandals in the Bahamas!! Oh I hope you do visit – this location was so beautiful!
I hope so too, and I am
sure you would enjoy their Bahamas properties. I was on the Sandals and Beaches website fir about an hour yesterday. ?
Sandals seems to be a nice place to stay. The interiors have been done so tastefully.I liked the look of Butler Villa very much. Definitely would like to consider something like that if I am there ever.
Author
They have many options for the butler villas to explore ?
I had no idea the food and restaurants at Sandals where at that first class caliber of dining experience. It looks like the perfect spot to enjoy a vacation and a beautiful resort that is all inclusive and wow, those rooms look amazing.
The Sandals Resort looks amazing, a perfect location for a laidback vacation. The Sandals Royal Caribbean private island and the overwater bungalows look fabulous, we would love spending some time on a private island.
Author
It’s was very laid back ??
I have often seen a Sandals TV commercial. This post puts more meat into their brand. I have never stayed in one before. It seems so inviting even if it looks and sounds so luxurious!
My husband and I have been to a couple of their resorts and I did not know they had over water huts?!? We are planning to go this fall and I want to stay in one now. I was on Instagram and found your article and I’m so happy I did. Thank you for these amazing photos.
I guess Sandals is one of the most advertised resorts in Jamaica. I’ve seen so many commercials with it, that I feel I was there already. Looks great indeed and I can see from your photos that it’s really luxurious. Hope I could convince my husband to take me there sometime.
This is one amazing place to spend time in. For one, the natural beauty of the destination is quite enticing. The location seems to allow one to experience the best of the place. I love those houses on stilts – would love to opt for those. The cultural experiences are the other thing that makes this place even more interesting. Rooms and the facilities seem quite amazing too. Cheers
Sandals Montego Bay has some really incredible resorts! We stayed at Sandals Carlyle in Montego Bay (it was the only one that fit our budget) but spent our days at this location and the Royal Caribbean resort nearby. One of the best luxury vacations we’ve had to date! The food is amazing (those Pina Coladas, though!), the activities are so fun, and we just loved the atmosphere. Would totally go back someday if we could ever afford it again. Thanks for the beautiful pictures; we relived many memories going through this blog post! 🙂
Sandals in Montego Bay sounds like it was an incredible experience – and awesome view from the window seat flying into Jamaica btw! Everything sounds so perfect – 10 minutes from the airport, and such an incredible stretch of beach! Love the open air concept of the property. The room looks AMAZING, and it’s fabulous that all inclusive truly means all inclusive – I’ve been to a couple of different all inclusive resorts which don’t include the activities, or charge things like high end spirits separately. Sounds like they get 10 / 10 here though!
Oh wow, I’d be smiling all the time too. That tub looks amazing, and I’ve stayed in hotels with butler service but never really availed of them beyond asking for things I’m having a hard time buying lol
It feels so great to stay in Sandals Montego Bay. The natural landscape, the beauty of the resort, the facilities, a snap of finger and you’re at the beach; it must really be a luxury. And the food looks so super yimilicious. Your photography skills need to be commended too, you didn’t a great job with post. I’m sold out.
Hands down the best review on a Resort I have ever seen!! I had seen their lovely commercials, but now I feel that it would be such a wise choice….absolutely nothing to worry about…just pure enjoyment! xoxo
Author
Thank you that’s so sweet! The hotel is truly gorgeous