Ocho Rios, Sunset Jamaica Grande Review

Overall Rating

I booked my Jamaica vacation through Bookit.com. They were wonderful. No problems at all. I visited Jamaica May 25 to June 3 2007. This time we flew Spirit Air to Jamaica. We had a 2 hour delay with Spirit Air but the staff were much friendlier than those on Air Jamaica.
We arranged a private driver when we arrived at MBJ, he was awesome, his name is Ronnie. He drives so carefully and does not make you sit on the edge of your seat.
When we arrived at the Sunset Jamaica Grande, SJG for short, we were greeted at the door with the fabulous punch that you read about in other reviews. The lobby is updated with an open atrium and modern facilities. The tiles are very slippery when wet! If it is raining, the water will get on the floors. When I made it up to the desk, the staff at the SJG seemed clueless. I had made requests for adjoining rooms, I travel with my husband and 3 children, in the South tower. I had to wait for the manager Ms Ulysses, not sure of spelling, she said they did not have any adjoining rooms available. I was given two rooms in the North tower that were not adjoining and was told to check with the front desk manager in the morning for adjoining rooms in the South tower. By this time, I was just plain tired of having to wait and seeing all the disorganization, so we took the rooms.
The North tower is rather old and outdated. The rooms are very much like the US hotel rooms at a cheaper hotel. Don't expect much. The day was pretty much a waste as I did not want to unpack and then repack again in the morning when we switched rooms. We spent the time familiarizing ourselves with the resort.
The North tower is adjacent to the casino, kiddy area, entertainment center including pool table, badminton and a stage area. What we did notice was that a lot of the activities at the SJG are out of order. For example, the pool table was destroyed, more than half of the video games are out of order, there is only one washer and dryer that is functioning in the guest laundry. Beware, it costs $5 USD to wash and $5 USD to dry, you have to purchase tokens that are way over in the South tower gift shop! The ice cream machine is out of order frequently and many, many more! Again, there seems to be a huge lack of management to get stuff accomplished!
Overall, the staff is nice. I would not go so far as to say they offer the warm Jamaican welcome. In December, we stayed at the FDR Pebbles. The staff there was far superior to the staff at the SJG. The FDR staff made it a point to welcome their customers! There were a couple of exceptions at the SJG. Jermaine at the North tower bar was very pleasant. Also, Dwayne at the bar next to the Sunset Grill was also nice and welcoming. Though the resort advertises that tips are included, we still tipped the staff that went out of their way to do a good job. Unfortunately, there were not as many at the SJG as there was at FDR Pebbles. The only downfall of the FDR Pebbles was the manger. He treated his workers with very little respect.
In the morning, after tracking down the manager, we were switched to the South tower. It is updated more so than the North but again, there is only your typical hotel room there as well. It is not, by any means, a fancy resort. Also, two elevators were out of order. The wait for an elevator was horrendous! We stayed on the 11th floor, so the stairs were quite a climb but we did choose this option from time to time because of the elevator situation.
The South tower is adjacent to the main dining room and the specialty restaurants, La Diva, Ginger Lily and the South Beach Bar and Grill. All are fully booked on the night, they ask that you make a booking 48 hours beforehand. If there are openings the night before, you can also get in but honestly, you could just walk in and say you had reservations. Again, the hotel lacks organization.
As far as the food is concerned, none of it is great but there is always variety. One spot that is not visited very often is the Jamalicious Cafe under the North tower. They serve the Jamaican Patties here. I was not crazy about them but my kids enjoyed them. They offer chicken and beef but most days the beef patties are out of order and they only serve chicken.
The service in La Diva and Ginger Lily is very good, they try to make it an upscale experience. It is good for Jamaica, but again, don't forget that you are not in the US anymore! I preferred the food at La Diva, the bread was excellent. The raviolis were pretty good too and the wine was potent! When you drink at the specialty restaurants, they serve in actual glasses. I don't like drinking wine out of a plastic cup. So, this was a treat. My kids really like Ginger Lily. I though the food was average but the atmosphere was nice. They do ask that you dress up for these two restaurants. Men need to wear trousers and ladies wear resort wear. Just bring one outfit and you will be fine!
Another dining option is the main dining room, they serve all three meals. Nothing is great here but there is a variety and you won't go hungry. Breakfast is the best. My husband enjoyed the fresh eggs and the made to order omelets.
One note about the food, we were not crazy about the Jerk Chicken at the SJG, the jerk sauce was rather bad. They serve Jerk Chicken at 12:30am at the South Beach Bar Grill. That was so disappointing! At the FDR Pebbles, the jerk sauce was to die for! I craved it till we returned to Jamaica but the SJG was quite a disappointment. My husband spoke to the food manager about the chicken. He did make us some barbecue sauce to try. That was nice of him but it was just your typical Heinz barbecue sauce. Oh how I miss the Jerk Chicken at the FDR Pebbles!
As far as activities are concerned, there were quite a few. Unfortunately, we had rain 9 out of the 10 days that we were in Jamaica but we tried to make the best of it. What we did was wake up at 5:30am and enjoy the few hours of sun, by 11 am the rains came pouring! Unfortunately, the water sports did not open till 9:30 am. My family tried the snorkeling, gear was available at the pool hut for free. Bobcat, a sailboat, was available crewed by one of the staff, this was lots of fun. Sign up early in the morning at the water sports hut. Wind surfing instructions are available, I think my husband finally made it up on the wind surfing by the last day, it is not easy. Especially since the rain held us back. The aqua cycles and the pedal boats are fun and a lot of exercise. You are limited on how far you can go out in the ocean, they try to protect you from the big boats. The one slide on the swimming pool was working on our visit, the other was still out of order and being constructed. The kids went down the one a couple of times, they did not seem too interested. There are two jacuzzis and 7 or 8 pools, the jacuzzis get packed, especially in the rain. The pools have an oily film on the top. They are not kept that clean. Swim at your own risk!
The market is within walking distance from the resort, do not go alone. They sell the typical Jamaican crafts. I bought a nice bamboo wind chime this time, I was looking for some of the yummy jerk sauce that they use at the FDR Pebbles, unfortunately I could not find any! It is sad to see how the Jamaicans live in such poverty. I am amazed that they do not rebel but they have a very laid back way of living. Last time I was in Jamaica, I promised to bring donations for the people. I packed a huge suitcase full of clothes, books, toys, pens and other needed stuff. I donated the items to Ronnie, the awesome driver and he said his church could much use the items. It is so sad how little the Jamaicans have. I also donated items to our nanny at the FDR in December. Her name is Kemonie! She was so awesome when we stayed at the FR in December and I really wanted to donate items for her and her family. Ronnie agreed to drop off the items to her at the FDR Pebbles. If you can, bring stuff to donate! You'll feel good about it.
Overall, the SJG did not meet my expectations. I feel the warm welcome from the FDR Pebbles was not there at the SJG. Many things were out of order at the SJG. The food was just ordinary. Did I get my monies worth? Yes. But, when I vacation, it is the time that is spent that means so much. I want to make the best of it. Yes, we did try to make the best of it but midway through our vacation we were ready to go home! At the FDR Pebbles, we were sad to leave. At the SJG, we were happy to get back to the States. I gave the hotel 2 stars. It is nothing great. It has potential but lacks in management to make that potential possible.
Let me end with saying, Ronnie is a great driver! He was there to take us back to the airport without any waiting! The other vacationers were so jealous that we had a driver there waiting. They had to ride those scary buses! Don't forget the set up transport with Ronnie. Tell him that Jeff and Jennifer say hello! You won't be disappointed! He is worth it and his prices are very reasonable! I would use his services even if the resort offers transport. The SJG does not offer transport.

Members' Comments onAlphaJenn's Review

• tyeates on 16th Sep 2007

  I did not find this review helpful.