Just landed this morning after 7 days in Ocho Rios. The Grande Riviera gives you the advantage of two resorts in one. Lots of pools, bars and long beaches to enjoy. Some things to take into account with any Sandals. 1. Take some tipping money! The golf caddies, transport drivers (to airport and into town), catamaran tours and the spa staff can accept gratuities. 2. Get your pool chairs early, with a towel and some personal items, or pay an upgrade to the "butler" service and they reserve your chairs for you. 3. Book your al a carte restaurants very early, or you might now get in. Food is great in any of them, including the snack bars. Lots of variety regardless of their specialty (ie: pork chops or steak available as a seafood alternative) 4. if you take catamaran to Dunn's River, you need to take tipping money and money to rent aqua socks..
Got see Grande Riviera! We went with another couple, met many at the pool bars and had a fantastic time!

This was our first tropical vacation and there was very few disappointments. We arrived at midnight and clearing customs with 250 other travellers and only 3 custom agents was the most frustrating it took forever and it was very hot and muggy in our Canada clothing. We were expecting the long drive we made no stops as nothing was open at 1:30 when we finally got on the bus. The cold towels and champagne when we arrived was so refreshing and appreciated. Check in was very quick and we were very happy to hit the very comfortable beds. Being far from the airport is a little inconvient but once you are there you are close to all the excursions which is handy.

We stayed in Bamboo Grove and had absolutely no complaints about noise we never heard another soul in our room we found it very quiet. We had a garden view and found it lovely though my husband wished we would have paid more for an ocean view. This resort would not be good for people with mobility problems as there are a lot of stairs we didn't mind because with all the food and drinks we needed the excercise.

The food was great. So many people love Kimonos and I found it disappointing. The chef was a hoot but the food was a let down. I was amazed at how good the beef was in all the restaurants I was not disappointed with a steak ever cooked to medium rare just the way I like it every time. The one complaint I would make about the food in all the restaurants was it was never really hot by the time it arrived. We enjoyed the Manor and Market Place the best. If you like creme brule it is to die for at the Manor and Akiem ,our server, was the best and sent us home with an extra dessert. They are very accomodating with the drinks they'll make anything you want if they don't know how to make what you want they will quickly learn. I don't care for many sweet drinks so ended up always going back to the Red Stripe light which I found good and quite close to Canadian beer.

Most of the staff are wonderful. It was the first time we had left our 4 year old and I was missing her bad. I couldn't get the internet to work to send my daughter a message on her grandma's facebook. The manager of the main building took me too her office to use her computer there but facebook is restricted on the staff computers so she tried to get me on on her Blackberry that didn't work either so she told me to just call her from her Blackberry which I did but there was no answer. I no sooner got back to my room and she called me telling me they had called back and she was on the way to my room with her phone! I got to talk to my daughter which made me feel so much better and was totally overwhelmed with her kindness. She gave me a hug and told me that they can't have a Mom missing her baby because then she wasn't having fun and relaxing...I still am overwhelmed with her! Of course with that many staff not all are perfect but the majority that are so great make up for the ones that are so so and one exception that was down right rude. The bartenders at Jamies are fabulous!! The ladies at Redlane spa are wonderful!

We took an excursion to White River for the tubing and zipline. The tubing was great. I was so amazed at how warm the water was but totally clear and scenery was incredible, the guides were great they were funny and they would burst into song and all sang beautiful. The jerk chicken we stopped for half way down was the best I had so delicious when I tasted that I understood the fuss about jerk! (The jerk at the resort not so good). The ziplining was a let down it was very short. Talking to others after it sounds like other ones are better...live and learn. We went fishing with a small boat that is in the harbour (the Little Children 1 the boat is called) Bob and Gary were great we didn't catch anything but neither did others we talked to that went out with the excursion out of Sandals and we didn't pay near as much. You can work out a good deal with Gary. We went by land to Dunn's river falls because one of our friends gets seasick and that was the worst excursion. They charge $54 US each but it actually only costs $20 to get in and they just drop you at the gate and you are on your own to find your way down it is quite a way and the peddlers are very aggressive! I had read to just take a cab on other reviews and really should have taken that advice. It is not worth the extra $34 just for a ride especially since there were 4 of us and a cab we found out will take a group of 7 for $40 and probably less if you haggle. The falls were lovely and we enjoyed that but when you are on your way out you have to go through a market of peddlers that really come at you that is when we would have wanted a guide to get you through. We were only approached with drugs once there and they were the best at taking no for an answer. We went out snorkelling twice and enjoyed the reef a lot but wish we had taken our own snorkelling stuff because you can only use the Sandals equipment if you are out on the glass bottom boat with them and it an hour at a time 4 times a day.

Overall it was wonderful!!! We got a very good deal on our package because we booked early and paid comparable to other 3.5 star to 4 star places. We met many wonderful other guests and ended up with other couples to chat with everywhere because it is such a friendly atmosphere.

I was at Sandals Grande Riviera in Dec 2011, it was great! just a far drive from the airport
Lots of different room categories to choose from to suit any person!
there are 2 sides to the resort - Beach Side and the Mountain Side, so depending on what you like in a vacation you might want to choose carefully. if you are not a huge beach person but love big pools and maybe a villa the mountain side is for you! if you would rather be right a the cove beach that they have then you will love the beach side that also has suites in the lush gardens of the resort right near the beach.
you have access to both sides of the resort and it's a short golf cart type car ride (3 min) to either side.
There are plenty of restaurants and 2 buffets with really good selection everything you can really want!
Kimonos is the Asian Fusion restaurant where they cook right in front of you on a hot grill (it's more like a dinner show because the cook is so entertaining!)
they also have a sushi bar :D
there is a small disco/piano bar that gets pretty lively but does die down pretty early.
All in all I loved it and can't wait to return!

As with all of my reviews, I try very hard to give travellers such as myself an honest critique of where we stay including all pertinent information so people can have a realistic evaluation of the hotel we stay at.
The Drive
The 90-minute drive to the hotel was uneventful which is always good. We stopped for a drink half way to the hotel and the driver as very informative.
Check In
Painless, just what you expect from Sandals.
The Room
Room 3302, third floor of building #3 of the Riviera Seaside, near the tennis court, spa and fitness center, had a very nice view of the inner gardens, and was easy access to just about anything. The clean and well-appointed room was a nice size room however no couch as pictured on the website. The safe was easy to use as well as the hairdryer, iron etc. Nice modern flat screen TV for the late night movie watchers.
Food and Drink
Having experienced Sandals Whitehouse last year, we were ready for great food and drink. We were not disappointed. Dinners were absolutely fantastic and I fell in love with the pizza available at the main pool next to the amphitheatre. However, service was slow and/or non-existent at replenishing the empty serving dishes. I had to ask multiple times during our stay to have the food replenished rather than have the staff observe things were empty. Same thing at the pool bars. Out of the seven I regularly frequented, they ran out of bananas midway through the afternoon. Sounds small but people were very annoyed considering that many of the blender drinks called for bananas. Little things like that were numerous and would not happen at a true 5*. The drinks were quality liquors and the staff was friendly however understaffed at the major pool bars. We spent too long waiting for drinks.
Internet
Do not even bother trying to use the kiosks in the pool lobby. Because service coming through is quite slow, I spent $12.00 for 20 minutes and barely got my email out. You would be better off to buy a day’s worth or unlimited wireless for $42.00 for the entire week, a much better deal.
The Beach
All the beaches were well groomed and provided many happy hours of tanning and water sport time.

Ocho Rios
Walked into Ocho Rios from the hotel during the week which takes about 25 – 30 minutes. Be aware that you will need to cross to the other side and back to be on a sidewalk. Prepare to be confronted by all types of characters, all friendly, persuasive but not harassing. They will never touch you, however, some are more persistent than others. No means no to them.
Tours
We booked the Dunns River Falls/Safari tour. Fantastic 4ish-hour experience. Since the first part of the tour is the falls, you would be best to bring a dry top or use your towel to keep you warm as you will be wet going up the mountains, especially for the afternoon tour. You will get back after dark and with no sun you might be cold.
Checking out
We would strongly suggest you at least get a copy of your statement the night before to review it. There were computer issues over the course of the week and we had charges that were not ours. Everything was taken care of quickly however.
Overall
The lushness of this resort is the thing I will remember about this resort. Being an older property, the resort recently received a major physical facelift, upgrade in the personnel department would bring it up to the 5* standard it was meant to be. All the staff is friendly and extremely dedicated but often overwhelmed by the amount they have to do. Being conscious of that fact, after a few days it makes you a bit uncomfortable to run into the same staff member at 7:00 and again at 11:00 pm, day after day. Many of them are married and it makes you wonder when they see their family!
I will stay at Sandals again no question.