My wife and I got back from here very recently and were very impressed. The property is very clean and the staff is constantly working to keep it that way. We were in a "luxury room" (lower priced) in the Seaside Resort, the size was very adequate. It was slightly larger than a standard King Size Bed Hilton Garden Inn room. Very nicely done with granite and tile, nice furniture and flat screen TV with many international channels.

Some of the good points: Beautiful and well manicured property, Extremely friendly and interactive staff, Lots of places to explore, awesome pools, excellent drinks, Extremely clean. Food was very good at the restaurants, did not have a bad meal.

Minor negative points: The supervisor at the sports area was less than friendly (the rest of the staff there was tops especially Nemo and Baby Shrimp), service in the restaurants was adequate, but left more to be desired (they did not check back to re-fill drinks very often), size - it is so big, can be good and bad at the same time.

Some tips: Talk to the staff and have fun with them, your service will go way beyond expectations. Keep in mind that the property is 5 star level, the service closer to 4 star. Although the staff is great and fairly attentive it is not staffed well on the service side to cater to your every need without some patience, you may have to wait to get your drink. It is almost as if they want the atmosphere to be friendly and less strict, I enjoyed it. I have stayed at 5 stars with impeccable service, but it is impersonal...

Comments about some of the reviews I have seen on here. Some staff will except tips even though forbidden, many will refuse we found though. Often you will see guests give tips for some of the exceptional service. We wanted to tip, but were refused. I was asked for a cigarette by one person that I was talking with after the end of his shift, so this is possible, did not bother me. Typical strong drinks are strong (mai thai, rum punch, long island etc.) many of their special drinks (fruity ones like jamaican smile, purple rain, hummingbird) were not strong. They are light drinks though and made with light liquors like baileys so they are not going to get you drunk. They are more than happy to add extra rum when asked, I did this often with the hummingbirds. They use good liquors (Vodka, whiskey, gin, etc.), not well/bottom shelf (the rum is questionable though). Their mixers blue cacao and the like are local brands, not sure there is a top shelf of these, again I didn't care. Drinks were very good though. Red Stripe/light is the only beer. The ride from the airport is 1.5 hours or better, feels much longer after a long plane trip and the excitement to get to the resort. Driver was courteous, but there are several so I am sure there could be a bad one in the bunch. They did not ask for tips, but did point out that they are not affiliated/employed with the resorts...hint hint hint. Most people did tip. A couple bucks seemed more than adequate.

Some of the staff will do things they know are wrong, you can tell because they mention the supervisors and straighten up (2 instances I saw in my week long trip).

I would have given a 5 if I was more promptly served and drinks/orders were taken quicker at the restaurants. Overall it was very good and I would definitely return and do recommend.

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!