Beaches Sandy Bay - Luxury Included Vacation, Negril

We just returned from BSB and I can't say enough good things about it. The staff was extremely friendly and helpful (especially Kinneil, Shadrick and Joyce), the water activity equipment (kayaks, sailboats, windsurfers, etc) were always available, and the property was absolutely beautiful. As some have said in other reviews, the rooms are older and are a bit small, but they are clean and were fine for us. Think about it - you are not there to spend time in your room when so many activities are available. With our 2 teenage boys we were able to enjoy windsurfing, scuba diving, beach volleyball, reggae dance lessons, etc. You can be as active as you want to be at BSB, because there is always something fun going on. We did walk down to Beaches Negril one day and we quickly realized that BSB was a much more appropriate resort for us. Although Beaches Negril has more attractions to offer (waterslides, lazy river, etc), it is very big and there are alot of people there. BSB is smaller, less crowded and just overall more relaxing to us. If crowds aren't your thing and you like getting to know the staff and other guests, BSB is the better choice between the two. One more note about kids. Our teenagers absolutely loved it, but I think kids of any age would like it as well. From what I could tell, there are many activities for young kids to do as well. As luck would have it, one of my boys ended up with an ear infection while there. All I could think of when he said his ear hurt was that this is going to be a painful process (trying to get treatment for an ear infection in a foreign country). We went to see the nurse who was on site at the resort, and she immediately called in a doctor who arrived within 15 minutes to look at his ear. Within about 15 more minutes, he had been examined and given antibiotic ear drops. The amazing thing is that all this happened around 3PM on a Saturday afternoon. I can't even get that kind of service here at home! One final word of advice - bring more clothes than you think you'll need and think about what dries easily. We packed mostly bathing suits plus a few pairs of shorts and some cotton T-shirts. Because you are so near the ocean, it is really hard to get anything to dry, especially cotton T-shirts. We ended up having to wear a few things more times than we would have liked. Our time at BSB was just a wonderful experience. It was everything we expected and more.

We have been going to Beaches Sandy Bay for the past 10 years. We love the small cozy size, the fantastic beach and most of all the best, most friendly staff in the world. It isn't the fanciest resort but it is so comfortable and has everything you need to have a wonderful vacation. If you are a scuba diver, there are very few all inclusives that include scuba diving but BSB does. If you take advantage of it it's a huge savings. When we return they always say "welcome home" and it really does feel like home. We will continue to go back for many years to come.

Went for a wedding and everything was horrible from the moment you get off the plane to the horrible customer service and the old rooms. we had bats in teh ceilings keeping us up at night and food has no variety. teh bar area smells (poor the dirty dish water on the floor at their feet) the resort is old and dirty. not many activities for familes to do unless you sign up for water sports and could only do that on certain days during a specific single time, or paying extra for an excursion (which prices are too inflated, but the experience was great) took 3 hours to get a room upon arrival and another 2 hours after that until our luggage showed up. Don't go!!!

I stayed at the Beaches Sandy Bay hotel as part of a wedding group. The wedding was beautiful but the hotel is not at all what I expected, especially considering how much we paid. Most members of the wedding group felt the same. This is an older hotel. Rooms are in serious need of remolding. Bathrooms are old... bathtubs rusty and chipped, toilets clogged twice (took over 6 hours for someone to fix the first time)...ants throughout room, stained lampshades, creaking and nosiy air conditioner and ceiling fan... worn and rough bed linens. After the first day we asked to change rooms... the new room was no better. Food was okay... however was very unimpressed at the significant use of chipped and broken dishes. Flys were a constant nuisance. Chairs on the pool deck were damaged and I unknowingly sat in one that ripped my brand new dress. Two other members of the wedding party also had garments that were torn by two other broken chairs. In general staff considerate and nice but you got the feeling they would rather be someplace else. The entertainment staff tries hard but the quality of the shows are high school productions at best. The pool is extremely small and the swim up bar is located at Beaches Negril. When you compare this hotel to the nearby Sandals and Beaches Negril you can't help but feel cheated. Those two hotels are what is represented on the websites and what I expected. Even more impressive is the Riu Resort down the street. The beach is beautiful and the sand was some of the softest I have ever experienced however there are nicer hotels along this same stretch of beach for the same price or less. I do not reccomend this hotel.

My brother, sister and I just spent 8 incredible nights at BSB and loved it! It is older (but so are we) but it has a lot of charm and the smaller size makes it cozy. It's such a great value. We stayed at the Sandy Bay resort but could walk to the Sandals next door for meals and free shuttles took us to Beaches Negril--a much bigger and more expensive resort. We were treated like royalty, especially at Vista Sul Mare, the Italian restaurant at BSB. The staff was wonderful, delightful, courteous, gracious and charming especially Paul, the maitre'd and Flavell, our server each night. We ate dinner there 6 of the 8 nights! Great food, beautiful view. The rooms were definitely time worn but I NEVER saw a bug. We went in May, which is singles month so we all had our own rooms and BATHROOMS! It was wonderful. I could see where it would be crowded for 2 people but there are always bigger rooms and newer resorts. Of course they cost more but if that's important to you then spend the bucks. We are planning to come back next year! The water...oh, the water. And the beach. Fabulous. I want to be there right now! Thank you Beaches for a wonderful experience! The only thing we didn't like was the attitude of the front desk people. No one was even pleasant. But everyone else was over-the-top gracious and accommodating!

We just spent 5 days at BSB with my two kids, ages 8 and 3 and had the most amazing time, we hated to leave! While our double luxury oceanview room was mostly bed (they took up a good bit of the room), the view was amazing and it was clean - how much time do you spend in the room anyway! The staff was so welcoming, friendly and accomodating. It's a great resort for small kids because the ocean is calm in the bay and the beaches are small enough that i could be in the water and watch my 3 year old play on the shore. Also, at night when the kids fell asleep, the main stage was close enough that we could run down and have a quick drink and a dance and still be close to the kids. We visited Beaches Negril and liked our smaller resort better. Negril's beach was huge, but the waves were stronger and the rooms were more closed in, so you don't get the view of the ocean we had as BSB. The lazy river at negril is very cool though. We are already planning our trip back! LOVED IT.

I loved the beach. The sunset is fantastic. The food was great and the service was wonderful. The staff was so friendly. We had a fun time. I think I would go back. I just wish the rooms were nicer. I disliked the rooms. They had bugs and needed updating.

What I loved about this place starts with the people. Amazing, fun and caring each staff member was available to assist us in anything we needed. There was enough food, drinks and fun to keep my 2 year old and 11 year old entertained the entire time. I was hesitant to use the Nursery (being in a country I wasn't familiar with) but once I walked in and the people were outstanding, I dropped him off for his nap while I sat on the beach to watch my husband and 11 year old daughter have the time of their lives. The Nursery gave me a beeper to let me know my son had woken up. It was paradise and way too much fun!! GO COOKIE! GO COOKIE!!! That monster can dance mon.

Just got back last week. The weather was wonderful, the beach beautiful, but the room was OLD. When we first arrived we wanted out. There were 5 of us in a 2 bedroom suite, so it was a ton of money, with extra spent for "Beachfront" accomodations. The Beachfront was barely visible if you stood on the end of the deck. We were right next to the service entrance and the main road that runs around the island. No sound of crashing waves, just constant traffic. The place was booked and they offered to move us in 2 days, but the room we would move to had a shared balcony with no privacy at all. We may have had a lousy view but at least people wouldn't be walking though us as we were relaxing on the balcony at the first room, so we stayed put. The room needs an upgrade, it's an older "Time Share" and very "Long in the Tooth". It also needed some major cleaning, dirt was built up along the baseboards, it just wasn't as nice as it should have been. For the $17,000, it should have been better. Food was good, booze was top shelf. NO SEATS/STOOLS AT THE BAR!!! What's up with that? There was no place to have a drink in the shade if you didn't want to stand at the bar or sit in the restaurant. The second bar only opened at night and I guess that happened after everyone went to sleep, there was nothing happening up there at all. We drank and ate our fill, enjoyed the snorkeling and Hobie sailing and will return to Negril. It's our second time to that part of the world and I can't imagine a more beautiful beach. We probably will not return to Beaches Sandy Bay though.

Trust us we've travelled a lot. All-inclusives is our "specialty". Beaches/Sandals is the worst and most expensive resort club. I hate to make generalizations, but we've never met a single customer-oriented person in Jamaica. Beatiful island, but service is the worst in the world. You'll feel sorry if you ask for anything. Everybody is doing you a big favor for your 4000$ a week. The resort is quite different from what you see in their brochure - looks like it has not been renovated for years. This is the most miserable vacation in our life. Hidden charges are everywhere, the attitude is "you give me money, and I'll think about doing something for you". These people don't even realise they are being rude, this is the normal way they talk. Beaches/Sandals only spends money on advertizing and pays commissions to travel agents, so they convince you to buy this fraud. If you decide to travel, you can never complain. Because this is useless to complain. This is the only resort in the third world where local people are put on higher management positions. So they just cover each other. They will convince you there is something wrong with you, not with resort or service.