Sandals Montego Bay Fits All Manner of Getaway

Sandals Montego Bay, which finished a noteworthy refurbishment during the summer of 2018, has clearly got the logistics of the guest experience well-polished.

Arriving guests are met at a dedicated airport lounge and whisked away to the resort, just a few minutes away, on a white sand beach with calm surf. In higher room categories, the transfer is via a chauffeur-driven BMW—a fine way to arrive in style.

It's no wonder everything seems to move like a well-oiled machine—Sandals Montego Bay was the company's first resort, and they've had four decades to refine it. Not only has it been refined, but it's also been expanded to 15 additional resorts throughout the Caribbean—a solid success story for the Jamaican homegrown brand.

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The property was fully committed for the nights of our stay, but the public spaces and beaches never quite felt crowded, likely owing to the shuttle bus that makes frequent runs to two nearby Sandals resorts, which operate like one giant megaresort. Should a guest tire of the number of restaurants at Sandals Montego Bay, it's just a quick ride to Sandals Royal Caribbean for a dragon boat ride to Royal Thai restaurant, located on that property's private island.

Where Sandals Royal Caribbean has a slightly different colonial sensibility, Sandals Montego Bay is contemporary and modern, with little vestige of the beachfront hotel that preceded the resort. Some architectural elements, however, remain, such as a legacy pool with a swim-up bar that evokes a pleasant throwback to a bygone era.

The 2018 update also added a new overwater bar, with overwater hammocks and firepits which proved to be a popular gathering place after sundown. There's a significant number of other bars across property, from the beachfront to the main building and the English pub, Cricketer's tucked away into one corner of the lobby. Guest rooms are outfitted with well-stocked complimentary minibars, which are replenished daily.

While the overwater bar seems made for sunsets, the guest rooms themselves are made for mornings. Most room categories include room service (from a rather limited menu, although the highest category butler suites can order off-menu from the restaurants), which enjoyed with a cup of blue mountain coffee and a warm ocean breeze, makes for a suitable overture to a fine day on one of the Caribbean's most beautiful coasts.

While at many all-inclusive resorts there's much attention to controlling food cost that tends to seep into the guest experience, there's no such apparent effort here. Beverage glasses and pours are as generous as one could expect offsite, and food quality is noteworthy.

At Cucina Romana one evening, guests were delighted by a bleu cheese and walnut gnocchi and mussels in an herby tomato sauce, while downstairs at the Oleander Room there were Jamaican favorites cooked in a continental manner with an impressive wine list.

Otherwise, it's easy to while away the days with one's toes in the sand sipping blended drinks that get handed out like boozy party favors among the beach chairs. Languid lunches can be gotten from the buffet, beachside grill, pizzeria, or the dedicated Jamaican jerk shack.

PADI-certified divers can avail themselves of a dive center on site (use of equipment and diving trips are included for certified divers) while guests who are interested in embarking on a certification course can take their introductory courses and first dives during their visit for a nominal fee.

Those wishing to wander across the coast on a variety of tours can book with Island Routes, a large tour operator, right in the lobby. Or, it's easy enough to stay on the beach and keep the drinks flowing, while the spirited staff rouse guests into a dance competition or a round of beach volleyball.

Also available for a nominal fee is the Red Lane Spa, with its own private pool and tranquil treatment rooms and lemongrass-scented air-conditioned waiting area. The spa and salon are a popular preparation area for bridal parties; weddings can be scheduled for either the garden chapel, several locations on the beach or on the overwater pavilions, or on a recently completed overwater wedding chapel, which all but promises stunning event photos.

Fellow guests are primarily Americans and Canadians—a similar mix to what one might find onboard a Caribbean cruise. Speaking of cruises, the similarities between the experience at Sandals and what a premium cruise line might offer are striking. Numerous dining outlets, daily schedules packed with activities, a mix of included and additional fee activities and excursions are all familiar to those who are accustomed to vacationing at sea.

The difference here is the Jamaicans, who provide a casual, effusively friendly service that is apparently more a product of life lived out loud rather than corporate training. Some bartenders fist-bump and make merry, while others quietly coax patrons into a game of dominoes during a quiet lull at the bar, but the mood across the property is the same—imbued with distinctive pride of place, and glad for a guest's visit.

The Takeaway

Sandals Montego Bay has clearly got it right enough to have been in business as long as it has, and several of the guests are serial repeaters. Some have even been coming year after year, returning to the same rooms since the property first opened. For those after a no-hassle, all-inclusive experience on a spectacular beach with warm staff, this is the place to take it in.

The Math

The resort has over twenty room categories and offers significant discounts and special offers. Rates are typically advertised per person, per night (pp/pn); at press time the lowest advertised rate is $266 pp/pn—for a double occupancy nightly rate, the floor seemed to be just over $530 USD.

Instagrammable Moment

Plenty. From the overwater bars to the hammocks and swings right in the crystalline waters to the walk-out overwater pavilions and beach cabanas, there's no shortage of envy-inducing photos to take.

Loyalty

Sandals Select Rewards

Good To Know

Beach chairs (which are missing from the resort's promotional photos) get reserved early, often before the restaurants open for breakfast. Guests in butler room categories can send their butler down, of course.

Some amenities described may vary by room category.

Some restaurants have more stringent dress codes in the evening than others. At Sandals Montego Bay the only restaurant enforcing the most formal evening dress code at the time of our visit was Oleander Room.

While the hotel is directly adjacent Montego Bay's, Sangster International Airport, aircraft noise is surprisingly unobtrusive. Jet aircraft movements are largely limited to the middle of the day.

Accommodations were furnished by Sandals Montego Bay in preparation for this story.