We visited the amazing Beaches Ocho Rios in June 2021, and we had an incredible time! Traveling at the tail end of a pandemic had me curious about a lot of things, and I hope in this Beaches Ocho Rios Travel Guide I can answer all of your burning questions!
Resort Overview
Beaches Ocho Rios is the smallest resort of the Beaches brand, in Ocho Rios. The resort is situated on a hillside overlooking a beautiful cove beach. Beaches in many parts of Jamaica are not wide and expansive coastlines – a lot are small coves. 7 mile beach in Negril is the longest span of sandy beach, so if you’re looking for something like that, you may want to check out Beaches Negril. Beaches Ocho Rios, while small, has lots to do! There are 7 restaurants on property, a few wonderful pools, a beautiful beach, and a water park!
The property is well-appointed with beautiful lush plants and landscaping. Parts of it look a little older than others, but none of it looked run down. I thought it was a beautiful property. Be aware there are a lot of stairs around the property, as it is situated on a hillside. I noticed ramps and elevators everywhere I went, but I felt it was easier to take stairs and hold Logan rather than put him in a stroller. If accessibility is a big priority, I find you’ll be okay, it may just take a little longer to get where you need to be because of making sure you have elevator or ramp access.
What’s Included at Beaches Ocho Rios?
Everything is included at Beaches Ocho Rios! Well, nearly everything! Here’s what is included: – Unlimited dining – Premium liquors and all non-alcoholic beverages – Swim up bars – Stocked bars in every resort room (including non-alcoholic beverages) – All tips, taxes, and gratuities – Roundtrip airport transfers (but remember to bring a little extra cash to tip drivers!) – Kids Camp with certified nannies for all ages – Pirates Island Waterpark
– Sesame Street character interactions and shows – Entertainment – PADI-Certified Scuba Diving – Snorkeling – Hobie cats, paddle boards, kayaks – Beach volleyball, basketball, pool tables – Teen club – Liquid – Xbox play lounge – Fitness center – WiFi
Optional Vacation Extras at Beaches Ocho Rios
There are some extras you can add on at Beaches Ocho Rios, in case you were wanting to book some! I will go into more details about the extras we did! Here are some of the optional vacation extras at Beaches Ocho Rios: – Red Lane Spa services (and gratuities) – Candlelight dinners – Island Routes Excursions – Sesame Street packages – Beach / pool cabanas There are more but those are the big ones.
Rooms at Beaches Ocho Rios
Beaches Ocho Rios is the smallest resort of the Beaches brand, with about 220ish rooms. There are a bunch of different room categories and are great for families of all sizes. What I like about this resort is that most of the rooms face the ocean (although there are rooms that do not). Every room seems to be close to everything, as well. We stayed in a Caribbean Honeymoon Oceanview Concierge Suite King. Our room had a king size bed with a little room divider. On the other side of the room there was a trundle bed with two twin size beds. This room fits 5 people, and I assume that means they will roll in another twin size bed for you. We did not need that, but we did have a crib in the room for Logan. We felt we had plenty of space to spread out.
Dining at Beaches Ocho Rios
Dining at Beaches Ocho Rios was a pleasant surprise. I thought I would be a bit disappointed by this after experiencing the endless options of 21 restaurants in Turks & Caicos, but I was not disappointed! I found that the restaurants were decent quality and I didn’t have a bad meal. Would I travel there just for the food? No. But we were happy and there was always something for everyone to enjoy. There isn’t a wide variety of traditional Jamaican food, but there were a few items here and there.
The restaurants at Beaches Ocho Rios were: – Bayside – We had the breakfast buffet here every morning. There was a great selection and included things like a smoothie bar, fresh local fruits, omelet station, and more. There were a few Jamaican specialties to try here, too! They nailed this one. I believe there is a lunch and dinner buffet, too, but we never tried it. – The Venetian – This is their Italian inspired restaurant. We had a few meals here and enjoyed it. I found that their pasta dishes were the thing to order – super yummy!
– La Parisienne – The French-inspired restaurant. I think this was probably my least favorite of the bunch, but I was not disappointed by any means. – Neptune’s – The Mediterranean seafood restaurant. The actual building of Neptune’s was under construction while we were there, but they sectioned off part of Bayside by the pool to offer the Neptune’s menu. – BBQ Park – Great casual place for lunch. It’s next to the water park and pool. There was jerk chicken here, which I appreciated!
– Napoletana Pizzeria – The pizzas were good. Right next to the BBQ park. – Josephine’s Creperie – You can grab a crepe whenever you like! We actually did not try the crepes but I grabbed an iced coffee here. – Out of the Blue – This was a pop-up restaurant that was operating in the evenings at the BBQ park. We did not have a chance to try this one because it opened later than the other dinner options. Our children get hungry pretty early. We heard this was pretty good!t I was not disappointed by any means
Pirate’s Island Water Park
The number one thing our kids loved the most was the Pirate’s Island Water Park! It was a super short walk from our room and was the spot we hung out at the most! There’s lots of water slides, a pool to hang in, an adorable baby pool, and even a splash pad. Everyone was happy at the water park. The slides at Pirate’s Island were for all ages! There was an intense one for the adventurers, super small ones for the littlest ones, and slides that all ages could enjoy.
The Beach
The beach at Beaches Ocho Rios is described as a “quiet cove beach.” I would agree with that. I was worried it would be too small, but honestly I found it to be perfect. We didn’t spend tons of time out at the beach. Crazy, I know. I like to have a water view and be by the ocean, but we don’t love to spend all day out there. If you’re like us, I think you’ll be happy! There are two sections to the beach. The main area has lots of loungers and it’s where you can do the water sports like sailboats, paddle boarding, etc. If a huge, expansive beach is important to you, you may like Beaches Turks and Caicos more.
Resort Activities
Beaches Ocho Rios has a full schedule of activities to keep everyone of all ages entertained! They have DJs during the day at the pool, games, Sesame Street character breakfasts, and more! Not to mention all of the things like sailboats and water activities are included with your stay. At night they have theme nights, Sesame Street parade and shows, beach bonfires, silent disco party, and more! We were definitely impressed with the amount of things there were to do around the resort, and I’m just scratching the surface! All of the activities and programming are listed in the Sandals app, so you can log right on and see what’s going on and at what time (much like a cruise ship)!
Excursions
Excursions are an extra cost to your trip, but I highly recommend you do one or two! You can book these before you arrive, or visit the Island Routes desk at the resort. Island Routes is the official partner with Sandals and Beaches resorts, and they provide the best tours! The first excursion we did was the Dune Buggy Adventure. They picked a group of us up from our resort and took us to an amazing park where we were guided through an adventure. It’s muddy and a lot of fun! The girls loved this one (Logan stayed back at the kids club). The second excursion we did was the Dunn’s River Catamaran Cruise. We took a stunning catamaran over to the world famous Dunn River Falls, where we climbed the falls. Here’s a short IG reel video of our day:
Kids Camp
Alright, let’s get to the million dollar question – INCLUDED CHILDCARE?! Yes! Like I mentioned, this was a big draw for us to choose a Beaches resort. I have had experience with the Beaches Kids Camp before and I continued to be impressed with the professionalism and quality of care. Again, all of the nannies are International Nanny Certified and are trained to work with children of special needs, particularly those on the autism spectrum. We did the private nanny twice when we were on our excursions, and the nannies did an incredible job with Logan! They took him to lunch, had him take a nap, and gave him the best care. Another guest at the resort told us they saw Logan with the nanny at lunch and it looked like he was having the best time, and that they were doing an amazing job with him. It really gave us some peace of mind.
Red Lane Spa
We enjoyed an amazing couples’ massage at the Red Lane Spa. Spa services are an additional cost, but we found it to be well worth the expense. Being able to drop the kids off at the Kids Camp and then go get a massage…. now, that’s a vacation!
Private Candlelight Dinner
Another extra you can add on to your vacation is a private candlelight dinner. So worth it! We were escorted over to the dock where we had the most amazing sunset and culinary experience.
Overall Thoughts
After visiting 2 out of 3 Beaches resorts, I truly love this brand and would recommend it to any family looking for an all-inclusive vacation. It is perfect for kids of all ages and all sorts of family groups. There really is something for everyone! I feel like people are more drawn to Beaches Negril and Turks & Caicos, but don’t sleep on Ocho Rios. Sure, it’s smaller and there aren’t as many bells and whistles as the other properties, but it’s an amazing vacation. It’s also the most affordable option of the three resorts!
One thing this resort had over Turks is there is an ocean view nearly everywhere you go at the resort. There’s a lot of ocean view rooms, as well. Since the resort is stacked on a hill, it makes for views on views literally everywhere. If you love the Beaches brand and want a more boutique type of experience, definitely check out Ocho Rios. My kids are still talking about it and asking when we get to go back!