Beaches Ochos Rios: Is it Worth It?

We’re just back from 4 nights in Jamaica at a Beaches all-inclusive resort. Of course, right after we booked our trip Club Med ran a sale and we could have saved $2,000 staying there (in the Dominican Republic) instead. That got us thinking – was it worth it to go to Beaches over a different resort? 

TL;DR: It depends. I’d say if you have young children, particularly if any are under 4, Beaches is worth it. They really cater to the 0-7 crowd, with Sesame Street characters, incredible kids camp care and programming, and toddler-sized water rides. This was the big reason we went with Beaches and our 3.5-year-old had the best vacation ever. She said it was better than Disney!

Now, if our kids were older, particularly once they age into kids clubs at most resorts (usually 4), the Beaches advantage starts to fade. We met plenty of families with teenagers who love the resort and continue to come and there is an Xbox room and teen club. But for us, we didn’t feel that it offered more than a Grand Palladium or Moon Palace resort once all kids are older.

Now for the details:

We stayed at Beaches Ochos Rios, one of three Beaches resorts (the others are in Negril and Turks and Caicos). The resort has three sections – the Carribean main building- closest to kids camp, the resort entrance, and the main pool. This is where the cheapest rooms are. The Greek Village- featuring stunning oceanfront patio rooms. Lastly, there’s the French Village, which has suites and ocean views. That’s where we stayed.

There are 2 pools, a waterpark, and a kids’ pool. The main pool is large and features a waterfall, swim-up bar, and the main entertainment stage (fun fact: Sandals claims to have invented the swim-up bar). The second pool is small and more secluded, with ocean views. The waterpark is actually 3 pools itself – the kiddie pool, one with the “toddler area” plus big slides, and one with medium-sized slides. 

The beachfront is a little small, but we went during shoulder season so it wasn’t crowded and we never had issues getting chairs. I would imagine during peak times it’s a nightmare. They had floating rings with nets that you could lounge on in the water, which I thought was pretty cool.

The resort has 5 restaurants and a crepe shop. The main buffet is open for breakfast, lunch, and dinner. The BBQ restaurant is open for lunch, dinner, and late-night snacks. It’s also a pizza place. The crepe shop has sweet and savory crepes and is open all day. The main restaurants are only open for dinner – Neptunes featuring seafood, La Parisienne with a French menu, and the Venetian with an Italian menu. La Parisienne and the Venetian have indoor seating with air conditioning, all other dining venues are open-air.

What We Loved

• Kids Camp and Programming – We booked primarily for this reason and Beaches really delivered here. Based on my research and the aid of a travel agent, we only found 6 options for an all-inclusive with childcare for babies. It was critical for us because our 7-month-old could not tolerate the heat and she ended up napping at kids camp most days. Our 3.5-year-old also loved kids camp and wanted to spend time there each day. Unfortunately, the first 2 days, kids her age were not being dropped off so she didn’t want to stay by herself (totally valid and we would never make her). On our last day, there were several kids her age dropped off and she was pumped to play for a few hours. The Sesame Street characters are always stopping by camp and doing activities with the kids. The staff was great and both of our children clearly loved it. We also did the character breakfast and totally recommend it if you have young kids.
• Dinners – The restaurants at Beaches were very nice and the dinner food was terrific. We particularly enjoyed Neptunes and La Parisienne. The buffet and lunch options were so-so, but I’ll also note I have a dairy allergy and that severely limited my options. Everyone was terrific about menu modifications and checking what food I could eat, in case anyone is traveling with an allergy. Kids camp also reopens during dining hours and if our kids were older, it would have been very nice to eat at the buffet then drop them to camp and have a nice dinner out. We did not need to make reservations because it wasn’t that busy, but I have heard during peak times reservations are key. While we were there, 2 sit-down restaurants were open daily, never all three.
• The Waterpark – Hands down this was our eldest daughter’s favorite part of the trip. In addition to the very small slides for kids of all ages, they had bigger slides for the under 42” crowd. Honestly, my husband and I ended up riding all the slides and the blue one for the toddlers was one of the best ones. The full slide breakdown – over 42” – 2 drop slides (one was short but basically vertical, it was intense), 2 body slides, 1 inner tube slide, which was the most fun. Under 42” – 3 body slides that were all short and fun (my daughter did these at least 30x a piece), 3 small slides on a “splash island” set up. The water wasn’t running on one of those slides and it got quite hot to the point of burning, so be sure to pay attention to that. There is also a cargo net bridge challenge which our eldest attempted until she could manage to do it and a very nice zero entry lounging area in the water park pool. The BBQ restaurant (and bar) is right by the waterpark entrance making this a very convenient spot to spend the day.
• The Beach – we traveled in May and I’d guess the resort was about half occupied. That meant we didn’t need to fight for chairs or shade, except at the water park where very few chairs were in the shade. The beach setup here was great. Lots of chairs, umbrellas, and sunshades. There were plenty of sand toys left around for kids to play with (likely left by other guests and a constant ebb and flow of availability so not a guarantee). There was music, a bar, and calm waters. There was also a “secret” beach past the water sports dock if people wanted a quieter space. Seriously, what more could you ask for? Be warned though, 2 people were stung by jellyfish while we were there so keep an eye out. There is a nurse at the resort if needed. 
• The Size – this resort wasn’t too big, which was great because we found ourselves walking LAPS to and from kids camp. End-to-end it was about a 5-minute walk, once we learned the best ways to go. I do think this might not be a positive if you were traveling during peak times, since it probably feels very crowded when it’s full. 
• Service – we generally had good service at the bars and restaurants, which is not always the case at an all-inclusive. 
• No Tipping Pressure – Sandals has a no-tipping policy on the property. It was nice not to have to think about this or feel guilty about it the entire week. The luggage handlers at the airport and transfer drivers did need to be tipped as they were not Sandals employees. This is one of the benefits I think is really sets the Sandals/Beaches brand apart.
• Concierge Service – This was an accidental benefit. Our room category (French Village Oceanfront One Bedroom Suite) was concierge level. We booked it to have a separate bedroom for the girls, but I will now always book this level at a Sandals property. Check-in was a breeze, it came with a quick resort tour that was super helpful, and we had a dedicated person to deal with any issues that came up during our stay. They also had a daily complimentary glass bottom boat tour and a snorkeling tour (although I think a version of this is included for everyone). It was one of those little perks that is just nice and adds a little extra relaxation to the vacation.
• Laundry facilities – traveling with young kids inevitably means laundry. I brought a Scrubba Wash Bag hoping I would just need to wash one or two things (shoutout to @Restlesscrusade for the tip). It actually worked great and was clutch thanks to a car seat blowout, but in general, nothing would dry once we washed it. There was just too much humidity. Luckily, the resort had a free washer and dryer you could use. All you needed was your own detergent. I used these sheet ones for the first time and they worked great and were super easy to travel with. 
• Photography service – The resort has photographers roaming to take candids and will set up a complimentary family photo session. It was great to get family photos and plenty of #proofofmom.
• Airport transfers and lounge – It was nice to have a waiting area at the airport with snacks and drinks included. Transfers were also included so that was one less thing to think about.
• Snorkeling, scuba diving, water sports, and golf included – Although we didn’t take advantage of any of these, it’s a HUGE perk that these are included with your stay.

What could have been better

• Dining options – While dinners were great, everything else was meh. There were not a lot of options for breakfast or lunch, particularly since we were juggling my dairy allergy. I basically had a choice of cereal (with the almond milk I brought from home) or an omelet where I had to watch the chef like a hawk to prevent cheese from being added. Lunch was similar, again mostly because I don’t eat red meat or pork, and have a dairy allergy. My option was whatever random thing I could eat at the buffet, usually salad, or jerk chicken at the BBQ. Luckily, I happen to love jerk chicken and could happily eat it once a day for a week, but if that wasn’t the case, it would have been rough.
• Our View – We paid extra for the ocean view and we got a view of Neptunes restaurant, with the ocean behind it. To be fair, our room location was excellent. We were close enough to the French Village pool to be within range of our baby monitor, and had easy access to dining, bars, beach, everything. BUT the view was very disappointing, particularly since we had to pay more for it.
• Room Setup and Amenities – We requested a crib in advance. We finally got it about an hour after our baby’s bedtime on the 3rd time I called to ask about it. We were missing a hair dryer and had to repeatedly ask the concierge desk to restock the minibar. We never once did we get turn down service, although it was advertised. All together, it was all just a little bit annoying and again, given what we were paying, felt like it shouldn’t be happening. There was nowhere to hang up towels or clothes other than on hangers in the closet, over the shower curtain, or the drying rack on the balcony. I wish we’d brought one of those over-the-door hook bars as cheesy as that sounds. Same thing with outlets. We could have used an extension cord with multiple plugs. Lastly, our room did not match with the photos shown on the Beaches room description website. I knew going in it wouldn’t because I had watched a few video walk-throughs but if I hadn’t, I would have been very disappointed.
• Air conditioning – There was very little air conditioning at this resort. The rooms had units that did a great job keeping your sleeping space cold. But we were traveling with a 6-month-old who could not tolerate the heat for more than an hour. Since all the daytime dining options were outside, it was hard. Luckily there was air conditioning at the kids club so she was fine, but it did make our day harder having to figure out where to go with her to beat the heat. If you or someone you are traveling with hates the heat, plan to spend some time during the day in your room.
• Distance to the airport – Beaches Ochos Rios is a solid 2 hours from the Montego Bay airport. We knew this going in but really wanted to stay at this resort. It was fine going, but heading home, we caught a 2.5-hour delay and got stuck in the airport for most of the day. We were already on the road when the alert came. If we were closer to the airport we would have been able to stay at the resort longer. We ended up having an 8-hour travel day to get there and a 14-hour travel day to get home. Ironically, we picked Jamaica for the sub 4-hour flight. The joke’s on us. We also didn’t get to do any excursions because the kids were just too young. BUT the trade-off here is Ochi is a fantastic location for many of the island’s best excursions. 
• Property condition – I say this with the caveat that repair work was going on during our stay so clearly this is a known issue. However, the entire property felt worn down. Everything needed a coat of paint. The laundry facilities in our section were out of order. Nothing else was really broken per se, it just felt tired and dated. The resort could really benefit from a facelift.

A few other thoughts:

• I don’t know if we caught it on a bad day but the customs and immigration situation at Montego Bay was a hot mess. Literally hot because the air conditioning wasn’t great. Be sure to do your paperwork in advance for every single person traveling. It was annoying and took about an hour but saved us at least 2 hours at the actual airport (I mean maybe not but it seemed that way). Also, be sure to ask about where to go because signage isn’t great and massive amounts of people were just standing around trying to figure out how to do their paperwork. Of note, families with children can’t take the shortcut line. 
• I had a hard time keeping track of my room key. I’d brought one of those lanyards for your phone and key but it broke day 1. A lot of people had these holders attached to wristlets like this and that would have been nice too. Make sure you have something like that if you wear things that don’t have pockets.
• I forgot how brutal the sun can be in the Caribbean. Combined with the water park and kids, it was tricky to keep consistent sunscreen application. My husband got fried on day 1 and ended up wearing a long-sleeved sun shirt for the rest of the trip. I kept the girls in long-sleeved swimsuits and shorts/pants. For the baby, I love these SwimZip sunsuits and have ordered my husband and me their rashguards for the summer. Our oldest wears the Primary swim shorts and long-sleeved swim tops to the beach. Wide-brimmed hats were also crucial. Our oldest got burnt on her scalp and ears because she didn’t have one.
• The resort had plenty of children’s life jackets, but we didn’t see any for infants. We brought our own from home.
• Beaches can arrange for a car seat for the transfer if you want one.

All in all, we had a great time and will likely stay at a Beaches resort again while the kids are young (looking at Turks and Caicos in 2026). We probably won’t return to this property though. I loved Ochi and there is so much to do there (Dunn’s River Falls, Dolphin and shark encounters, snorkeling/scuba, bobsled and mountain coasters, and more). We will return when the girls are older, but we will likely choose a cheaper resort once the allure of the under-4 programming wears off. But, maybe that will change. Who knows.