Sandals Montego Bay Review: What It’s Really Like to Stay Here

Sandals Montego Bay, the original Sandals location, is a stunning beachfront property just minutes from the airport. It blends luxury with a vibrant social scene, making it the perfect getaway for couples looking to relax, enjoy gourmet dining, and engage in fun activities. With modern rooms, a breathtaking beach, and access to another nearby Sandals resort, it has a lot to offer.

What We Love at Sandals Montego Bay

• Close to the Airport: It’s just a 5- to 10-minute ride from Sangster International Airport.
• Beautiful Beach: The sand is soft, and the water is calm and crystal-clear.
• Recently Renovated: The rooms and public spaces look fresh and stylish.
• Great Dining Options: With multiple restaurants, you never run out of delicious choices.
• Stay at One, Play at Two: Access to Sandals Royal Caribbean gives you even more dining and entertainment options.
• Lively Atmosphere: If you love entertainment, this resort delivers with beach parties and live music. Plus it’s near the nightlife in Montego Bay.

Cons

• Airport Noise: Because it’s so close to the airport, you can hear planes overhead during the day, but it wasn’t a major issue for us and we got used to it.
• Pool Options: While the main pool is lively, we feel other Sandals resorts have more impressive pool layouts.

Who Would Love Sandals Montego Bay?

Sandals Montego Bay is perfect for guests who love a lively, social, and energetic atmosphere combined with a beautiful beachfront setting. It is perfect for being close to the airport for convenience if you do not mind the sound of the planes taking off and landing.

Arrival

After landing at the Montego Bay airport, we stopped at the Sandals Lounge and checked in, then went to the shuttle to the resort. From the airport, the drive took about 10 minutes. Once we arrived, we were greeted with a cold towel.

Rooms

Sandals Montego Bay has a wide variety of rooms, and most have been updated in the last few years so it’s hard to find one you won’t like. Most of them have ocean views, and all have a patio or balcony as well as a complimentary in-room minibar. Many have outdoor oversized soaking tubs as well. Most rooms are close to the beach, which is great.

There are three different room levels at Sandals Montego Bay:

• Luxury Rooms: The most budget-friendly but still comfortable and modern. We like the Crystal Lagoon Honeymoon Oceanview Luxury Room w/ Balcony Tranquility Soaking Tub for providing an amazing ocean view at a good price. Note that these don’t come with room service, however, but they do have minibars.
• Club Rooms: These rooms come with concierge service and room service as well as minibars—perfect for a mid-range option. With the added price, the rooms are nicer and larger. The Beachfront Honeymoon Walkout Club Jr Suite is a great option for those who want to be right on the sand. Swim-up rooms are also fun for couples who love being in the pool.
• Butler Suites: If you want to be completely pampered, these suites come with a personal butler who will do things like save chairs at the beach or pool for you and make dinner reservations. They will give you a cell phone so you can ask them for anything else you need. These rooms also come with full bars and 24-hour in-room dining. We coveted the Beachfront Swim-up Honeymoon One-Bedroom Butler Suite w/ Patio Tranquility Soaking Tub since they have direct access to a pool and are just feet from the sand as well.

Beach

The beach sand at Sandals Montego Bay is incredibly soft, and the water is crystal clear. We like to spend time lounging in a beach chair with a cocktail in hand, enjoying the gentle waves. The only negative is the planes flying above waking you up if you try to nap on the beach.

There are several different areas of the beach that offer different vibes, from more active to more peaceful. There is also a beach bar, as well as beach service so you can always get a refreshing drink.

Since the beach is so long, it’s easier to find a chair along the beach here than at some other Sandals resorts. We also enjoy sitting under some of the trees with natural shade provided by the leaves. There are also private cabanas set over the water that you can book, which come with butler service for a nice splurge.

Pools

There are multiple pools at Sandals Montego Bay. The largest pool is pretty quiet and there are several buildings with lagoon pools for the swim up rooms, which are usually quiet as well.

The main activity pool is near the beach and has a swim-up bar. It is where the energy is, with an entertainment team that leads games, activities and music throughout the day.

There are six bars at Sandals Montego Bay, including a swim-up bar, a fun overwater bar with hammocks, a pub, and a beach bar. You can also visit the six bars at Sandals Royal Caribbean.

Food & Drink

With over 12 dining options, there is tons of variety to choose from at Sandals Montego Bay.

To start the day, there is a buffet and an a la carte restaurant for breakfast, as well as Cafe de Paris for specialty coffee, crepes, and pastries. We like the buffet at Bayside since you can get freshly made eggs, smoothies and other hot items, and come and go as you please.

Additionally you can always order room service. We had coffee, pastries and fruit delivered each morning for us.

Lunch is casual with several different options.

• The Jerk Shack serves traditional Jamaican Jerk Chicken and Pork and is located near the more lively pool.
• Dino’s Pizzeria has a menu of pizzas cooked in the wood fired oven.
• Next to Dinos’ is The Mariner with classics like burgers, quesadillas and roasted chicken.
• Bayside has a buffet each day with a different theme like Jamaican, Asian, French or American.

For dinner, there is even more variety.

• Bayside Restaurant serves a French menu
• Butch’s Steak & Seafood serves an American style menu with steaks and seafood.
• Oleander is our favorite restaurant on resort. It was recently reimagined with a refined Jamaican menu. They serve small plates so you can try several dishes. I recommend the Jerk Lobster Kebabs and the Coffee Rub Strip Loin.
• Soy has top notch seafood and sushi. We love the appetizers like the Shrimp and Vegetable Tempura as well.
• Cucina Romana serves amazing Italian food with ocean views.
• Dino’s Pizzeria: Perfect for grabbing a quick but delicious wood-fired pizza.
• Tokyo Jo’s is another favorite where you choose the ingredients of your meal and hand it over to a chef who will cook it on the wok for you.

Be sure to take advantage of the ability to go to Sandals Royal Caribbean for dinner as well. There are nine restaurants there, and we highly recommend the Indian and Thai restaurants.

Entertainment

Sandals Montego Bay is one of the livelier Sandals resorts, During the day, the entertainment team provides fun in the sun at the pool or around the resort, encouraging guests to play some of the included activities like volleyball.

Every night, there was something happening—whether it was a beach party, live band, or fire dancers. The show does not go too late, but afterwards there is usually some other type of entertainment like a silent disco party or karaoke. We tend to go relax in our room after dinner or maybe walk by the beach.

A favorite spot in the evenings is Latitudes Overwater Bar, where you can enjoy your drink while watching the sunset.

Activities

There are so many activities included in a stay at Sandals Montego Bay.

• Water Sports: There are tons of complimentary watersports here, including snorkeling, stand-up paddleboarding, kayaking, Hobie Cat sailing, as well as motorized options such as waterskiing, tubing, and wakeboarding.
• Scuba Diving: This is a great value that is included in the stay. Certified divers get two free dives a day. If you aren’t certified, you can pay for a quick certification course at the resort and then take advantage of this.
• Fitness & Tennis: The gym is well-equipped, and there are tennis courts for those who want to play, as well as other land sports like beach volleyball and basketball. There are new pickleball courts as well.
• Red Lane Spa: I treated myself to a relaxing massage one afternoon—it was worth it! The spa also has a sauna, steam room, plunge pool, relaxation garden, and beauty salon.

Excursions

Excursions are the main expense that are not included in the price of accommodations. There is a wide variety of excursions available from Sandals Montego Bay that you can easily book once you’re at the resort.

Dunn’s River Falls is the most popular excursion from Sandals Montego Bay. The drive to Ocho Rios takes about 1.5 to 2 hours, passing through Jamaica’s lush countryside, small towns, and scenic coastline. With the help of a guide, you can climb the falls from the base to the top, navigating the natural rock terraces and pools.

We prefer going by Catamaran so you don’t have to drive and you can stop along the way to go snorkeling.

We do not recommend swimming with dolphins or horseback riding in Jamaica.

Visiting Sandals Royal Caribbean

One of the best perks is the access to Sandals Royal Caribbean, just 10 minutes away. A free shuttle makes it easy to visit and experience:

• A private island with a beautiful beach and pool with swim-up bar
• More dining options, including the incredible Royal Thai restaurant and the Indian restaurant
• A quieter, more laid-back vibe compared to Montego Bay

Comparing to Other Sandals Resorts