Soaking up the Sun at Sandals Royal Plantation

Everyone needs a vacation. Even full time traveling nomads! December 2025 marked a milestone for us. Thirty years of marriage! We chose to celebrate in style, with a six night stay at the All Butler Suites at Sandals Royal Plantation in Ocho Rios, Jamaica. My sister and her husband are also celebrating the same milestone in May so we made it a couples trip. Yes, 30 years ago our parents had their hands full with two weddings happening five months apart!

As Hurricane Melissa barreled its way north in October we were nervous. How would the resort fare? Should we try to rebook? Of course our hearts and thoughts were with the people of Jamaica, but we hadn’t experienced a situation like this in our travels and we weren’t sure what we should do. In the days before the storm we researched alternatives just in case. For a period it looked like the storm would pass right over Ocho Rios, but it veered further west instead. A few weeks after the storm Sandals announced that of their seven properties on the island, five would reopen December 6th with the south coast properties opening in May. Yahoo! The trip was on!

We’d never been to Jamaica before this trip. We flew into Montego Bay, which is 60 miles west of Ocho Rios. There is an airport in Ocho Rios, but it is only served by flights from Miami and we were flying Delta out of Atlanta. A few weeks before our trip we added on the Club Mobay VIP experience for both arrivals and departures at the Montego Bay area. We would highly recommend this if you come to Jamaica! A guide met us at the end of the jet bridge and escorted us through immigration in a “fast pass” type lane. We saw many people in the traditional line looking very confused with the process. So we were grateful that she helped us with the immigration kiosks and on to the baggage claim. Once we retrieved our bags, she guided us through the customs process and out to the arrivals area. We checked in with the Sandals representative who took our luggage and gave us an ETA for our driver. We then waited in the small Club Mobay arrivals lounge where we had great service and some rum punch. Sandals includes transfers to the property with your booking but we upgraded to a private driver for the four of us. We had about a 20 minute wait for our driver. They loaded our luggage into the van and we were off! Traffic is terrible between Montego Bay and Ocho Rios, particularly on weekends, so it took over 90 minutes for the drive. You could definitely see the storm damage as we drove out of Montego Bay. Many “bald” palm trees and roof damage everywhere you looked.

Arriving at most all inclusive resorts feels like entering paradise and Sandals Royal Plantation was no exception. Upon stepping out of the van, the incredible level of service began. They immediately took our backpacks and suitcases to our rooms, a welcome team sang us a song, and we met our butler who informed us where/when we’d be dining that night and escorted us to our rooms. When we booked the property we weren’t really sure what to expect from the butler service. Let me tell you, it is fabulous! We had two butlers throughout our stay on alternating shifts. Our suite was stocked with all the items we requested in the bar including full bottles of wine, whisky, and rum, and sodas in the fridge. The first few days on property they brought us lunch on the beach. Each afternoon we had snacks in our room. We had a phone so that we could contact them any time from 7am-8pm with a request. We booked massages through them. They reminded us of our scheduled excursions. They literally thought about things we would want before we even realized we’d want them. We were spoiled beyond belief.

Royal Plantation is the smallest of the Sandals properties. There are only 74 suites. There is one small pool and a hot tub, and there are two small beaches. One beach is where the water sports are located and one for swimming. There are only five restaurants onsite, but you get access to both Sandals Ochi (right next door) or Sandals Dunn River restaurants. Nightlife is limited, usually a singer, karaoke, etc and is over by 9:30pm. This is not the place for nightlife, but you can get that next door at Ochi. As such, the guests tend to be older. We were amazed by the number of repeat guests. Many come every year and know the staff well. This environment suited us perfectly! We booked the Royal Monarch class of room and it was great for us. We had sliding doors that opened to a spectacular ocean view, a sitting area, king size bed, walk in shower and walk in closet. The bathrooms are slightly dated, but suited us just fine. The view made up for it!

We booked the Dunns River Catamaran cruise through the property and really enjoyed it. It departs from Ochi and we had a driver transport us there. We started with a snorkel near the Ocho Rios cruise port. The water was warm! We saw a stingray on the bottom of the ocean and our guides let us hold sea urchins and a live star fish. Super fun! From there we cruised on to the Dunns River water fall. I didn’t have the right footwear, you really need real water shoes, so my sister and I chose to walk the stairs up to the top. But watching people climb the waterfall as a human chain was quite the sight to see! From there we reboarded the boat and enjoyed a buffet lunch and unlimited drinks and entertainment from the DJ. I’d recommend this excursion!

We spent most of our days at the beach. We typically put our towels down on the way to breakfast, and since we’re early birds, that meant 7am. That allowed us to get the front row, but generally the chairs were never full during the day. The umbrellas provided great shade. There are beach butlers who provided a steady flow of frosty beverages with a smile. We even took pickleball lessons one day. Super fun and something we want to do again for sure.

The service at the resort was absolutely top notch. The GM of the property knew us by name and greeted us every time he saw us. The staff always had a smile and a laugh. By the end of the week they knew what smoothie we wanted for breakfast. The pub knew what table we’d sit at to play cards and knew when we had missed a day due to being at the neighboring property for dinner. It was like a family. We wanted a vacation with pure relaxation and no need to think or plan, and this was it!

If you’re looking for a quiet all inclusive with absolutely incredible scenery and 5 star service, you can’t go wrong with Sandals Royal Plantation. We liked it so much we booked another stay for January 2028 while we were onsite!