honeymooner14

Hello everyone,
I am finally narrowing down my search to the 2 islands my finace and I will have our wedding and honeymoon on next summer. We need 2 islands, and we are down to 3 or 4 in the decision making process. Anyways, this is my question today: Has anyone gotten married at a Sandals in Jamaica? How was it? I would also like to know which one you would choose and why. (I should tell you that one possible scenario we are thinking of is getting married at a Sandals in Mo Bay or Ocho Rios and then having a few days in Negril before heading to Grand Cayman for our honeymoon. We think this would give us 2 very different island experiences, plus they are not far from each other.) We love a great pool area w/swim-up bar, a beautiful beach, a nice, clean room (we would probably stay in the cheapest category) and good food and drinks (doesn't have to be gourmet, but please don't let it ALL be buffet!) If we did get married in Mo Bay or OR, what place would be good for our parents and family to stay at nearby? Which area of Jamiaca would give us more to do/see? Also, does anyone know how much Sandals charges when you have wedding guests who are NOT Sandals guests? If you have any info., please help me out! Thanks so much -- this site has been wonderful in helping us narrow our choices down!

babyblue78

Hi, got married last October at Sandals Negril, went off without a hitch... Also loved Negril, beautiful beach. Resort had a smallish but nice swim-up pool bar.

I stayed the the honeymoon beachfront concierge suite. The rooms are not "luxurious" but are nice and clean. The food is good, and not all buffet!

Not sure what they charge for guests to come over for the wedding. Our family/friends stayed at Beaches Negril, and they were allowed to spend all day on the resort at no charge. Your travel agent should be able to work something out for you...

I notive that you did not mention Negril. However, I think that the Beaches resort in OR is very close to the Sandals, but have never been there.

Leaving for Negril again Friday for a long weekend! Yeah!

honeymooner14

Thank you! The only reason I didn't mention Negril was because we thought we might enjoy that part of Jamaica without our family AFTER getting married in MB or OR. (Seemed like with the topless/nude bathing parts of the beach, we would want to try that WITHOUT our parents!) Sandals Negril sounds lovely, though, we are thinking of staying there or at Beaches Negril if we do start off our honeymoon there. Anyone else get married at Sandals?

honeymooner14

I should also mention that 2 of the Sandals we are considering for the wedding are Dunn's River and Royal Caribbean. Is the small island Sandals has off Royal Caribbean clothing optional?? I had never heard that, but that's what Frommers.com says.

beachlover99

While I was not married at any Sandals in Jamaica, I was married at Sandals Antigua last year. They did a wonderful job with the ceremony. Everything was taken care of with no worries and it all turned out beautiful.

The off shore island at SRC is clothing optional. If I were going to Jamaica, I would presonally choose Negril. Remember that this wedding is about you and your husband-to-be, so don't let family/friends get in the way of what YOU really want. If you do that, everything will be wonderful. Enjoy and congrats!

honeymooner14

THanks for your help! Anyone else want to help me out with which Sandals Jamaica you enjoyed and would be best for a wedding?

TonyHarris

I have been to three. MoBay, Royal Caribbean, and Negril. All are different and each would be great. Look at as many pictures as you can and then decide.

honeymooner14

Thanks, I have done that, but am hoping to get opinions from people who have been there. Our main priorities are a great big pool with swim-up bar and the nicest beach. Like I said before, food doesn't have to be gourmet and the room doesn't have to be super luxurious, but we would like good food and a nice, clean, comfy room. Which of the 3 did you prefer?

TonyHarris

All 3 have pools that appear to be about the same size. All have swimup bars too. Sandals Dunns River has a HUGE pool and a decent beach from what I hear. Out of the 3 I've been to, I'd take Sandals Negril. Why? Negril is just a wonderful place. Great beach. Great people. And....for a really big pool you can use free of charge the nearby Beaches Negril property which has a very big pool.

honeymooner14

Thank you so much for your help, TonyHarris. I think that Negril is the area of Jamaica we are most interested in visiting, and I was also wondering about Beaches Negril. If we were to stay at Sandals Negril and head down to Beaches to sample the pool, how long of a walk is it? And I take it the beach at Sandals is wonderful from what you say. What about topless or clothing optional sunbathing? I've read that many places in Negril allow this -- is the beach at Sandals part of this or no?
Which room category would you recommend?

TonyHarris

I cannot recommend a room catagory at SN because I did not stay there. Just visited. We usually book a cheaper room, hope to be upgraded. We don't spend enough time in the room to lay out all that extra money.

Beaches Negril is about 1.5 to 2.0 miles from SN. You can walk it in the daytime but you should taxi back at night.

Hint: Beaches Sandy Bay runs a free shuttle back and forth with Beaches Negril several times a day. BSB is about 500 feet South from SN. So, if you stay at SN, walk over to BSB and grab the free shuttle to BN.

SN beach is wonderful but not very wide. It is long. Very few topless at SN, maybe someone being discrete at the corner of the resort. Beaches is unlikely to have topless b/c there are kids there. You may encounter some topless not fully nude if you take that walk to BN from SN.

Caution: If you head North from SN you will be right at Hedo II.


I can't wait to back to Negril!

xxxx

I wasn't sure if you were looking for or looking to avoid topless/nude sunbathing. If you're looking FOR it, Couples Negril might be an option for you.

honeymooner14

Thanks -- we actually were looking for it. Who knows if I would have the guts to do it, but it might be fun to try! Have you been to COuples Negril? How did you like it?

TonyHarris

Couples Negril is a nice resort North of the Negril's 7 mile beach. It is in Bloody Bay, a few minutes away from main Negril by car. They have a C/O area there.

Sandals Royal Caribbean in MoBay has an offshore C/O island that contains a small beach, restaurant and bar.

xxxx

Sorry, didn't stay at Couples. Stayed next door at the Riu. Grand Lido also had a nude section. As TonyHarris stated, both Couples and Grand Lido are on Bloody Bay away from the long-stretch of Negril beach. There is only Grand Lido, Couples, Riu Tropical Bay and the new Riu Negril for large resorts. There were topless women at the Riu and both topless and nude people at Couples. Those resorts offered less privacy as anyone could walk the beach. No one seemed to pay attention one way or the other. Grand Lido would offer more privacy as they would not let you onto their property from the other resorts and I believe it is too rocky coming from the other direction to be walked. But I believe Grand Lido is much more expensive. Obviously, it's out of my budget since we were at the Riu!! Anyway, for what it's worth, I would not sacrifice any days in Negril to be in Montego Bay.

honeymooner14

We are definitely thinking that Negril is the place for us. I have not heard much about the Riu resorts. Is there a website I could check out? How did you like it?

xxxx

www.riu.com

They are a Spanish-owned chain. As you'll see on the website, tbey have properties all over the world.

We were happy with the Riu Tropical Bay. We got a fair-priced, late deal for Christmas week last year. They do allow children--don't know if you wanted tht for your honeymoon--although we did not find the place to be overrun with kids. We would go back there and would try other Riu properties as well. By the time of your trip, the new Riu Negril might also be open. When I was searching for info last year, I came across some websites dedicated to Riu Resorts in general and one specifically dedicated to the Tropcial Bay. The websites were operated by people who were thrilled with the resort and supposedly not affilitated with the chain. I can't remember the URLs, but maybe you could fine them with google search. The websites had tons of details and pictures.

Also, have you tried tripadvisor.com for resort reviews?

honeymooner14

Thanks for all your great info.!
Yes, I always use tripadvisor. com as well as wheretostay.com. They are the greatest tools.

lrmcstitch

Hi,
We were just married at Sandals Royal Carribean in March 2003. We took advantage of their Weddingmoon package and can't say enough about the place.
First, it's close to the airport but not so close that the aircraft are annoying. Sandals Mo Bay is directly in the flight path and noisy. It is about a 10 or 15 minute ride to the resort.
Our wedding and the entire week were wonderful. The food, the staff, the accomodations were all great.
You didn't say what age group you are in. We chose RC because Mo Bay is a much younger party crowd and RC is a bit more upscale and a little more private. Not that it's not a great party, it is, it's just a little more laid back.
The island offshore has a wonderful Thai restaurant, a swimm up pool bar and a clothing optional beach on the far side of it. Very nice and very private.
We have not been to other Sandals yet (but are going to St. Lucia in a few months) but, have been to Ocho Rios and Dunns River Falls is a great trip.
We would highly reccomend Sandals RC. It was one of our best trips ever and also one of the cleanest places ever.
Everything was just perfect. Check out their web site about their WeddingMoon package and make sure you have the proper paperwork sent to them well in advance. It takes 8-10 weeks to get your marriage certificate sent to you from Jamaica after you return.
If you have any other questions about weddings at Sandals RC please feel free to e-mail and we'll answer what we can.
Best of luck with your wedding.