Wedding advice for Jamaica?!
 

My fiance and I are having a difficult time deciding where to get married in Jamaica (April 2002). Right now it is a toss-up between Sandals (Royal Caribbean or Dunn's River) and Couples. For travellers who have hardly been out of Canada yet alone South, which would be a better choice for a vacation of a lifetime? Thanks!

I have not been to Couples but have been to Sandals Royal and it is a ncie property. Very pretty and romantic. We particularily liked the off shore island.<BR><BR>While we have not been to Sandals Dunn's either, We have been to Ocho Rios numerous times - water can be choppier there and the beach there is not that big as we saw it from a distance. But it goes seem to get rave revies. My sister had her honeymoon there and really loved it.<BR><BR>We have seen numerous weddings at Sandals and they appear to do a nice job. WE were married in Jamaica and highly recommend the experience!<BR><BR>Good Luck!<BR>Penney

we renewed our vows for our 10 yr and brought two of our best friends to wed with us 3 yrs age. we stayed ot couples ocho ris and they are a nice couple only resort. if you don't want alot of single people around to bother you, this is a great place. they have a nude island, which we said we would never do, but ohhh sooo relaxing to lay there in the sun and sleep to the sound of the waves! they have a number of choices for you to wed. we did our vows on the bridge in the jungle area. very romantic and beautiful. hope you have a great time!!

Angela,<BR><BR>We have been to all 3 of the resorts you have listed. In order to have some idea of which might be a better choice for you, I would need to know a little more about what it is that you are looking for. Different people have such different interests, experiences, and preferences. We were married at Couples Ocho Rios in April 1997 (it was my first time out of North America - we are also Cdn), and we loved it there. It was there that we fell in love with Jamaica and we have been going back repeatedly ever since. Our wedding was great - we decided to have the ceremony on the lawn in the front gardens overlooking the beautiful blue, Carribean ocean, and the "reception" in the jungle gazebo, which the decorated beautifully with flowers and wrought iron furniture. It was totally hassle-free, and I would not have done it any other way. Couples Ocho Rios is a lovely, lush, very romantic resort, with sort of an old-world European feel about it. And, in my view, Couples Ocho Rios is hands down the most romantic of the 3 you have listed. In spite of how much we loved Couples Ocho Rios, I think our favourite of the 3 resorts you have listed was Sandals Royal Caribbean - mainly because the service we received there was really outstanding - but we had a concierge suite so that might have influenced things. I found Sandals Dunn's River to be the least romantic. In fact, I wasn't too impressed with Sandals Dunn's River - didn't really like the high-rise architecture, didn't like the beach, and found there to be too much concrete. We also found it to be very active, social, and somewhat crowded, which is not to our taste - we prefer quiet and time together. However, someone who prefers lots of action might enjoy it. Maybe you could try posting again to indicate what it is that you are looking for in your vacation! Best wishes!

Thanks for the advice! For "Luv2travel", we are not much into the party scene and would prefer a bit of peace & tranquility. Crowds? Nothing compares to a Toronto shopping mall at Xmas time!! As far as activities go, either the pool or beach sound good to us!! We are originally from NS so we miss the beach very much. All we are looking for is good value for our $$, good food/restaurants, and have our wedding hassle free, of course. Our wedding will be the second for both and will probably be the only time we will get away on our own, so we want to make it as memorable as possible.<BR><BR>It has been very hard for us to decide..all of them seem very nice; the only one that we really didn't like was Sandals Inn. Hope this helps to get some more info!

we've been looking at couples and beaches grande sport ciboney and luv2travels post is exactly the type of feedback i've been looking for, so thank you luv for the response and thanks angela for the posing the question

Angela -<BR><BR>From what you have said, I'd probably lean more towards Couples Ocho Rios or Sandals Royal Caribbean. For value for your money, I'd say that Couples Ocho Rios probably gets the edge, since we have found it to be consistently less expensive than Sandals Royal Caribbean and Sandals Dunn's River, in addition to the fact that Couples includes a few tours in the price - a shopping trip to Ocho Rios, tour of Prospect Plantation, Dunn's River Falls, a catamaran cruise, and horseback riding. The drawback to Couples, for me, is its distance from the airport in MoBay - 2 hour twisty, bumpy drive - if you are even slightly prone to motion sickness take Gravol before you get on the bus - but lots of people don't mind the drive. Sandals Royal Caribbean is literally 10 - 15 minutes from the airport, it is nice to be sitting on the beach so soon after getting off the plane!<BR><BR>The one thing I would note about all 3 you have listed is that, if you are thinking of beaches in NS (such as Summerville, Crescent Beach or Martinique Beach), you may find the beaches at these resorts somewhat disappointing. (Except for the fact that the water is actually WARM!). The beaches at all 3 resorts are quite small in comparison. If you are looking for long stretches of beach, you should probably look at something in Negril.<BR><BR>Hope this is helpful. Good luck!

Neither. GOLDENEYE, the former Ian Fleming retreat in Orcabessa, now owned by Chris Blackwell of Island Records fame, would get our nod for the best place to get married -- and stay -- in<BR>Jamaica. The Ritz Carleton Rose Hall and Round Hill would be right up there at the top of the list. All 3 will give you far more for your dollar than any Sandals