Sandals Royal Plantation

We just returned home to Katy, Texas, and are already missing our favorite piece of paradise. We just wrapped up another incredible stay at Sandals Royal Plantation (SRP), and it truly is such a special place to us. As we always say, SRP just gets better and better every single day because of the deep, personal connections you make with the outstanding team. Having traveled extensively with the brand—including stays at Sandals Antigua, Royal Bahamian, Montego Bay, Royal Caribbean, Emerald Bay, and both the Sandals and Beaches properties in Negril—we can confidently say this is easily the best guest experience we have ever had. The Accommodations (Viceroy Suite, East Building): For this stay, we were in a Viceroy room in the East building, and it was absolutely perfect. It offered a spectacular view of the East beach. While we actually spent most of our daytime hours lounging on the West beach, we really fell in love with the East building rooms. Because every single room at this boutique resort is oceanfront, has butler service, and sits close to all amenities, you can't go wrong—but the East building felt exceptionally convenient and centrally located. The Beach & Resort Vibe: The resort offers a wonderfully intimate and private feel. The beach itself is on the smaller side, but it is absolutely gorgeous, pristine, and peaceful. Dining & The Regional Exchange Perk: While there are only three restaurants directly on-property, the culinary execution is top-tier. They do an outstanding job of regularly mixing up the menu at The Terrace so you always have excellent variety. Furthermore, a massive perk of staying here is the exchange program, giving you the seamless option to head over to Sandals Dunn's River or Sandals Ochi for dinner. That said, the vibe here is so special that you rarely ever want to leave the property! Leadership & Staff: The entire staff at this resort is outstanding, and it clearly starts at the top. If you spend just five minutes talking to the General Manager, Omar Robinson, or the Director of Operations, Marvin Boyd, you immediately realize that this world-class culture is driven by having two absolute gentlemen leading the team. I wanted to formally recognize and show some major love to the people who made our week unforgettable: The Terrace Breakfast Crew: You know the service is great when you can easily have breakfast delivered to your room by your butlers, but you choose to walk to the restaurant anyway! Huge shout-out to Sherika, Vanya, Stephnie, Andre, and Romaine for starting our mornings with so much joy. The Beach & Entertainment Dream Team: We spend 8 to 9 hours a day in the sand, so this crew means everything to us. The Beach butlers Daniello, Travardo, and Romaine made sure we never wanted for a single thing. Meanwhile, Alex and Brandon did an unbelievable job keeping everyone entertained. We definitely took up way too much of their time, but they were so incredibly gracious to spend it with us. Simone at the Beach Bar: Simone is an absolute star! It’s actually a running joke how hard it is to physically walk to the beach bar because if you take even two steps, either our room butlers Marvin and Bebeato, or the beach butlers Daniello, Travardo, or Romaine will swoop in to get a drink for you. But when we managed to sneak past them, visiting Simone was always worth it. She is so friendly, and we appreciate her endless patience with all our frozen drink requests. The Bar & Pub Crews: Shout-out to JLee for holding it down so well across all the bars, and to Garnet, Romaine, and Junior for making every single trip to the Pub an absolute blast. Our Phenomenal Butlers: We read a ton of reviews on the Facebook pages before coming, so our expectations for Marvin and Bebeato were sky-high. Well, they didn’t just meet them—they absolutely shattered them. Their attention to detail was completely unmatched. The SRP Brotherhood: What makes this resort so magical is that the entire staff treats you like family. We’ve never even had Biggs or Anthony assigned as our personal butlers, yet they stopped to check on us and give us a fist bump every single time they saw us. Loyalty & Future Planning: A big thank you to Horatio and Sequoia for going above and beyond to help us map out our upcoming trips and sorting out our free week information. We love talking all things Sandals with you guys! Thank you to management and the entire staff for having us at your wonderful resort. The hospitality here is entirely unmatched, and we already cannot wait to return "home" to SRP!

Having a great experience here in Sandals Royal Plantation. Great experience once you get into Sandals care lounge in Montego Bay Airport they take care of you. We had a personal escort from the airport to resort which was 90 minutes but we laughed the whole time with our escort David Robinson. Very humble and great spirited man who showed us along the way the various things to do while here in Jamaica and the resort also didnt disappoint. I can see why they have so many return vacationers, the butler service is personalized with Omar Robinson who will know your name by the first date of arrival. We are half way thru with my birthday vacation and such a great experience.

From the greeting on arrival by the Manager and staff and throughout our stay to the time of our departure, we felt very much at home. We were particularly impressed with the staff who remembered our names and room number right from the start which made it a very personal service. The individual touches which the butlers provided especially on our wedding anniversary was very much appreciated together with the service in the restaurants, particularly Sherika and Vanya at the terrace restaurant who need a special mention, it was all outstanding. The suite was large and comfortable and very well proportioned with all amenities and with excellent storage. A quiet relaxing environment with a good shuttle service to Ochi and especially the golf course. The water sports personnel were professional and very helpful as well as being highly entertaining. The live evening entertainment was of a high standard and very enjoyable. The food and beverages were of a high-quality and a good variety. The additional activities such as aqua and yoga were good when they ran. The beach waiters came along at regular intervals throughout the day and were very attentive. Overall a superb holiday and we can’t wait to return. With the ever present general manager Omar turning his hand to anything and making sure we and every other guest was being well looked after a big well done and thank you to all.

The highlight of Royal Plantation is you are made to feel so welcome from the moment you arrive to the moment you leave. Every member of staff we met were so sincerely friendly and made you feel at home. Here are examples of the excellent service you can expect: On our first day at breakfast in the Terrace restaurant we asked Vanya if there was any fresh ginger to make a fresh orange and ginger drink. Vanya said she’d go and check, then soon came back and said she’d got someone to open the storeroom so she could make us our drink. It was delicious and all done with a smile and her lovely sense of humour. David, who makes delicious omelettes at breakfast in the Terrace restaurant calling me by my name as I approached him – I’d only met him once before. David’s happiness is infectious. Robert, one our room Butlers arranged for our room to be decorated with the blinds shut and lights off, with red tealights and hearts sprinkled on the bed along with the words “Happy Wife, Happy Life”. Robert had also watched to see when we were getting ready to leave the beach and had run a hot bubble bath decorated with flowers ready for when we got back to the room, without either of us mentioning we’d even like that – amazing. Our other room Butler Anthony is so perceptive and sincere; we loved him from the minute we met him and missed him from the minute we left. Anthony should be the mentor to all new Butlers as he has so much he can pass on to make every guest’s stay a perfect holiday. Danielo, one of the beach Butlers - when he forgot my Wife’s drink he immediately said ‘my bad’ and rushed off all the way back from the East beach to the Royal Cafe & Grill bar to get it and came back very quickly, whilst checking what other guests wanted to drink on the way. All done with a smile. At the end of the day Danielo came over to us at the far end of the East beach, simply to wish us a good evening and said he’d see us the following day. No wonder Danielo wears two name badges – he’s so good they had to name him twice. He’s a real professional and his smile is infectious. Trevado, one of the other beach butlers came and found us hidden away in the shade under the trees at the far end of the East beach, and because my Wife was asleep he tiptoed over to me and whispered did I wanted anything so he wouldn’t wake her- what a star. Romaine who serves in both the Terrace restaurant and the Royal Café & Grill is so observant and has a great personality. I asked Romaine for a Jamaican Patti, which wasn’t on the menu, which Romaine arranged. It was delicious. Simone at the Royal Café & Grill beach bar won our hearts with her infectious Jamaican charm. Chadwayne who takes such pride in keeping the beaches clean, raking the beach meticulously throughout the day from 6am to 5pm. Omar, the general manager, who leads by example setting a high standard of sincere customer service and greets every guest by the first name. Omar also led the singing with a farewell song when we left. Here’s some observations about the hotel: • Hotel & grounds - constantly being kept tidy to maintain the original 1950s Plantation Inn feel • Beach - West beach has more sunbeds and umbrellas and is closer to the Royal Cafe & Grill. East beach needs more unbrellas, but is a lot quieter and you can swim/walk out in to the sea further than the West beach. East beach also has a lovely secluded and shaded cove at the far end. Sunbeds on both beaches are not the most comfortable, so I recommend taking an air mattress to put on the sunbeds under your beach towels. Beaches are constantly kept clean and Chadwayne does a brilliant job. • Sea - crystal clear, calm and warm (20 to 28 May) • Pool - small with two separate jacuzzies which are hot. • Room - Royal Monarch second floor West wing (room 258) - best views we’ve ever had. Large bedroom area, very comfortable bed and pillows. Air conditioning and ceiling fans worked really well. Separate seating area with mini bar, tea & coffee making facilities is very spacious and lovely to sit in with the French patio doors open listening to the waves (with the air-con off). Loads of drawer space. Very few power outlets so recommend you bring an extension lead (6 feet). Bathroom area is dated but jacuzzi bath and separate shower worked well. No issue with mosquitoes throughout our holiday. • Room cleaning - room and bathroom were kept spotless by housekeeping • Terrace Restaurant - serves breakfast, lunch and dinner. Breakfast is à la carte or buffet, with a varied choice and all very tasty. Buffet temperatures are monitored to ensure food is kept hot. David at the omelette station makes great omelettes and has a great sense of humour. Romaine who serves at breakfast is excellent as are Vanya and Sherika. • Royal Cafe & Grill - serves lunch and dinner. Ask your room Butler for off menu dishes to be delivered to Royal Cafe & Grill. Romaine also serves here and could easily develop into an excellent Butler. Simone at the bar won our hearts with her infectious Jamaican charm. • Papillon Restaurant - serves dinner (every night we were there). Excellent menu and you can ask for off menu items (we had Beef Wellington, which was excellent). Great service. Dress code is long trousers, collared shirts and shoes for men - it’s special, so get dressed up. • Butlers- Anthony and Robert. Anthony is so perceptive and sincere; we loved him from the minute we met him and missed him from the minute we left. Anthony should be the mentor to all new Butlers as he has so much he can pass on to make every guest’s stay a perfect holiday. Robert ‘Easy Peasy’ has a great personality and sense of humour. Both Anthony and Robert took care of our every need and needs we didn’t even know we wanted, such as when we were getting ready to leave the beach running a hot bubble baths ready for our return. Ask them for off menu items and they will sort it. • Beach Butlers - there are three, Danielo who will make an excellent Butler and has a great personality and really looks after you; Trevado who works so hard to ensure all the guests on his shift are never without a drink or a smile; and Romane. • Wobbly Peacock - Garnett & Junior make great cocktails – Expresso Martini, Old Fashioneds, Dark & Stormies • Loyalty desk - Horatio - offers great onsite deals (circa 12% discount) • All Royal Plantation staff - come across as sincerely wanting you to have an excellent holiday and are all so friendly • Entertainment - excellent quality of entertainment (singing, modern electric violin, balancing & fire eating) in the evening on the Terrace. Ends by 9am, then follows on in the Wobbly Peacock. • Accessibility - lift in West wing only, lots of steep steps to and from the beaches. Not suitable if you have accessibility issues. • Transfer from Kingston Norman Manley airport - circa 2 hours, takes about an hour to get out of Kingston. • Tipping - policy is that you can only tip Butlers, Beach Butlers and Spa staff. • Room Butlers – how much you tip is personal to you and is per shift based on service provided. Some days you’ll have just the one Butler, other days you’ll have two - one in the morning and one in the afternoon until 8 or 9pm. • Beach Butlers – again how much you tip is personal to you as per shift based on service provided. • Transfers from and to the airport circa $20 and airport luggage porters $1 to $2 per item of luggage. Thank you so much Omar and your team for making sure our holiday will always remain a very, very fond memory,

We recently stayed at Sandals Royal Plantation and unfortunately came away quite disappointed overall. The absolute highlight of this resort is the staff. Every single member of staff we encountered was warm, friendly and genuinely outstanding — they truly make the place!!! 🤍 The butler service was also excellent. It was our first time trying it and while it personally wasn’t really for us, the butlers themselves were attentive and professional throughout. The resort itself is very small, which some people may love. The beach is lovely, there are plenty of sunbeds available, and the beds in the rooms were incredibly comfortable and clearly very good quality. However, the bathroom was a huge let-down. The bath especially looked like it hadn’t been updated since the resort was first built, which is not what you expect from a luxury 5-star resort. The food was another major disappointment. Bland, uninspiring and nowhere near the standard we expected. For a resort marketed as 5-star, the dining honestly felt closer to a 3-star experience. We also had two massages at the spa which were fantastic — definitely expensive, but genuinely excellent. One of the biggest issues for us personally was the atmosphere. The resort felt extremely cliquey due to the high number of returning guests. Many guests clearly know each other and are very used to this resort, which created an environment that often felt loud and somewhat obnoxious. To be honest, we struggle to understand some of the overwhelmingly glowing 5-star reviews. It feels like many come from regular guests who are loyal to this particular resort, and had ever explored anywhere else. For comparison, we stayed at the Ritz in Dubai which was actually cheaper than this trip and was on a completely different level in every way. Overall, this resort simply wasn’t for us. If you enjoy a very small, quiet resort and like socialising with other guests, then you may absolutely love it here. But for us, the experience did not match the Sandals reputation or the price tag, and perhaps our expectations were just too high.