If  you’re looking for a family beachfront getaway with an intimate private beach, a Pirates Island Waterpark, extra large accommodations, the only all-inclusive golf program for kids and near Jamaica’s best attractions, Beaches Ocho Rios is for you.

Twenty-two acres of lush tropical gardens, a gorgeous private white-sand beach, seven gourmet restaurants, five fantastic swimming pools, a dedicated scuba practice pool and an entire ocean of water sports are just a few of the places & things to explore.

But it’s much more than the above that makes this resort so special, a stand out from other all inclusive family resorts.

Just this weekend Beaches was honoured with the award for the World’s Leading All Inclusive Resort Brand at the World Travel Awards in Oman, their 25th award in a row!

You can of course find other resorts with private sandy beaches, an array of gourmet restaurants, water sports and activities galore, but, and its a huge but, can these deliver the standard of service that Beaches Ocho Rios does, and if not why not?

After spending just five days at this resort which first opened in 1998 and is in the groups terms, Sandals Resorts International, a veritable grand dame, I can see that after all these years of experience they have understood what makes a vacation really special, an anything is possible belief.

I stayed in a large suite with a supremely comfortable bed; in fact Sandals and Beaches never disappoint when it comes to the comfort of the beds and the bedding.

During my stay I took advantage of a shuttle bus to take me to the nearby Sandals Golf Club.
This magnificent 18-hole course rises 700 feet above sea level in the lush hills of Ocho Rios, with a practice range, putting and chipping greens.
I had brought my own shoes and golf glove so hired a brand new set of Titleist clubs and a buggy. The course was in great shape and I had a particularly good round, mainly thanks to the coaching from my caddy Everett. The club house which has recently been built is a grand structure which will shortly be opening and will provide a food and beverage service. Make sure you check out the incredible pro shop too, it’s stocked with a treasure of golfing gear.

What struck me most about my short time here at Beaches Ocho Rios was the people, their wonderful staff, who are just about the happiest employees I have come across in all my travels.

Meeting people like Shasame and Raymond from the Bayside restaurant,  Lacy Anne and Reneece from La Parisienne French Restaurant, Nimoy from the Venetian restaurant , Ripton from the Piano Bar, Cion Robinson the super efficient Concierge Manager and Samantha from Neptunes Restaurant , they clearly all love their work and can be seen genuinely working the love with guests day in day out. Speaking with them all, it’s not just that they are good at what they do as a result of the training they have had, which is extensive at Beaches for all staff, but they have a genuine love of the job they do, a real passion to want to please and they do it with real style.

Thailand is widely known as the land of smiles, but Beaches Ocho Rios goes one better,  it is the resort of smiles!

It’s positively infectious; not just from the smiles on the faces of their staff but on the faces of the children playing on the beach and all around the resort. Beaches Ocho Rios is doing something special, if you can make the kids smile, the parents will follow too, and they know this.

Their ingenious sponsorship with Elmo, The Cookie Monster, Grover and their Sesame Street® friends is a real winner! And, as a proud sponsor, Beaches Resorts are the only Caribbean resort you’ll find kids vacations with such a colourful and well known cast of characters. The children I witnessed could not get enough of them following them wherever they went. The wonderful parade is a joy to watch no matter your age and the team behind this go to great lengths, as you would expect, to ensure everything goes to plan.

I met a family of 12 from Houston Texas, a wonderful group. The grand parents got married at a Sandals many years ago, now they are back with their children and their children’s children. It was plain to see why, everyone, all the members of this enlarged family found things to do and places to be on resort and all were having the time of their lives.

So there you have it, I arrived at Beaches Ocho Rios thinking this would be just another great family all-inclusive resort , I left thinking anything but that.
It doesn’t have the glamour of Turks and Caicos or perhaps Negril in my opinion, but it has something else, a sort of spirit that any family would and should be seeking, and a staff intent on making sure you have the vacation of your lives, what more could you ask for.