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Which Sandals Beach Resort Is Best? (2025 Guide)

Sandals is a popular choice for an all-inclusive luxury romantic holiday for couples or for a honeymoon in the Caribbean. They get some of the best reviews you'll find and have a good choice of 18 resorts on 8 Caribbean Islands including Jamaica, Barbados, Saint Lucia, Bahamas, Grenada and Antigua. The new resort Saint Vincent and the Grenadines opened in 2024.

But which is the best Sandals beach resort?

We've picked out our top five by looking at customer reviews, value for money, travel from the UK and activities on offer. 

If you don't have time to read all our waffle, here's our summary:
The date that you plan to visit a Sandals resort is also a key factor, because the weather is different at each resort. From January to April, you can pick from nearly all the resorts but Sandals Royal Curaçao is the best Sandals for a holiday in May, whilst Sandals Royal Bahamian is the best Sandals for a holiday in November.
Couple on pontoon at Sandals South Coast
We rate Sandals South Coast as the best resort for a honeymoon..
Beach at Sandals Grande Antigua
...whilst Sandals Grande Antigua is the easiest to reach from the UK
If you want the full comparison, please read on:

Which Sandals Resort gets the best reviews?

All of the Sandals resort get very positive reviews, so I wouldn't say there is a 'bad' choice. However, there are small differences in their review scores.

We added together the scores they achieved from customers on TripAdvisor, Google reviews and Expedia to come up with a total score. We then ranked them in order. We carried out our searches in September 2024:

  1. Sandals Royal Plantation, Jamaica – 92% (4.7/5 on Google Reviews, 4.5/5 on TripAdvisor, 9.2/10 on Expedia)
  2. Sandals Grenada, Grenada – 91% (4.6, 4.5, 9)
  3. Sandals Saint Vincent & The Grenadines, Saint Vincent - 90% (4.5, 4.5) 
  4. Sandals Dunn’s River, Jamaica – 89% (4.6, 4.5, 8.6)
  5. Sandals Grande St. Lucian, Saint Lucia – 89% (4.5, 4.5, 8.6)
  6. Sandals South Coast, Jamaica – 89% (4.5, 4.5, 8.8)
  7. Sandals Halcyon Beach, Saint Lucia – 89% (4.5, 4.5, 8.6)
  8. Sandals Montego Bay, Jamaica – 88% (4.4, 4.5, 8.6)​
  9. Sandals Regency La Toc, Saint Lucia – 88% (4.2, 4.5, 8.6)
  10. Sandals Negril, Jamaica – 87% (4.5, 4.4, 8,2)
  11. Sandals Royal Caribbean, Jamaica – 87% (4.4, 4.5, 8.2)
  12. Sandals Royal Curaçao, Curaçao – 86% (4.2, 4.5, 8.4)
  13. Sandals Ochi, Jamaica – 85% (4.3, 4.5, 8)
  14. Sandals Grande Antigua, Antigua – 83% (4.3, 4.0, 8.4)​
  15. Sandals Barbabos, Barbados – 81% (4.2, 4, 8)
  16. Sandals Royal Bahamian, Bahamas – 81% (4.1, 4, 8.2)​
  17. Sandals Royal Barbados, Barbados - 77% (3.9, 4.0, 7.2)

Notes: Sandals Saint Vincent and the Grenadines opened in 2024, so there weren't many reviews on Expedia. Sandals Emerald Bay in the Bahamas has closed for refurbishment and will re-open as Beaches Exuma.

I'd say that the range of review scores is quite small, meaning that there's a reassuringly good level of consistency across the resorts. Sandals Royal Plantation in Jamaica gets the best reviews, but several others (including Dunn's River, which opened in 2023) aren't far behind so let's look at some other factors. 

Meanwhile, according to a 2019 blog by Sandals the three 'best rated' resorts are Sandals Royal Plantation, Sandals Grenada and Sandals South Coast. They were ranked 1st, 2nd and 6th in our rankings, so that's a similar finding.
Sandals Grande St Lucian Resort
Sandals Grande St Lucian Resort is a good choice for younger couples...
Beach at Sandals Grande St Lucian Resort
...and it is one of the most popular resorts with customers

Which Sandals Resort is the cheapest?

To figure out which is the cheapest or best value Sandals Resort in the Caribbean we looked at three different sets of dates for a week long holiday for a couple:
  • a week in early April 2025
  • a week in early August 2025
  • a week in early December 2025

The cost is for the cheapest accommodation available at the time of searching for two people and includes flights, transfers, all meals and nearly all activities. We searched in September 2024 and ranked them from cheapest to most expensive. We looked for holidays departing on a Friday, Saturday, Sunday or Monday. You can get sometimes get a bargain Sandals holiday with a midweek departure.

A week for two people in early April 2025:

  1. ​Sandals Regency La Toc, Saint Lucia - £4158
  2. Sandals Halcyon Beach, Saint Lucia - £4571
  3. Sandals Grenada, Grenada - £4675
  4. Sandals Grande Antigua, Antigua - £5237
  5. Sandals South Coast, Jamaica - £5336
  6. Sandals Negril, Jamaica - £5336
  7. Sandals Ochi, Jamaica - £5360
  8. Sandals Royal Plantation, Jamaica - £5731
  9. Sandals Grande St. Lucian, Saint Lucia - £5736
  10. ​Sandals Montego Bay, Jamaica - £5868​
  11. Sandals Dunn’s River, Jamaica - £5896
  12. Sandals Royal Caribbean, Jamaica - £5921
  13. Sandals Royal Barbados, Barbados - £5995
  14. Sandals Barbabos, Barbados - £6028
  15. Sandals Royal Bahamian, Bahamas - £6437
  16. Sandals Royal Curaçao, Curaçao - £6628
  17. Sandals St Vincent and the Grenadines, St Vincent - £6758​​

A week for two people in early August 2025:

  1. Sandals Grande Antigua, Antigua - £4321
  2. Sandals Negril, Jamaica - £4349
  3. Sandals Regency La Toc, Saint Lucia - £4923
  4. Sandals South Coast, Jamaica - £5124
  5. Sandals Barbabos, Barbados - £5313
  6. Sandals Halcyon Beach, Saint Lucia - £5442
  7. Sandals Grenada, Grenada - £5471
  8. Sandals Ochi, Jamaica - £5625
  9. Sandals Royal Bahamian, Bahamas - £5635
  10. Sandals Royal Barbados, Barbados - £5857
  11. Sandals Royal Curaçao, Curaçao - £5914
  12. Sandals Royal Caribbean, Jamaica - £6051
  13. ​Sandals Montego Bay, Jamaica - £6224
  14. Sandals Royal Plantation, Jamaica - £6227
  15. Sandals St Vincent and the Grenadines, St Vincent - £6256
  16. Sandals Dunn’s River, Jamaica – £6838
  17. Sandals Grande St. Lucian, Saint Lucia - £7016

A week for two people in November/December 2025:

  1. ​Sandals South Coast, Jamaica - £3919
  2. Sandals Ochi, Jamaica - £4114 
  3. Sandals Regency La Toc, Saint Lucia - £4277
  4. Sandals Royal Caribbean, Jamaica - £4573
  5. Sandals Halcyon Beach, Saint Lucia - £4794
  6. Sandals Negril, Jamaica - £4969
  7. Sandals Royal Barbados, Barbados - £4982
  8. Sandals Royal Plantation, Jamaica - £5022
  9. Sandals Grande Antigua, Antigua - £5114
  10. Sandals Montego Bay, Jamaica - £5133
  11. Sandals Grande St. Lucian, Saint Lucia - £5256
  12. Sandals Barbabos, Barbados - £5313
  13. Sandals Grenada, Grenada - £5366
  14. Sandals Royal Bahamian, Bahamas - £5635
  15. Sandals Dunn’s River, Jamaica - £5826
  16. Sandals Royal Curaçao - £5920
  17. Sandals St Vincent and the Grenadines, St Vincent - £6256​​
Sandals Regency La Toc Beach
​Sandals Regency La Toc performed well in our price comparison of Sandals resorts
​
According to a blog by Sandals, the cheapest of their resorts is usually Sandals Ochi, which matches with our findings for April and November but we found them to be middle of the table for August. They also reckon that (relatively) low price resorts are Sandals Regency La Toc, Sandals Negril, Sandals South Coast  and Sandals Royal Caribbean.
Sandals Ochi Resort
We reckon that Sandals Ochi resort is great value...
Swimming at Sandals Ochi Resort
...and it has several swimming pools to choose from

When is the cheapest time of year to visit a Sandals resort?

Generally, the cheapest months to visit Sandals resorts are June, September and October. The most expensive month is usually August, with July and January also quite expensive.

Mid-priced months for visiting Sandals resorts are February, March, April, May, November and December.

See our month by month guide for more details on the pros and cons of holidays at Sandals in each month.

Which are the biggest and smallest Sandals Resorts?

There's a big range in the size and scale of the Sandals Resorts.

The smallest - Sandals Royal Plantation in Jamaica - has just 74 rooms and suites, whilst the largest - Sandals Ochi in Jamaica has 519 suites. Unsurprisingly, the big resorts have more facilities, so you need to choose whether you want a quiet and small-scale resort or a larger Sandals resort with more to do. Personally, I would go for a smaller or mid-sized resort if you are staying for one week or if you're on honeymoon, or a larger resort if you are staying for two weeks. Even the smallest resort has five restaurants so there is plenty of choice for a week's holiday.

You can roughly split the resorts up like this:

Small Sandals Resorts (less than 200 rooms)
Mid-sized Sandals Resorts (200-300 rooms) ​
Large Sandals Resorts (300+ rooms)
Accommodation over the water at Sandals Grande St. Lucian
Sandals Grande St. Lucian is one of the larger resorts

Which Sandals Resort has the most facilities and activities?

Every Sandals Resort has a decent choice of activities, including several watersports such as paddleboarding and snorkelling but there is a big range in the number of swimming pools, restaurants and bars. 

We've crunched the numbers to give a very rough idea of how well equipped each resort is:

  1. Sandals Ochi, Jamaica - 7 swimming pools, 16 restaurants, 11 bars (total of 34)​
  2. ​Sandals Dunn’s River, Jamaica – 7 swimming pools, 12 restaurants, 9 bars (total of 28)
  3. Sandals Royal Curaçao, Curaçao – 2 swimming pools, 11 restaurants, 13 bars (total of 26)
  4. ​Sandals Montego Bay, Jamaica - 7 swimming pools, 12 restaurants, 6 bars (total of 25)
  5. Sandals Royal Bahamian, Bahamas - 7 swimming pools, 10 restaurants, 8 bars (total of 25)
  6. Sandals Grande Antigua, Antigua - 6 swimming pools, 11 restaurants, 7 bars (total of 24)
  7. Sandals Grande St. Lucian, Saint Lucia - 4 swimming pools, 12 restaurants, 8 bars (total of 24)
  8. Sandals St Vincent and the Grenadines, St Vincent - 5 swimming pools, 12 restaurants and 5 bars (total of 22)
  9. Sandals Barbabos, Barbados - 3 swimming pools, 11 restaurants, 7 bars (total of 21)​
  10. Sandals Regency La Toc, Saint Lucia - 3 swimming pools, 9 restaurants, 8 bars (total of 20)
  11. Sandals South Coast, Jamaica - 3 swimming pools, 9 restaurants, 7 bars (total of 19)
  12. Sandals Royal Caribbean, Jamaica - 6 swimming pools, 8 restaurants, 5 bars (total of 19)
  13. Sandals Grenada, Grenada - 3 swimming pools, 10 restaurants, 6 bars (total of 19)
  14. Sandals Negril, Jamaica - 3 swimming pools, 7 restaurants, 5 bars (total of 15)
  15. Sandals Halcyon Beach, Saint Lucia - 2 swimming pools, 6 restaurants, 7 bars (total of 15)
  16. Sandals Royal Barbados, Barbados - 3 swimming pools, 7 restaurants, 4 bars (total of 14)
  17. Sandals Royal Plantation, Jamaica - 2 swimming pools, 5 restaurants, 2 bars (total of 9)​​

It's worth noting that there are wildly varying figures about the number of swimming pools at each resort. We've used the figures on the Beaches.co.uk website. 

The Sandals website also offer some useful advice as to which activities are particularly good at their resorts:
Waterfall at Sandals Dunn's River Resort
Sandals Dunn's River is a particularly well-equipped resort

Best activities at Sandals Jamaican resorts

Beach at Sandals Montego Bay
Sandals Montego Bay in Jamaica is good for waterskiing...
Sea view at Sandals Montego Bay
...and it's a good place to spend an evening
Sandals South Coast swimming pool
Sandals South Coast is particularly good for its choice of swimming pools

Best activities at Sandals Saint Lucian resorts

Night life at Sandals Grande St Lucian
If you want a good nightlife, Sandals recommend their Grande St. Lucian resort

Best activities at Sandals Bahamas and Barbadas resorts

Sandals Royal Barbados swimming pool
These two are having a good lark at the Sandals Royal Barbados swimming pools

Best activities at Sandals Grenada, Saint Vincent, Antigua and Curaçao

This isn't an exhaustive list of all the activities available at each resort, just recommendations from Sandals about which resorts are particularly good for certain activities. The newer resorts weren't included in the original 'highlights' guide from Sandals, so we added our own highlights!

Which is the nearest Sandals Resort to the UK?

​Travelling as a couple isn't quite as tortuous as travelling a long way with children, but it's still worth noting which of the Sandals Resorts are quickest to reach from a London airport. 

We added together the typical flight time to the transfer time to the resort and ranked them from shortest to longest journey:

  1. Sandals Grande Antigua, Antigua - 9 hours 5 minutes
  2. Sandals Royal Barbados, Barbados - 9 hours 5 minutes
  3. Sandals Barbabos, Barbados - 9 hours 5 minutes​
  4. Sandals Royal Bahamian, Bahamas - 9 hours, 55 minutes
  5. Sandals Regency La Toc, Saint Lucia - 10 hours​
  6. Sandals Montego Bay, Jamaica - 10 hours, 5 minutes
  7. ​Sandals Dunn’s River, Jamaica – 10 hours, 10 minutes
  8. Sandals Royal Caribbean, Jamaica - 10 hours, 10 minutes
  9. Sandals Halcyon Beach, Saint Lucia - 10 hours 15 minutes
  10. Sandals Grande St. Lucian, Saint Lucia - 10 hours 30 minutes
  11. Sandals Grenada, Grenada - 10 hours 55 minutes (via Saint Lucia)
  12. Sandals Negril, Jamaica - 11 hours, 15 minutes
  13. Sandals South Coast, Jamaica - 11 hours, 15 minutes
  14. Sandals St Vincent and the Grenadines, St Vincent - 11 hours, 25 minutes
  15. Sandals Ochi, Jamaica - 11 hours 30 minutes
  16. ​Sandals Royal Plantation, Jamaica - 11 hours, 30 minutes
  17. Sandals Royal Curaçao, Curaçao - 13 hours

The clear winners in this comparison are the Sandals Resorts on Antigua and Barbados which require nearly eight hours less travelling for a return journey than Sandals Royal Curaçao. The Jamaican resorts generally have the longest journeys. As far as I can tell, Sandals Grenada stops in Saint Lucia.
Couple at Sandals Grande Antigua
If you more hammock time and less flying time then go for a closer resort like Sandals Grande Antigua

Which Sandals Resort has the best weather?

Generally speaking, Caribbean Islands are hot and humid during the UK summer months and warm and dry during the UK winter months. There's some variation across the Sandals Resorts, as they are spread across the Caribbean.

According to the rather useful website Climates to Travel, the best time to visit the Caribbean Islands is as follows:

Bahamas - November to mid-April
Grenada - February to April
Saint Lucia - December to April 
Barbados - February to April
Antigua - December to April 
Jamaica - January to April
Curaçao - mid-February to May
St Vincent - February to April

So, if you wanted to visit in November then the Bahamas might be your best bet. From December to April there are several resorts which are getting their best weather of the year. For a holiday in May, Sandals Royal Curaçao is a good option.

If you struggle with heat, I would consider Sandals Royal Bahamian, which is a little bit cooler than the other locations. Very roughly speaking, the Bahamas has average temperatures in their low to mid 20s in winter and high twenties in summer. The other Sandals Resorts usually get temperatures in the mid to high twenties in winter and temperatures in the high twenties or low thirties in summer. There is some variation, but that's the gist of it.

How about a month by month guide to the best Sandals resorts?

What a good idea.

You may already have a fixed date in mind for your Sandals holiday, as it's a honeymoon or because your miserable line manager offers zero flexibility.

Here is a month by month guide to which Sandals you should choose, based on the weather. These recommendations are based on the advice from Climates to Travel, which we also mentioned earlier.


There's nothing to say that you shouldn't visit at other times of year, this is just the optimum time according to one website.
Sandals Royal Curacao
Fancy a Sandals holiday in May? Sandals Royal Curaçao is your best bet

How can I save money on a Sandals Resort?

 Here are a few tips I've picked up during my research. I'll add other ones when I find them:​
  • Visiting from June to November is cheaper than at other times of year. The weather is generally hotter and more humid and there's a greater risk of rain, so prices are much lower.
  • Being flexible around arrival dates can save you a lot of money. For example, a seven-day holiday at Sandals Grande Antigua starting on Saturday 6th April 2024 was from £5592 whilst arriving on Sunday 14th April was £4871 - a difference of about £721.
  • Two weeks can be slightly better value than one. For example, one week in mid-April 2025 at Sandals Grande Antigua was £5237 for two people (£374 per person, per night) whilst two weeks was £9392 (£335 per person, per night). Ten days was also a good value option at £7180 (£359 per person, per night). Presumably this is due to the availability of the cheaper accommodation or increased flight prices on certain days.
  • Discounts and offers are regularly posted on the Sandals website 'Special offers' page.

Are there other notable differences between the Sandals Resorts?

Which Sandals Resorts has the best beach?

All of the beaches at Sandals Caribbean Resorts are beautiful. However, it's worth noting that in a blog post, Sandals said that these resorts 'stand out' for their beaches so you might want to prioritise these if the beach is particularly important to you: 

Conclusion - which is the best Sandals Resort

If you've read the whole of this guide, may I offer congratulations on your perseverance. By now you may have realised that the 'best Sandals Resort' depends partly on what you are looking for. 

In no particular order, my top five are: 
  
  1. Sandals Royal Plantation in Jamaica if you're an older couple looking for a quiet holiday 
  2. Sandals Ochi in Jamaica if you're a younger couple looking for a great value Sandals resort and want plenty to do
  3. Sandals Grande Antigua in Antigua if you're an older couple looking for a lively resort and a shorter travel time
  4. Sandals Grande St. Lucian in Saint Lucia if you're a younger couple who can afford to blow the budget
  5. Sandals South Coast in Jamaica if you're recently married and want a Sandals honeymoon
Sandals Royal Plantation interior staircase
Sandals Royal Plantation in Jamaica is a great choice for older couples


And here's my one line summary of every resort, based on the research above:

Jamaica resorts - long journey from the UK, best from January to April:
  • Sandals Royal Plantation, Jamaica - smallest resort, mid-priced, best reviews, furthest away from UK, good for golf, popular with older people
  • Sandals Montego Bay, Jamaica - ​great reviews, expensive, mid-sized, very good range of facilities, recently updated, quite quick from the UK, good for waterskiing, plenty of nightlife
  • Sandals South Coast, Jamaica - large resort with good reviews, mid-to-low priced, great beach, recently updated, has some bungalows over the water, one of the furthest from the UK, great swimming pools though not as many as others, good for waterskiing, recommended for honeymoons by Sandals
  • Sandals Royal Caribbean, Jamaica - good reviews, low-to-mid priced, mid-sized resort, access to private island, bungalows over the water, recent upgrades, quite quick from the UK
  • Sandals Ochi, Jamaica - largest and cheapest resort, good reviews but not as high as others, great swimming pools, golf and nightclubs, lots of restaurants, popular with younger visitors, furthest from the UK
  • Sandals Negril, Jamaica - good reviews, one of the cheapest, mid-sized, not as many swimming pools as some, great beach, one of the furthest from the UK
  • Sandals Dunn’s River, Jamaica – opened in May 2023, so still looking new. Not as many reviews to go on as other resorts, but lots of positive feedback so far.

Grenada Resort - one of the furthest from the UK, best from February to April
  • Sandals Grenada, Grenada - outstanding reviews, mid-sized and mid-priced, good for scuba diving, great swimming pools though not as many as some, recently updated.
    ​
Saint Lucia Resorts - quite easy to reach from the UK, best from December to April
  • Sandals Grande St. Lucian, Saint Lucia - large resort with outstanding reviews, mid-priced, good for scuba diving and golf, plenty of nightlife and restaurants, great beach, bungalows over the water, popular with younger visitors, shares facilities with other two in Saint Lucia.
  • Sandals Halcyon Beach, Saint Lucia - small resort with very good reviews, mid-priced, good for scuba diving, golf and waterskiing, great swimming pools but not as many as some.
  • ​Sandals Regency La Toc, Saint Lucia - large resort with plenty of nightlife. Good reviews and low prices. Not as many pools as some but good for waterskiing, scuba diving and golf. 

Antigua Resort - joint quickest to reach from the UK, best from December to April
  • Sandals Grande Antigua, Antigua - large resort with good reviews and nightlife. Mid-priced, lots of swimming pools and restaurants, great beach, popular with older visitors

Barbados Resorts - joint quickest to reach from the UK, best from February to April
  • Sandals Barbabos, Barbados - mid-sized resort with good reviews and plenty of restaurants. Not as many pools as some, but modern facilities. Mid to high priced.
  • Sandals Royal Barbados, Barbados ​- expensive, modern mid-sized resort with good reviews, great swimming pools and great scuba diving. 

Bahamas Resorts - quite easy to reach from UK, slightly cooler weather than the rest, best from November to mid-April ​
  • Sandals Royal Bahamian, Bahamas - large resort with lots of swimming pools. Good for scuba diving and nightlife  and it has an offshore private island but reviews are lower than others and it's expensive

​Curaçao - longest journey from the UK, best from mid-February to May
  • Sandals Royal Curaçao, Curaçao - a new resort which looks good on paper. It's a large site and it has a golf course and plenty of diving. However, it's expensive and we don't yet have much information to go on.

Saint Vincent - one of the longer journeys from the UK. Best from February to April.
  • Sandals St Vincent and the Grenadines - a new resort with quite high prices, over water villas and rainforests nearby. Mid-table in terms of the range of swimming pools, restaurants and bars.
All images are from Sandals.

Other guides from the Holiday Park Guru

Holiday-Park-Guru-Don't-Blame-Us-Disclaimer: All the information on this page is accurate, as far as we know. However, facilities at holiday parks change so please check with the park before booking.