Sunset Jamaica Grande Resort and Spa All Inclusive

Where does one begin with this place? I have to travel to Jamaica almost 1-3 times every month for business. I normally stay at Secrets (Highly Recommended), but due to the last minute nature of my trip, I was forced to stay at Sunset. I wish I could give a rating of 0 or 1/2 star to this place as it deserves it! First - I booked the resort on THEIR website...I had a choice of several different rooms, so I choose an oceanfront KING - not a double. When I got to my room I was dismayed to find it a double. I called to the front desk and was told that "room requests can't always be confirmed. I stated that this wasn't a request that I had booked this specific room via the website - the front desk decided to get an attitude and told me "well that's the room you've been assigned and there is not a king available" to which I immediatly went down to the front desk and proceeded to show them the confirmation email on my phone from THEIR website stating the type of room that I had booked and confirmed. The manager then came out and apologized a[...]The best he could do was move me the following day, to which I agreed to do as there was no recourse.Room Quality - OLD - the towers were obviously built in the 60's, and have had minimal to no upgrades since then. Furniture and fixtures in the rooms are ancient and show extreme wear. Bed Quality was laughable (extremely uncomfortable and the mattresses are probably 15-20 years old). I was afraid to sleep in them for fear of bedbugs or some other affliction. Internet is ONLY available at the internet cafe or in the lobby for a fee of 5 dollars an hour at a VERY low speed (I'm talking dial-up quality here). The TV was a 13 inch job from 1995, but at least there was satellite TV. The only really good thing I can say is that the A/C worked quite well and made the room actually chilly and I had to turn it down.All-inclusive - if you consider all inclusive as water (non-bottled), juice, soda, and a buffet to choose from then maybe you would be pleased....after having stayed at other all inclusives, this one is a sham! You have to pay for almost EVERYTHING else at this joint. The other restaurants are a la carte, meaning get out the credit card or the cash!Location - for me the location is good as I work a quick 5 minute drive away.Beach/Pool - I don't normally go to the beach or the pool on my business trips, but I was so blown away by the horrible quality (and the other people - Americans included who felt that this place was some sort of nirvana) that I had to check it out...be surprised...lots of children running around (in fact there is a childrens water park), but there's also a Clothing Optional Beach...which confuses the HELL out of me...Is this resort catering to Families or Hedonistic adults...Unsure still. I do know that this resort seems to be ran by Europeans - and as such it has the quality of a "standard" European hotel. I travel to Europe, and only stay at International chain-style hotels. I have a feeling however, that the Sunset would be the type of hotel you would get in Europe if you stayed at a locally owned hotel - something just slightly superior to a youth hostel. End of the story...I will NEVER stay here again, and refuse to even go to Montego Bay if this is the only hotel available. Spend the extra money (not much extra by the way) and go to Secrets, which is 1/4 mile away...much better in EVERY aspect!!!!!!

The advertised tube slide we went on once. There was only one and it wasn't that entertaining; almost painful going over the joints in the tube. We were looking forward to some beach volleyball, and maybe it was a bad week but my 18 year old son and I were the only ones to show up. We had to hunt for some others and finally got enough for 3 on 3 and 4 on 4 the next day. There is not a whole lot to do at the hotel itself. The beach area does not give much swimming room and there is seaweed on the floor to walk through, not just sand. I love the ocean, but none of us spent much time in it here. There is a list of activities for each day, but we were there the last week of August (part of their slow season in Jamaica) and just didn't find most of the activities actually coming about. Make sure you bring stuff to do, books to read, etc. We did several trips (zip lines, Dunns River, and Dolphin's Cove). Of the three, the zip lines were our favorite, Dunns River next, and Dolphin's cove was a bit disappointing. None of these trips will last long (like when we were in Cancun and a trip went from early morning until dinner). Two - four hours was it and with the lack of things to do at the hotel it got a little boring at times for our son. The food was very good here and they set up dinner on the beach twice -- VERY NICE! The entertainment was okay, but after the first few nights we skipped the rest. It seems everyone in Jamaica feels they deserve a tip for what they do, and some were even obnoxious about it. NOT at the hotel, but our on the trips. We went into town once but tired of fighting off the would be sellers, taxi drivers, and beggars. They won't just let you shop. For us, once was more than enough for Jamaica and 5 days was too long. I would have preferred to go back to Cancun a second time in hind sight. We did run into some people who stayed at Sandals in Ocho Rios and they said that their hotel was great, loved the pool and such, and were planning to return to the same place. Our experience wouldn't bring us back.

This is a good palce to stay for tourism, but I traveled for business this time. Hotel is not business travel oriented, but location right on the ocean and very close to town is veri desirable. Staff was great. Excellent service at restaurant and bars as well as front desk. Hotel needs reovation in the rooms and public areas pretty soon. But I talked to people that are repeat customers and were very pleased.

The check in and check out processes were very slow. The room key frequently needed resetting. Bed linens did not fit the king size bed well and so kept rumpling up during the night. Other amenities were very good. The food was excellent, beach activities were very good and the beach well maintained. The staff was very polite and welcoming.

The hotel provided wonderful entertainment choices for all age groups. The outdoor activites, with numberous pools, and water sports activities were the most enjoyable features for my particular group. However, it was noted that something was always being offered for every age group. It reminded me of being on a Cruise ship.