| Hotel Rating: |   | | Satisfaction: |   | | Reviews: 10 | Photos: 18 | | Montego Freeport Peninsula PO Box 1168 |
 | Montego Bay Sunset Beach Resort & Spa All-Inclusive Reviews | 1 - 10 of 10 |  |
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 | Sunset Beach Resort & Spa All-Inclusive: "Affordable" AI-part I
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March 2009 was our 4th visit to Sunset Beach, if you are looking for an all inclusive at a reasonable price, this might suit your needs, it is always one of the lowest priced AI packages I find. Located at the furthest end of Montego Bay, 15-20 minute drive from the airport, Sunset Beach is a 420 room resort on a secluded beach. It's not really within walking distance of anything and there are no other resorts nearby.
The rooms are not plush, but they are clean, the beds are OK, I couldn't get anything but tepid water out of the shower. We have stayed in the Tower twice, and in the low rise section twice (The Inn), the 1st time with a view of the service road, this time with a view of the grounds and a sliver of the ocean. Construction that was going on last year is now finished.
Room amenities include a room safe, hair dryer and a/c. The toiletries were in dispensers on the wall (good for the environment I suppose) but if you are fussy about what shampoo you use, you might bring your own. No conditioner or lotion.
There are three reservation restaurants, Chinese, Italian and Caribbean, we didn't have Chinese on this visit, the Italian and Caribbean had good food and service. Make your reservations first thing when you arrive if you want to go. For all other dining there is a buffet restaurant that had good food but not as much variety as some of the larger resorts. Breakfast was always good, lunch was usually OK with some interesting offerings, dinner was usually good. There was also a place to get burgers, fries, etc. We certainly didn't go hungry.
There were several bars, lots of people bought their own mugs so they didn't have to get the small plastic cups. The one time we asked they wouldn't put alcohol in ours so we used it for water and used the plastic cups for drinks.
I found the service here to be friendly, check in was quick and efficient. A couple of minor complaints, our wake up call never came on our final day and I got a good laugh when we received an invitation to a cocktail party in our honor as return guests for two days after we left!
Guests range to all ages and this year since it was spring break it was packed, lots of young kids, a few spring breakers, lots of different nationalites.
Sunset Beach is a good resort choice if you a) want to be close to the airport b)want an affordable all inclusive and c) are not too demanding. If you want a good beach, go to Negril, if you want to be pampered, this is not the place. A good choice for families, I wouldn't pick it for my wedding or honeymoon although lots of people do.
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| Sunset Beach Resort & Spa All-Inclusive: "Affordable" AI-part II
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Since so much of our time was spent at the resort, I thought I'd add a little detail on the things you could do while there.
Pools-there are three pools, one has a swim up bar and is more adult oriented, one is a small pool that is set up for water polo and the 3rd is part of a water park that is more kid oriented although adults are free to use it. There are two water slides at the water park pool, fun even for adults and an extensive lazy river that circles around the pirate ship. They've boarded up the hot tubs inside the "castle", I never saw them working anyway. There is a large hot tub near the pool with the swim up bar.
Beaches-there are two beaches, one that stretches out front of most of the resort and a very small au naturel beach which is located all the way at the far end of the resort so people with young children do not need to worry about having to pass through it. The beach here is not nearly as nice as the beach in Negril, there are lots of rocks and shells and I found myself wearing sandals whenever I walked on it. It's also not connected to any other beach so you can't walk very far.
Non motorized water sports-there are kayaks and paddleboats that you can take out by yourself, they required a staff member to come along on the hobie cat or sunfish because of the reef, even if you are an experienced sailor. They have snorkel equipment that you can borrow, the reef is very close to shore and you can see lots of different sea life, I got a little freaked out by all the jelly fish and when I saw the barracuda, I swam for shore. The jelly fish were all sitting on the bottom though and I don't think anyone had any problems with them.
Health club-I figured I would minimize the eating and drinking damage on my diet by going to the health club every morning, they have free weights, weight machines and about 10 different pieces of exercise equipment (treadmills, bikes, stair machines and an elliptical), some of which could have used some maintenance. I also saw yoga classes and exercise classes offered.
Other-there are tennis courts, a small mini golf, beach volleyball, evening musical entertainment, a kids club, a spa
Tours-all of the tour operators have tour desks at the resort. You can book a variety of tours- a booze cruise on the Tropical Dreamer, a rafting trip on the Great River, Dunn's River Falls, Negril for the day, Appleton Rum Factory tour, etc. If you want to go into Montego Bay to shop, there is a shopping shuttle for $8 per person round trip. Taxis from the resort seemed to be expensive, $20 each way to the downtown/hip strip area, but it would make sense if there were 4 people going.
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| Sunset Beach Resort & Spa All-Inclusive: Good, but not my type of place 1.
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 Sunset Beach resort, Montego
Bay, Jamaica. by planxty
Firstly, location. This is a problem at Sunset Beach as it is situated some miles from the main drag known as the “Hip Strip”. A taxi here from here to the Hip Strip costs $12US ($20US to the airport). It is located on the West side of Montego Bay, past the Freeport where most of the cruise ships come in. The location, however, gives it the benefit of a lovely beach.
There is a full programme of activities at the resort from early in the morning until late in the evening. There is a separate programme for children. Activities include volleyball (beach and pool), watersports (canoes and pedaloes are available), various games, treasure hunts etc.
Considering the food is prepared in such large quantities it is remarkably good. All meals are self-service buffets with a table service of water and wine with the evening meal. There is also a snack bar open almost all day serving burgers, hotdogs, toasted cheese sandwiches and very good jerk chicken.
There are several bars in the resort, including a swim up pool bar open from 1000 - 1800. In the evenings most of the bars close at midnight, but the English Bar stays open until 0200. There is also a small and rather dingy nightclub which goes until 0200, although it appears to be populaced predominantly by fifteen year olds, not really my idea of fun.
See seperate tip for more information.
Nice beach and a good pool bar.
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| Sunset Beach Resort & Spa All-Inclusive: Relax and unwind
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 Snorkeling in Montego Bay,
Jamaica by Andre98
I think the best feature Sunset Beach provides is the seclusion. It sits on a small peninsula of land, isolated far from the hustle and bustle of the town. All five of our days there were picture perfect, weather-wise.
Our room was very clean and painted in a cool tropical blue. The U.S. dollar was equal to 55 Jamaican dollars at that time, which sounds great, but the prices followed accordingly.
The Eats
If you are so inclined, you could eat from sun up to about midnight. The main chow hall is the Banana Walk Café. It’s strictly a self-serve buffet, which speeds along the meals quite nicely. You can sit in the open air interior, or take your plate out on the seaside patio. My grade for the food at this café is a B-. Nothing blew us away, but it certainly was satisfying.
Filling in between the three main meals is an adjacent grill that churns out burgers and fries, hot dogs, and jerk chicken. Fountain sodas are easy to get, because in both the grill and the Banana Walk Café, that is also a self-service convenience. The only beverage that is served table to table by the staff is the coffee. There are bars in key locations all around the lobby and lounge areas, even one that allows those in one of the pools to swim up to it.
The other three days of our stay, we are out on the excursions that let us experience Jamaica’s charm and splendor. In some cases, this charm and splendor sends you running back to the tranquility of the resort compound. I fully intend to not set foot outside the resort gates on our next visit to Sunset Beach.
For a five nights (Monday 2pm arrival at Sunset Beach, a Friday 10am bus to airport leaving the resort), all-inclusive, plus round trip airfare to Newark New Jersey, it was $700 each. I've heard good things about Negril, and Ocho Rios. If you are in Montego Bay, Sunset Beach is the way to do Jamaica.
Great unbroken view of the sea, and the beach is all private. I can't stress this enough..... this resort is geographically separated from the rest of the resorts. No one can walk down the beach uninvited and bug you to buy stuff. Theme: HotelPrice: US$80-120 » Currency ConverterComparison: about averagePhone: 876-979-8800Directions: A straight shot from the Montego Bay airport
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