My wife and I stayed at Royal Plantation from May 4 to May 11 on our Honeymoon. We are a young American couple in our mid 20s. We were on the Royal Plan.

Before You Book: Check Royal Plantation’s website and their prices before using a travel agent or online booking service. Get the royal plan. Drinks are at least $10 US, mostly $15; breakfast will cost close to $60 per couple, lunch $100, and dinner $200-300- this is before alcohol is even considered. For $200 per person per day, the RP is worth the money as you will never worry about a dime once you land in jamaica. The pictures on the RP official site are not doctored in any way- the resort looks exactly the same with the naked eye.

Arrival (8/10): Clear customs and walk towards the “Sandals” lounge area on the left. Your name will be taken and your bags put to the side while you go freshen up/grab a beer/use the restroom in the Sandals lounge. Your bags will be delivered to your personal vehicle (ours was a mid-sized SUV-Minivan) and you will see your driver holding a sign with your name on it. You’ll be offered a Red Stripe or Bottled Water for your ride. It took us 1 1/2 hrs going there and 1 1/4 hrs coming home. The highway is brand new and there wasn’t a single pothole on the entire trip. At the resort, you’ll be seated and given a moist towel and asked to present your “travel voucher” (the receipt that was mailed to you) and a credit card for incidentals/extras. Check-in took about 10 minutes. We were escorted to our room and were on the beach less than 45 minutes after we arrived.
Positives- personal service, patient, safe driver with knowledge of Jamaica and its history
Negatives- I wasn’t exactly sure what to do once I cleared customs and wondered where my driver was as I read on a review he would be waiting there for me; just do the above and you’ll know all you need to know.

Suites (10/10): We booked the Luxury Oceanfront King Bed and requested room 261 because a fellow traveler advised us to do so on Trip Advisor. DO THIS. I repeat, request suite 261. Look at my pictures and you’ll understand why. It is one of only 4 rooms with a view of the East (where every suite looks), the North (towards the reef you see in the pictures), and to the West (Sunset, biggest advantage) because it is on the end of the building. It may be the only room in that category with such a view. 361, 161, and 061 should have the same view but may be different categories. Definitely request a room on the WEST wing of the resort within your category because the East wing doesn’t have as nice a view. As for the room category itself, I cannot imagine anyone ever needing a suite nicer than what we had. It had everything imaginable. The minibar came with Absolut Vodka, Johnny Walker Red, Gin, and Appleton Dark Rum; I requested Jack Daniels and it was brought. There is a pillow menu option, and I don’t think there is an extra charge but I’m not sure. There is no need to get a room with a balcony as the French Balconies are incredible.
Postives- I couldn’t believe how spacious and luxurious they were. The bed was awesome, the whirlpool tub was awesome, the shower was awesome. The safe worked perfectly.

Beach/Watersports (10/10): the West beach was great. The lounge chairs would almost fill up by early afternoon but we never had to wait to get a seat. The staff put your chair exactly where you want it and you never lift a finger. In fact, you feel pretty worthless watching people do stuff for you the whole trip. The view is amazing. The service is fantastic. Wave your flag, they bring you a drink. The watersports are exceptional. I learned how to sail, attempted to windsurf, kayaked multiple times, snorkeled every day, took a glass bottom boat tour and never paid a penny (except for tips). The snorkeling is OK just off the beach, but if you’re lucky enough to go to “the wreck”, you’re in for a special treat. It’s an awesome site but you have to special request it a day before as you must go early in the morning. Ask specifically to be taken to “the wreck”. Normal trips are at 11am and 2pm. Please take advantage of the snorkeling; I was impressed and I’ve snorkeled dozens of times before. If you want a quieter, more exclusive beach, go to the east beach by the watersports hut.
Postives- so many options from sailing, surfing, snorkeling, etc.
Negative- the wind picks up around 10:30am so you’re somewhat limited in your options if it’s above average wind (only 2 of 7 days we were there); However, the resort is somewhat wind-protected and compared to other places I’ve been, the wind in Ocho Rios is below average for tropical locales.

Weather (10/10): We were there for 7 days and it sprinkled rain for less than 1 minute. Occasionally it would become overcast, but it would clear up soon after. I was worried because May is in the early part of the “Rainy Season”, but I was pleasantly surprised how well the weather cooperated. We only felt hot one day as the breeze keeps you cool. The water is not too warm nor too cool. It was as close to perfect as the weather can get.

Food (9/10): The restaurants are on three different levels and the dress code increases as the levels ascend. The Royal Grill is Beachside, The Terrace is on the main level (where all the pictures are on the website), and Le Pepilion is on the top floor (3rd Floor). The Grill serves lunch and dinner The Terrace serves breakfast, lunch and dinner. Le Pepilion only serves dinner. Make dinner reservations early in the week as the restaurants will fill up early. Lunch and breakfast are casual. Jackets are “appropriate” but only half of people wear them. The food was fantastic at nearly every meal. You can get seafood or meat for any meal at any restaurant and you’ll never get tired of eating the same thing. The buffets on the Terrace (Monday and Friday Night) are the only meals with lobster as it is closed season from April through June; Monday night is grilled lobster while Friday included lobster in the curried seafood stew, although few people noticed. The food overall is better than can be expected at an all-inclusive resort as Le Pepilion was recognized as the best place to eat dinner in Ocho Rios, as well as a 5 Diamond Restaurant. There were also plenty of local Jamaican-style meals available. Don’t miss the buffets; Eat at all 3 places for dinner at least once, then do Pepilion and Terrace the rest of the nights.
Positives- we requested shrimp on the side of several meals and once requested an extra entrée and our servers were delighted to grant our requests; fresh seafood, great options for meat lovers and vegetarians. The meals were better than I expected
Negatives- the only fish that was offered was snapper; it would have been nice to have been able to order a tuna filet, grouper, etc

Royal Plan: includes all drinks and wines on the house list, all meals served in the restaurants, all watersports except for SCUBA, transport to and from airport, golf green fees (didn’t play). I received a bill for room service breakfast one morning which was not on my bill upon checkout; the menus state a delivery charge of $10 for room service plus 20% of your bill (my bill was $26.00 US = $10 delivery plus $16 for 20% of the meal). I say that only to say that you may have to pay for room service so don’t be shocked if it’s on your bill upon checkout. Also, the pillow menu options may be extra but I’m not sure.

Extras: We took the booze cruise to Dunns River Falls on the Sandals Catamaran which was fun. I definitely recommend going to the Falls, whether by taxi or boat. My wife and I had a couples massage; She thought it was average and I didn’t think it was worth the money, although it was my first professional massage so I have no experience. I do know that I’ll never pay for another one. It was neat to get a massage while next to my wife, but I’d have rather spent my $110 somewhere else. However, I do think she would do it over again. They’ll try to get you to buy stuff afterwards so be prepared. There is a small market across the street where you should be able to find all the souvenirs you would want. I don’t recommend going to town because you’re not going to want to leave the resort for more than just a few minutes.

Pros: great location (jamaica is a shorter flight than other popular Caribbean locales), nice airport transfers, beautiful beach/water, exciting tours available, English speaking nation, excellent food options, safe environment (never once felt threatened). The staff goes out of their way to make you have the best vacation imaginable. If you are a young couple celebrating your honeymoon and are looking for a classy, elegant resort without all the noise and partying- this is the only place you should look. You can lay around on your butt all day or you can do activities all day; the beauty of Royal Plantation is that there is plenty of space for everyone to do what they want without disrupting the other guests.

Tips: bring plenty of cash in small bills (1s, 5s, 10s) for tips. I tipped when I felt the staff went out of their way, which was often. I tipped more than I expected I would and they deserved it. The only time I felt pressured to tip was on the Dunns River Falls and that was by people with no connection to Royal Plantation.

Conclusion: Royal Plantation is the best romantic hideaway imaginable. I will recommend it to all couples, regardless or age, who are looking for a beautiful place to relax, enjoy the ocean, eat great food, and enjoy each other. The only things I count as negatives are so minimal they hardly make a blemish on our wonderful honeymoon vacation. I won't promise that I'll return in the near future because I am young and I want to see the world but I will promise that this is the first and likely the only place I'll ever make 2 visits to.