Check In: This was by far the worst I have ever expereinced at Sandals. We had decided (after a phone call a week before departure from Sandals sales) to pay to upgrade to concierge level for a very reasonable fee ($198 for the seven nights total). However, we were NOT checked in in the concierge area but were herded with 11 other couples into the regular check-in. It took almost an hour to get everyone checked in and it was frustrating. It was even more frustrating as the week wore on and we saw couple after couple whisked to the concierge check-in, given a private tour and checked in much faster than we were.
Room: The room was very nice- one of the nicer rooms I've had at a Sandals but fairly small. It was the Honeymoon Concierge and we were in the most recently renovated section of the hotel called the Almonds Block. It was quiet and away from the main noise of the resort. It overlooked te wedding gardens and had a beautiful view of the ocean. The room was really nicely decorated and well laid-out with a nice sink and concierge area and walk-in (sort of ) closet. The bathtib was large, deep and had jacuzzi jets. The balcony was much larger than at Whitehouse and was designed with cement walls so there was much more privacy. The room was both very dark at night with heavy curtains- great for sleeping and very sound proof- if you closed the balcony and shower/toilet doors you heard little, not even planes. It semed like most of the rooms had been renovated over the past 5 years or so except for perhaps some in Seagrapes block which seemed to have the tired, dated furnishings.
Public Areas: I was disappointed with how the public areas were maintained. The bathrooms were often out of toilet paper and in need of cleaning. The furniture cushions in the lobby area were really shabby and dirty. I only saw 1 hammock and it was sort of ratty looking and the hanging baskets were all gone. It often felt like the floors were dirty (anmd I don't mean with sand)- areas just seemed unclean. The spa was nice.
Grounds: Grounds were impecably maintained with beautiful flora and greenery. It was very lush and pretty. They were constantly working on them. The gazebos for weddings were all gorgeaous over the ocean, decorated daily with flowers and tulle.
Beach: The beach is very nice and well-maintained. They rake the sand and clean up the cups constantly. The water was clear and warm and even though it was crowded, it never felt so because the beach is very big and wide. Soft, white sand was great. A few 'vendors' paddle their small boats or surfboards around the edges of the roped section of the beach. It was basically the same three guys every day. If you said no thank you politely and firmly once, they left you alone. They did call you to ask you to come look at their stuff but they were friendly and polite and not at all harassing.
Activities/Entertainment: To me, this was a huge dissapointment. I remember really enjoying the great band for dancing in the evening and it seemed there was always a great cabaret act or comedian at night. This time, there was only 1 night that had a paid act- a good group of singers who were highly entertaining. Otherwise, it seemed that the band played for dancing only a few nights. The playmakers performed a few nights and while they gave a great effort, they are not very talented (it was like watching a medicore junior high school play). Two nights had an art auction which didn't seem to entertain the majority of people there. Two nights we went down to the piano bar to hear the pianist and he wasn't there at the times they said he'd be performing. Daytime activites were alos lacking unless you enjoy beer gussling or volleyball. I enjoy drinking my fair share but gave up beer drinking as a game about 15 years ago. So, little to do during the day. Especially disappointing was the fact that we had pouring rain almost every day (no sun at all) and there still wasn't really much to do. One day they added bingo and trivial pursuit in the main area- not our thing either but at least gave some people something to do. Many times, there were Sandlas employees suing the pool tables when guests were waiting.
Pools: This was a huge problem!!!! Basically, there are two pools at this resort. The brochure says 4- one is private for the presidential suite and one is a very small depth pool outside the spa with no deck or sitting area. I frankly couldn't even figure out why it was there. The other 2 pools are really bad. One is a backyard-sized pool on a deck with little seating in a shady area. This pool is used almost exclusively for scuba training at all different times during the day. When it is not used for scuba, it seems to be used for water aerobics and for pool volleyball. Unlike WH where the pool was huge, it was impossible to be in this pool when any of these activites were going on- it was just too small. The only viable pool then was the piano bar pool which was riduculously small and packed with people. The pool looked like it had a capacity of maybe 25 people. It was poorly maintained (dirty, peeling paint, broken tiles) to make it even less appealing. There were four hot tubs- two of which always seemed to be closed. The one gem was the hot tub tucked away towards the end of the Almonds block- it was large, clean, new and had a nice deck with chairs for sunning.
Service: Also a huge disappointment. It was no where near the levels we have experienced at this resort (and other Sandals) in the past. Very few people went out of their way, they were polite but not overly helpful or friendly. There were some excellent people in bar and restaurants and at the beach but otherwise, I found the service to be flat. In the past, I have found the 'flat' people to be the exception, I found the stars to be the exceptions this time. I also heard from more than 1 employee hwo Butch Stewart pays them poorly and they hate Sandals. While this may be true, I really don't want to listen to people bad-mouthing their place of work and complaining (unprovoked) on my vacation. I think this was their way of asking for tips.
Food: Area of largest decline for me since our last trip here about 5 years ago. Overall, I would rate the food 'fair'. Tokyo Joe's and Cucina were good. The Bayside was terrible for dinner and the lunch buffets there were only so-so. Cucina ahad a great breakfast and the breakfast buffet was decent. The OK Corral was fair. The beach grill was a huge disappointment. The food was not very good and the beach grill closed from 5-11pm so that was annoying. No food at all (unless you count the cheese and veggie platter set up in the lobby from 5-7pm) from 5-6 pm.
Bars: Always running out of glasses. Did not have basics (frequently) to make common drinks such as cranberry juice or pucker's apple. Bars seemed very run-down and the equipment very old & dirty. The bartenders were all really good. The piano bar was extremly run down and dirty- filthy carpeting, very shabby, broken and dirty furniture.
Overall: We have been to Sandals 6 times and were not given any upgrade beyond the upgrade we paid for before we left. In addition, we had no welcome gifts waiting for us nor were we invited to the returnees dinner. When I asked about it, I was told we weren't in their system as returning guests! I asked too late because the dinner was in progress the evening I inquired. No special reatment or welcome even with our previous stays. In sum, we were disappointed with our return. The resort is somewhat run-down, service isn't great and the food was only fair. We will not return to SMB and if we hadn't gotten such a god deal with 55% off and then our free nights vouchers, I would have been really upset.

I agree with you totally. We went to both SGOR and then SMB. I really have no idea why anyone would go to SMB. The lobby area is just like you said, poor furniture, dirty, worn out. And the auction nites are ridiculous. The pools might as well not even be there. And the piano bar was so dirty I would not walk into it without sandals on. We did not even go in jacuzzi as it was falling apart and disgusting. SGOR rocks though !!

Hi.We are loyal Sandals customers and when ever we have tried another resort we always end up saying ' should have gone to a Sandals'.In the past we have ended our three Jamaican vacations with a great day at SMB.Now haveing said that,can Sandals when it comes to their office staff, Check-in ect.,can they ever get it rite?I do not think so. I have come to except this very poor service from their business department's.I try to keep on top of them but with the check-in it is almost impossible.
I must agree the SMB pools are far from Sandals standards and why Sandals have done nothing about these pools is a mystery to me.I would think we will see a new pool on the same scale as SGOR in the near future.We may even see a large expansion like Sandals Antigua anything is possible when you have that much money at hand.No other chain keeps their resorts up to date like Sandals.
I guess we will just have to wait and see what takes place in the next few years but I must say I will return to SMB for their friendly staff and great water sports even if is just for a day.
Carolyn

Ok I am feeling like we should NOT be booking a trip to the SMB. We haven't booked it yet but had kinda settled on that one. Should we pick another resort??

Of the entire Sandals chain (and we've been to most), I think SMB is the least attractive. It has only one very small, run-down pool and for us that is where we want to spend much of everyday. Many of the public areas are in need of re-furbishment. The staff is warm and the food is still good. The grounds are beautiful and as long as you get a renovated room they are nice. The beach at SMB is very wide and nice but VERY crowded as there are no real pools to swim in. I thought they seemed unorganized when we were there in November as well- running out of basic things and always out of cups. If you are looking to stay right in Montego Bay, I would highly recommend Sandals Royal Carribean over SMB-it has much nicer pools (4), most of the rooms have been renovated, and much more attractive public areas. Service was better as was the food. It still has a very intimate feel to it- it is small and designed in a way that is very peaceful, quiet and romantic. Yet, there is plenty to do. SWH is a big, luxurious new resort with one of the nicest beaches I have ever seen. The pools are GORGEOUS. Everything is bright and new. Food was good but not as good as some other Sandals I've stayed at. Service was very good- at times, people were still earning a bit so mabe not as perfect as the service at other resorts. It was not as intimate as other Sandals resorts meaning the rooms are in big, hotel-style blocks and te dining all centalized which some people like and others don't. We have liked Sandals Negril in the past but when we visited there in April 2005, we were disappointed with how much erosion there had been to the beach-it had become very narrow and crowded. SWH had a much nicer beach. In addition, the pools at Negril are also small and I thought the food and drinks weren't as good as they had been in the past. (Example, frozen drinks from mix machines instead of hand-made). Sandals Dunn's River was really nice and one of our favorites. It was intimate and relaxing. the food and entertainment was really good and it had a nice beach. So, in Jamaica, SWH, SRC & Dunn's River would be my top three. SWH about 70 minutes from airport, SRC about 15 minutes and Dunn's River about 2 hrs so that may be a factor depending on hwo long your trip is. TThe Grande in St Lucia is also really nice- on par with SWH in terms of newness and awesome pools. I thought the food was good there as well. The beach was also really nice. I hope this helps.