Wedding gazebo, Sandals Royal Plantation
The basics
There’s not much about planning a wedding that the all-inclusive Sandals chain doesn’t know. Combine that with the fact that the Colonial-style architecture of Sandals Royal Plantation harks back to a time when the original property was favored by the likes of Ian Fleming and Noel Coward, and you’ve just about guaranteed yourselves a memorable experience. All 74 rooms are ocean-view, and all 74 have private butler service, which extends even to the beach, which is among the prettiest in Jamaica. The food is exceptionally good, too, or maybe it just tastes better because there are no buffet lines. Drawbacks? Sure. The pool’s on the small side, and there’s no swim-up bar. But you do have resident peacocks.
Wedding details
Sandals offers six different wedding packages, or themes. If you stay six nights or more, the basic theme, Beautiful Beginnings, is included. If you want to upgrade or customize, you get a $500 credit. Beach weddings are popular, but you can have a garden or gazebo ceremony. And if you stay on for your honeymoon, there’s a fine honeymoon package, too.
Getting there
Sandal’s Royal Plantation is ten minutes from Ocho Rios and about two hours from the airport at Montego Bay. But that’s not your worry, because the resort will shuttle you to and from the airport.
Keep in mind
Sandals guests must be 18 or older. So you if you’ve got families coming, this isn’t the place for you. Look instead at Beaches, a sister chain to Sandals, which is very family friendly—as in a cast of resident Muppets—and that knows how to put on a good wedding. There’s a Beaches in Ocho Rios and one in Negril.
