Couples Sans Souci

Ocho Rios, Jamaica

Virgin rating

The hotel

The award-winning Couples Sans Souci continues to offer renowned cuisine and first-class service in an elegantly tropical setting. Sans Souci is French for 'without worry', and what could be more appropriate for a laid-back holiday in Jamaica, especially in a resort of this quality? Set into a pretty, 35-acre hillside garden that leads to 2 white sand beaches, the resort offers you a blissful retreat.

Amenities

  • Golf
  • Sailing
  • Scuba Diving
  • Snorkelling
  • Water Skiing
  • Windsurfing
  • Honeymoon
  • Wedding
  • Bar
  • Evening Entertainment
  • Fitness Centre/Gym
  • Internet Access

Where is it

On a golden beach, 4 miles east of Ocho Rios. Transfer time from Montego Bay airport: 2 hours 10 minutes.

Hotel information

150 ocean-facing suites on up to 3 floors in 7 buildings. All with air-conditioning, LCD flat screen TV, iPod docking station, tea/coffee maker, personalised mini-bar, safe, iron and board, nightly turndown service, bathrobes and hairdryer. Deluxe Garden Suites with sliding doors lead to a private balcony and large master bedroom with 1 king-size bed, sleeping maximum 2 adults.


All-Inclusive of: all meals and snacks, all drinks (including premium brands) and all activities and entertainment unless otherwise stated.
Ocean Suites have sea views from a furnished balcony, a spacious master bedroom with 1 king-size bed and large walk-in showers, sleeping maximum 2 adults.

Beachfront Suites are located near the Bella Vista and Palazzina Restaurants, and have a spacious master bedroom with living area, sleeping maximum 2 adults.

Premier Ocean Suites have a balcony, expansive sea views, living area, and a spacious master bedroom 1 king-size bed sleeping maximum 2 adults.

Penthouse Suites available on request.

Palazzina Restaurant (Bistro Fare, buffet breakfast and lunch, à la carte for dinner - reservation required), Beach Grill & Bella Vista (grilled specialities for lunch at the Beach Grill and authentic Asian dishes for dinner at Bella Vista), Casanova (traditional cuisine fused with Caribbean and Jamaican ingredients, dinner, reservation required). Sunset Beach Grill (buffet-style lunch of casual fare, including fresh-grilled burgers, French fries, and nachos). Java Cafe (pastries and caffeinated beverages). In-suite dining available 6:30am-10:30pm. 7 bars: swim-up pool bar, Charlie's Veggie Bar, Beach Bar, Sunset Beach Bar, Palazzina Bar, Balloon Piano Bar and Martini Bar.

Weekly Jamaican beach party. Friday night Starlight Gala. Resident band and pianist. Strolling musicians. Live nightly entertainment. Weekly Wine-Tasting Party.

3 swimming pools (1 natural mineral pool), 3 Jacuzzis, 2 beaches, 1 for au-naturel sunbathing. Water sports with instruction including water-skiing, scuba-diving – resort course and one complimentary dive per stay for beginners, and one complimentary dive per day for certified divers (a second dive is subject to availability), night dives are available*, snorkelling trips, Hobie Cat sailing, windsurfing and glass-bottom boat rides. Fitness centre and gym classes. Spa*. Unlimited complimentary golf including green fees and transfers to Upton Hills Golf Course (mandatory caddy*. Golf clubs available for hire*). Trip to Dunn's River Falls.

Complimentary WiFi.

3 nights from 3rd January-25th December and 7 nights 26th December-2 January.

* Denotes local charge.

Dress code: applies in à la carte restaurants.

This is an over 18, couples-only resort.

Please note: this hotel is not suitable for guests with walking difficulties due to the location on the cliffside.

Rating summary

  • Location Image of the Tripadvisor rating
  • Sleep Quality Image of the Tripadvisor rating
  • Rooms Image of the Tripadvisor rating
  • Service Image of the Tripadvisor rating
  • Value Image of the Tripadvisor rating
  • Cleanliness Image of the Tripadvisor rating

Traveller rating

  • Excellent (3765)
  • Very good (981)
  • Average (299)
  • Poor (96)
  • Terrible (60)
Image of the Tripadvisor rating Paradise

Apr 17, 2024 ben0liva Aurora, Illinois

Very relaxing. Staff was excellent. Food was delicious. The room and grounds were amazing! We had the Steve McQueen penthouse suite. Our favorite was the outdoor balcony tub. Will be coming back again!
Image of the Tripadvisor rating Amazing Trip, Stunning Resort, Excellent Staff, Can't Wait to go back

Apr 16, 2024 Matt N

Couples Resorts are our favorite places to visit. They have such a huge number of repeaters (and ones with many trips under their belt) for a reason. We were huge fans of Couples Negril and decided to try out San Souci based on a friends recommendation. We absolutely loved it and it was our favorite trip yet. They wow us every time. The… Read more
Couples Resorts are our favorite places to visit. They have such a huge number of repeaters (and ones with many trips under their belt) for a reason. We were huge fans of Couples Negril and decided to try out San Souci based on a friends recommendation. We absolutely loved it and it was our favorite trip yet. They wow us every time. The staff was amazing, food was great and the resort was BEAUTIFUL. We are already planning our next trip and CSS is going to be where we start going regularly now. Read less
Image of the Tripadvisor rating Most beautiful resort

Apr 11, 2024 Holly D

We were moved to couples san souci after previously booking tower isle a week before we were due to fly. I am so glad we were moved I have never been to such a beautiful place. We visited from the UK for or our 1st wedding anniversary. Transfer The transfer took just under two hours but out driver made the holiday so much fun from the very… Read more
We were moved to couples san souci after previously booking tower isle a week before we were due to fly. I am so glad we were moved I have never been to such a beautiful place. We visited from the UK for or our 1st wedding anniversary. Transfer The transfer took just under two hours but out driver made the holiday so much fun from the very beginning. He was telling us about the history of everywhere we passed which was really interesting. Staff The staff couldn't do enough for you they were great fun and so friendly. Definitely like a family away from home. Food All three restaurants were very tasty. The food had lots of flavour. Casanova was a favourite for us but we enjoyed everything Hotel We stayed in a beachfront suite overlooking the lawn and sea. I couldn't have asked for a better location. There were always sun beds available by the pool and on the beach no matter what time of day you headed down Excursions We booked excursions to do Dunns river blue hole and reggae hill. This is a must it was amazing! Blue hole was out favourite and the food at reggae hill was fab. Dunns river is a lot more commercialised but still worth a visit Water sports We booked a private picnic and snorkelling boat trip. This was incredible! Our guides Michael and Dwight made the time out on the boat feel so special. Read less
Image of the Tripadvisor rating Fantastic Time at Couples San Souci

Apr 5, 2024 James L World

My wife and I loved our time at Couples San Souci! Everything was excellent -- the beaches, the pools, hot tubs, all the watersports -- snorkeling, water bikes, stand-up paddle boards -- the fun activities like various trivia games, bingo. The food at all the restaurants was amazing (the finest dining option, Casanova, was outstanding the two… Read more
My wife and I loved our time at Couples San Souci! Everything was excellent -- the beaches, the pools, hot tubs, all the watersports -- snorkeling, water bikes, stand-up paddle boards -- the fun activities like various trivia games, bingo. The food at all the restaurants was amazing (the finest dining option, Casanova, was outstanding the two times we ate there -- get reservations early!), as was the wonderful buffet breakfast -- I had the banana-cinnamon French toast four of the five mornings! The free-flowing drinks were also top-notch. We had a corner room with a generous balcony with sweeping ocean views, worth the extra cost though I'm sure we'd have had fun in any of the rooms. The houskeeping staff was great too. This wasn't part of the resort, but we did go to Swim With the Dolphins. The swimming-with-the-dolphins part was great; however, be forewarned, they have it arranged so that you have to spend the better part of the day at the venue, where they hope you will spend all your money. The dolphins were great, that was 45 minutes; the rest of the 6 hours total away from the resort was a waste, the whole thing could have happened in about 1.5 hours. Here's some awareness about the au natural (Sunset) beach -- there's plenty of sand for lounging, but the waterside and water itself is pretty much all rocks, so its not splendid for just swimming. But the pool's great over there. The sunset is fantastic there, and the only place on the resort from which to really see it. You can head over there closer to sunset and you don't have to disrobe if you don't want. Unfortunately, the bar at Sunset closes at 5pm. :- ( It was REALLY nice that everyone at the resort was part of a couple. I'm sure we'd go again if we could, like, next week! Read less
Image of the Tripadvisor rating 5* lovey Grounds but a 4* hotel for service

Apr 3, 2024 W4436YIclairep Essex, United Kingdom

Hotel grounds are amazing and well kept. Beach Sports are great. Beach Bar food was excellent and worked great when Dane was cooking, went down hill when he wasn’t there. Casanova was lovely, food was hot, good choice and on time. Bella Vista was lovely, could be a bit spicy/hot but we liked that. Palazzina Restaurant should be Buffet, we were… Read more
Hotel grounds are amazing and well kept. Beach Sports are great. Beach Bar food was excellent and worked great when Dane was cooking, went down hill when he wasn’t there. Casanova was lovely, food was hot, good choice and on time. Bella Vista was lovely, could be a bit spicy/hot but we liked that. Palazzina Restaurant should be Buffet, we were sitting waiting for our drinks for 30 minutes and meals were about an hour, and when it did come out it was cold… the staff here didn’t seem to know what they were doing half the time and forget about you. Most people said the same when you spoke to them. We booked in to the other restaurants for most of our meals. Room Wifi was slow. Nicely refurbished but had a mould smell in our room D101, but this went after we were in it a day, maybe we got used to it or it had been empty previous to us going in. Asked many times for our shower gel to be filled, on 2nd day my partner asked another cleaner to do it. No separate conditioner as its all in one which weren’t very good either, bring your own if you like nice shampoo and conditioner. Coffee, sugar, tea and milk were not filled up every day. TV looked like back light was going and signal was really bad kept pausing, not an issue as on holiday and not in room much. But nice to see the news catch up. Memory foam bed was uncomfortable, there was a big lump in the middle. Beach Not enough umbrellas on beach, there is plenty of room to put more at the back near the path. There is a lot of shade with the palm trees, but the sun moves so you are left out in the sun in most places. Americans are very selfish and go out at stupid o’clock and put towels on bed to then not use them till late morning 11-Noon. Don’t expect to get a good place to sit! They are also really noisy and bearing in mind it’s a romantic couples resort they seem to want to party and make lots of noise. Beach was always busy and sitting on top of everyone. Even my friend who went 2 weeks before me said the same, so it wasn’t just the time we went. Pool area was quiet in the morning but come afternoon its loud and rowdy playing same music. Beach bar was nice and good cocktail range but never had beer first thing, maybe that’s the first thing they should sort when they start opening up. Beach toilets were awful and smelt of urine, they don’t seem to have refurbed the outside toilets here. Nowhere to get a morning coffee if you don’t want to go to breakfast, you have to walk up to reception if you want one. Check out There is no room to book out for a half hour slot like in every place we have ever been to, instead you have to pay $100 to keep your room. The only place you can change, and shower is at the massage room area, which has just a shower curtain, no air conditioning or anywhere to put your dry stuff while trying to get ready. Absolutely shambles for a 5* hotel. Staff Hit and miss, pretty much most of the female staff members would forget you or take a long time to bring drinks and food, and get the orders wrong also they seemed to act like you were putting them out half the time and quite rude and arrogant. Male staff seemed to be on the ball though and really friendly. A few times we got up and left when our drinks didn’t turn up, and I am talking 30 minutes and that’s reminding them too. Maybe its because we are British and not American as we felt this place is geared up to Americans. All in all it’s a lovely place and probably one of the better hotels in Jamaica but just needs to sort the staffing and little niggly problems that most people all seemed to moan about. Read less