By Steve Griswold, Sandals Chairman’s Royal Club Platinum Elite advisor at Pixie Vacations · Updated November 13, 2026
Quick answer: Three Sandals resorts in Jamaica that stayed closed after Hurricane Melissa are reopening after a US$200 million rebuild. Sandals Jamaica South Coast reopens November 18, 2026. Sandals Jamaica Montego Bay and Sandals Jamaica Caribbean Cay (formerly Sandals Royal Caribbean) both reopen December 18, 2026. All three are taking bookings now. I checked these dates on the Sandals website on November 13, 2026.
If Jamaica is your happy place, this is the news you have been waiting for. The last three Sandals resorts on the island are coming back, and they are not coming back the same. New pools, new restaurants, new room types, a renamed resort and a beach club on a private island.
I have stayed at every Sandals and Beaches resort, including a few that have since come and gone, so I read every announcement about these three closely. Below is what is changing at each one, what will not be ready on opening day, and how I would choose between them.
On this page
When do the Sandals resorts in Jamaica reopen?
| Resort | Reopens | Rooms | Dining options | Biggest changes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sandals Jamaica South Coast | November 18, 2026 | 380 | 11 | Redesigned pool, refreshed overwater villas, the first Sandals rooms with two queen beds, Butch’s Island Chop House |
| Sandals Jamaica Montego Bay | December 18, 2026 | 255 | 11 | Redesigned main pool, new swim-up rooms, Buccan, Scrimshaw, Parisol Beach Club, Bay Roc Rum Club |
| Sandals Jamaica Caribbean Cay | December 18, 2026 | 291 (84 are new) | 11 | New name, SkyPool Suites, Suppa restaurant, Parisol Beach Club on the private island |
Sources: Sandals Resorts announcements of June 18 and June 24, 2026. Dates confirmed on the Sandals website on November 13, 2026.
The rest of Sandals in Jamaica is already open: Sandals Jamaica Ocho Rios, Sandals Jamaica Dunn’s River, Sandals Jamaica Negril and Sandals Jamaica Royal Plantation, plus Beaches Jamaica Negril for families. If you are wondering about the island itself, I wrote a separate update: Is Jamaica safe to travel in 2026?
Why did these three resorts stay closed so long?
Hurricane Melissa hit Jamaica on October 28, 2025 as a Category 5 storm. Sandals reopened its other Jamaica resorts and made a different call on these three. Instead of repairing them and reopening fast, the company kept them closed for a full rebuild.
Sandals is spending US$200 million across the three resorts and calls the result Sandals 2.0. Executive Chairman Adam Stewart said the investments “reflect our commitment to its future,” meaning Jamaica, the island where Sandals started in 1981.
So this is not a fresh coat of paint. The pools were redesigned, restaurants were built from the ground up and whole room categories are new. That is why the wait was more than a year.
Sandals Jamaica South Coast: reopens November 18, 2026
South Coast is the quiet one. It has 380 rooms and sits beside a 500-acre protected nature reserve on Jamaica’s south coast, far from the busy resort strip. It is the first of the three to reopen.
What is new at Sandals South Coast
- A redesigned pool area with more tropical planting and more places to lounge, plus a lobby inspired by the peacocks that roam the resort.
- Refreshed Overwater Butler Villas. Twelve of them return with new interiors.
- Beachfront Club Two Queen Junior Suites. This is the first Sandals room with two queen beds, built for friends traveling together.
- Butch’s Island Chop House, the Sandals steakhouse, with its own martini bar. It is the first one on the south coast.
- BLŪM, a coffee shop pouring Jamaica’s Blue Mountain coffee with fresh pastries.
The favorites stay. You still get Jasmine’s for Pan-Asian, Schooners and Neptunes for seafood, Sushi on the Sand, Giuseppe’s for Italian, Bayside (a French brasserie at night), the Jerk Shack and the Chick ‘N Dippers food truck. That makes 11 dining options.
Not ready on day one: the B-Side Rum Bar. Sandals says this second-story hideaway with small plates and craft cocktails arrives in early 2027.
Steve’s take: South Coast is the longest ride from the Montego Bay airport of the three, and I will not pretend otherwise. What you get for the drive is the most peaceful setting of any Sandals in Jamaica and overwater bungalows at the end of it. My money tip: you do not need the overwater bungalow for the whole trip. Book about 5 nights in a regular suite and 2 or 3 nights over the water. I call it Bora Bora without the 18-hour flight. More on that in my guide to Jamaica overwater bungalows.
See Sandals South Coast rooms and rates
Sandals Jamaica Montego Bay: reopens December 18, 2026
This is the original. Sandals opened here in 1981, and it is still the flagship, with 255 rooms on what Sandals calls Jamaica’s largest secluded white-sand beach. It is also home to what Sandals says was the Caribbean’s first swim-up pool bar.
What is new at Sandals Montego Bay
- A new arrival experience. The lobby now opens to a view of the Caribbean Sea, with a BLŪM coffee shop and a new lobby bar.
- A completely redesigned main pool, plus new swim-up rooms and spacious ocean-view suites.
- Buccan, the open-fire restaurant that started at Sandals St. Vincent, in its first waterfront spot in Jamaica. The menu takes you around Jamaica’s parishes, served family-style at shared tables.
- Scrimshaw, a seafood restaurant with wraparound sea views. It is the first one in Jamaica.
- Parisol Beach Club, built around the original swim-up bar. The bricks carved with guests’ names over the decades were saved and are still there. It also has a Jerk Shack and a made-to-order pizza counter.
- Bay Roc Rum Club, named for Bay Roc Hotel & Villas, the 1950s hotel that became Sandals Montego Bay. Expect murals by local artists, a vinyl collection, domino tables and Jamaican music from the 50s, 60s and 70s.
Butch’s Island Chop House and Soy, the sushi restaurant, both return. Add Tesoro (Italian in the evening) and Heart & Sol for smoothies and salads, and you have 11 dining options.
Steve’s take: Montego Bay sits right beside the airport. You will see and hear planes during the day, and that bothers some people. The upside is the shortest airport transfer of any Sandals in Jamaica, so you are on the beach while other guests are still on the bus. Here is the part most people miss: Sandals runs a free shuttle between Montego Bay and Caribbean Cay on select days and hours. Book whichever of the two has the better rate for your dates, then eat at both. That is 22 dining options for the price of one resort.
See Sandals Montego Bay rooms and rates
Sandals Jamaica Caribbean Cay: reopens December 18, 2026
If you knew this one as Sandals Royal Caribbean, it is the same resort in the same spot in Montego Bay with a new name. Sandals renamed it for the thing that makes it different: Sandals Cay, its private island just offshore. You reach the island by boat, and the ride is included.
What is new at Sandals Caribbean Cay
- 84 new rooms, for 291 in total. New categories include SkyPool Suites, which have their own private pool, and Swim-up Suites.
- An open-air lobby that looks straight across a bigger main pool to the sea.
- Suppa, a restaurant built around the Jamaican tradition of Sunday dinner. It is a shared set menu in rooms designed to feel like a Jamaican home. One dish Sandals has mentioned is a rice and peas risotto.
- Keynote Rum Bar, the small parlor you walk through on the way into Suppa, pouring premium Caribbean rums.
- Parisol Beach Club on the private island, with its own swim-up pool bar, a restaurant serving breakfast, lunch and dinner, a Jerk Shack and shaded palapas on the sand.
- The Strand, the Sandals beach grill, in Jamaica for the first time, with a pizza counter.
- A new fitness center with ocean views, and upgraded Overwater Butler Villas off the island.
Bombay (Indian) and The Cricketers Pub are staying, and the resort also gets BLŪM, Heart & Sol and Tesoro. That is 11 dining options here too.
Not ready on day one: the new Oceanview Butler Suites. Sandals has said those follow in June 2027.
Steve’s take: Caribbean Cay is my pick if you want a day that feels like a second vacation inside your vacation. Take the boat to the island after breakfast, stay through lunch at the Jerk Shack and come back for Suppa at night. And remember the shuttle to Montego Bay next door. You are really getting two resorts.
See Sandals Caribbean Cay rooms and rates
The three new rum bars
Sandals is building a collection of rum bars across Jamaica, and each of these resorts gets its own.
- Bay Roc Rum Club at Sandals Montego Bay. Music history, murals and dominoes. Opens with the resort on December 18, 2026.
- Keynote Rum Bar at Sandals Caribbean Cay. A cozy parlor in front of Suppa. Opens with the resort on December 18, 2026.
- B-Side Rum Bar at Sandals South Coast. A hidden second-story lounge named for the B-side of a vinyl record. Coming in early 2027.
The free 2027 wedding package
On August 7, 2026, Sandals announced a free upgraded Sweetheart Wedding Package for couples who marry at one of these three resorts in 2027. Here is how it works:
- Book at least 5 nights in a Club or Butler category room for travel in 2027.
- The package covers up to 50 guests.
- It includes a wedding planning team, the ceremony venue, a bouquet and boutonniere, a private cocktail reception, a wedding cake, photo and video credits and spa savings.
- Sandals also waives Jamaica’s marriage license and administrative fees, which it values at US$250.
Offers like this can change or end. Before you plan around it, have us confirm it is still available for your dates and room category. You can read about the ceremony options on the Sandals weddings page.
Which of the three should you book?
Different resorts are different vacations. Here is how I would match them.
- Book Sandals South Coast if you want quiet, nature and an overwater bungalow, or you are planning a friends trip and need two beds in the room.
- Book Sandals Montego Bay if this is your first Sandals, you want the short airport transfer, or you care most about food. Buccan, Scrimshaw and Butch’s in one resort is a strong lineup.
- Book Sandals Caribbean Cay if the private island sounds like your kind of day, or you want real Jamaican cooking at Suppa.
One more thing in Jamaica’s favor: it usually has the most flights and the lowest airfare of any Sandals island. For a group, that can decide the trip before you ever compare rooms.
Still not sure? Take our 60-second Sandals resort quiz, or read which Sandals resort in Jamaica is best.
Current deals, and what to do if your booking was cancelled
As of November 13, 2026, the Sandals Black Friday sale is running: up to 65% off, up to $2,250 in credits and up to $750 in air credit. How much you actually get depends on the resort, the room category and the number of nights. I grade the offer for each resort on our deal pages:
You can also see all three resorts side by side on the Sandals Jamaica reopening page.
If the closure cancelled your trip: Sandals says its team will help you rebook, move your dates or switch to another island. If you booked with Pixie Vacations, call your Pixie agent and we will handle it for you. Your Sandals loyalty points and status carry over, and nothing about the reopening changes them.
If you are traveling in the first few weeks: the pictures on this page are renderings, and a few venues open later than the resorts do. We know the resort teams, so ask us what is confirmed open for your exact dates before you pay.
Watch Sandals’ own preview
Sandals is posting short videos from the three resorts as they get ready. This is the official playlist, The Great Jamaica Comeback Series:
If you like to listen, the Sandals Palmcast podcast has episodes on the rebuild. Episode 199 is Adam Stewart on what is changing, 219 covers the new restaurants at Montego Bay with Chef Niven Patel, and 220 covers Caribbean Cay with Chef Luke Mathot.
Questions people ask
When does Sandals South Coast reopen?
Sandals Jamaica South Coast reopens on November 18, 2026. It is the first of the three rebuilt Sandals resorts in Jamaica to reopen, and it is taking bookings now.
When do Sandals Montego Bay and Sandals Caribbean Cay reopen?
Both reopen on December 18, 2026. Sandals Jamaica Montego Bay and Sandals Jamaica Caribbean Cay are next door to each other in Montego Bay, and both are taking bookings now.
Is Sandals Caribbean Cay the same resort as Sandals Royal Caribbean?
Yes. Sandals Royal Caribbean in Montego Bay was renamed Sandals Jamaica Caribbean Cay. Sandals announced the new name on June 18, 2026 and says it comes from Sandals Cay, the resort’s private island. The Royal Caribbean cruise company’s plan to buy half of Sandals was announced later, on September 23, 2026. I explain that deal here: Royal Caribbean buys 50% of Sandals.
Can I book these resorts before they reopen?
Yes. All three are open for bookings now for stays that start on or after their reopening dates.
Are the overwater bungalows coming back?
Yes. Sandals South Coast is bringing back twelve Overwater Butler Villas with refreshed interiors, and Sandals Caribbean Cay has upgraded Overwater Butler Villas off its private island.
What will not be open on day one?
Two things Sandals has announced for later: the B-Side Rum Bar at Sandals South Coast, due in early 2027, and the Oceanview Butler Suites at Sandals Caribbean Cay, due in June 2027.
Which Sandals resorts in Jamaica are open right now?
As of November 13, 2026, Sandals Jamaica Ocho Rios, Sandals Jamaica Dunn’s River, Sandals Jamaica Negril and Sandals Jamaica Royal Plantation are open, along with Beaches Jamaica Negril. Sandals Jamaica South Coast joins them on November 18, and the two Montego Bay resorts on December 18.
Does it cost more to book Sandals through Pixie Vacations?
No. There is no additional cost to book with a Pixie Vacations agent. What you get is someone who has stayed at these resorts, knows the resort teams, and takes the time to learn what you want from the trip before recommending a room.
Want help picking the right resort and room?
Tell us your dates and what kind of trip you want. A Pixie Vacations agent will price the three resorts for you, tell you what is confirmed open, and point you to the room that is worth it. There is no additional cost, and more than 1,000 verified client reviews average 5.0 stars.
About the author. Steve Griswold founded Pixie Vacations in Canton, Georgia, and is a Sandals Chairman’s Royal Club Platinum Elite advisor. He has stayed at every Sandals and Beaches resort, including a few that have since come and gone. He has been quoted in TravelPulse, Parade and Southern Living. Read our client reviews.
Sources: Sandals Resorts announcements dated June 18, June 24 and August 7, 2026, and the Sandals website, checked November 13, 2026. Renderings are illustrations, and details can change before opening.
Have a fantastic vacation.
