Sandals Jamaica Reopening 2026: Confirmed Dates and What’s New
Three Sandals resorts in Jamaica have been closed since Hurricane Melissa hit in October 2025. Rather than repair them, Sandals committed $200 million to rebuild all three.
| Resort | Opening | Status |
|---|---|---|
| Sandals South Coast | November 18, 2026 | Booking Now |
| Sandals Montego Bay | December 18, 2026 | Booking Now |
| Sandals Caribbean Cay (formerly Sandals Royal Caribbean) | December 18, 2026 | Booking Now |
This site is by Golden Valley Vacations, a Chairman’s Royal Club Diamond Elite Sandals partner – the top 1% of all advisors. We earn a commission if you book through the links on this page. Your cost is exactly the same, and our reviews and rankings are 100% independent.
Why You Should Book Jamaica Now
If Jamaica is on your short list, 2027 is the year to go.
Sandals has taken this unique opportunity to completely renovate 3 amazing locations. These were already some of our favorite spots in Jamaica, and they will be back better than ever.
Three flagship resorts are being rebuilt at once, which does not happen. Renovations normally run in phases around paying guests. Sections close, dining shifts, and you accept compromises for years. All three of these properties were empty, so the work happened at full scope on all of them simultaneously. Sandals CEO Adam Stewart called it a true blank canvas.
The properties will be amazing, and priced accordingly . Here is where most people get it wrong: there is no pre-opening bargain at Montego Bay or Caribbean Cay. They are already priced at the top of the Sandals range. What you are buying is first access to genuinely new resorts before demand builds and the best room categories are gone for the dates you want. If you want a great value, South Coast at $312 is the one.
The locations were already proven. New resorts usually mean new staff learning a new property. Here you get new construction with teams who have worked these sites for years. Montego Bay’s beach, South Coast’s nature reserve, and Sandals Cay were never the problem.
The $200 Million Renovation
What's New at Sandals South Coast
A new pool, and lush new landscaping that pulls the surrounding 500-acre protected nature reserve into the resort itself rather than leaving it as a backdrop. Sandals describes the result as more open and more in tune with the south coast’s pace.
Six new and updated dining venues. Butch’s Island Chop House, one of the brand’s most established concepts, makes its debut on Jamaica’s south coast paired with a dedicated martini bar. BLŪM serves Blue Mountain coffee and fresh-baked pastries. Returning venues include Jasmine’s, Schooners, Neptunes, Sushi on the Sand, Bayside, Giuseppe’s, the Jerk Shack, and Chick ‘N Dippers.
One more arrives in early 2027: the B-Side Rum Bar, a second story venue serving craft cocktails, snacks, and small plates. If you go in November or December 2026, it will not be open yet.
On the room side, the overwater villas are being refreshed and the resort gets Beachfront Club Two Queen Junior Suites, part of the brand’s first-ever double-queen room concept.
South Coast opens a full month before the other two, which makes it the first place anyone can see the new Jamaica design.
What's New at Sandals Montego Bay
The original Sandals, more than forty years old, and the redesign is built around a completely new main pool. The resort reopens with 11 dining options.
Parisol Beach Club becomes the resort’s social hub, running from poolside lunch through sunset cocktails and dinner by the water. The Caribbean’s first-ever swim-up pool bar stays as its centerpiece, and the original bricks carved with decades of guest names have been preserved. A Jerk Shack and a made-to-order pizza counter sit alongside it. If you have stayed here before, this is the space you remember, rebuilt around it rather than replaced.
Buccan makes its Jamaica debut on the waterfront: open-fire cooking, communal tables, dishes built around a journey through Jamaica’s parishes. It launched at Sandals Saint Vincent in 2024 and reached Regency La Toc in 2025.
Scrimshaw is also a Jamaica first, serving seafood with wraparound ocean views. Bay Roc Rum Club is named for the property’s origins as the Bay Roc Hotel and Villas, telling the story of Jamaican music from the 1950s through the 1970s with murals by local artists, memorabilia, a curated vinyl collection, and cocktails on tap.
Rounding it out: BLŪM in the lobby for Blue Mountain coffee, a brand-new lobby bar, Heart & Sol for smoothies and salads, Tesoro serving global by day and Italian by evening, plus returning favorites Butch’s Island Chop House and Soy.
The private beach is unchanged. That was always amazing 🙂.
What's New at Sandals Caribbean Cay
Formerly Sandals Royal Caribbean. The change reflects Sandals Cay, the private offshore island reachable only by boat, becoming the center of the property rather than a feature of it.
The resort expands by 84 rooms to 291 total, with a bigger redesigned main pool. New categories include SkyPool Suites and Swim-up Suites, and Oceanview Butler Suites arrive in June 2027.
Suppa leads the dining refresh: a supper-style restaurant built on the Jamaican tradition of Sunday dinner, laid out as a series of intimate rooms that mirror a home’s living, dining, and outdoor spaces. Keynote Rum Bar acts as its front door, a parlor serving premium Caribbean rums and small culturally rooted plates.
Out on Sandals Cay, a version of Parisol Beach Club debuts with its own swim-up pool bar, a new Jerk Shack, and shaded palapas by the sea. The Strand, the brand’s signature beach grill with a pizza counter, makes its Jamaica debut here too.
Also on property: BLŪM, Heart & Sol, Tesoro, Bombay for Indian, and The Cricketers Pub, bringing the resort to 11 dining options.
This remains the only Sandals in Jamaica with its own offshore island, and the airport is five miles away.
Look at 2027, Not Opening Month
You can go in November or December 2026. We usually advise against it, for three reasons.
A resort’s first six weeks are its shakedown period. New restaurant concepts are still finding their rhythm. Staff are running new systems for the first time. Landscaping has not filled in. Punch lists are still open. Opening month is exciting but the resort is not at its best. By spring 2027, all three have months of operation behind them.
2027 is the first full year all three run at once. Jamaica goes from five open Sandals resorts to eight, and three of them are effectively new resorts inside proven locations with mature staff. That combination is rare. New resorts usually come with new teams learning a new property. Here you get new construction and people who have worked the site for years.
The last pieces land in 2027, not 2026. South Coast’s B-Side Rum Bar opens in early 2027. Caribbean Cay’s Oceanview Butler Suites arrive in June 2027. Book a 2026 date and you are visiting a resort that is still finishing. Book mid-2027 and everything announced is actually open.
On pricing, book early for availability rather than for a bargain. Rates at renovated Sandals properties typically climb further once reviews land and the best categories sell through. Booking a 2027 date now is about securing the room you actually want at a price that is high but not yet at its peak.
How We Got Here
October 2025. Hurricane Melissa comes ashore on Jamaica’s south coast as a Category 5. Eight Sandals and Beaches properties are affected.
December 6, 2025. Five properties reopen on schedule: Dunn’s River, Ochi, Royal Plantation, Negril, and Beaches Negril. These sit in St. Ann and Negril and were largely spared. Three remain closed for assessment.
Original plan: May 30, 2026. All three closed resorts were given this reopening date.
March 2026. Sandals changes course. Instead of repairing storm damage, the company announces $200 million and a full rebuild of all three properties under its Sandals 2.0 program. Dates move to November and December 2026. (Sandals press release, March 18, 2026)
Adam Stewart, Executive Chairman of Sandals Resorts International, framed the closure as handing the company a true blank canvas, which is not something that happens in hospitality. Renovating an operating resort means phasing work around guests and accepting compromises. Renovating three empty resorts at once does not.
June 2026. Sandals releases the first renderings and confirms the Sandals Royal Caribbean rename.
Going to Jamaica in 2026?
Five Sandals and Beaches properties in Jamaica are open right now and have been since December 2025.
- Sandals Dunn’s River, Ocho Rios. Rebuilt in 2023 and the newest resort in Jamaica until the reopenings. Our top-ranked Jamaica resort.
- Sandals Ochi Beach, Ocho Rios. The largest and least expensive Sandals there is.
- Sandals Royal Plantation, Ocho Rios. All-butler, 74 suites, the most private beaches of any Sandals.
- Sandals Negril, Negril. Seven Mile Beach, the most laid-back of the group.
- Beaches Negril, Negril. The family option.
None of these are affected by the renovation work elsewhere on the island.
Planning a 2027 Jamaica Trip?
We book Sandals every day and we are watching these three properties closely. If you want help deciding between opening month and spring 2027, or between a rebuilt Jamaica resort and something already open, tell us your dates and we will give you a straight answer.
Frequently Asked Questions
When does Sandals South Coast reopen?
November 18, 2026. It is booking now for stays on or after that date.
When do Sandals Montego Bay and Sandals Caribbean Cay reopen?
Both on December 18, 2026. Both are booking now.
Why did Sandals Royal Caribbean change its name?
It is now Sandals Caribbean Cay. The rename came with the rebuild and reflects the private offshore island becoming the property's defining feature. Same resort, same island, new name, and substantially rebuilt.
Can I book these resorts before they reopen?
Yes. All three are accepting reservations now for stays after their reopening dates.
Are the other Jamaica resorts open?
Yes. Sandals Dunn's River, Ochi, Royal Plantation, Negril, and Beaches Negril all reopened December 6, 2025 and are fully operational.
What is Sandals 2.0?
Sandals' current design standard, introduced at Sandals Saint Vincent in 2024 and applied to the rebuilt Sandals Dunn's River. It emphasizes open architecture, larger signature pools, new accommodation categories, and expanded dining. The three Jamaica rebuilds bring the island's flagship properties onto that standard.
When is the cheapest time to book?
September and October carry the lowest rates. December through March is the busiest and most expensive. Full seasonal breakdown.
How do I pick the right one?
Start with how far you are willing to fly and what your beach priority is. Those two answers eliminate most of the list. Then use the ranking table above, or take our Resort Match Quiz.
Erik Ritland is a Diamond Elite Certified Sandals Specialist, the top 1% of advisors. He has visited every Sandals resort in the Caribbean and traveled to 33 countries, including nearly a year living in Mexico’s Riviera Maya. That firsthand experience, along with more than 3,000 Sandals vacations planned, shapes every ranking and recommendation.
Best Time to Visit Jamaica
Best Jamaica Overwater Bungalows That We’ve Visited
