Couples Sans Souci

Description:

• Positioned beside the coastal road about 3km (2 miles) east from the center of Ocho Rios, this is the most recent incarnation of a compound of buildings that were originally conceived, at the time of their construction, as an interconnected, medium-rise cluster of apartments and time shares. Today, painted a tasteful shade of coffee-with-cream, and after many different incarnations under many different management teams, it's operated as a member of Couples. What does that mean? Its rates are slightly lower than the roughly equivalent tariffs charged at its biggest competitor, the Sandals chain. (Couples markets its product a bit less aggressively than Sandals, and consequently, its rates tend to be a bit less expensive.) It's maintained as a couples-only resort, employing as part of their corporate vision a full time "Director of Romance." Most of the clients here are married, and many are on their honeymoons. Everything is arranged in pairs, even the chairs at night by the moon-drenched beach. There's a separate clothing-optional beach, a mineral bath big enough for an elephant, and a labyrinth of catwalks and bridges stretching over rocky chasms filled with surging water. Frankly, the building's architecture, although adapted since its initial construction into a format conducive to fun, sand, beach holidays, and the tropics, evokes a discreetly isolated apartment building that you might have found in any warm-weather (or for that matter, cold-weather) climate in the world.

  Each unit features a veranda or patio, copies of Chippendale furniture, plush upholstery, and subdued colonial elegance. Some contain Jacuzzis. Accommodations range from rather standard bedrooms to vast suites with large living and dining areas, plus kitchens. Deluxe touches include glazed tile floors, luxurious beds, and marble bathrooms with whirlpool tubs.

  Facilities: 4 restaurants; 6 bars; 4 outdoor pools; golf; 2 lit tennis courts; health club; spa; 2 Jacuzzis; sauna; kayaks; sailing; scuba diving; snorkeling; water-skiing; windsurfing; room service; laundry service; nonsmoking rooms; rooms for those w/limited mobility

• © Frommer's 2012

Awards:

Frommer's

•  Very Highly Recommended 2010