Happy Monday all and Happy Anniversary to My Sunshine! Today marks our 4th Wedding Anniversary and the almost 10 year mark for knowing each other. We had a fantastic time celebrating “our birthday” as The Husband says in Jamaica. It was totally the perfect balance of relaxing on the beach or at the pool, heading off on excursions, eating delicious food and being active.
I am not sure if I mentioned this to you all before or not, but, The Husband booked this “surprise” trip for us back in June when I found out I wouldn’t be able to go to this year’s BlogHER Food. I say “surprise” because he saw the deal online but needed my help in booking all the details. It actually gets even funnier because he has walked around the past few months saying “shhh, it’s a secret” whenever I talked to him about our vacation ~ LOL….love that boy!
I have been pondering where to start with all of the pictures we took (over 1,300 crazy, I know!) so I figured I’d start with the place we stayed ~ The Secrets Wild Orchid Resort in Montego Bay, Jamaica. One of the things that makes Secrets awesome is that you get to use the amenities of both resorts (Wild Orchid & St. James).
The resort is absolutely beautiful during the day…..
And even more so with all four pools and the walk ways lit up at night.
We booked the Junior Suite with an Ocean View and it did not disappoint. Our room had everything with a coffee bar, mini fridge & bar, robes, slippers and more.
We were already that staying here was like being on a land cruise ship. When our maid put fancy towels on our bed, we were totally convinced.
For those wondering, WiFi is only included if you upgrade to the premium rooms, otherwise, it is $10 a day.
We spent hours reading on our patio chairs just looking out at the ocean view.
We opted for the 3rd floor for the view, however, if you book the 1st floor premium rooms you have our own personal swim up pool which is pretty cool too.
The water really was this blue and warm with soft white sand that didn’t really have any rocks in it.
The gym complete water, orange juice and ice cold clothes for when you leave.
This was my view from the treadmill I ran on.
In the middle of the resort is a shopping center, coffee stop (my favorite spot), a self serve ice cream machine (The Husband’s favorite spot) and a big game room that had pool, ping pong and several “life sized” games.
I totally want to get a BIG connect 4 for our house 
There is also a casino that The Husband is convinced was made just for him.
There are also game tables on the beach you can stop and play along with badminton, horse shoes, bocce ball and volleyball.
There are several areas where you can walk along the ocean, along the beaches or just pull up a chair and watch the waves.
The water is so clear you can see your feet on the bottom as you walk out.
I love that you can pull up a chair out of the sand or walk along the rock wall without getting covered in sand.
This is how you say No problem Mon without actually saying it.
I am not sure if he was pretending to dive or practicing the “zen” yoga moves we learned 
The resort offered sunrise and sunset yoga every single day in this hut that sits right on the water. It was so incredibly peaceful listening to the waves.
There are over 10 bars on both resorts, including swim up bars in the pool that you can order any drink you want to try.
Depending on what you are in the mood for, you can dine on the beach under the tikki torches.
Or head over the to main dining area where there are 8 restaurants to choose from. I have an entire post on food that I plan to share with you all.
You eat outside by candlelight and the stars at every single place….this might have been my favorite part each day.
There are activities planned every night from shows like the Newly Wed Game, Beach Bon Fires, the Circus, bands, etc.
My personal favorite ~ The Outdoor Movie theatre that had a coffee bar, ice cream, desserts and popcorn every night.
I am pretty sure we logged miles walking the paths around the resort all day and night. When a view like this, how could you ever get tired of it?
Before sitting down for dinner each night, we stopped by the outdoor ocean aquarium to check out the fish, starfish, sting rays and jelly fish.
Then, we usually grabbed a chair on the beach to watch the sunset.
QUESTION OF THE DAY:
Have you ever been to Jamaica? Where did you stay?
Night all!
Looks like a great time! I love Jamaica…we’ve been twice, stayed at sandals both times. Your blog is awesome!:)
Jamaica is my favorite vacation spot……love the all inclusives! We’ve been 4 times and usually stay near Ocho Rios at Superclubs….might have to try your resort-it looks great!
Holy freaking gorgeous, Danica! I feel more relaxed just looking at these photos. Now I have to add Jamica to my Bucket List…
TAKE ME AWAY….
Looks like you had the place to yourselves!
I love Jamaica! We fell in love with a one day stop on a cruise, and have been back twice – once to Ocho Rios & once to Montego Bay.
When we went last year we visited an orphanage & donated 150lbs in weight of items given to me by my friends & neighbours. It was an amazing experience, heartbreaking though. One 11 yr old boy took hold of my hand hand & asked if I could foster him & take him home.
We always stay at family friendly resorts as we travel with our kids – living 4000 miles away from all our family means no one to stya home with them. Not that they’d be happy if we left them behind, they too have the travel bug 🙂
Becky-
What are the family-friendly resorts you’d recommend? Looking for a new vacation destination and this looks awesome!
We stayed at The Sunset Jamaica Grand in Ocho Rios, and the Sunset Beach Resort in Montego Bay. My boys LOVED both resorts, both have water slides.
They are Jamaican owned, so if you are used to staying at a Riu / Iberostar / Gran Bahia you may see a difference. We found the food, service etc to be good at both, and good value for money.
We just got back from Montego Bay–we spent our honeymoon there last week 🙂
Congrats!!! We just missed each other – we were there last week too 🙂
Danica
Wow, what an amazing place!!! I need to go to Jamaica now!
Never been ! Looks so beautiful, Ed like Jay’s Casino sign!! You 2 take the greatest vacations! 🙂
Wow…so sweet of your hubby to “suprise” you. But…where are all the people?Did you have the entire place to yourself?
Hi Norma,
We rented out the entire resort and had it to ourselves. JUST KIDDING! 😀 There are some people in the pictures, but, I usually try to wait for everyone to be out of the picture so I an capture the scenery. Surprisingly the resort wasn’t too crowded for being Thanksgiving week.
Danica
My husband and I were married in Jamaica at The Grand Lido Resort in Negril. It was absolutely beautiful. It was an adults only resort so it was perfect for our wedding and honeymoon. We hope to go back some day when our children are older. Seeing your pictures really makes me want to go back.
Hi Samantha,
Negril is one area I wish we had gone….I guess that gives us another reason to go back.
Danica
happy anny! love you two!
Thanks J! Love you too!
Drool. That all looks amazing. I have never been to Jamaica or anywhere else in the Carribean. Its definitely on my wish list. Can’t wait to see the rest of your posts about the trip.
Beautiful. We’ve been to Jamaica as a cruise stop and while the scenery was beautiful the people were a bit overbearing. We swore we’d never go back. I’d be interested to know what the people were like at the resort.
It’s one of the few places I have been. We went to Montego Bay also – and the Beach Boys song Kokomo was really big when I went in the late 80’s so I sang that song constantly before and after going! My favorite was the clear crystal water. I grew up on a beach in texas but the water is brown so it was quite the shock for me to see such clear beautiful water! Looks like you had a wonderful time!
Great pictures! We’ve been to Jamaica several times via cruise ship. Both Montego Bay and Ocho Rios, and most recently last month we stopped at Falmouth. However, we didn’t leave the “safe area” as we didn’t want to have to deal with the locals.
No but would love to go!
You have one special guy — What a beautiful place to spend time with the one you love. Happy Anniversary to the both of you!
LOVE Jamaica! we’ve stayed at Couples San Souci (Ocho Rios) and Couples Negril. I’ve also been to an all inclusive in Montego Bay about a decade ago. I would reccomend Couples to anyone–adults only, smaller resort so the food is not as mass produced and is far better. Also–top shelf alcohol! 🙂 AND they were so knowledgeable about my gluten intollerance–I didn’t get sick once!
What an incredible place!!
I’ve been to Jamaica twice but just while on cruises. Loved it! I really want to take the husband to an all inclusive.
Been to Jamaica once. My son got married there. we stayed at Montego Bay and it was beautiful. I’m not really into the Jerk flavored foods, but had a great time.
Breath taking pictures, Danica! Sounds like you had a wonderful time and a beautiful place! Have never been to Jamaica but would love to go. We went to Bermuda last year and I was astounded by the clear blue water and the amazing silky sand.
We went to Jamaica and stayed at the Couples Tower Isle in Ocho Rios. If we had to do it again, we would have stayed in Montego Bay!
We were there with some friends the week of November 11 thru November 19th…loved the resort. We have been to many all inclusives, including Sandals and this resort was awesome!!! I would go back again or try one of their other resorts.. 🙂
Yes we try to go every year except we have missed the last two due to a kitty accident. We actually walked the Reggae Marathon in Negril and always stay at Couples Swept Away.
Your stay sounds like it was awesome and the resort looks very nice. Is it all inclusive AND adult only? Those are our 2 requirements lol Can’t wait to get back!
I do love the fact that you didn’t have far to go to get to your resort. We usually take Tim Air to Negril which saves us on time but not on money ha ha
Hi Angie,
Yes, the resort is all adult only and all inclusive for pretty much everything – restaurants, coffee shop, food vendors on property, alcohol (including your mini bar and 24 hour room service). You get the benefit of using both St. James and Wild Orchid, however, I personally think the Wild Orchid side is the better side to stay on. They include all non motorized sports and have several activities they do all day every day – it’s a great place and I’d recommend trying it if you want something different.
Danica
We stayed at the Grand Lido Negril! Gorg! Great food and a beautiful resort’. We also stayed in San souci resort on the other side of the island – loved ….. Planning a trip to the carribean for January – any suggestions?
Hi LeAnn,
We have only stayed at our time shares when we visited the Caribbean. That being, I have found the reviews of people on rci.com and trip advisor helpful when we were looking for places to stay.
Have fun!!!
Danica
Happy belated Anniversary Danica! What a beautiful place to spend it…I love when we visit Australia, where we were married, and I go down to the beach that I call “the scene of the crime”!