Ochi Sandals Resort

Sandals Ochi Beach Resort was formerly known as Sandals Grande Rivera. By any name it is a sprawling property that has two sides – Seaside and Hillside – and a total of 15 restaurants that are available to all guests.  There is constant shuttle transportation available between the two. If you’re in a suite in the Hillside Butler Village you have literally 24 hour access to a butler driven golf cart.

View from one of the villas in the Hillside Butler Village at Sandals Ochi Beach Resort. This particular Villa had 4 suites which shared this patio and a small pool with lounge chairs.

This is the main pool with swim up bar for the Hillside guests at Sandals Ochi Beach Resort.

Portico, patio and fountain located in the Hillside Village at Sandals Ochi Beach Resort. Great location for a wedding ceremony, cocktail hour, or small reception.

The Ochi Beach club is accessible to guests from both Sandals Ochi Beach Resort and Sandals Royal Plantation.  The gazebo at the end of a boardwalk features a hand carved ancient door and views of the ocean from a hidden hammock or lounge chair. There’s a pool, bar, fire pit patio, volleyball court, and food service. You can have a set up for a wedding reception or corporate dinner on the long pier.

You can choose to be alone or hang with the crowd at the Ochi Beach Club which is part of Sandals Ochi Beach Resort.

This is a lively resort though it can also be private and secluded in the Hillside Butler Village. Lots of room categories to choose from. This is the resort for those who want to choose between doing a lot, doing a little, or doing nothing. You won’t be sorry no matter what you choose.

This resort was a nice resort and is budget friendly we have found it's one of the cheapest resorts besides the Carlye Inn. Have you been to a Sandals Resort? Which is your favorite? 

Circus Circus Hotel Las Vegas

Circus Circus Hotel & Casino

We got a room at the Circus Circus driving through from California back to Denver. It was around Halloween time so they had the fright dome going on and thought it would be fun to attend, and figured to stay at the same hotel. The hotel does have an actual circus and is aimed at being a family-friendly venue. But the hotel is really dated for our liking. Can't  complain about that because the rooms are the cheapest on the strip so we  didn't expect the four seasons but was disappointed with the hotel being so run down and our room was comparable to the Super 8. We had sleeping bags in the car we brought up and slept in those because we weren't happy with the cleanliness of the room. 

We expressed our disappointment with the hotel management after checking in and seeing the room but they weren't willing to do anything, so we just made the best of the night and checked out first thing in the morning. I wish I would have read the reviews before booking we would have just kept driving. We would have rather slept in the car, but we were only there for the Fright Dome so we left the room to go check that attraction out. Another let down we weren't scared and it was not what we expected for the price. All the reviews I saw said this was one of the scariest haunted attractions but for $60 general admission and fast pass admission we were really let down. Long lines and the attractions were really cheesy and didn't scare us at all. We love a good haunted house and expected better for a Vegas show but we will keep looking for a good scare. 

Of course, the reviews on Trip Advisor are packed full of puns relating to clowns and jokers. Generally, the reviews are far from favorable. Things are kicked off in blunt fashion with one commenter stating that they “don’t have any good memories of this place.” They then go on to criticize the slow customer service, average rooms, and booking confusion.Another reviewer claimed that the hotel was “too trashy to stay.” That particular comment makes it sound like a trailer park rather than a hotel in Las Vegas. The hotel is also considered to be one of the oldest-looking in Sin City, its biggest flaw being that it is in major need of an upgrade to drag it kicking and screaming into the 21^st Century. Unless you have a budget and family I would not recommend staying at the Circus Circus.

Has anyone else gone to Vegas for Halloween? Are there any good Haunted Houses there that you would recommend.