LULuxaTrips

Inside Our Overwater Bungalow and Villa Stay at Sandals Caribbean Cay

Four stays in the overwater bungalows and villas at the Jamaica resort now called Sandals Caribbean Cay, shown through our own photographs and videos.

When we stayed here, the resort was still called Sandals Royal Caribbean. It has since been renamed Sandals Caribbean Cay and is scheduled to reopen on December 18, 2026, after a major renovation.

We stayed in the overwater accommodations four times—once in a regular bungalow and three times in the larger bungalow villas. Our first stay was four nights in one of the smaller Over-the-Water Private Island Butler Honeymoon Bungalows. We enjoyed it so much that we toured one of the larger villas while we were there and decided to book one for a future trip.

We went back to the larger Over-the-Water Private Island Butler Villa with Infinity Pool three times after that: four nights on the next visit, five nights on a later stay that followed five nights at Sandals Negril, and six nights on the last of those stays.

These photographs and videos come from those different stays and show the resort as we experienced it before the renovation.

Take a walk through the villa

Our walkthrough of the larger overwater villa, including the bedroom, bathroom, private pool, and part of the outdoor deck.

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The larger villa immediately felt more spacious than the bungalow. It had a clean, contemporary design, a roomy bedroom, and a large window facing the bed. Opening the blinds gave us a beautiful view of the ocean.

The bathroom was also generously sized, with sinks on both sides, a walk-in shower, a large soaking tub, and an outdoor shower. There was a small kitchen area too.

Outside, we had a private pool, an open deck, and a covered lounge area where we could get out of the sun without going back inside.

What made staying over the water different

An ocean-view room lets you look at the water. This felt more like living on it.

A wooden deck built out over the sea in bright daylight. A low round blue table holds a stone bowl set out as noughts and crosses, husked coconuts sit on the deck boards at the left, a tiled plunge pool sits flush with the deck on the right, a furled white parasol stands in the water beside a steel handrail, and pale reef shows through the water toward the horizon.
The daytime view from our villa’s back deck.

The back deck became one of our favorite places to relax. We asked our butler for a fan so we could stay comfortable in the covered area.

Some mornings, we went outside early and slept for another hour or two with the ocean around us. It was also a beautiful place to watch the sunrise or sunset.

The overwater deck at sunset. The sun sits just above the horizon, throwing an orange path across the water, with a low wooded point silhouetted at the far left. Someone sits in a low timber chair at the left with their back to the camera, looking out at it, and the blue table with the stone noughts-and-crosses bowl is in the foreground.
Sunset from the back deck.

The regular bungalow was still a great experience, but it had less room inside and out. There was enough space to eat breakfast on the deck, although it felt tighter than the villa.

The larger villas gave us considerably more room, along with a private pool and both covered and uncovered outdoor areas.

Looking out from the day bed under a thatched roof across the covered part of the overwater deck in soft early light. A pale cushion and a shadowed knee are in the foreground, dark timber chairs with teal cushions and a low table sit to the right beside the plunge pool, husked coconuts rest on the deck boards, and a furled parasol stands in flat calm water beside a steel handrail under a pale sky.
Our covered deck gave us a comfortable place to relax out of the direct sun.
Our smaller overwater bungalow, with a rainbow appearing over the water.

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A few things we still remember

The glass floor was especially enjoyable at night. We could turn on underwater lights from inside the villa, and there was another glass viewing area outside. The lights around the underwater support posts made it possible to watch marine life below us.

One night, we saw a fish we identified as a scorpionfish. We also watched sea urchins moving slowly up the underwater posts. We never knew exactly what we might see when we turned the lights on.

A scorpionfish resting on a submerged ledge, photographed at night through green-lit water below the villa. Its spread pectoral fins and mottled banding are visible, with the beam of an underwater light streaking the water beneath it.
Underwater lights helped us see fish and sea urchins around the support posts at night.

We also requested a Jamaican breakfast during one of our villa stays. Our butler arranged everything at the kitchen table inside the villa, including ackee and saltfish, boiled green banana, fried dumplings, and callaloo.

Having breakfast prepared and served right inside the villa made for a relaxing start to the morning.

Sitting directly above the water made an already good breakfast feel even more special.

A breakfast for two seen from above on a round white-clothed table: two plates of ackee and saltfish with fried dumplings and small dishes of dark green callaloo, a plate of sliced mango, melon, watermelon and grapes, a dish of boiled green bananas, a covered plate, two glasses of orange juice, cups and a steel coffee pot.
A Jamaican breakfast arranged at the kitchen table inside our overwater villa.

Because the villa was such a big splurge, we made the most of the butler service. One night we asked where we could get lobster, and the butlers arranged it from one of the resort restaurants and served it in the villa's kitchen area.

For dinner they could bring us dishes from several restaurants at once—maybe an entrée from one place, lobster from another and dessert from somewhere else. Everything arrived on a cart, and it was a fun way to try more of the resort's food in one evening.

A dinner plate seen from above under warm indoor light: two grilled lobster tails out of the shell laid across the plate, a bacon-wrapped portion behind them, a small bowl of cabbage slaw and a fork to the left, and white rice to the right.
Lobster dinner in the villa. Our butlers brought dishes from several resort restaurants so we could try a little of everything.

A quick note about this story

We stayed in these overwater accommodations four times—once in a regular bungalow and three times in the larger bungalow villas. The photographs and videos on this page are ours and were taken during those stays, over multiple visits. The resort is scheduled to reopen on December 18, 2026, following a major renovation, so it may look different when it reopens.

Current resort information

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