Nine months on from Hurricane Melissa, most of the island is trading normally — but a handful of big names are still shut, and a few have moved their dates more than once. Here is where things stand.
Hurricane Melissa came ashore in October 2025 as a Category 5 storm. Tourism Minister Edmund Bartlett has since put the damage at around US$12.2 billion, and by April this year said arrivals had recovered past 80% of pre-storm levels. That number matters, because the question we get asked most is simply: is Jamaica open? It is. But the honest answer is that it depends entirely on which resort you had in mind.
OPEN AND TRADING NORMALLY
Princess Grand Jamaica reopened on 1 March and Princess Senses The Mangrove is back too. Bahia Principe Luxury Runaway Bay reopened on 1 April. Half Moon in Montego Bay has brought its Eclipse section back with 57 restored beachfront rooms, with more to follow later this year. S Hotel Montego Bay came through without major damage and never really stopped. Round Hill and Toby's are open. RIU Montego Bay traded through most of the recovery.
On the Sandals side, Sandals Ochi, Sandals Dunn's River, Sandals Negril, Sandals Royal Plantation and Beaches Negril all reopened back in December 2025 and are fully operational.
Negril, in particular, has come back strongly. Seven Mile Beach and the West End are busy again.
STILL CLOSED, WITH DATES
Three Sandals properties remain shut as part of a US$200 million rebuild the company is calling Sandals 2.0. Sandals South Coast is due back on 18 November 2026. Sandals Montego Bay and Sandals Royal Caribbean both follow on 18 December 2026. If you have seen a May 2026 date quoted anywhere, that was the original estimate and it has since changed.
Seven Hyatt Inclusive Collection resorts are closed until 1 November 2026, a group that includes Secrets St. James Montego Bay and the Rose Hall properties.
Bahia Principe Grand Jamaica is under a full refurbishment and is not due to reopen until 1 December 2026.
WHAT THIS MEANS IF YOU ARE BOOKING
Two things. First, the resorts that are open are genuinely open, and the island is receiving visitors normally. Flights, transfers and excursions are all running. Second, dates have moved before and may move again, which is exactly why we confirm a property's status with the hotel before we quote it, and again before you pay.
If you were holding out for one of the closed properties, tell us. In several cases the rebuild is substantial enough that waiting is the better call, and we will say so.