More about Riu Montego Bay Hotel
Wonderful experience at Riu Montego Bay
by TripAdvisor Member AndiBlackGreenGold
I went to Riu Montego Bay with my partner and we had a wonderful relaxing time. The food was great, check in was without any problems and everything was clean. We found the staff to be quite curteous and friendly. I expected that there would be some kinks it being a new resort, so whatever happened to disappoint me was not catastrophic.
I quite enjoyed the food but think the 2 restaurants that you have to book for should remove the buffet service.. it just does not work with the restaurant's ambiance. Nightly entertainment was wonderful and day activities are arranged for guests. Lots and Lots of food
I either recommend that the hotel gets a shuttle into Montego Bay for its guests. I called the front desk to ask the cost of taxi into Montego Bay and they were not sure.
My partner had a wonderful time, particularly with the mini bar in the room. I would suggest that the resort gets rid of those men in kayaks who sell things. They sell marijuana and also harass!
All in all a wonderful time and would definately recommend it to others, which I have done already! All in all I suppose the resort will eventually come into its own and stamp its class!
Riu Montego Bay really need to work out the KINKS!!!!
by TripAdvisor Member DelawareLady
This is the second Riu Resort that I stayed at..the first one in Cancun. My experience their was over the top, so naturally I'm expecting the same from the Riu Montego Bay.
I do realize that this hotel just open, and their are alot of kinks that need to be worked out, but I'm sure they had experience staff members from other resorts helping out, or training them.
The Resort is beautiful, no question about that; however the their are alot of kinks that need to be worked out.
1. The hospitality was just average. I asked for a late check out (1 hour later), and I was given a hard time. Check out is 12pm, and I asked for a 1pm check out because my ride to the airport did not leave until 2pm. After practically begging the front desk, they finally agreed.
2. The food was just average. The same food in the speciality restaurants, was basically the same food on the buffet. It also seemed like they served the same variety of food everyday. Also, the speciality restaurants were not full, so we asked if we could come in, and that was a problem. After again, begging they let us in.
We did have reservations at the steakhouse, and the food was HORRIBLE!!!! My friends were the first to order, and the last to receive their food, after waiting an hour; and even then they did not get what they order.
I ordered the seafood screwers, and it was a joke. They took one shrimp and cut it in half, with one piece of fish, the size of a quarter and two pieces of squash and placed them on a bambo stick. I got two of them, and that was my meal with two small pieces of broccoli and a bed a rice. That was not enough to fill up a two year old.
The beach was not a pleasant experience. After my friend got stung by a jellyfish, we did not want anymore part of the beach. Their seemed to be a lot of branches, and leaves floating in the water, not to mention the bottom of the ocean was very slimy.
The one good thing about the beach is that they had a hut that served jerk chicken and pork; however if you wanted something to drink you had to walk back to the pool area.
The rooms were clean and average. The maid service was very good, and friendly.
The night time entertainment was excellent and the pool area was beautiful. Overall, we did manage to have a good time.
We did the cool runners tour to Dunns River, snorkling and party boat; that was a blast. I think that was the best part of the vacation.
I don't think I would return to this Riu; however I will stay at other Riu hotels.
Riu Mon!
by TripAdvisor Member Bryantisawesome
We stayed at Riu Montego Bay from September 11-14th 2008. Amid the speculation I had previously read about concerning the completion of the Resort, I found it to be very well put together and everything seem to be running smoothly. Check in was fast and the staff were very courteous and attentive. Here are a few things we did notice on our stay there:
1) Originally the Riu's website eluded to transportation to the hotel from the airport. NOT TRUE. Please be prepared to take a taxi to get to RIU, we paid $15. On our final day we paid $20 to get back to the airport. (No explanation for price difference going to and from)
2) The water at the beach looked very beautiful, however upon going in the water it is kinda murky and muddy. Take into account a hurricane just took place a week before we were there so that could explain that.
3) The food at the RIU was very good, for brunch we mainly ate at the buffett which had a good assortment of food, but the smoothie bar is what made it really unique. As for the dining, there are three restaurants, Chinese, Italian and a Steak House. The Chinese is very nice and be warned it is a buffett style. The Steak house was good as well the only problem is that you eat outdoors at night and the prevalence of mosquitos at times became cumbersome. We personally witnessed two different couples leave because of the mosquitos. We did not eat at the Italian Restaurant.
4) Nightly entertainment was very good we enjoyed the fire show and a Bob Marley tribute concert.
5) I highly recommend you take some excursions. We took a Montego Bay city highlights tour, $20 per person. Glistening Bay tour $25 per, and a half day Negril tour $35 per person. For us the highlight was the half day Negril tour solely on the chance to watch the sunset at Rick's Cafe as well as watching the cliff divers. (Be Prepared at Rick's cafe to be approached by the divers for donations to watch them dive)
All in all we had a great time at RIU Montego Bay Resort, I do want to point out that this was our first time being on an all inclusive trip but for the most part our trip went off without any serious problems or issues. RIU Resorts is a beautiful resort and being that it just opened I am very certain that any mishaps or minor complaints that other travelers had written about will be corrected. We had a blast at RIU Montego Bay and would definetly go again.
FUN FUN FUN
by TripAdvisor Member love4travel2008
Annamarie
mississauga on
sept 12-sept 19
Just got back from the riu montego bay, my sister and I went for 1 week. It was great, I did not notice any construction at all.
beach: not the greatest for long walks, need walking shoes because of the jellyfish, lots of beach chairs avail.
chicken hut on the beach: John served us chicken all week he was so nice and had a great smile, chicken was great, but not jerk chicken.
Rooms: no problems clean, our a/c worked fine, but mini bar was stocked every second day.
pool: there are 2 pools and they are huge, one side has the volley ball net for activities and the other side has the swim up bar, there are also walk in ramps on each side so mobility customers wheel chair would be good to get in and out of pool.
BEWARE around the pool the cement is very hot you need to keep your shoes on to go from your chair to the pool.
lobby: is nice open air some stores but they are very expensive
check in was fast
restaurants: this needs some work, the food in the bins were most of the time empty so u had to wait for the food or there was some food left but it was not fresh, the tables did not have utensils most of the time, alot of flies were around to, I like to have restaurants closed with a/c this prevents having flies all over the food.
nightly entertainment: Most nights were good, we had a guy come in and sing bob marley songs it was great, and a micheal jackson concert it was great, but the nights were the staff put on shows were not that great, they do try but i think the riu should have brought in live entertainment if it is a riu.
THE STAFF: These guys were amazing, lots of energy and enjoying themselves.
special thanks to damien he was so sweet and professional, also kiki,hot dog, scoobie doo, big mama, brady, marlin, and some of the entertainment staff who joined in during our stay you guys were the highlight of our vacation. Thank you
going off the property: there is a texaco gas station across the street, they do have drinks like gatorade and snacks if you dont want to pay full price in the shop in the lobby, my sister and i went there 2 times no problem, people will approach you and ask you if you want a taxi and then offer you other things.
there is a market for shopping within 5 min walk up the hill past the gas station, you have to cross a main intersection this is tricky to do, I would recommend the shopping tour offered by sherri the sunquest rep in the lobby of the hotel, we paid 23us to go shopping and see a bit of the island.
we enjoyed ourselves and dont have anything much to complain about i would recommend this hotel.
Annamarie
"We had a wonderful time...."
by TripAdvisor Member romancelover
My husband and I stayed from 9/6/08 - 9/13/08 for our 25th wedding anniversary and it was wonderful. The resort had just opened at the end of August and looked very nice. The lobby is exceptional....marble everywhere..very elegant. The staff were more than nice. They were very friendly and happy...lots of them humming or singing. They seemed to really enjoy their job. Ms. Reed (at the restaurant reservation desk) went beyond her normal duties. My husband had tried for 3 days to get me some flowers for our anniversary. Ms. Reed tried her best...but the only florist in Montego Bay had completely ran out of flowers. All of their flowers are imported in. Hurricane Ike may have delayed them from arriving. The next closest florist was over an hour away. She picked some hibiscus blooms from the grounds and placed on our reserved table. They also gave us a bottle of champagne to celebrate since they could not provide the flowers my husband had desperately wanted for me. Our waiter, Dwight, at the Lalu' restaurant gave us exceptional service. He and the others, including Ms. Reed were tipped well for their efforts.
**The other negative reviews really amaze me as I did not encounter any problems with the resort or staff.
**The pool is very nice, especially the swim up bar. Pool closes at 7pm, but we were swimming after hours and no one seemed to care.
**The drinks were plentiful. They were not very strong so we sometimes asked for double shots in our drinks. They do have some top shelf....Smirnoff and Jim Beam. TIP: Bring insulated mugs for your drinks. It saves frequent trips to the bar.
**The shows were very entertaining, especially the fire show. **The beach was very pretty.....the hurricane brought rough surf one night and day which brought lots of bamboo poles and debris to shore. The staff worked basically around the clock for 2 or 3 days to rake the beach and get it looking beautiful again. **The sunsets are absolutely AMAZING! We watched them every evening.
**Beware of the mosquitos at dusk...they are vampires! They spray some type of smoky spray every evening and that helps to control them.
**The jerk hut had good food for lunch. It is right on the beach.
**I had a swedish massage at the spa which was very relaxing. You can also have a massage on the beach.
**We took out the HobieCats twice. They are pretty cool to sail. They really cruise if the wind catches just right. My husband paid $20 for a lesson on how to navigate the Hobie, but they are free to use as often as you wish. They also have paddle boats and kayaks to use whenever you want without a charge. You can also windsurf. THey may charge for a lesson on how to use these. **The sports bar did not have any pool tables when we were there. The hurricane had delayed the shipment. We were looking forward to playing pool as we love to play back in the U.S.
**The buffets were good with a nice variety of food. We tried goat and a few other things that we had never tried before. We tried all (3) reservation restaurants...all were good. Our favorite was the Steakhouse. Wonderful ribeye! Lalu' has oriental food and Little Italy speaks for itself.
**We hired a taxi to take us into town. We shopped at a few places and then he dropped us off at Margaritaville. He picked us up at our chosen time and then took us to Scotchies(a local outdoor diner) for some local food. Lots of locals stopped for takeout food. We ate outside at a thatched roof table with cushioned beer kegs for seats. Nothing fancy, but good jerk chicken. Also had breadfruit (tastes like potatoes) and Smirnoff Ice to drink. THey had a small outdoor bar with homemade bar stools. Pretty cool!
**We also took a sunset Island Dreamer catamaran cruise (3 hours) in which we snorkeled and then docked at Margaritaville for drinks. They also had free drinks on the boat. My favorite was Rum punch. We watched a beautiful sunset while sailing. We booked the catamaran thru the Jamaica Tours rep (Jennifer) at the hotel. The cost was $65 per person.
**Our room was Oceanfront on the top floor. They label the floors as O for ground floor and then 1st, 2nd, and 3rd floors. We were actually on the 4th floor ,but they called it the 3rd. Confusing, huh? It was a nice room with minibar, stocked mini-frig, TV (remote missing), hair dryer, clock radio, digital room safe (we kept our passports ,$$$ , jewelry, camera, wallet and purse )inside. Didn't want to take a chance that anything would turn up missing. We had a gorgeous view of the ocean and sunsets from our balcony. The bathtub is slippery (my husband and I both fell). Nice double sink. They provide bathgel, shampoo, and a sewing kit in mini packets.
**The Montego Bay airport is nice. Has lots of shops and restaurants while waiting for your flights. One lounge serves beer, food and you can also SMOKE inside the lounge. My husband thoroughly being able to smoke while waiting for our flight. I shopped instead. You can also buy liquor to take home too at a few of the shops. Several gift shops too.
**We had a very romantic time. We would definately go back to the Riu Montego Bay.
Hated it !!!!!
by TripAdvisor Member ariday333
Let me start my review by saying that I am well aware that this hotel just opened up and I know it still needs a lot of work, but still the service was a bit unpleasant.
Our room was not ready when we checked in, so my fiance and I decided to change and hang out in the pool. I then called to see if my room was ready after an hour and the front desk agent stated "If you want your room then you should come to the front desk instead of calling us on the phone" !!!!!!!!!!!!!! What the??? Who says this in the hospitality industry especially when you've only been open for 2 weeks???
My main complaints:
#1: THE BEACH IS HORRIBLE! The minute you walk about 20 steps into the water it feels like you are stepping into plastic bags with sand. You MUST get water shoes! At first I was wondering why the beach was so empty, then I took a nice little swim and got stung by a jelly fish and ran out the water faster than Richard Pryor in the movie "The Toy"...i'm not kidding. That explained a whole lot. Plus my biggest complaint, is that there's no bar at the beach, you have to walk all the way to the pool to get a drink, there are no servers, NOTHING. I've been to a bunch of all-inclusives and I just can't understand why there's no bar at the beach.
#2: THE FOOD: There really wasn't a lot of people around the time I went since it was hurricane season. Every single time I would go and eat, i'd say about 50% of their trays were empty. I had to literally stand and just wander until they brought out new trays. Never once did I walk in and the trays were all full, never once! So imagine if they would've had a full house, forget it, you'll starve to death. The food altogether was okay, could be better.
Other than that the room is nice and clean, nothing out of the ordinary, my toilet was a bit messed up.
The entertainment at night was okay too, they try to do a decent job to keep you entertained.
All together I didn't really have a good experience at all, and I tried to be positive but to be honest they just didnt' have it together. I hear that the other Riu's in Jamaica are farrrr better than this one. I'd really think about going to the other spots....TRUST ME. If not then, lots of luck and water shoes :)
Would not go there again..
by TripAdvisor Member ohwickedwanda
Was @ Riu-Mont Bay in Jamaica 9-5 thru 9-10. The resort itself was beautiful but it is so remote that you would be afraid to walk outside the gates especially @ nite. The food was ok;nothing to bragg about. Although my suite was absolutely beautiful; bugs & mosq were terrible because there were no closed windows in the hallways on bottom floors and insects would get in the room.Also being so close to the airport;sometimes the planes flying over would shake the building. Entertainment staff was fun and seem to like their job but the maids weren't friendly at all when you would pass them in your hallway. I didn't feel I got the best for my $ in Jamaica. And also do not go to a brand new resort because they will not have all the kinks worked out yet. Wait till it is settled and you can read some reviews @ it. Wanda Edlund, Spartanburg,SC
Resort no problem Some guests bjg problem
by TripAdvisor Member sunandfun1
Just returned from RIU MOBAY 15 Sept 2008 after a great 1 week stay The resort was [as far as we could see] pretty well completed with just a few workers here and there. The place was gleaming and the staff were all the nicest people we have ever come across anywhere we have stayed at. The buffet food at night could have had a little more variety but as there were so few guests they may have cut down on the choices. The pools were great but hurricane Ike went to town on the beach. The jerk chicken hut was fantastic but as others have stated a bar close by would be nice.The only other thing we found as far as the resort goes is the bathtubs were very slippery so I would suggest you bring a rubber bath mat.
Now as far as some of the guests they had to be the rudest we have ever seen. For instance at the bar ""Hey buddy you at the bar are you working here today'' or complaining to the maid that their rooms were not ready before 11.00 am.[The staff works all day so some people will be done early and some later]. But the biggest complaint by far was the dress code in the dinner buffet restaurant.Since when does a basketball outfit qualify as a collared shirt and long pants? Even some of the women went in with a beach towel as their form of cover up and flip flops as their form of a sandal.Come on people RIU has done their part lets do ours. Thanks for hearing my rant. Till next time............
Fun Trip,
by TripAdvisor Member taria4jamarr
My bf and I stayed at Riu MBJ from 9/15-9/19. The resort itself is lovely. We stayed in a standard room with a king bed and balcony that faced a courtyard. THe room was nice, but nothing exceptional. Our A/C didn't work the entire time we were there, but we couldn't tell because it was always cool at night and the ceiling fan helped. My only complaint is the humidity in the room (our passports curled up and clothes always felt a bit damp). The pool and swim-up bar are amazing! The beachfront is beautiful and the jerk hut is right on the beach. Water sports were readily avaliable and we never had to wait. My only major complaints are regarding the bad food and lack of internet access. The food is awful, no question. There is not internet access in the rooms and the resort has four computers in the sports bar and it costs $18/hr to rent them. THe service we recieved was amazing. The resort employees always went out of their ways to make us feel welcomed and comfortable. Also, the check-in process took way to long.
Nice place if you like "all -inclusive"
by TripAdvisor Member travelingSavage
If you like all inclusive resorts this place was pretty good - but let's just say I won't be doing an all inclusive for a long time. After spending 4 full days here I realized the cheesy entertainment, awful food, and feeling trapped on the resort is just not for me.
With that said, the grounds of the hotel were pretty and well kept, the rooms were clean and comfortable, the drinks were plentiful, swim up bar was great and the pool and beach were beautiful.
HOWEVER... there were many things that were unacceptable:
- Food was pretty poor - there is no need to battle for reservations at the "restaurants" as the food is the same, restaurants are empty and you're better off just eating at the buffet/cafeteria.
- Wine was disgusting
- Salt and Pepper shakers were backwards at every table so instead of putting pepper on my chicken I was actually dousing it in salt!
- Fan speed/switch in the bedroom was backwards as well
- It was battle of the music at the pool... they had 2 different stereos blasting music - not exactly my idea of a relaxing day by the pool!
- Entertainment crew was friendly but also in your face and annoying and cheesy at times .
- No shade from the sun on the beach (no umbrellas and very few trees)
- Front desk was useless. They didn't have any information... they didn't know where the hotel was located and what was around the hotel (ie other resorts or restaurants in the nearby area) nor did they know how much a taxi into town cost!!! Useless!
- Dance club was pretty lame
I would imagine it's a good place to take young kids and if you like all inclusive resorts I imagine you'd be pretty happy here.
Photos
Local church
Locals doing laundry
Even little kids can have fun here.
Loved it!
Forum Posts
Going to Royal Decameron at Montego Bay
by h_crouse
Just wondering if anyone has traveled to this restort and what do you think of it ?
Re: Going to Royal Decameron at Montego Bay
by Odinnthor
Well, I am not much for all inclusives, but that's just me. However, for all inclusives in Mo Bay the Decameron is an excellent choice. I lived in Kingston years ago and am a frequent visitor there. For this type of place you really cannot go wrong with the Decameron.
Here is what some folks on TripAdvisor have to say about it:
http://www.tripadvisor.com/Hotel_Review-g147311-d531845-Reviews-Royal_Decameron_Montego_Beach-Montego_Bay_Jamaica.html
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