The Riu is a nice resort, but it is too large. Everywhere you go on the resort feels a mile or two away. It has beautiful views from the balcony, the Junior Suites are incredible, and the pool and beach areas are wonderful. The food is just okay, nothing to write home about, although there are plenty of varieties to choose from. They also have internet access at $9/half hr, but the computers do not have any other software programs, such as Word and WordPerfect.

The biggest drawback for us was the lack of Jamaican flavor. The entertainment was mainly American style stage shows. They featured Donna Summers and Cher impersonations, scenes from the Lion King, and High School Musical, etc. No reggae sound the entire time!!!

Apparently the Carribean is going "mega" with their resorts. This resort hosts 856 rooms and there are others under construction with 1000 rooms and more. Hopefully they won't lose all of the Jamaican flavor.

overall not a bad place to stay. simply said...vacation is what you make it.
we are folks that never leave the resort and prefer to pool, beach, sun, cocktails and just mingling with people at the resort.
jr suite room was nice. great ocean views. stayed in building 1. really don't think any of the rooms are too far from anything. guess it's a matter of opinion. only downside of room is the absolute horrible musty smell while there that followed us and all of our belongings home!!! have been to many caribbean resorts and know the smell is there but never had a problem upon return home like we did this trip. other couple we stayed with didn't seem to have such a big problem and their room certainly did not smell as must as ours.
food...overall okay. not my favorite but not bad. certainly none of us went hungry!!! making reservations not a big deal..just took a bit of time and patience. favorite restaurant was japanese tushima. great service and food at this restaurant.
drinks...certainly none of us had a problem. definitely worth the insulated mugs we brought with us. re strength of alcohol... personal preference...we just asked for a "floater on top and lead in the pencil" which basically translated to please add more alcohol and make it strong!
entertainment...average. i think most of the resorts have the same type of entertainment. usually we get real involved in the poolside entertainment but it seemed more difficult at this resort for whatever reason so we spent most of the time at quiet pool which was entertaining in itself!! (of course we were part of that entertainment!!!) evening shows average.
kids...i still prefer an adult only resort. it's not that i don't like kids. what i don't like is parents who bring their children to a resort and never supervise them!!! hence these children are running all over the resort..sitting at the pool bar stools..etc. just ignorant.. but again, it's the parents.
overall...ignore all the negative reviews. enjoy the facility. i would probably rate it a 3.5 of 5 overall. as always..a vacation is what you make it. invest your energy into enjoying yourself.
enjoy!

I did a lot of research before deciding to take my husband and two 19 year old girls to this resort. This Riu is a Club Hotel and full of action. If you want swimming, snorkeling at the beach, watersports, tennis, pool, entertainment, dancing, shopping, volleyball, parties, music, games, noise ...... this is the place. There are people of all ages and always a couple of weddings going on. The weather was beautiful every day with a gentle breeze.

The grounds and rooms are very clean. We had awesome ocean view rooms which was well worth the extra money. The water is aquamarine and the beach is clean, although your opportunity to walk is restricted to the hotel property. Expect to be approached to buy Ganja, The sellers are very polite if you decline. There is a small market at one end of the beach.

The St. Ann's dining room has a marvelous breakfast and dinner buffet. We also enjoyed the Asian a la carte. The jerk hut on the beach is delicious.

If you are looking for tranquility and relaxation, i would not recommend this resort. Also, be prepared for a 2 hour bus ride from the Montego Bay airport. If you want to see the Dunn's River Falls, i would not recommend the tour from the hotel. We spent $350 US for one of the Cool Runnings canamerans (including water shoe rental and tips). The boat was over crowded with almost no shade. The trip included snorkeling on a degraded reef outside Ocho Rios with very few fish. After spending over an hour hiking up the Dunn's River Falls, there was a "party" with rum drinks, 70's music (Village People anyone?) and no food. The staff screamed through the microphones. We arrived back at the hotel starving and deaf. If you want to see the Falls, take a taxi to town for $10.

The Jamaican people are upbeat and friendly. Bring a supply of US dollar bills for tipping bus drivers, baggage handlers and tour guides. Although apparently included, we also tipped the maids, bartenders and waiters who were exceptional.

I'll begin by stating that I've been criticized in the past about my reviews. We travel four times a year to various Carribean locations so we are fairly seasoned travelers.
We decided to take a last minute short holiday to Ocho Rios. Reading the reviews the only negative I could find that would be warranted was the ala carte reservation system. I'll address my perceptions a bit later in this review.
We've been to Jamaica before and had shuttle service other than JTL. The benefit of some other resorts is that they have a reception area in the airport where you wait for the bus. With JTL we sat on the bus for 45 minutes before our departure. One thing we noticed was that if you didn't tip the porter they became quite rude and demanding of a tip. The porter that assisted us did a great job finding the bus and was tipped accordingly. Our JTL driver (Peter) was quite informative on the two hour drive and whereas no one else gave him a tip we did so. My opinion is, if you can't afford to tip you can't afford the trip.
I waited for our bags knowing they'd be the last off the bus as they were the first on, so my wife went to the reception area to check in. By the time I had our bags she had our room keys and the belllman showed us to our room. We saw sooooo many people trying to locate rooms on their own. Not recommended!
It was 4:30 by the time we got to our room and I tried to get evening reservations at an ala carte. The steak house was available at 9:00 but we were tired from the travel and opted for the St. Ann Buffet. The food was good, but we prefer a sit down/waiter/ala carte dinner. Making reservations the next morning I started calling at 8:55 and got through just after 9:00. I booked reservations for our remaining two nights and had my choice of time and place. Do be aware that the Sir Richard, Sir John and the Asian restaurants only seat around 50 people which is why reservations are difficult to secure. Although the food was good at the Sir John it was more like assembly line service where orders and serving moved table to table. Of the 16 tables we were next to the "kitchen" and received our courses first (pity the couple at table 16!). The steak house, even though ala carte, was a soup and salad bar, pick an entree, and a dessert bar. Again, the food was good (not great). Breakfast buffets were very good. The Jerk Shack had great jerk for lunch!!!
The resort was marvelous! You'd be hard pressed to find a pebble on the beach and the slope into the water is gradual and the surf minimal. The sand isn't pure white like some places in the Carribean but in my opinion was the best overal beach experience we've had (and I've been searching a long time). If you want to snorkel you can walk out maybe 15 yards on the west side of the beach to chest deep water with good snorkeling just outside the rope.
The bartenders are lively and friendly. The front desk called the first two days we were there to make sure we had everything we needed. The resort is pristine. From our room (standard) we had an outstanding view of the ocean, mountains, pool and garden.
All in all, if the ala cartes were to serve a more varied menu (outside of what's on the buffet table) with more flair in its presentation my review would be without reservation. I haven't found my perfect 5 star yet, but this is the first resort I told my wife I'd go back to in the future. The Riu Ocho Rios is worth the trip.