I was "glued" to Tripadvisor reviews for a couple of months before going to Riu Ocho Rios. We had an amazing time and I am sure, others will do too if you travel with an open mind and a great attitude.
AIRPORT: Our transfer company was JTL and based on my previous experiences when traveling to other resorts, there is a representative waiting for you outside the airport to take you to your bus. In Jamaica, representatives are located inside the airport. JTL has its own station where you "check in", they give you a voucher and send you to the next person who carries your luggage to your transportation (for a small tip). On the way to the resort we made a short stop where we bought a bottle of water and 2 botlle of juice... all for $8.50 The bus was airconditioned and the roads were fine.
CHECK IN / ROOM: We arrived around 4 p.m. and our room was not ready. We were asked to wait 30 minutes and sinces we were hungry, we decided to go to eat at the Piccola Italia Italian restaurant located next to the lobby.
We booked a "beach front" room that literally faced the beach and the sea. The view was breathtaking. The room was clean. Towels were changed every day. We showed our appreciation to the maid with a $2 tip every day. Suggestion: Our room was normally cleaned around 3 p.m., but because we traveled with almost a 2 year old who had to take a nap in the middle of the day, we asked if our room could be cleaned between 10-12 in the morning and we were accommodated without a problem.
My cell phone (T-Mobile) was not getting a service, so I made a call to the US to let my husband know that we (our son, my mom and I) arrived safely. I was initially informed that I would be charged $3 a minute. However, I was on the phone for about 2-3 minutes and was only charged $3 for connection (they inform you about your charges before you leave Riu).
FOOD: There is soooo much great food! Every night they add/ change many dishes. They also cook some "main dish of the night" outside at the restaurant's main entrance. My little picky eater always had a plate full of choices for him (did not want many of them, but not because the food was bad, he is just very picky). He loved the "jerk chicken" for lunch though:) I still like to give my son a cup of milk before he goes to bed and as soon as our "favorite" waiter saw us he offered to fill our mug for us (we carried a mug with us for these porposes, so that we could later take it to our oom). If you can, tip your waiters... they work extremely hard...
MANDALAY ASIAN RESTAURANT: Reservation was quick and easy. I went to the front desk/reception around 2 p.m. and asked them if I could make a reservation there. The gentleman offered to call for me and also made a reservation for me and my family. We were not able to get a reservation for the same day, because the restaurant was booked, but the next day worked for us as well.
We really were not impressed by the selection of food at the Aisan restaurant, and also its quality and its quantity (unlike regular breakfast and dinner buffet). If you want to try it anyway, make a 6:30 reservation (they have 4 sitting times). We were still there around 7:30 (the second sitting was at 7:15) and they have not added any more food to the salad/sushi buffet... the 7:15 sitting guests had to enjoy leftovers. Also, the waiter seemed not to care whether we needed something or not. Which is not typical to other waiters and staff at all.
WEATHER: Even though we were there in the middle of June, it never felt hot, becasue of the gentle breeze coming from the sea. It actually feels much hotter back at home then it felt in Jamaica.
MISC:
We did not see evening shows, because of our baby's schedule.
I did, however, go to a spa and had a deep tissue massage for $104 for 50 minutes. The swedish massage was $80 something dollars for the same time length.
The beach is great. The kids' pool was closed throughout our entire stay, but we took our little one to the main pool and had fun with him in there( they have two big pools on either side of the resort).
Just go with a positive attitude and you will definitely love your stay at Riu Ocho Rios.

Let me start by saying, I will keep this short and truthful.
If you are reading a lengthy review of this hotel and it is telling you how wonderful it is...It's true and now I know, I should have believed it.
This place is beautiful, clean and friendly. That is why I won't bore you with more details. If they say it was wonderful, I believe it was. It was fabulous.
If you are reading a review that is complaining about mold, mildew, mosquitos, or bad service, don't believe it. There were no stinky rooms, no mold, no mildew, very few mosquitos, (they only enter your room if you leave the door wide open for a lengthy period, but why would you do that, you need to have the door closed to keep the air running, why have your room damp and hot, you have to keep the air on or it will be.) and there were no rude unappreciative employees. They couldn't do more to make sure you were happy. There was no pressure or attitute to tip except at the airport. At the hotel, they were grateful for what they got. We walked down the beach to the little huts and bought our stuff. Wanted to make sure it went to the locals and they were very happy we did. Prices were fair and no pressure, none.
We went to the straw market on a tour and THAT was pressure. We didn't buy because they were very aggressive. Make sure you see Jane at the huts on the beach to the left of the hotel, what a sweet lady.
What else can I say. From check in to check out it was perfect. The weather, the ocean, the pools and the Ocho Rios Highlight Tour, all fantastic.
We would return in a heartbeat. You can't go wrong with the Riu.
I hope this puts you mind at ease if you are swaying. I know I was and was eager to find out anything I could to convince me that I made the right decision. Now I know we did. Oh and a shout out to Jamaica Tours, they were great as well.

I visited Jamaica during Memorial Day weekend '08. It was an all girls weekend for us.

The rooms were clean and nicely decorated. Everyday, we had a different type of flower on our freshly made beds. Best of all was the food. There were at least 6 restaurants to choose from and surprisingly, the food was great considering the hotel was all-inclusive. There were plenty of healthy options as well, like grilled fish and a salad bar all day long in numerous restaurants. In addition, there was jerk chicken down on the beach everyday.

The alcoholic drinks did not meet my expectation but most all-inclusive hotels water down the alcohol (I think).

This hotel had plenty of activities ranging from volleyball to bombfire parties on the beach. You can take lessons to learn the local language. Also, the hotel has plenty of partnerships with tourist companies so shopping and clubbing is a breeze.

I would recommend this hotel. I will consider a RIU hotel for another vacation.

First of all, excuse me if I rant on, I can talk.
Stayed in the Clubhotel Riu Ocho rios for 2 weeks from 3rd June and had a great time. Unless you are extremely picky, you can't really fault this hotel. It really puts Sandals next door to shame, making it look shabby and old. Rius are top notch for everything and i'll more than likely stay in one for my next holiday.

After a horrible 10 hour Thomson flight and 2 hour coach ride, it was great to arrive at the hotel, check in and be in our room within 5 minutes! We took our own luggage to our room, but we didn't care, we're not lazy.

Our room was in building 2, 3rd floor and had great views of half of the pool and the sea. The rooms in this area are good as they are close to the beach, pools, restaurants and lobby instead of a half hour trek like the other buildings.
The rooms are really clean, like the rest of the hotel, have his 'n' hers sinks and drinks dispensers that are refilled.

A word of advice, get up early. When we first arrived, it was raining. For the first four days, it was clear sky until around 2pm then we got rain and a few storms. We then had a few days of all day sunshine, and then it went back to rain in the afternoons. After a few days though, you'll notice its nice to have the rain as it is so hot and it isn't good for you being in the sun all day. We both still came home with great tans.

The food is really good, there is a lot to choose from. Like any other hotel it gets a little repetitive but then it's going to after 2 weeks...

St. Annes- We tried all of the restaurants apart from the Japanese, but I was still happy to eat here most nights. Breakkie was great-omelette station, all the usual bits and bobs for fried breakfasts, fruit, salad, cheeses, hams, juices bread and pastries. i always left breakfast really full up. Dinner- Loads of salad, pasta station,lots of meat & fish, breads, soups, Jamaican station and a variety of bits and bobs depending on the theme that night. Every so often they did some show cooking outside, the seafood linguine was really good. Desserts weren't great though, but the caramelised fruit was gorgeous! Stay well away from the white wine, it's horrific!

Steakhouse-ok. Mains are ordered, starters & desserts are buffet. My tenderloin was good, the veg and potato was alright.

Mandalay Bay-Asian buffet. This is tasty, but the starters and dessert tended to be better than main. You'll definately leave full.

Sir Richard/Gormet. Food is really good but service is crap. A couple came in half hour later than they booked and left half hour earlier than we did. It's luck of the draw if you food will be served to you within an hour. Our luck was obv. bad.

Picco Italiano- Open pretty much all the time. Ideal if you starving because you missed a meal, but it all tastes a bit like canteen food.

Jerk hut-Really good. Don't make the same mistake i did. Try the Jerk sauce before u smother your food in it. It's quite spicy!

The Nights. The entertainment crew are brilliant! The pre-show entertainment is good, they get the audience to participate and it's usually quite funny. The shows are awesome, they're great dancers. One or two got a bit boring, the Tropical show and the Around the world show. The Michael Jackson show,Greece,The Reaggae night and The Steel Drums are all really good.

Bars- If you wanna be laughing all night, head to the Bob Marley Bar. these guys are truly mad. Like all the other bars, they encourage to drink lots of alcohol, making up random cocktails when they feel like it. Pina Coladas & Strawberry Daiquiris are yummy (lots of rum), as well as Amaretto Sours. If you don't wanna drink, try a banana mama. Pacha disco is alright, but you get a bit bored after a while.

We didn't do many trips, which is very unlike me, Ilike to get out and about, but the hotel is just too relaxing. We climbed Dunn's river falls which is really enjoyable, not at all scary. We took a taxi there and went at 9am- best thing to do. You don't neccessarily need a guide unless your camera isn't waterproof but the guides are great. The water is really refreshing and after we finished we saw the big day trip arrive. They had to hold hands climbing up and we were really glad we didn't do it that way.

Also took a taxi into Ocho Rios. Went to Island Village and the Taj Mahal area, didn't have enough time to check out the flea market. Got some cool bits and bobs to put in my room, not much else. Unfortunately a cruise was in that day so the prices had been put up. It's worth checking when they are in for both this and Dunn's River and avoid going there on those days.

This is pretty long, so i'll bring it to an end. The people are great, so funny and anyone who says they are not, are just obviously miserable people themselves.
Few more tips...
-If it rains early, keep your pool towells, its likely to pass over and when you want to go back out, they wont have any clean towells.
-If you want a seat for the show, eat early as it gets packed.
-Mozzie spray! Not just for the mozzies,but the sandflies! I was bitten, it got infected and I had to have an injection to calm the reaction. Expensive and didn't realise I had to pay excess on insurance.
-Try out Thomson for taxis rather than the taxi stand, was cheaper for us.