We stayed at the Riu from July 2 through July 6. Overall, we had a great time and really enjoyed the resort.

Hotel: We had an ocean view room (paid extra) and the view was totally worth it. We could look out from the bed, through the balcony doors and see the beautiful ocean. We were on an end tower and it was one of the best views I've ever had at a resort. The room was very clean (and I'm a neat freak) and nicely appointed. The cleaning staff was very good, leaving fresh flower blooms in our room nearly every day. We left a tip the last day. None of our property was ever disturbed and we did use the safe, which I recommend. We did have a major problem with our door lock. It just wouldn't work. You could stand there for 10 minutes using the key card swipe and eventually it would decide to let you in. We brought it to the attention of maintenance on about three occassions. They would come up - eventually get it to work - and then leave, only to have it happen to us again. That was terribly frustrating. Other than that, we were on the quieter suite side which I liked a lot better than the other side. The pool was great (although they could have vacuumed it more frequently) and the swim up bar was excellent. I highly recommend the rum creme!! Oh, and if you see George teaching people to scuba in the pool, give it a try! He's a great teacher and has tons of patience.

Food: It was okay. Certainly a lot to choose from. I don't eat fish, so I was limited to the veggies and other meat. I didn't have any beef that was enjoyable, but Jamaicans rarely eat beef, so it makes sense that they wouldn't know how to prepare it. Chicken was good most days. The Italian restaurant was mediocre - pasta and sauce - but not bad. The Asian restaurant was good - decent flavor. The main hall always had tons of food to choose from. I wound up not visiting the dessert section that much because I wasn't fond of many of the offerings I tried - and I'm a sugar junkie! Maybe it just wasn't my taste. So I stuck mostly to salads, fruits, chicken....and cheese (yum).

Excursions: We only took one excursion to a ride and swim with horses. That was awesome! I highly recommend it. A nice ride through a plantation was followed up by swimming on horseback through the ocean. Wow. Just great. Our guide, Wyndale, was superior. And they really seem to care about the horses. We didn't do Dunn's River because it just sounded kind of boring and touristy to us, but to each his own.

Outside the Resort: We did venture off the grounds and up and down the beach. We did hit the little sales shacks set up right next to the resort. The owners were a little pushy, but not aggressive and polite when you declined nicely. Hey, they want to make a buck and will try to get your attention to do it. But they were also nice if you said no. Speaking of saying no, we were approached at least 10 times about wanting "other" jamaican wares. Again, if you say no thanks, they leave you alone. What disturbed me was that we were approached about this subject by Riu staff as well. Another disturbing element was the jet skiiers that hung out on the perimeter of the resort. If you're out snorkeling, they will come to within inches of running you over. It was scary, and we let the hotel know about it. However, if the police boat comes around, they disappear. Also, there's a native guy who sits out on a floating pier along the edge of the water. He looks kind of interesting with blonde short dreads. He's VERY nice and will try to sell you shells - or whatever he finds while fishing that morning. He's really cool, and you can negotiate with him. He also seems to care very much about the guests and their safety, often yelling at the jet skiiers to stay away from us.

All in all, I don't feel the need to return to Jamaica. But if I did, I would definately stay at this resort. I was told it's the 5th largest one on the island. The Sandals resort next door looks like an old Holiday Inn. Many resorts we drove past looked pretty nasty. If staying on this side of the island, your best best is definately Riu. I will check out their other hotels in different countries for sure. I have lots of pics, and am willing to answer questions.

Before I went to this resort I read all the reviews. Most were very good. I was surprises that nobody complained about them running out of towels. This happen to us 3 times out of 7 nights. We went 3 days without wash clothes. Our ironboard was broke from day 1. I requested a new one for the first 4 days and then gave up. They keep saying "no problem" but do nothing. It's not a problem for them because they don't need them. The place itself is nice. The rooms were nice, we had a Jr. suite. The food was not great but we survived. We were allowed to eat in the Gormet rest. because we had a suite. The people in the standard room did'nt miss out the food was terriable. The only restruant that was good is the Steakhouse and your only allowed to eat there once (which I found out when I went to make another reservation the night before we left.) Nobody told us you are only allowed to eat in ea rest. 1. Except for the buffet's. The Jerk Skack on the beach was very good. The resort seamed to have many problems while we were there. We lost electric a few times,they had to unplug the coffee machines to incress water pressure (this I also found out the day before I left) all week when I went to get coffee from the machine they were alway out of service during the day. Very anoying. I spoke to the manerger and they were aware of the many problems that they have but did'ne give me the feeling that they cared . Very inconvienced. You would go to the bar during the day when they were not busy (3 or 4 bartenders) standing around talking and they would act as it you were bothing them. They want a tip but they give bad service. The service in the buffet restarunt's were better then the Gormet ones. Over all Jamaica is a poor country and rely very much on Tourism but then try to squeeze every dollar out of you. You pay to go on a trip for the day and then everywhere you go they tell you to tip the people . Nobody tips me when I finish doing my job, thats what I get paid for. You pay the bus drive to take you to the airport and then he expectes a tip in the end. This was the only vacation that I was happy to go home. I had a good time with the people I was with and the entertainment at the resort was the best thing there (very professional). But I think Im done with Jamaica.

My boyfriend and I stayed at the Riu Ocho Rios from 6/4-6/12 2008.

We are not the kind of people who cannot be pleased. We definitely do not expect perfection and we overlook a lot, but we have some things we consider priorities when staying at a resort. I couldn't help but compare the Riu to 2 other (different chains) all-inclusives that we had stayed at two years prior in Mexico and I think I prefer the all-inclusives in Mexico.

I'll start with the not-so-great parts and then end on a happier note!

THE "OK" to "NOT-SO-GREAT" PARTS:

FOOD
I was able to call around 9:00 am and reserve several nights at restaurants for that week. The food was ok. Breakfast buffets were good. Sir John: one time the lamb chops were good, another time they were almost all fat. The Mandalay & The Mamee Bay Steak House were pretty good. We did not like Tushima at all. :( Everyone has different tastes though.

FRONT DESK/ROOM:
I know they are busy and frequently handling complaints, but....it was a bit frustrating. When we checked in after 3:00 or so, we had to wait a couple of hours for our room. It was not ready.

Then, we had paid for an oceanview jr. suite. It was on the 2nd floor (1100's) and you could only see palm trees and the pool. Also there was no sofa bed (the main reason we wanted a suite). We politely asked for a room with a sofa bed and possibly on a higher floor, so we could see the ocean. They told us, "Come back tomorrow". We did. Then, "Come back this afternoon". We did.

Finally we switched rooms (3rd floor 1200's) only to get a room infested with MOSQUITOES!! HELP! We were bitten all night. We never left the door open for more than a second, so I'm not sure how they got in, the vents?? Hopefully this only happens when it rains and it rained a few times that week.

We didn't think it was worth trying to switch rooms again and had heard that there were quite a few other rooms with mosquitoes anyway. So, we had housekeeping spray every day and it got better, thank God. That was quite miserable the first night though.

The beds are pretty firm. Other than that, you deal with a musty smell. Good A/C...thankful for that. We locked our suitcases and used the safe, no problems!


THE GOOD/GREAT PARTS ABOUT THE RIU:

THE HOTEL GROUNDS:
It is a beautiful hotel! They keep it clean. There is gorgeous woodworking everywhere! The open air lobby is amazing!

THE BEACH
The beach was very nice! There were plenty of chairs and umbrellas. The sand and ocean were beautiful. Not much waves. The people selling things did not bother us. It seemed like you just had to say, "No thank you".

THE POOL
We stayed in a junior suite, so we used the Jr. Suite side pool. It was nice. Not too crowded. The bartenders served great drinks. We did bring the insulated mug, that was nice. A good tip, if you do not like the brown rum, ask for white rum. I also liked that this pool was not overwhelmed by the entertainment staff like at other resorts.

THE JERK HUT:
No exaggeration....it was GREAT!!! We ate there every day for
lunch!!!

ENTERTAINMENT:
You have to give them a hand....they seem to really put their hearts into it! The Michael Jackson show was fun.

EXCURSIONS:
The market place was a bit overwhelming, but if you are politely assertive, it seems to work.

Dunn's Falls was FUN! Bring water shoes and a water proof camera. It takes about an hour and it's a climb, so it helps to be in "decent" shape.

Dolphin Cove: On Mondays, there is a discount on the dolphin programs. We swam with the dolphins! It was amazing!! We literally held on to their fins, as they lay on their backs and gave us a ride! To me, it was worth the money.

We took Lee's tours to and from the airport. It costs a bit more, but it was shorter and pleasant. "Mr. Gary" was very nice and informative about the culture.

We did tip overall because people were nice and worked hard.

I am glad I experienced Jamaica, but I think I might choose another place next time.

So these boards were wonderful before I left so I figured I would give my review. Lets start from the beginning!
Airport- The airport took a little while, getting through customs and all. Be prepared to wait and fill out every line of the customs card....and put none if it does not apply.The bottom part is for the return flight home information.

Transportation-We used LEES TOURS!!! My friends were very concerned with this, but they were wonderful! They come highly recommended and I know why! Very Prompt and anything we wanted they were there to take care of us! The ride was not as bad as we thought it was going to be.

Hotel- The hotel was wonderful! The lobby was beautiful. we were greeted with a rum punch and we also were upgraded to a jr suite at no extra charge, we did tip the man who checked us in with $10. He was greatly appreciative. We walked our baggage ourselves and made it to our room just fine!
We tipped our maid the first day and left her a note asking for more diet coke and towels and she took good care of us!
Also had no problems with anything missing or broken into!

Food- We got a reservation for the japanese restaurant only. the other nights all the other resturants were booked. Needless to say the St Anns buffet had a wide variety of food to choose from. And it eneded up fitting our schedule better.

The Pool and Beach- and the suite side the pool was very calm, not many activities which suited us just fine! quiet with a wonderful bar, it was difficult to get a lounger by the mid afternoon, since we liked going to the beach early then goin to the pool afterward. very difficult. The jerk hut was far from where we were on the beach and by the other pool, so we only ate there one day!

I recommend making any excusions u are interested in before u get there. We used Lees Tours again to do this and we went to Dunns River and Bob Marley tour. We spent the day out and it was very comforting with our own driver.
Mosquitos-were a little bit of a problem but nothing a little bug spray couldn't fix and definately bring the sunblock!

This is long enough any questions, don't be afraid to ask, I will definately pass on the info!