Clubhotel Riu Ochos Rios Reviews

Visited this hotel in may for 2 weeks. Read a lot of reviews, but must say It was a great holiday. I travelled with my husband, 4 yr old and 10 month old. Resort is beautiful. Plenty restuarants, we were in the standard rooms, you can eat in all the restuarants apart from the japenese retuarant. We did go- my dad flew from america and had a room which was a suite, so they got to eat in the japenese retuarant and we were there guests.Don't pay extra for a suite, its so not worth it. My standard room was better!! Wouldnt worry if you can get in ( japenese retuarant), you wont be missing out on anything. You get the same sushi at the chinese, which is the best place to eat. But be warned you have to phone to book these places and its a nightmare trying to get through.

Entertainment is amazing, they put on amazing shows.

The staff are so lovely. I wasn't happy with my room when we arrived, I asked for a family room and was given 2 double beds in the room, I complained and got given a king size bed and a double bed and a balcony with sea view. They were very helpful.

Great cocktails at the pool, each bar staff had their own speciality. Would go back, if the flight wasn't so long 10hrs from uk. Great holiday, go for it!!!

Bonus, having small kids you have to retire to bed early, however the room fridge is stocked with fizzy drinks, bottles of water, and every room has an optex of gin, brandy, vodka and jamaican rum. spirits are named brands no local stuff, which is surprising for all inclusive.

your kidz will love it.

im going to keep this short. i read lots of reviews before we booked, some great some very bad.this place was excellent and ive been to lots of hotels
the food was fine very big selection lots of choice of restraunts some you had to book no problem just phone around 9 in morning it takes about 5 mins to get through service was great in restraunts and bars .as regards being hassled didnt get hassled anywhere id just like to add we were hotel around easter the hotel was completly full and for such a big hotel you would think there be queues for buffets and wait for drinks ,no sunloungers well think again this hotel is so well organised you dont wait for anything .

its not often i say i would like to go back to same hotel but this place i 100% would

We booked this holiday just 3 weeks before we went. When they said all inclusive we didnt realise just what it meant in this place. It really is 24 hours a day, if you want a sandwich at 3 in the morning just go to the sports bar and get one. The mini bar in your room is restocked every two days with beer, mixers (inc pepsi) and water. The optics on the wall are restocked at the same time with Gin, Vodka, Brandy and Rum. There are so many choices to eat you cannot possibly complain and the staff cant do enough for you.

We were a little worried about the weather before we went as October is supposed to be the wettest month of the year. It only rained 3 times in 2 weeks and only 1 of those was during the day, even then it was only for an hour.

The trip to Dunns River Falls is a must do and pleasemake sure you tip the guides. They really earn their tip on this trip.

Whilst we were there the hotel was only half full so there were no problems getting sunbeds either by the pool or on the beach.

The biggest mistake we made was taking too many clothes as all you need is swimwear, shorts and maybe a couple of smart things for the evening, (if you book for one of the speciality eating places gents must wear long trousers and shirts with a collar).

We will return to this hotel without a doubt and will also book with Riu and Thomson again.

Everyting erie Mon, no promlem.

We have recently returned from our best holiday ever. Having read other reviews we were worried about the journey but despite a short delay we found the journey to the hotel an interesting insight into the island.

Having had friends who have been to the hotel previously we knew we couldn't go far wrong, as they had loved it also. we were worried about the weather at this time of year and expected to have a little rain each day, but in fact only had two showers and one thunder storm (which was in the night) during our two week stay.

more specifically:
Room - excellent, large and very clean as was the bathroom. only problem we had with the cleaners was that on two occasions we were left without towel and had to ring reception a few times before any were delivered.

Restaurants - we used the buffet restaurant most evenings as there was something for everyone. we also went to the steak house twice which was very good. my husband went down at about 8am to book this. we didn't bother with the other restaurants but be warned people were queuing apparently from 5am! we found the food in the restaurants we went to was excellent.

Pool - beautiful with an amazing pool bar with tables etc in the water. also tiled sunbeds submerged in the water which were much needed as the sun could be very hot.

beach- we are more pool people, but the beach was beautiful. both the pool and beach had plenty of sunbeds.

entertainment - the shows were the best we have seen in many years of staying at 4 and 5 star hotels. the entertainers appeared to all be professional dancers. daytime entertainment was good and not at all in your face, they rarely ask you to join in. There is an announcemeny and it is up to you whether or not you want to attend.

outings - we only went on one trip, which was to the Ocho Rios falls. really worth while trip, i hadn't planned to climb the falls as i am over 40, overweight and not very fit! but i loved it. DONT PAY TO GO WITH THOMSON just book a taxi in reception. when you get to the falls you just tag on with all the other visitors. doing the trip ourselves cost us at least half, and we didn't have to be herded on and off coaches etc.

warning.- the hotel is very large and while that is to its advantage in the main, if you dont like walking in the boiling sun, or you like to keep popping to your room during the day, request to be in the main building.

definately book with portland and not Thomson we saved about a thousand pound between us (we pay for 4 adults and have 2 rooms). you still fly with thomson and have the thomson rep etc. no difference at all except the price. all in all excellent value for money.

would definately recommend this hotel to anyone.

Just got back from a 2 week holiday staying at the Riu Ochos Rios Jamaica,

The transfer time from the airport is about 2hrs, which was not as bad as some people say the coach was air conditioned and there is a stretch of road which is rough.

Excellent hotel and good restaurants, 4 restaurants require advance booking, some people start queuing at around 8.0 o,clock, but we never did and we got a reservation every time, with the exception of the Sir Richards which we got in the following night- but give this restaurant a miss - they try to serve gourmet food but with little success.

The food is very good in all the other restaurants, accommodation is excellent the only thing I would like to see in the rooms is tea and coffee making facilities, my advice is take your kettle with you, people say you get a smell in your room, you do but its just the smell of the tropics not a nasty smell. We were in block 3 for 4nights (which was a lovely room overlooking the wedding gazebo), but we were upgraded to the Palace side after 4day where we had a junior suite, (these are very nice but would not pay an extra £66 per night or for the Americans $50 per night). The beach is amazing and the sea is clean there are loads of sun beds on the beach. The traders on the beach do not bother you, do have a chat with them if they stop you, if you do not want to buy anything just say and they will say ";good bye and have a good day";. The 2 pools are both excellent it is sometimes hard to get a sun bed because of the towels on the sun bed syndrome and umbrella are hard to get, but if you ask the life guard he will try and get you a sun bed and umbrella, he sorted us out a couple of times and a small tip is very much appreciated.

The staff at the hotel were very friendly and nothing was too much trouble, we did feel they did not expect tipping but they were most grateful if you did give them a tip. The evening entertainment was OK they worked hard but every night was not much different. Take sun cream, general medicines with you, they are very expensive in the hotel shop.

Pauline the Thomson rep is excellent and nothing is too much trouble. Make sure you buy your phone card off her, after you have bought the phone card it costs you $1 a call from your room, if you buy from the shop it costs a lot more. Also you can use the internet this costs $9 for 30 mins and you get your password and user name from the shop, my password would not work and after 4 trips back to the shop someone came with me and agreed the password was not working - I never got my 30 mins time because the pass word failed again and it was hard to get anyone from the shop to come to my assistance (I would say the shop staff were not very helpful).

Dunns falls is a great day out the trip lasts about 6hrs, (would not take children under 10 to walk the falls it is quite dangerous) we went via the catamaran, you can hire shoes to go up the water fall for $5 make sure you have the change, we were told not to take our video camera but take it, you can leave it on board the boat and it would be safe, I think they want you to buy the DVD, this costs $40 and it is an excellent reminder of the day. The guides are very good when they take you up the water fall and will take photos for you with your own camera, but they expect a tip so again have some $5 and $1 bills.

We went swimming with the dolphins this was good but I think very expensive at $206 each. There is a small nature area to walk round, watch out for the guide with the parrots he gets you to hold them and takes a photo of you with your camera and then wants a tip! Again take your video camera to the Dolphins if you get there before its your turn you can video the dolphins, the DVD they sell after your experience is $49 (the DVD is not as good as the Dunns falls DVD) and photos are $16 each and reduce down to $13 if you buy more than one (an expensive day) Also the guide that went with us for the swim with dolphins experience also asked me and my husband for a tip. An excursion to the glowing lagoon was rated excellent by all that went on it.

On your return I would not bother booking the executive lounge at the airport, The airport is cool once you get through passport control and there are lots of shops to get your gifts at. A nice place to get a burger is Margaritiaville; there is one in the main airport and one down near gate 19 which is very quiet .

Overall a real good holiday this is our second visit to a Riu hotel excellent standards although very little local influence.

We have travelled all over and stayed in some classy hotels, but this one beats the lot!!! It's an absolute WOW!!

The hotel itself is absolutely amazing. It's huge and is now the biggest hotel in Jamaica. The sheer size of it put me off initially, however within about an hour of arriving, it soon didn't bother either of us. The rooms are fantastic. We were given a suite which we hadn't booked, but were delighted with it. Separate lower living room area, jacuzzi bath, fridge with beer and soft drinks which of course are included, and optics with gin, vodka, brandy and jamaican rum. Our balcony was directly above the beach. No need to get up early to put towels on sunbeds, we could just throw them on from the balcony!!! Actually, that wasn't necessary as there were more than enough sunbeds for everyone whatever time of day you got up.

The swimming pools were awesome and both had swim up bars, jacuzzi's and sunken beds so that you could lie in the pool, semi submerged in water.

The food was totally fantastic in the both the buffet restaurants as well as the others, which had to be booked on the morning of the day you wished to go. That was probably the only down side of the holiday, as you would queue outside the restaurant of your choice for the bookings to be taken from 10 am. For the a la carte restaurant, Sir Richard, people would start queueing as early as 7am!!!! This restaurant only has 12 tables, but we decided to give it a go on our last evening and it was definately worth it. The one thing which was a bit snobby was that if you stayed in a suite, you wore a white wrist band and if you were in an ordinary room, not that they were ordinary by any means, you wore a blue one. apparently, only guests from the suites were allowed to eat in the Japanes restaurant, however, we met people staying in ordinary rooms who got in. Unleas you're really into Japanese food, I wouldn't say it was a problem anyway.

There are plenty of bars, which sometimes can be a bit busy, but not to any detriment. You could have anything you wanted to drink at any time of day or night!! The cocktails on the drinks menu were really only a suggestion, as they could make you just about anything.

The beach was superb!. Exclusive to the hotel and quite long. At one end is the watersports, where you could get pedalo's, kayak's, windsurfing, mini catamarans and snorkelling gear, all included.
The entertainment was first class. The Michael Jackson show is a must!!! For us, every night was like going to the west end. The entertainment team were an absolute scream and in general, the Jamaicans are just brilliant people. Incredibly friendly, helpful, fun and always singing!!

One thing we noticed is that all the trips organised by Thomson (which own Portland) are more expensive than the same trip through one of the american or canadian tour operators. We purchased the trip to Dunn's River Falls through the hotel (bookable at the watersports hut on the beach) and was much better value for money than the Thomson trip and much more fun. If you're relatively fit, you MUST climb the falls. It's so exhilarating and beautiful. Our trip took us by catamaran rather than by road and then after the falls we then went off snorkelling which was fantastic.

i could go on forever about this place, but the best way to find out about it is to go. I would recommend this place to absolutely anyone and everyone and I'm determined to go back asap. A dream holiday that I will never forget!! I hope I've convinced you enough!!

The hotel was fantastic spacious and spotless. the food was very good but sometimes you had to wait while they restocked we ate in the steak house twice and was first class. There was plenty of activities going on day and night. the evening entertainment was the best We have seen for years the annimation team worked all day and night were friendly, chatty and extremely hard working. Our daughter came with us and was not at all bored as they included her in the activities got her up to dance every night, remembered her name and she had difficulty in deciding which one to bring home.

Two things you must do is Dunns river falls which is easier than it looks and is great fun and swimming with dolphins ( expensive but something you wont forget )The staff were great and very friendly as they were outside the resort. WE had a room with a sea view and above the pool in the main block. The mini bar was filled up every other day very nice when you got back from a hard day sun bathing and swimming. We had trouble charging mobile but if you take a european plug there are 250v supply in the main entertainment area in the columns.

I travelled to Jamaica on a travel agent educational so visited a lot of hotel during my stay. Unfortunately we had the displeasure of staying at the Riu Ocho Rios. It had only been opened about 5 days when we got there.

On arrival at the hotel it was shocking how many people were actually there walking into this huge reception area there were swarms of people everywhere chatting, shouting and running around.

As travel agents we managed to check in straight away but we were talking to other guests who had been waiting hours to be given a room. On arrival at the room we discovered our mini bar, we had had a really long day so decided to have a beer. we couldnt find a bottle opener and after calling reception 3 times they finally bought one about 24 hours later.

I went to the shop in the hotel to buy 1 packet of cigarettes, they had no tills installed and the poor girl behind the counter spend had to for every item purchased write down item, bar code, price (EVERYTHING) so it took me about 15 minutes to purchase 1 packet of cigarettes.

The breakfast at the hotel was fine, they had everything you could possibly want and the restaurant is very big so there is plenty of space to move around.

We went to the restaurant one evening and obviously everybody ordered something different, it took the waiters 3 attempts to give us the correct meal and still they kept getting it wrong.

The entertainment at the hotel was ok and there is a nightclub open from about 10.30 till about 2 which we went to a couple of times, good music and a decent dance floor.

On check out at the hotel they said we had made 3 phone calls from our room and tried to charge it to us, we hadnt even been in the room long enough to use the phone, apparently they did solve the problem in the end and found out we hadnt used the phone at all.

All in all the hotel was nice (it was huge though which i dont really care much for) the staff were very poorly trained although polite. there was too many people checking in and out at one time and not enough staff to handle the rush. All these problems may be related to the fact that its a new hotel and it had only just opened. I wouldnt go here again and i wouldnt advise any of my customers to go here.

The resort of ocho rios is fine and the beaches are fab as all beaches in Jamaica are but the Riu Ocho Rios is a big no no for me.