My husband and I just returned from staying at the hotel. We will never go back! We stayed for a total of four nights (Room #2) and only the last night was a pleasant one (only because we begged for a new room). 1st day-sink clogged, 2nd day-air conditioner unit malfunction at 4AM (had to turn off circuit breaker), 3rd day-ceiling fell in at 4AM. Other small incidents were: only able to get a hot shower (1) day, and our door to our room was so old and warped that it took a great deal of strength to open. The staff was not accomodating, the guest service manager was extremely rude and arrogant. We have never had such an unpleasant stay and we have been to many islands before. We ask the manager for a refund or some kind of compansation for our ruined vacation and he said he could not do anything, it's their policy to provide NO refunds! We also talked to many other guest staying at this hotel and quite a few of them also had unpleasant stays at this hotel. Please choose another hotel or better yet..... TRY ARUBA!

First let me say that our stay at the Royal D was for only 1 night. This was the last day of our vacation and we wanted to be by the airport and also do a little shopping in town before going home. We were assigned this hotel by Hotwire and from all the reviews I read it seemed like a good fit. Room rate was $200 a night. We had previously stayed at the Couples Resort in Ocho Rios ($256 per night) and Couples Negril ($365 per night).

Our overall take on this resort was very negative and we would absolutely never come here again. I would only recommend this hotel to large families on a tiny budget. Singles or couples should RUN, not walk to Negril. With all the wonderful deals you can get for hotels out there, I really wonder how this resort stays in business. We met two middle-aged guys though who shed a little light on a possible explanation. As it turns out, Montego Bay has a thriving ‘red light’ business. Leave the resort in the evening and you will be accosted by an army of pimps and drug dealers. My husband (who is 6’-2” and 210# of muscle) learned this the hard way when he went out for a pack of cigarettes. He came back 20 minutes later, scared out of his wits…. and no smokes.

Okay, so you are already booked and can’t get out of it. The following is what to expect:

Arrival: Do not take the hotel shuttle from the airport unless it is free. The Royal D is so close you can almost walk. Take a cab and negotiate $4 fare. Check-in is fast but we arrived at an ‘off’ hour. Always ask to be upgraded. Fully half the time it will be granted if you are pleasant and jovial to the staff. You will be issued one of those annoying plastic wristbands and two towel cards. We always refuse the cards. Too much of a headache and the bath towels are plenty big enough. You will only get one room key.

Facility: Lobby is nice. Lovely Brazilian Cherry grand staircase. Hotel has 4 floors with one tiny elevator that does not work properly. A bellman will force the door open for you. Step up (or down) 6” to get inside then pray it doesn’t get stuck between floors. Furniture in the lobby is really run down but there are some nice features. The terrace awnings are handsome. The disco was filthy and the main restaurant needed to be completely re-furnished (or at least scrub the crud off of what they had).

Rooms. Adequate. Front door looked like it had been kicked in at some point. Rusted old air conditioner and a TV from the 1990’s with lousy reception. Bedding was comfortable and lines, clean. Bathroom had a granite counter top and tiled bathtub. Safe was broken and there was no welcoming bottle of champagne or snack. Décor is cheap but the ocean view was breathtaking!

Beach/pool: Two VERY small, man-made stretches of sand which were crowded with lounge chairs. The water was clear and blue though and there was nice snorkeling close to shore. Most of the lounge area was atop a concrete concourse with imported sand. The Pool was small and in dire need of shocking by 5pm. Swim-up bar offered weak drinks in 8 oz flimsy plastic cups. Forget about a garnish. Lounge chairs were nice and had custom cushions. Shade was provided under canvas tents. There was a very active social committee with many activities listed on the board. This probably kept guests occupied and having fun. Cudo’s.

Food: I was so relieved that my husband had a good sense of humor. We both just had to laugh. There was plenty of food and nothing was rotten (which is just about the nicest thing I can say). Cuts of meat were sub-grade and certainly nothing I would purchase at a grocery store unless they were destined for the crock-pot. Chicken-all dark meat. Beef- jaw breaking. Pork-again a cut I did not recognize. Dinner in the only sit-down restaurant was not much better and service was slowwwwww .

Neighborhood- Yes, you are right in the ‘Hip Strip’ and this might be appealing for some people. Margeritaville is a short walk away and there are a lot of shops which are safe to visit during the day. One trick the locals will play on you is to approach you saying they recognize you from your hotel. They will claim they work there, then try to offer you something. If you are wearing a wrist band they will know where you are staying and lie about working there to gain your trust. We almost fell for this.

Final take: With all the extras that are included in the slightly higher priced hotels, I don’t know why anyone would stay here. By the time you get through tipping, purchasing excursions, purchasing internet time, upgrading to call-liquors and eating at decent restaurants, there is no reason NOT to book at the Rui or similar. I promise a better time will be had by all there.

I have to agree wholeheartedly with Kemirls review. We were there this year from Nov 27th to Dec 4th, and will NEVER go back. The staff & management need a severe shake up - we tipped only three of them, as most acted as though they couldnt be bothered to serve us. Several times, drinks that we ordered with our meal never turned up, and the looks of exasperation when we asked for them again put us off - yet they expected a tip! I have to say, that Darren was the best member of staff that they have - friendly and helpful.
My husband and myself were lying in bed with the patio doors open (first floor room) enjoying the view of the Carribbean sea, when a workman walked along the ledges outside the balcony, and looked straight in at us! He was followed a few moments later by another one. This was at 7.50am. At 5.20am one morning, we were woken by drilling and another piece of equipment. The fumes from whatever it was were overpowering. Our telephone never worked all week, despite twice reporting it. We needed an early morning call for an excursion, and couldnt get one. I asked reception if they could possibly get a member of staff to give us a knock (I had noticed that there were staff around 24/7) and was told 'maybe. I can try'. Luckily I woke at 5am and we didnt need the call - that, incidentally, never came. This would have resulted in us missing swimming with dolphins at £120 each! Also, my daughter was in another block, and ill, we had to call for the doctor, the lack of telephone meant that she couldnt ring if we were needed.
The food was OK, but I have eaten worse - stewed liver & steamed vegetables are'nt my ideal breakfast choice! The beach is beautiful and the weather great, but as we were sunbathing, debris was coming down on to the beach around us. It was polystyrene and plaster! As we were all covered in suntan oil, you can imagine! The final straw was when a piece of roof tile landed near one of our party. When he took it in to the customer services manager, he was told 'you must expect this when refurbishments are going on'. On our last day, as we were waiting for the coach, the customer services manager found us in the reception area and categorically denied the roof tile had come from their roof! We found him quite threatening, and put the lid on our holiday. We did find that we were hassled outside, particularly by people from the craft market, but in the main if you said 'no', they left you alone. Beware of buying a British newspaper from a street seller - I bought a Daily Star and as we got to the crossword page - it had already been completed! Ironed and straightened! Oh well, I have to admire his enterprise!

We just got back from our 10 day honeymoon at the Royal Decameron. We had a really great stay - we arrived early (around midday) and were able to get to our room straight away, which was located right next to the public beach on sunset. The room was great - really big, confortable bed, no air con problems, and the room was kept really clean by very nice cleaning staff.
We were right at the far end by the pier, which looked a bit scary to begin with as there was fencing and barbed wire along one side of the pier to separate from the public beach, but was fine - the security guards were always about, and one was stationed on the pier all night long.
The beaches were great - there was some good snorkleing to be done, and even though they weren't that deep, they were not busy. We spent a day at Doctors Cave beach, which was much deeper and pretty, but so much busier, and a lot less marine life to look at. We took advantage of the water sports on offer, and found the staff to be really good, and the equipment excellent.
The pools were clean, the lifeguards friendly, and again there were always sun loungers available.
The bars were all fantastic - the swim up bar plays great music and is a lot of fun during the day, the bar in the lobby is more relaxed, and the main bar really comes alive at night. We never had to wait to be served a drink, always got service with a smile, and they were happy to make any drink I could think of, whether it was on the list or not.
We were really really happy with the food - I found the variety was good, and we never had the same meal twice in the space of ten days - there was a different theme each and every night. I'm a vegetarian, so was not expecting to eat that well, as often there is not a lot of choice, but every meal time I had a hard time chosing what to have as there was so much choice. The a la carte restaurent is also excellent - they were able to make me a fantastic vegetarian plate where I got to sample some local food, and my husband had great fish - it is really a totally different experiance from dining in the main restaurent.
The band was absolutely fantastic - really great singers, and I was very impressed by the evening entertainment, and the free shuttles to night clubs in the area, including Pier 1.
We found all of the staff to be fantastic - all really friendly, happy to help and make friends, as well as offer advice as to where to go outside of the hotel. The tourist desk is also excellent - we went to two fantastic tours which they recommended, and could have done many more if we had more time.
The only negative point I can think of is that there were not always towels to take to the pool (you get a card which you exchange for a towel) - so I'd say it's better to bring a couple of your own for the beach or the pool.
All in all, I cannot reccomend this hotel highly enough - everything was fantastic from check in to check out, and I do not know how they do it for the price! Also, it looks far better in reality than it does in their photos - it's a really beautiful and very well kept resort.