We stayed at the Riu Ocho Rios Resort from May 2nd - 10th and all I can say is awesome!! After reading all of the previous negative reviews, I was a bit nervous about going, but let me tell you, the place is fantastic. My review is long.

Arrival: We traveled to the resort via Jamaican Tours (large comfortable tour bus). The trip from the airport was just under 2 hours, but we stopped at a rest stop for about 20 minutes to have drinks and food. The bus driver was great, gave us a wonderful overview of the people, the island, lifestyle etc. The check in at the resort was great, gave us rum punch and upgraded us (without us even knowing) to a Deluxe Oceanfront Suite - room 3257. It was a beautiful room and we were so excited to get such a big room with a great view and huge balcony! Fabulous view of the resort and ocean. The only slight downfall was that the Sandals Dunns River resort was next door to us and the generators were a little loud. No complaints though!!

Resort: BEAUTIFUL!!!!! I cannot express how wonderful this resort was, so clean and well maintained! The people that work there are constantly working to keep the place clean and it is in excellent condition. The beach was cleaned each day and the water was wonderful. There are vendors selling their goods on the beach, but if you say no thanks, they leave you alone! No problem mon! We did not see an issue with the pool being dirty, it was sparkling clean! I will mention that the floors do get slippery, 3 folks fell while we were there and 2 women actually broke their leg from slipping...be careful! The resort is so huge, that it never felt crowded. We were always able to get a chair at the beach and pool (we were with 30 people) and had no complaints about this ever!

Food: What can I say, there is sooooo much food that anyone can find something to eat. The buffet at St. Ann's is fantastic, more food than you can imagine! It was always fresh, and the hot food was hot, not cold like some reported. I have to say that I ate so much and tried so many things that I gained 7.5 lbs! It was that good!! I've been to plenty of all inclusive resorts over the years and this one is by far, the best ever as far as food goes! The speciality restraunts were really nice as well. We ate at all of them except the Japanese, and the food was excellent. If you felt that the portions were not enough, you could always visit the buffet afterwards for more....they never ran out of food, always plentiful. The jerk hut on the beach was out of this world, I definately recommend you try it. I ate lunch there everyday! Additionally, they had 2 lunch buffets and a grill on the beach, each day offering something different. We never felt that we were eating the same thing everyday, as there is so much to pick from. The Italian place was good for a late night snack, but we did not eat there on a regular basis. The snacks in the Sports Bar were okay, nothing great. As far as the drinks go, they are not loaded with liquor, so if you want more rum, vodka in your drink, all you have to do is ask. We did bring insulated mugs and it was the best advice ever, I definately recommend that you bring them.

Staff: Wonderful! We had no problems with anyone and met alot of great people. Look up Nash at one of the bars, she is the best bartender ever! We miss her already! I had an issue with my hairdryer in my room, I called 2x to have it fixed and because of my inconvenience, the front desk sent us a complimentary bottle of Appleton Rum and a large fruit plate! The people were all friendly and accomodating and everyone was willing to talk and share stories!

Excursions: We took the 2 hour bus trip into Ocho Rios ($8.00 per person) and it was worth it. 2 hours is a bit short, but we had fun looking in all shops. We did visit the vendors behind the fenced area and if you don't want to deal with pushy vendors, I suggest you do not go there. There are plenty of shops in town and I did not feel that the tent vendors were very friendly. There are vendors at the end of the beach at the Riu and they are great, not pushy, very friendly and have everything you could want. They deal with you and are very fair. I bought most of my souveniors from them!
We took the River Tubing Tour ($118.00 per couple) and that was a total blast. I recommend this for all, even small kids, it was great! We were gone from 1:20 p.m. - 5:30 p.m. so it did not take up the whole day. Friends that we were with went to Dunns River Falls and they had a blast as well. Find out which days the cruise ships are in port, and avoid those days for excursions as it gets really busy!

Weather: As suggested, do not read the weather reviews before you go. I did and it called for rain everyday! We only had rain one day out of 9 and it was over in 30 minutes. We sat in the pool while it rained, did not even impact our day! The sun came right out after the rain and it was hot! 87 - 89 degrees each day. Boy did we get good tans!

Entertainment: Each night, the resort puts on a show. It was not great, but better than nothing. The entertainment crew practices and works hard, and they were fun! There is not much to do at this resort at night, the disco is just okay, so if you are looking to really party and stay up all night, you may want to find a place in town to visit. Ask the staff, I'm sure they will give you ideas. We found ourselves to be tired by 10:00 p.m. so it was fine for us!!

All in all, I have to say that we had the best time ever! We met a couple from Indiana and now have new lifelong friends! The place is great, the island is beautiful and the people are wonderful. I hope this review helps and if you have any other questions, please feel free to email me.

Food, Beach, Service, Respect, Beach, Pools, Entertainment, Disco, Room, Personnel - Hey, Everything was better than I expected. Definitely going back there again and taking the kids this time!!

Just returned from Riu Ocho Rios April 20 so this is a late review. We had a great time on our trip, loved Jamaica, its people, and the resort as well.

We were told by a tour guide that the Riu Ocho Rios, to date, is the largest resort in Jamaica (but soon to be second largest when a new resort being now built is completed). This being said we still found the resort quite small as to what we have been used to in other areas. But even though we found it small we still found lots to do and plenty of room by the pools and on the beach as well.

The beach is very clean and the water crystal clear, though you are limited to walking just within the resorts property...there is a wharf on the right side and nothing to speak of on the left side, but still very open with lots of chairs.

The pools are very clean also with the one on the left side being alittle quieter then the other. We never had a bad time getting a chair there either. We spent morning and early afternoon on the beach and later afternoon we headed to the pool areas.

The resort, grounds, lobby, rooms, bathrooms, etc ...were all very clean as well. We found the restaurants and buffet good, we enjoyed all the food, and the service was good too. We loved the morning omelettes. We enjoyed the drinks as well, loved the Miami Vices- my afternoon choice for drink, also enjoyed the fresh coconut milk and rum right off the tree. The Jerk Hut on the beach was the best, awesome chicken and sausages, there also is a beach BBQ everyday. The pizza at the Italian restaurant at night was good too. We tipped our maid, bellboy, waiters, and the boys at the bars, they all work hard.

The entertainment at the resort was very good, they work very hard and look like they are having fun doing what they do. No its not Broadway, but still very good!

For $10US you can go into town shopping which we did. We also booked with Chukka Cove and did the zipline tour through the rain-forest, great day. Also booked with Yardie Tours for the Ocho Rios highlights...including Dunn's River Falls, Fern Gully (make sure to stop and say hi to Jack in the Bush, $1US for a pic with) the Wassi Art factory, finishing up in town for souvineer shopping. Another great day! Also on the resort every other day the main lobby hallway is filled with venders so you can shop right from the resort if you wish. We prefer to get off the resort on occasion and felt safe doing so as we were always escorted by bus group or tour group.

So in all, would I stay at this resort again- yes! The only "not so" faults that I could see were that it is smaller than what I'm used to from other resorts that I've stayed at and the beach has less walking distance then I'm used to as well.

So if you go, you will have a great time, it is a mind set, a willingness to enjoy different places, peoples, and customs beyond our own that makes our travels so wonderful. Enjoy!

We had an amazingly great vacation. We practically lived on these message boards before we went, and we're glad we did. We're also glad we did not listen to the whiny-bird complainers who nit-picked everything. I'll try to cover our many points that we observed/experienced.

Airport--great on the way in; took forever on the way out. Allow yourself plenty of time to get through ticketing when leaving. Security didn't seem to take nearly as long. The porters are crazy trying to get your business, and they expect tips, which we gave. Our transports were via Jamaica Tours, Ltd.; we have a van on the arrival trip and a bus on the way back. The transfers were great and we had nice drivers. The 'half-way' stop for beer, etc. is hardly half-way, and it's a big tourist trap. We got Doritos, Combos, a patty, and a mixed drink and it was $18! Take food with you for the 2-hour ride, or wait until you get to the hotel.

Hotel--The hotel is beautiful and very clean. Our room was spotless; the bed was very hard and seemed to get worse as the trip went on. The refrigerator and liquor dispenser were always well-stocked, towels were no problem, be careful--the tub is slippery and you feel like you're standing in a trough of some kind (uneven bottom). All of the hotel walkways are made of tile; these can be very slippery, especially depending on your shoes. Again, we read about that here, so we were prepared. The grounds are well-maintained; workers were always trimming, weeding, etc. We stayed in a standard room w/ king bed and did not regret not upgrading to a suite. Didn't really see the need to, and they wanted $25/night to upgrade.

Beach--very beautiful. Not quite as powdery white as Dominican Republic, but very nice. Plenty of loungers. Good shade could be a problem some days. It would have been nice to have umbrellas or huts instead of just the palm trees. The jerk hut and mini-grill set-ups on the beach were wonderful--quick, and they smelled great all morning and afternoon. There are no bathrooms close by, and you can't go into the restaurant bathrooms when you're wet. Plan accordingly.

Food & Alcohol--excellent. Drinks were great. Our favorites were Blue Ocean, Banana Mama, Miami Vice, and Pina Colada (not necessarily in that order). Kenny at the swim-up bar is very, very nice, even if a little shy. The buffet had a great selection at breakfast, and dinners were good, too. Most lunches were jerk hut; my husband and I LOVED the jerk chicken. Be careful with the sauce if you've never tried it. It's very spicy. The restaurant reservations system sucks. We went to Mandalay (Asian) and Mammee Bay (steakhouse). Both were excellent; actually went to both twice because we could book ahead. I waited and called one afternoon and booked everything. The two Sir restaurants had to be booked that day. At 9 a.m. when the phone lines open, I'm on the beach, not sitting by the phone. We read the menus posted and weren't that impressed. Don't feel like we missed anything. We were disappointed that the seafood wasn't better; needed more seasoning and less cooking. Ate some new things while there--goat, conch, different veggies, octopus, etc.--yum! Take insulated mugs--we used ours for ice water and then put the drinks in regular hotel cups.

Tours--We did the Ocho Rios Hi-lites tour. Lots of shopping; wish we had known as we only took about $100 and left rest of money and credit cards in hotel. Bargaining with the locals was frustrating for my husband. Take your own water shoes for Dunns River. The place they stop is rent for $5 or buy for $15. Other places they take you on the tour, still before the falls, are selling the shoes for $8. For only $3 more, who wants to wear other folks' shoes? Gross. We had our own, thanks to these boards. There's also duty-free shopping, and trust us--those are the best prices. Someone advised us to wait until the airport. Big mistake for souvenirs, but do buy your alcohol at the airport. Cheap and it's the only way you can take it on the plane with you. Dunn's River Falls was amazing, exhilarating, and scary all at the same time. You need to be a little in shape to complete it. My husband stopped a ways up; I was proud of myself for making it. We are not little people if you get my drift! It was beautiful; make sure you take a waterproof camera. There are guys skipping along beside you with video cameras and they want to sell you a DVD at the end. No thanks. We tried to tip the guide at the end of the hike, but we had ones folded up and he wanted fives, tens, and twenties. He actually gave our money back to us!!! Are you kidding me? That tour also went to Shaw Gardens, which was pretty, and rode through Fern Gully. Pretty, but the roads were in bad shape from the rain and mudslides they had several weeks before.

Jamaicans--very nice, can be pushy, but it's all part of the experience. Those selling stuff on the beach were fine with our "No, thank you's." I did bargain with some of the hut entrepreneurs on the western end of the resort. My advice: be persistent.

Pool--very nice. Hardly any shade. Get there by 8 a.m. to get best shade chairs. Also, there are two types of loungers. Get the ones with blue cloth; much sturdier and much more comfortable. Never had a problem with fresh towels. Good music. Fun games with staff. Some staff were too aggressive getting you to join in, but most were really great about leaving us alone.

Other--casino was just a little room with a few poker machines, electronic roulette wheel, slots. Not impressive. Okay for a rainy afternoon, but nothing more. Did use the Internet. 30 minutes for $9. Worked pretty well. Nurse on-site was very nice and helpful when we needed her. Entertainment was just okay. Staff works very hard; we though the pre-shows were better than the real shows. There is a jacuzzi available free of charge in the spa, but this is not advertised. Just make an appointment and you're good. The electricity kept going off one night we were there, but back-up generators kicked in instantly. Never a problem. Weather could occasionally be cloudy, but only rained once.

Like we said, this was a great hotel with a great staff and it made for a great vacation for us. As the Jamaicans say, everything was "irie". If in doubt, go to Ocho Rios and stay in the Riu. You'll be glad you did. Yeah, mon!