Vacation I will never forget!! It was Great!

Everyone should make it a point to visit RIU Ocho Rios. It was the most beautiful resort I have ever seen in my life. The staffs were remarkable and took the extra effort to remember your name. There were tons of activities to take part in and also very nice entertainment at night. The food and drinks were great also. Can wait to return next year.

Just got back

If this were your first all Inclusive trip, you would probably think this place is out of this world. The resort is beautiful. Great beach and wonderful pools. The rooms were very nice. The help was pleasant. The problem I had was they were not prepared for so many people. Everything was SLOW....Hard to make reservations to the resturants and when I did the were messed up. The buffet took so long to get through may hot food was cold by the time I got to the end. One evening I was having dinner on the patio area and they were spraying for bugs which filled the entire place with fog and a terrible smell. IMO this RIU didn't live up to the expectations of a 5 star resort. I know they were trying to accomodtae many who had to change their Mexico plans but for me I was disappointd and will probably not return to the RIU anytime soon.

Paradise found

My husband and I just returned from a wonderful trip to this resort. Quite simply, it was paradise found. While there were a few glitches because it is a new resort, the effort and friendliness of the staff make any glitches easy to overlook. We were upgraded to a Junior Suite, which was lovely in and of itself. The view from the balcony of the town of Ocho Rios and the mountains beyond was spectacular. We couldn't bring ourselves to leave the resort (we were only there 3 nights). The food was great even at the buffets. Sir Richard, the gourmet dining restaurant was excellent. At the steak house, we had to wait an hour and a half for our food, and unfortunately it wasn't worth the wait. While we did not take our children, we noticed that families with children seemed to enjoy it as well. We would definitely return, and probably bring the children the next time.

Largest Resort in Jamaica

This resort is brand new as of November 2005. We were there when it opened with only a hundred or so other people. It holds 2000. It is far to commercial for our liking and I can't imagine what the service would be like if it was full. Nice pools and beach but I do not recomend this hotel for a vacation. We have been to other resorts in Jamaica. The best is Grand Lido.

Great Resort -

Arrived Oct 29 day after it opened and left Nov 5, had a great time. The resort is very nice, and we had a great time. I'll start by rating the resort in certain areas:

POOL: - Great, with swim-up bars, tables and chairs as well as lounge beds all in the water. Never had to wait very long for drinks and people did not crowd the bar because of the lay out with all the extra seat, tables etc. withing the water.

ROOMS: - Very large, with everything you need lots of draws and closet space, fridge with beer, soft drinks and alcohol dispensar. Mattress little of the hard side but I slept well, good pillows really nice rooms, cleaned well with fresh towels.

FOOD: - excellent at the buffet and the restuarants, lots of food choices and everything that was offered was well cooked, tasty and good. Had no complaints whatsoever in this area.

ENTERTAINMENT STAFF: - Fantastic, King Kong, Dexter, Hot Dog and all the girls made this resort, they were funny, great to talk to and kept everyone laughing. This is the first time that my husband and I actually joined in with the games arounf the resort, that is how comfortable they made you feel.

TOURS: - Not badly priced Dunns River $25 US and a trip into Ocho Rios $10 US return.

I don't think you will be disappointed with this resort.

Great Resort - Great Vacation

My Wife, Sister, Brother in Law and I, just returned from a fantastic vacation at the RIU Ocho Rios.

We had one big problem during the whole trip, In the very beginning, when we all arrived at the Airport, at 0530 Hrs, my Brother in Law did not have a passport or a government issued Birth Certificate (He only had his Hospital Birth Record which is not honored).

After some discussion, my wife and I, proceeded to Jamaica and my Sister and her Husband remained behind to try and get a Government issued Birth Certificate in order to leave the next day.

Thank goodness for Dave, at Comfort Travel in Dolton, IL. We contacted Dave, who immediately "Comforted" my Sister and Brother in Law by quickly working on their dilemma.

By the time that my wife and I arrived in Montego Bay, Dave had everything worked out. My sister and Brother in Law would arrive the next day and stay their full vacation, without any penalties imposed from Air Jamaica or the RIU Resort.

Dave also gave us the option to extend our vacation for one more day, which we did, also without any penalties. That way the four of us could continue to travel together. We did pay for one additional night at the RIU at a very good rate, I might add.

The RIU was magnificent! All the staff were attentive and delightful! We have never, ever been pampered like this before. The restaurants were all clean with fast and efficient service. The taste and abundance of food was worthy of any cruise ship. The beach was long, sandy and awesome. We enjoyed the daily activities and several of the shows in the evenings.

As the RIU is a brand new resort, there was still some minor construction going on in parts of the resort, however the noise was minimal and nothing interfered with our activities.

Our room was great and very clean. It also had a wonderful view of the ocean. There are two very big swimming pools and both have great swim up bars. All the bars at the resort are close and clean. At the RIU, you can find quiet spots or if you choose, party hardy!

I highly recommend the RIU Ocho Rios, Air Jamaica Vacations and of course, Dave at Comfort Travel.

Beautiful Resort

Just got back from the Riu Ochio Rios Last night(Nov 5th) after a weeks holiday and throughly enjoyed it! The only bummer is the 2 hour bus ride from the airport to the resort however, they do stop on the way for a bathroom break so its not to bad. Ok... so here is my review ..

Hotel: My first impression was wow! the hotel lobby was grand and stunning ! as soon as we stepped into the lobby we were greeted with a coctail , check in was very fast as well. There are two parts of the the hotel the section which is near the sports bar and theatre where all the nightly entertainment was is on the left side of the hotel. The section we stayed in was to the right side of the hotel (preferred this as it was closer to the restaurants, spa and for those that have kids the childrens section . All the rooms faced the ocean as the design is in a "U" shape there were two types of rooms standard and junior suite. We had the standard and were throughly impressed with the king sized bed full bathroom with tub and double sink. The room was nicely air conditioned and the mini bar fridge was nice and cold stocked with beer,soft drinks and water..also there was dispensable liquor..Now we also were able to see the junior suites which i believe you can get for 25 american per person per day..these were gorgeous! the room itself is quite large with a sunken living area huge balcony over looking the ocean straight on, walk in closet with his/her bathrobes a jacuzi which separates the bathroom and the bedroom plus a walk in glass shower . All, in all what ever room you have I am sure you will be impressed.

Restaurants:

The main restaurant is St Anne and this is opened for breakfast and dinner. No complaints about the food they do have a few theme dinners...such as Jamaican night..mexican etc all good "no problems" Beside St Annes they have a restaurant opened for lunch and snacks until 5pm then it turns into an a'la carte steak type of restaurant. The other restaurant that is opened just for lunch is located by the childrens play area and pool ..lunches here are great and is served from 12pm-4pm.

A'la carte restaurants...ok first would like to mention that all 3 a la carte restaurants are quite small ...seating maybe 50 people in each?? we didn't have a problem getting in as the hotel was not that full but once it reaches its full capacity of 800 rooms good luck getting a reservation . I would suggest booking as soon as you arrive (if you can) The hours of booking reservations was from 10am-1pm or between 6pm-7pm.

Steak restaurant....it was ok at best ..you basically ordered your main entree and went to get your appetizer which was either onion soup...different types of salad etc. We both had steak and unfortunatley were not impressed ...and we weren't the only ones others that had gone to this restaurant seemed to say the same thing...so..if you can't get in don't worry about it..you would be better off at the main dining area.

Asian Restaurant- great..if you like sushi..stirfrys etc..this was buffet style..good food

Sir Richards-Gourmet Restaurant-awsome! top notch fine dining ..from the Appetizers to the main entree ! the blackened fish is delicious and so is the beef...this is a must to reserve.

Pool- there are two pools ..the first pool to the left of the hotel was not as happening as ours was ..maybe because this section was not as full however it was nice but preferred our pool . Both pools have swim up bars and built in loungers as well as stools and tables...very nice! there are also jacuzzies however they are pool temperature. There were plenty of chairs available around the pool so ..no need to get up early to reserve.

Beach- was very impressed with the cleanliness of the beach not one bit of garbage ..sea weed..etc..perfect size with lots of chairs..water was very warm as well

Weather- ..surprizingly we had nice weather..! the forcast for the week of Oct 30th for 10 days was rain...wrong!.. we had a few days of overcast but no complaints about the weather got a great tan...The evenings were warm...sometimes quite humid and definately bring insect replellent got bit a few times.

Staff - Awsome ! very friendly and professional..the bartenders Jasper especially is fantastic ask him for the Jasper special(he is located by the pool) . King Kong is great to he does the aerobics in the morning and some entertainment at night..all in all they all work extremely hard...by the way I did not see any staff mingling around the bar at 1pm trying to get drinks..I saw this mentioned in a previous review..

Uncomplete Areas. ..There were some areas on the resort that were up and running but still needed some final touches ..Spa / Gym area was ready however the gym was lacking some equipment etc still had great equipment ...treadmills, bikes, etc. Also, if you were looking for jacuzzies(heated) they have them in the spa area (2) plus a steam room ..

The sports bar was sort of up when we were there..this is a 24 hour bar which serves snacks and is equipped with tv's...a very small casino.. and a pool table..the pool table and casino were not available when we were there.

Excursions..we were only interested in the Sites of Ocho Rios which goes for 35 US dollars. The excursion says 4hrs however it was 5hours..it includes a shopping trip into Ochio Rios, guided tour of the botanical gardens, and a visit to the Dunns River Falls...which you actually walk up 600 ft! definatly worth it ..you can rent water shoes for 5 american or bring your own..

..ok so I think that about raps it up hopefully I was able to give you an idea of this resort. This was our first time to Jamaica ..we were suppose to go to Cancun...I will definatley be coming back perhaps try out Negril...One final note, if you like coffee you will definatly like their Blue Mountain coffee;..delicious! make sure to bring some back..and one thing to remember.. do not pay anymore than 18 american for one pound and also do not buy it unless it says Jablum ...

Couldn't have been happier with the Riu Ocho Rios!

We knew we were the first group to arrive at the newly opened Riu Ocho Rios, but we did not anticipate such warm and helpful people and greetings. We arrived knowing that many tropical storms in the area might affect the weather during our stay, but it was the entertainment that had us in great spirits on the first and only day of overcast we had.

We dined like royalty when we were there, enjoying unlimited a la carte dinners which were delicious and there was plenty to choose from at the buffet at meal times. Many types of cuisine, from an Asian restaurant, traditional Jamaican cuisine, a steakhouse and a pizzeria.

The room was gorgeous and well taken care of. Theme nights were exciting and well put together, never the same and the staff was phenomenal at keeping the crowd laughing. Staff was always very helpful and charming when it came to local information and many offered to take us into the town.

The beach was beautiful and the water was warm in the sea. The pool area was always filled with activities and there were plenty of chairs and loungers available for everyone.

The only thing (which didn't really affect us) was there were areas still uncomplete as the hotel wasn't 100% finished, but it was inconsequential as we didn't plan to use the amenities that weren't ready (ie. internet room).

I was extremely happy with our vacation to Jamaica and plan to go back within the next six months!