Resort Details
Guest Reviews
Customer Ratings & Reviews
TripAdvisor Traveler Rating
8380 reviews
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May 06, 2025Hotel stay
My 2nd time there. Hotel, staff, accommodations were amazing. Food was incredibly delicious. Entertainment was amazing and they spoke to you during and after the show.
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May 06, 2025Heavenly beach, attitudes can ruin the experience
Firstly the location does not disappoint and the beach is beautiful and has plenty of nature to watch out for - pelicans, starfish, rays, etc. Short boat or taxi ride to seven mile beach is well worth it for the extra space and deeper swimming area. The Daiquiri bar and coffee shop are great, as was the beach barbecue, beach bar and jerk hut. RIU fit guy who did stretching and exercise at 10am/4pm was great. Entertainment by the pools is shouty and OTT Americanised and you just hear noise and shrieks from the beach and wish they’d stick to playing reggae music. The restaurant meals are ok, definitely some hits and some misses. The wine in the restaurants was nice and much better quality than in the bars and buffet. In my view the hotel is let down by some (not all) of the staff who don’t seem to understand that we expect them to at least be polite or courteous to us as paying guests. Some examples: 1) We experienced a walk up to the RIU further up the beach where we were told we could access all bars and have lunch. We sat down in the sports bar, had our order taken, asked what cocktails they had and got an uncertain noise in response. A few minutes later a different person came over and told us abruptly to leave as we couldn’t have lunch there, which was embarrassing. 2) We completed waiver forms for paddle boarding and collected our ticket. Went over to the men in charge of paddle boarding and offered it to them and just got a ‘no’ with no further explanation or looking up. On asking for more detail we got a dismissive ‘no boards’ response when there were several in front of him. They leave it up to you to try and obtain basic information like, will there be boards if we return later on. Who knows. 3) We paid for 2 x scuba dives at the dive centre, $89 each. When the dive master did no safety / equipment checks whatsoever and did not assign buddies before ordering us into the water I was already feeling a bit unsafe and rushed. I had filled in long waiver and info forms on diving experience and other information but I assume he didn’t read them. I explained upon booking that it was my first dive since completing PADI open water and they said it would be fine and there was a great shallow dive there which I’d love. The dive master didn’t mention or acknowledge this being my first dive since learning, he didn’t say anything to me on the boat before we went in. On jumping in the water I heard him say ‘let out your air so I can check your weights’. I didn’t sink much and was expecting him to come over and tell me I needed more weights. Next thing he was shouting / yelling at me right in my face that I was holding him up and wasting people’s time. I got back on the boat as I didn’t want him in charge of my safety underwater. I heard from others that he also was rude to another lady after the dive and that he touched a nurse shark they saw. Another diver realised after the dive that the o ring on his rental tank was broken. He also swam off never looking back to check his divers were ok. Out of principle I explained this afterwards in the dive shop and no one offered a refund. I said I would like one and got no clear confirmation so returned 2 days after to check and had to repeat the whole saga. In total it took 5 trips back there to obtain the refund - not what anyone wants on holiday. Had to complete reason for refund on the refund form after all these lengthy explanations. 4) Having evening dinner in the Italian which has a dress code and was playing spa-like relaxing music when a family of 4 came in with 2 kids who proceeded to play with full volume their gaming noise on their iPads x 2 next to us. I mentioned this to our server who just shrugged and ignored it. 5) The app urges you to ask for anything that would improve your stay and our mini bar was full sugar soft drinks bottles. I asked twice for Coke Zero / some diet or no sugar options which would have been appreciated on our walks outside the hotel and bizarrely got replies that the request had been completed but the drinks did not ever appear. 6) Guy on the beach introduced himself in the morning by name, says he’ll be your server for the day and to tell him if you want anything to drink and on each occasion (x3) that I took him up on his offer, the drinks did not materialise as he was serving someone else and forgot. The separate issues add up after a few days and one after the other made us feel a bit miffed and like we were an inconvenience. I had a lovely holiday 6 months previously in a RIU hotel in Sal, Cape Verde which was much more pleasant and in my view deserved its 5 star rating. I had booked Jamaica on this occasion with a view to gaining points and potentially getting a higher RIU member grade but I won’t pursue that after my recent experience.
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May 06, 2025
Perfection!
This is our third visit to Jamaica and second to Negril area. I absolutely love it here! The people are amazing, the beach is beyond perfect! We stayed at Riu Palace Tropical Bay and cannot wait to go back. We had a room in at the back close to the road which wasn't ideal but just a very short walk and you are on the most beautiful beach. We have stayed at many Riu resorts and this was by far our favorite. Except for the front desk check, the staff was outstanding especially Santol in the buffet dining room. She was so cheerful and beyond helpful. She even helped us get into the Fusion restaurant when we weren't able to get a reservation on the app. Then on our last night at the resort, she had our table decorated for us! It was amazing! Everyone seemed to enjoy their job and wanted to help you. I have definitely been to resorts where the staff seemed bothered to have to be there but here they were so happy and genuine. One night we went to the buffet and the whole dining staff was standing at the door cheering and clapping for you as you came in. I loved it! Really made you feel welcome. The resort is set out excellently so everything is easy to find and a very short walk to the magnificent beach. Bonus!! You are a 3 minute walk to the Office of Nature. This is a little restaurant on the beach where they cook extremely fresh lobster and fish on a wood grill all with happy Jamaican music playing for you. I cannot wait to go back!
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May 05, 2025
Another Great Stay
This a great resort with an amazing beach and the jerk hut on the beach is without compare. There was only one small issue with the AC in that the room was too cold. Other than that everything was spectacular. Julian on the front desk is a miracle worker and Miss Sharon in the Lounge Bar just to the left as you enter the hotel is great. We had a ton of laughs and she made me extra, extra large mimosa's and B52's. YUM is all I can say. Staff were all lovely and we can't wait to go back, AGAIN! Thanks for a great time Riu!
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May 04, 2025
Beautiful beach for a wedding
Can’t be too bad as we went back again to get married! Review is for 2023 but only just remembered to add. We went back for a small beach wedding as we fell in love with bloody bay one of the best beaches we’ve ever been on. Hardly any seaweed so makes it even better and great atmosphere. We had only a few wedding guests and kept it very minimal but the whole day went well. Would totally recommend as a destination wedding venue on a budget. Seaview rooms are a must and highly recommend to upgrade if you can. Only downfall is whilst family were there for the week of the wedding we could not get a reservation at any of the restaurants do to no availability every day I tried so we had buffet every night which wasn’t ideal for the price all paid only the wedding night we all got a meal together in the steak house which was ok. Once the few guests went home we was able to get reservations for two most nights and enjoyed the restaurants food. Looking forward to visiting again soon as we miss this place.
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