Hotel Riu Ocho Rios - All Inclusive

Be careful with this resort they scam you. I prepaid on my resort in full. When I got there they said my reservation was cancelled and said in order to stay the night I need to pay in CASH for one night $340 to stay there and they would figure out in the morning. After many attempts to go to front desk manager management which they did nothing but laugh at us and tell us they had no reservation. They said my reservation was canceled. I never cancelled it. They told us I would have to pay the whole reservation again or leave the resort. At this point it was 10 minutes till checkout out. So I desperately called another place in Jamaica and a taxi to come get us. We had to carry all our bags down to front our self no one even answered the phone. As we got in the taxi and had checked out a manager came up to me and said they found our reservation. At that point we were getting in a taxi had checked out and I paid a non refundable fee to a new resort. Be careful the Riu scammed me and still to this day refuse to give me my money back. I will never stay at that resort again. Any response they give to this email is not true. They also tried responding to me with false information.

When I checked into Riu, front desk had informed me that this stay was my 25th visit to Riu Ochi, even though I know I have stayed more then 25 LoL 🙂 I was given room 2302, which had flooding flaws with the shower. Maintenance was aware. I have stayed at many Riu Hotels, and Riu Ochi is the only Riu that does not provide any perks for being a Riu class member. I am a gold member, my next stay will bring me into the Diamond class status. All other Riu's provide a letter/gift/fruit of some sort in room. Riu Ochi- nothing. I mainly wanted to write this review to let Riu know they have amazing staff. Esther from the bar team is a newer employee, she provides top notch service and is very professional. Dwayne from Scuba Caribe deserves recognition as he is so very patient and shows interest in what he does. See you in 48 days Riu ❤️

The resort was lovely and every single staff member was personable, and friendly. The food was delicious and we enjoyed the Italian restaurant and the Mandalay Asian one as well. The length of the beach accessible to the review hotel is incredible. It was easy to get in and out of the water and easy to get back to the pool in the restaurants as well. A big thank you to, Mama Sunshine for making us feel so welcome. To the waiters and waitresses at Saint Ann’s restaurant, especially Renée, you were incredible. To our housekeeping, staff, especiallyVero, our room was always top notch. It was our first time here, but it will not be the last. I would book this Rio again in a heartbeat. Thanks to everyone

After the impact of Hurricane Melissa, our group made the decision to continue with our holiday plans at Riu Ocho Rios. We felt it was important to support the country, its people, and the local economy, even though we had reservations about how the resort’s infrastructure and facilities might have been affected. In the days leading up to our trip, social media posts highlighted some concerning aftermath, so we arrived with cautious expectations. Despite this, we approached our stay with an open mind and were hopeful that the resort would still be able to deliver a comfortable and enjoyable experience under the circumstances. 🌟 Positives Friendly and Welcoming Staff The staff were, without question, one of the best parts of our stay. They were consistently warm, friendly, and accommodating. Their positive attitudes genuinely helped lift the atmosphere and made us feel valued throughout the week. Entertainment The entertainment team did a fantastic job. Performances were lively, engaging, and well-organised, giving both adults and children something to look forward to each day. Our only request would be more than 1 party each week please! Cleanliness Despite challenges after the hurricane, the resort grounds and rooms were kept clean. Housekeeping did a commendable job ensuring the spaces remained tidy and presentable. Food Availability While the quality of the food had some issues (detailed below), the variety and availability were impressive. Meals were easy to access, and the staff working in the dining areas were doing their best given the circumstances. Transportation Transport around the resort and to nearby areas was readily available and made moving around much easier. ⚠️ Areas for Improvement 1. Airport Transfer Issues There was no collection from Kingston Airport, which was surprising and inconvenient given that many visitors were arriving there due to weather-related flight changes. 2. Late-Night Check-In Experience We arrived at 10:45 pm and immediately felt rushed through the check-in process, as the staff were preparing to finish at 11 pm. With four young children in our group, the experience felt unnecessarily stressful. • Porter service was not available at this time; we had to request assistance and wait for help with our luggage. • For future operations, the hotel should have a dedicated system for guests arriving after 11 pm or on delayed flights—this would prevent rushed interactions and allow guests to feel properly welcomed. 3. Lack of Access to Bottled Water Outside of your hotel room, it is almost impossible to access bottled water. 4. No Microwave Access There is no microwave available anywhere on the resort for guest use. 5. Food Quality and Hygiene Concerns Although the food was plentiful, the quality was disappointing: Temperature & Taste • Much of the food was barely warm and lacked flavour. • Members of our group who had visited Riu Ocho Rios in previous years said this was a noticeable decline. • I personally witnessed a staff member receive a tray of raw meat, rinse it in a sink at the food station, season it quickly, and place it on the grill within minutes—this may explain why dishes tasted under-seasoned and lacked depth. Authenticity • Given that the resort is in Jamaica, it was surprising that there was little to no authentic Jamaican cuisine available in the main dining hall. • Even a mild scotch bonnet–influenced option would provide guests with the flavour Jamaica is known for. A simple label warning of spiciness would be sufficient for those who prefer milder food. Hygiene in the Dining Area • Fruits and salads in the main dining room were left uncovered, unlike in some of the specialty restaurants. • As expected, flies and insects were attracted to the uncovered food, which made many of those items unappealing and raised hygiene concerns. 6. Inconsistent Room Facilities There were differences in what each room offered: • Some rooms had access to the usual TV channels only. • Others had access to streaming services like Netflix. A consistent standard across all rooms would improve guest experience and expectations. ⸻ ⭐ Overall Summary Our stay at Riu Ocho Rios had both positive and disappointing elements. The staff, entertainment, cleanliness, and general food availability were definite highlights, and we appreciated the efforts being made in the aftermath of Hurricane Melissa. However, improvements are needed in guest services—particularly late-night check-ins, access to essentials like bottled water and microwaves, and food quality and hygiene standards. With some attention to these issues, Riu Ocho Rios has the potential to return to the enjoyable, high-quality experience that many guests remember from past years.

Just checked in to Rio Ocho Rios on 11/22/25. It looks beautiful. Not crowded. More services open than when we last checked the app. UPDATE AFTER 2 DAYS: We are still pleasantly surprised by the condition of the property and beach and glad to be here supporting jobs and recovery. But, there are some serious issues here that have nothing to do with the hurricane. We have seen several drug deals go down and guests are openly grinding/cutting pot by the pools. Staff does nothing about it. Some guests are also using very foul language in the sports pool. Lifeguard can’t be bothered to look up from his phone. (But quickly yells at a kid who dated atep in the adults only pool.) The boating/water sports staff have decided to take the week off and hang the red danger flag every day even though seas are calm. The app is inaccurate as to what activities are actually happening and if you ask 2 staff people what’s scheduled or why an activity isn’t happening you get two different answers. The bar and restaurant staff’s have been great. The lifeguards, activity staff, towel staff, water sports staff mostly do nothing although there are a lot of them. We haven’t seen a single person who looked like management walking around the property. Before you slam me for being honest, know that we already tried to politely tell management about these problems; they were initially all “on break” and then evasive and unhelpful. These problems are all easy to fix, but require management will power that seems lacking. Hard to recommend this place.

By far our worst experience. Imagine having no electricity in your room over 4 hours made numerous reports no follow up done by the staff or suggestion for a room change. On top of that roaches running around in the drawers, water leaking from the bulbs, walls and in the sink. Wooooooorst experience and highly unlikely we will ever visit this property again. As frequent travelers, local and abroad with over 25 years of hotel experience at the managerial level at a number of hotel chains. Neither of the staff knew that we could have been secret shoppers. Terrible response and accountability from the managerial and supervisor level.

Stayed 5 nights to assist with hurricane relief. They were very limited, but the place was nice. Buffet Only, but everyone was positive and helpful

I flew in to Jamaica on 11/4 for my mom’s funeral. I was supposed to check in to Riu Ocho Rios. I arrived from the US, rented a car and got turned away at the gate. The security guard was very nice. It was frightful being in another country to find out I have nowhere to stay. No cancellation email or phone call. I had to pay another $2300 to book another hotel. Thank God the Moon Palace had rooms available. I called Expedia this morning to get a refund. I will have to wait for that unfortunately. It is important that some form of management responds to these situations promptly. What if I did not have the extra $ to book another hotel. This is a terrible inconvenience to your guests. Do yourself a favor and call the resorts before you fly in.

This was my 1st time staying at a RIU. The experience was fantastic! The food, the service, the drinks. The only downside I see to this resort is that is BIG, so getting around takes time, keep that in mind if you are traveling with a reduce mobility person. We did call ahead to have a room close to everything and they were able to accommodate however there are 2 inclines to walk up to where we stayed and those were difficult to handle for my mother. The RIU app made it easy to reserve the a la carte restaurants and to make request to house keeping, I wish all resorts worked like this. All staff were super friendly and smiling and welcoming, no matter who we encountered or were there was always a "hello" and a smile, now this is customer service! It's a shame it's far from the airport: 1.5 to 2 hours ( depending on how many drop off's you have to do, really add to your travel day and reduces your beach time.. The main buffet always had a great variety of food but it was not always warm, but that seems to be the standard in all inclusive resorts. The a la carte restaurants were delicious. Bar service was also super! Do ask for your drinks to be mixed in front of you and not taken from the mixes that are pre-made, you do taste the difference. The reef in front of the infinity pools, just outside the roped off area, is simply filled with beautiful fauna. Please do not feed the fish, this is really bad for them and the survival of the who ecosystem. I saw several rays, different kinds of eels, an octopus, puffer fish, frog fish, trumpet and tube fish! I spent at least 1 hour in the water early every morning and it never disappointed. We would certainly go again! We loved out time there, but we would request a different room, closer to the infinity pools. Thank you RIU and all your staff for a wonderful vacation!

The presentation of the hotel is nice and very spacious. Nice gym to work off all the food. Like the different swimming . I have been to many hotels in Jamaica but at this resort I found the majority of staff not to be very welcoming. It was like they didn't want to be there and there was little engagement with the guests ( a part from the entertainment team and one gentleman who worked in the dining room ). The tanoe in my room did not work which I reported before storm Melissa, it did not get rectified and is a great health and safety issue and I had explained that others on the same floor as me had the same issue. The snack box that I was provided with the evening before the storm as a vegan consisted of a cheese sandwich and meat patties ( they were informed of my dietary requirements). I appreciate that staff were under pressure but this is not a mistake that should have been made as it could have made me very ill . On the day of the storm we were told not to leave our rooms until the staff informed us that it was safe to do so. So i waited and waited, whislt becoming very hungry only to be informed at 10.25pm by another guest that they had been serving warm meals by then I was tired so went to bed hungry. But on a positive note staff worked really hard to restore the hotel back to its normal presentation after the storm. They should receive a bonus for that.