Last year we stayed at the Iberostar in Dominican Republic (our first inclusive vacation) and had a nice time, enjoyed the resort, but our rooms were just ok. So this year we decided to try the Riu in Ocho Rios and decided to splurge and upgrade to
more +a Junior Suite.
First off let me say that the Junior Suite room was better than a standard room but definitely NOT a true upgrade. If you are thinking that these resorts are of the quality of higher end hotels such as the Westin, Hilton, Marriott, etc. you will be disappointed! The rooms are more on the lines of lower end hotels like Super 8, Howard Johnson, Red Roof Inn, etc., but you are charged prices that are in line with the higher end hotels. Actually I think the beds are better at those lower end hotels. (Note: The beds felt like you were sleeping on the box spring NOT the mattress and they are SMALL. Slightly smaller than a full size bed.)
The views from the room are beautiful if you select "Ocean View". We met people who had "Ocean Front" and they loved the view, but their rooms were not an upgrade from the Junior Suite and they paid A LOT MORE!! In fact they had so many issues (no hot water, dirty, etc.) that they requested to be downgraded if they could get the difference in cost refunded (they couldn't because there were no other rooms, which is complete BS and they would not refund the difference).
Two other couples we met said (staying at opposite ends of the hotel) said their rooms were filthy like the staff started to clean the room and then said to hell with it and left, meaning piles of dirt that was swept but not disposed of, dirty towels on the bathroom floor, and an obviously used bathroom.
(Note: Score as many pillows, towels, wash cloths, glasses, hangars, shampoo, in room beverages (especially bottled water) as you can because you never know on what you will get and what will be replenished! )
If you are expecting efficient and good customer service at the front desk-just forget about it! The people behind the desk were in slow motion and did not want to be there. If you seem at all in a hurry they will go slower and will even go to the back room and leave you hanging. Thankfully this did not happen to me, it is just what I observed at check in and check out (spent 3 hours in the lobby at check out because you had to pay $50 if you wanted to check out after noon).
What DID happen to us at check in is they gave us a king size bed with a pull out coach for our boys (I booked two beds) because they said they had no other rooms because they were fully booked and I would have to check back with manager the following afternoon. We accepted the room because we were exhausted because we got to the hotel late due to a later flight and the longer than expected bus ride because our bus stopped off at a roadside "Pharmacia". When we finally got to our room we discovered we had no bedding for the pull out couch, which smelled nasty. Luckily I packed fabric freshner (which I learned to do after the Dominican). After calling the desk and visiting in person 3 times we finally received bedding, which was 2 hours later.
The next day we had breakfast and I sent my family to the pool while I dealt with the chore of getting a room with two beds. This was no easy task as they were trying to convince me to keep the room that we had. That was a "no go"! After waiting around for her to "find me a room" I told her that I wanted to see it before I accepted it, which she was not thrilled. Luckily the room was only 3 doors down and was clean, still had a slight musty smell to it, but we were in the tropics (again bring some fabric freshner, house bug spray, etc. You will thank me for the tip!). I also noted that our locks worked on doors, thanks to feed back from others on the web. I grabbed my family and moved our stuff (did not want to waste another day) including all the stuff we "scored" the night before. My husband thought I was nuts for stripping our original room of everything, but he thanked me later.
The pools look like the pictures. However, I can confirm that the other reviews on the lack of cleanliness is not an exaggeration. The pools are missing tiles, scum on the edges, straws, cups, bugs and debris in the water. The pool water started to get cloudy after 11am because they don't run the filters during the day and people spill drinks in the pool; cups, straws, wrappers, are dumped; plus there was an abundance of dead bees. The bees were pretty bad by the swim up bars, which I tried to avoid because I'm allergic. They didn't seem to bother anyone, but I didn't want to chance it. After 7pm they dump a ton of chemicals in the pool and I saw the staff cleaning it in the morning. To give you a good idea of how murky the water is, I took a scuba class (which you had to practice in the pool) and I could not see clearly past one arms length! As I was practicing I was picking up glasses and junk from the bottom of the pool and tossing it on the side. Gross! As a previous review noted, we too saw the pool lights "floating" on the water because they came loose, which was a definite hazard. I can also confirm that the bartenders at the pool are more interested in listening to reggae music and entertaining themselves rather than interacting with the patrons and ensuring that they are having a great time.
Food: We are not picky eaters, so the food was ok. My family agree that the "steak house" was the best and the Japanese was the worst out of the "reserved dining". There was NO AC in the indoor restaurants, which was a little uncomfortable. The best advice I can give for the buffet dining is to scout out your seating first and keep a family member there to hold your place while they get food. If you don't do this you will have a really hard time trying to find a place to sit while, trying to keep your food on your plate. Definitely have the jerk chicken, pork chops and sausage from the beach jerk hut. We ended up having that for lunch the majority of the days.
Excursions: My husband and I were in Jamaica 16 years ago on our honeymoon on one of the stops from our cruise, so we thought it would be cool to show the kids what we did and opted for the Dunn's River land excursion (we did not take the catamaran and snorkel by the falls). The trip included shopping, the botanical garden, a stop for lunch, and the Dunn's River Falls. Do yourself a huge favor and make sure you pack water shoes! You cannot wear flip flops or go bare foot up the falls. If you do you will get hurt. If you don't pack water shoes you can buy them there for $7-$10 and they are not of good quality! My son forgot his shoes and we had to buy a pair, which were really uncomfortable and ended up digging into his arch and left a nasty blister for the rest of the trip.
Shopping will be intimidating for people who are not use to being pressured. Think flea market on steroids! If you are at all claustrophobic stay on the bus. If you have kids keep them close to you, as well as your wallet! If you see something you like, offer ¼ of the price. Do not let them bully you. Trust me you will hear it all! If they don't want to give you the lower price, walk away. 9 times out of 10 they will give it to you because everyone is selling the same stuff! This is whether you are in the shanty area or the shopping mall. The same goes for on the resort. There are peddlers all over the beach and in the ocean selling everything from t-shirts to drugs.
The other excursion was the Dolphin's Cove where you can swim with dolphins. We absolutely loved swimming with the dolphin! Here are a couple things you should know about this place. It is advertised as one price you get to do everything as much as you want and any time you want to (except for the dolphin portion which is on a strict schedule) but that is not the case. You cannot take the mini boats on your own. There is a guy that goes with you that expects a tip (and not a small one either). You can't really swim with the sharks (nurse sharks) and you can't swim freely with the sting rays. Those things are done with the cast of "pirates" at designated times. We just wanted to snorkel and we could only do that in between their little shows, even though it was not in the same area. (Note: The snorkeling here is terrible, so don't take a first timer there because they will think all places are like that.) The beach wasn't a beach and the kayaking is a challenge if the water is choppy (not for beginners). Another thing they advertise is their "jungle walk". Wow! What a disappointment! You go down a little trail to find outdoor shops, a couple of birds (they charge you $5 to take a picture with it) and an iguana (again charge you $5 to take pictures). A couple of other things to note: you cannot take your own photos while with the dolphins, sting rays, sharks, etc. There is a photographer that does it and it is very expensive! After we had a great time with the dolphin my kids wanted the pictures and video. Ok, it was really cool so we spent $140 for the video and pictures! I told you it wasn't cheap! Also not cheap is the beverages and food. We didn't eat anything, but a bottle of water was $4 and a beer (Red Stripe) was $5 each. Also note that you can't stay at the place for as long as you like because your designated driver sets a time to pick you up at the top of the hill/roadside. Tip - make sure you know who your driver is and only get on their bus/van! Otherwise you can get into a lot of trouble by being taken where you don't want to go. Luckily that didn't happen to us, but I heard a family that it did happen to when we were at the hotel pool later that week.
Service: I don't know if it is the location (country) or the hotel (Iberostar vs Riu) but we thought the service was lacking here even after you tipped them. Overall, the staff expects and sometimes indirectly demands tips. Basically, they remind you that they are doing an exceptional job for you and you are to take care of them at the end. (Note: I was told by one of the tour guides that you don't tip at Sandals resorts because it is included in the price and workers prefer to work at places like the Riu because they don't have to claim their tips as part of their salary.) I can honestly say that there were two individuals during our stay that really deserved tips (and I tipped them well) was the cook at the Jerk Hut and a guy nicknamed Stretch (because he is really tall) who worked at the outdoor sports area. Stretch has worked at this Riu for four years and absolutely loves what he does. If you do decide to go to this location tell him his "military angel from St Louis" and her kids say hello. He was absolutely fantastic! If you want to take any kind of lesson (sailing, scuba diving, etc.) request Stretch.
Entertainment: The entertainment staff was friendly and really tried hard to put on the different acts every night. I think they were best at dancing not acting and did what they could with what little they had to work with. If you aren't into watching a cheesy show, the hotel has a small game room with 2 video games, two pool tables, and roughly 8 slot machines. Note: If you are not a smoker you won't like it because it is very smoky in there with not ventilation.
Beach: Ocean water is warm, clear and clean. The beaches in the Dominican far surpass the beaches in Ocho Rios because is not fine sand and it has rocks and shells that you can cut your feet on. As mentioned before there are vendors hustling on the beach and in the water. I didn't spend much time in the ocean because my family prefers the pool (even though it was dirty) but I think I saw only 1 "security guard" walking the beach and he really didn't do much to keep the vendors away and he certainly did not ward off the drug deals. I did not see anyone get out of control. I think the most annoying hustlers were the guys on the Jet Ski's. They are not part of the hotel, are not insured, and rip people off by charging them for 30 minutes and cut you off around 20 (this is what I heard from people). They also upset the snorkelers by racing by and then stop and idle their crafts so that gas is everywhere. I saw one guy get really upset and words were exchanged and the guy took off after circling a couple times to be a jerk.
As a family we had fun but all agreed that we would not go back. My husband was not impressed by Riu and we will more than likely not stay at another one. I tried to find the contact info for the Riu Corporate Customer Service, but have been unsuccessful. If anyone has it I would appreciate it if you sent it to me so I can share our experience with them.
Date of Stay: 08/20/2011
Children in Party: 2
Tweens (10-12) Tweens (13+) Accommodations Dining Kids Play Area Money Value Pool & Water Fun Staff
See what Family Vacation Critic has to say about the
Riu Ocho Rios
