Riu Negril

Just returned from my fifth trip to Jamaica and my 6th Riu resort. This resort has captured my heart unexpectedly and i think it's in part due to the location but mostly down to the staff. We always bond with the staff but this place was on another level. they went out of their way to make my daughters 15th birthday special (Thanks Speedy). The bar staff were out of this world. They have to put up with an awful lot from some guests but we found them to be incredibly hardworking, outgoing friendly and skilled as well. Camille looked after us on many occasions in the evenings (in the Theatre area), She is an absolute ambassador to the RIU brand and their values. Speedy, Shana-lee, Timone, Whitney, Shin shin, Yogi, Bryan, Big Shack, Shadow, Cuban, Pineapple, Toothpick, GG, and the other entertainers put on amazing productions and worked so hard for all the guests. I never participate normally as i like to watch but they actually got me involved and I had a blast. our maid kept our room clean and tidy (1211) and even though we left valuables out nothing went missing. the front desk staff were equally as good and professional. Chad took our bags to the room and made sure we were settled and made a point of saying hi to us when we saw him. The hotel itself was renovated in 2019 i think and it's a beautiful resort with a great vibe and beautiful beach. be sure to check out the boat trips as they are really good. thank you to all the RIU staff who really made this holiday the best we've had. we are in Aquarelle next year but i will be going back to RIU Negril the year after purely because of the experience the people who work there gave us

We have just returned from this hotel... oh my gosh fell inloved with the place. Our 5th time in jamacia but this is the best by far. From the moment we arrived check in was easy. And the staff on the desk are polite and happy. CHAD took our bags to our room and made us feel welcome he was friendly polite and went out of his way to help. Entertainment... well what can I say these bunch of people work their socks off. And are excellent at it... BIG SHAQ, SHADOW,SPEEDY,CHINCHIN,SHANA-LEE,GEE-GEE,BRYAN,TIMONE,PINEAPPLE,45,YOGI to name a few. Made our stay extra special we was out there for my daughters birthday and went above and beyond to make it special..they bring the VIBE. THEY ARE ALL AMZING!. food was excellent as always.. always something to eat even for fussy eaters.. the staff in the restaurants always have a smile and time for a chat.. The scuba hut.. we did 2 trips. And both times was amazing... the party boat is fun for all ages. And they look out for you. We did a snorkel trip also was just my family on the boat. Was so nice being with Christopher and captain Anthony.. Chris let us explore the waters while showing us different things. And was just magical swimming with many different fish!. Evening and day bar staff... again what can I say. I never waited long for a drink. And the staff we more than happy to serve always with a smile and a chat... Camille on the evening made it extra special. Always making sure we was ok. And we had drinks ect . . Nothing was to much trouble.. Housekeeping. Our room was cleaned daily. Room spotless.. and I never felt I couldn't leave valuables lying around.. our fridge and water was always well stocked. My daughter had her birthday while out there and I didnt tell the hotel but housekeeping. Left a card and a fruit basket. Which I felt was a lovely touch. Its the little things goes along way. We love jamacia but riu negril has stole our hearts just that little bit more.. from start to finish the staff even the groundsmen made us feel welcome. Highly recommended this hotel for location and pure happiness... we will be back for sure!. Big up all that work there... one love!.

A wonderful stay with a few areas to improve We had a very enjoyable stay at Riu Negril and, overall, were very pleased with our experience. The resort is beautiful, well maintained, and has a fantastic location right on the beach. The beach is beautiful, and the sea is full of marine life. Directly in front of the hotel, there is a little seagrass in the sand, which actually makes it possible to spot stingrays, starfish and many different fish. If you prefer a completely sandy area, you only need to walk a little further along the beach, so it really isn’t an issue. We particularly appreciated the variety of restaurants and bars, as well as the quality and presentation of the crockery and tableware in the buffet. It may seem like a small detail, but it adds a real sense of quality and care. One of the highlights was definitely Kulinarium. The service was excellent and the food was outstanding. The rare steak was tender, juicy and perfectly cooked, with an excellent sauce. The lobster risotto was absolutely wonderful—creamy, flavorful and beautifully prepared. The service was also very smooth, with no unnecessary waiting between courses, which made the whole experience very relaxing. The reception staff were also excellent: friendly, professional and efficient. Unfortunately, Luigi was a disappointment compared with Kulinarium, even though both restaurants are part of the same hotel. There were some noticeable issues with attention to detail. My wine glass was dirty and was replaced, but the same glass was then given to my husband. A knife that had fallen on the floor was not replaced and was instead placed on the next table for another guest. These may seem like small details, but they matter in a resort of this standard. We also had one minor issue with the bar service. We were offered one glass of sparkling wine on arrival, but when we asked for another while still having our aperitifs and starters, we were refused. Apart from this, the service was very good. The entertainment was something we barely noticed, but in a positive way. Everything flowed so smoothly during dinner that there was no waiting between courses and therefore no need for entertainment. Overall, we would definitely recommend Riu Negril. With a little more consistency and attention to detail, especially at Luigi, the experience could be truly exceptional.

First time visiting Jamaica. Hotel was so much more than what we expected its clean spacious everyone from staff to guest were so friendly and nothing is to much we were greeted in yhe lobby upon arrival with ice cold drinks and friendly smiles our luggae was taken up to our rooms . rooms cleaned daily the house keeping ladies work so hard and are so happy and friendly The pools are great . We were really worried about the beech after reading so many mixed reviews but our breath was taken the first time we saw it clear and bath warm yes a bit of sea grass but nothing like the reviews led us to believe its paradise on earth is my only way to describe it. The food . So much to choose from your spoilt for choice no flies around the food doors shutting of food area to eating area every where clean and tidy staff on hand to help with anything at all.3 restaurants all fantastic we tried each one our best was the steak house . The sports bar was our meeting point every day we walked in and the staff said 3 cappuccinos they pay so much attention to everyone this hotel has certainly got it right with friendly happy workers . The reception people cant help you enough I cant say enough positive about all the staff at this hotel . The entertainment crew are another story wow theynwork from morning till night keeping guests happy they were amazing from chanting good morning on the beech to pool games beech games evening shows the evening entertainment was brilliant it fills up quick so we took our seats early as lots of us and wanted to sit together .the Thursday parties well just wow never seen anything like it from lighting to jugglers to dancers just WOW. We enjoyed it so much weve booked again for March 27. Best holiday ever

Honest review from a travel journalist! Our holiday had been changed fairly last minute, as it was changed twice by TUI. Due to this we didn’t have a great deal of choice as to where we went or the choice of hotel. We stumbled across this hotel and thought we would go with it based on the good reputation of RIU and good reviews from a glance. The hotel itself is around an hour and half (private transfer) from Montego Bay airport. We done a private transfer to get to the hotel and a shared coach transfer on the return. I would 100% reccomend to book a private transfer both ways due to the bad conditions of the roads. My family felt it far worse on the coach with lots of potholes which can increase travel sickness. We arrived at the hotel and was instantly impressed by their contemporary and clean aesthetic decor. The lobby area is open, wide, with a good vibe. Check in was quick. We did however encounter a problem, with the fact that there was no rooms available with 2 beds in. This meant my husband, myself and our 11 old daughter sharing one king size bed. This is not something we wanted and therefore had to upgrade our room type by paying an additional £280 for a sea view room which had the two beds available. It did come as a shock, as TUI did not mention this when confirming our booking (change was made over the phone). In all honesty the upgrade was worth it as we were block 3 and facing a quiet little end bay. Our daughter adored standing on the balcony looking at the sea, so that in itself was worth it! Our room was what I presume to be an interconnecting style room as we had a main door off of the corridor and then our own separate corridor shared with next door (two separate rooms). This would be really handy for larger families who want to be close together. Rooms were clean, modern and nicely decorated. Rooms have the optics which we loved! The optics are stocked with Johnny Walker, Gordon’s Gin, Smirnoff Vodka and Jamaican Gold Rum. The minibar was refilled every 2 days with Fanta, Coca-Cola, Coca-Cola Zero, Red Stripe, Red Stripe Light, Soda Water, Tonic Water, and water. The room itself has hairdryer attached to the wall in the bathroom. Whilst it is only small I found it fairly powerful, as the change in voltage affected my hairdryer I brought from home. The bathroom has hand-wash, shampoo/body wash and conditioner. My only real complaint I have regarding the rooms was the fight to get the dispensers with the hand-wash and shampoo refilled. When we arrived they were not full, which is fine, but this did mean we needed to request to have them re-filled. We were told that there was a shortage for a few days, and requested via reception. Thankfully a nice housekeeping staff member from another block gave us some, after much asking and hunting. Ideally these should be filled fully each time a new guest uses the room to avoid this. For those who use them, there are flannels which are changed daily in the bathroom. We also had a sofa in the room, along with a couple of chairs on the balcony. There is also a drying/hanging rack on the side wall of the balcony. We really appreciated the touch of having a full normal sized ironing board and iron which is stored in the wardrobe. The hangers are the type which have a hook and can be removed. The safe was large enough for all of our belongings and located inside of the wardrobe. Some rooms are also equipped with an umbrella in the wardrobe for the downpours!For anyone wishing to bring their fire stick you may have issues getting it into the back of the TV. Our TV was flush with the wall which made it impossible to get it into the correct port. Not the end of the world, as the TV had lots of English Chanel’s. The entertainment was really impressive. The whole team were so energetic, enthusiastic and a credit to the hotel. There was lots going on throughout the day but no pressure to participate which I liked! The full entertainment plan can be found near the entrance to the island cove lunchtime restaurant. Myself and my husband were blown away by the white party. We have travelled all over the world and seen many themed nights and parties but honestly this blew them all out of water. Sadly we did not stay long enough to experience the neon party but I presume it would have been just as fab! They made so much effort, with the full day of preparations. I won’t spoil too much for those who are due to travel but it was a great evening, my daughter thoroughly enjoyed herself too. They also had a foam party in the family/kids/activity pool on a Friday which was a good laugh. They also had a variety of shows such as steel bands and the Michael Jackson tribute. The Michael Jackson tribute was brilliant, another great night. Karaoke was also on a few of the nights as well as another couple of audience interactive shows. My only real niggle is that we find the entertainment to be quite late. This does however seem to be a RIU theme, as we have encountered this at most of the RIU hotels we have been too. We are early risers so found the late shows hard to stay awake for, but nonetheless enjoyed all of what we watched! We found the food really quite nice. We found going at earlier times were much better as it’s hot and fresh with no crowds. One evening we did go slightly later and it was too busy for my liking, but that was only 1 night out of the 10 we were staying. We ate in most of the restaurants and thoroughly enjoyed them. The buffet has a great selection, my daughter and myself did not struggle once. The Mandalay was surprisingly enjoyable, I wasn’t sure what to expect befofe going in, but we really enjoyed our meal here. We visited the steak house twice as we enjoyed it so much. The mozzarella dippers are divine and probably the biggest I have ever come across. We did visit the Italian, but felt our evening was rushed a little. There wasn’t much ambience within the restaurant as there was no music. We didn’t return for that reason, although my husband and daughter did enjoy their meals here. The sports bar was a really nice touch. Especially having the ability to order food at whatever hours form their menu. My husband probably consumed his body weight on jerk chicken from pepes which, I must admit was really delicious! My daughter thoroughly enjoyed tiki tacos for lunch most days. It was also nice to have island cove if you wanted a proper sit down lunch. I really liked the fact that there were automatic doors separating the buffet food area. This seriously minutes the amount of flies you usually get in a buffet. I just wished guests would be courteous to one another and let people out with their dinner before entering. Perhaps it would make sense to do an in and out system out of that area as there are two sets of doors? Staff were so friendly, accommodating and just generally really lovely. Everyone was friendly and so positive which made such a difference to our holiday. I loved seeing them have a sing song at the pool bar and a little dance whilst they were working at the white party! I cannot fault the staff what so ever! A little tip does go a long way, and they are so grateful for anything you can give them. We enjoyed taking advantage of the scuba caribie watersports. We were able to do kayaking, and pedallos twice. We also were able to rent scuba equipment from them by leaving a deposit. I would however recommend bringing your own, as they never seem to have many as their supply goes out on their boat trip. I would also reccomend if travelling in July like we did that you do any watersports in the morning. The sea tends to get rough in the afternoons when the rain is due, which results in a yellow flag. This means no activities can take place. In the morning, the weather is absolutely glorious and the sea is fine. You do need to sign a waiver agreement before you do any activity. The beach was absolutely beautiful. I have never spent so much time in the sea. We spent a lot of time checking out the nature there and we’re lucky enough to see star fish, lots of different fish, sea snake, sting rays, sharks and lots of crabs! The best area to see this is the small bay opposite block 4, which tends to be the most quiet. The beach is well kept, no litter around. There are vendors who walk across the beach offering coconuts, anklets, lobsters and braids. A simple no thank you is fine and they are very pleasant and do not bother you again. We did walk down to the blue tents and everyone was very friendly and greatful for the support you are giving their country. The pools were lovely. We sat mainly around the adult pool but used all of the pools. I did find the kids/family/activity pool a little claustrophobic at times as it was so busy. The quiet pool was a little too quiet for our liking. We did tend to use the volleyball pool the most, earlier in the mornings before other guests started playing their games. The adult pool was lovely with the seating and bar inside. The lifeguards are fantastic and take pride in their jobs. There is an absolute zero tolerance to any misbehaving, smoking on the poolside, sandy feet, in pools, which I was impressed about. My only gripe here was that the pool area underneath the sun-beds needed a bit more cleaning. The sun-beds are not an issue, there was always an abundance available, even at 2pm. We had professional photos at the hotel. They were a little on the pricy side, but they have a great service where you can still purchase the digital prints once you return from holiday. I would personally steer clear of the hotel shops for essentials. My husband purchased some cigarettes which were almost $30 for one box. We ventured out to the petrol station down the road (it’s safe to do so) and got 2 packs for that price. If your a smoker, or like to social smoke I would reccomend getting some from duty free on your way out. As lovely as the shops were for gifts etc they were super expensive. I would suggest supporting the locals in the blue tents on the beach. I only have a couple of aspects which I feel the hotel could improve on. The hotel itself is clean however the attention to detail needs to be improved. Areas such as corridors to the rooms don’t seem to be properly cleaned (bannisters). The pool toilets did not feel clean at all. I started to avoid these as the smell was unbearable. I was unsure if the wet floor was water or urine, on a lot of occasions. These definitely need to be cleaned more frequently, especially with the volume of guests using these. Music is needed in the Italian restaurant to give it a bit more of an atmosphere! Other than the above, I wouldn’t change anything about the hotel. It was perfect for us and what we wanted out of our holiday. So much so that we are planning to return with the rest of our family. For anyone wondering whether to choose RIU Negril or the palace a few doors down. We went to visit the palace and had a walk around. We were very happy we chose the RIU Negril. The palace is in dire need of a refurb and seemed to lack atmosphere! Thank you for a fantastic holiday, we will be returning soon :)