RIU Palace Jamaica

Second time for us (from the UK) to this great hotel.

Room: You can not fault any of the rooms for cleanliness and towel changes etc. Our only issue was initially we were placed in room which overlooked the entrance of Montego Bay hotel. It was noisy, dogs barked outside very early, assuming they were perhaps being fed by the kitchen or somewhere else as it was an excited barking! We received a call from Reception to ask how our room was and they agreed that they would move us. We are also RIU Gold members, so whilst we didn't complain it was mentioned within this call. Our previous visit we were in a room looking right onto the beach so it was a little bit of a let down! However, room was moved to ground floor looking onto the walkway to pools, still noisy at night due to the bar being right close by! But none the less, we were grateful for the change.

Pool: Again, we only sat by the bar pool, ironic as neither of us actually drink alcohol! We found that there was always plenty of beds available at any time of the day and there was no bun fight to get one. Being British we did find that it was mainly the Brits out early (probably due to our body clocks not engaging with Jamaican times). The pool boys keep it clean and tidy and always happy for you to go in once they have cleaned it. My husband did walk around sometimes and find stray popped balloons from foam party and cups to be thrown or returned to bar. Water was always warm. Bar staff happy to deliver drinks to you if you want, but we always went and got ours.

Buffet restaurant: Again, very attentive staff always happy to get your drink and will learn your preferred beverage within a few days! Quick to clear plates away and always happy to talk. Food was great, but not a huge selection compared to other RIU palaces, however having said that, I think it was lovely and there was enough choice for even the fussiest of eaters (which I am). There were issues with flies , but to be fair, they burn tins of something which keeps them at bay rather well.

Entertainment team: OMG! Astro, amazing! He and his colleague one day appeared to do an impromptu fashion show / catwalk and it has to be one of the funniest things I have seen. They literally borrowed people's beach wear, books, bags, towels, hats, and even a parasol. I have to confess their games this time around were not as good as our prior visit in 2022, but they do get people up and partaking. Were not night owls so didn't really go to the parties at Riu Montego Bay, so can't comment on that, but I think they appear to be well attended. Riu Palace is a smaller hotel and keeping it quieter than the other two I think is good, being an Adult only it's nice to just go and relax!

Beach: Kept clean and tidy and the sea is lovely and warm at all times

Can't make it up: we initially visited in 2022 and there was a US family there that were extremely competitive. During one of the pool games I thought I recognised one of them but ignored it, however next day during a pool conversation with the parents, it was established that they had been before and after a couple of my Miss Marple questions it turns out that they were the very same people! I always refer to this family when giving my opinion of the hotel, and there they were in all their glory!!

Overall experience: I love this hotel, I love the Jamaican people. I think some customers need to understand that you don't go shouting your mouth off at a certain time of night/early hours of the morning, I found it disrespectful. The hotel is amazingly clean and tidy, all the staff are helpful and pleasant. I managed to read 7 books in the two weeks I was there, making good use of the book swap (reception). I work a really stressful job and this is a holiday that allowed me to fully relax and forget about work. I can't find any major faults with this hotel, so much so, I will come back here for sure, and also see the new upgrade which is happening later this year.

Stayed here with family & friends for 5 nights.

PROs: -You get a mimosa when you check-in -The rooms are pretty nice with a mini-bar and free drinks stocked daily (rum, water, soda); there is a min-fridge in the room -Very nice pool areas; there are two pools and the smaller one has a swim-up bar and sometimes there is a staffer coming around to take your drink order -Great variety of foods at the buffet and tasty -Access to both sister properties that are located on each side of this resort and within walking distance -The other two resorts are where the entertainment/parties seem to happen (the other resort had the neon party one night) -The Wednesday afternoon foam party at this resort was fun -There's a bar in the lobby, at the snack center and sometimes a little bartender cart outside the lobby so you can get a drink at multiple spots -You can book excursions on the site and the prices are pretty reasonable -There's a free shuttle you can book in the lobby to take you to the small shopping area, but honestly, there's barely any stores and we were only there for 30 min before we called them back to pick us up

CONs: -Very unorganized check-in experience that took waaay longer than it had to be -I would've given the food a 10 BUT many of the items that were supposed to be hot, were room temperature -This is a small resort with not much to do; we found ourselves kinda aimlessly walking around and venturing to the other resorts to explore -There's not much going on with the TV channels but I think you can sign into an app to get channels -The floors/hallways where the rooms are on reminds me of a jail (lol); there are open windows to the outside but there's no "fanciness" about it and doesn't give "resort vibes;" it's almost like a big school lobby -There was some entertainment by the crew at the pool for about an hour or two daily but definitely lacking all around entertainment/activities -For a resort in Jamaica you'd think they have the music going and liveliness happening the majority of time but no; someone at the pool had to ask them to put some music on -One of the guests in our party saw a few roaches in her room (Room 2017) and even in her luggage! SO KEEP YOUR BAGS CLOSED. The manager offered to change her room but she would've been on the other side of the resort. It would've been nice to give her a credit or maybe a free massage or something but that didn't happen -Lots of seaweed in the beach -There are guys tucked behind a gate between the passageway on the beachside to get to the other resort selling weed -On one of the days, the water went out for about an hour or two and when it came on it was spitting out brown water; after that, I started brushing my teeth using bottled water

Take PLENTY of American dollar bills as you'll need this to tip. We were tipping every time we sat down for a meal and/or ordered drinks, shuttle service, and if you venture out on excursions. So for a 5 day trip, it's a lot of tipping, lol!

It was nice to experience these resorts, but I wouldn't return here.