Riu Palace Tropical Bay

Wife & I Went 06/23-06/30/2026 We were offered an Ocean Front Upgrade for $200.00 for the week, so we took it. At this resort I probably would not do it agin being the rooms are very far back from the beach and would have been just as happy with the partial view and saved the $200.00. It was our anniversary so they did send up a bottle of champagne with a nice note wishing us a happy anniversary…Was a nice touch.

The service in this hotel is one of the best we’ve had in our 17 trips to Jamaica. Everything from the housekeeping to the food servers to the guys working the maintenance on the beach we’re absolutely fantastic and other than a few caveats I would without a doubt give this five stars.

The issues we had were that the beach should have a designated non-smoking area. It is Jamaica after all and you will smell people burning weed so that’s a given, but the cigarette smokers are very inconsiderate. Our section at the beach where we were sitting basically had no smokers until two women showed up and decided to smoke. As the wind was blowing their exhaled smoke directly upon us. I went up and nicely asked them if they would be considerate and just step back a bit when they'd smoke, and then return to their seats being that none of us here were smoking… They rolled their eyes and lit up more cigarettes with pride and puffed away. So rather than create any issues, we just moved on to a new location.

Second, is the lack of public bathrooms so you’ll be constantly running to your room should you need to relieve yourself. There is basically one set of public bathrooms far back by the entertainment stage way away from the beach.

Third issue I had, keep in mind we’ve been to Jamaica 16 times prior to this trip I have to say one of the things I look forward to when I go to Jamaica is jerk chicken. This resort out of all the trips I’ve been to Jamaica prior probably had the worst jerk chicken. I only had it once being it was really not acceptable. I did see many people over the week lined up for it. Maybe it was just a bad day, but I’ve had so much better even at resorts that are not of this quality.

Forth caveat, was that, and I’m not trying to be a snob, but many people just didn’t follow the rules. You think that when you’re dining at any of the theme restaurants you would be somewhat in a casual acceptable attire, whereas people showed up in worn T-shirts, and in one particular case at the buffet, a guy came in with no shirt on and in a swimsuit and was asked to please leave and come back with a shirt on, he didn’t listen. He went right to the food bar loaded up a plate, came back and sat down a table whereas the staff then immediately came back and advised him he had to leave. It appeared he had a friend there who had just finished eating and gave him his shirt, and the friend then left shirtless from the buffet. Keep in mind it’s posted everywhere you must be covered up in the dining hall.

OVERALL THE PLACE IS GREAT AND WE HAD A FANTASTIC TIME !!!

The BEACH IS Beautiful ! Plenty of lounge chairs, just have to get up early if you want some of the best shade.

Pools were beautiful, with lots of activity at the Swim Up Bar Pool. Families with kids at the others.

The Upstairs Cappuccino Bar / Sports Bar was excellent !!! We made it a point to stop in several times a day for espresso, snacks & martinis. Note: Lorenzo makes The Best ESPRESSO Martinis & DIRTY Martinis.

As for the Restaurants… Both the Italian & Japanese were EXCELLENT !! Steakhouse - MEH

The Buffet was hit or miss but when it was on was Fantastic… Breakfasts and Lunches at the buffet were always Great ! The Buffet Dinners were just ok, lotta times the dinner options were just too over cooked.

Everyone we dealt with was excellent, but here’s some of the staff we feel deserve special recognition for the outstanding service they provided and highly recommend you seek them out.

1. Shahanie - Works at the Buffet
2. Dianna - Works at the Buffet

(Look for the Eyes …LOL) 3.Williams - Works at the Buffet 4. Alexa - Works at the Japanese Resturant 5.Judith - Server on the Beach 6. The House Keepers of our room. Everyday was a please to come up to our perfectly cleaned room and be greeted by the surprise towel animals on our bed

Highly Recommend, even with the minor caveat you’re sure to have a great time.

Wow what a holiday after our original holiday to Mauritius being cancelled due to the ongoing troubles. We done our research in the hotels in Jamaica and this ticked all the boxes for us. Upon arrival we were sorted with rooms quickly and given a welcome drink. Some slight improvements could be made to the rooms but nothing major. Eg kettle in room rather than coffee perculator, the sealant around shower tidied up. As u say nothing major. We did book a room for 3 adults and ended up with one adult sleeping on the sofa for ten nights even though we had reported it should’ve been a pull out bed. Most of the staff were pleasant and friendly BUT the staff member in the coffee lounge could do with some retraining, very off with quite a few guests, no please or thank you anytime we went in. Huge shoutout to Damon and Derval at breakfast and lunch. Pair of superstars. Knew our drinks after the first day, so lovely with all the guests. One negative for us was how very loud the entertainment stage was, don’t think there was a need for it being quite so loud. Entertainment was very good especially the steel band. Keep up the good work, everyone works so hard.

We just returned from an amazing vacation at RIU Palace Tropical Bay! The absolute highlight is the beach at Bloody Bay—the water is calm, crystal clear, and perfect for floating. The resort itself is very clean, and the staff works tirelessly to keep everything spotless. This is the smallest RIU we’ve been to, which makes it much easier to walk around, but it also means fewer amenities and a quieter atmosphere. Food was just okay—nothing terrible. Food is not the main part of the experience, but it is totally fine if you are just looking for a simple, stress-free bite between beach sessions.. It is a fantastic place if your main priority is the sun and sand! It is a bit of a drive from the Montego Bay airport, but totally worth it once you step onto that white sand. We will definitely be back!