Rating:
"We stayed at the Riu Palace Tropical Bay in Jamaica for the two weeks ending January 11, 2011.
Unquestionably, the resort's beach is one of the best and the clear blue Caribbean ocean is truly breath taking, but the resort was one of the most poorly managed facilities that we have ever stayed at, including other Riu resorts. Although rated as a 5-star (and the price certainly reflected that), we have had better food, drinks and less noise at many 3.5- or 4-star resorts at almost half of the cost. The General Manager was not once seen walking the grounds of the resort to inspect his domain and find out how his facility was perceived by the guests.
The hotel is totally void of washroom facilities near the beach, guests were forced to use their own rooms or had to walk back to washrooms near the main lobby area -- often the latter facilities were flooded! The garbage bins near the beach were exceptionally inadequate resulting in people leaving their dirty plates and glasses on the grounds surrounding these small bins in the afternoons.
The rooms were very noisy. Staff who would stock the maid service carts would congregate at midnight and talk very loud to such an extent that we had to open our door and shout at them to be quit at 12:30 am! On another occasion, one of the guests on the same floor had to resort to the same tactic.
Fresh fruit at all three meals were the poorest we have seen at any tropical resort. Often, it was reduced to serving canned peaches and pears, and occasionally fresh apples. Papayas were served, at best, at 15% of the meals.
The food was very repetitive and lacked in variety and the ala cart restaurants were no better than any of the 3.5-star resorts we had visited.
While the printed bar menu lists several premium brand alcoholic beverages, these were never available. Even tequila was not available at the main bar in the lobby area; so if a guest desired a margarita, it had to be from a pre-mixed batch!
Many of the European guests we talked with while there complained about the same things, and wondered how this resort deserved a 5-star rating.

"
Reviewer: Syriancamel
Date: Jan. 14, 2011

Rating:
"This is the best resort in Jamaica. I have been to Jamaica about 5 times and out of those, I stayed at the Riu Tropical Bay 4 times. Food is great, beach is wonderful and all of the staff and entertainment are just fantastic. The only thing I found that lacked the last time I was there was the evening shows.... this year it seemed that they didn't really have it together the way they have in the past. I assume that could be attributed to the fact that they were closed down for construction and I assume the entertainment staff had to find employment elsewhere.

Regardless, this resort is top notch. I would not hesitate to recommend it to anyone. I actually did send a friend from work and she agreed wholeheartedly that it was the best place she has ever stayed."
Reviewer: Sandra
Date: Mar. 16, 2009

Rating:
"We stayed at the RPTB from January 11 - 18 and I have to say that it was the best Caribbean vacation I've ever had.

The hotel was perfect - we were upgraded to an ocean front room upon our arrival, which set the tone for a perfect week. The people, food, service and beach were all top shelf. I would certainly recommend this hotel to anyone considering Jamaica."
Reviewer: jonefraser2895
Date: Feb. 11, 2009

Rating:
Reviewer: Anonymous [via Escapes.ca]
Date: Feb. 02, 2007

Rating:
Reviewer: Anonymous [via Escapes.ca]
Date: Mar. 31, 2005

Rating:
Reviewer: Anonymous [via Escapes.ca]
Date: Nov. 14, 2003