Riu Ocho Rios
Address: Mammee Bay - St.Ann
Ocho Rios, Jamaica
Tel: (1)8769722200
Fax: (1)876972-2203
Email: clubhotel.ochorios@riu.com
URL: Riu Ocho Rios
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Type of Property: All Inclusive
Beach Location: Beach Front (Directly on Beach/Water Front)
Island: Jamaica
No. of Rooms/Units: 846
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Summary of All Property Reviews
Ratings based on answers from a total of 2 reviews (All Reviews)
10 is best 1 is worst |
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| Feature |
Ranking |
Feature |
Ranking |
| Cleanliness of Property |
6.50 |
Quality of Property |
6.00 |
| Privacy & Quietness |
0.00 |
Quality of Service |
5.50 |
| Courtesy & Hospitality of Staff |
7.00 |
Accuracy of Website (marketing hype) VS. Actual Experience |
4.50 |
| Food and Dining Experience |
5.50 |
Price/Value of Property |
5.50 |
| Safety Factor (Did you feel safe at property) |
6.00 |
Quality of Beach (ranked closest beach if property is located off the beach) |
8.00 |
| Total Property Score: 5.45 | Average Star Rating: 3.00 out of 5 |
- 50% (1 visitors of 2) said they would go back to Riu Ocho Rios again.
- 50% (1 visitors of 2) said they would recommend Riu Ocho Rios to friends.
Stay Somewhere Else
Traveler Review By: Anonymous from Philadelphia
Date of Visit: October 2007
We stayed at the RIU Ocho Rios from October 14-20. Reviews noting the bad smell of the rooms and the poor service had us a little nervous, but we decided to go there because the good reviews made it sound wonderful. We now wish we’d followed our instincts and stayed elsewhere.
Upon arrival at the hotel (where there was no rum punch waiting for us), we were given Junior Suite 1275. The room smelled absolutely horrible, like mold or mildew. We had taken Glade air freshener (as one reviewer had advised) but this didn’t begin to cover the odor. (We saw a housekeeping supervisor later and she said that whole side of the hotel smelled bad because the rooms didn’t get much sun.) Also, the refrigerator was empty except for a gallon of water, two lightbulbs were missing, a lampshade was missing, there was only one balcony chair, the safe didn’t work and the television was out of order. We found an employee in the hallway who restocked the refrigerator, for which he was given a tip. A housekeeper said she would replace the lightbulbs, so we tipped her; however, we never saw her or her lightbulbs again! Unfortunately, we didn’t realize the safe was broken until after we’d foolishly locked our valuables in it. We went to the front desk and were told to wait in our room, and they’d send a maintenance person up. (We had to stay in the room or they wouldn’t send someone because they were afraid we’d accuse him of stealing something.) After a half hour, my husband called the front desk and was told the maintenance man was working on another problem and would fix our safe next. Over the course of 2-1/2 hours, during which time we were trapped in our room, my husband called the front desk six times. Finally, I called. I was not quite as nice as my husband had been, and we had a maintenance man there within 10 minutes of my call. He got the safe opened but could not fix it; he did, however, find replacement lightbulbs and another chair for the balcony. During the time we waited, we were painfully aware that there was some kind of generator on the grounds outside our room which made a loud clanging noise off and on the entire time we were in the room up until about 7 pm.
Because of the broken safe, we were told we could have another room at noon the next day. We kept checking the next day from noon until 4:30 pm, when a room was finally available. I did notice several people in the lobby still waiting for their rooms. (Note: Check-in time is supposed to be at 3 pm.) Rum punch was being given out, so we had our “welcoming drink” then!
The new room was a definite improvement (#1131). No smell and the only thing that was broken was the hairdryer – and once again, the refrigerator was empty except for water. Although we reported these problems ( in fact, the housekeeping supervisor called about the empty refrigerator for us), they were never fixed. I had taken my own hairdryer, so it didn’t matter to me – I hope the person who got the next room, however, doesn’t mind wet hair. The refrigerator was STILL not restocked by 1 pm the next day, so we went to the front desk and ended up carrying the soda, water, etc., up to the room ourselves.
We left a tip for the maid, and the result was that we got fewer towels than we had upon our arrival in the room, no shampoo, conditioner, or lotion (which were all in the room when we got there, so I would assume these were supposed to be supplied to guests). Therefore, we left no tip the rest of the week! The sheets were never changed during the five nights we spent in this room. (I know this because there was a stain on the sheet when we checked in, and it was still there when we checked out.)
This brings us to the food. My husband generally eats anything and is affectionately known as the “family garbage disposal”. The breakfast buffet wasn’t too bad; however, lunch and dinner were abysmal, and even he had trouble finding something that was appealing to eat. We ate in all the specialty restaurants except the Japanese one and Sir John. (You can’t eat in Sir John if you’ve eaten in Sir Richard.) The food there was better than in St. Ann’s buffet or the so-called Italian Restaurant; however, it still left much to be desired. This was, by the way, a complaint we heard from all of the people we met at the resort. And in spite of the wonderful reputation of Jamaica’s coffee, don’t expect to get any at this hotel – they serve Nescafe! We went into town one day so we could go to the Hard Rock Café; this was the best meal we had all week. The jerk chicken hut on the beach was pretty good – but how many days in a row can you eat the same thing?
The drinks from the bar were delicious; however, there wasn’t much alcohol in them. A joke among the people we met was that you could drink all day and still be totally straight by nightfall. You could ask for an extra shot of rum or whatever in your drink, but why should you have to ask for extra alcohol just to get a normal strength drink?
The location of the hotel was also a disappointment. There was absolutely nothing to see within walking distance, so if you wanted to do any shopping or see the town, you had to take a taxi. This is not the hotel’s fault, of course, just an observation and a warning to those who don’t want to feel trapped at the hotel or pay everyday to go someplace off the grounds.
We celebrated our anniversary while we were there. The hotel knew this two weeks before we went; they acknowledged this verbally when we got there; when we made a dinner reservation for Sir Richard for our anniversary, the reservation taker mentioned it; when we got to the restaurant, the waiter mentioned it and tried to get the hotel to give us a cake or a bottle of champagne to celebrate. Despite their knowing it was a special day for us and our waiter’s efforts to do something special, the hotel did nothing.
On the positive side (and the only reason I’ve rated it a 2 instead of 1) is that the beach is beautiful. Vendors were not a problem as there were plenty of security guards to keep them from bothering guests – and if one did manage to approach you, a simple “no thank you” did the trick. The water was beautiful, and there were plenty of chairs for everyone on the beach. We were always able to get a spot under a tree when it got too hot.
Property Review
10 is best 1 is worst
Would you stay at this property again?: ... No
Would you recommend this property to your friends?: ... Yes
In your opinion, how would you classify the "style" of this property: ... Family Oriented
Possible Anwswers: Family Oriented, Couples Oriented, Mixed/Diverse in a Good Way, Mixed/Diverse in a Bad Way
Property Service Rankings: (Average Ranking = 3.30)
- Cleanliness of Property: ... 6
- Quality of Property: ... 3
- Privacy and Quietness: ... 0
- Quality of Service: ... 3
- Courtesy and Hospitality of Staff: ... 6
- Accuracy of Website VS. Actual Experience: ... 1
- Food and Dining Experience: ... 1
- Price/Value of Property: ... 2
- Safety Factor (Did you feel safe at property): ... 3
- Quality of Beach (ranked closest beach if property is located off the beach): ... 8
Destination/Island Review
10 is best 1 is worst
Would you visit this destination/island again?: ... Yes
Would you recommend this destination/island to your friends?: ... Yes
Destination Rankings: (Average Ranking = 6.12)
- Cleanliness of Destination/Island: ... 5
- Options of Activities in the Area: ... 9
- Ease of Transportation (air, taxi, bus, shuttle): ... 8
- Quality of Beaches in the Area: ... 9
- Courtesy & Hospitality of Locals: ... 7
- Safety Factor (Did you feel safe in the Area): ... 2
- Local Restaurant Experience/Options: ... 3
- Price/Value of Destination (Does your dollar stretch?): ... 6
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Snorkeling and Scuba Diving Rankings:
Did you
Snorkel during your trip? ... Yes
Did you Scuba Dive during your trip? ... No
10 is best 1 is worst |
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Snorkeling Ratings |
Scuba Diving Ratings |
| Water Clarity ... 9 |
Water Clarity ... 0 |
| Health of the Reef ... 9 |
Health of the Reef ... 0 |
| Overall Experience ... 9 |
Overall Experience ... 0 |
| Would you recommend snorkeling here? ... Yes |
Would you recommend diving here? ... N/A |
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