Bahia Principe Luxury Runaway Bay Adults Only - All Inclusive

Customer Ratings & Reviews

TripAdvisor Traveler Rating

5724 reviews

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  Not Luxury and Check In Nightmare ruined holiday, will not come back

  We have just returned from a weeks holiday at the Bahia Principe "Luxury?" Runaway Bay in Jamaica. Be aware the hotel is an hours drive from the Montego Bay Airport and there is construction along the route that will further delay your drive to the hotel. Taxi Fare is $120 for two persons one way. Our check in experience was what pretty much put a negative vibe on the rest of our holiday and I can honestly say that I will never come back to a Bahia Principe Resort ever again and would strongly advise against even thinking of booking this place. I was traveling with my 71 year old Mom and we always select or request a room with 2 beds which is never an issue at other hotels and resorts anywhere in the world. However this trip when we got of the bus and at check in we were informed that we would be provided a room with 1 King Sized Bed and after placing my grievances with reception, we were told "Room Selection is Based only on Availability". I then explained to them that this is never an issue at any other resort and this is the first time we had encountered this. We were then told that out of 550 rooms, only 55 of those rooms had 2 double beds. They also informed us that no rollaway beds were available. Can you believe that they would expect a Mother and and adult Son to sleep together in the same bed??????? I was persistent that I speak to Management about this issue and I refused to walk away. After about 30 mins of being persistent with their manager, a room with 2 double beds became "Available" and we were finally shown to our room. We were then reminded that this room is an upgrade as it faced the pool area on the 5th floor but I give them credit for not charging us the extra cost for the "upgrade". I was then really put off by the fact that I had to put up a fight with them to pretty much fight for what we had paid for in the first place. We don't get much vacation time in Canada and I was really looking forward to a relaxing holiday after being burned out and exhausted, I wanted to give Bahia Resorts a chance. The Bell Boys insisted that they would assist us with our bags to our room, however after a wait of 30 mins and my Mom now needing her medication, I ended up going back to the lobby to find our bags just sitting there waiting to eventually be delivered to our rooms. I just retrieved them, told the manager who was there that they are now needed and brought them all to our room my self, no one offered to assist and walk them up with me. I'm fully capable of taking them my self but still the gesture would of been nice....... After getting settled the nightmare continued. We were not provided with any towel cards nor did we know that they were required to get towels at the pool. We have previously stayed at Royalton, Secrets and Marriott Branded All Inclusive Resorts in the Caribbean where Towel Cards were not required to obtain towels at the pool, just help your self or the towel staff would just give you one or two. At the Bahia Principe, a towel card was needed which we had no clue was a requirement and the Towel Guy at the Pool took it out on us very rudely regarding the towel rules at the pool. The Towel Guy was very rude to my Mom and other guests who also shared their horror stories with us until My Mom put in a Complaint to Management about the rudeness. Is this really Luxury. Also note that there are Cabana beds available at the pool but with a cost of $70 US per day, At any Marriott, Hilton, Royalton or Luxury Branded Resort, these would normally be included to use and plenty would be available through out the pool area. At Bahia Principe, you have to pay extra!!! Even some shows you have to pay extra to get in of up to $40 per person. The Rooms.... The Rooms I give them credit for as they were well maintained and kept clean by the staff, beds were comfortable and reasonably stocked with towels and supplies. However the Bathroom and Shower areas need alot of work and the faucets really need to be replaced. Clean, but Dingy and Dated. Restaurants.... All the Ala Carts required reservations were were pretty much non existent. """Booked up and full!!! unless you wanted to eat at 6pm or late at 9pm and even then, options were limited. its interesting because there were always several empty tables when we walked by those "full restaurants" at 7 or 8pm. Maybe 25% occupancy with lots of empty and set up tables. But they were "full" of ghost guests. when we did manage to get in, the food was of reasonable quality but service was very slow. We stuck to the buffet to avoid the hassle and to be able to dine when we pleased. Food Quality and Presentation in the Buffet was honestly 5 stars and the staff there were friendly. Bars and Pool area, Lobby Bar Staff in the Adult Lobby Bar were excellent and showed pride in their work. Pool area staff seemed to struggle to keep up with demand and often looked tired. Lifeguards were always trying to sell us weed which kinda made us feel uncomfortable considering they are supposed to be keeping us safe. Weed Smoke is everywhere and non smoking rules in the pool area were not enforced. If all you want to do is rest and relax this is not the place to go as music is blaring loudly everywhere during the day at the pool. This is literally no quiet pool at all. If you want to party and smoke weed, than this is your place. The beach area wasn't the greatest and if your expecting a beach type holiday, then find another resort. Just rocks, walls and limited space. If you do find that perfect spot, It won't be long until one of the locals comes by to sell you weed or someone starts smoking it next to you. All in all, If your looking for a relaxing, quiet luxury vacation, do your homework and book elsewhere.... Some of the staff were really nice and took pride in their work while others just simply didn't care and it really shows. Many of the staff looked tired, burned out and over worked! and it seemed like a hassle that we were bothering them. Service can be very slow and at times non existent, Being organized just doesn't exist here and I really think it comes from a Management who just doesn't care and its the paying Guest who suffers. This hotel could really use some consultants or some experts in the resort tourism industry if they really want to call them selves "5 Star".

  Jul 06, 2025
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  Excellent Solo Vacation

  Loved the entertainment around the pool during the day (big shout out to Crazy Legs) especially on Canada Day. Entertainment at night ends too early (11pm) - would be much better if the disco was open. Food & service in the Jazmin restaurant was excellent. Beach great for snorkelling - take water shoes. Would return if there was more entertainment in the evenings

  Jul 06, 2025
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  Would not return, we expected ‘luxury’ but that was far from what we received.

  Firstly, upon arrival at the hotel, checking in, young lady on reception was quite surly, we were travelling in a group of 4, 2 couples, myself and my husband checked in smoothly but they couldn’t find our friends booking, which was soon sorted. Taken to our rooms, the view….. building works!!! After ‘discussions’ we had a room change the following day, which was ok, facing the adult pool with the swim up bar … and the smoking area … ganja!! Ok I get that it’s legal in Jamaica but actually in the hotel??!!! Bedroom was very spacious, bed was huge, to big!! Bathroom was very tired and dated. Replenishing the mini bar also seemed to be an issue! Lobby area, upon initial appearance it looks very nice but after a few evenings of sitting on the chairs soon realised they were tired! Service at the bar was very good. Special thanks to Jamiela Thomas who was very attentive and looked after us. The a la carte restaurants, we tried most of them, first evening in The Knife, excellent!! Second visit, poor! The Mikado (Japanese), show cooking, very good! Picasso, good! La Dolce Vita, average! Don Pablo, excellent! Rodizzo, good but does depend on how much of a meat lover that you are! Yazmin buffet restaurant, very good, many thanks to Stacey Hawthorn, with her beautiful smile every morning and her attentive service. Service around the poolside was slow and on a couple of days non existent! I know this review appears to be quite negative but if a hotel is putting‘luxury’ to their name then this hotel was not that. Overall, we had a pleasant stay. Would we return? …. No

  Jul 03, 2025
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  Not Bad, But Needs Work

  It would be beneficial to establish a more effective system for accommodating guests who specifically request double beds. Not everyone that stays at an adults only resort is a couple. Consider implementing policies that prioritize such requests or providing alternative solutions when double beds are not available. This will greatly enhance guest satisfaction and foster goodwill. The rooms seem a bit outdated, but I noticed that they were doing construction so hopefully they will be renovated. Additionally, for an adults only resort the entertainment is extremely limited. There was live music in the lobby area until about 11 PM in the lobby. Bar closes at 12. So you pretty much would have to leave the resort to have any kind of nightlife experience. Consider extending the live music and bar until about 1 AM. Or adding an adult only lounge. There were some stand out employees at this resort that made my experience enjoyable. Jason Bloomfield went above and beyond to help us navigate our first day when we had issues with our room. He was extremely kind and patient and gave us a fantastic guest experience. The staff at the lobby bar in Carlisle at the pool we also fantastic.

  Jul 03, 2025
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  Bad experience

  We were in building 24 luxury side , it was in need of some work . The caulking in the bathroom was black and paint was peeling in the room , everything was very dated and worn . The view was great though . My husband got sick on day 5 of vacation and could not leave the room , we were there for 10 days . I asked the hotel to send up broth and crackers for him and they said no it wasn’t on the room service menu so I ent down to the restaurants to bring some food up to him and they wouldn’t let me leave the restaurant with food , he ended up not eating for the rest of trip . When we got back to Canada 🇨🇦 he went to the hospital and was diagnosed with a parasite, Ecoli, and salmonella. He was bed ridden for 5 weeks and lost 25 lbs . We will never go back to any Bahai because of the treatment we received. This was the first vacation that either one of us had that someone got sick . It is being renovated all of 2026 on the grand side .

  Jul 02, 2025