Riu Palace Jamaica - All Inclusive - Adults Only

Customer Ratings & Reviews

TripAdvisor Traveler Rating

5036 reviews

• 

  Couples trip to the Palace

  My husband and a group of friends (8 total) visited the Riu Palace in early February. We took the shuttle from the airport, which was seamless and only a 10-15 minute drive. The resort is in great shape, considering the devastating hurricane they endured months earlier! Our room was everything that we needed - our balcony overlooked the pool area and our fridge was stocked with beverages and water daily. Our room did smell like mildew, but with the fan on we were fine. It was nearly impossible to get a reservation at one of the restaurants for dinner. Most nights, 2 restaurants were closed. I'm not sure if that's a staffing issue or what, but my friends were able to work with the front desk to get 2 reservations for our group during our 5 night stay. The buffet was completely fine though - it offers a lot of variety and the staff is wonderful. They say to book right away via the app, but it showed no reservations for the entire week, so I suggest talking to the front desk. The pools always had chairs available so we didn't have to get up at the crack of dawn to reserve loungers. The pools were cold, but that's not at all out of the ordinary. Our weather was a bit chilly, so the pools would have been refreshing had the temps been hot as normal. The bartenders and wait staff poolside were very attentive. If you want to get any spa treatments, I recommend going directly to the spa (at Reggae) and booking there. I tried to book a massage on the app and never received a confirmation, so I talked to the desk attendant the day of my "appointment" and nothing was on their books. I was able to book and pay through the spa though, and the deep tissue massage was wonderful. Overall, we had a great trip despite the unseasonably chilly weather. You can't control the weather, and we made the most of it when the sun was out!

  Feb 18, 2026
• 

  Excellent apart from check out

  Spent 10 days at the RIU Palace and had the best time only spoilt by the actions of the hotel on the last morning. The best thing about the Hotel is the people, the service from the cleaners to the restaurant staff is exceptional and the entertainment team work tirelessly to ensure everybody is having a good time. The food choice is great and even the vegetarian amongst us had a full plate, breakfast ,lunch and dinner. The option of using the two hotels either side was also a bonus ,picking the entertainment you fancied and still being able to have the all inclusive experience. To name a few special people who go above and beyond -Afiya in the restaurant who’s attention to detail is far beyond our expectation, after night one she remembered our choices and names and continued to offer the perfect service. Mr Grant, what a guy! One of the nicest guys you will ever have the pleasure to meet ,he made sure that everything was on point and is the perfect representative of what makes Jamaica so special. Diniro , Astro and string bean who bring so much energy and talent to everything they do,and Delroy one of the drivers who made every journey so interesting with the knowledge he has alongside his great driving skills. The Hotel is so lucky to have this standard of staff which is what makes it such a special place. Complaints … We had a disabled guy in our party that hadn’t been assigned a disability room but also had been given a room that was a fair walk away from our other two rooms-we had to then ask for a seat for him to shower because he’s blind. I felt if they couldn’t supply a disabled room on arrival then they should have at least suppled items that would have helped him from day one . The seat was broken but found its way to us eventually but we had to ask for it. He likes to be independent so shaves himself but on occasion he can cut himself which he had but he or us was unaware until we booked out. RIU then asked us for money because we had damaged the towel !! This had happened 3-4 days earlier but they hit us with a bill as we checked out his room . Now I have heard people suggesting this is a scam , it’s not it’s just in my opinion really bad practice and the reception staff who are not the friendliest to start with follow the RIU guard lines to the letter. In the end after wasting 45 mins in the foyer instead of the beach I met the manager who in the end relented and cancelled the fine after I explained this isn’t a good look for RIU to treat disabled customers in this manner. We had before this battled to add a one hour extension to our rooms but they only allowed us to extend two rooms at a cost of 40 dollars for the benefit!!! So not a great last day but if you want to surround yourself with great people who genuinely want to make your stay special then this is the place just be careful not to make your linen or towels too dirty !!!

  Feb 18, 2026
• 

  Best Week Ever

  An amazing weeks holiday at this beautiful resort. Staff at the front desk checked us in swiftly with a complimentary glass of fizz (always a bonus & good start) The room was located up quite a few levels so a gentleman helped with our luggage. The room was lovely & clean, big balcony that was opposite other rooms but you could still look over to see the sea. There is also 2 comfy chairs & a small table so we spent a lot of time out there. There was a coffee maker & complimentary water which was nice, also the optics with spirits. Plenty of wardrobe space & also lots of drawers so there is plenty of room for clothing. A sofa & table & chairs which is always handy. The beds were very comfortable so had no problem sleeping the whole time we were there. We had fresh towels & linen when we needed them, the tip is, if you want fresh towels then leave them in a pile in the floor & they will be replenished. I'm sure it states this on the card you put on the outside of your door. We spent the week on the beach (in front of the Elite Club) we had one or two people sit to rest on the sunbeds beside us but other than that we had that whole paradise beach to ourselves. The staff were more than happy & chatty & were always checking if we needed to re-fresh our drinks. I have noticed that other guests have complained about the noise of the planes going over, we cant see what all the fuss is about to be honest! We would sit in anticipation waiting for the next one to come in!! It actually made our holiday!! We were not bothered whatsoever about the chaps selling trinkets in the canoes on the beach, they were all very friendly & stuck to the rules, we saw security watching them & they never had any problems. The bars were quite loud with americans over the weekend but hey its their holiday too so again no problem. The food was great, we ate in most of the restaurants & never had a problem getting a space. We had the best time & really did not want to come home. We loved it that much were are coming back next month.

  Feb 18, 2026
• 

  Beautiful country, wouldn’t return to the hotel

  We are departing today after 10 nights, we have had a lovely holiday and will definitely return to Jamaica, but we would look at an alternative hotel. Good points * Great variety of drinks, great range of cocktails and some of the top shelf brands included in the offering. * Food has been hit and miss, we’ve had great meals in the Steak restaurant, breakfast in the buffet restaurant has always been good (dinner in the buffet has been hit and miss, and snacks in the Aqua bar haven’t been great). * Cleanliness, the cleaners work so very hard, they do not stop, the hotel is always so clean, as is our room, I will miss the towel displays our housekeeper Angela did for us. * Most of the staff are great, big shout out to Audley in the buffet restaurant, he is the nicest person you could ever meet. JP, Odain and Winston were such good fun, as were all of the entertainment team. Bad points * The rooms are very dated, they need a lot of TLC, I would not say the hotel is 5* with how the rooms currently are. * We have had 4 power cuts since we’ve been here, 2 of them lasted well over an hour, it always seems to happen around 6pm. It only seems to be this hotel as lights and announcements can still be heard at the RIU’s next door. * Booking reservations for the Al a Carte restaurants is painful, they need to look at a better system. * Not all the staff are friendly, reception never gave us a friendly reception, even when I tried to donate some toiletries that we had brought from the UK, I was told to come back later, I ended up giving it all to the restaurant team who were beyond grateful. Archer on the main bar only seemed interested in the customers that tipped heavily, me and my partner did tip generously, however as it was my partner handing over the money, I was often ignored, my partner got another drink before he had even finished his drink, I was left without a drink on several occasions which didn’t make my partner or me feel comfortable (the money is from both of us). * Certain guests seem to be treated differently to others, I witnessed the security team act more favourable towards certain guests at times. Also it’s unbelievable that there are designated smoking areas, but you can sit on your balcony and have to put up with the heavy smell of marijuana from neighbouring rooms, which often left us feeling sick. We look forward to returning to Jamaica soon, the country and people are beautiful, but we would stay at a different hotel as there were too many negatives for us, especially for the high price we paid.

  Feb 18, 2026
• 

  Not quite a palace

  Stayed for 11 nights in February, airport & transfers no issues at all, check in a breeze with Buck’s Fizz on hand, cases taken to room for us which was nice, after a shower ventured to buffet restaurant shown to table by very pleasant staff, food was a good mix of different cultures cooked well, room bit tired & the bath in middle of room pretty odd for us, housekeeping first rate services with no complaints at all, whole hotel spotless as everyone works so hard to please all, beach & pool nice but water not very clear in the ocean, the last shout out is for the animation team what a awesome bunch never still and really interact with everyone, we’ve usually go to RIU palace Cancun as for us is more opulent & looks more like a palace with little extras that you don’t receive at palace Jamaica, unfortunately won’t be back as returning to Cancun, to round this off there are better hotels on offer for less money but still a pleasant stay 🙂

  Feb 17, 2026