Riu Ocho Rios - All Inclusive

Customer Ratings & Reviews

TripAdvisor Traveler Rating

13676 reviews

• 

  Wonderful Stay

  Trip date: January 09-16 CHECK IN/OUT: We arrived at 2pm. Our room wasn’t ready. They asked us to download the Riu app and said they would email us when the room was ready which should be between 3-4pm. The lobby is beautiful. There is a bar there, so we just parked ourselves by it and had a few drinks. We never got an email to say the room was ready. It wasn’t until 4pm when my husband went to check and they gave us the keys. Check out was super easy and fast, no issues. ROOM: We had a beautiful Oceanview room. The room itself is big. The bed is one of the most comfortable beds I’ve ever slept in at an all-inclusive. We both had amazing sleep. The bathroom is big but it is just not designed well. The toilet is facing the door, so if someone opens it and you’re on it, you’re going to get hit. This happened several times to us. It’s just a very weird layout. The shower was nice, good pressure too, but lots of gaps in the door where water was constantly pouring out on to the floors. Our room was cleaned well every day. The fridge was well stocked with pop, water, and beer. There was hard liquor too, but we mainly drank the water. The chairs were the only downside to the room. It looked like it had mold on them. We didn’t use them and kept them far away. BEACH & POOLS: We weren’t too impressed with the beach. Reviews I read, everyone kept saying it was so beautiful. It’s just ok. I’ve been to so many around the Caribbean, I can say this is probably at the bottom of our list. Yes, it looks nice, but there was no shade or umbrellas. You have to rely on the palm trees which can be an issue if you’re on meds and can’t stay directly under the sun for too long. Beach and pool chairs were never an issue to find. Lots of shade by the pools. We are not pool people, and never once went in, but I did lounge there a few times to stay under the shade. I will say though from my observations, the entertainment at the family side pool can be very inappropriate. A few days, some of the entertainers stepped in and stopped the twerking some guests were doing reminding them it’s a family resort, while other days, they just let it happen. I’m by no far a prude, but there were very young children there and it was certainly not appropriate for them to watch that. FOOD & RESTAURANTS: The buffet by far was the best! There is something for everyone, and the Jamaican station was the best! I ate Oxtail, rice and peas and stew pork every day. I miss having that. The a la carts were terrible. We could only get reservations at the Steakhouse and Kulinarium. The ribs at the steakhouse were good, but every single thing at Kulinarium was inedible. We left and went right back to the buffet. The drinks were top notch. The snacks at the Sports bar were good too. ENTERTAINMENT: We are not ones to sit and watch a show. If you’ve been to one all inclusive, you’ve seen them all. They are repetitive and it gets boring. But the entertainment at this resort was on another level. We actually sat through it all and enjoyed every single day. The Beach party and Neon/All white party was by far the most fun we had that week. One of my favorite moments was the National Anthem being sung and everyone standing. It was wonderful to see and participate in. OVERALL: This resort is huge and very clean. The week we were there, they said there were about 2000 guests, which we can believe. It was our first time at a Riu and we had a lot of fun. The staff were all wonderful and we never encountered anyone rude. They are constantly working and keeping the resort clean and all with a smile. If anything, it’s the visitors who are the ones that also put their manners on vacation. Throughout the week, we saw some of the rudest and most ignorant visitors there. From grabbing food with their hands at the buffet, to being drunk and belligerent and overall inappropriate and sexually suggestive in front of children. We left the resort a few times. There is a really good Chinese restaurant, KFC and Juci Patty about a 5 min taxi ride from the resort if you want something different. Just be careful not to overpay the taxis. If you catch a route taxi outside the resort, you’re paying $1.50 CAD as opposed to the $30 USD they ask you for at the resort. I love Jamaica, the food and the people.

  Jan 20, 2026
• 

  Not even 3 stars resort!

  Just come back from RIU Ocho Rios today. It’s very busy resort, we stayed 2 weeks and been there at New Year’s celebration and enjoyed very much. Our room was okay, we had ocean views room. We only ate at buffet and food was very good and so much to choose!And now about negative .Locals selling drugs on the beach, people smoking drugs in the swimming pool bars, lifeguards cleaning leftovers from drinks and dumping just on the grass by sunbeds , sewer smells so bad by beach bar by the quiet area and going straight to the ocean.We ask for wake up call, reception never phone and they didn’t even apologize. We travel a lot and we are diamond RIU members and like RIU resorts but never come buck in this one!

  Jan 14, 2026
• 

  Worst food in Jamaica

  Let me start my saying this was my 60th trip to Jamaica. As you can imagine I’ve stayed at countless hotels including 3 other RIU hotels in Jamaica and 4 RIU hotels outside Jamaica. This is by far the worst of the worst. The food was lukewarm at best, never hot. Prison food and banquet tv dinners are better. The only decent food was the jerk chicken served at lunch only. Everyone in my family had stomach issues the entire 10 nights we stayed. Service was mid, which didn’t bother me as much as I’m sure the staff is not in the best spirits with the recent hurricane. The gym is quite dangerous, it rained most days and the gym floor is tile and VERY slick. I fell lifting weights and nobody even made the slightest effort to try to keep the floors dry or god for bid actually have gym acceptable flooring. During the rain I saw several inches of water that collected on the long walk to my room, ended up soaking my clothes and was extremely slippery and again nobody ever attempted to push the water down the holes to help make it safer. If you have any walking issues, don’t risk this hotel. The rooms were pretty nice, the beach is nice, the pools are clean and nice. Lots of activity options. I not only won’t stay here again but also won’t stay at a RIU hotel again after this experience. I’ve been home for 3 days now and my stomach is just now getting back to normal along with my family. I guess on a positive note we all lost a few pounds from the crappy food and stomach issues it caused. 🤮

  Jan 14, 2026
• 

  First Stay in Ochi with Riu

  While I had significant issues with RIU Head Office and the way my booking was handled—particularly the attempt to cancel or move my reservation on the day of my arrival—I do not believe it is fair to measure the hotel itself against the shortcomings of the central reservations team. I would like to sincerely thank the hotel staff for making my trip memorable despite the difficulties at the start of my stay. In particular, I would like to recognise Romone at the Reggae Bar, Jahvi the lifeguard, Alex the bartender, Titi and Zante from the entertainment team, and Chef Keisha, all of whom were outstanding and truly embody excellent customer service. The hotel itself is very spacious, with a wide selection of pools to choose from. While I found it unusual that the Reggae Pool is located directly next to a family pool as this does make it difficult to fully relax due to noise—the lifeguards were extremely attentive and proactive in ensuring pool rules were followed, particularly with children entering restricted areas. The buffet was one of the best all-inclusive buffets I have experienced. There was an excellent variety of options catering to all palates, food was replenished almost instantly, and the chefs were more than happy to accommodate personal preferences and requests. The hotel consists of both a newer and older section. While the older section is noticeably dated, I feel that overall the rooms across the hotel would benefit from a general upgrade to bring them in line with modern expectations. A special mention must go to the entire entertainment team. Despite experiencing unseasonable rainfall during my stay, they consistently ensured guests were engaged and enjoying themselves, which made a significant difference to the overall atmosphere. Provided the issues raised regarding my booking are resolved appropriately, I would be happy to stay at this hotel again in the future.

  Jan 14, 2026
• 

  Loved my stay.

  Loved everything about my stay. The hotel, the beach, food, clean resort. The staff was very nice and respectful. Great housekeeping. The water slides is a great bonus. Excellent jerk chicken every afternoon next to the pool. It was nice to be able to eat outside with sea view for breakfast and lunch. Nice white Riu Party on Saturday night. There is also a beach party once a week. Not too hard to find beach chairs. Easy to change beach towels during the day. I would come back to this resort. Beware the bus ride is two hours.

  Jan 13, 2026