Riu Palace Aquarelle

Customer Ratings & Reviews

TripAdvisor Traveler Rating

1470 reviews

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  Very disappointed

  Complaint to TUI - 19/12 I WANT MY MONEY BACK TUI - You completely ruined our Christmas Holiday and you didn’t even care an iota At 5pm on 19/12 I received a call and emails telling me my hotel for my husband and my Christmas break had an issue and they have an acceptable alternative hotel for me to take a look at. We fly out in the morning - they gave us 16 hours notice. My husband had already taken a look at this hotel before choosing the one we had booked and already knew he didn’t like the Palace Aquarelle due to the layout, newness and activities aimed at young people and families for with small children. It was also on the wrong side of the island for us. The tour operator told me they had found this hotel it has the same rating and higher for some areas. I asked what our options were and she informed me that my options were take the Palace Aquarelle even comes with a 10% discount or cancel my Christmas holiday. This was not acceptable to us. I asked the tour operator if she could find another hotel as we were really not happy to go to this hotel - she looked without success. We conceded and took the change due to the fact we had booked this break at Christmas due to my husbands poor health and the fact that we had not prepared anything at home for Christmas. This whole situation added to both of our anxieties - we could not believe TUI would have ever treat their customers like this. It felt like take it or leave it - there was very poor customer services provided from the operator. We asked if we could upgrade and pay the difference even but was told this was the only offer available to us. We felt forced to take this booking. When we arrived at the Palace Aquarelle Hotel - from the moment we approached the hotel our hearts sank - the hotel was built in the middle of a shanty town - our apartment was over looking a building site The desk staff checking the new arrivals in were inexperienced and very slow. We were not told about when our TUI rep would be available or where to even find them. We were not escorted to our apartment - we were left to find our own way to it. The write up says the hotel is situated on white sandy beaches but it was on a man made beach with sand being brought in daily and moved around by the staff. We originally booked an authentic plantation looking hotel with lots of palm trees and vegetation - what we got was a high rise hotel that you would find in Benidorm - everything was white and no culture - the corridors were white and all the same - it was a premier in hotel at Butlins passed off as a 5 * Hotel in the Caribbean. You couldn’t be more disappointed Where was the customer services - this was not the customers fault, it was RUIs responsibility to find the right alternative accommodation for their customers and this was not right. The water temperature in the apartment was hit and miss / sometimes it was hot and others it was barely warm. I believe due to upsetting your customer to this degree we should received some monetary compensation and I very much look forward to receiving this and your response Constant roar of the fans when sliding doors opened - you cannot get away from noise no matter where you go on this complex - oh sorry in your room with doors closed as long as the people with special needs person next door/upstairs is out then you get abit of quiet (not complaining about the LD person just stating a fact - you cannot get away from the noise) Boom Boom Boom of the beat box everyday until 5pm - no peace and quiet for a solid 10 days Not enough parasols to go around - and some of the ones that were there were broken The sea was dangerous - very choppy, loads of rocks under foot - no relaxing on a float for anyone in the water Pools were too small for anything Towels - one day no cards the next no clean towels - this tells you the hotel is overwhelmed/over capacity - too many people for hotel to function smoothly The stray dog we saw yesterday in the waste land under our balcony - we saw today on the sea front scrounging for food - she found some leftovers on a plate on a sun lounger and jumped up and ate off of the plate. No staff around to chase the dog off - I have photographic proof Workers on the beach until mid day digging holes to bury the debris from the sea - not a good look TUI Noise - music on the beach from entertainment team and around the pool competing and getting louder - you cannot hear yourself think Sofa in our suite stunk of urine Get a call from Hotel Management Natasha - at 11.40am on 30/12 to discuss my email complaining about the hotel ect - was offered to move to Palace Tropical - she didn’t even check my booking as we were booking out today at 12.00pm This email was sent to TUI to deal with and you forwarded straight onto the hotel management team At Aquarelle who I didn’t want to speak to about this - especially whilst I was still there - this was a very unprofessional move TUi. How embarrassing - they didn’t even check my booking to see I was leaving today. 100 too few blankets available on flight home - what a poor service offered

  Dec 31, 2025
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  Lovely Xmas and New Year break

  Had a good 10 days at the Riu Palace over Xmas and New Year. Rooms were nice , clean and spacious with great views Food at buffet was of a good standard and lots of options . Specialist restaurants were hit and miss not much better if at all than buffet. Staff all amazing and friendly all over the hotel without exception Entertainment team worked so hard from morning to night. Gala dinners were so well presented and the staff made extra efforts to make sure you had a good time No complaints from us a lovely holiday and loved Jamaican hospitality

  Dec 31, 2025
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  Great Food, but Severe Cleanliness and Service Issues

  I have mixed feelings about our recent four-night stay. On the positive side, the food, drinks, and entertainment were amazing. However, the "back of house" operations are severely lacking. We dealt with roaches twice and a room that was poorly cleaned (including finding other people’s hair). The real dealbreaker, however, was the service recovery—or lack thereof. The front desk staff was cold and unprofessional, and the manager seemed completely indifferent to our concerns, offering excuses rather than solutions. Promises to fumigate and clean were not kept, and we felt like an inconvenience rather than guests. If you value cleanliness and professional service, you may want to look elsewhere. Food & Drinks: ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ (Exceptional variety and quality) Entertainment: ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ (Engaging and high energy) Cleanliness: ⭐ (Roaches found twice; hair from previous guests) Service & Management: ⭐ (Unprofessional, lack of empathy, and zero follow-through) Overall Rating: ⭐⭐

  Dec 30, 2025
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  Beautiful hotel, Great staff, not great for teenagers.

  We’ve just returned from an 11 day holiday at the Riu Palace Aquarelle. We arrived one day after the reopening and unfortunately there was only one or 2 restaurants opened for the first couple of days and the resort only had about 100 guests in it. However as the week progressed the occupancy and activity levels definitely ramped up. Firstly we were really apprehensive about continuing with our holiday after the hurricane, however Tui were very unhelpful and inflexible and we were forced to continue with the holiday or risk losing all of our money. Saying that the staff pulled out all the stops to ensure we all had a great holiday. I can honestly say there was not one staff member who didn’t provide very good service. They are all a credit to the hotel. We have been to several hotels in Jamaica over the years and we all felt that the service and staff here were the best! Thank you. We made a decision to generously tip whenever we could as this was our way to directly support individuals, as they work really hard to get themselves and their families back on their feet after the hurricane. We not only tipped bar and restaurant staff, we tipped bathroom attendants round the pool, cleaning staff etc. Below is an outline of the Good and not so good things about the hotel: Good: Staff! All staff were very good, kind, friendly and attentive. Drinks service around the pool and beach was amazing. The hotel rooms all had incredible views and the beds are huge! Entertainment is fun and very good. Cappuccino’s Coffee bar - great place to grab a morning coffee and croissant. However THE best coffee is from the sports bar!! 10/10. Buffet - we always found something to eat and the breakfast chefs who made our omelettes were fantastic. The gym was a really nice space and we used it several times during our stay. Pepe’s Food aka - The Jerk man. Round the back of Marleys Bar - not a huge selection but always tasted 10/10 - delicious. Sometimes there was also fresh coconut and sugarcane available! DJ round the pool and beach parties was excellent. Loved the music and atmosphere 10/10. Aqua aerobics every day at 12pm was always fantastic 10/10. I can’t remember all staff names - but special shout out to Aria, Blu, Chavel, Munger, Crazy Lilly and all the gardeners and pool cleaning staff who work so hard to keep the hotel and the grounds absolutely beautiful. We appreciate you! Now for the Not so good. If you plan on staying longer than a week (mostly those from the U.K. as it’s a long way for us to travel for only a few days) be warned that the entertainment is on a weekly cycle. You will see the exact same shows in your second week as you did in your first - which is a little boring. We travelled with teenagers - and on the whole they were bored. There really isn’t anything specifically for them to do. Too young to hang out in the adults only pool for pool/ foam parties or to go to the gym and a little too old for the kids activities. I would suggest an arcade/ games room so they can hangout and easily meet others their age. This was a big disappointment for us. Shade around the pools was a premium. Some guests were very selfish and reserved sunloungers from sunrise to sunset meaning that others were unable to find shady spaces to relax by the pool. More sunshades or umbrellas are needed urgently. The spa! This was a big disappointment for us. The spa ladies were lovely and we saw them constantly walking around trying to entice people to book treatments. We had planned to do a couples massage before we arrived however - the price is exorbitant! Totally overpriced treatments which made it unusable for us. Buffet - although I mentioned this above as a good - it does depend on how soon after opening you choose to eat. If you want a later breakfast or later dinner then be prepared for lots of empty food stations, overcrowding and queuing. It’s never very appealing to have to eat the scraps left at the bottom of a serving platter! Not very 5 star! Also be prepared to have to walk around several times with your plates trying to find somewhere to sit. It can be chaotic at times in the main buffet. The hotel offers a free shuttle to Riu Ocho Rios for their Neon or White parties on Saturdays. We had the Neon party on our week and booked the 7:30pm transfer from our hotel. We left on time however didn’t arrive to Riu Ocho Rios until almost 10pm! We met lots of other guests who travelled with young children and had to return straight back on the coach as the journey was overly long. Our return journey was scheduled for 11:15 so we had a little over an hour to party! Total waste of our only Saturday evening! Drinks - as with most all inclusive holidays the drinks are watered down! The cocktails round the pool are overly sweet and taste nothing like what they should. I’m a fan of margaritas but the ones I had tasted like salty lemon juice! The best bar for drinks and cocktails is Daiqui. They make THE best cocktails! Overall we had a lovely holiday, Jamaica is a beautiful country and its people and weather was warm and welcoming. We were happy we were able to directly help some staff with direct tipping and probably would come back again as the hotel is beautiful, however without our teenagers as they found the holiday/ hotel missed the mark with them.

  Dec 28, 2025
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  Tiny resort

  I am not sure why the review rating is so high. This resort is very tiny and in a location 2.5 hours away from 7 miles beach. A private tax to montego bay cost$50 pp. The restaurant menu is not very impressive.

  Dec 20, 2025