Hotel Riu Montego Bay 5*

Unfortunately, I wouldn’t return to this resort or recommend it based on our experience. The biggest issues for our group were the service and the food. We found many of the staff surprisingly unfriendly despite always being polite, asking how they were and tipping. There were definitely exceptions, especially the entertainment team. Bubbles was incredibly sweet, and the team did a great job creating a fun, lively atmosphere around the pool. The food was another major disappointment. There were plenty of options, but we struggled to find meals we enjoyed. The steak restaurant was particularly disappointing, with very tough and bland steak. Our room was spacious and clean, but we had a concerning experience when a man entered our room while my friend and I were sleeping despite the Do Not Disturb sign being displayed. He stood there briefly, said something we couldn’t understand and left. Someone else in our group had a similar experience. The rooms were also quite noisy, and we were regularly woken by people in the halls and doors slamming. The beach itself was okay, although there was quite a bit of seaweed and we saw a lot of jellyfish close to shore. We also noticed food and garbage left behind by guests that wasn’t always cleaned up promptly. There are many vendors along the beach. Most were friendly, but the constant sales approaches became frustrating when we simply wanted to walk or relax. We weren’t impressed with the swim-up pool area either. It didn’t feel particularly clean, and on one occasion we found a bag containing what appeared to be drugs floating in one of the pools. There were positives. The property has some nice areas, the rooms were spacious, and the entertainment team was excellent. The White Party was a lot of fun as well. Unfortunately, the poor service and food outweighed the positives for us. Everyone in our group came away disappointed, and based on our experience, this isn’t a resort I would recommend. We also ran into a couple large spiders on our patio and the pool area.

Hotel staff were great and room was clean with great amenities. The issue my entire party got extreme food poisoning after the first night and needed to leave early due to dehydration and fever. We only ate and drank at the hotel restaurant and one member of our group is from Montego Bay so does not seem to be from a difference in diet. We had heard from one hotel employee that something seemed to be going around. We have been trying to get a refund for the days we did not use since we left early but are still waiting on a response one month after our trip.