Hotel Riu Negril 5*

We have just returned from an 11 night stay with a 16 year old and 11 year old. The transfer from the airport is quite long so prepare yourself for a drive. Upon check in, which was very straight forward, we arrived into a room which had not been made-up; which after a 15 hour travel day was far from ideal. This was managed quickly by the Reception Manager and we were upgraded free of charge to a sea view room & complimentary gifts along with a reservation at the steak house (very nice steak). She was very accommodating and dealt with the issue very professionally. The rooms are clean, modern and a good size, cleaned well daily. The resort itself is not huge, its compact with everything a short walk away. The Positives: The communal areas are very clean, especially the restaurants considering the volume of traffic. The food is very very good, something to please everyone and after 11 days we didn't get bored of the options. There is the main buffet area but also an Asian buffet which does not require a reservation so a good option for a change and very nice food. The sports bar also offers great meals with no reservation needed. The food here was really good, typical burger & chips, nachos, mac & cheese etc but served as in a restaurant and not rubbish pool side food. The iced coffees in here are sooo nice as well! The options for lunch were also great; the buffet which was in a different restaurant and also the pool side tacos and jerk chicken which were delicious! Never much of a wait for anything, great variety and all very clean & tidy. The main pool bar was fine, not much of a wait and the choices of drinks were good. Some of the bar staff could have been friendlier in my opinion. The Entertainment Team are probably the hardest working team I have come across at any resort I've ever been to. Their constant energy levels are incredible and no idea how they keep it up all day everyday! You can see they are tired but they keep going and their shows are fabulous. The evening entertainment was very good in general, the White Party was great fun and we enjoyed the beach party. Lots of live music, DJ and shows. The vibe was great. Most areas were very quiet by midnight so not much going on past this time. A special shout out to Raffale who is the Life Guard at the main pool - this chap is incredible, so much fun, talks to everyone, plays with the kids, constantly tidying up and on high alert for any issues in his pool. He deserves recognition! No sunbed wars, we were able to get sunbeds most times of the day. The beach is beautiful, so much sea-life with daily signings of star fish, sting ray, tropical fish and some saw sharks. The sea is warm, clear and the sands are white. Some lovely quiet parts where you will only find a couple of people. We enjoyed lots of time at the beach... stunning! You are able to hire (free of charge) non-motorised motorsports - pedalos, kayaks and wind surfs which is great - lovely to get out onto the ocean. We met a chap called Cliff who had a small fishing boat and took us snorkelling - he was amazing!!! Very reasonably priced, authentic and very knowledgeable about the ocean and sea-life. He is not part of the hotel but offers his trip down at the beach and is a genuinely lovely person. Probably one of our highlights. Negatives: The only negatives are the pools... the pool bar is for over 18's so rules out family use, there is a quiet pool which is nice but not really suitable for families/children, a volleyball pool which is for volleyball and the main family pool. As this is the main pool... it is very small and very busy. it is simply a rectangle pool. On some days it was so busy even the kids didn't want to be in it as no room to move, never-mind swim. This is where they have the foam parties as well which becomes chaos. When the pools were redesigned, they really should have made this pool a lot bigger to accommodate the volume of guests, kids and all the floaties. Good job the beach was so beautiful as this became a main option. For some reason under 16's are not able to participate in the aqua aerobics which I have never come across at any resort before. We made enquiries at the reception for a taxi to 7 mile beach and ended up paying $50 for a return journey, Later we found out there is a FREE shuttle bus from the resort to 7 mile beach which was never mentioned to us. This was very annoying and no idea why it isn't advertised or even mentioned to us. Overall we had a great holiday, Negil is beautiful and the resort catered for us all. We wouldn't rule out staying here again as overall it was fab... only negative was the main pool being too small. Cleanliness - 9/10 General Staff - 8/10 Entertainment Team - 10/10 Food - 9.5/10 Beach - 10/10 Pools - 7/10

We’ve just returned from a fantastic two-week family holiday at this hotel, travelling with a 7-year-old, 12-year-old, two 15-year-olds, an 18-year-old, and two adults. It really is a hotel that caters for all ages, and we made some amazing family memories. One of the things we loved most was the huge range of complimentary activities available. There was snorkelling, paddle boarding, canoeing and paddle boats, and the hotel does a great job of making guests aware of everything that’s included, so you don’t miss out. The entertainment team deserves a special mention – they are second to none. Every member of the team was friendly, enthusiastic and made a real effort to get to know guests. Kuban was absolutely amazing. His energy was unmatched, and he worked so hard to get everyone involved, up dancing and having fun. Shadow was also fantastic. He was brilliant at interacting with guests and you could tell he genuinely enjoyed what he did – he even joined in with volleyball during his own free time. In fact, all of the staff were warm, welcoming and always happy to stop for a chat. Their friendliness really added to the overall experience. The themed parties were another highlight and were great fun for the whole family. The only slight downside was that, during our second week, some of the entertainment started to repeat itself. The hotel is quite a distance from some of Jamaica’s main attractions, and the excursions offered by the hotel can be quite expensive. If you’re looking to save some money, I’d highly recommend speaking to the vendors on the beach. We booked with Captain Charlie, who was fantastic. He offered fair prices, was trustworthy and helped us create some unforgettable memories. Overall, we had an amazing holiday and wouldn’t hesitate to recommend this hotel to families looking for a fun, friendly and relaxing stay in Jamaica.