We stayed at the Riu from July 9 - 16. It was me, my husband, and 3 kids, ages 5, 13, and 16. I have read the reviews and the forum since I booked the trip in May. That helped a lot! We used Lees Tours to and from the airport and it was wonderful! I can't say enough about Lees and Norma. Norma met me at the airport, called when we got to the hotel and called again when we left. Their drivers are so nice and it was nice to have an air conditioned mini van for the 5 of us. We also used Lees for a tour of Ocho Rios and to go to Dunn's River. It was a nice day and we got to see a lot of the town.

Check-in:
We arrived at around 1 pm, we had 2 rooms. One was ready the other was not. We put our stuff in one room and went for lunch. The other room was ready when we got back. It took all of 5 minutes to check in and they were somewhat busy.

Rooms:
We had 2 junior suites on the 1st (not ground) floor. That was nice because we could just take the stairs. I am not a fan of elevators, so only one flight of stairs was nice. Our rooms didn't smell at all. They did get a musty smell when we left 5 wet towels in them, but when we took them out to the balcony it was fine. The a/c was great. The beds were firm but not uncomfortable. We had plenty of pillows and towels. I tipped housekeeping $10 per room and the same for the guy who stocks the fridge. I told him he didn't need to put beer in the kids room, just sodas and put beer and diet cokes in our room. It was stocked perfectly every 2 days. Also, we didn't encounter any mosquitos but I brought bug spray just in case.

Food/drinks:
The food was good. My family preferred the St. Anne's buffet. We had no problems making reservations. I called at 9 am, got through in 5 minutes and made the reservations for the week. We only ended up going to 2 restaurants, the Japanese and the Steak House. The Steak House was great, the Japanese was ok. We liked having dinner on our own time, some days we would take a nap after all day at the beach and we missed our reservation one night.
The drinks were awesome! We never had to wait for drinks and they were good. My 5 yr. old daughter loved swimming up to the pool bar and asking for her red dauquiri. He knew her order in a day.

Pool:
We mainly stayed on the suite side but both pools were nice. I am more of a beach person, so mainly my husband and daughter went to the pool. They clean the pools every night and morning, so they were as clean as could be expected after people being in them all day. I loved the seats, tables, and beds in the pool, that was nice. The pool chairs do fill up, so get out there early if you want a chair. There really wasn't room for more chairs, so they did the best they could.

Beach:
This is why I came to the Caribbean, the beach. I LOVED the beach. It was beautiful, the water was amazing. I never had problems finding a chair out there and there were plenty with shade. My daughter found a cool tree to climb and sit it. Snorkling was great, we went way out and saw so many cool fish. We brought our own snorkle equiptment, so I don't know how that works. The Jerk Hut is great, we ate there a few times. My kids snorkled for hours a day, even my five year old. Dr. Feelgood is so funny but he can be annoying. If you tell him no thanks he does leave you alone. The shell man is very nice, not as agressive as Dr. Feelgood. Go talk to him, he has a lot of neat stories and things to talk about. He was so nice to all the kids and never pressured anyone to buy anything. There are some huts right down the beach that sell everything. They aren't real pushy there and the prices were better than in town. I enjoyed walking down there. I could have sit out at the beach all day every day forever. However, I am a beach lover.

Staff:
They work VERY hard and I never encountered anyone demanding or even asking for a tip. They are very nice and are constantly cleaning and doing something. It is a huge resort and its not easy running that place. Every staff member I met was very nice. The entertainment staff is constantly on the go, all day on the beach getting people to play games (on the activity side) and just doing fun stuff. The shows were good, my daughter loved them. It gets crowded there, so be there by 8:45 to get a good seat. Even the pre-shows were funny. They really try to get the audience involved.

Overall:
We had a wonderful time and were sad to come home. I loved the Jamaican people. They are warm and friendly and really don't worry about anything. If you go in there looking to complain, you will find something. If you are rude to them, you will get that in return (I am sure). I have been to the Bahamas many times and prefer Jamaica hands-down because the people are so much nicer.

This was a really long review but I tried to cover everything. I know I read every review and it was really helpful. Feel free to contact me if you have any other questions.

My husband and I stayed at the RIU Ocho Rios from March 25th to April 2nd. After reading tons of reviews on here I was terrifyed. I thought for sure that we were going to be robbed like some of the other travelers. That wasnt the case at all.....
We arrived at the RIU via bus. The ride to the hotel was long but nice. We stopped at a shop to get beverages and to use the restroom. It was nice. We got to the hotel and check in was a breeze. We were a little disappointed that our room was on the first floor, but not too much cause we werent planning on being in the room all that often, which we werent. We upgraded to a junior suite. It was very clean and nice. There was a musty smell but was expected being in the Carribean and all. You get used to that smell very quickly though.
We ate at St. Annes every night for dinner, quite the variety of food. Im a very picky eater and i found something to eat every night. For lunch and breakfast we ate at Mandalay. By far the best meal of the day was breakfast.
The pools were really clean and nice. The bars were alot of fun, tip the bartenders and they will keep the drinks coming. Our fridge in the room was filled whenever we called the front desk. We were very cautious when we left our room, we put everything into the safe and what didnt fit we brought locks to put on our suitecases. We had no problems. The beach is very clean. Lots of jetskiers offering marajuana. You just have to tell them no and they leave you alone. Vendors on the beach are a little harder to get away from.
The night shows were good. I loved the Michael Jackson one. That by far was my favorite. They work really hard on all the shows and it pays off in the end.

Our family stayed at the Riu Ocho Rios and it was an absolutely wonderful experience. All the staff members were always friendly and willing to go out of their way to please you.

The Food - wonderful.
The Beach & Pool - great , never had a problem getting a lounge chair or towel.

I would absolutely recommed this hotel to anyone traveling to Jamaica.

The only downside to being there were the rude and abrasive Americans who seem to think that they're owed something. "PLEASE" and "THANK YOU" aren't very hard words to speak. Such people really shouldn't venture out of their sandboxes.

Cheers

Shane

My wife & I went to Jamaica for a 1 week honeymoon and we stayed at the Riu Ocho Rios. We had the most fun we have ever had on a vacation. The food was excellent and of a great variety. There buffets had lots of choices, and we thought the food was very good. The best food was from there Jerk Hut which served Jamaican Jerk on the beach, and that was absolutely delicious!!!!!! The also had nighly shows, which we attended every night. The shows were very fun and entertaining. They have games throughout the day, which were fun to play in and to just watch others play. The pools are great with a nice bar in the pool. I would definitely recommend to everyone I know to come and stay at the Riu Ocho Rios.