Our holiday was wonderful. If you want five star then pay for it. This place offers fantastic value for money. We got the room we had paid for, right on the beach. It wasn't imaculate but had everything we needed for a family of 4. We found the staff to be charming and friendly at all times and were fantastic with the kids. The food was brilliant, even for fussy eaters and given that you can eat at two a la cartes as often as you like you would have to stay a long time to get bored with the choice. Having virtually lived on the beach for 2 weeks I cannot understand peoples criticisms of it. As for the beach being rocky and swimming difficult - did these other people go to the same place? My children who are 6 & 4 swam without injury in the sea every day for many happy hours. They only wore their beach shoes to climb Dunns River Falls which is a must along with Dolphin Cove. Jamaica is not a rich country but still a wonderful place to visit. Take the negative comments with a pinch of salt. Go with an open mind and positive attitude and you will love this place as much as we did.

Just returned from a 5 day stay at the Royal Decameron in Runaway Bay. Wish we could have stayed longer. If you are looking for luxury on a grand scale, this is not the place for you. However, if you want a great tropical vacation without breaking the bank, this is a great choice. The resort is extremely clean and well kept which is my first requirement for any facility. The food is not gourmet but certainly tasty and there is something for everyone. You will not go hungry. The staff is friendly and eager to please if at all possible. The resort is small which gives it a more intimate feel and making friends is very easy as you see the same faces on a daily basis. The jetty bar seemed to be our favorite spot. George, the nightly bartender at the jetty bar is a real character and you want to be sure and get to know him. The beach at Royal Decameron is not a large sandy white beach but suited me very well. The water is not crystal clear as there is seaweed growing and it washes up on shore nightly. There are workers that do nothing other than rake and haul off seaweed on a daily basis. It did not lessen my enjoyment of the resort at all but for those of you requiring sandy white beaches and crystal blue water, you will be disappointed. I can't imagine a more relaxing or fun filled vacation than the one I just experienced. We stayed in an ocean front cottage and it was just great. I didn't watch television, spend time on my laptop or cell phone the entire time I was there. It was great. I look forward to returning and hopefully soon.

It happened to us…overbooking from Hell!!

We booked our trip on Travelocity.com and relied on their strength to make it right if we didn’t get the gardenview cottage we booked. Even they failed us when it came right down to it!

We arrived at 7:00 p.m. to find our cottage was not available for the first night but they would put us in a “Royal Room” with was the same as the cottage and get us moved the next day. Since we had been traveling since 3:30 a.m. we were hostile to say the least. We were quickly ushered to guest services office so we would get out of their lobby. The guest services person was a joke!

Apparently they had “given our cottage away because someone wanted to extend their stay.” Which we quickly told him is perfectly fine IF YOU HAVE SPACE AVAILABLE. Otherwise stick them in the “Royal Room” and not in the cottage we reserved 3 months ago! We asked to speak with the manager – who could not be contacted anywhere on the island after 5:00 p.m. We were offered a FREE SAFE (a whole twelve dollar value) for our inconvenience and were repeatedly assured the other room was the same as the cottage. On our further insistence that I could have booked a hotel room anywhere in the world, but booked a cottage with them, we were offered a free shopping trip to Ocho Rios (a whole twenty dollar value). We finally demanded they contact Travelocity who was unable to convince them to give us a cottage or relocate us to another resort.

The guest service person finally offered us an “oceanview cottage” for the remainder of our stay and we gave in and passed out for the night in our “comparable room” which had mold on the ceilings, was older than the Bible and had paper thin walls.

The next day we were shown to our “oceanview cottage” which was the “best location on the property” because they “wanted to make it up to us.” Yeah, right! Right next to the disco (open until 1 a.m.) and the buffet line (open at 7 a.m.) even though several other ocean views that were more remote were available. Then they offered us the “Hibiscus Suite.” We refused and DEMANDED our gardenview cottage – which they attempted, again, to put us right next to the buffet!! When the screaming was over, we finally got a gardenview cottage that was more remote.

Now for the rest of the vacation:
Beach – fine. Rocky yes, but some swim shoes would do just fine.

Food – above average. Good choices on the buffet. Definitely try the Jamaican restaurant and the cheesecake whenever you have the chance!

Bar – average. Never waited longer than 10 minutes for a drink but the quality varied from over strong to extremely weak depending on your bartender and time of day. Stay away from the “fire water” (bottom of the barrel overproof rum)!

Service – average. Dining room and buffet service was okay for the first half of the week, but we couldn’t get any service the last two days. Dominique in the dining room was excellent and Patel at the Jetty Bar was excellent.

Cleanliness – well… The “royal room” was a moldy, stinky dump! The gardenview cottage, while older, was spotlessly clean.

Hot water – good. If there are two and only two people in your cottage you are fine. Each unit has its own 20 gallon hot water tank but after two showers – its gone.

Pools – well… All were clean and well maintained however someone should enforce decorum. Taking off your shirt and jumping into the pool in your bra at the common pool is not acceptable at a family resort. Even worse – taking off your shorts and swimming in your white undershorts in the adult pool is just disgusting!

Overall – a disappointing anniversary. I would recommend if you have the opportunity to cancel your vacation to do so now and book at either a Sandals resort or the Bahia Principle (very new, very nice).

What an excellent resort. Stayed here with my husband from 31st March to 14th April 2008. One of the only faults that we could find was that the beaches were a bit rocky and not ideal for swimming in, as you could quite easily hurt yourself. The rooms were really great, very unique, and although they were quite basic, they were very clean with the housekeeping service operating every day. It would however, have been nice to have had some sort of teamaking facilities in the rooms, mainly for that much needed first cup of tea when you wake up! Also our room, no 27, was quite close to the boundary wall of the site, and therefore close to local homes, which meant that at times we were disturbed by dog noise and music.

The Jetti bar was one of our favourite places, as it tended to be more relaxed and quiet, away from the main bar and its entertainment team, whose shows were very loud and elaborate. At the jetti bar, George and Giovani, are two of the best bartenders we have come across, making you feel welcome and special, keeping your refreshments coming, without even having to ask! Mind you beware if they give you firewater, its like drinking rubbing alcohol!

The quite pool is a haven if you want to get away from the rough and tumble of the main pool, being for adults only, and once again having its own bar.

Food was excellent, with a different theme every night, always plenty to chose from. From breakfast, through to late night snacks. There is also a Thai restaurant and a Jamaican restaurant which seem to run on alternate nights.

There is a glass bottom boat, catermaran, sailboat, pedaloes, kayaks, waterskiing, snorkelling as well as a dive centre.

The massage huts are based at the beach, and are highly recommended.

Every member of staff we met, were friendly and nothing was too much trouble

We would both highly recommend this site