Riu Palace Tropical Bay - All Inclusive

Customer Ratings & Reviews

TripAdvisor Traveler Rating

8671 reviews

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  Very bad service

  Complaint Regarding My Stay at Rio Palace Tropical Bay I would like to formally express my dissatisfaction with several aspects of my stay at Rio Palace Tropical Bay. One of the main issues we experienced was the extreme difficulty in booking the specialty restaurants. On the very day of our arrival, we were informed that there were already no available reservations for the following two days. This is unacceptable for guests who have just arrived and expect to have access to all the facilities and services included in their stay. After considerable effort, we eventually managed to secure a reservation. However, when we arrived at the restaurant at the scheduled time, we discovered that it did not actually open until 8:15 p.m., forcing us to wait unnecessarily. To make matters worse, several guests who arrived after us were seated before us. Once we were finally seated, we had to wait while approximately 30 tables were served before we were even able to place our order. What made the experience even more frustrating was that we were not allowed to visit the buffet while waiting. Instead, we were expected to remain seated for an excessive amount of time without any flexibility or consideration. The way the situation was handled made us feel as though we were being treated like cattle or children in a nursery rather than paying guests at a resort that claims to provide a high-quality experience. Service on the beach was also extremely slow. Ordering food or drinks often involved long waits, which significantly reduced our ability to relax and enjoy our holiday. For a resort of this category, the level of service fell far below expectations. We were sufficiently concerned about these issues that we requested to speak with a manager. Unfortunately, despite our efforts, the manager never came to speak with us. We found this lack of availability and accountability particularly disappointing, as it demonstrated little interest in addressing guest concerns or resolving problems during our stay. Overall, the combination of the restaurant reservation issues, poor restaurant management, excessively slow beach service, and the inability to speak with a manager resulted in a very disappointing experience. These shortcomings significantly affected the quality of our holiday and do not reflect the standards one would expect from a resort of this reputation. I hope this complaint will be taken seriously and that corrective measures will be implemented to improve the reservation system, restaurant operations, beach service, and guest relations so that future guests do not encounter the same problems. Sincerely,

  Jun 11, 2026
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  Solid stay at Riu Palace Tropical Bay

  Stayed there 4 nights. I have stayed at many RIU Palaces in Jamaica & in other countries (Mexico & DR), so I am basing my review comparing to other RIU Palaces we have been to. I have now stayed at every RIU property in Jamaica. Check in was smooth. Lovely welcome drink offered. It was a bit odd that you are left to find your room on your own, with bags being delivered later. Room was fine. A/C worked great & room was in good condition. It is a bit annoying that the bed is not a king, it is 2 beds pushed together, so you have to watch out for the “crack” in the middle. P.S. the soap & shower gel they have in the rooms smell amazing, just my take- more people should be talking about this. lol *Please note that there is no elevators on property, so if you have mobility issues, be prepared. Food- was comparable to other RIU’s, they all have the same restaurants & menu’s no matter what country you go to. The food was fine (we are not foodies), with some inconsistencies among the different restaurants. We found Krystal to be our least favorite (we ordered our steak medium well & it came out scary-rare) & the Italian was our favorite. Drinks- VERY GOOD! The staff in the lobby bar were so amazing & lovely to chat with. Sharon & Krystal really made our trip memorable! And the espresso martini with a dash of rum cream.. YUM! Beach- so wonderful. This is the highlight of the property. For it being in bloody bay, it really is great compared to other properties in the area. Service- EVERY staff member was just a delight. They really go above & beyond. Surprisingly, we had a wonderful interaction with the mini bar gentleman Derval. He was just so friendly & such a hard worker carrying all the beverages up all those flights of stairs! With a smile on his face! Entertainment- we are beach people, so did not take part in the day activities. Night fell a bit flat. We really enjoyed the piano player at the lobby bar, but it was a short set. I wish they had more things in the lobby bar. It is pretty underused. The night entertainment was not the greatest & lacking in quality (we have stayed at non-Palace that had amazing entertainment). It could have just been the particular days of the week we were there, but it was a great excuse to go to bed early! I have seen in many FB groups that people say this is a family resort, but that most guests do not bring their children. Welllll, that was not the case during our stay. There were many, many children there. Not an issue for us, but just don’t plan on a child-lite enviroment. A few more things to note: -The coffee shop.. OMG, so good! Just wished it opened before 9am. I want my strong coffee early. LOL The bakery there is so amazing too. -The “lounge”.. we are used to this being the “sports bar”. They have a few tv’s, but no bar service like many other RIU resorts. Just a small buffet & some self serve beer & beverages. All in all, a solid stay. I do love the RIU brand for its value they provide for the price point. I also LOVE, LOVE. LOVE that they do not have the timeshare sharks lurking around every corner. We will be back!

  Jun 10, 2026
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  Nice beach and views, but the resort needs maintenance and RIU need attitude adjustment

  There are lots of good reviews for RIU stating how nice the water and beaches are. But those are provided by Jamaica, and not by RIU. There are a number of general attitude problems and maintenance issues at RIU that are just not acceptable at this price point. We arrived with 22 people for a family reunion with 11 rooms for 8 days. There was a “Room Upgrade Available” sign on the check in desk. That should have been a signal to us that what is included in the room you booked will not be inadequate. They state that any special room requests are subject to availability. And I can see that some of the more outrageous requests may not be available at all. But simple requests like bed configuration (king vs two double beds) are typically available to be booked and confirmed at even the cheapest non-resort hotels. It appears that any request at RIU is ignored and you get whatever room they want to give you. We requested a king bed and at check in we were told two double beds is all that was available. After some complaining they offered to give us the requested bed configuration for a $540 room upgrade even though we were asking for a cheaper non ocean room. Next I heard one of our group requesting a room with two double beds room for their two daughters and being told a king bed is all that was available. It’s clear that any requests at booking time do not make it to the check in desk. Or maybe they always try to get you to pay extra by telling you what you requested isn’t available in the package you paid for. The buildings are all three stories and there are no elevators. They will not guarantee special requests like a room on the first floor, so if you have a problem climbing stairs it would be best to book someplace else. The front desk staff would often be off to the side talking among themselves while guests were lined up waiting for service. Other than the front desk staff, most of the employees dealing with guests genuinely wanted to be helpful and did a good job. The rooms had maintenance issues. The thermostats are apparently not allowed to be adjusted by guests and are preset to 22C (71F) (google RIU thermostat issues for confirmation). Our AC was further broken and would not shut off even when the 22C set point was reached. When the room got to 19C (66F), we called for service and a guy showed up, fiddled around in the vent and said “all fixed”. This made no improvement. We talked to the desk the next morning and they confirmed guests are not allowed to adjust the temp in their rooms, and said they would set it to 24 for us. It continued to cool below 20C. Management suggested we use a blanket. Everyone in our group occupying 11 rooms total reported the same problem. We gave up expecting any sort of support from management or maintenance and ended up turning the system off and on manually to control temp. This gets annoying waking up when it gets too hot or too cold to flip the switch in the middle of the night. The toilet had issues flushing. Again repairs were attempted but didn’t improve things. We went from not being able to flush to not being able to get the water to stop running in it. Things like rubber flappers don’t last forever and should be replaced on a regular schedule in commercial buildings. They apparently have no one on site that can do plumbing. One of our group had an issue with the shower in the room above them leaking and dripping from the light fixture in their bathroom. Again – multiple attempts to get service resulted in no repair or room swap. As other reviews reported, the food is “OK” but not great. We expected more at this price point. We generally found something acceptable to eat at most meals, but another concern was the labels. Many food items are unlabeled or labeled wrong, including vegan or vegetarian labels appearing on items containing meat. On the web page it said “Join the RIU class club and get free airport transfers”. We did. Then we booked our room through RIU with air fare. Then we were told the free airport transfers are only available if you book the room alone without air fare. I don’t get it – you spend more with them and the free benefit disappears. Next, we were told our wrist band would allow us access to the neighboring RIU property. But when we tried to go there we were told that access is available for lunch only and dinner one day a week. It would be nice if they would write down the rules instead of just changing things randomly. I read one other review that stated a person slipped on the tile outside their room and was injured. I notice there are now slippery when wet signs everywhere. Not really a solution, but you can’t say you weren’t warned. It rained one day and we noticed the sidewalks were indeed very slippery when wet. Even rubber souled shoes slid like we were on ice. Then we noticed why – they mop these floors with a detergent solution and do not rinse them off – some of the detergent dries on the surface and is fine until rain makes it wet. Then you are walking on a wet soapy floor that will be slippery no matter what shoe you have and how careful you are. The beach and water were great and the views are beautiful, but again - that’s provided by Jamaica, not RIU.

  Jun 08, 2026
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  Destination wedding

  My family and I traveled to RIU tropical bay in Negril for my destination wedding. We had an amazing time! The wedding planner was Sophia and she did a wonderful job. The wedding was beautiful, the resort was fun, and the food was great as well

  Jun 02, 2026
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  Always wear sandals!

  Our 2nd stay here. The major point I want to get across is - always wear your sandals or shoes!!!!! It rained our 1st day here, late in the afternoon, so we headed for the room, I was barerfoot. The hallway tiles next to the buildings get very slippery when wet! I slipped and fell on my bottom. Fracutured my t12 vertebrae, VERY painful!! I spent the next 5 days in the room, living on Tyelenol, Aleve, Ibuprofen and Ben Gay. Wheel chair rides in the airports, used my neckpillow against my back. A very long 12 hour day to get home. I am currently doing physical therapy and hope to feel better by September. Sure don't want to a slip to ruin anyone else's vacation!! I did buy a pair of Skechers slip ins to wear 24/7 at resorts from now on! Yes I would reccomend this resort. Food is good, rooms are clean, our maid was very kind to me while I had to stay in our room, thank you Krystal! Will stay here again!!

  May 31, 2026