Bahia Principe Explore Jamaica: The last time I'll be going to the Grand Bahia Principe, Jamaica

I've been to the Grand Bahia Principe three times. The first time was lovely (August 2016), the second time was spectacular (July 2018), so I figured this time would be great too. I was wrong. I could go on and on and on, but I've wasted enough time talking about how much has changed. Pros- - The most beautiful beach! Snorkeling right there!! - Stunning grounds - Tropical Beach Party night is super fun - Phillip and Raymond, the omelette chefs at the Garden Grille are HAPPY and make the  [... read more]visitors feel happy to be there - Shamieka, a server, provides amazing service with a smile - The jerk chicken at the Snack Bar is THE BEST! Melford, the cook, is usually pretty happy too - Michael at the water park bar is friendly - I have a very sensitive stomach and I have never had one issue with the food making me ill - Delicious pina coladas (when the machine is working) - water park is great for kids and has great seating for parents Cons- - 99% of the staff are miserable and unfriendly. Don't expect smiles or greetings - there are ALWAYS room mix ups. I have had an issue all three times that I have been here. The rooms are NEVER ready when you get there, even if it is hours past the check-in time - long drive to the resort; long wait at airport before leaving for resort - everyone expects tips even though there are miserable and not providing the type of customer service one would expect from a "5 star" resort - the food gets repetitive and boring after a week. Also, not sure why "cow head" is always at the buffet. I'm all for trying new things, but ew. Also, not an avocado in sight. Could have really used some guacamole with the nachos!!! - rooms are in dire need of an update. Beds are lumpy, pillows garbage, and the smell of the rooms can be atrocious at times (mold, mildew smell comes through the air conditioning) - paying an extra $9 for wifi in your bedroom. This is ridiculous and should just be included in the price of your vacation - unprofessional people checking you in...they do not listen to you, they almost act like robots and say what they have been programmed to say. - lack of plugs in rooms - phone in a nearby room rang non-stop for FOUR HOURS...we called the front desk 2x and went 2x and nothing was done about it. When I spend this kind of money to be in paradise, I expect to encounter pleasant and friendly staff, who want to ensure you have a wonderful vacation. The staff's overall negative vibe really took away from this vacation. When I discussed it with one member of the beach staff, he explained that it was because it was almost payday and everyone was tight, and therefore unhappy. Lots of people live paycheck to paycheck--it doesn't give you the right to be miserable, especially in the tourism industry!!

Secrets Wild Orchid: Very nice resort

Very clean....great staff....our oceanview room was worth the extra money.....food was good but not exceptional....pinot grigio was hard to find at most of the resort bars. The entertainment had great variety and well done.

Bahia Principe Explore Jamaica: Great place

This is my second stay in Grand Bahia Principe and both has been great experience, amazing food, well maintained and very clean. I am already planning my third visit with a group of friends in August. The downside Waiters are a bit rude at the buffets, good luck on getting your coffee or drinking refill.

Iberostar Selection Rose Hall Suites: Amazing Resort

The resort was beautiful. The room was clean and the bed very comfortable. Everyone was super friendly. The Chefs were very accommodating with my food restrictions. It was a great venue for my sister’s wedding. Fun was had by everyone of all ages.

Bahia Principe Escape Runaway Bay: Great couples resort

While there is a slight party atmosphere it’s more for couples on the luxury side. Food was amazing and the resort was very clean. The beach wasn’t the greatest on the luxury side but if you walk a bit to the grand side it’s gorgeous.

Bahia Principe Explore Jamaica: Great Vacation

I would definitely recommend the Grand Bahia Principe, Jamaica. Our room was spacious and clean. The grounds are very well kept - extremely clean and well-maintained. Loved the pool!The staff is super friendly and helpful. The food services was also great - a wonderful variety of food to select from and we never had to wait for a table. The hotel offered a number of activities throughout the day to keep you entertained, if you wished. However, there are plenty of areas to go and enjoy qu [... read more]iet time, if that is your preference. My only complaint with this hotel is the room reservation/management. They do not acknowledge or accommodate room requests, i.e., wheelchair accessible. We heard from a number of guests that they were given a room with one bed when there were more than two people staying in the room and/or the two people were not partners and did not want to share a bed!

Riu Palace Tropical Bay: wonderful resort

We had a wonderful time at the Riu Palace. The staff were very accommodating and pleasant to deal with. Very clean rooms and grounds. We enjoyed the evening entertainment and all a la carte restaurants. Beautiful beach and not crowded.

Riu Palace Tropical Bay: Boring place with Unfriendly services

We had book 2 rooms - they gave 2 rooms with sewage smell especially when air condition was on. The cleaning lady and luggage porter have to admit these rooms in building 1 stinks. They moved us to 2nd room at 2 am in the morning. 2nd room by the highway - so noisy with cars driving all the time. Don’t go to building 0 or building 1. Front desk took too long to return calls. We had to request to upgrade to ocean view rooms to get away from the smell and the noises. Unfortunately, ocean roo [... read more]m had bed bug. Rooms are not acceptable for guests to live in. They should have Ensure facilities in acceptable conditon before releasing to guests. And I thought this was a 4 1/2 star hotel??? So U can image how vacation went.:( We spoke to manager, they apologized but couldnt compensate anything. At other resorts, they went extra miles to please guests- like repaid with bottle wines or waves upgrade room fee - here nothing!!! The hotel’s entertainment was so boring. Had 3 small pools but one closed down for maintenance. We spent most time at beach. Beach is beautiful, but pool is poor. Hotel had no music during day time and hardly any active entertainment, except at night. No night life either. Bar tender (ladies) not friendly at all. Tipping in US$ not much appreciated - not sure the amount they expected? They were relunctant to make drinks for us too, even though we are not a drinker. We order cocktails and tip them Almost every time they brought to us - but they don’t seem to appreciat - looks grumpy - especially the ladies. The men have a bit more sense of humours. There are 2 riu the one adult side more expensive and the teens side cheaper and have more life than the adult side. We stayed at the Adult side:( Overall I would not recommend this hotel unless management and people’s attitude changed. They need to have more upbeat entertainment to enlighten families and kids and definitely more friendly services!!!. Maybe people here work too many hours cause I saw same people all the time ( eg no rotation of shift, to get fresh service). To be fair, there were exceptional waiters and male bartenders ( eg like Adane - he is really nice bartender at the main bar). They need more of his type of personality. Also, only good part was beautiful calm beach ( if u like the calm part) - pools too small thus hardly anyone use them.

Club Ambiance: Poor Resort

The people at the resort are great. Everything is dated and not kept up. Simple things like fixing broken outdoor lighting doesn't get done, The huts could be re thatched easy as the material is there. The rooms had a trickle of hot water, thus hard to shower or shave. The food was good, as long as you like chicken, fish and goat. The only open bar kept running out of beer and mix. We only had one night of live music for 3 hours. I liked Jamaica, but wouldn't go back to Club Ambiance.

Royalton Hideaway Blue Waters: Great 30th anniversary trip

We just came back on Monday! We had a great time. Our daughters bought us this trip for our 30th wedding anniversary. We have been going to Jamaica for that last 20 years because of places like the White Sands. This is our favourite resort by far. Very personalable and the small details are what makes it stand above the rest. The staff like Natoya who works on the beach serving drinks made our trip. She looked after us like we were her family. You won’t be disappointed in this resort and what [... read more] it has to offer.

Grand Palladium Jamaica: Best family holiday!

A huge thanks to Fathia, our Tripcentral advisor, for recommending the Grand Palladium Jamaica for our family’s spring break holiday. The resort was perfect for our family. It was a wonderful and relaxing holiday with lots to do for everyone. The food, service, rooms, beaches and pools were amazing. If we were to return to Jamaica, we would absolutely stay there again.

Samsara Cliff Hotel: Perfect for us!

We love this resort! It is exactly what we wanted - a smaller cliff-top resort with an all included option. If you are a picky eater, you wont enjoy the home-cooked Jamaican buffet; if you like yoga on the beach and coordinated pool aquatics complete with instructor and loud music, you won't enjoy the relaxing atmosphere on the cliffs; if you like luxurious linens and marble entranceway, you won't enjoy the simple and comfortable rooms at SamSara...however, if you are looking for a smaller re [... read more]sort with top notch staff, clean rooms with breath taking views, taking a real dip in the ocean by jumping off the cliff, snorkeling along the cliff reefs, incredible sunsets, and sharing these moments with travellers who return to SamSara time after time for these very reasons, then you have found your Eden! This was our 4th trip to SamSara and we will return next year. I would recommend this hotel to anybody who wants a true Jamaican experience with the freedom to explore your surroundings.

Riu Palace Tropical Bay: Loved The Riu Palace

We loved the Riu Palace. Incredible staff, the grounds and our balcony view were beautiful. The amazing beach was maintained daily and the water was crystal clear. There were starfish to see while snorkelling, in addition to the odd fish and rare stingrays. Having been to many all inclusive resorts we were extremely impressed with the a la cartes; however, the buffet was the very best of any we have had in the past. We very much appreciated seeing guitarists perform on site. The gym was well e [... read more]quipped and I actually went there three times...:-) Our main concern was the lost vacation time. We lost our whole day flying and bussing getting to the resort and on the way back was worse. Sunwing needs to have returning flights leave resorts later as we totally missed our last day. We got picked up at 9 a.m. and flew out at 2 p.m. Also more flights from Ottawa are needed so we would not have to drive to Montreal. The hotel staff was slow on repairs as our toilet seat was broken when we arrived and although I made daily calls to have it repaired it was still not fixed when we left. There was one security issue I had to report to Chris, the resort security officer. In my absence, one of the para sailing vendors on the beach made extremely inappropriate comments to my spouse as she was trying to sunbathe. When I got back from my scuba diving I could see she was upset about something. She told me what happened and you can imagine my first reaction but he had disappeared. This incident was extremely disconcerting for her as one could imagine. Notwithstanding the above, the resort was fantastic, food, beach, entertainers, water, and staff were the best. In the event you want to taxi to Rick's cafe or Margaritaville be sure to ask for Paul at the lobby taxi stand. Tell them Larry the guitar guy sent you. Enjoy Riu Palace.

Mangos Boutique Beach Resort: Don’t do it

Very low class , under staffed , very cheap with there drinks,a million mosquitoes in your room from all the cracks outside ,had to get room sprayed ,no hot water in shower,pool very cloudy could see bottom or steps ,speakers broken no sound system for music during the day ,and if they played music you could barely here it .always had to wait for more food ,it was never just refilled ,and the worst ! the jerk chicken was very dry not fresh at all cooked the day before or in the morning then ser [... read more]ved for lunch that wasn’t true jerk chicken . I’ve been all over Jamaica and wow that’s like a 2 star maybe nobody ever at the pool to talk too . Very dead every were . So it’s real relaxing !!! The locals make that resort and nothing but..

Couples Tower Isle: Awsome wedding / honeymoon

The resort was by far one the best stay that I have stayed in. I have been traveling for nearly 20 years. This was our 2 wedding the staff made memorable in our every day stay there . weather was beautiful . restaurant where very flavourfull .

Iberostar Waves Rose Hall Beach: Fantastic Resort !!!!

The oceanfront room we had was great. The view was second to none. The proximity to the beach, buffet, restaurants, pools was perfect from our room. The food was excellent and the drinks plentiful. Everything was better than expected. Everything worked, was clean, and the entertainment crew did a great job.

Couples Tower Isle: Great staff. Great food

Loved 8 rivers restaurant dined there 3 times. Didn't care for the Fusion restaurant. My wifes lobster was overcooked and food was too spicy even when asking for mild. Staff were great in all areas including the garden staff that answered all our questions regarding local flora and fauna. It was also nice not to carry around a bunch of cash because there not allowed to accept tips, and we tried. Room had a bit of a musty smell so they upgraded us. The staff member that did our turn down servic [... read more]e seemed disappointed that we turned down the service so we had her do it for the remainder of our stay. She really seemed to enjoy her job. We realized afterwards that they had a different themed buffet everyday so next time we'll try it more often, but there is so much to choose from you can't try everything in 7 days, but we tried.

Bahia Principe Explore Jamaica: Awesome resort

Very beautiful palace like resort!! Service is impeccable and every employee encountered were amazing , kind and helpful. The food was all delicious, à la carte and buffets, especially the jerk chicken in The Pisces restaurant by the beach. Great pools but even better beach!! The room and view was beautiful! It was our second time at the Bahia in Runnaway Jamaica and we will go back!!!

Moon Palace Jamaica: Great resort

Excellent service, food was excellent rooms are new and high end. The Italian and Japanese restaurants were outstanding, in future I would alternate between those two throughout the trip. I would recommend this place

Royalton Negril Resort And Spa: Beautiful resort, lovely beach

The hotel was beautiful, the food was very good and the beaches are the nicest we've been to in Jamaica. We spent a day at 7 Mile Beach and the beach at the Royalton Negril is just as nice. We've also been to Ocho Rios and Montego Bay and the beaches here are the nicest we've encountered in Jamaica. The resort was very busy since it was March break but the staff and butlers will "reserve" chairs for you for a tip $$$ - not sure if that's a good thing or bad. It is unfortunate that many chairs sa [... read more]t claimed by a book or magazine for the entire day. The food was very good at the restaurants, at the buffet it was just okay. (We've also been to the Royalton White Sands and found the food to be better there) Our favourite restaurant was Calypso the West Indian restaurant. The jerk hut, food truck and various beach bars to eat at provided lots of good options if you didn't want to get changed and go inside for lunch at the buffet or the Italian restaurant. Overall an excellent vacation - we reserved two excursions through our Butler (I would suggest upgrading to Diamond Club) and had a great time on both. We did 7 Mile Beach, downtown Negril for a Juici Patty run, and Rick's Cafe one day. We also did YS Falls, Blackriver Safari and Pelican Bar on our other excursion. Make sure to bring cash on excursions, many places do not accept credit card.