Riu Palace Aquarelle

Customer ratings & reviews

TripAdvisor Traveler Rating

1474 reviews

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  BEWARE OF BAIT & SWITCH ROOM PRICES

  I just returned yesterday from the RIU Palace Aquarelle in Falmouth Jamaica. It is one of the newer RIU’s in Jamaica 🇯🇲, it opened sometime in early 2024 I believe. The hotel is clean. Staff was magnificent, shout out to Sashana Brown at the front desk because had it not been for her we would have LEFT. She talked us off the ledge. Much praises, as well to our morning dining room servers Shawna & Dwain (who came in the latter part of the trip). Shawna was so warm, welcoming and very attentive. Dwain we met on the second to last day and he was so mannerly and professional. Scuba Caribe personnel’s Nathan and the two other dark-skin Jamaican gentlemen were a pleasure. They were the reason we booked a Catamaran Cruise with them. This I recommend. Ok, now to discuss why I gave 3 stars. RIU is starting to engage in shady business practices, rip people off by bait and switching rooms after arrival to their facilities. Please BEWARE!!!! We originally booked reservations for the RIU Negril in Negril Jamaica 🇯🇲 back in October 2025. A quick birthday get away for two ER Nurses who needed a little rest and recuperation amid the hectic Flu & Cold season. We reserved a frontal sea view room as we always do when staying with RIU. We were notified sometime the end of December that our reservations were changed without our consent or notification to a hotel of their choice, the RIU Aquarelle because the RIU Negril was experiencing electrical difficulties as a result of the damages they sustained from the hurricane. We understand. We have family that still live on the island. What we do NOT understand or appreciate is our rooms being downgraded. The RIU Negril re-opened a week prior to our vacation. There was no need to send us to Aquarelle. RIU decided on their own accord to keep us at the RIU Aquarelle, DOWNGRADE our room and then charged us additional money to stay in accommodation we originally paid for!!!!!! On the day of Check-In RIU Aquarelle tried to put us in a partial ocean view room despite the fact our original reservation confirmation e-mail clearly stated “FRONTAL OCEAN VIEW”. Then proceeded to tell us that the Aquarelle was a step up from the RIU Negril and get this, the rooms were not comparable. What a load of horse manure. I can tell you from experience because I have stayed at both. The rooms look the same. WE HAD TO PAY EXTRA MONEY TO UPGRADE TO THE ROOM WE RESERVED. Beware of this bait and switch. The RIU Aquarelle does not compare to the hotels in Negril. First off the beach is trash and the area is swamp land. People go to Jamaica 🇯🇲 for the beaches. Those beaches are in Negril, Portland, Montego Bay, Ocho Rios!!!!! Ask any Jamaican where are the best beaches located and they will tell you Negril 7 Mile Beach followed by the others. I swam in sand, seaweeds and rocks the entire trip. I finally followed other patrons and walked over to the neighboring hotels who happen to be closed for renovation and swam in their water. Because there water is a natural beach unlike RIU Aquarelle’s that was a man made beach. It use to be a rocks on a cliff and they dumped it full of sand to create that beach. But tell me it is an upgrade from the natural world famous 7 Mile Beach corridor. The elevators acted as if they were about to break down at any moment. Doors didn’t want to close all the way. Delayed on closing and opening. The sink in our room was clogged. Safe stopped working had to have Security come and open it. Front view of the hotel is an eye sore. The balcony rails are flimsy. If you have children keep them away from the balconies. Adults do not horse around on the balconies. We made the best of our time but I would NOT recommend this hotel and I am contemplating a different venue/hotel chain for my upcoming June trip with 12 of my family members that was booked with the RIU Negril. The food was good but so was the RIU Negril.

  Jan 15, 2026
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  A friendly enjoyable experience with noticeable room for improvement

  The hotel's location is a bit of a mixed bag - it's next to a lively shanty town that can get quite loud, especially if you're staying on that side. I personally enjoyed it, but with a child, it was a bit too much. The food was a highlight, with lots of variety at the main buffet restaurant. However, the Krystal restaurant was a letdown - the octopus was overcooked and tasteless, the snapper was bland, and the crème brûlée was nothing like it should've been. The Italian restaurant was also disappointing. Pepe jerk chicken was not authentic- also, Occasionally dried out. This should be called grilled chicken. The sweetcorn was very sweet! The liquid was white which suggested to be cooked in milk and added sugar! The request for tipping at pepe’s was unpleasant and unnecessary. The same thing also happened at the beach towel hut. On the plus side, the premium drinks served at the resort were top-notch, but they could cut back on the sugar in cocktails. I'd love to see more sustainable practices, like ditching the plastic plants and using local resources for decorations. Jamaica is a tropical island! Also this clearly contradicts Rui’s claim in its corporate videos being played in the resort stating their striving towards increased sustainability as a company. Also plastic plants look cheap and out of place. The entertainment team was amazing, and the staff were incredibly friendly. Rooms were clean, but towels could be whiter. However the loud entertainment went until 11.30pm and an occasionally beyond midnight- much too late for a family resort. The beach is lovely, but it could do with more sunbeds and sunshades and a bit of tidying up - some areas are quite rocky. The pools are a bit small, and I'd suggest a no-tipping policy to make guests feel more comfortable Overall, we'd probably skip this hotel next time, despite enjoying our stay.

  Jan 15, 2026
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  Very Noisy Resort – Not Ideal for Families with Young Children

  We stayed at Riu Palace Aquarelle with our six-year-old. While we made the most of our trip and enjoyed parts of the resort, we would not choose to return based on our experience. Positives: Food was good, and we were able to book à la carte dining every night. The steakhouse and Krystal were highlights. Entertainment staff and restaurant servers were friendly and attentive, and the Michael Jackson show was excellent. Housekeeping was good. Our room was clean, we received a birthday cupcake and note, and our daughter loved the towel animals. The minibar was well stocked, and premium alcohol was used. Our child enjoyed the splash park, and the waterpark was fun for adults, although several slides were closed during our stay. Concerns: Despite being marketed as family-friendly, the resort felt more adult-oriented, with many pool parties and activities focused on adults and adults-only areas. Noise was a major issue. Loud local music played outside the resort day and night, and extremely loud resort music was played in the central courtyard that all rooms face. Music continued until 1:00 a.m. on several nights, making it very difficult for our child to sleep. We also experienced significant maintenance issues, including no hot water for four out of seven days and occasions with no water pressure at all. These issues were reported multiple times but were not resolved. The beach was smaller than expected with rocky swimming areas not suitable for children. Pool rules were unclear, and children were restricted from many areas. Lifeguards were very strict and often abrupt, creating a tense atmosphere around the pools. Overall: We still enjoyed our vacation and appreciated many staff members, but the excessive noise, maintenance issues, and lack of true family-friendly accommodations mean we would not return, especially with young children.

  Jan 13, 2026
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  Very disappointed

  Complaint to TUI - 19/12 I WANT MY MONEY BACK TUI - You completely ruined our Christmas Holiday and you didn’t even care an iota At 5pm on 19/12 I received a call and emails telling me my hotel for my husband and my Christmas break had an issue and they have an acceptable alternative hotel for me to take a look at. We fly out in the morning - they gave us 16 hours notice. My husband had already taken a look at this hotel before choosing the one we had booked and already knew he didn’t like the Palace Aquarelle due to the layout, newness and activities aimed at young people and families for with small children. It was also on the wrong side of the island for us. The tour operator told me they had found this hotel it has the same rating and higher for some areas. I asked what our options were and she informed me that my options were take the Palace Aquarelle even comes with a 10% discount or cancel my Christmas holiday. This was not acceptable to us. I asked the tour operator if she could find another hotel as we were really not happy to go to this hotel - she looked without success. We conceded and took the change due to the fact we had booked this break at Christmas due to my husbands poor health and the fact that we had not prepared anything at home for Christmas. This whole situation added to both of our anxieties - we could not believe TUI would have ever treat their customers like this. It felt like take it or leave it - there was very poor customer services provided from the operator. We asked if we could upgrade and pay the difference even but was told this was the only offer available to us. We felt forced to take this booking. When we arrived at the Palace Aquarelle Hotel - from the moment we approached the hotel our hearts sank - the hotel was built in the middle of a shanty town - our apartment was over looking a building site The desk staff checking the new arrivals in were inexperienced and very slow. We were not told about when our TUI rep would be available or where to even find them. We were not escorted to our apartment - we were left to find our own way to it. The write up says the hotel is situated on white sandy beaches but it was on a man made beach with sand being brought in daily and moved around by the staff. We originally booked an authentic plantation looking hotel with lots of palm trees and vegetation - what we got was a high rise hotel that you would find in Benidorm - everything was white and no culture - the corridors were white and all the same - it was a premier in hotel at Butlins passed off as a 5 * Hotel in the Caribbean. You couldn’t be more disappointed Where was the customer services - this was not the customers fault, it was RUIs responsibility to find the right alternative accommodation for their customers and this was not right. The water temperature in the apartment was hit and miss / sometimes it was hot and others it was barely warm. I believe due to upsetting your customer to this degree we should received some monetary compensation and I very much look forward to receiving this and your response Constant roar of the fans when sliding doors opened - you cannot get away from noise no matter where you go on this complex - oh sorry in your room with doors closed as long as the people with special needs person next door/upstairs is out then you get abit of quiet (not complaining about the LD person just stating a fact - you cannot get away from the noise) Boom Boom Boom of the beat box everyday until 5pm - no peace and quiet for a solid 10 days Not enough parasols to go around - and some of the ones that were there were broken The sea was dangerous - very choppy, loads of rocks under foot - no relaxing on a float for anyone in the water Pools were too small for anything Towels - one day no cards the next no clean towels - this tells you the hotel is overwhelmed/over capacity - too many people for hotel to function smoothly The stray dog we saw yesterday in the waste land under our balcony - we saw today on the sea front scrounging for food - she found some leftovers on a plate on a sun lounger and jumped up and ate off of the plate. No staff around to chase the dog off - I have photographic proof Workers on the beach until mid day digging holes to bury the debris from the sea - not a good look TUI Noise - music on the beach from entertainment team and around the pool competing and getting louder - you cannot hear yourself think Sofa in our suite stunk of urine Get a call from Hotel Management Natasha - at 11.40am on 30/12 to discuss my email complaining about the hotel ect - was offered to move to Palace Tropical - she didn’t even check my booking as we were booking out today at 12.00pm This email was sent to TUI to deal with and you forwarded straight onto the hotel management team At Aquarelle who I didn’t want to speak to about this - especially whilst I was still there - this was a very unprofessional move TUi. How embarrassing - they didn’t even check my booking to see I was leaving today. 100 too few blankets available on flight home - what a poor service offered

  Dec 31, 2025
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  Lovely Xmas and New Year break

  Had a good 10 days at the Riu Palace over Xmas and New Year. Rooms were nice , clean and spacious with great views Food at buffet was of a good standard and lots of options . Specialist restaurants were hit and miss not much better if at all than buffet. Staff all amazing and friendly all over the hotel without exception Entertainment team worked so hard from morning to night. Gala dinners were so well presented and the staff made extra efforts to make sure you had a good time No complaints from us a lovely holiday and loved Jamaican hospitality

  Dec 31, 2025