Riu Palace Tropical Bay - All Inclusive

Customer ratings & reviews

TripAdvisor Traveler Rating

8597 reviews

• 

  Awesome

  Awesome experience. Our first time in Jamaica. Everyone is so beautiful and happy to have you, very accommodating. Would definitely come again.

  Jan 15, 2026
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  Return visit did not disappoint!

  Our first visit to Riu Palace Tropical Bay with our friends was in November 2012. It was our first time to Jamaica and we had the BEST time. We have traveled many many times since then and decided this was our favorite place because of the people, so we booked again, hoping it would be as good as the first visit. WOW! It did not disappoint! It was renovated in 2017 and is lovely.! Our favorite pool bartender Andrew was still there at the pool bar! I had a picture of him from 2012 and of course took another one! Giovanni, Nichalaus and Andre became our new friends working the pool bar! Sheema and Verna at buffet were great and Shellyanne at the theater was the most fun and loving server going above and beyond!!! Overall the food was good as was the entertainment! An improvement in regards to food was that 2 of us are gluten sensitive and the offerings for breads and desserts was not readily available. At breakfast there was a small selection of GF breads in a special place, but only at breakfast. You always had to ask at the specialty restaurants and they always seemed to have to go elsewhere to get it. GF Dessert offerings were very lacking as well. They did sometimes have really good GF brownies, cookies and cakes at Cappachino, the coffee shop in the lobby, but you had to ask, and again they had to go somewhere else to get them and they were pre packaged. When we were leaving, the gal working there said they didn't have any but she acted like she just really did not want to go check. 99% of the staff were SO friendly and kind. We did encounter a very rude woman at Krystal when we thought the front desk at check in had booked us for dinner our first night. She had the list and we were not on it and she was quite rude! Another very rude woman was at the Guest Service desk one morning when we went to ask about getting restaurant reservations when the app showed the restaurant was closed that evening but the reality was that they were all open every night. She was rude and did not help us just said "use the app"! She did not give us the work around!!! NOTE: Even if the app says restaurant is closed, go ahead and hit the reserve button on the bottom! This is not an adults only resort, but not many kids there during our visit Jan 5-12. The kids that were there were well behaved! Oh yes, the beach is AWESOME! It is well maintained. Water is so clear! We could see starfish on the bottom wading out only waist deep!!! We used Jamaica Exquisite Tours for private transportation to and from Montego Bay for the 4 of us. Very reasonable rate. Request Orrin! Also, If you want a fabulous massage use Santi and Mercy on the beach. $60 for 60 minutes . Best massages ever. Don't be scared of the blue tent! If you are on the fence about booking, don't wait, you won't be disappointed!!!

  Jan 13, 2026
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  Won't be back and warning to other guests.

  This the third and last time I will be going to a RIU Resort. When we arrived we were told they had no rooms - our family had to be split up for 2 days while they sent some to Montego Bay and some stayed. Given that this trip was planned months in advance, it just shows a lack of care from the organization. In doing this, they provided no compensation, no assistance or anything. Absolutely abhorrent behavior. In addition, we were not provided the rooms we were promised - in our opinion they committed fraud; however, we'll have to see what our credit card company states. The food was OK; but, you had to book specialty restaurants a week in advance to arriving. The app was constantly down and you basically had to plead to front desk to get a reservation...when you did the food was sub-par for a "specialty restaurant". The staff was good and welcoming, they did a pretty good job on the rooms..however, RIU's greenwashing for environmental purposes leaves much to be desired. The toilets at the facility were constantly plugged and the washrooms near the pool were disgusting. All-in-all, this is not a five-star resort. At best they are a 4 and more likely a high-three star resort. Lastly, they have a thing called RIU Land which is ridiculous of the children. It was clearly an afterthought, no children were in because they all hated it. This has been the way they have run these "kid" portions at other resorts. No forethought or insight into them. RIU has degraded their experience year-after-year and is not what they used to be.

  Jan 07, 2026
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  I want to go back

  We spent a week at RIU Palace Tropical Bay over Christmas and had an absolutely wonderful experience. The service was excellent, and all of the staff were polite, professional, and genuinely kind. One thing we really appreciated was that no one was ever pushy or begging for tips. We are a family that is happy to tip—and tip generously—but it’s refreshing when it isn’t expected or pressured at every turn. This was hands down the cleanest resort we’ve ever stayed at. The food was consistently delicious, both in the à la carte restaurants and at the buffet. They truly went above and beyond for the holidays—Santa Claus arrived by boat on Christmas Day and gave each child a gift, which absolutely thrilled our kids and made Christmas feel very special. They also hosted a lovely Christmas Eve gala to celebrate the season. The resort app was easy to use and very convenient. Room service was fine, and if anything in the room needed attention, you could submit a request through the app and it was taken care of quickly. The only downside for us was that the beds were a bit hard (and I’m still feeling it!), but that was a small trade-off. The beach was immaculate, and the jerk chicken cooked by Jolly by the beach was incredible. My son—who normally only eats chicken nuggets—couldn’t get enough of it and was still talking about it when we were leaving. One tip for future guests: the site building at the far end of the beach, we recommend booking excursions directly there rather than through your travel representative. We found the experiences to be much more economical and even better overall. I honestly wish we could have stayed another week, and I already want to go back—which is something I’ve never said about a resort before. Highly recommend.

  Jan 01, 2026
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  Nice stay- a great updates needed

  Overall we enjoyed our stay at the RIU. The staff was terrific, and the beach was lovely. Pros: the entertainment was fun and interesting. The rooms were large and clean. The beach service was attentive. The jerk hut was awesome,- and the drinks were delicious. Cons: using the app to make reservations for dinner. This process was awful- requires booking 2 nights in advance and is challenging to use. When you do get a reservation, the restaurant food was sub par. I would venture to say that the buffet food was better. The gym needs a major upgrade. It is small, old and not as clean as it could be. Overall we enjoyed our stay but with exercise and mealtime the most important elements of vacation for me, it was underwhelming.

  Dec 30, 2025