Our Family Adventure in Jamaica: Riu Ocho Rios REVIEW

We had the most amazing stay at Riu Ocho Rios. I originally booked our one-week trip through TUI, which included an all-inclusive stay at Riu Ocho Rios, return flights from Gatwick to Montego Bay, and return airport transfers from Montego Bay to the resort. The total cost was £1,994.74 per person.

Initially, I only planned for a week because we have another holiday coming up soon, and I assumed I might get bored after seven days. Well, I was completely wrong! By the fifth day, I did something I’ve never done before—I extended our trip. I called Riu’s customer service team, and we were lucky enough to keep the same room. The extension cost £1,055.36, and I even got £100 off thanks to the 1,250 Riu Class welcome points I had in my account.

Since all TUI flights were fully booked, I ended up flying back with Virgin Atlantic, which turned out to be a great decision. The return flights cost just over £500 per person, and the experience was definitely better than TUI.

This was the best holiday I’ve ever experienced, and for the first time, I left a country feeling like I wanted to cry—it was that amazing. My grandparents and mother are Jamaican, so visiting Jamaica allowed me to connect with my roots in a deeply meaningful way. Seeing where my mother grew up was both thrilling and a little intimidating due to the less-than-ideal infrastructure, but the natural beauty of Jamaica more than made up for it. The lush greenery is truly a sight to behold, and it’s something I’ll definitely miss.

So here’s my honest review of Riu Ocho Rios Hotel in Jamaica. I found the hotel to be very family-friendly. One thing that stood out was the music. If you’re familiar with dancehall, you know it can sometimes be provocative, but at Riu, they made sure to play clean versions, which was a relief, especially around children.

The resort also offers a kids’ club and a teens’ club, which was perfect for my sister, who has a seven-year-old and a fourteen-year-old. It’s often challenging to find activities that both kids will enjoy, so it was reassuring to know that these options were available.

However, the kids’ club hours were a bit inconvenient, running only from 10 AM to 12 PM and then again from 3 PM to 5 PM. While I’m not someone who would leave my child there all day, I found those hours a bit limiting. That said, the kids’ club felt very safe. My daughter actually asked to go every day, and she made some amazing friends from all over the world, like the U.S., Canada, and Mexico. It was refreshing for her to meet children from outside Europe, which is more common when we travel.

The staff at the kids’ club were lovely, and they offered activities like soft play and arts and crafts. As for the teens’ club, I didn’t check it out personally, but my nephew and one of my cousins enjoyed it so much that they went there every evening.

Let’s talk about our room, although I didn’t spend much time in it, I really liked it. I had requested a sea view room and was given room 3522, which was in block 3 on the 5th floor. The view was absolutely lovely. From my room, I could see the massive lake on the property, complete with turtles, and I even got to witness a couple of weddings from my balcony, which I thought was so cute. I also had a partial view of two of the pools, a bit of the beach, and the sea. The view was truly incredible, and I loved every bit of it.

The room itself was well-equipped, featuring a minibar that was restocked every two days with drinks like Bigga, water, Coke, and even some alcohol. It also had a safe, a walk-in shower, a hairdryer, and a toilet. They provided fresh towels daily, and the room included a TV, USB outlets, air conditioning, and a huge, very comfortable bed.

Let’s talk about the pools—this hotel has five of them! Yes, five pools, which is quite a lot, isn’t it? Two of these are adults-only pools, which is fantastic because, as much as I love kids, sometimes you just want a quieter, more relaxing atmosphere. These adult pools even have swim-up bars, which is just perfect.

The other two pools are open to everyone. One of them allows floats, while the other does not, giving you options depending on your preference.

Lastly, there’s the splash park, which features a smaller area with slides designed for younger children, probably best for those under five. There’s also a section with larger slides and deeper pools, better suited for older kids and adults who are confident swimmers. This pool is conveniently located right next to the Riuland kids club.

Now, let’s talk about the food and drink. As I mentioned before, this was an all-inclusive stay, so everything was covered in the price we paid. The main restaurant operates buffet-style, offering a wide variety of dishes from pizzas to curry, oxtail, rice and peas, and festivals. The buffet caters to everyone, from picky eaters to those looking for authentic Jamaican cuisine. You don’t need to make reservations for this restaurant—it’s open for breakfast, lunch, and dinner, and you can just show up during the opening hours.

The hotel also has other restaurants, like an Italian restaurant and a steakhouse, which do require reservations. However, I wasn’t really interested in those since I came to Jamaica to enjoy Jamaican food. If I wanted Italian, I’d head to Rome—so those weren’t really my vibe.

Overall, the food was really good. I did encounter one issue, which I’ll mention later, but aside from that, I have no complaints. As for drinks, I indulged in plenty of cocktails during the holiday. My favourite quickly became the “Rasta Man.” I got to the point where I could just walk up to certain bartenders and say, “The usual,” and they knew exactly what I wanted. The cocktails were great, though some took a bit of experimenting to find the right flavours that suited me. Of course, there are also non-alcoholic drinks available for children and those who don’t drink alcohol.

For anyone with allergies, I had no issues eating pretty much everything. I usually avoid desserts anyway, but everything else was fine. I returned to the UK without any allergic reactions.

The entertainment team truly made this holiday unforgettable. They were fantastic—full of energy and so much fun. We got to know most of them on a first-name basis because they were so engaging with everyone, both kids and adults alike. Every evening, they had something exciting going on, and throughout the day, they made sure to interact with everyone. They are worth their weight in gold, and I sincerely hope that a significant portion of what we paid for this holiday goes to them, because they really made our experience special.

In fact, this applies to everyone at the hotel—from the waitstaff to the housekeeping team that cleaned our room daily, and even some of the reception staff. They all went above and beyond to make our holiday special, and they are the main reason we want to return.

Here are a few other details you might find helpful: The hotel offers free Wi-Fi throughout, and it worked really well for me—no complaints there. There’s also a gym and a spa on site; while the gym is free to use, spa treatments do come at an additional cost.

One of the trip highlights was a boat party we booked, which departed directly from the hotel’s beach. It was an absolute blast! For around $60, you get unlimited drinks on board, making it well worth the price.

I’d also recommend downloading the Riu app. It allows you to book reservations at some of the restaurants and provides a daily guide to events happening around the resort, like foam parties and beach parties, so you can easily plan your day.

If you’re looking for excursions, I recommend checking out GetYourGuide—they offer a wide variety of options. We only did Dunn’s River Falls, which was both thrilling and a lot of fun. Plus, it’s just a short drive from the resort, making it a convenient adventure to add to your trip.

There were two major downsides to this holiday, but surprisingly, they haven’t deterred me—I’d go back tomorrow if I could. The first issue was with a reception staff member named Crystal, who was incredibly rude. I had four different interactions with her, including during check-in, and her attitude was consistently off. I’ve never encountered someone so rude in my life.

The second downside was the oxtail. Both my best friend and I found plastic in our oxtail on different days. When I went to complain, the staff seemed to already know what I was going to say, which was shocking. They were clearly aware of the problem, which made the situation even crazier!

As I mentioned, it was a fantastic holiday despite those issues, and I’m itching to go back! I highly recommend Riu Ocho Rios. It’s family-friendly, most of the staff are wonderful, and I’m confident you’ll have an amazing time here.

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