We have just returned from a week at the Riu Negril. We are from Portugal and had a 9 hours flight. We were afraid of the check in but it was fast. As we were travelling with small children they gave us priority. But even so, everyone got to the room very fast. The hotel is wonderful and we experienced an incredible service. The hotel is beautiful and the beach is heaven. We went with another couple and two children (2 and 3 years old). The hotel was perfect for them but my friend's child got bitten from mosquitos and it was not nice (they seem to resist to anti mosquito spays...). But to my son it was fantastic. He loves Peter Pan and he said that he was in Neverland. So just imagine how beautiful the spot is!
The breakfast was very good and the buffet quite nice.
The pool is lovely but if you want silence don't go to the one with the bar. The attendants were wonderful, but in the last day they run out of beach towels .
Overall I would say this is probably the best hotel we have ever stayed in. It's absolutely the best hotel in Negril. It's better than Tropical Bay. This one is older and smaller. Riu Negril is a new hotel, so everything is as it shoul be. We had a great time in a very beautiful hotel, a wonderful beach and a fine service.

Ok. All started in Lisbon. The flight was made in Orbest. We arrive in Montego Bay 10 hours after departure. In Jamaican airport we could not find the transfer to airport. Its very confused. After a while we have detected our tranfer. The journey to Riu Hotel takes about 1.30Hours.
The hotel is very good and satisfie the most neads. The rooms are very clean and the people are very nice. If you are going to the bars please leave 1USD (or more), you'll see the diference...
You dont nead to take towels. Walk to Check in desk and ask for the towels card and then go to the little wood house near the swimming pool
I did not like the beach, OK the water is hot and clean... its Carabien... the sand is very durty, there are glasses and plates all around (this is a must that they have to improve) and in the mornig there are several little bugs (use bugs spray).
There are very people trying you to rent Jet Sky. You should try the experience. Payed 35USD for half an hour (he asked me 60USD).
The food was excellent.
Tried the SPA and the massage (40USD for 50 minutes).Excellent. You have internet access and cost 9USD for 30 minutes. If you like Casino, you have it. All days have shows at 9.30 PM.
Never tried the swimming pool... i like beach.... but Riu Hotel got one, and with a bar on it.
And what about Jamaican pot? lol... if you like it you can bought it... walk around the beach and you will find several people trying to sell it for you... if you want, you can buy. The beach is secure.
I went with my wife and we have enjoyned. For now i'll not return. I think you must go only to taste the Jamaican air. One time is goog for me.
The hotel is good for all kinds of ages.
On departure, everything was OK. Transfer to airport worked fine and was on time. The airport have 2 areas: the old one, where you make the check in (please dont use the WC) and the new one, that you enter after passes the security room. Here is very good, you have several good shops for last gifts. If you nead to eat there are several places too. If you nead to use WC, know is the time for it. Jorney to Portugal taked about 8.30 hours.
Last call: Dont forget your sun glasses, hat, sun block and your camara. And LAST.... ENJOY.... YOU ARE ON VACATION.

Staying at the Riu Negril was the best decision yet. I was a bit worried because of the negative reviews but PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE do not listen to them.

Check In:

Check in was a breeze we arrived at about 2pm and our room was ready! We were greated by a glass of fruch punch and before we knew it we were on our way to our room. We originally were given a room in block 4 be I had read that block 1 and 2 was the best so i didnt want to take any chances. I explained that I didnt want that room and wanted to be in block 1 or 2 and the receptionist while slipping her a 5 dollar bill and she said "No Ploblem Mon" and quickly changed our room.

Once we got to the room. It was amazing. We didnt really have a view of anything but the next building but the room was so clean and didnt have a smell at all like other reviews stated. I thought at first we had gotten lucky but after asking around a bit it seemed that everyone I spoke to didnt have that problem either. Come to think of it I didnt smell a musky smell anywhere on the resort. The hotel staff is always cleaning EVERYWHERE!!! They even clean the concrete floors outside!!! I couldnt beleive it.

Resturants:

Resturants there are over rated, I dont recommend you waiting on line EVERY morning for a reservation for that night. Although I did like the steakhouse (Shadows) all the others were not good at all. The buffets are excellent!!!! My boyfriend and I enjoyed the food so much. I am a picky eater and normally dont eat breakfast and very little for dinner but the food was so good for breakfast, lunch and dinner I just had to try everything. The only complaint that I had was at luigi's during lunch they only had pizza and fries for lunch but once I discovered the Jerk Hut on the beach I didn't care about that anymore. But I have to tell you, make sure that you get to the jerk hut before 1 pm or you will be out of luck because the jerk chicken is so good it goes FAST.

Entertainment:

The entertainment is good but not excellent. Every night there is a different theme and the only one I enjoyed was cinemania night. That is when they so a clip of a famous movie and then do a reenactment of it. The entertainment crew works very hard. During the day they are on the beach trying to include you in the fun activites and making sure that you are having a wonderful time and at night they are on stage. Once the show is over some of the entertainment crew move into the night club and entertain some more by showing the guest some of the latest dance steps in to reggae and soca music. The night club was very laid back but nice. As for the casino, It's not worth even going in there. But the gym that they have is so nice they have plenty of machines in there for you to get a good workout and if that's not enough you can go out to the basketball and tennis courts that they have.

Pools/Beach:

The pools where so clean. I didnt experience any cloudy water at all. there was no debris or anything in the pool like others complained about. I stayed in the pool bar most of the time and the bartenders there are great. Lunick and Paul are the best!!!! They will also make sure that you are having a good time. They keep the drinks flowing and you dont even have to ask. There are also plenty of activites to do on the beach. We went kayaking and on the double boats. I am aware that there were many people concerned about the topless sunbathing, but I assure you there is nothing to worry about. I only saw three topless and as much as I thought it would bother me because I never experienced that before it was no big deal at all.

On thursday night we went to the Jungle night club and had a wonderful time. But I will say please be aware of the women of the night as well as the men of the night they will try to come home with you. But other then that I had a blast!!! I danced the night away.

Overall:
I enjoyed Jamaica and the Riu Negril very much. And I am looking forward to going back again. The only thing I would change is staying for a longer time than I did this time. And bubba Kegs are not needed at this resort. i brought mine and didnt use them not once!!!
Please don't listen to the bad reviews, either those people are so hard to please or were obviously staying at another hotel!!!
Also please be aware that there are drugs everywhere and not just ganja!!! It is very much available.

Hope this review helps and please message me if you have any questions I will try to help.

We flew on Air Jamaica from JFK on June 15-21. Our flight left on time. Unlike other airlines, we were not charged for our 2nd checked-in bag and was served breakfast and a complimentary beverage. I thought this was a very nice way to start my vacation. And, it did help mitigate some of the negative reviews. Although, the forecast for Negril was not favorable. The sun came out and the temperature were in the mid 80s everyday. Check-in at the hotel was a breeze. The staff overall, was very friendly and went out of their way to help make our stay at Club Riu Negril more enjoyable. Be sure to tip. Special thanks to Abiba for her kindess and thoughtfulness. We carried our own bags to the room only because we did not want to wait for a bellhop. We stayed in Bldg. 2, but could have stayed in bldg. 1, which would have put us closer to the lobby. The view of the beach from the pathway was inviting. The room was a fair size; not too big not too small. There was a musty smell upon entering the room, but I suppose this is to be expected since we were very close to the beach. The rooms are somewhat dated, but very clean and the bed was made everyday and water and beverages were replaced daily. Fresh towels were also replaced daily. We could see the ocean from the balcony. Sometimes, we would come back to the room to find an animal or design on the bed made from towles. The a/c was not cold enough, but the fan did help circulate the air. We had plenty of hot water, which is a must. There was plenty of closet space and we did use the room safe that was provided for us free of charge, unless you lose the safe key. It will cost you $50 US. Somedays, I would put the towels and our swimsuits out on the balcony to dry overnight and found them still there the next day. Nothing was ever stolen.
There are 3 ala cartes. Don't waste your time! We tried all three and found the food in the buffet was better and we had more selections. If you opt to go to the ala carte be prepared to stand on line for 15-20 mins. Not worth it! The person taking reservations does not show up until 10 a.m. Sometimes, 9:30 a.m. if your lucky. They did run out of towels a couple of times, my own fault. Have to get their early. Luckily, I brought my beach towels from home. There is not much to do inside the resort, but that is ok since we just wanted to relax anyway. The beach was awesome. We found beach chairs under the shade everyday with no problem. The water was clear most days. I could see the bottom of the ocean. The breeze was so warm on the beach, I think I fell asleep a few times. Do take sunscreen and bug spray. I was very diligent about using sunscreen and I still got color. My boyfriend on the otherhand, didn't listen to me and got a burn on his chest. Do try the Jerk Chicken on the beach. Delicious! The return trip home was an all day affair. Horrendous! We checked out of the hotel at 12 p.m. and waited till about 1:30 p.m. for our bus (Jamaica Tours) to take us back to airport. The a/c on the bus was not working well, so we sat on a hot bus for the duration of the trip. 90 mins. in all to the hotel to airport. We were ushered to a line for Air Jamaica, which took about 2 hrs. to get to the front of the line. There was a problem with another flight in Kingston, Jamaica which delayed our departure for about an hr. Aside, from the the negatives, we had a good time in Jamaica. Ye Man!