We just returned from the Riu Negril yesterday (11-22-05). We had carefully researched various hotels and chose the Riu Negril for its ammenities, price, and new construction (~1 year old). It is not often that you find a hotel that accurately looks like pictures that sites such as Expedia or Orbitz places online but this one holds true. While our room in building #2 (2nd floor) did not overlook the ocean, we did not miss it at all! It was extremely clean and nicely decorated (a pleasant surprise from other Caribbean hotels we have stayed at in the past). Marble floors and bathroom walls added to the aesthetic appearance. Our maid was wonderful and I looked forward to the towel creations we found on our bed everyday! Fresh hibiscus flowered would adorn our sinks and our fridge was well stocked with soda, beer, and gallons of drinking water. We were pleased to stay up to date with college sports in the States with ESPN in our room. Be advised that hotels in Negril can only be three stories high so this negates the need for elevators. (after all the food we ate though, we needed the extra steps!!!)

While the nightly entertainment may not have been Broadway quality, the entertainers practiced hours on end throughout the day and we appreciated their hard work and dedication :-) Reggae night was enjoyable though and we enjoyed the steel drum band we caught on the beach one afternoon.

Plan to sign up your first or second day at 10 AM for reservations at the resort's "sit down" restaurants. Otherwise, the dinner buffets have endless choices to be enjoyed, from fresh fish to steak to salads, cheeses, and various desserts. Theme nights occur approximately every other night and we enjoyed the ice sculptures and cruise ship atmosphere the chefs provided. Be sure to try the Jerk Hut's grilled food at lunch--- much better than the lunch buffet!

The beach was fairly narrow in width but we enjoyed not having to awaken at 6 AM to grab chaise lounge chairs as there were were more than plenty to go around. The fish sanctuary waters provide a good glimpse into sea creatures such as various kinds of starfish, crabs, puffer fish, and an occasional sting ray. Be prepared for sand fleas though near the trees in this area as dusk approaches. Bring bug spray and you'll be fine! We were very pleased with the snorkeling opportunities in the swimming area of the resort. Swim out near the dividing ropes and you will find some fine specimens of brain coral, sea urchins, sea cucumbers, and more. In addition, the sunset cruise offered at the resort's dive shop takes you out to a reef filled with tons of fish, large coral exhibits, and even a sunken cannon! A fun time enjoyed by all that ends at Rick's bar at sunset. Be aware that the boat is not a catamaran though and while rum and coke are provided, there is no meal served. At $35 per person, we found it a reasonable deal.

If you're "used to the Ritz" and other "five star hotels", Jamaica may not the place for you. Remember, this is a poor country dealing with a struggling economy and political hardships. However, if you appreciate a great deal, wonderful food choices, friendly people, and a great time, this is the perfect vacation destination. The resort area was very safe and the staff extermely friendly and helpful. Appreciate the kindness of the people and try to take in the island past the doors of the resort. It is a beautful land with an equally beautiful 5 star culture. Thumbs up on this vacation!

We were shut out of a trip to Riviera Maya from 11/11/05 for 7 nights, so we looked and looked, and got a last minute deal, literally with Apple vacations to the RIU Negril.. We had stayed at Tropical Bay in Feb 2003, enjoyed it totally, and loved that area of Jamaica, so when the Club Negril came up, we took it. We were scheduled to stay elsewhere on the 7 mile beach, but @ 36 hours prior to departure, surfing the internet, I found a spot for us at the all inclusive and we took it. Many have written to nit pick this place. That is all well and good, but you have to take into consideration what you are paying for, how much you are paying, and the quality of similar services elsewhere. Sure, it's not the Ritz Carlton, duh, could you stay at the Ritz for RIU prices? I doubt it. The food is average to above average. If you cannot find something to eat, you should stay home, as others have said. Watered down drinks? If you took the time to get out to liquor stores, you will see that the bar rail booze they pour is lower in alcohol percentage than our is in the USA. They don't pour top shelf because frankly, the soaks from the USA would bankrupt them. If you need the top shelf while you are laying at the pool, bring your own along. We had a good idea what we were getting into, and we went with the flow. Due to Hurricane Wilma, a slow time for the hotels in Jamaica became full house time, and they did a pretty good job taking care of it. There were glitches here and there, yes. So what if you don't get a wash cloth every day. We always had bath and hand towels, and there were just 2 of us, but hey, deal with it, don't yell at the help, they have to put up with stuff that you have no concept of.
Our only complaint may be the number of sand flea bites my honey brought home. We should have used more bug spray, I had full strength Deet along, but only used it a couple of times. We should have been more diligent. You do not want the hotel to spray that crap on the beach, it will seep into the water and kill the sealife, think about that!!!
The snorkeling at the beach was very interesting. My lady was snorkeling for the first time, and she would lay on our airmattress, and just look into the water as I pushed her around. We found several areas within the bouys to just float over and watch the inhabitants do their thing. I used the Hobie cats 5 out of 7 days, and if you do not use those, why are you there? Free sailing, my goodnes, let me at it! The paddle boats are easily propelled, and once into the Bloody Bay, you can look down and see some interestint thing.
All in all, a wonderful trip. We went off grounds a couple of times, you just have to say no to ganja sales, they understand, it is just a business deal to them. If you go there, tip the bartenders, the room cleaners, the bus staff/servers in the restaurants. You don't have to go overboard, they will appreciate it, and will go a little extra for you . We met one, he offered his services as a tour guide, we rented him, his pal and their van, and did a 4 hour tour that was well worth the money. It was nothing spectacular, wonderful or adventurous. We were 4 over 50 adults, and we wanted a look around, and we got one. The guys caught our drift pretty quickly, ie, we were not looking for pot, just an interesting drive around the area with cocktails here and there, and that is what we got. You just have to ask the right questions, and those polite Jamaicans will take to you very well. We were told that the next time we come, we will get an even better tour. No, I will not name the guys, you will figure that out if you stay at the RIU Negril....
Been back 3 days, and miss it already, IRIE MON!

My boyfriend and I went to Riu Negril and even though the resort is new, I would never go back. Being an all inclusive does not mean you are not expected to tip. We would not have received service had we not tipped.

The sign up desk to make reservations for the 2 or three good restaurants is a real joke. The first day we tried to get a reservation for the following day at 6:30 at the Steak House, we were told "no, all booked up." The next morning we again stood in line to make a reservation at the Steak house and surprisingly enough were told they had reservations at 6:30! There is a gimmick here, if you slide the employee at tip, mysteriously the reservations are available!

The pools get very crowded early and you have to get up very early (before 8:00) to save your chair. Beach/pool towels are handled by getting a card for your towel and don't lose it cause you'll get charged for it! If you try to get a fresh beach towel for the day after 9:00, you will be out of luck,

The first day we arrived we tried to freshen up by taking a quick shower only to find there were no towels in the bathroom. When we called the front desk to ask that some be brought to our room they immediately asked how many people we had in our room. 90 minutes later Housekeeping shows up with 2 bath towels, one hand towel and one wash cloth. We couldn't even get enough for two people.

Servers in the buffets were rude and uncaring. I would not recommend Riu to anyone hoping to have excellent customer service. The Funjet rep, Natasha, is rude and not helpful at all. We will not ever go to a Riu Resort again. Don't waste your money!!

I wish tripadvisor would give an option for 0 stars because that is what this hotel deserves. I came to Negril for a wedding so the location and hotel were already set and we didn't really have any other options. My wife and I are accustomed to 5 star, Ritz-Carlton/Four Seasons type of accomodations and have traveled all over the Caribbean, Mexico, Europe, etc. If you are a sophisticated traveler, this place is not for you, if you are a person that loves to gorge yourself on terrible food and get drunk on cheap drink then this is the place for you.

The Riu operation is the worst tourist related company that I have ever come across. The wedding and and all of the guests were at the Riu Tropical Bay, which is a 5 minute cab ride down the road. We booked and fully paid for a room at the Riu Tropical Bay through Expedia. I had called the week before and confirmed my reservation. Well when we arrived at the Riu Tropical Bay the front desk person promptly told us that they were overbooked and we had to go to the Riu Negril. Politely telling this person, that this could not be did no good. Neither did saying that all of my family will be at the Tropical Bay and my wife and I would be the only ones at the Riu Negril do any good and neither did getting mad and causing a scene by myself and the bride's mother who had brought a lot of people to their resort. The workers there and at the Riu Negril just don't care. They have your money and there is nothing you can do about it. Expedia was great and fought for me. They have something against them and I was bumped even though others after me were checking in propbably because they used a non-online travel agent and because I did not stay a full week (thank God).

After the arguing got me nowhere I was told that I would have on ocean view upgrade and that they would pay for my taxi rides between the hotel. Well after we got in the taxi and got to the Riu Negril the cabbie asked for his fare. The Tropical Bay people had not paid for our cab fare as promised. When I went to the Riu Negril front desk to check in they did not have a room for us even though it was past 3pm when check-in was supposed to occur and my wife and I had been up since 4 am travelling. When I told him that I came from the other hotel and we were supposed to get an upgrade, the front desk worker LAUGHED in my face. I was told to go get some food at Shadows the outdoor buffet. Since we were hungry we went ahead and did this. The buffet was DISGUSTING. There were horrible looking hot dogs and hamburgers. Everything look disheveled and dirty and it just look unappetizing with the serving utensils all splayed around. There were tables that hadn't been cleaned and chicken bones on the tables with flies around it.

After our initial experience with Riu, we wanted to hop on a plane and come back to New York. Unfortunately, we couldn't because we would incur steep penalties and other costs.

The customer service is terrible. They have your money and there is no incentive to give good service. This was my first experience with all-inclusive and it will be my last. The food at the buffet was terrible. Even though I eat just about anything, the only things I found appetizing were the egg rolls and beef patties at dinner and the lasagna at the pizza place and jerk chicken at the jerk hut for lunch. We tried Sir Andrew after waiting in line forever. The food was better but no great shakes. The red wine they served tasted like vinegar. One of the problems I had was that if you have discriminating tastes there is no way to get upgrades even if you are willing to pay. They have ONE choice of wine for instance.

The Riu way is to make things difficult for their guests. They CONSTANTLY ran out of beach towels and we were always told it would be another hour before they would get them and an hour would pass and they would tell us the same thing. The lock in the safe had been left in and they had to get someone to use a drill to remove it. This guy constantly demanded $50 until I showed him my lock and key and telling him that the previous occupant of the room had done that. The reservation "system" for the restaurants is stupid as you have to line up at 10am. Not very relaxing or the way I want to spend my vacation.

It is shame as the beach is very nice. The sad thing is that my family came over to visit us and they all said that the Riu Negril was better than the Tropical Bay. To me that was saying which poison you liked better.