You get what you pay for and nothing more. 5 days at this hotel was more than we could handle and we have no intentions of returning to this hotel ever again. The only positive out of this trip was the friendliness of the Jamiacan people.

- Overbooking is a problem with this hotel! Even though we arrived at check-in time, we were told the hotel was filled to capacity and to check back in a couple of hours to see if they had a room available.

- Obviously all of the cottages are in different condition, but the one we stayed in was in poor condition like many of the others. The room was dark and dreary with an airconditioning unit that barely cooled the room. By the 3rd day, bugs had taken over our room.

- Who cuts the grass at 6 a.m. while guest are still aleep??? Royal Decameron does! The walls are so thin that it sounds like the lawn mower is in the room with you.

- Who makes the beds and clean the rooms at 6 o'clock in the evening??? Royal Decameron does! Having to wait that late for clean towels was unacceptable to me.

- You have to get up at the crack of dawn to sign up for water activities, otherwise they'll all be booked by 8:30 a.m.

- ENTERTAINMENT staff is lame and majority of their week was spent catering to people from England. They harass you all day to play their dumb games and then don't give you the prizes you are entitled too. It's also time for some new costumes for the entertainment staff. They all looked tacky and worn. The shows also lacked creativity... Grown men dressed as women are not cute or funny!

The FOOD is okay initially, but after the third day, it becomes repetitive and needs more variety.

There are planty of activities at the hotel to keep you busy, but I'd highly recommend going to the Dunns River Falls and the ATV ride.

Hope this helps!

First of all let me start by saying how SOOO many people talk about what an incredibly great guy George is- but NOBODY ever posts a picture of him. He is the
bartender at the (highly overrated) Swing Bar. If not for George, I would not have even come back to the Swing Bar. I was led to believe that there were lots of swings and you could swing and kick your feet over the water and maybe even jump in. Not the case. The swings are at the bar (in place of chairs) and if you actually tried to really swing on them, your would bust your kneees on the bar. Well,for those who are going to RDCC for the 1st time and want to know what George looks like, I have posted (not one, but) TWO pictures of George. All 5 foot 2 of him!! He is the 1st two pictures you will see attached to my post. And yes, Christy from Colorado, I told him that you said hi. He responded with the biggest smile in Jamaica when I mentioned you!!

Anyway, I went to the Royal Decameron Club Caribbean from May 15th until the 20th. I don't see the major problem people have with this place. I mean don't get me wrong, the rooms are basic and ants may find their way into the cottages (if you leave food around for
hours in your room what do you expect?). But the cottages were very nice. I called RDCC and e-mailed them a few days ahead of time and requested an ocean view cottage. I missed my flight, got their 7 hours later (late that night) and guess what? I STILL had my ocean view cottage. I stayed in cottage #76. It was far enough from the music but yet in a GREAT location. It is basically a very large studio or as some say an "efficiency" (depending on where you come from). Plenty of room. Bathroom with a shower (no
bath). It was decent. I went in expecting the worst and it turned out fine.

If you want a prime location cottage, call AND e-mail RDCC by going to their site. I didn't go in any other cottages but the prime ones (based on location) seemed to be #14, #15, #16, #17, #18, #19, #20, #21, #22 on one side and then #62, #63, #76, #77, #94, #95, #116, #117.

Trust me. If you go to a world-renowned website like Tripadvisor[""]and complain enough via travel reviews, hotels and resorts will get their acts together and make necessary changes. In this case, the main complaint seems to be that when the cottages
get overbooked, most people don't have a good experience with the courtyard rooms. RDCC knows this and on our 3rd day they posted a free upgrade to Holiday Inn Sunspree. What I mean by "posted" is that there is a bulletin board near main pool. Not only will it have the week’s activities broken down day by day, but it will also have the menu for the dinner restaurants that evening. If you have the feeling you are not going to like this place after a day or two, go to the bulletin board and look to see if a free upgrade is offered. This will probably be the procedure that RDCC follows from now on or at least until the courtyard rooms and some cottages are updated.

TERMS:

When you see Jetty Bar that means Swing Bar

Nyamings Restaurant= Jamaican Restaurant

Pick-A-Pepper Restaurant= Buffet Restaurant

Jasmine Delta= Pan Asian Restaurant

"Irie mon"= Its All Good or All is okay or Total Peace

"I'll be back in 5 minutes"= "You'll see me in about 30"

Dunn's Falls:

If you want to go to Dunn's River falls, here is my recommendation. If you walk out of the resort you will see a gift shop. If you go further you will see a store which is owned by a woman named Pauline Davis. She has a brother that drives a "taxi". His name is Cool Bob. His taxi can probably seat 6 or so. For 40American dollars he will take you to Duns Falls, Ocho Rios to shop and ANYWHERE else you want to go. Trust me- your 40 dollars means that he is on YOUR time. You can put in 8 hours if you want. He will take you anywhere and wait for you. E-mail me. I have Pauline and Bob's number.

Our trip took about 4 hours and we gave him 60 dollars because he was excellent. We went past the courthouse, Christopher Columbus field and statue, Marcus Garvey area, Ocho Rios, Cool Runings, Dunn's River, flea market, etc. If you tried to go to all of these places on a group tour, it would be spread out over 3 days and it would run you hundreds of dollars (per person). We paid $60 as a group (two of us at $30 a piece).

PRICES

Dunn's River itself is $15 a person but to go on a group tour to get there is $35 per person (plus the $15 to get in), $42 per person if you add the Fern Gully rain forest and Art Pottery markets (plus $15 to get into the falls), or the $96 per person which includes the Martha Brae rafting, Columbus Park (plus $15 to get into the falls).

Cool Runings- $60 Red Stripe Cruise- $80

Dolphin Cove-
$109 for the Touch Encounter
$169 for the Swim Encounter (1 dolphin)
$209 for the Swim Encounter (all dolphins)

Horseback Riding- $40 Rafting-$60

Sun Valley and Firefly-$60 (see how bananas are harvested and sample exotic fruits)

Bob Marley Nine Mile- $62 Black River Safari- $90

Jeep Safari- $62 ATV Tour-$70 and too much more to tell.

But my point is Cool Bob will take you to ALL these places for a flat amount (not per person) and then you can pay to enter and wind up saving alot.

FOOD

Food was good. Not great not bad. And the person who left a review and said a dollar goes a LONG way here was telling the truth. I gave the guy making the omelets a dollar on Sunday and on Monday I was at the back of the line. he waved me over and asked me what I wanted him to cook me. I got my plate before the others and people were looking at me like I was a celebrity. Each day I gave him a dollar and each day that ONE dollar put me to the front of the line.

I brought my own cup. I like to eat in my cottage and the cups for juice as well as liquor were too small. For you drinkers, they had Jack Daniels and Jim Beam so don't worry. For any Newport smokers- if you don't smoke the regular Newport box- forget about it. Bring
a carton of your own. They don't know what Newport Lights or Light 100's are. It’s regular Newport’s wherever you go. I don't smoke but my friend did and she was frustrated the whole time there. She was okay though as they had a stronger kind of cigarette there for her (if ya know what I mean, mon).

Any other questions you can e-mail me at chipcam@yahoo.com This place was not bad at all. Not the best, but not bad. Plenty of activities, music and fun.

Three final notes:

#1 Work on your "how to say NO" skills as often as you can before going to RDCC. You WILL be approached to buy or donate money to at least 50 times.

#2 It's hard to get change in American dollars there at the front desk so look forward to walking to the gift shop anytime you need 1's.

#3 The roads are terrible!! But they are 20x's better than they were a few years ago. They drive like crazy there so stay alert. Seatbelts won't help you in this place- alertness will!! Cool Bob was actually one of the better drivers. But the guy that brought us in
from the airport- WOW!! He must have been doing about 100 at some point. But he knew the roads. I just feared for my life with the way these people drive. You'll see. And yes- it’s a LONG trip from airport to RDCC to relax. View the way of life and be thankful
that you don't have it as bad. I mean if you found some aluminum foil and some blocks of wood scattered on the streets of your hometown and just gathered them up with some glue- it would look like some of the houses that are in Jamaica. Add in 90 degree mornings
and no air conditioning and you'll see how good you have it. Hope you have fun and any questions please e-mail. Thanks Christy!!

We vacationed at the RDCC May 18-24th. Found the resort quite charming for a 3 star as we have always stayed in 5 star. Upon arrival we were informed that they were overbooked and we would have to stay in one of the royal rooms the first night and we would get our garden cottage the next day. No problem. We had kind of expected that after reading reviews. The next morning we spoke with our Apple Rep and told her of the room change. She immediately talked with the front desk and we were told to pack our things and we would be moved to our cottages. It was great as another couple went with us and we were given adjoining cottages.
The food was great the entire time we were there. Loved all the veggies and fruit. We found the Jamaican people very friendly and trustworthy. The only reason that we would not go back to this resort is that it was almost impossible to meet and have conversations with people. Most of the people were from the U.K. and would not even talk to us. We are very outgoing people and always end up finding people to meet up with, etc. but never did at this resort?????? Very disappointing.
For the price this is a great little resort. I would definitely book your trip with a travel agent so if there are any problems with room changes you might not have the difficulty getting the room you booked.

we've just arrived home from 2 weeks in this hotel. we had the best holiday ever. the entertainment team of marie, kirk, sedeka, oneill and dell are wonderful and make everyone feel welcome. the food is great, even for our 10 year old vegetarian son. the cottages are basic and do lack drawer space, but the couch comes in handy!
pablito keeps the pool area really clean (and is an excellent man) and while it does shut at 5pm, it stops people messing in the water when people are ready to eat dinner.
there is live music at lunch, early evening and then after dinner every day and reggae becomes addictive!
the only member of staff we, and most people, had problems with was rocky. he's a tough bloke to get into conversation with.......unless your female, single etc etc
overall, a great time