riuochoriosresort.com Avis 6

Very disappointed with how RIU Hotels & Resorts handled our recent stay at RIU Ocho Rios.

We booked a family room specifically because we were travelling with two toddlers and required two suitable queen-sized beds for safe co-sleeping arrangements. This requirement was clearly communicated in advance through the booking and hotel app.

On arrival, we were told we had been “upgraded” to a junior suite. However, an upgrade is not an upgrade if it no longer meets the needs you originally booked for.

The room provided had two small double beds instead of the suitable queen beds we had specifically requested. As parents of toddlers who move around during the night, this became a genuine practicality and safety concern. We ended up pushing the beds together and placing pillows on the floor to reduce the risk of the children falling.

What made matters worse was how the issue was handled. We spent hours back and forth with reception trying to resolve the situation, ultimately missing dinner entirely on our first night despite paying for an all-inclusive package. By the time discussions ended, our children were overtired, unsettled, and our first evening of the holiday had effectively been lost.

The hotel later tried to argue that because the junior suite had additional features such as a terrace or sofa bed, it constituted an upgrade. But those were not features we requested or valued. We specifically booked based on the sleeping arrangements and suitability for young children.

Most disappointing of all has been the complaints process. Despite multiple detailed emails, RIU repeatedly ignored the wider impact of the situation and focused narrowly on defending the room allocation rather than acknowledging the actual service failure.

For a hotel group that markets itself as a premium family-friendly brand, I expected far better customer care and accountability.

I am writing to raise an urgent and formal complaint regarding my current stay at your RIU All Inclusive Ocho Rios Jamaica, which has been the worst holiday experience of my life. I am still on the resort as I write this, and the situation is so unacceptable that I could not wait until returning to the UK to escalate it.

What has unfolded here is nothing short of a holiday from hell, involving multiple breaches of basic standards for health, safety, security, service, and integrity.
Despite this being advertised and priced as a 5-star resort, we have encountered continuous, serious failures in health, safety, hygiene, service, and security all of which are putting my family, including my 2-year-old child, at risk.

1.
Health Hazards & Sanitation Failures:

The room has bed bugs as we have all been bitten.
The room is infested with red ants, and housekeeping refused to clean after multiple calls.
Bed sheets have not been changed; they are only remade, despite being visibly dirty.
There are broken sockets and a damaged balcony, both dangerous with a toddler.
2.
Medical Negligence:
My 2-year-old baby has had food poisoning since we arrived which led us to taking him to a hospital and paying £1500 for him to be looked at.
The resort nurse refused to come to our room, despite being called urgently which is disgusting and shows no empathy to wanting to look after customers who are in need of help.
3.
Unhygienic and Disturbing Behaviour:
Someone spat on my partner’s bed whilst wr was out an absolutely disgraceful and unacceptable incident.
No action was taken even after raising it with staff.
4.
Security Breach and Theft:
Several of our belongings have gone missing from the room:
Apple Watch
Selfie stick
Baby’s trainers
These items have not been recovered, and we have received no proper explanation or support.
No investigation, explanation, or restitution
5.
Harassment and Staff Misconduct:
My wife has been harassed by staff members, which is completely unacceptable and must be investigated.
It took me five days to speak with the resort manager, who then simply said the rooms were full and that he had “logged” the issues and directed me to RIU Aftercare. When asking for the report Carlington Pryce the manager of this hotel refused as he said it was confidential which leads me to believe he didnt really want to document everything.
I showed photo and video evidence to Carlington Pryce, who was visibly shocked but no action has been taken to correct the situation.
6.
Misrepresentation of Food and Religious Needs:
We booked this resort after confirming with RIU customer service that halal food would be available.
Upon arrival, we were told no food at the resort is halal.
We now have no suitable protein options and very little for our children to eat, which is a basic requirement especially after the food poisoning incident.
This holiday has been a disaster. It has caused emotional distress, health issues, and complete dissatisfaction. We have been treated with disregard, and your local team has shown no sense of urgency or care.

7.

Unsafe and Filthy Swimming Pool Conditions:

The swimming pool was filthy, with visible dirt and rocks that injured our feet.
A wet sign cone had been thrown into the water. My son jumped in and hurt his leg because of it.
I reported it to the lifeguard, who took no action. I had to remove the cone myself.
This shows a complete lack of regard for guest safety, especially with children using the pool.
Staff throughout the resort have been rude, unhelpful, and dismissive

Great holiday tarnished by dishonest staff. There are staff working in the dinning area who seem to think they can have attitude and curse you in Patwah thinking they cannot be understood. It has a lapse in security as twice my Patio was left unlatched after room service. My Dental Water Flosser has disappeared and I did not realised until I had left from Checkout. Either I somehow did not see it on the sink or it was taken from before and I did not realise. Either way no replies to my email or phone calls promising to check with house keeping. I go back next week to UK and believe this was left in the room then stolen as they would have thought that I would be on a flight and thus fair game. It's such a silly theft as it's like using someone else's toothbrush and has a unique charger cable which I have.

We had the best holiday here at Rui Ocho Rios, the staff are amazing , the food is amazing, we did think that the restaurants food was better which you get to go to 4 a week but the buffet food was still good, entertainment was amazing from 10am till 10.30pm everyone put the effort in, the pools are lovely and clean, rooms are clean the cleaners did an amazing job, the beach is out of this world. I’ve been on many holidays and this is the best hotel and place I’ve ever visited. We was so sad to leave. Thanks again Rui Ocho Rios fantastic memories for my family (age 9 and 5) plus 4 adults

They room had bed bugs so they took our clothes to wash them after we complained. They then LOST (or stole) our clothes, only told us on the last day, and refused any compensation or even an apology. I furthered my complaint on my return and i was passed pillow to post and they just ignored me. But i will be returning to jamaica shortly and coming to speak to the manager with all my emails in hand.

Overall we had a good stay, but the pool and beach area constantly has unfinished plates of food and drinks lying around which hardly anyone picks up. Most toilet doors are broken, bedroom floors are dirty, reception staff, some are not that helpful, so you have to constantly chase. Most waitresses leave our empty plates on the table for ages half the time if you don't tip them. They need more cleaning staff and need to stop this tipping culture, but instead pay the staff more