RIU Hotels Reviews

The customer service dept at riu.com gave me zero explanation of why this happened, they only told me that they are holding those funds, but "it should be released from my account in 4-5 days". WHAT?!?! Stupidly, I made another attempt at scheduling a reservation! My second attempt, I went through the whole process again and submitted my information and hit the, it was attempting to process and then this popped up: "We hate when this happens. The price of your trip has changed from $1,983.24 to $2,099.24. Rates can change frequently. Book now to lock in this price." They changed the price of the trip AFTER I hit submit. AGAIN...no reservation confirmation received, OR any record that I booked, BUT they certainly charged my card again!!! I DO NOT recommend this company, almost feels like it's a scam. I should have looked into reviews of this company prior to reserving with them!

She reminded us to call and set up our transportation to/from the airport. If you book directly through RIU, they will shuttle you to and from. We asked if we could do it right then and she reported we HAD to do it the day before our departure. I set an alarm on my phone and called the day before. I was sent to 3 different numbers, everyone saying they could not set up the ride – for many different reasons. RIU (the number we had initially called and had told us to call back) said they didn’t do the transportation and referred us to a transportation company who said they didn’t do it and referred us to another RIU extension.

I decided the day before we left I was not going to stress out about this and would just eat it and pay for a taxi. We did that and the day after we arrived at the hotel I spoke with the front desk and explained what had happened and told them I wanted to secure my transportation for our last day there now so we did not need to worry about. They apologized and were more than happy to help with that. They referred me to the transportation people. We watched them write our room number in the scheduler and went on the rest of our vacation.

Then comes our day to leave. We arrive downstairs and they say they cannot find our info in the book (after we watched them write it down). Then their story changes and they say that we arrived downstairs at 9:21 (instead of 9:20) and that the shuttle (which was supposed to leave at 9:30) had already left. This was at 9:25. We went to the front desk who told us that “that transportation” is not RIU’s and they are separate. I inquired why they would send me to them after I had explained in depth the day I arrived our situation.

They had no answers. I asked to speak with a manager. Giovana was working the front desk and was the 2nd most unprofessional customer service agent I have ever encountered. Brenda, her manager, being the MOST unprofessional. She refused to come and talk with us, saying we could talk with transportation about it. We had already tried that! She was literally standing 10 feet away and refused to come over and talk with us. Nothing was done. I have stayed at many resorts and hotels and have never ever experienced something quite like this. We ended up paying (again) the $80 to get to the airport.

Aside from the transportation issues, the housekeeping there was VERY sketchy. I have never stayed at a hotel where they deliver towels to your room at 11 pm. Keep in mind, we already had our room serviced earlier that afternoon. After reading about how many people have recently had money/valuables stolen from their room, it kind of makes sense.

Another issue we had was that on several nights multiple restaurants were closed. This forced us to eat at the buffet more than we wanted. Dinner is 6pm-9pm and we would arrive downstairs for dinner at 6:30 pm to be told by every single restaurant open, that they were full for the remainder of the night. You pay a pretty penny to stay at a RIU, especially the Palace and you expect a few things in return, like decent food and some customer service. Like I said earlier, we will never return to a RIU.

Also my father and myself were both charged as if there were 2 people in our room. When I booked it I told them it was 1 person per room. Online there is a difference in price for 1 or 2 people per room and we were charged for 2 people per room. I contacted them when I got back to the United States via email since this was in Mexico. The After travel RIU customer service women named Melinda **. Said there was nothing she could do.

Two nights had no entertainment, but a pool party that seemed like spring break. I cut the bottom of my foot on a grate between sections of tiles. Was told to walk 5 minutes to doctor. Staff not helpful at all. New Year's Eve had nothing special for entertainment. 2 plug-ins in room didn't hold plug so they didn't work. And a lamp sparked when you plugged it in. I have stayed at RIU's before and this one was nowhere as good. Most staff not that pleasant. I think I'll try different company next time.

I asked if the police had been called. I was asked "If I wanted them called"? I said, "Yes, I would like them called right now". I was told they would call them when their investigation was done. An hour later when I asked if the police were called I was told "I tried to reach them, I haven't gotten them yet". I went to the front desk. I asked for the phone number of the police dept. I CALLED THE POLICE!!! As I was on the phone, the hotel called them as I was told by the person at the police dept. As I was standing in the lobby I noticed a young woman on the hotel phone crying. She was robbed while she slept too. Her room was a couple of doors away from my friends. When the detectives came some 45 mins later to investigate they really didn't seem to care either. They were just going thru the motions. They gave off the impression they were bothered to be there.

There were hands prints on the balcony wall outside of 3 rooms, very visible from their room. There were fingerprints on the glass slider. Neither the police or security took pictures or did anything about the handprints/fingerprints. We were told they didn't have the technology to do anything with them. My friends were treated like they were the guilty as was the other poor girl who was traveling alone. She lived in Jamaica. They treated her worse. We asked for the hotel manager over and over. We never saw him or talked to him in the 7 days we were there. We got the Public Relations rep Carlington **. The crappiness continued. He was smug and matter of fact. He moved their rooms when we asked him too. None of the women felt safe any more. Would you? What a violation. Can you image a man entering your room as you slept? How does one recover from that? What if my friends had woke up?

What if there was a struggle? What if he had a weapon? What if there were hurt or killed? No one cared. Not one "I'm sorry." The young girl was alone. What if she had been **? Or killed? She was alone, no one would have heard anything. There are no cameras anywhere near guests rooms, not in the halls, not on the steps. There aren't any lights on any of the balconies. Later that day we learned there were 2 American Tourist staying at the Riu in Montego Bay were ** at gun point in their rooms the day before we got there. He also came thru the balcony door. (It was all over the news). Back to Carlington **. He asked the girls if they could give him until the next day at 6pm to gather all the info and make some phone calls. We were to meet Sunday night. He called in the morning asked if "their rooms were ok and how they were".

When we came to the meeting nothing had changed and the bottom line was he wasn't in the position to do anything. He offered them Spa Treatments and passes to Dunn's river!!! Talk about a slap in the face. I can't or won't do a damn thing for you but how about a Spa Treatment? No cash. Not even a $100.00 knowing they had every bit of cash taken from the safe in their room. He said when we got home (which was in 5 days) someone would call them. (We have been home 3 days, no one has called). I also emailed 5 times, I posted on their FB page, I messaged them. I got an automated response and NOTHING ELSE!! Riu does not have a customer service number, you can only email. As of today no one has responded. As you can image my friends were devastated. They looked forward to this vacation for months. They spent a lot of money to come to Jamaica. Their vacation was pretty much over in 12 hours.

They spent most of their time in their room. As you can image how does one recoup from this? They never felt safe. I didn't feel safe. I have never felt unsafe at a resort before this. The only person who said she was sorry or cared at all was Erica the Amstar rep. She works for Apple. She sells excursions. She was the only one who helped. She did follow up calls to the police station. She called Apple to find out what our travel insurance covered. It does not cover cash or phones. She doesn't even work for the hotel. She showed more compassion and understanding than anyone. The police report was to be rushed to have back to us the day before we left. They never got a police report. No one from the Riu corporation ever spoke to us during the 7 days. We never saw or spoke to the manager, No one checked back in with my friends from Sun-Fri. I have stayed at Riu resorts in the past. I will never stay there again.

I won't go to Jamaica again. The employees we talked to told us this wasn't uncommon. It happens quite often. The maids would clean the room and leave the balcony doors unlocked after cleaning them. Happened twice in my room. Once in the room of my friend. I will give a fair review of the place. The resort is beautiful. The food is good. I recommend the Japanese place. The rooms all smelled musty from the drapes and couches. The rooms were very clean. The hotel front desk staff was unfriendly. The entertainment was also very good. They worked from early morning to midnight. I saw a review about watered down drinks. I was told they were watered down a few times. The pools were dirty!! The main pool was closed 3 days in a row until late afternoon to be treated. The main pool is full of mold. The grout is black from mold. Straws floated in the pool. Dirt and sand lined the bottom. Cups were in the bottom of the pool.

Staff ignored all the empty cups sitting around the pool until around 5. Security or shall I say the lack of security should alarm you. This is 2018. The room keys are real keys with your room number on the tag. You get handed a lock with an actual key. The safe is not digital. Other building in deluxe area had key cards. You should never have this experience when staying in a resort. Security needs training and Carlington ** should not be the face of that hotel. He needs sensitivity training and he needs to be removed from his position. I have never seen anyone handle something so poorly. This man is a joke. He made you feel unimportant. As a guest you are entitled to be treated with respect as are your concerns...everyone matters as does their safety. I hope this review finds its way up the chain. I hope you take what I've written to heart and consider it before choosing to go to the Riu in Ocho Rios.

There is no doubt in my mind THIS WAS AN INSIDE JOB!! This man had no fear, he knew his way around the room, he knew where the safe was and how to open it quietly. He also opened the balcony door with ease. When we compared notes with the other girl that was robbed it came out that the girl that checked them in offered them surprise upgrades on her own. She told them both "I'm going to upgrade you to a nicer room, keep it between us". No one care about that either. I hope this review helps. My friends stayed on the 2nd floor. Notice the overhang. He climbed that and walked down the whole row of rooms, scaling the divider wall between each room. Unnoticed by security.

On a third day I requested water that never came and I had to go and retrieve it myself meaning nobody should have been in my room. On one other occasion I had noticed someone was in my room as someone had refilled my minibar though I didn't request it. I didn't think much of the occasions when my room was entered when it wasn't requested as we were drinking all the water in there while we were there and thought it was helpful to have it refilled and obviously the towels were used. On the day I went to check out, at 9 am I was repacking all my things and was counting my money to see what was left. I had $160 USD missing. One $100 USD bill and 3 $20 USD bills. The KIND soul who stole from me had enough restraint to leave me $50 in $5 dollar usd bills in my envelope.

I ripped apart my entire suitcase and wallet looking for the money. I have enough sense to know that I didn't put it elsewhere but I was willing to give it a shot. At 9:30 am I went to front desk to report my issue, I asked for a manager and was not directed to one. I was told to fill out a report, and that within 24 hours I would get an update from them on their investigation and I would get a note slipped under my door. I told them I was checking out that day and they said that their director would email me then with their resolution. I was given a sheet of paper with the "directors" email.

The following day, 24 hours went by and I still hadnt heard. I left it alone, gave them more time. Finally by the 3rd day, I emailed THEM asking for an update even though they should have reached out to me, no response. Emailed them again on the 5th day, no response. It is now October 8th, and I checked out on the 1st and I have still yet to receive an update on my case nor have I even received any sort of acknowledgment to my emails or my case.

DO not stay at the Santa Fe. -The housekeepers do not thoroughly clean, and the hotel has the worst communication skills on the planet. They wait till you check out to spring fees and charges on you that were never mentioned AND then have the nerve to be rude when you inquire why there is any charge at all for something that was their error. (It's an all inclusive resort, what if you didn't have money or spent it all as they never told you about them??)

-Something was leaving bites all over my legs the first 3 days I was there until I requested full service and had the sheets changed. (I do not know what was eating me but they were NOT mosquito bites.) -The hotel mirrors have these horrible giant black circles all over them. -The tub in our joined room needed work. -There were cockroaches in the hallway. -Tiny little red ants crawling on the tables at dinner at the buffet. -Server at the main bar in the lobby at night is extremely rude IF you don't tip. -Food was mediocre at best.

Then when we were finally checking out, the Sunwing staff was extremely rude and unhelpful. There were no signs marking where the pick up was and not a single soul bothered to ask us if we were with the departing party when we were clearly standing in the lobby with all our luggage. It wasn't until a giant line formed (that we were there long before) that we tried to get in line and they told us to get to the back.

Additionally they weigh your carry on luggage which is the most ridiculous thing as typically when your suitcase is over, you take things out and put it in your carry on. I didn't have this issue but the fact alone that they asked to weigh my carry on tells me they probably encounter this ridiculous issue all the time. If you don't mind your things being stolen and nobody taking any accountability for their shady room staff, the front desk being rude or the fact that the property is dirty - definitely stay at the Santa Fe as the staff who actually greeted and ran the activities were very nice.

Tuesday we go to the bar by the pool and sit at the bar. Say hello in English and Spanish and he looked at us and walked away. So we assumed he didn’t hear us so we went to the other side and sat down and he skipped us, and went to the straight ** couple that sat next to us and wife of the couple says, "Didn’t you come first" and flags the bartender down. He throws up his hands showing frustration and we walk away. I turn around he’s shaking his hand laughing. Wednesday we walk into the buffet and get no service but everyone around us got service. I raised my hand for service. I just wanted a drink and ketchup. He tells me (un minuto) means one minute. He never comes back to help and when he did all he said was (they are closing in few). We ask for drinks and ketchup and never received anything. We didn’t even get our plates cleaned off our table.

Thursday we got to (bamboo) waited to be seated for 15 mins. It was long for us but still waited patiently. We get seated by a waiter not the host and after eating for about ten mins the host comes (black uniform) and yells at us and demands us to move. We were puzzled so I ask him why? He snatches our plates and puts it on another table walks away saying (**) meaning (**). I’m from California. I know all the bad words. The worst day of all was when I went to the steakhouse. I literally cried. I wanted to go to my room and didn’t want to come back out. I arrived an hour before closing and wore the wrong shirt. My fault and was sent back to my room because I had to go in my room and change and iron a shirt to eat. I was served cold food, but earlier that day we sat down at the pool and was asked to move because they needed to clean so we did and they never cleaned and sat two ** people in our chair.

I walk up to the people and they apologize and give us our seat back. At dinner we sat down next to a ** couple and was asked to move and I asked why and the waiter tells me, "This seat has been assigned" so we got up and asked what table can we sit at with our plates in our hands and he just points and says, "THERE" AS HE POINTING ACROSS THE ROOM. So I say, "Well that doesn’t indicate where" and huffs and puffs and brings us to the table. So we sit down and he walks away so I see him bringing drinks to other tables so I raise my hand and he comes over and I say, "Can we get our drinks" and he points to the soda machine and says, "They are right there" and walks away. I broke down and left and went to my room. The treatment is so bad I literally been trying to find other places and towns to visit so I can at least enjoy my time here.

It’s now Saturday 8:12 pm and I’m sitting in my room because my husband asked me “Can you stay in the room. I don’t want any disrespect tonight. I’ll bring you food" as he walks out with his own bottle of soda because he knows he won’t be drinking with his meal. This is so unexcitable and all I want to do is cry thinking about how horrible we were treated. Something needs to be done because this is discrimination to the max. I’m not threatening anyone but I’m debating if I want to seek legal actions. My mental stage from this type of treatment has me not wanting to travel anywhere because I am GAY AND **.

Around 10:30 am my partner came to the room and discovered a hospitality employee in our room but didn’t think much of it at the time and returned to the pool. At approximately 12:30 pm we returned to the room together. Me being an organized person, I instantly realized that my things in my suitcase were out of place. At that time my partner informed me that Housekeeping was in our room, however, no beds were made, nor new towels given. My partner stated that housekeeping was in the room with the door closed with a broom but no cart outside of door.

I checked my pockets in my suitcase for my cash and wedding band, unfortunately, both were gone. Knowing that my belongings were in my suitcase before going to the pool, I checked with lost and found anyway, with no success. Upon check out I again asked lost and found if someone had turned in my belongings, but no one had. After unpacking and thoroughly going through everything we are missing a pair of women’s brown sandals (gladiator style), $160 US (currency still in bank wrap), and women’s silver and diamond wedding band. I was able to make contact by phone to the RIU Guanacaste on Monday, May 21 around 10 am and was told to call back and speak to Tayan. After explaining the situation to Tayan, I have not been able to reach anyone at the resort.

I am disappointed in the lack of housekeeping following proper protocol of being in our room that was clearly tagged with the do not disturb sign. I am also frustrated with after speaking with Tayan that my calls have gone unanswered, as I accumulate international charges for staying on hold. Since, I’ve stayed at RIU’s before I didn’t immediately think of theft, especially internal. However, the actions of the housekeeping staff that was assigned to our floor and the lack of any follow up is very suspicious. I wanted to bring awareness of this matter to The Powers That Be. And upon reading other guest reviews, similar situations have occurred in the recent past. Although, we had a good time, my family and I will no longer patronize the RIU brand.

The next morning, my daughter went to the onsite doctor. The doctor sent me right away in an ambulance to the hospital where I stayed for 2 days. My blood test showed that I had a parasite. I had to take antibiotics for 7 days. Ended up eating chicken, bananas and rice for the rest of the week, I did not trust the food there. I will not go back to the RIU Republica. I had gone to Punta Cana one month earlier and I was at Secrets Cap Cana. That was a very nice place, way better that Riu Republica! It is a big resort, very commercial, big business, like McDonald's. Very impersonal, I was not impressed.

Upon my arrival back at the hotel, what did I notice the first thing when I got back, but a hotel employee who works in the buffets not wash her hands when exiting the washroom and paraded back into her workspace with germs filled hands!!!! She didn't even use the hand sanitizer upon walking back into the doors. I still have nightmares from my experience of guests looking at me as I was placed on a stretcher and wheeled through the lobby. With no English speaking nurses, not knowing if I was going to live or die. Being left alone for hours with improper IV placements that caused severe bruising and swelling to both of my hands one from the blood under my skin from a punctured vein and one hand from IV fluid leaking under my skin.

This was my honeymoon that my husband paid for. A $5000 vacation gone. I only got to spend 3 out of my seven days without being sick. All because of improper hand washing from staff. I will never go back, and as I write this, I'm certain this has caused long term PTSD as I cannot get that day out of my mind now. I'm still dealing with the effects of the parasite. Medications that were prescribed were in Spanish with very little understanding of how long this will affect me.

Today as I’m writing this (Wednesday March 4) I’m just getting back to normal. I called again on Saturday morning to get the AC repaired. Nobody showed up again so we put up with the noise for another night and didn’t sleep again. Sunday I didn’t even bother calling. I just figure it's Sunday. No way is anybody coming. So we spent virtually 3 nights in a row with little or no sleep. Early Monday morning I went up to the front desk and asked to speak to a Manager. The woman said, "I’m a Supervisor, can I help you?" So I explained to her everything written above. There was virtually no offer to change the room, no apology, nothing at all.

At that point I made a decision we have to get out of this place. I told her we’ll be checking out today. She offered no compensation at all so I asked for it. She told me since I booked through Expedia I have to contact them, I told her the only reason I booked through Expedia is because the RIU Website directed me there. That meant nothing to her; she gave me a piece of paper with the RIU email address. I went back to the room and told my wife, "We are leaving. I’m not spending another night here listening to the AC in the room and I’m afraid to eat here," on Sunday we had already starting eating off site except for toast and coffee in the morning. While she was packing I called Expedia to see what they could do, they told me, "Stay on the line. I’ll call the Hotel." About ten minutes later he came back on the line and said to me, "They will do nothing. You have to write a letter to customer service."

I was flabbergasted this is the way this Hotel does business. So that’s what I’m doing. Writing to you to see how you are going to compensate me for suffering with the food poisoning and loss of my vacation for four days, not sleeping for three days, paying for food off site for Sunday for my wife and I, lunch and dinner on Saturday for my wife off site. I also checked out a day early, we checked out at 11:45 AM on Monday instead of Tuesday. I’m not looking to stay at any of your Hotels again.

I would like to say my wife and I have been traveling all over for 40 years and have never had an experience like this or been treated like this before. Another thing that we did not like and other couples mention it also is the loud head banging music. It is non-stop from around 10:00 AM until 11:00 PM. It consist of three screaming girls who screamed because they could not carry a note in a suitcase. It started out at the pool and then moved up outside in the restaurant areas. The three building are set up in a U so the music echoes through all the rooms on the inside. They did not play to the crowd which for the most part were adults. Very few kids. None of the restaurants serve any drinks. Just beer or wine.

As mention by others which I wish I had read before we made our arrangements is the four restaurants do not take reservations, and if you are not online by 6:00 PM and at the front of the line you get handed a beeper with no guarantee of a sitting because the restaurants only serve from 6-9 PM. Each restaurant is small and only seats at best 50-75 people depending on which one you go to. The two that we got into with another couple, the food was Uneatable the four of pushed it away. Aruba was nice but stay at the Hyatt or the Marriott or any of the other nice Hotels in the area, and eat at the restaurants on the street. There are many good ones.

My first experience with the Riu was amazing. We were in Ocho Rios Jamaica. Excellent resort. No complaints. I've had to resort to posting my rant on every RIU page I see hoping for a resolve for my issue. Sad but true. RIU you just lost many potential customers. I'm telling everyone I know and even those I don't know for that matter. Stay away. They'll take your money but will not work to resolve issues, give you a straight answer or give you a refund. Shame on you.

After several and I mean several calls to 844-766-5455 finally talked with supervisor (Randy) who said he would take my issue/situation up with corporate. Promised to call back. Called back. Left voice mail saying corporate will not budge but will reduce extra day charge to $300.00. The number he called from does not accept incoming calls.(602-603-8018). How can ONE be in customer service and not have an incoming call number? After talking to Summer, Sandy and a few other reps I finally talked with Jessica **.

She called RIU PALACE CABO sales office and got our stay extended for the day we lost. She forwarded me the email request as a copy. She also stated that she would request the email department at RIU VACATIONS to expediate this email to copy the sales so it would be complete upon my arrival on Tuesday. Needless to say your email department DID not send. Fortunately, I was able to forward my copy to RIU PALACE CABO sales and Yvonne took care of it.

In my dialogue with RIU Vacations they claim not to be a part of RIU Hotels. When I complained to RIU Hotels they claim not to be associated with RIU Vacations. However, your website directs us to RIU Vacations when making a reservation with plane fare. When you call RIU VACATIONS they answer "thank you for calling RIU hotels". We are only a ONCE a year international travelers. However, be assured we will now be very hesitant to be confident in reserving with RIU in the future due to this experience. Love the RIU on site experience. Not pleased with the total lack of concern by pre-trip RIU personnel and the threatening additional charge/penalty.

They do not allow reservations so IF you get seated before they close you will get a very low quality meal. We waited one hour to be seated after we complained, another hour to be served and then the food quality was below what you would find at a budget buffet all-you-can-eat place. They do not have any ATM or banking inside the resort, instead they send you out into the streets to wait in line while be harassed to purchase drugs by the local dealers to get cash. Construction goes on all day and planes fly overhead every few minutes. We tried to reach a higher manager but that is made impossible, Expedia tried as well- to no avail. With so many great places to stay in Jamaica don't waste your time and hard earned money at the RIU chain. We wish we would have seen this site before we booked. We are still fighting to get our refund of 4,000.00 from these crooks.

List of what I observed. Keying in my credit card information, charges for extra room I didn't get, uninviting to Americans, no number to contact if you have problem with hotel besides an email. Food American buffet style and American Chinese/Japanese style but not seasoned, airplanes fly over daily/nightly, tractors going thru beach, beach water looks murky, dinner on beach $150 came hour and 1/2 late with lobster so tough and dry, unseasoned steak. Buyer beware. LOOKS NICE BUT A RIP OFF.

I have since found several other similar complaints about the RIU Hotel New York. I typed a complaint letter in the hotel business office and hand delivered it to the hotel manager. Upon receipt of the letter, the manager tore it up stating that she never received the letter (all of which I videoed on my phone). The manager told us that the maintenance man was wrong for entering our room and that he should have not gone into our room. We immediately left the RIU and moved to another hotel. Of course, the RIU manager insisted that we pay for the 2 days we were at the RIU.

This incident ruined our short vacation to New York City. I contacted RIU's corporate headquarters in Spain, and they replied that they wanted us to be their guest at another RIU Hotel. When I inquired what they were proposing, they promptly responded that they were not offering or paying anything. They just wanted us to stay at another RIU property, and pay them more money. We will NEVER stay at a resort that treats guests the way RIU does. We have stayed at several of the RIU resorts in Mexico in the past, and the quality of their hospitality and amenities have deteriorated, as well, over the years.

PLEASE MAKE SURE TO ASK ABOUT THE CREDIT, because when you arrive it’s a whole different story. The resort allows you to only use a portion of the CREDIT, and it can only be used 1 person per day. So if you’re in a group, cannot use for everyone on same day. PLUS they only offer/have one excursion on resort, and one massage place. So, that's a total of TWO amenities towards your resort credit, that only one person can use per day. REMEMBER, YOU STILL HAVE TO PAY. They just apply the discount towards your resort credit. Please do your homework before booking this place!

I finally did have a young lady who cared enough to talk to a general manager for me and they ended up calling me and my husband into a small room to look at some video footage. Mind you the angles on the cameras that they actually do have on the resort are horrible and do not zoom in. The General managers are Spanish speaking and I speak English as does my husband. The nice woman from the front desk could only be with us for the beginning part so a bit of a language barrier. The one GM thought that he saw something so he proceeded with calling the working he thought had taken my phone into the SAME room that we were standing in to question him! While we were in there! The guy immediately became very aggressive with his responses and denying the whole thing (I was maybe 5 feet away from this guy because that's the farthest I could get away from him in the room we were in).

After 20 minutes of this awful encounter the GM finally let the employee walk out. He said he doesn't admit it happened but between you and I "I don't trust that guy at all..." so even the GM thought the guy did it! I have disputed this with the RIU and asked for them to in the least bit pay off the phone that someone from their resort stole however all they keep saying to me is it's your responsibility blah blah blah. Well obviously I know that it's my phone however it was not intentional and it shouldn't have been an issue if you had honest people working for you. I posted a comment on TripAdvisor and have now received a threat to "stay in my country and am I an idiot..."

Just because this happened to me and I am making my story heard doesn't mean I am an idiot. I am just trying to warn others about my RIU experience. I am just very disappointed after having stayed at this resort for 4 consecutive years that I absolutely just disappointment with RIU. Not to mention this happened on day 3 of our trip, we had 4 more days there at this resort left and had to deal with the man who was accused of stealing my phone for the rest of the time. Talk about uncomfortable, awkward and not at all a good time.

I’m not sure whether to start with the disgusting attitudes with the staff, the fact that they make up rules as they go. No policies being displayed or the fact that after spending hundreds and over a $1000 American dollars to live there for 6 days, I was unable to have a guest in my room to even use the bathroom. Don’t get me wrong, out of the 6-9 front desk check in customer service people 2 of them were helpful, understanding and extremely nice (Alfredo and unfortunately I cannot remember the other young lady's name). They give you wristband and don’t tell you what it’s for then try to charge you $100 for another plastic/paper wristband that I’m sure only cost $.05 to make. They are crooks.

To top it off, as I’m trying to speak with one the managers, she had the nerve to tell me “Well you’re in my country.” Excuse my language but what the hell is me being in your country have to do with your disgusting customer service and how you're allowing your employees to speak to me. Maybe if I was the person who had an issue with them I would be more calm but as I’m there 2 other couples are going back and forth with these people because they are downright unprofessional. When I walked in? Security follows you so uncomfortable close that you can feel them breathing on your neck as if you're stealing or something. ITS CRAZY.

I refused to stay there and found myself leaving that hotel and booking somewhere else but then there is the issue of the manager of the RIU not being able to provide my refund for a room I DID NOT even stay in because of their no refund policy. Travelocity, I can honestly say has been very helpful with this whole situation but as I said before I will never recommend or stay with these people ever again and I don’t care where they are located. Why should I stay in a “5-star” hotel that talks down on you, makes you feel extremely uncomfortable and will try and get me for my money.

OH WAIT! I DID NOT EVEN GET TO THE GOOD PART. The manager decided to leave because she decided she no longer wanted to handle the situation so shortly after the overnight employee decided that he wanted to call the cops because he just wanted me to stop complaining and didn’t want the back in forth in front at the customer service desk. So because they did wrong and I'm telling them to refund my money and asking them for the policy that shows the nonsense they are coming up with you call the police? In which, the officer did nothing because I was doing nothing wrong but pulling their cards. I want the CEO, CFO AND ANYONE else who owns this hotel to see this and understand the kind of people that gets hired in their establishment. I am extremely unhappy. Thank you.

When I complained to the head of the restaurants he was very indifferent, with NO apology. I explained to him that my husband was diabetic and had special needs. He could have cared less. There were many people there that were served and left, but it seemed that they had problems dealing with large parties. Both days we had a party of fifteen. They asked us how we wanted our steak, yet they sent ALL of our steak medium and this was after a two hour wait! I'll repeat we were the first in line both days but were served last and our food was NOT cooked to our specifications! ALL of this AND THEY didn't care that my husband was a diabetic.

These are my major complaints. Although I could go on regarding the lack of staff to engage during activities, and the staff member who tried to PUSH me to the ground during a dance competition so that I could twerk and get down... Her words... Which I was NOT going to do... AND I told her that because I'm NOT that kind of person! She approached me later in the evening and asked me why as if I had to explain myself to her and I politely told her that I take pride in myself AND my husband was there and it would be disrespectful to him to act this way. She was shocked and told me that she hopes to find a husband like that. What a shame that there are people at this resort who should be able to interact appropriately with guests, who THINK that ALL women conduct themselves **!

Needless to say I came back. The mattresses in the room that they gave us had mildew on them & refrigerator was leaking. There was a puddle on the floor. We insisted that they give us another room and we had to fight for that. They finally agreed. Nobody helped us move our luggage from one end of the hotel to the other and then we got a phone call because we left the key in the original room for the maids and they wanted to know why we didn't return that key to the front desk. They actually yelled at us.

There were flies all over the food to the point where you couldn't even eat. If you left your drink at the table to try to find something sealed that you could eat, you came back to flies in your drink! It was that bad! The pool had stuff floating in it. I still don't know what that was! I filed a complaint with the Federal Trade Commission against Funjet Vacations and P&H Travel as they did not disclose any information about the flies or mildew. Has anyone else complained about the flies on all of the food? Disgusting! I complained to Funjet Vacations and they said "you did get some value of the trip as you were able to use the beaches & the pool and the gym." My response to that was "it's hard to enjoy or get value out of anything when you're always hungry!" This was an all inclusive vacation package! Never ever again!

Excursions were a complete waste of time. We (our party of 24) went out with dune buggies and were told that lunch would be taken care of. They failed to mention we would have to pay 20 bucks minimum for it, which we did not do. We ended up missing lunch altogether that day. Two families in our party had to move, one due to a flooded bathroom and the other due to a lack of working A/C. Another member of our group had five (5) random men enter her room (with valuables inside) to do something with the ceiling. The hotel staff did not inform her that there would be workers (who were NOT in any uniform or gear that would indicate that they were legitimate) entering her room to do work. Nothing was taken, but it was enough for me to seriously question the security at the resort. We also have a crack in our wall.

The wifi doesn't like to work very much either. I have to restart my phone every time I need to access the Internet to get updates from home in regards to my dogs or to hear from friends. Rumor has it that this place is going to be demolished soon and rebuilt. Boy, does it need it. I really hope RIU gets its act together. This was my last vacation with my family before I leave for college and it ended up with me looking forward to flying home.

After a lovely tub together, we discovered we were locked onto the balcony, with the patio door to our room now dead-bolted from the inside! We were fortunate to yell to a maid a few floors below us, who rescued us and let us back in our room. We dressed and then discovered someone had entered the room, searched our bags until the safe and key were found and stole ALL of our cash $1500 USD. We called security and the hotel manager, who offered us $200 cash to tip the staff and for airport transfer and said there would be follow-up. We checked the next day, and there was no follow-up then or since. Southwest Vacations, with whom we booked the vacation, have not followed up, either! The local police were not summoned. It was obviously an inside job, but the one sentence apology from the RIU manager was simply not enough compensation for us.

Rude staff. Towel attendant was short and rude about towel turn in times and card pick up times. One bartender scolded an older woman for not asking when she ordered if he would add chocolate to her drink. I thought they were supposed to say, "No problem man..." I would've asked for the manager. Seemed he didn't like his job and had a resentment for the people who were there making him do work. Restaurants were nothing special and closed many days of the week. The Asian restaurant was nothing to write home about. Buffet for morning and evening with endless cheap liquor. I traveled 12/5/16-12/9/16 with 100 guests in our group. I will not return to RIU Ocho Rios. With having asthma, the mold was the worst part of this trip. Not being able to wash, flush or shower was the icing on the cake!

Two very bad things, we were there with another couple that had her iPhone stolen out of her room and management pretty much shrugged their shoulders and said it was not their problem, even saying the only person in the room was the cleaning person. Supposedly asked the person if they took it and they said no, end of story, sorry about your luck. My wife and I came home with a very serious staph infection on our faces, which obviously we contacted it there and even after our travel agent contacted them about our infection and our friends cell phone we were basically told "SORRY ABOUT YOUR LUCK. IT IS NOT OUR PROBLEM." So needless to say I would not ever go back to a RIU Resort or Jamaica.

Early in our stay we met the general manager Justin, who referred to us as his friends. We reported the flaws to the front desk, asking for Justin but they stated he was out for a few days, and they would send someone up to our room right away. After waiting an hour and a half, no one ever came up to our room to resolve the issues. We reported this to the front desk, and they said someone would be up to fix the problems, and we should go enjoy our day at the beach.

When the general manager Justin came back to work (after having a few days off) he had walked up to our room with us, and had maintenance and a cleaning crew come to our room. If painting the vent, and temporary fixing the plumbing is the best they can do, that is just a sin. We informed Justin that Duke, the guy at the desk said we would have the other manager of the hotel Danny issue us a spa credit because they had a full house of booked rooms. We talked to other couples that had the same issues who were upgraded to different rooms. Justin also acted like he was doing us a favor by giving us a free bottle of champagne. The resort was all inclusive so no favors were done.

The night before we checked out, we were in our room at 8 pm on. We heard someone at the door around 11 pm. They slipped under a check out sheet and with that was to see Duke at the front desk immediately. I called and he was not there. The next morning at check out, they said Duke wanted to give us a spa day that day, KNOWING we were leaving. It overall was bad business. I work in the customer service field and hospitality and I would never let my customers leave without issues being resolved. We spent thousands of dollars to be treated like we didn't matter and left there very unhappy. It is very unfortunate that we left with a bad taste in our mouths.

While I was there I told the manager of the hotel that I need a clean room because I have problems with my lungs and the doctor specifically has told me to make sure that I am not around any mold. When I came back I went to the doctor and he told me to start on the inhaler again and a nasal spray. I have had a sensitivity for a couple of years now and when the room smelled of mold I told them that I need a clean room. Two days before we left I received a call from the manager to move me to a suite with an oceanfront. I told him that all I needed was a clean room, not a large room and I did not care about the view. This vacation cost us with the air fare $500.00 a day. It was the worst possible vacation. And to think we waited a whole year to go on vacation.

She was so annoyed with my request, she assigned me a room which was occupied. I found that out when I had to return to the unfriendly front desk to get my Wi-Fi password, and when she printed it out, she handed it to me, I looked at it and it had a man's name on it. I gave it back to her and she asked me who he was. I told her I have no idea. She then changed my room gave me the Wi-Fi password but forgot my towel card. Trip number 3 to get my towel card. AnnaMarie walked by, I said to her "Can I ask you a question?". If looks could kill, I would be dead. So I never did get a chance to ask my question. I got my towel card, my room wasn't ready.

It's now after 4 pm, check-in is at 3 pm, I've been traveling all day. While waiting for my room on the beach I encounter two young ladies, Elainea and Kim, very nice and courteous. I ended up booking a massage, full body exfoliation and a facial with Elainea for the next day. Sana, I think her name, was did my massage and full body exfoliation. she was a sweet young lady polite friendly and courteous. I had my facial fine by Camille, she was rough around the edges. I felt as though she didn't prefer black American women, but she did a good facial.

In years past there was a great entertainment team who would socialize with the patrons on the beach, come over say hello, see how you're doing, how you're enjoy your vacation, get you involved in the daily beach activities. There was so many activities both on the beach and poolside. In times past I would rate it a 10, during my trip, I would rate it a 1. The food is more for the Europeans, when I travel to Jamaica I want Jamaican food music entertainment and hospitality and the Riu no longer has that for its patrons, the Riu in Ocho Rios Jamaica is more like me going to Germany, Russia the food was disgusting, tasteless geared more for the Europeans. I travel with a Social Club of about 150 members you can best believe we will NEVER patronize the Riu anywhere EVER. My background is customer service, I can teach your staff a thing or two about how to treat your patrons.

To begin, the first day we spent over $600 in excursions at your facilities while we were waiting for our room to be clean. We could not control our excitement. We were lying at the beach starting my vacation and birthday celebration, when all the sudden we got hit by an umbrella that flew from the pool deck. The umbrella hit my partner on her face and consequently, the pole hit me in my right arm leaving a painful and an ugly wound (see attached pictures for reference). Multiple individuals witnessed this incident and approached us to ask if we were ok, but not a single employee from your resort seemed concerned about our well-being. We approached the lobby asking for help and to speak to a manager and were turned down by the receptionist offering us just a band-aid. Per the receptionist, the manager on duty was Annabel **.

Ms. ** stated that these types of incidents had not occurred there before, but her lack of care to avoid any type of liability was incredible. I then asked to speak to her supervisor; Ms. ** stated that her supervisor was Daniela **, a person that we NEVER met. Needless to say, this event ruined our vacation. Few days later I went to see Ms. ** to request an incident report. Instead of providing me with a form, she just referred us to customer service. I asked to speak to the supervisor, Ms. **, and she was unavailable despite my multiple complaints. I requested the name of another supervisor, Ms. ** ignored us and left us in the lobby, she went to an office and did not come out again. Ms. Sara, another assistant manager came for her replacement and apologized, something that no one in your resort had done.

Few days later, I went to an excursion and upon my return, I found clothing from a different guest in my room. The housekeeper had let another individual access my room. I understand mistakes occur but allowing someone to go into my room invaded my privacy. This is completely unacceptable. What kind of control does your hotel have? After this incident, I am very discontent with the treatment I received at your facility, and I wish someone at our company would take full responsibility for such an awful experience.

Check in to the hotel was pleasant and we were placed in a room with a “garden view” which is totally fine since this is what was booked through JetBlue Getaways. Since not much time is spent in the room anyway I don’t mind a garden view. Our room in this case was actually facing a construction site, a noisy one. All this even can be overlooked if everything else was Palace-like. Well, not so much again. We went to the buffet for lunch; not much of a selection, wilted salads, food not being replenished at the height of lunch, fruit platters with basically same fruit I am able to buy in Brooklyn and flies all over it that are not being in any way controlled. This continued into dinner that day and breakfast, unfortunately into the entire 10 day vacation. Also not much of authentic Jamaican food at all. Curry goat and oxtail wasn’t really available and no Jamaican staples such as ackee and salt fish.

Out of curiosity we went to the sister resort next door which is considered to be the cheaper and on a budget one (Montego Bay - Not Palace) and they had a way better presentation at their meals, more of a selection, cleaner and service was much more attentive. We ended spending many of our meals at the budget location. Unfortunate since when we stayed at the Palace in Mexico we had no need or interest to visit the other resorts but when we did they were also pretty great. As for the overall service, most of the employees were nice but nothing spectacular comparing to the stay at the other location.

Bars – We are not much of drinkers of premade frozen mixed drinks, so I ordered a Mojito and Caipirinha both of which are on their bar menus. They were made with a tiny piece of lime, basically a small lime cut into about 18 pieces and fake lime juice from a bottle. I was told that they don’t really have limes for drinks. To me it is baffling since the drinks are on their menu. I didn’t order anything special. Needless to say, I went to the supermarket outside of the resort while being harassed by the locals on the way there and BOUGHT my own limes to be used for drinks.

Room – Was extremely noisy. I slept with earplugs in my ears every night because at about 7:30 the construction at the adjacent resort (RIU Reggae) was in progress. Room cleaning by the staff was done till very late at night as well. Noisy carts being rolled around and staff making lots of noise. Our air conditioning/thermostat did not adjust temperature. On at least 3 occasions maintenance looked at it without resolving the issue. We were actually told by them to use the fan above the bed to keep cool. We set it 10 degrees Celsius which was lowest and it would not adjust down. It only crept up higher (above 22). For the entire stay we could not adjust the temperature since a runaround from maintenance was given until we gave up on complaining.

Entertainment – Less than mediocre, not much during the day at the pool besides a game of darts or horseshoe. A little better at night. We expected a much livelier entertainment crew as compared to the other location. On the 5th night we requested to speak to the manager of the resort. He was on vacation (Perhaps at the Palace in Mexico ��). We sat down with the assistant GM and brought up all the issues that I mentioned before; food and bars being the biggest complaints. He of course said that we are the first to have an issues with such and that he has never seen any flies on food. We asked him to have lunch or breakfast with us so we can show it to him. He didn’t seem interested. He also told us that purchasing limes is difficult because they are expensive and when we asked about mangoes, which were not available at the buffet and being a Caribbean staple he said that they also have trouble getting them.

Mangoes did somehow appear a few days later. In the end not much was accomplished besides him telling us that he cannot do anything for us besides possibly setting up a romantic dinner on the beach, value of which I found out later is $150. He told us to contact RIU directly and the company we booked through. Having spent almost $4,000 on this trip and way more in used up vacation time, this isn’t something you want to hear. That same night we met couples from Belgium that have spoken to him with very similar complaints. Later on we found out they weren’t the only ones. They actually stayed at the same Mexico location as we did numerous times and expected the same from this one.

There was a new area with a pool that is few months old and dried up palm trees on the beach that looked like they were losing branches every day, not something you want to look at.

Having spent 10 days away and almost as many days of mine and my boyfriend’s vacation time, I wish we stayed home. The weather was great and I got a tan but I could have done that at the beach in NY with way better food at home and more of a peaceful feel with properly adjustable air conditioning. Losing over $6,000 in vacation time for both of us, this was definitely not worth it. Not something we signed up for when booking a PALACE location. I am hoping that JetBlue Getaways is able to give us a refund for this vacation in the least so that we can actually book a vacation that we can fully enjoy as we enjoyed the last two booked through JetBlue. For reference and as proof of everything that is aforementioned, we have lots of pictures of the food, the flies, the broken palm trees and videos of the noise we encountered. If there is a need I can forward it all to you.

The hot food at the buffet was cold and congealed, and cold food was warm and nasty. We thought we just came at a bad time of night, and we will book reservations for the rest of the trip. The food from the restaurants was lukewarm. We did not have a hot meal during our entire stay. Nausea started to kick in day 1, and so did upset stomachs. The room temperature food was a breeding ground for bacteria, and our stomachs were telling us something was wrong. For 3 days we suffered from Nausea, causing us to not enjoy any of the amenities at the resort. We did not get to enjoy the beach or the pool, as they were too far from a restroom to take any chances. We avoided all of the seafood after the first night of the trip, since we were disgusted by the poor handling of the shrimp and mussels. Even the restaurants served up room-temp food. You could tell the meals are sitting under warming lamps right before it’s served to guests.

After 3 days of me feeling terrible, and pretty much being tied to the bathroom, we went on 1 excursion when we both felt well enough to leave the resort. After the excursion, we had dinner at Italliano, where they served up a lukewarm dining experience, with a side of food poisoning. Yes, that's right. My girlfriend endured a violent case of food poisoning, ruining the remainder of the trip. At 3:00am Monday morning, she woke me up to help her, and I did the best I could. The day before, the cleaning crew never restocked our fridge, or our toilet paper. NO TOILET PAPER, and she has food poisoning from your poorly maintained kitchens.

I went to the front desk to look for assistance, and nobody would help me. I asked for toilet paper, and their response was "We don't have the key." WHAT?! No key to the toilet paper? No store to buy any type of Gatorade for hydration in the hotel, nowhere to buy tums or **, and not a single person willing to help me out in a situation we clearly needed help with?

I went to the 24 hour bar, and luckily the bartender had spare water bottles and garbage bags that I promptly brought back to the room. Then there was still the toilet paper issue. I had to take rolls out of the bathrooms by the pool to bring upstairs for my girlfriend, since the staff didn't help or react at all to the situation. The woman at the front desk said she will send tea to the room. They called the room, saying it will be there in 3 minutes, but it never came. The following morning, around 7am now, the operator called the room, asking if we still needed toilet paper. I stated yes we do, and it never arrived. The front desk did not pick up the phone any time I called it, and they didn't seem interested in helping me in any way.

At 7:30am, I spoke to the manager, Vernel, about the situation and he assured me that I would be helped, stating he would send Gatorade and soup to the room. The Gatorade arrived an hour and a half later, but no soup. Thanks Vernel. I went back to the front desk around 8am, and I wanted to speak to the General Manager, and Vernel told me he would call the room when she was available. I waited for 11 HOURS to talk to the General Manager, checking back at the front desk every hour. Vernel never called the room, and left for the day at 3pm. The service at this place was pitiful at best.

Finally 7pm rolls around and I am FINALLY speaking to the General Manager, Sandra, who was trying to convince me that this was not a case of food poisoning, but it was because of dehydration. I have never seen anyone this violently sick before, and this was not dehydration. Sandra also tried to blame the nausea and illness on drinking too much liquor. We barely drank the entire trip due to feeling sick the entire time. This wasn't I drank too much kind of sick. This was food poisoning at its worst. Sandra told me that their on-site doctor (who never once showed face) assured her that food poisoning takes 48 hours to settle in, which is absolutely incorrect. Even if it was correct, every meal eaten over the past 72 hours was from the kitchens of the Riu Palace. All of her excuses were salt in the wound of an already botched vacation.

I asked Sandra why none of the chefs are wearing gloves, and not washing their hands while handling all types of raw and cooked food. I witnessed this in BOTH of the buffets. She said that it was easier to not wear gloves and wash your hands than it was to keep changing gloves. This is an awful way to handle food, and a horrible excuse to tell me while my girlfriend is bedridden and in extreme pain due to how the chefs handle the food. Sandra offered no help either, stating that she would move us to a suite, but since it was our last night, there would be no point, so she couldn't help us. She did apologize for the food poisoning, and the horrible service, admitting that the staff did absolutely nothing to help out, saying that it was unacceptable, and that she would look into it.

The chef in Nautilus was cooking burgers with no gloves on, touching both the raw and cooked meat with his bare hands without washing in-between. He put the burgers on the grill, and placed a dirty porcelain tray on top of the patties as they cooked, then flipped them and touched the cooked part with his filthy bacteria-laden hands.

I spoke to her about how the room was never restocked with water or toilet paper, and how we were told that they will be brought to the room, and it never came. The tea they promised never showed up. The water and toilet paper never showed up. The staff wouldn't help with anything. They were absolutely useless. Sandra said she would bring up anything we need herself, and I said we needed toilet paper and water, and it STILL NEVER CAME!

The service and food at this resort were atrocious, sickening even, and our entire vacation was completely ruined by staying here. We spent close to $4,000 on this trip, and we enjoyed 10% of it. The other 90% was spent in agony. I will never recommend anyone stay here. I will never stay here again. I am going to paste this entire note on all of the review sites and social media sites in hopes of warning other guests about this poorly managed establishment. This was, by far, the WORST resort/hotel experience I've ever encountered, yet it was the most expensive. You absolutely do not get what you pay for when staying at the Riu Palace. Most people go to Aruba and don't want to come home, as for us, we could wait to leave.

The walk to the rooms are not covered so when it rained and stormed you have to walk a far distance to get to your room. The smell outside of the rooms smelled like trash everyday. I was there and the smell inside the rooms smelled like mildew. My sheets were dirty and were not changed because sand was in my bed and the same stain was on my sheets. Customer Service was horrible and some staff was rude! I would not recommend ANYONE to stay at this hotel EVER!!!

Food was ok. Nothing great, but you won't starve. We needed our TV hooked up to cable and it took numerous phone calls, going down to front desk, being hung up on twice and manager always occupied, finally got a supervisor and 3 hours later after we showed the tech the problem we were fixed. So it was obvious even though they told us for 2 and a half hours he was on his way was not true.

Skimmers were never cleaned until a guest went to someone to be cleaned in the middle of our first week. They were just filthy. Pool decks had never been washed down until June 15 when the Sunwing reps showed for their grand opening tour, and boy did the resort put on a show for them making service etc. special for them, so they would have gotten the impression this was the norm (well it wasn't). 2 security even popped up lol.

Mind you the resort does look nice but very no frill for room amenities, drinks, etc. Customer service is poor and a lot of the staff did not look happy IMO. Found out on the way home yesterday that some people were getting drinks brought to them all day as they were tipping like crazy. This is not right again IMO. On our last day June 17 they finally made a path through the sand dunes in middle of resort. You still can't see the ocean but better still was no washrooms or permanent bar on beach (beach is beautiful).

No shade for you on the beach unless you get up before 6am. People were even saving them 7pm at night. They don't even give you a pen and paper in the room, no big deal but come on. WIFI was great. That was about the only really good thing. The young and not fussy drinkers all think it was over the top, but from the more mature people we spoke most of them said it was their first and last time at this resort. And also being a RIU Class Member doesn't do anything for you, but we found that was at most of RIU's we have stayed at.

One more last rant, the elevators OMG, small, hot, smelly, dirty, slow and everyday one sometimes 2 would break down, good job they only had 4 floors to climb. Hopefully some of these issues (there are more) will get sorted, but I doubt it. Some of these little things should never have been an issue. They don't even have a cold water dispenser at the bars so you can get your own. I won't even go on about the punta cana airport or Sunwing reps. We got this resort for a very good price and now know why. Bottom line if you just want to drink anything and get drunk you will be fine, or if you know the big wigs we'll be there. Things will be much better.

Then the internet (which is promised on their website) has been down for over 24 hours. We have had to go over to the Atlantis just for internet service, spend over $50 purchasing a fan for our sauna of a room, and been miserable the whole trip. We have talked to the management multiple times, along with many other hotel guests, only to be told there was nothing they could do and to email some email address to voice concerns. We spent over $3000 on the vacation and I regret every second of it. I have always stayed at RIU Palace hotels from Aruba to Mexico... but NEVER EVER again. No one should be treated like this after paying good, hard earned money that took over two years to save up for.

We then settled into our room, after requesting a different room due to it being at the end of a dark hallway. The front desk person, Eva, informed us there were no more rooms as the hotel was sold out. We found out the next day, this was not true. We kept the room and got dressed to go to dinner. We left the hotel to go to dinner around 8:30 and also went to a wine lounge downtown Majorca. After returning to our room we discovered our room had been accessed and the entire safe was CUT, YES I SAID CUT from the cabinet in the wall. All of our items were stolen, two laptops, cellphone, three passports, and cash in Euros.

Apparently the hotel staff broke into our room, stole the safe and used my large duffle like tote bag and my friend's suitcase to roll the items right out of the front door. Yep that's what happened because the suitcase and duffle bag were stolen and they took the identifying ribbon from my friend's suitcase. There wasn't any access to the outside balcony and the screen door was locked to the balcony. We called the hotel security, they came and confirmed the findings and called the Palma Police. We then entered into this long drawn out battle with the hotel management staff!!! We had to make them fly us to Barcelona to get new passports that their staff stole and have been in a constant struggle to receive payment from the stolen items.

Today we received an email after providing them with an insurance list of the items lost and the email stated they were no longer going to fund our lost items. They forged my friend's name on a rental contract we never were shown or signed at the time of receiving the safe. When I spoke with the hotel's director, Annabel, she stated we signed the contract and were given an activation code and the signed contract. But you recall... the bellman told us they didn't have an activation code and we never signed or received a safe deposit box contract. THEY FORGED MY FRIEND'S NAME ON THE CONTRACT.

The next morning after the theft, the hotel's director, Tolo **, attempted to have us sign the contract in arrears... we declined and told him we were NEVER presented with the contract at the time of check in and weren't going to sign it. He asked questions about who checked us in and which bellboy went to our room and agreed with us not signing the contract.

Fast forward to today... May 7, 2016; they now have some contract with a false signature stating only 300 Euros will be paid from the insurance company. LIES!!! If this was the case why did your insurance company have us fill out a losses and damages form that far exceeds the amount of three hundred Euros??? Also, WE NEVER signed the contract! They forged a name then had the audacity to say the police found the contract in our room?? What police, because the Illetas police who took the report on the early morning of March 20 (I have a copy) never took any pictures of the room or wrote down anything. BUT NOW you have a police report with pictures of the contract? Lies!!!

The Riu and the Bonanza Playa people are dishonest. Do not stay at any of their hotels and don't trust them. I've attempted to contact their direct customer service via email and phone and have NEVER received a response. I'm thankful I have my life and they were only material things but it ruined our entire vacation, we lost work items, and these people are flat out dishonest!!!

I said OK. It is one of those deals so since I had a 3 vacation package I figured I would get a refund before going down these roads of bait and switch, shifty sales people. I don't need the headache. Well everyone I spoke to is either quiet or etc... I can't get the same person ever. I am waiting on my refund and as you would figure I am chasing it down. No one ever knows what is going on and I expect this to continue. I do think I will get it. I just have to work for it. This place gives others a bad name. I should have known better. DON'T BUY THE VACATION PACKAGES FROM THE PHONE. It's not worth your time and testing of your patience and a disgrace to my intelligence.

The couple we were vacationing with waited five days for the remote control for the TV in their room. None of the servers, bartenders, maids were at all friendly with the exception of Karen, server in the evening bar area and Farlynn, server in the Mexican restaurant and MamaJuana restaurant. All anyone would have to do in those areas, would be to smile or say hello but that courtesy was very lacking.

As far as Cleanliness/ Sanitation goes: Every restaurant/ buffet we went to, we found dirty dishes, cups and flatware. After a while, you begin to wonder about the cleanliness of the food prep areas. One night when we went to the buffet, they were prepping a table for us and they were not going to change the tablecloth which was stained with the previous diners meal. Another problem in the buffet was the lack of identification of the foods on the buffet. Only a few items were labeled, the rest was a guess. That could really be a serious problem for people with food allergies. Tables in the bar area were not cleaned in between guests. The glasses would be removed but the tables never wiped. It's not pleasant sitting at a dirty table trying to enjoy your evening. Even when the bar was closing, the tables did not get wiped down to start the next day clean. The table tops were left filthy every night.

Room cleanliness was barely acceptable. We wonder how a maid could clean a shower when the handle keeps falling off. There should be a checklist in place for the maid to register maintenance issues for the rooms as well as inventory what each room is missing. For example, our room was missing a blanket and extra pillows. The couple we were vacationing with were missing a remote control for the TV in their room. There is no doubt that everyone works very hard at running the resort. A few details need to be looked at to make it an even better resort. In our opinion, the RIU Bambu is not a five star property, barely a four star.

The follow-up communication to your guests that were affected during the incident is as stellar as the communications during the incident (NON-EXISTENT). I will be relentless in pursuing the RIU. Holding you accountable for your negligence and poor customer service. Tweets, blogs, posts, newspapers, travel agency's, any way, shape or form to advise those folks of the RIU's lack of response, information and/or intent to compensate/reimburse those folks that were impacted by the fire (caused by RIU's WILLFUL negligence). This cannot and will not be swept under the carpet or if time will pass and guests will forget. Too much money spent for services/accommodations not received.

Will promote any OTHER all-inclusive OTHER than the RIU. How about the Ritz-Carlton? Nice 5-star rating. Actually walked up there and it was beautiful. Spoke to some guests and they loved it. Same for the Marriott-Stellaris. I shall expect a timely response as the RIU has had time to decide your course of action on satisfying your agreement/contract with guests (me) that was impacted by the fire and compensate/reimburse accordingly.

It was very suspicious of what's going on and felt like it is definitely an inside job. We wouldn't be surprised if this top general manager of Riu Bachata is involved in this burglary. Nobody did any searching nor investigation. They took the bad news as something that they already familiar with. They weren't even surprised of what happened to us. Very unfriendly staff and weren't willing to help us. We were sooo upset and depressed. Our vacation was a living hell between traveling every other day to their town to the Police Department, Western Union; photo center; and finally to the US Embassy.

The resort is just horrible and not safe at all. I was afraid to walk around the resort with my daughter without my husband being next to us. And the sad part is that Riu Bachata refused to take any responsibility of the robbery. They are definitely covering some scam. Very very unsafe!!! Stay as far away as possible!!! Horrible and disgusting place to be in. Would never go back and making sure nobody else experiences the same hell we went thru. Just away away from Riu Bachata Puerto Plata!!! Don't ruin your vacation!!!

When we arrived at the hotel the bellboy took our bags up to our VIP room we paid for. He stood in our room waiting for a tip. I did not have change and since the website said all gratuities were included was not prepared to tip. However, the next day I did get change and gave him a tip. I was confused and asked the front desk about tipping and was told it was not included even though it was on the website. The day before we left, the director Miguel told me it was included and was up to our discretion.

Our first room was not very clean, looked run down, there was hair on the bed, floors were dirty, the sinks overflowed that the cleaning ladies removed the stopper. Mini bar was not stocked, in fact there was an open bottle of tonic water in the fridge. We paid for an ocean view room and could barely see any water and the cards to order in room breakfast were missing. But that was not the main issues. The deadbolt on the door did not lock and the worst was the thermostat was broken so the room did not get above 63 degrees. So we felt unsafe at night and absolutely freezing to the point I couldn't sleep. I made the hotel manager Enrique aware of the situation and he sent a supervisor to check on the issues. After confirmation, he said he can move our rooms but not until the next day. Therefore, we were forced to sleep in that room for another night.

In addition, they did not attempt to fix the issues with the room which was a VIP room we paid for. When I asked for be upgraded if they didn't have a comparable room, I was told he didn't have anything available even though the hotel was very quiet and I later found out from the director Miguel that Enrique could have assisted us with an upgrade but chose not to and left us in that room.

The next day we moved our room without any help from the hotel. The were no elevators and both rooms were on the 3rd floor. The next room had issues also. The upper rain shower was broken and sprayed water everywhere, they had painters above us who were scrapping paint on us as were sat on our balcony. When I spoke to Enrique again he said this doesn't happen. I have many customers who don't have problems like this. He blamed us even though all the problems were confirmed by their supervisors. They had to fix our shower and ask the painters to stop scrapping paint on our balcony. Again no compensation was made.

When my husband went back to the room one day, there were 5 painters in our room doing our balcony with our room door propped open. We had no notice of painting being done on our balcony or wet paint signs. Plus our room was open to whom even wanted to come in. Nelson the manager said we are just painting, this happens and dismissed our concerns.

I feel the hotel was oversold online. The casino was extremely small and dirty. The wi-fi didn't work most of the time. The only time I was able to login repeatedly was on the balcony in my room and the lobby. Free wi-fi was also marketed aggressively the same as all-inclusive on the hotel website where I booked my vacation. It was marketed as one of the newest hotels and was very run down. I was treated with disrespect by the staff. I do not speak Spanish but can understand it enough to hear that I was made fun of by the casino hosts for not being able to have a conversation with them.

We tried to use the other hotel cafes which were supposed to be included only to be turned down therefore were forced to only use the amenities in our hotel. The restaurants only had a few options and the food was horrible forcing us to eat in the buffet for most meals. One restaurant caused actually me to have a severe food allergy reaction. I was recovering from tooth pain and asked for ibuprofen or Aleve. They understood at the front desk what I was asking for and said they don't have a shop that carried medicine. So they called the pharmacy and tried to charge me $22. The next day I found the same amount of Aleve in their gift shop with many other medications for $8. So I felt conned and lied to.

Overall, the vacation was absolutely horrible. From the room experiences, customer service, food, managers attitudes, I was left very disappointed. The evening before we left I was advised to file a report with corporate and was able to speak to the director of the hotel named Miguel. He said corporate should rectify this terrible experience and I agree. I was also told that this situation and report was submitted to corporate on January 22nd but have not heard anything yet even though I was told corporate would contact me.

The next day, $1200 was missing from my locked safe in my room. I spoke with Miquel, the Manager and he was rude, condescending and not willing to help me in any way, shape or form. I was so upset I threw up for 2 days. I went back the next day and asked for a copy of my report that I filled out and he refused to give my anything. Later that day another guest told me he was missing $200 from his safe as well. And yet again, at the pool, another guest told me her diamond earrings were stolen from her safe. Management did not do anything for these guests either. I find this very disturbing and will never recommend or frequent this hotel again.

The view from the patio was nice however one of the chairs broke while sitting in it causing a fall to the ground, spilled drink, broken glass and cut toe. Our room was on top floor and the elevator was not working a lot and we reported it to the front desk but it continued. A cup with a drink in it sat in the corner of the elevator for 3 days. The pool was very clean and nice. The swim up bar always had a lot of bees were flying around it. Many of the hotel guests were sick with diarrhea, including us. We've never been so sick on a vacation or spoke to so many people at one resort that were sick as well. I watched a small boy vomit into his dad's hands in the dining hall. I observed several guests touching food and not using tongs. Some food was cold although it was under heating lamps. Once we stopped eating the resort food (bought our own food) the symptoms resolved. We however started to eat the resort food again and symptoms returned.

The beach had several people walking around to everyone aggressively trying to sell stuff. It was not relaxing. This happened at the pool even but not as much. The nightly entertainment was very poor. Many staff were rude. One manager pushed us aside to board the elevator before us. Staff were aggressive trying to get guests into the casino of 8 slot machines in a small room. We did not enjoy our stay with RIU Palace Punta Cana and will not be returning.

There was some sort of entertainment every night, although not always to my taste, and games, lessons, sports activities and music down at the gigantic pool, and beach side. The beach at the RIU Palace is huge and beautiful, with tons of lounge chairs right on the beach, in the palm trees for shade, and all around the pool side. The waiters and activity staff at the beach and pool were stellar. My only complaint was with one of the travel companies in the hotel, Lomas Travel, that we had a problem with (our driver abandoned us at a location!) so we wouldn't recommend them. We will definitely come back to stay at this hotel again.

I advise you to stay away from this hotel. The management is most likely in on this as well. The manager goes through this "investigation" that of course turns up nothing and could care less about your loss. I have stayed in many resorts over my lifetime and never have I felt so violated and angry. This trip was supposed to be a relaxing escape and instead it was my worst nightmare. I tried to contact the Riu corporate headquarters in Spain but I got a auto reply. Just disgraceful.

After getting switched rooms, wasting valuable vacation time, we tried to go eat at the restaurant. We were told very rudely the restaurant was not open. Service was extremely bad during our stay there, in the restaurant, at the front desk, over the phone (which no one would answer). Food was even worse. We do not eat pork due to religious reasons and even after asking if there was pork in a dish, we were told wrong, there was pork in the food. For people that do not drink, there were not any fresh juice drink options besides orange juice.

Here comes the worst of the worst. From night one, I was not able to sleep on the bed properly - it just felt disgusting and smelled. After the second night, my husband had some itchy skin and decided to look under the covers. We found several bed bugs crawling around on the mattress. I have never in my life felt that disgusted. I had to throw away my clothes that I wore when I laid in that bed along with any clothes that I had laying on the bed. I come to vacation to get infested with bed bugs, wow! I couldn't believe that this was happening!

I am not the type of person to go to low class resorts. I paid a lot of money for my stay there and nothing matched the price - the rooms, service, food, class, NOTHING. My friend and I were so disgusted. We checked the second and also found reddish spots on the mattress which is a sign on bed bugs. I have been itching my skin since I got to that hotel and now I am already back home. Honestly what made matters even worse after finding those bugs was the way management handled the situation. We were all shocked.

The current manager on duty at that time from 4pm to 9pm on September 2nd was Jorge. We took him to the rooms where he himself saw the live crawling bugs and said he would switch us rooms. I am such a clean person and at that moment, I felt the dirtiest I have ever felt. I couldn't stay there one more second. There were no room of sympathy or urgency to help the situation out. It was hours of waiting in the lobby to speak to the managers and getting the constant run around. Us 4 stood in the lobby for 5 hours with our luggage, all frustrated and upset and angry, and this is all in the midst of what is suppose to be our well deserved vacation.

After speaking to Victor **, the sub-director, he apologized for the incident and said he would have his sales team open the case for our refund for the hotel. We had to book another hotel with our credit card that we shouldn't even be using to get us off the streets of Cabo. The stay at Riu Palace from Sept 2 to 4 had ruined our entire trip to Cabo and something that will haunt us forever. I need someone with authority and someone who cares about this company to respond to this issue immediately or I will be taking actions into my own hands with this pictures and video.

11) Moldy and dirty ice bucket found in my room with old stinky beer was never change into I talk to them twice. 12) Burn electricity sockets - I talk to them and was never fixed. 13) A la carte dinner only restaurants are only available by appointment only. Can be made from 8:am to 11:am. If you can't make you have to eat at buffet that is full of flies. 14) As a kids friendly resort smoking should not be allowed there. Thank you for your attention.

The "standard" rooms that faces a very busy road, to where it is impossible to sleep at night, and never mind opening a balcony for some fresh "tropical" air. When we made a complaint we were upgraded to a better room, with a forever running toilet, day and night, for 5 whole days. On the 6th and 7th it was finally fixed! Thank you for at least 2 days of peaceful night.

From the two "wonderful" swimming pools where my daughter spent most of her time, she developed a rash throughout her whole body. We saw the very unpleasant nurse that the hotel offered. I am a paying customer, I pay for your services, to come and examine my child, at least you can do is talk to me like I am a human. Note to self, never get sick on hotel property. So our last day was spent in a room because the cream my daughter was prescribed couldn't be exposed to the sun.

The food was a disaster! For such a world famous resorts it was ridiculous. Flies, melted dessert on the display, canned fruit, dried out vegetables, everything either fried or melted with cheese, the soups tasted like the water from the ocean, salty and watery. For a person of myself who is vegan, my choices were very limited. The only better part of it was the Ala Carte Restaurants. And I say better, not great! So was the service. At the buffet, unless you tip your waiter in the beginning of your meal, only then you may expect good service. I don't mind tipping, but I prefer to do it after I was pleasantly served. I'm sure you would do the same.

The property! Oh, the property! I'm sure at some point of Riu Palace's life this hotel was fabulous, but with time, just like everything else it gets old and it is very understandable. But it is up to you to keep up its appearance, to put signs where signs are missing, as simple as a bathroom sign. Everyone was using a bathroom with two stalls and showers because the door--next door to it with a proper bathroom was missing a sign. I only figured that out when I noticed that the men side had that.

The broken doors, the chipped paint, the missing cover for the toilet paper, 5 garbage cans for the whole property, no smoking anywhere but not one "No Smoking" sign. The two pools next to each other, one crystal clear and the other one foggy and disgusting. One waiter running on the beach, taking your order and you sit there waiting for 30 minutes to get your drink. A very strange "manager" running around fixing towels at the gym! Towels! The only thing that did save this resort was the beach, and that should not be the reason you gave yourself 5 Stars and get to charge customers such high prices! Get real people!

I paid $3600 for 2 people. I as easy going as I am was not only very disappointed but disgusted! I stayed at Riu Palace in Aruba. Another old hotel, understood. But the food, the service, the people made up for it. Here in Negril I can't say the same, not even close. At the end as well as in the beginning of my vacation I felt ripped off, robbed and improperly treated. Just because of my expectations, the price that we paid, left disappointed and sad. I include some pictures for you from the resort to argue my statements and my discuss. I just made a point to do so because it was that bad! I would like to get a contact information for the head office of Riu. There is no information for their complaint office anywhere on their sites.

By day 3 we had diarrhea from the food and fruits that were not fresh. The food was horrific; the dining rooms staffs were rude and many make inappropriate remarks towards women and gay men. Every day we found the patio doors opened though we locked them before we left the room. Apparently, being safe is not a priority for Riu's hotel guest. The beach area was not cleaned, it was covered with seaweed, cigarette butts, and plastic cups.

But the best part of my vacation was the Amstar transportation staff affiliated with Cheap Caribbean and the Riu hotels. They are idiots; they left us stranded at the airport during the Erika tropical storm. It's inhumane and deplorable how Riu treats their paying guest. The Dominican Republic and all overseas government should ensure proper health inspections in all hotels. Riu should be fined with health violations and failure to keep their guest safe.

On the website, there is a mention of a kids' club which is non-existent. There is nothing for the children to do other than play in the pool. In addition, smoking is allowed all throughout the resorts, including most of the restaurants and the rooms which is a problem for people who do not smoke. The service at the resort is extremely poor. The servers are rude and are not courteous at all. The variety of the food available was not good. Not even the fruits and vegetables were freshly served. During our seven day stay, we did not have air conditioning or hot water for a total of two days. My 2-year old daughter, my husband, and I all got sick due to this inconvenience.

On Sunday, August 2, 2015 while my husband was in the pool with our son and I was feeding my 2-year old daughter, someone went through our bags and robbed the hotel key as well as the key for the safety deposit box. I have never been to a resort where we receive an actual key for the rooms as well as the safety deposit box. This is a major inconvenience for families, especially with people with small children. Every time I had to return to the room with my baby, I had to track down my husband for the key and vice-versa. In addition, the keys have the number of the room written on them making our rooms accessible for anyone that finds the key. There is no SECURITY!

When I realized that the key was missing, my husband ran to the room and found the maid in the hallway and she told him that there was a family inside the room. He explained to her that we were at the pool and then he proceeded to run around the room and found that the balcony was left opened. Apparently, the thieves used the key to open the room door and robbed all of our valuables from the safe and then they exited the room though the balcony. I ran to the reception area and explained to them what had occurred and told them that they should check the security cameras to find out who was responsible for this. That is when we were informed that there were no security cameras on the premises. How can it be that a hotel of this standard does not have surveillance cameras??? How can they protect the tourists and make them feel safe???

We returned to the reception area and requested that they call the police in order for us to file a police report. They informed us that the police department was closed on Sunday and that it was not in their procedures to contact the police. If we wanted a police report, we needed to go to the precinct ourselves and file the report accordingly. How can they send the tourist out to the precinct by themselves without a representative of the hotel? We explained to them that we were scheduled to leave Dominican Republic on Monday at 12:30 pm. They stated that in that case, it was out of their control if we could not file a police report. How convenient for them.

The next morning, my husband insisted that they provide a taxi to take him to the precinct so that he could file the police report prior to his flight. When he arrived at the police station, the police officers stated that they would need to go to the hotel to investigate prior to writing the police report. When they arrived at the hotel, there was another incident where another hotel guest had been robbed. Apparently, this is something that occurs quite often in this hotel. We went to the precinct alone in a cab along with our two small children and our suitcases to obtain the police report. How can the hotel send us out into town without a representative? I felt so unsafe and I could not wait to get to the airport. When we arrived at the police station, we were unable to get the police report because the secretary was not available. Could anything else possible go wrong?

Our experience at this hotel was horrible. We felt so unsafe and unprotected. The way that the staff handled the situation after it occurred was unprofessional and without empathy. We felt helpless. We will not be reserving any future vacations at the RIU Resorts nor will we recommend this hotel to any of our families, friends or co-workers. In addition, we are going to post this experience on all travel websites in order to warn people of this dangerous resort!

I think for the cost, it's a great place to go with friends and family, not for a honeymoon or anniversary trip though. My wife and I were very disappointed with the food, below average. You have to make reservations for the nicer restaurants and those aren't even open all the time. Our room was below average, uncomfortable bed, and again... the food was below average which really lessens the trip --- especially when it's an all-inclusive place. Like I said, it's a nice place for a bunch of friends on a hangout trip or senior trip but not a family, anniversary, or honeymoon destination.

We went downstairs to the buffet and ate some food because we had traveled all day. After eating we decided to hit the pool because the pool looked really nice. So I ran upstairs and attempted to put my $100 away. When I got there I was unable to enter the safe. It said "wrong password," so I called the hotel manager to manually open my safe & upon doing so all my money was GONE including the 11 bucks in my wallet.

I immediately told the hotel manager we were robbed and she said I must have lost the money and she asked me to look around the room. Her name is SONIA by the way. Long story short I asked for the police to be called. They assured me they would investigate and get back to me. 2 days later they gave me complimentary back massages and a dolphin discovery worth approx. 250 bucks. We did not feel safe at all!

The resort was very nice. However having all of your money taken ruined the vacation. The hotel management was very shady and unprofessional. I will not go back!!! And this is my 4th trip to Mexican resorts. I felt insulted that they tried to say I lost my money and there's no possible way the money could have been taken from the safe. I'm sure this can happen anywhere but please BEWARE!!!

The first 2 days of the trip were the most miserable days you can imagine and were in no way a "vacation". We understand that repairs and maintenance happen, however the way it was handled was unacceptable. The hotel knowingly checked us into a room with broken a/c, and then continued to lie to us about the repairs being fixed so they would not have to move us to a lower tier room, which may result in refunding us the difference between oceanfront and garden view.

We contacted our travel agent for a 20% refund, even though 40% of our vacation was affected and ruined. Our agent contacted RIU, and RIU's Customer Service Department offered us the "opportunity" to join their RIU Class Program with 2,000 Class points. This is the proposed resolution for 40% of our trip being ruined. I will NEVER do business with this company and I will try to spread the word as much as possible so nobody else experiences their horrible customer service.

Our room was located away from everything, top floor! I called the front desk to ask to be moved because of my health condition. I was never moved, had to endure extra walking, and all them stairs, until we left on the eighth day! The food at the resort was pretty much the same every day, very salty! I had to complain to get hash browns which they did have but didn't serve everyday. I ask for eggs over easy and went thru... the chef was arguing with me. The drinks were watered down and when I say water I mean H20! One of the females bartenders threatened to fight me because I said "I was going to post a review". And the head bartender snatched drinks out of our hands because the complaint was, it tastes like cough syrup! And another customer came and said the same thing. Anyway, with that being said, it was no need to snatch a drink away from anyone.

When we asked the staff any questions about activities etc. we were told to ask guests. The staff members are younger adults, mainly boys, and mainly interested in interacting with younger, single, females. If you're a couple, good luck getting any HELP or entertainment! I went one night late to get a snack and the security guard allowed me to take my plate up to my room. He followed, telling me his room number and ask me to come with him. As I knock on my door he comes behind me.. I'm glad my partner was right there! Then he kept calling the room and my partner answered... We left late one morning for breakfast, as we were leaving the room, my partner left a tip for the housekeeper. I forgot to close my bags and upon returning to the room my partner and I noticed that my belongings were put away and suitcase moved. I went to check my belongings and my white linen pants were missing!

I went to ask the housekeeper if she touch my things and she replied "YES". I told her something was missing and her reply was "one pair of pants." How did she know?? So I went to complain to the management and they said they will have security search the room, then call the police, and have them search the room. Really?? Well, none of them things ever happened! And I don't have my belongings that I went with! I was told by guest and staff members that the resort was having a beach party after dinner and that you dress in all white. So I wore my one piece bathing suit and my cover up. After my partner and I had fixed our plates we were told we had to leave the buffet! So we went to the patio section and we were told by staff that we couldn't be served our dinner drinks. And we would have no service at all. Then immediately, security showed UP, told us to leave our plates on the table, and leave the area!

I immediately, went to the front desk to complain. I told the management that I have health issues that limits my ability to walk back to the room just to change etc. I was told by management that "there is a no bikini policy at dinner." Well, I DIDN'T have on a bikini! I'm like show me.. it's a buffet! I was then told by management that the resort doesn't need our business because they're closing in October for renovations and to get out of his face! Then escorted by security to our room and back to the buffet. By the time we returned dinner was put away and lights were off! So I took my medication on an empty stomach and at snack time hours later, I was too sick to go get basically, sugar! I complained to Apple Vacations upon returning home and was told that my vacation was with "Southwest vacations" not "Apple Vacations."

We got in to a loud shouting match in the hotel lobby and he ran off stating that he no longer would deal with us because he no longer could speak English. This was only day 2 of 7. My wife and I travel a great deal and this was the worst experience and RIU we have stayed at by far. I would never return here or Panama due to my experience at the RIU. The food and specialty restaurants were mediocre at best. This was far from being a 5 star resort. The resort is about a year old but show a great deal of poor craftsmanship. The main lobby leaks and areas through leaks when it rains. The beach is nice but the landscaping on both sides of the property are horrible. After speaking with multiple guest they also experienced theft and was given the run around as well. Management does not care and will do very little to resolve any issues.

All of the alcoholic beverages were bottom shelf with no options for top shelf. Very little activities for children and adults. We took a private trip to the Panama Canal which was nice. If you still insist on visiting Panama You may want to the your chances staying in Panama City at another hotel. That may not be all inclusive but a better place to stay. Again the food was edible but far from great. We were traveling with our son who was scared to move around the resort after we were robbed and we were scared to leave our baggage in our room unattended. My wife a day I took shifts leaving the room and watching the housekeepers for the rest of our stay. We would leave the do not disturb sign up every day as added security. Do yourself a favor and stay at another resort. BookIt is usually on point with ratings but this time was a total miss.

The Room’s Division Manager ** assisted me with a variety of issues due to the theft, I went to the police station and then to court to make a formal complaint. One whole day wasted. ** was a gentleman and did more with assisting me than expected and more than ** did aside from stating that employee theft was my fault. Please beware and it is important to read reviews before traveling. If I did I would have seen the other negative reviews and went elsewhere.

The purpose of our vacation was to spend time together and on the first night, we had to sleep separately. The following list are issues that we experienced while in the room: 1) The safe in the room did not function. 2) The rain shower did not function properly. 3) One of the double sinks did not drain. 4) WIFI was not working. 5) Room smelled of mildew. 6) We did not voice our concern with the hotel staff for the listed issues as we felt they would be resolved once we switched rooms the following day.

Issue 2: On the following day, my partner and I decided to go to the pool and beach to enjoy the resort. Because I had a waterproof camera, I decided to leave my iPhone 6 in the room. Since I was in a 5-Star Resort, we felt our valuables would be safe. Normally we would have locked them up, but again the safe was not functional. Upon returning to the room, I decided that I wanted to utilize my cell phone. To my surprise, the phone was not on the night stand connected to the charger any longer. Both the phone and charger was missing from the hotel room. We begin to pack our belongings to prepare to switch rooms. After confirming that my phone was not in the room, we proceeded to move our bags to the new room. In the new room, I unpacked all my luggage in efforts to find my phone. To my surprise, my phone and charger had been stolen. The only explanation to the missing phone, is that it was taken by the housekeeping staff.

After spending about several hours in the new room looking for my phone, we noticed a ROACH crawling on the dresser. We immediately shook out all of our clothes and re-packed our suitcases and vacated the room. We immediately transported all of our luggage to the front desk to again voice our concerns. We asked for the hotel manager and ** was on duty. He mentioned that he was the front desk manager. We calmly advised ** of our new concerns. I advised ** that my phone was missing and he stated that there was nothing they could do and that he will continue to check the lost and found. I told him my phone was not lost, it was taken from our room. In so many words, he advised the hotel was not responsible.

** responded by stating It is common to see roaches in the Dominican Republic. I then responded and stated, It is uncommon for me to see a roach in a 5-Star Resort. I then advised ** that we could not stay in that room. He advised my partner and I that the Hotel was book to capacity and no other guest rooms were available. I then stated that we could not stay in that room and that we will be forced to go to another resort. I asked "what is the hotel willing to help overcome our negative experience?" ** stated if we wanted to get options, that we need to contact our travel agent. I responded and asked him, "How do you know I booked through a travel agent versus through RIU resorts directly?" He then stated he was not sure if I booked through a travel agent or not. I then asked "why would you refer me to one without even asking me or checking the system?"

He then begin to get upset with me and told me verbatim: You just do not want a resolution. It was at that point, I was done talking to **. I told ** that I had booked my vacation through Southwest Vacations and asked if he could look up the number. He stated that he did not have the number and that I should use the internet. I stated well the internet did not work in the room and he said yes it does. We went back and forth for several minutes and I eventually pulled out my computer to look up the number. I then asked if there was a phone I could use to call and he stated they did not have a phone for me to use. He stated I would have to use my personal phone. I guess he forgot that I told him my phone was stolen. I then asked to speak with another manager.

After several minutes, ** arrived to the lobby and we voiced our concerns. He then allowed me to use the phone to call Southwest Vacations. While on the call with Southwest Airlines, ** interrupted my conversation with the agent and advised me that I was not being truthful about him telling me to call them. I then asked **, then why am I on the phone with them if you did not tell me to call them to compensate me for my inconvenience. He continued to interrupt me to the point where I had to get so loud with him that my voice echoed throughout the hotel lobby. ** had to ask ** to not speak with me. After getting off the phone with the airline, ** took the initiative to first find me another guest room and pulled me to the side to offer me an apology about my experience.

It was then I begin to trust that the resort would do the right thing. ** asked me if I can wait until the next day to see what he could offer me as compensation. I happily agreed to give him time to explore options and he promised that he would follow up with me. In our 3rd room in 2 days of staying on the resort, we found that this room had issues with a loose toilet seat. When I sat down on the toilet, I then fell to the side as the seat was coming off. In addition, one of the sinks in the room did not drain properly and we both had to use the same sink which was not efficient for getting dressed in the morning.

Issue 3: We waited 24, 48, and then 72 hours with no response from ** as promised. Every day that we were at the resort, we saw ** and spoke to him. Each time we saw him we greeted him with a hello and how are you doing. Never did ** mention about his promise to follow up with us. Yes, we could have asked, but he made the promise and it was his job to follow through on his promise to us as guest in his resort. On the last day of check out, we were asked, "How was our stay?" And we then stated not good and we told them why. They then asked would I like to speak with ** and we simply advised that ** had 3 days to speak with us and he chose not to. I guess he figured that we would let it go. My phone was never located and I ended up having to pay to have it replaced once I returned to the states.

I must admit, that everyone else that worked on the resort was very nice. The bar, restaurant, and grounds staff were very pleasant. Not to mention, the property was beautiful and well kept. It is just surprising that the management staff lacked simple customer service skills. I am still in awe of how ** spoke with me when I respectfully voiced my concern to him. This is not what I expect from a 5-star resort. If I wanted to have roaches in my room and be treated like a peasant, I would stay at a Motel 6.

Based on my experience, with the hotel management team, I would never recommend this property or any other RIU property to my friends and family. I hope that your response to this email changes my perception of RIU Hotels and Resorts. I will continue to reveal more of my negative experience on multiple travel websites, social media sites, YouTube and word of mouth until we reach a win-win solution. If necessary, I can provide you with video footage of the roach in your hotel guest room.

Never even offered to pay the $80 taxi ride back. Never offered a doctor when I first reported my purse stolen even though they say there is a doctor on site, that is a lie. There are no phone services after midnight. Apparently so if you should be in a life and death situation expect to die. There is no way to call for help unless the police are around. This is the only way that I was able to get help. If they where not there I don't know what would have happened with me.

No security at all, those cameras you see are fake. People are getting things stolen everyday, and from there room. Not just that you left you bag on a table and someone lifts it. NO the staff takes stuff. The couple we came with had a gift stolen off the dresser. Maid assumes that a $800 ring is for her! I hardly doubt that anyone gives these type of gifts. She reported to hotel services and it took 4 days to get it back.

The RIU is not a 5 star, it does't even rate a 3. The room was awful, two single beds shoved together to make a queen. The floors were dirty. No liquor in the fridge or cabinet and there was suppose to be. The towels look like they were used. They had stains of brown stuff on them. Gross. The toilet doesn't flush unless you take the lid off the back and put more water in the tank. One night we woke to a most disgusting smell. It was sewer and I guess they were pumping that out at 4 in the morning. Other people complained of the same thing.

The food is horrid in the smorgasbord part. We were only able to eat at one of the restaurants (and that was better but not great) because we missed the orientation on the first day and you need to book all your meals 2 or 3 days in advance. You don't book then you don't get to eat. Snack shack serves sandwiches and hamburgers. I cannot eat that as I am celiac. The BBQ they have, the chicken was still bleeding when it got to the table. The other food there is just like the smorg part, gross. I lost 8 pounds. I didn't go on a vacation to lose weight, thank you. The booze is watered down.

On the day we were to check out, we had to be checked out at noon. Our bus to leave this place didn't come till 1:30 in the morning. If you want to stay in your room it's 10 bucks a hr. And no, they don't care that your vacation was crappy and we spent 4 days dealing with police and BS. Would I ever go there again? NEVER! Was that a nightmare of a vacation I ever had. And it was a birthday present. The serving staff is friendly and helpful. The hotel management is a waste of skin.

We were given no notice that the hurricane was approaching until late afternoon when someone came to pool and told us to go to our rooms. At this point we noticed the posts in Baja California restaurant with the info. That night our ceiling leaked and our bed was soaked, we had to sleep on the floor in the bathroom. The next day no staff were assisting people who had their rooms flooded and no one was checking if everyone was safe. Our building was surrounded by waist deep water and we had to make our way to the lobby to find out that there was no one to help.

During this process my husband cut his leg on broken pottery that was underwater. There were guests who's rooms were flooded and they were told they could not get another room. Food was served by volunteers as all kitchen staff left. The first day no one was making any effort to clean the hotel to make it safe for people to walk around. We had to walk through water, thick mud, debris and glass scattered everywhere.

Tuesday we were in complete darkness all night long. We heard that the locals were coming into the resort and were going to rob all guests at night since there was no power and no security of any sort. We barricaded ourselves in our room with the dressers, chairs and our luggage. We had iron and butter knife on our bedside tables just in case someone was attempting to break in. We never saw have a single staff member going around asking if everyone is ok. The notice posted in our hotel assured us that staff was properly trained for emergencies. That has proven to be a false statement.

We understand that the hurricane of this magnitude caused damage beyond comprehension and I completely understand the need of staff members to go to their families and take care of them. However I do feel that Riu should have had a better disaster plan in place. We have read about how other hotels handled the aftermath and I was amazed how selfless and helpful their staff were.

Here is a comment from one of the guests from Secrets: "Secrets PLC notified us in the morning via a leaflet left under our door. It said sheltering might be necessary and that more info would be available later. Before lunch, they decided that it was best for everyone to take shelter and informed us via leaflets in our rooms that we should go to the ballroom by 4 p.m. to shelter. The only bad call they made was using the large, open spaced ballroom as a shelter in a hurricane. But I can see that being a hard call to make never having gone through a hurricane.

Once it was obvious the roof was failing, they quickly got everyone downstairs into the employee area/basement where we spent the rest of the storm. I want to point out that they kept us in the basement until nearly noon the next day and while people were getting pretty frustrated and claustrophobic about being down there, the reason was clear when we were let out: They had their employees shoveling and sweeping all of the dangerous, sharp debris from ALL the paths leading to the buildings and all the hallways and stairwells the best they could. We had to walk around large piles of debris, but we didn't have to walk on or climb through debris."

Stark contrast from what we experienced at Riu! I certainly did NOT expect all inclusive service after the hurricane. However I wanted to feel safe and informed. That did not happen. I was scared for my safety and did not see any support from Riu staff. NO GENERATOR because of no gas? Really? We were told by I'm assuming the manager not to leave the resort then on Wednesday he basically said the resort was low on food. There was a sign in the lobby that said La Paz airport was open and operating which was not true. The hotel manager encouraged us to go to La Paz. Only ticketed Aeromexico passengers could get out. We cabbed to La Paz only to sleep on the concrete floor and wait 24 hours for rescue.

After the 7th day, my money was still not refunded into my account. I called and spoke to several reps and finally they asked that I send a bank statement verifying the money was removed from the account (which I did) but why wasn't this procedure put into place on the very first day I called???? When I asked the rep for a estimated timeframe that my money should be available and "DAVID/SUPERVISOR" said he does not know and that the billings department will have to get a refund from their bank and send it to my bank???? REALLY??!!!

Why am I going through this because of their careless mistake? They cannot transfer me to anyone in the billings department and they are making a million and one excuses. No one seems to know the answers on when I can expect my refund. I spoke to several reps and supervisors and I was given different answers!! I will expose you all for the THIEVES that you are!! I am not at fault here, I did everything I was supposed to do so that my card would not be charged it was your careless reps who failed to cancel my reservation after I called in. IT WAS NOT MY MISTAKE, BUT YOURS!!!! I NEED MY MONEY!!!!!

We arrived at the hotel at 12, they immediately checked us in. We had requested joining rooms so that my wife and I could stay together as well as our kids being right there with us, so they "up graded" us to the superior section. My first reaction was "great". The superior section turned out to be a superior let down. They immediately took us to our rooms. Upon arrival I noticed the maid was on the same level and watched us drop our luggage in our rooms. First thing we noticed was that our rooms had not been cleaned. So we decided to drop our luggage and give the maid time to get around to them. We went to check out some of the resort.

About an hour later our kids wanted to go swimming. We returned to our rooms to allow them to suit up, the maid had not cleaned our rooms as of yet. I approached her about beach towels. She told us that we had to go to the exchange place for towels. She then asked if we would be requiring an extra bed, I said sure as that would give us just enough spots for everyone to sleep. I proceeded to help her retrieve and place the roll away in our room, to which she could see and knew that our rooms were not cleaned and prepared for new guests. I then thanked and tipped her, as well as pointed out that there were a total of 6 people in our family.

We then went to the towel exchange for beach towels, there we were told that our first set of towels must come from the maid and not to lose them as we would be charged 15$ per towel. We returned to the maid where we proceeded to argue regarding the towel process, she did not have any. A few minutes later she managed to find 3 that were from another guests room that had checked out, that left us 3 short and 3 that were dirty. We were told to take them to the exchange and if she managed to find 3 more dirty ones she would be glad to give them to us. We took the 3 dirty ones to the exchange to find that it had closed, which we found through our entire trip was closed more than it was open. So we then decided that we would maybe just go get something to eat.

After returning to our room about an hour later, the maids had all left for the day, and we found that our rooms were left untouched. Our beds were not changed, found hair all through them, all used towels were still lying on the floor, garbage throughout our rooms, floors were sandy and filthy. After calling the front desk and not getting an answer, we went down to reception to be told that there was nothing they could do until the maids reported to work the next day - very disappointing. The same maid returned the next day, was very pleasant with us, even though she had not cleaned our room the day before. I decided not to tip until we experienced what type of service we might receive from her. We left and went to the breakfast buffet.

The buffet was disgusting, overcrowded, every day they kept running out of plates, food under-cooked and used way to much oil. Many of the servers were absent during your meal until they noticed you were finishing then they became very helpful (oh tip time!). We proceeded to the main pool after a very gross breakfast, good luck finding chairs around the pool. Everyone gets up early and reserves their favorites. What chairs you do find, there is no protection from the sun and they are broken. The main pool was sectioned and the section where the swim up bar is located was under treated and under cleaned. It was absolutely disgusting and not swimmable. Many guests noted its condition. The secondary pool, much quieter area, and not as many guests in the area, was much cleaner and usable.

We tried the main snack bar for lunch, burgers, hot dogs, grilled cheese, French fries, only to find that the staff were extremely rude. If you are eating in the establishment you are suppose to take seats in the establishment and allow them to come to you. They will note that you are seated, but are not in any hurry to approach you. Many guests will come in from the pool, order and receive food to go before they decide to come and take your order. After waiting over 1/2 and hour my wife approached the bar asking if someone could take our order that we have been waiting. She was very forcefully told to take a seat over and over again. They were very visibly unhappy with their jobs and took it out on guests. Needless to say we did not use that establishment if we could avoid it. There was a secondary snack bar that was set up as a buffet that had much friendlier staff which many guests discovered so it is where we would go, but it was also very busy daily because of the lack service of the other.

Day #2, after a disgusting breakfast, a very disappointing experience at the main snack bar, checking out the swampy looking pool, spending some time wandering the beach, and unless you get up at the crack of dawn and reserve your favorite chair you aren't getting one. Also if you do reserve you run the risk of your towel(s) being stolen, as we had one of ours taken. We went back to our room to get ready for another disappointing dinner. Upon returning to our room we noted the very minimal attention given to our rooms, which was what we experienced for the entire stay except for one day that we had a different maid (the different maid did a spectacular job and was tipped for it).

Our maid for the seven nights we were there was so disappointing. The first day our rooms were not cleaned at all, the floors were never cleaned, nothing was ever wiped down. We had to constantly chase for towels. When we did get some, we were lucky to get 4 for 6 guests. You could tell the bathrooms were never actually cleaned with any type of cleaner. Our kids’ room lost power on the 4th night. We went to guest services to ask for help, they stated that they would send someone immediately. We waited for quite some time. I eventually went back, complained. Was told to go back to the room. Eventually I figured out that the mini fridge was causing the issue and turned off the breaker, which restored the power to the room. About three hours later someone showed up...

Recap of disappointing issues around the resort were: you were lucky if you found a bathroom that actually had toilet seats on the toilets. Bathrooms rarely had an appropriate supply of toilet paper (if you dare going here, carry your own). Never any hand soap, hand towels, or working hand dryers in the bathrooms - how sanitary! Towel exchange, hit and miss if it is open! If you get to the resort to early, may get put in an un-cleaned room. Always a challenge to get clean and an appropriate amount of bath towels. Garbage all around the resort grounds. The beds and pillows are absolutely awful, very uncomfortable. Some of the staff are extremely rude and unpleasant (main snack bar by the pool). The food was sometimes under cooked, very bland, and way to much oil used (I was sick from something at the dinner buffet, paid for it dearly for 3 days).

This was our second time vacationing in Cuba and will be our last. First visit was not as disappointing, but coupled with this experience we will never return. It was our first time taking our kids and they are at an age that they will remember and most likely never go back. We will be sure to discourage anyone from spending hard earned money to vacation in such a disappointing resort. I am sure that not all Riu resorts are kept in such poor condition, but we will never risk going to one again, nor will we ever recommend anyone take the chance. I have told many people about our experience and will continue to do so in hopes to spare other people of such an expensive disappointment! It was 8 days and several thousand dollars that we will never ever get back!

As we proceeded to try and enjoy our vacation, when we were lost as to when the food times were and what activities were going on, for a response we were brushed off and given the wrong information on several occasions. We also tried to find out the time to have a return trip to the airport. We were given attitude as if we were bothering the staff. I find this extremely unacceptable and unprofessional, especially coming from a well-known resort such as the RIU. I stayed in the RIU Ocho Rios a few years back and had no problems. I am extremely turned off and will not be returning my business to the RIU with disrespectful staff.

Upon arrival at the airport, we were told that we did not have transportation and had to wait for a second bus to come, after being denied our first transportation and asked to de-board the bus. I immediately found a supervisor who after 1 hour of checking and verifying found us transportation to the hotel. However, there was room for only 2 to sit. I ended up standing for a majority of the drive to the hotel which was close to 45 minutes with stops. I opted to let my daughter who was expecting and my 72 year old mother the courtesy of seats.

Upon arrival at the hotel, we were greeted with drinks and I had hoped that was the end of the confusion. No, it was just the beginning. Our rooms, which we had specified were to be near the pool on the first floor due to handicapped needs, were not ready. We were given the opportunity to go to the pool and lunch vouchers. We enjoyed the pool and lunch was great. When we came back to the desk at 4:00pm, the rooms were still not ready; we were told it would be 1 more hour. We remained in the lobby, and finally 2.5 hours later, we were shown to our rooms.

My daughter and I shared a room and my mom had her own room next door. After getting my mom settled in, we went to our room to unpack and I ordered some fruit for my daughter who at this point was exhausted and needed to lie down. The fruit plate arrived and she ate. I placed the fruit plate on the fridge, and went to shower for dinner. When finished, I took the plate to place it outside of the room. When I lifted the plate, at least 100+ cockroaches fled from under the plate. My daughter has extreme allergies to roaches and I did not want her in the room, and immediately placed her in the room with my mom, who was bug free.

It took approximately 2.5 hours to get housekeeping in the room at which time they came in and cleaned the room, sprayed for bugs, and said it would be fine. Sadly it was not. The roaches and their babies were all over the room. The front desk did not think this was a problem and said they would send the housekeeper again and they would take care of it. Housekeeping never came. I took all of our bags from the room and moved them into my mom’s room. After numerous attempts to speak with the supervisor, I finally walked over to the desk, being disabled and with limited mobility it was quite a difficult feat. When I got to the desk, I was molly coddled and was told that there were no other rooms, that the hotel was totally booked, and that my room would be cleaned again.

I was quite clear that I did not want the room cleaned. I wanted to be moved. Our trip was for 4 days and 3 nights. For a majority of the trip I slept outside on the balcony on the couch or by the pool, as I could not bring myself to sleep in the room. On the day we were to leave, I had arranged a wake-up call for 6:00am to get our luggage to the front desk and down for breakfast before our 8:00am pick up to the airport. Our wake-up call came, however no one came for the luggage at 6:30 as arranged. 15 calls to the desk and I was finally told they did not have someone on duty to get my bags and that I could bring them to the desk if I choose to. That was it for me. I told the person on the phone that I wanted my bags picked up I didn't care who picked them up but wanted them brought to the desk in 15 minutes or I would come to the lobby and make a scene.

Finally at 7:45, the bags were picked up taken to the front desk for transportation. I missed breakfast and being a diabetic it’s not good thing. I asked the desk person to call the restaurant to ask the maître d to inform my party that the transportation was here and I was informed that they do not offer that service and that I would have to go to the restaurant myself to get my guests. That meant I would have to go back almost a 2 block walk to the court yard, then walk back to the restaurant, and then back the same way, as I could not use the stairs due to my limited mobility. The people at the desk were very rude, to the point that you just wanted to scream.

All I could do at the point of pure frustration is to just break down and cry, exhausted from no sleep, food with roaches, and the most inconsiderate service staff I ever met. I demanded the day supervisor in a very loud voice at the desk and refused to move till he came. I received apology after apology from this man with a promise to rectify the matters, by refunding all that I had paid for transfers and a complimentary stay with them again, as he tried to assure me that this was not how a 5 star hotel is run. Short of missing our ride to the airport, he said that he would mail me the refund and complimentary stay at any RIU Hotel for 4 days-3 nights. I am still waiting for it to come; no one at RIU returns phone calls. For the exquisite hotels that they run, customer service is not their forte, whatsoever.

This trip was supposed to be a special time for me, my daughter and mother. We had not had a vacation in 5 years and when we won this trip, we felt it was a blessing as it would give us time to spend with my mom. Shortly after the trip, my mom passed away and that time we got to spend with her was a blessing, but marred with grief that was so unnecessary. This hotel needs to take lessons from the Ritz Carlton on how to treat guests and to resolve problems. This problem apparently starts at the top down, as supervisors are less than responsive; so why would the staff go out of their way to resolve matters. Shame on you all at the RIU Hotels; never again!

My first question was, "does the other hotel have the same amenities I paid for to the Riu?" Her answer to me was, "yes, plus an upgrade to the room's amenities and view." My next question was, "does the hotel have a minibar because my husband is a diabetic and needs to keep his medicine refrigerated?" Her answer to me was yes. I then asked, "does the room have liquor in it?" Her answer to me was yes. I asked if we would have a king size bed. Her answer was yes, and it was upgraded with an ocean view. I asked, "Is the food all inclusive and are there choices for dinner?" Her answer was, "yes, it is exactly like this hotel." She also told me that the hotels are the same in all aspects including the quality of the pool, bars, rooms, and especially the food, that the other hotel had the exact same food.

We then were provided a cab to the Breezes hotel and left on our 25-minute ride, in which we felt obligated to tip the cab driver upon our arrival. We went to check in and asked about the upgraded amenities, room and view. The hotel host at the Breezes laughed at me and said, "there is nothing like that available to you, here." I asked him to call the Riu hotel for me and hand me the phone. The person on the other end identified herself as Melissa. Melissa told me that I had no choice but to stay at the Breezes hotel. When I asked to talk to Ms. Terry, she denied the right and said that Terry was outside. I told her I would wait for Terry to come back in and that she could put me on hold. Melissa said she would not put me on hold, that Terry was not available to me, we could come back first thing in the morning at 9 am.

We took our bags to our room at the Breezes which was located on the first floor just 2 doors down from the elevator. Upon entering the hotel room, to my surprise, it was a complete disaster. The beds provided were two double beds without linens. That's right, double beds no linens. The floors were dirty, the drapes were disgusting and the furniture was old and stinky. There was no minibar, no alcohol, and no towels. The bathroom was just as disgusting with make up on the mirrors, black mold in the shower, with the shower ceiling falling down. The phone in the room didn't work. The hangers were broken and hanger rods were rusted and unusable. The view was of palm trees with no ocean in sight. There was no patio or balcony.

Before going to bed, we decided to go eat and hang out at the pool. The food was completely horrendous. It was the most disgusting excuse for food I had ever had in my life. The pool was dirty, so we went to try out the hot tub. We couldn't get in the hot tub from the 3 inches of brown foam floating on the top. We decided to call it a night and go back to the room. I had to personally walk to the front desk to ask for towels and linens for our beds. My husband and I slept in separate beds on our 20th anniversary night with drunken kids hanging out in front of the elevator (our room) all night yelling and screaming. I didn't go to sleep until 4:00 am.

The next morning we woke up, got dressed in order to get breakfast and get out of the hell out of there. Breakfast was a joke, the food is not suitable for pets. We caught a cab and again, felt obligated to pay gratuity when we arrived at the Riu at 9:00 am. upon which time we were told that we would not have a room until 3:00 pm. We were told we could leave our bags locked up until a room was ready. I explained that I was told (by two different people) that we would have a room available to us at 9:00 am. They once again told me, "no, they would not and it might be ready at 12:00 pm."

After having a discussion with the supervisor on Sunday (can't remember her name, supervisor in the am on 04/15/12), she told me she would put us on a rush to come back in an hour. We got our swimsuits on and went to the ocean while they were getting rooms ready. At lunch time, we were denied lunch due to the fact that we had swimsuits on. We tried to explain our bags were locked up. They still denied us lunch. At 1:00 pm, we went back to see if our room was ready, it was not. At 2:00 pm, we went to see if our room was ready, it was not. At 3:00 pm we went to see if our room was ready and they said "yes, it was."

At that time, we were offered vouchers to the steak house and the fusion restaurant and a voucher for a one night stay at the Riu on our next visit. I explained to the supervisor that we would never be back so the voucher was non-existent to me. I also explained to them that the dinner vouchers would be no good to us because my husband only had dress shorts. The supervisor insisted it would be okay and dinner would be available to us, even with shorts.

We were allowed in the steak house on Sunday night, but were not allowed in the fusion restaurant on Monday night due to short pants. In clear vision, there were adults enjoying dinner at the fusion restaurant in short pants, yet we were denied the right. We went to the Atlantis and had dinner at the Nobu restaurant with shorts on. On our first day at the Riu, I noticed the minibar was empty. The mini bar was stocked with 2 diet cokes only the whole time we were there and the liquor bar had open bottles of liquor that could have been tampered with. We were not very happy.

Manager Carlton - I spoke to him about these problems. He wanted me to come back next day at 9 a.m. to have a meeting with the staff involved. I am paying to be on a vacation, not paying to sit in meetings. I told him I will not be there. He did send a bottle of champagne to the room and a sit-down reservation for 2 for one night. Not bad. I did have 5 in my party though.

I will never go to a Riu Hotel again this vacation, which by the way was a special occasion for us that was turned into a disgusting experience. During my stay, I tripped over a small step that was not painted to warn people about it and seriously hurt myself. I was told by their public relations department to be careful where I walk (several people have fallen at the same place before me according to the towel attendant on duty)! No one called back a day or so later to make sure I was ok. Facilities were overcrowded; poor organization combined with a lack of staff made for a very poor experience.

We did but the attendant still said that he could do nothing for us. This to me is non-negotiable. Secondly, one of the bedrooms we booked (room 3016) should have had two queen beds (it did not); instead my daughter had to sleep on a cot for one week. That is not what I paid for. Thirdly, there was a disgusting scent coming from room 3016. I am appalled that my children had to live in these conditions for any period of time but again the staff said they would look into it and nothing changed. The only thing I could do was to keep the sliding glass door open. This is unacceptable that the welfare of my children be compromised. I found the staff at front reception to be useless: they never addressed any of the problems brought to their attention but rather bought themselves time at the expense of our vacation. Five-star hotel doesn't ensure 5-star customer service and that is clearly the case here.

With the condition of my back and neck I was very upset with having to do this but not as bad as the condition I was in the next morning. To make matters worse, the beds provided were old and hard as a rock. In the morning I complained and was told that they were okay and that there were no other rooms to move us to which I found hard to believe. We spoke to people at the pool during the day and they told us that their beds were great and if anything on the soft side.

In the Sunquest Travel magazine it is written that clock radios are provided in all of the rooms so I spoke to them at the front desk and we were told that they were all defective and they were removed. I thought that's a little strange as well, and not a very good excuse for not providing something that was supposed to be there. An insult to our intelligence. We had to depend on my friend's blackberry for music and alarm to get us up each day. We were recommended by Sunquest to use your hotel so that we wouldn't have to be put through such inconveniences at a lesser grade hotel.

We signed up in the morning for the Japanese restaurant and an hour following the meal, I was terribly ill and vomiting. I didn't say anything thinking that it was just me until we went to the pool the next day and found out a few other couples were sick as well. I didn't complain because it had proven to not be effective the past few times. I did complain about the fridge not being stocked as we were told it would be. There was never enough diet coke stocked.

The majority of staff at the front desk was acceptable but at times their attitude was very dismissing. I tried to cash a traveler's check there and had to return to my room twice to get them the proper ID since my staying there wasn't good enough for them. When I finally signed the check, they refused to give me American money regardless of the fact their drawer was filled with it. They told me they wouldn't do that and I had to go to the Sunquest Agent. I bought a pair of shoes there and spent way more than I wanted to, but fell in love with them. They cost me $158. I no sooner got back to the hotel and dressed for the evening than I walked to the main stage and didn't see the one grid I think in the entire hotel. My heel got caught in it and is now ruined. I didn't have them on for more than 15 minutes.

I am very disappointed in the Riu. We were going to go back to Jamaica or Punta Cana or somewhere within the next few months but after this, I won't stay at the Riu. I would like to hear back from you on this before I put my experience on Facebook and Twitter. I am not the type of person to work my butt of for the money I make in life, only to go away and waste my money on a trip at a hotel that has no respect for me as a guest. I also tipped very well. The manager at the pool bar can tell you that he loved the $10's I gave him as did with the others.

Over the last 5 years my wife, son and I have been guests at several Riu Palace resorts throughout the Caribbean and have always been very happy with the accommodations, food, service and above all security. However, this past week was a complete nightmare due to both horrible service and a complete lack of security. From the moment we checked in, my wife and I noticed a lack of organization resulting in unprecedented delays. After a long flight and travel time from the airport, it was disappointing and frustrating that our room was not ready by the promised 3 PM check-in time. Further, when finally presented our keys at 4 PM, we had to return to the desk, wait on line for a third time to have our keys re-programmed because the originals did not work.

Throughout this ordeal we were never offered any apology or regrets. In fact, the staff seemed overwhelmed and callous, which we attributed to the mobs of what we came to find out were "friends and family guests" checking in as well. As the week went on, this spirit of discontent and callousness continued from the vast majority of the staff. Also, continuing were the influxes of "friends and family" guests in the resort which created a constant air of mayhem, disrespect and cronyism not to mention a deeply unsettling feeling for my wife, 8-year-old son and myself. Rather than a relaxing family vacation at an upscale resort, we all had the sense like we were in the midst of a very bad spring break at a cheap motel. There are several stories which will paint a clearer picture.

First, when we finally were able to get in our room, my wife noticed that we were only provided with two large bath towels and no hand towels. Obviously, this is not the end of the world so we simply called the front desk to ask for more. However, there was no answer. We tried an hour later and still there was no answer. On our way to eat that evening, we stopped at the desk and asked for the additional towels at which point we were callously told, "We will try to get some up to you later, but we are running short." The towels did arrive at about 9 PM, but this issue continued intermittently throughout the week.

The third night, I went to the desk after calling and getting no answer and asked for matches. The young lady graciously asked me to wait a moment, left her station and returned moments later with a box of matches. Two nights later, I returned to the desk and asked a different representative for the same only to be very curtly told, "We don't have matches, you can go buy them in the store around the corner." Again, matches or lack thereof are hardly the end of the world, but the attitude of the young lady spoke volumes as to the training and or hiring practices in place at this particular resort. In addition to the inhospitable service in many instances, the "friends and family" guests were in many cases equally discourteous.

The buffet restaurants were a free-for-all with ill-mannered adults and children alike cutting in lines, using foul language and stacking food like it was their last supper. Again, we have never witnessed this type of behavior at any Riu anyplace else and I believe it was a consequence of a frenzy caused by this very loose "friends and family" policy existing at this resort whether official or not.

While I can acknowledge that management cannot be responsible for the behavior of the guests, I do take issue with the lack of security and safety in place for the guests. For instance, due to this Independence Week influx of local guests, the rather narrow main ingress and egress to the resort was congested down to one single passable lane due to cars being parked on each side of the three lane street. On the day we left, we were minutes from taking a ride from a local cab driver because the transport we paid for with our package was over an hour late. When the driver arrived with minutes to spare, we were told that the truck that has broken down in one passable lane prevented his ingress to the pickup point by the main lobby. What if there was a true emergency like a heart attack or a fire?

Another, blatant disregard for safety and security was perpetuated by the beach patrol every day. Each day we had to be on constant guard both on the beach and in the water as there was a regular practice by local peddlers of conch shells, cannabis, necklaces and handmade bamboo cups to constantly solicit sales both on the "private" beach of the hotel as well as the roped off safe swimming zone in the ocean. All the while, the Riu Beach Security staff looked on and at times even engaged in small talk with the solicitors. One day while in the water, I was badgered several times by a local to rent his Jet Ski. I told him I was not interested at the moment but may consider taking my son the next day.

The next day when I decided to take my son, the man was not around so I walked down the beach to where a group of local Jet Ski operators had congregated by the hotel provided water sports area. I proceeded to take my son on Jet Ski ride only to be met by the man I had spoken with the day before when I returned. The man proceeded to voice several words of discontent at me for not renting from him and was so clearly enraged that my son clung to my leg in fear and the other operators began to yell at him to back off. Again, where was the security? I am a 195-pound man with extensive self-defense training and I had to think twice about my safety and that of my son while paying to relax?

The last and probably worst case of lack of security or a blatant failure of the Riu staff to follow safety protocols occurred on Thursday night when my family and I were awakened at 4:00AM by the blood curdling screams of a young woman and the loud cursing of an enraged man. After I listened for about 10 minutes, my wife began calling the front desk repeatedly, but again there was no answer. I proceeded to run up the stairs outside my room the second floor where I encountered a large black man screaming at his girlfriend in the native tongue in the hallway and punching her repeatedly. At this point I started yelling at him to stop and several other people came out of their rooms.

The man continued to yell at the top of his lungs as well as kick, punch, push and at times even wield and iron at his girlfriend for the next 45 minutes until she was a bloody mess. During this tirade, one very small hotel personnel arrived but was helpless and proceeded to run to my room to use our phone to call for back-up further traumatizing my wife and hysterical 8-year-old son. In the meantime, I was able to usher the beaten woman away from her enraged boyfriend to hotel staff who took her to the lobby. The whole incident lasted over an hour and not one of my wife's calls to the front desk were answered nor was there any substantial force of Riu Hotel security present beyond what looked to be two slightly built, young male desk staff.

As you could imagine our family vacation to the Riu Ocho Rios was the worst experience we have ever encountered at a resort. Since we have been guests at several Riu's and never experienced anything close to this level of ill treatment by staff, lack of security, disregard for safety or lack of courtesy by fellow guests. At this point, we would be hard pressed to ever book with any Riu again and retuning to Jamaica is absolutely out of the question. When my parents picked us up at the airport with open arms and smiles, they asked my little boy, “How was your trip.” He responded, "It was horrible!" I have my own business and work six and seven days a week to provide a nice life for my family. Needless to say I feel ripped off and angry by the circumstances that Riu put my family in for seven days.