I'm a single female who travels alone,usually to unwind and relax from the stressful environments. Turtle Beach Towers provided me with that comfort. I felt safe, unpressured and relaxed during my stay. The negative reviews posted therefore confuse me because they don't seem to reflect information on the same place I stayed. No it is not the Ritz but you aren't paying Ritz prices - it is set up like mini apartments - great for families with can't afford those expensive all inclusive fees. Great for singles - there is security to keep out all non guests - I'm big on customer service at any price, all my questions were answered and staff knew where to send me. My room was clean, well lit and had a great view of the ocean - as I requested. I would return!

I had heard alot about Jamaica from a Jamaican co-worker and another friend that had been there before so I decided to spend my vacation in Jamaica along with my two sisters and my brother-in-law, I booked our trip for the week of March 24-31st. We were all booked to stay at a large all-inclusive hotel (who will remain nameless) in Ocho Rios. Unfortunately, when we got there, it was in the middle of a carnivale holiday and our hotel was over booked!!! Needless to say, after a long and tiring trip from Baltimore, MD we were NOT happy. We were four in a group of about nine, who were in this dilemma and we were all hot, miserable and very upset.
After waiting in the lobby for over 4 hours, the girl at the desk announced that they had found a few other hotels in the area that would take some of us and that they only had room for two. My older sister and her husband were the first in the line so they were chosen to stay there.
We were sent to the Turtle Beach Hotel. The girl explained that the hotel was not as modern as theirs and was not all-inclusive but was self-contained. At that point, we did not care. My sister and I just wanted a cold shower and a comfortable bed.
When we got to Turtle Beach, the small lobby was filled with guests checking in and we thought: "oh no..here we go again". We were very upset and frustrated and my sister had an attitude that would freeze over Arizona. But the young girl at the desk there was so very friendly and apologetic. (She even apologized for the other hotel being over booked!!)
We were checked into a 1 bedroom unit with a balcony overlooking the pool area. BEAUTIFUL!!!! The room was clean and neat and made us feel like we were really on a Caribbean vacation and not in a hotel somewhere in the USA.
The staff was very nice and friendly and seemed to be always smiling.
We had so much fun!! The experience was great and the cost was much less than if we had stayed at the other hotel. We went grocery shopping and stocked our refrigerator with all kinds of Jamaican goodies and relaxed, kicked back and had a blast!!! In fact, my sister and her husband spent more time with us than they did at their hotel. Two days before our vacation was to end, the other hotel called to say they had rooms available but we declined. We were very happy to stay where we were.
Would we go back? Well, we are booked for February 3, 2006 and my other sister and her husband will be staying at Turtle Beach with us!!!! We made many friends while we were in Jamaica and we can't wait to see them again. Hello to Faye and the staff at Turtle Beach. And George at Margaritaville next door. Yeah Mon!!!

Rachel Butler, MD

Where do I begin. My first stay at Turtle Beach was August of 2004 and that stay was wonderful. Since we had such a great time there in August we booked again to stay in February of 2005. Just returning from our stay at Turtle Beach and it was a NIGHTMARE!!!!! The unit that we stayed in was nicely decorated by was roach infested. We told the front desk and they came and sprayed the room. We were so scared that we kept the lights on 24 hours a day hoping to keep the roaches in hiding. The spraying work for about a day or two and then the roaches were back. We requested several times to have the room resprayed but that never happened.

I feel that Turtle Towers has become extremely run down from our last stay in August 2004. The staff was friendly and helpful.

Since our vacation in February 2005 was such a disaster due to the roaches we cancelled our stay for August 2005 and have booked at a different location.

So beware or Turtle Beach Towers.

We were bumped to Turtle Beach Towers this August due to the hurricane that hit Jamaica the day we were set to arrive. The hotel looked like public housing projects, but surprisingly had a BEAUTIFUL ocean view and view of the gorgeous hills of Ocho Rios. Our biggest problem with this hotel was that it was run-down and dirty. It could be a great place with a good remodeling job. The pool was decent, but rarely cleaned out. By the end of the day, it was full of leaves and whatnot. The restaurant was great. The Jamaican food was authentic and had a great price. Definitely try the Jamaican Breakfast combo. The location was nice, right across the street from the shopping plaza and Margaritaville. Also near to Dunns River Falls. This hotel has a great view of the beautiful ocean, but please note that a visit to the beach requires you to take your room key and walk down a private road to the public beach, where you have to rent a beach chair. But you would benefit by barganing with Captain Vincent at the beach- he has his own little glass-bottomed boat and took us to Dunns River Falls and snorkeling for about $20 US each. A nice day out on the water. All in all, I would never stay at this place again, but it would be ok if you're more concerned with being in Jamaica than your accomodations.