A friend and myself stayed at the Tropical Bay from 5/5/05 to 5/9/05. This was my third stay at a Riu, so I had a good Idea on what quality to expect. Riu Hotels are very consistent.

BEACH:
This resort has one of the most picturesque beaches I've ever seen. The water remains shallow for yards, and is free of seeweed rocks etc. In fact the only waves present were from jet-skis. It is perfect for families with children or those who love to float around. Snorkeling is available but you want a boat transport out to the reef. In fact, every water sport your heart desires is available on property.

POOL:
Not much to say, never went in it. The swim-up bar seemed to be very popular, and there's a beautiful statue with a waterfall at one end of it. There are actually two small pools, one containing the swim-up bar.

ROOMS:
Beautiful! Marble bath, tiled floors, nice artwork, and great shower/bathtubs. My building was in block 7, which is next to the highway. The only time this was a problem for me was when I tried to nap on my second day in the middle of the afternoon. At night, I didn't hear any traffic from the room. Never saw a bug in the room, and never had a musty smell. IMPORTANT- The hotel operates on 220V and does not have adapters, so bring one If you need to plug anything in. They charged my cell phone in the lobby with no problem.

DINING:
The buffets are fantastic! The breakfast spread is huge with almost anything you'd want. The lunch buffet was alot smaller because it's not in the main dining room. But the Jerk shack is the spot to grab lunch. Dinner was terrific. The buffet was so good for us that we didn't even bother with the specialty restaurants. You have to make reservations for them between 8 & 9am. A few guests enjopyed the specialty restaurants very much. Also, the pizzeria is open all night until 7am, so you always have food available. The pizza's are made to order, and they have salad, deserts etc laid out.

SERVICE:
Great, the front desk were very helpful and friendly. The restaurant staff and Bar-Tenders are very happy, genuine people. Whenever we needed anything, it was done very quickly.

SHOPPING:
There is a great craft market in downtown Negril. Also, Once a week local vendors come to the property and set up about ten stalls with Jewelry, Paintings, Hand Carvings etc. The hotel shops are very expensive, but you pay for the convenience. At the end of the property (heading toward the Riu Negril) Is a great lady with a stall, that has similar goods mentioned above. I bargained some great deals with her, and usually paid her more than the price I talked her down to. These people are extremely poor, and it's obvious. On my last day, I brought her anything I planned on leaving.

All in all this was a fantastic trip, and I plan on returning next year for two weeks! What surprised me were the clientelle this place attracts. I'm 29, and my female friend is 27. We had lots of people to hang out with, the average age here is from late twenties to late thirties. In fact, the party atmosphere here at night was alot more festive than I had expected. There were not many children here, the Riu Negril is marketed to families. You just have to remember you're in the Caribbean, and everything is "No Problem Mon"!

My group stayed at the RTB 5/2 - 5/7. This was quite an experience. We went throughh apple vacations and they had a representative waiting for us right after we had our luggage claimed. We did have to wait in a hot bus for some time until another person going to Club Negril came on the bus. I must say that the Jamaicans drive pretty scarry!!!!!!We tried for an upgrade to a oceanfront room but we didnt get it. I did get a Oceanview room which was fine. I do have knee problems and I didn't like climbing all the stairs to get to the room. The people were very nice. My room didn't really have a musty smell, but my sisters had a very bad sewage smell. She called and called about it but they didn't answer her call. We had brought along air freshners so we all gave her ours. After a few days that did kind of go away. Here is a run down.

Food- Ok. We really enjoyed Sir Anthony's and the Steakhouse. The buffet was nice if you like unusual food. I am plain so I didn't find much I liked.

Beach - was like none I had ever seen. It was so nice. Always lots of chairs and very clean.

Pool. Very nice but we had children so later in the day a lot of topless women came out and we had to watch where the children swam.

Room- was ok a little small but had everything you need. Would really have liked to be at the building closer to everything. I have a bad knee so walking to the pool and eating breakfast and dinner everynight was like a hike. My friends phone was broke and she called several times to get it fixed. they never did. But, she just used ours.

All in all it was a very nice place. The staff was very nice. We tipped a lot and after awhile I couldn't tell if they knew we were tippers so they expected it or what. We tipped every dinner. The entertainment was ok. But, we were there to have fun and just relax so we were not really expecting Vegas or anything. If you just go to relax you will be fine. There were very rude people (american also! so I can't say anything) but we were very nice to everyone and one of the girls did tell us that so of the guest were very rude all the time. The really tried to please us.

The kids loved Shawna and King King. It was kind of sad to see the same people working the breakfast shift and then again late at night. I wondered when they spent time with there friends or family.

Again we had a great time. It wasn't a 5 Star but we enjoyed ourselves. No Problem!!

I was at RIU Tropical Bay for my best friend's wedding from April 21-25. I was pleasantly surprised at the beauty of Tropical Bay when we pulled up. From the moment you step out of your bus/taxi, you are greeted with a smile, a cocktail, and no worries whatsoever.

Although I was initally put in the wrong room, waaaay on the other end of the resort with a garden view instead of my ocean view, my Apple Vacations rep instantly took care of me the next morning and I was immediately upgraded to a Jr. Suite. Besides that little tiny hiccup, it was a very minor inconvenience compared to the fabulous time I had here. (Sidenote: it's worth it to pay for an ocean front room if you can, otherwise you may have to walk quite a ways. If you don't care, and just want some place to sleep, go for the super saver room.)

I HIGHLY recommend going through a reputable travel agency, and/or using a vacation specialist like Apple Vacations, where everything is taken care of for you so you don't have to worry. All inclusives are most definately the way to go.

The pizza place they have has super slow service, but only because they had one poor kid waiting on all the tables. The pasta was pretty good. The breakfast was the best, but make sure you get there before 10:15 before they start getting ready for lunch. (They will take your plate away if it's after 10:30...) Make sure you make reservations for the steak house. By far the best dinner there. Eat there every night if can, as the dinner buffets in other parts of the resort leave a lot to be desired. The bartenders are really fun, and so is the dance club, if you can get a great group of people together to shake their groove thang...

The rooms are great, except for the musty smell on the fist and second floors. Bring a travel candle, or two, or three... but I had so much fun, and it was soooo beautiful there, I didn't really care.

For a local flair without leaving the resort, merchants set up their wares on saturdays from early morning to late at night. It's a great way to buy souvenirs for your jealous friends back home! And, if you care to venture down the beach a little ways, (when you get to the water, take a right, go past the water sports area...) look for Ital, the Rastafarian who will cook you a mean fresh lobster lunch, Jamaican style. While your waiting, the local ladies will be happy to braid your hair for a small fee.

Finally, SPURGE A LITTLE AND GET YOURSELF A MASSAGE ON THE BEACH! It's a FANTASTIC experience. Most of the time you don't need an appointment. I would recommend actually going to the spa to set one up, as they don't seem to answer the phone over there. But "no problem, mon", as EVERYTHING is on Jamaican time, so be prepared for a slower paced atmosphere. If you can get one right before sunset, you'll feel you've died and gone to heaven...

We were at the Riu from April 15th - April 22nd 2005. I have to say it was one of the best vacations that I have ever had. I was with a party of 10. We were 3 seperate families. When we checked in we were told that we would be in 3 different buildings. We questioned why we were not together and they told us that because of our last names they did not know we were traveling together. When we asked to be put together they told us due to a full house they would not be able to accomodate us that day, but they would be able to move 2 families over to our section the next day. We chose that option and were suprised to find all of us upgraded to buiding 6000 with ocean front views! It was absolutely gorgeous. None of our rooms had any smell to it. We did bring plug ins (a tip from others), but did not feel they were necessary and found they did not work as well with their voltage. The rooms were clean, well kept and the mini bar was well stocked. We left a note our first day stating our request for diet pepsi and water and the cleaning staff made sure the appropriate person was told. We did not have towels delivered one day, but after making a call the towels were brought to our room. The food was very good. We went to the steakhouse and the new Japanese restaurant opened the 4th day that we were there. The steakhouse was awesome, but I would have to say the Japanese was even better!! Both required a family member waiting in line, but I felt that it was a nice way to get my day started. I am an early riser, so I grabbed a coffee and a chair and sat and talked with some of the nicest people while we waited. Its times like this that you can find helpful tips from people that have ventured off the property. I would strongly recommend that you have the jerk chicken as often as possible. It was so tasty, that just writing about it brings back a smile. The buffets were all fine. Breakfast was probably the best, but I felt even the pickiest eaters in our party were able to leave feelting full. The beach was the nicest that I have ever seen. The water was very warm with a sandy bottem. It was difficult to leave the property because it was so nice, relaxing and inviting. We did make one day trip to Mayfield falls. If you are ready for exercise of the climb it is highly recommended. We used Ervin Samuels from Jcal Tours (876-373-5395), I called him on the recommendation of another tripadvisor report. He was young, polite, and knowledgeable. He encouraged questions and was happy to fill us in on everthing he knew about his country. He made sure that when he took us to the falls that he hooked us up with a guide that he liked. The guide walked us up the falls, took our pictures and carried our gear. On the return trip down the mountain he told us about all the different plants and engaged us in some facinating conversation. We also took 2 snorkeling trips with the Glass Bottom Boat. You need to contact Roydel the captain of the boat. He and his mate Youman will take you out for 10.00 per person. I believe the hotel charges 20.00 or more. He is located right in front of the office of nature or you can call him on his cell 876-868-7312. He is flexible with his time and made sure to take us to 2 different locations so we got the best of everything.

The only cons I would say about the hotel is that I think they could rake the beach more frequently for straws and cigarette butts and that I thought the staff could have been a little friendlier. I had stayed at Beaches Negril 2 years ago and found the staff there always went out of their way to say hello and to smile. The staff here were helpful, but did not seem to enjoy their jobs as much. I would say without a doubt that I would return to Negril and the only place that I would want to stay is the Riu. It was a better value then Beaches and by far a nicer hotel and property. I would not hesitate to go back.