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Club Riu Negril 05/07/2004
Reviewers Rating:  Excellent
Club Riu Negril
Background
We went as a family of five, kids 25, 23 and 16, to celebrate kids’ university graduations and a 50th birthday. To give you some perspective, we are relatively inexperienced travelers. My wife, then 14 year old son and I went to the Riu Mambo in the Dominican Republic (DR) in 2002 as our first all inclusive experience, and my wife and mother-in-law went to the Riu Bachata in the same Puerto Plata complex this February. We’re scheduled to return to the Bachata in November for a friend’s wedding. Obviously we like the Riu chain. We decided to take a chance with some hesitation on a trip to a brand new resort because of the price and because it was a Riu resort. We were not disappointed.
We flew to Jamaica on April 23, arriving the first day the hotel was open. Flight was with Skyservice and seating, as expected, was tight. Meal was the box lunch others reported but was actually not bad with a fresh croissant ham and cheese sandwich. Trip was about 4 hours in the air. No problems with customs and finding the bus.
It was raining when we arrived and very humid. The bus made the expected stop soon after we left the airport as we had read for some to get Red Stripe, the local beer, for the trip. We had been told with the new road to Negril, it would be a 50 minute trip. Including the 10 minute stop, it was more than 90 minutes, probably because of the rain. Our return trip to the airport (also in rain) was 65-70 minutes. Good road though without the bumps described by many on the old road. Trip goes through a few small towns with the road running near the water most of the way.
The Arrival
There was a lot of curiosity/concern about what would await us being opening day for the resort. I hate to use the Jamaica cliché, but “No problem mon”. We pulled in the driveway and the lights were blazing in the beautiful, large, high ceiling lobby. The lobby bar is on your right as you come in, reception on your left. There was a long line waiting for keys with the arrival of the two buses from the airport and they passed out the welcoming drinks as we waited. The line was long enough to have a Red Stripe as well.
We had requested a triple occupancy room for the kids and a double for my wife and myself. We were in building 3 (there are 4), about a five-minute walk from the lobby. It seemed a long way in the dark the first night but really wasn’t bad. We climbed with our luggage to third, top floor (no elevators). We walked into our room and it was a typical Riu setup with two ¾ beds pushed together, bureau with TV, nice double sink bathroom with bath and shower, and balcony. There was the usual safe (free) in the closet and a good number of clothes hangers, which was a pleasant surprise. The bar in the room was again the usual Riu style with four dispensers with rum, gin, vodka and Jamaican brandy. The bar fridge had Pepsi, Diet Pepsi, orange, soda water and two types of local beer, Red Stripe and one other we didn’t enjoy as much. All liquor was free, of course, and restocked every two days or as needed.
The kids’ room across the hall was exactly the same without a cot so we were going to call the front desk for one until we noticed another door off the short hall entranceway to the room. Their key opened the door to reveal another full room with the same amenities. Our room had the exact same thing so the kids wound up each with their own room and bathroom. An amazing bargain, basically four rooms for the price of two, but I’m not sure how this will be priced in the future. They do have the usual standard rooms as well as suites available.
Nearing 11:30 pm local time (12:30 Toronto time), we went looking for something to eat and drink. The Pizzeria was open and obviously had pizza (several different types, all very good) as well as salads, breads, pop, beer, wine and other things. Smoked salmon as a late evening snack started the trip off well. OK, more detail, less reminiscing otherwise this will be far too long.
The Resort
Restaurants
The main buffet was open for breakfast (7-10) and dinner (I think 6:30 –10). Great freshly made smoothies, fruit, pancakes, French toast, freshly made omelets, donuts, etc were our main choices for breakfast but there was lots of other choices. We sat on the terrace everyday, a great spot for breakfast, with views of the pool and the ocean.
Continental breakfasts were available after 10 in the pizzeria after the main buffet closed altho we were up everyday for the main breakfast so we did not sample the continental breakfast.
Lunches were available from 12 to 4 or 5 pm I think in Shadows before they closed to get ready for the evening meal. They had a roast everyday there as well as several other hot choices, including pasta, hamburgers, hot dogs, fries, etc. Lots of choices, short, fast moving lineups to serve yourself. Great onion rings and great patties although we couldn’t get these every day which was too bad because they were excellent. Pop, water, beer and wine, coffee, tea available here.
Dinner did not have the two sittings or the same assigned table every night as we had in DR. Come and go as you please. Very good selection of food, some nights better than others depending on your tastes. There was always a roast being carved, multiple hot dishes, a tremendous variety. There had a Jamaican theme night once and a Mexican another night. We were somewhat disappointed there was no Seafood night but perhaps that will come with time.
There were two a la carte restaurants for dinner. Both required reservations to be made the morning of the same day. Sir Andrews with two sittings at 6:30 and 9:00 was the more formal of the two, a restaurant used only for the a la cartes. Several great choices, a very good menu we enjoyed twice. The beef tenderloin was excellent and we heard the red snapper was amazing.
The other a la carte was in Shadows, a two level open restaurant that is used for lunches during the day. Sittings for the Steak House a la cart here were at 7 and 9. Again, an excellent meal. I heard some complaints about mosquitoes during dinner but didn’t notice them when we were there.
A la cartes required long pants and collared shirt for men though we saw some cases where this wasn’t enforced. Bathing suits and shirts or cover-ups required throughout the day altho we did see some women wearing the bikini tops without cover-ups in the buffet at breakfast.
The Pizzeria is closed for only three hours the entire day, from 7 – 10 am. It has great pizzas, pop, wine, beer, salads, breads, etc. A great spot and something the DR Riu’s did not have when we were there. Nice to share a pizza around 4 pm if you have the late sitting for an a la carte.
The beach also has a covered area where they cooked and served great jerk chicken during the day.
We are red wine drinkers with meals and can only comment on that as far as wine goes. White and rose was also available. The red was a bottled Italian in all locations. A nice change from the barrel wine we had in DR but still nothing we would look for at home. It does taste better with each glass tho....
Bars
In addition to the beer and wine available at Shadows and the Pizzeria during the day, there are four main bars. The lobby bar is open until I think 10 pm and serves everything you could want. Lots of tables to sit at here, a good spot to wait out a shower. The swim up pool bar is open from 10 am to 6 pm I think. Again, a full selection, and a busy place as would be expected on a sunny day. Sometimes loud and boisterous for those who want that but there are always other quiet places to go. The Plaza bar is situated immediately on top of the Pool Bar and faces the pool and the nightly entertainment area. Open from 10 am to 12 pm with full selection. There is a bar adjacent to the entertainment area as well open for the nightly shows from I think 7 - 1 am.
Only disappointment bar wise was the lack of a beach bar. It would have been nice to have one available on the beach but it really isn’t that far to go. They could put beer and pop dispensers in the same place where they cook the jerk chicken on the beach as an improvement.
Pools
Two of them, one with the bar, and the other for sports. Neither overly large but more than big enough for the numbers there for the first week. It seemed like it could be crowded with full occupancy but certainly not a problem finding loungers or umbrellas when we were there.
Beach
Long and beautiful with lots of loungers and trees for shades. Not a lot of sand between the ocean and the trees. Lots of people pulled loungers in the water in the morning so that they could get more sun because of the way the resort faces. Mainly a sandy bottom but in some places there were weeds and in other places the sand was mushy. The resort is in a large bay with other resorts Riu Tropical Bar, Couples, Grand Lido as well as some other smaller ones), probably a 2-3 mile walk from one end to the other. Due to the bay, there is little wave action and we were initially disappointed with that, thinking it was almost lake like. However, that was only the initial impression and we wound up spending a lot of time on the beach. It was quieter and more relaxing than being around the pools.
Staff
In a word, FANTASTIC. Great people, always smiling, always asking how you’re doing, whether you enjoyed your meal, your day, your sleep, etc. The animation team was amazing with their energy and enthusiasm. As always with the all inclusives, they seem to work all day except for a mid day break but their energy and ability to entertain you never fails. We found it nice to understand the staff but it showed us we could enjoy the experience in the DR more if we were learned some Spanish as we keep saying we should.
Activities
They had all the usual activities – lots of aerobics both in the ocean and the pool, beach volleyball, reggae dance lessons on the beach, horseshoes, ping pong, bocce were the main ones we did – but you could choose to be simply a spectator or non participant as you wished.
Water activities include sailing, kayaks, windsurfing and paddle boats without $. We did try a snorkeling excursion and it was great and inexpensive ($15). We were looking for a laid back and quiet trip and opted not to go on other excursions.
I apologize for the length of this. I read multiple reviews on multiple sites to help plan a trip so I’m thinking others may not necessarily find it too long and boring, especially with it being a new resort.
A great trip for all of us, a terrific destination. Overall we enjoyed the resort, resort staff and food more than the Riu’s in Puerto Plata and will definitely return to Jamaica. We hear there is another new Riu opening in Ocho Rios (sp?) next spring. Maybe we’ll try there but we will definitely return to the Club Riu Negril at some point.
Dave
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