We arrived on the 28th july for 2 weeks , 2 couples to celebrate a 25th wedding anniversary. On arrival the airport was busy it took us about 45 mins to get through arrivals. At the hotel we got booked in real quick and were given a rum punch .
Our rooms next to each other in block 4 were very nice with flat screen tv ,fridge full of drinks and rum,gin.vodka,brandy on optics.
Lovely large bed and a sitting area and balcony with sea view .
We had evening meals in the buffet 3 times,the other evenings we done the a la carte restaraunts wich we really enjoyed been waited on with some nice food.
During our stay we got a taxi into negril and done some shopping and tried a few bars(THE SPORTS BAR & THE RED DRAGON) the locals were good to us and said that they were pleased that we left the complex to see the real jamaica and people.The staff at the hotel could not do enough for you and there is no truth that you have to tip for good service we got good service the whole holiday and tipped when we felt it neccessary.
The beach is fantastic (TIP) take some bread in the morning and go to the beach and feed the fishes.The jerk chicken is a nice aftenoon meal to have.The trips are good but if you prefered to yuo can get in with a taxi driver as we did and do the trips with them in more comfort .
Walk along the beach to sister hotel and have a few drinks there and on way back buy a beer of the local beach bar (the office of nature)
IN ALL - ROOMS EXCELLENT - STAFF EXCELLENT
FOOD - LOTS OF VARIETY SOMETHING FOR ALL 4 star
BEACH - FANTASTIC - LOCATION GREAT.
I HOPE I GET BACK TO STAY AGAIN.

We have just returned from Jamaica, having booked to stay at the Riu Tropical Bay 5th to 19th. We knew that the hotel was to close for re-furbishment on 20th, but had been assured by First Choice Holidays that nothing would affect our holiday. The first 2 days were fabulous!! Great rooms, the best beach we have ever seen, gorgeous clear water, decent food and no shortage of sun-loungers, what more could we want??????????
At 8am the next morning the demolition started and continued daily until 6pm. The noise was deafening and the work created dust, forcing Riu to close the beach restaurant, which was the one everyone used for lunch. At this point the hotel was very quiet. One night there was only 3 of us playing Bingo!! The staff were pleasant, but obviously not enthusiastic because the following week they would be out of a job, until after Christmas, if they were lucky.
After 6 days of this we and 2 other families, managed to get moved to the new Grand Palladium Hotel in Lucie, which was fabulous, but didn't have the beautiful beach that we went to Negril for.
When the Riu becomes a Palace it will be a really fantastic place to holiday in Jamaica because the beach is so wonderful at this point. So, if you intend to go next year, then this hotel will be a very good choice.

Ok,I have been home for a few days now and I'm trying to put into words our trip to RIU ropical Bay,Please bare with me I have ALOT to say! First, this is our 2nd trip to Jamaica,the 1st time we were married at the Sandles Whitehouse Resort an It was beautiful there,but rather boring for a younger crowd. Now I know that it was a 5star and the RIU is a 3 star...but will be 5 after the work is done.Well 3 star it is and then some. We are NOT snobs and are not picky ppl,we camp and fish and love the out doors but when we pay for a resort we want what we pay for and I feel it could have been better. our flight was fine got through everything rather quickly and nicely. Ride to the resort wasnt too bad with 1 stop on the way for bathroom and drink breaks. Check in was smooth with a nice juice drink on arival.We are a family of 3(myself,husband and almost 18yr old son).We also went with friends from USA and Jamaica. We booked 2 rooms for us 3 ,side by side,Our room was nice,clean and was newly done...We were in the new section,unknown t us 1/2 the resort was shut down,but I'll get to that in a min.My sons room use clean,but the bed was not made fully, and his toilet was a little slow,but thats all livible.Now we also knew the resort was closing on the 20th to upgrade all areas of this place,what we didnt know was that they had closed 1/2 the resort and were doing the upgrades at that time! It was sooo loud on the beach we spent time down farther from the pools and bar area because we couldnt hear eachother when we were talking and it was just not a pleasent ocean expieriance.The good thing about it? Only 1/2 the ppl so they didnt have lines for dinner and using the boats and things like that, beach chairs were easy to find and in great places. There were topless woman on the beach, didnt bother us...but some it does. You could walk to the sister resort on the beach but you walked through the common beach and you did get asked ALOT to look at their things and if you "needed" anyhting...Cigs can be bought on the beach for $7,at the resort store they are $11.00 I think,I dont smoke but the hubby does.The food was good, at least it looked really good but when I would eat the meat it was kind of gamey....so I stuck with chicken and veggies and fruit all week,but hey I lost some weight so thats a good thing.(everyone else I went with lived on seafood all week and LOVED IT).oh and due to the upgrading we were down one resturant and couldnt use the gym or the spa.And we do like to use both when on vacation.The first night in our room,we noticed that the pillows had a REALLY BAD smell of mold to them,I even spraid with Febreze and it was still there! so I called the front desk the next morning and asked for 3 new ones....by 9pm we still didnt get them so I called again and got them within 20min. fresh and new! Then while lying in bed we saw what looked like mold all over our ceiling.From reading reviews from others I new complaining wouldnt get me far so we oppted to suck it up and ejoy what we had.The workers were very nice always saying hello,good morning and good night,only met 1 or 2 that didnt want to talk to ya.As for the fun at night we were in bed by 9pm and up every day around 6am so we didnt have much of a night life. We were busy in the day and out cold at night.The power did go out every day for a few seconds and it rained I think 3 days for about 10mins.We didnt care,they give ya unbrellas in your room so we used em.I know I have lots more I could add but I thinkl you get the picture. Would I go back...only if they GAVE it to me for free,but mainly because I dont like staying in a place more than once,their is tooo many more resorts out there I would want to try.Feel free to contact me if ya need more info,but remember they are upgrading so any one that is going after the 20th of AUG. should have a better expirieance than we did.

been to jamaica ten times///riu tropical four times.got back this june!!!!!!!!oohhh rainy season low prices?guess what no rain at all!!!!!!!!!!!booked my trip from nyc area with air for two for $2700 total!cant beat it!ive stayed at sandals/couples/lido etc....yes you will get more restaurants&bars&water ski boats but you will pay 50% more.the rooms all have balconies and in room stocked bars!the food isnt fantsastic but it isnt bad either!the beach is the best around and it isnt even close!better then the pricey grand lido&sandals!!!!!!!!!this riu has less kids than the riu negril and i think its cleaner also.......the pools could be bigger but so what!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!heres a tip!!!!!!!if you can pay the $200 per person round trip shuttle flight from montego bay do it!!!!!!!!!!!!!!you dont have that 2 hour ride from hell to the hotel and you leave alot later on the last day!!!its also a great scenic ride(if its not raining)another tip!go to the "rockhouse hotel"(look it up)15 minute cab ride for dinner on the cliffs then walk right next door to the "pirates cave bar"better than ricks(not as touristy)another tip,take tip money from home like singles and fives,give the bartender a five each morning and they will treat you great,dont have to but it goes a long way!!!oh yeah bring your own cooler cups so you dont have to run to the bar alot with their small cups!!!