I had my rooms booked 3 months in advanced I read all the good and bad reviews but I did not know that the Bad was going to happen to me. I chose this hotel because it was close to the aiport and from some of the things that i read about. I acutally talked my husband out or the Ritz to stay here. But Boy was I EVER WRONG to do that. When we got to the hotel things looked ok minus the heat I went to check us in and when the lady at the front desk told that the manager was on the way from that monet I knew it was not good. MY poor husband was upset from that point on. The Manager convinced us to travel to another hotel but I knew not too but everyone else was slighly o.k with since i was unable to get any service to book a another hotel at the moment.
So his promise was to pay for out cab to the other hotel and back we could stay 2 days their and remainder at Mo BAY, a free trip to Dunn's River Falls, and a free bar in the room. It took us about 2 hours to get to Runaway Bay. thier we got more promises but at that point I was not listening anymore. we got to our room furious the rooms were horrible you could actually look up and see the sky from inside the room, there were bed bugs, and the air in the other room did not work. at that point i was trying to get on a computer to resuce us from this hell hole. I finally got a room and probably the last at the RITZ CARLTON back in MO Bay so we had to take that long ride back. From that point we enjoyed our self but my first day was a bust. I 'll go back but not anytime soon i want to travel to other places and my next trip to Jamaica will be on a cruise. AVOID THIS HOTEL........................

This was the best all inclusive resort I have ever been to and I have even been to 5 star resorts. The best part about the vacation was the staff. They remembered my name and everytime they passed them they never failed to strike up a conversation. They were all very freindly and hilarious. They definatley made my trip. The food was great. My favorite was the pasta station and omlette station. I had pasta everyday for lunch. The pool was okay...I wish it was a little bigger. There was always something to do everyday and I was never bored. We did 2 excursions...the trip to Negril (which I do not recommend). Its a big waste of money because you basically pay a lot of money to go sit on another beach all day (never mind the 3 hour bus ride it took to get there and back). When you finally get there you are there for most of the day so you obviously need to eat and you have to pay for food which sucks since you are on an all inclusive vacation. The other excursion we did was the snorkelling one which was amazing. It was my first time snorkelling and I loved it. All in all, this was a great resort for the price to pay and i woud never hesitate to return

I just got back from Jamaica - Jul.7 - July 14
I travelled with my sister. We booked this trip 2 days before departure date. It was very last minute but we got a great deal.
I will try to be honest as I possibly can as some of these reviews really scared me before I went.
i will start off by saying that this is NOT a new hotel. It dates back to 1950. It has however been recently renovated.
We arrived at the hotel at 11 am. and was told our room was not yet ready. Which was fine with us... It gave us a few minutes to check out the beach and the resort and have some breakfast. By the time we came back to the front desk at noon we were all set
(as a side note I don't understand why people complained about this so much. Most hotels have a check in time at approx. 3pm and check out at noon.)
We were given room 412 and it was amazing. The room was very clean very large and modern. The view from the balcony was breathtaking.
The tv was fine a little more than 100 channels and I was impressed with the fact that I was able to get CITY TV although we only watched tv at night before bed.
we had no problems with bugs and in fact I was very surprised that there were not that manny mosquitos. I was in Varadero Cuba last year at this time and the mozzies was out of control there. In Jamaica I did not even finish half a can of insect reppelent spray.

So here is the good.
The maid service is great. She scrubbed the place spotless. There were no cute towel animals left on the bed but I appreciated the actual cleaning way more.
The grounds are beautiful and well cared for. The entertainment staff bartenders front staff and security are very friendly. Only a few of the serving staff in the buffet restaurant looked upset and was semi rude.
After the first day I found a nice waitress.. gave her a nice tip and sat in her area every day and the service was excellent.
The nightly shows were ok. I found that either it was really good or not up to my standard... but the dancers were amazing. i would give it a 8 out of 10. VERY important for Parents... The entertainment starts at 8:30 and runs until 10:30 in two hour long segments. It is a bit late and there is good reason. Alot of the dancing and humour content is not for children. There were several adult jokes, phrases dancing etc. But u can also take that with a grain of salt as I do not have any children.
THE BEACH WAS MAGNIFICENT... LET ME REPEAT... THE BEACH IS BEAUTIFUL!
It is not the pure white sand miles and miles of beach like Varadero. You will be dissapointed if that is what you are expecting. The water is crystal clear and run into several beautiful shades of blue.

The food is average for an all inclusive restaurant. They try to do several themes Italian, Jamaican. Medeteranian etc. If you are looking for lobster and shrimp with 5 star cuisine u will be disapointed. The food reminded my of what a really good cook would make for a picnic. It was always delicious and there is always something for everyone.
i did not try the a la carte. I had a hot dog from the beach grill and thought that it was just average. The ketchup does taste different... get over it. If you are willing to let some ketchup ruin your vacation then u should spend your vacation time in therapy instead.

The coffee is delicious the wine is terrible.
The juice is not freshly squeezed like some resorts that I have been to but it was good. Especially the fruit punch.

We took several of the tours.
Firstly the "Spirit of Reggae" tour where we visited Bob Marley's birth and final resting place was very eye opening. I had a great time. This compound is one of the few places on the island that you can buy sell and consume marijuana legally so at the beginning of the tour you have the option to "light up" if u choose to do so.

We purchased the half day tour to Dunns River Falls and climbed the waterfalls with a group! This was an amazing experience. If you decide to this please take water shoes. The rent them there for $5 usd and sell them for $15usd. You can buy them at Walmart for $7.96
During the climb there is a videographer and photographer that make the climb with you. At the end of the tour you can purchase a dvd copy of your condensed climb (15 min) for $40usd or the picture for $8usd

Lastly we purchased the Sunset tour to Negril. This is a very long tour. pick up is at 9:30am and you return to the hotel at approx. 8:30pm. The bus takes you to Margaritaville Negril where u spend the day on the beach until approx. 4pm. Then you are taken to Rick's cafe to see the cliff divers.
I just felt that it got a bit boring and that this trip should be condensed into 5 hours max.
Several other tours came highly recomended but we did not have the time.

It is safe to go off the resort and walk on the hip strip. We walked out at night and also we walked back to the hotel from Margaritaville Montego Bay at 1am with "no problems man"

Here is what I considered the bad.
you need USD for practically everything. Canadians please change your money at the bank in Canada to get the best rate as the do not even accept Canadian there. The rate to change money is so indecent it made me laugh. If you need a little cash influx. No problem. There is a Scotiabank machine 3 block away from the hotel that gives US currency and you can use your debit card from any majour financial institution.

Tipping... by the end of the trip this annoyed me. At some point it was a forceful suggestion. don't forget to tip your driver, tour guide, operator, vacation rep, bartending staff.
the constant suggestions for tips fot on my nerves by day 3 and by day 6 I stopped tipping.
I took $20 usd singles and I am sure I spent at least $50 tipping.

The shops... Across the street there is a vendor market. They are very aggressive and will try anything to get you to come and "check out thier murchandise" my suggestion is that if you decide to go.. know that you MUST bargain or they will rob you blind. take a trip to the souvenier shoppe in the hotel and check out the prices so that you can have an idea on how much certain items cost. Although some are hand made I did not find a great distinction in selection from shop to shop.
If you are a snacker... cookies, chocolate, chips, gum etc. bring it with you. This is not the Dominican and Cuba where u need to bring your own water. The water in Jamaica is very safe for drinking and the maid leaves a new 1litre bottle of spring water in each room every day. Use that space in your luggage for snacks as they are VERY expensive there. The normal rate for a regular bottle of Pringles chips is $4usd and a small chocolate bar or 10pc pack of gum will cost $2 - $4 USD.
There is lots of opportunities on trips to stop and get trinkets to carry home.

It is Jamaica, the men are not afraid to cat call or yell across the street to you. and marijuana is illegal however I could not really tell. I read a review before going that said that you can't get 2 blocks away from the hotel without being offered reefer or marijuana. I decided to test this theory and I got as far as ONE block. Just a quick but FIRM no thank you and you will be left alone.

finally remember that your vacation is what you make it. I have lots more to say but this review is way too long. have a grat Holiday!
PS Make friends with the OMELETTE GUY! You won't regret it!

Myy family and I stayed at the Royal Decameron in Montego Bay for half of our family vacation and loved it. The hotel rooms were clean, bright, and comfortable and the view was absolutely breathtaking. The staff was excellent, anything that we needed they took extra steps to satisfy. I personally loved their entertainment crew...they made our stay very pleasant. Our vacation was exactly that....a VACATION!!! I would refer this hotel to anyone that is looking for a great vacation at a great price. I'll be back in a couple of months!!!!!!!!!!!