- Jamaica Holidays
- Falmouth
- Riu Palace Aquarelle
1/30
View 30 Photos
Riu Palace Aquarelle
Jamaica, Caribbean
Falmouth
The new beach front hotel Riu Palace Aquarelle is located at White Bay Beach in Falmouth, where you can enjoy a 24-hour All Inclusive service with your family, partner or Friends. This property has 753 rooms with 4 outdoor pools and a children’s pool, Splash Water World wáter park and a Wellness Centre. We have different restaurants including buffet with live cooking stations, themed restaurants such as Gourmet, italian, Japanese and Steakhouse but also a Jerk Grill. If you want to have fun we offer a wide variety of sports such as volleyball, snorkelling, diving, paddle surfing, kayaking or catamaran sailing and there is day and night entertainment. But if you prefer to relax enjoy the best treatments in Renova Spa. Just as you like it.
Facilities
- Beauty salon*
- Spa treatments*
- Massage*
- Steam bath
- Poolside snack bar
- Private pool
- Dining area
- Garden
- Multilingual staff
- Wi-fi
- Please note some facilities may incur an additional fee
The Local Area
Tripadvisor Reviews
4.5 Excellent1,594 reviews
Excellent
64%
Very Good
22%
Average
7%
Poor
4%
Terrible
4%
Location
Cleanliness
Service
Value
Not quite what we expected
We chose this hotel based on a lot of reviews and it was my daughter’s dream choice of holiday.
Firstly, when booking, TUI use different terminology for rooms. We were told we were getting an upgrade from a standard room to a partial sea view room. If you look on the hotels app they don’t have just a standard room but I was not aware. Anyway, I wanted my daughter to feel how I did when going to the Caribbean for the first time when opening the curtains…this time, the sea was in the background but our view was a rough ground car park and storage containers.
Check in was chaotic and other people were pulled out of the queue to check in whilst myself and my daughter just stood at the front like lemons getting ignored.
The room was spacious and cleanliness just ok and we did have to request pillow cases. Large shower and drinks in the fridge refreshed every day bar one. Plenty of plug sockets and I did take an extension lead but I did not need it. My dyson hairdryer would not work because of voltage differences but cloud 9 straighteners did. The hairdryer in the bathroom was actually pretty powerful. The corridors can get noisy at night. Just a heads up-checkout is 12 and we were unable to have the room for a later checkout. We were just zipping cases a few minutes before 12 when someone knocked and said checkout means we should have been in reception before 12. She wasn’t happy with us and I guess we were pushing it for time but were just about to leave. I had asked if anything could be done for my daughter’s birthday-I was given details for an external company that decorate the room if required and the staff will sing to you at dinner if you request too.
The outdoor areas were well maintained and the gardeners were always working hard to make it look pretty. The main family pool always seemed to be cloudy from sun lotion I imagine. In the mornings you could see pool scum lines and floating fruit from drinks. I’ve not experienced this before and maybe having showers directly by the pool would help. If you wish to swim, go early as the pools some become very very overcrowded.
The beach was actually better than I hoped after seeing other reviews. They worked so hard to clear sea weed and difficult as the sea during our stay was never still not clear. If you walk to where the blue tents are the sea is actually much clearer. There were parts with rocks but mostly soft sand. We did go to seven mile beach and here was still, clear water and I loved it. Plenty of loungers but limited parasols. A lady complained to a lifeguard and he said to her well you need to get here earlier. One of the negatives was if I wanted to walk along the beach, security from nearby hotels would ask questions that made me feel uncomfortable. This is not the hotels fault but a heads up if wanting to walk alone.
Drinks-a lot are branded and the rose wine wasn’t too bad. They can be strong and I always found the team in the sports bar to be the most friendly and my favourite place to go, The pool bars were sometimes crazy with preference given to anyone holding a $20 tip so I avoided those. The coffee is the coffee bar was the best! I actually miss my daily coffee from here. Each pool bar has a water station with infused water too.
Food-so much choice at the buffet. Tables were easy to find and clean and tidy, there was a gluten free section and so much variety of fruit. My favourite was the Italian where I had shrimp pasta and my daughter loved the bread which they hand make in the hotel. We did order room service on the first night but limited choice.
Entertainment-the team work so very hard and the shows at night are probably the best I have seen at any hotel. So talented!
The hotel is in the middle of nowhere and taxis are pretty expensive so factor this in. I looked at a taxi for seven mile beach but it was €320. I then did the excursion there with TUI that included ricks cafe. The rep said it would be 2 hours each way but actually took 4.25 hours. If a few can share a taxi, it may be an idea if you want to be quicker.
Overall, there were aspects we enjoyed but would we go back? Absolutely not. An upgrade to overlook a car park, no pool with room to swim and general pool conditions and the way certain staff treated you was not quite the experience I had hoped which was meant to be a pretty special holiday for my daughter.
Review by 916sharonj Stoke-on-Trent, United Kingdom
They have Thieves Working in Housekeeping
The experience went well until day 6 of 7. Went out for an excursion that day at 8am and forgot to lock my safe, and requested for my room to be cleaned. When I returned around 6pm, I noticed that I did leave my safe unlocked, $100 American dollars was missing and the remaining 25k in Jamaican was gone as well! I immediately reported it to security and they questioned me as if I didn’t know what was or wasn’t in my safe. They also informed me that protocol wasn’t followed if staffing comes in and the safe is unlocked, they have to report it up front. The two individuals who entered my room did not do that! Police came and took my report but basically it was my word against theirs. So not only did these two individuals keep their job, but they kept my money too!!!
Ive frequently spent money at several RIU properties from staying also in Ochos, Aruba, Punta Cana and the Bahamas!!! I’m questioning if I ever want to stay at another one. I take full responsibility on my lapse of forgetting to lock it, but no one working there should dare steal from the customers!!! The lack of empathy/sympathy was disappointing from the staff too!!!! The experience was very disappointing!!!
I’m just trying to keep my cool until I leave Sunday…
Avoid this hotel
I rarely leave negative reviews, but this experience absolutely deserves one.
This was my first stay at a Riu resort, and it will also be my last. I spent a significant amount of money to bring my family here, expecting a relaxing vacation. Instead, it was one of the most disappointing resort experiences I’ve ever had.
The customer service was consistently poor from beginning to end. The front desk staff seemed unorganized, poorly trained, and unable to handle even basic requests efficiently. Every interaction involved being asked the same questions repeatedly, wasting everyone’s time without resolving anything.
One of the most frustrating moments came when our luggage arrived at the resort. The staff watched the driver bring my bag to the hotel, yet still refused to release it without creating unnecessary obstacles. It felt like they were making simple situations far more difficult than they needed to be.
Checkout was just as frustrating. I nearly missed my airport transportation because the front desk insisted on seeing my ID and credit card again, despite everything already being on file from check-in. There was no clear explanation, only delays that created unnecessary stress at the end of our vacation.
Throughout the resort, there was also a constant expectation for tips. Good service deserves gratuities, but repeatedly feeling pressured or solicited for tips takes away from the experience and leaves guests uncomfortable.
To make matters worse, there was a fight during the White Party, which completely ruined what should have been one of the resort’s signature entertainment events. Security and overall crowd management left much to be desired, and it certainly didn’t create the safe, upscale atmosphere we expected.
Overall, the resort felt disorganized, the service was disappointing, and the guest experience fell far below what should be expected from an all-inclusive vacation. There are far better options in Jamaica that provide genuine hospitality and value for your money.
I cannot recommend Riu Aquarelle to anyone. I regret choosing this resort and would never stay at another Riu property based on this experience.
RIU Aquarelle
Been to this resort 4 times in the last 2 years.
The resort is very clean food is of quality and plentiful.
Staff are great
Entertainment superb.
Review by Carl H Staffordshire
The Riu brand is just horrible…..stay elsewhere!!
Booked 3 rooms months in advance with added requests to have rooms connecting and near to each other. (This was the only reason we booked this property). Upon check in, receptionist claimed there were no notes in the reservations. All 3 rooms were placed so far apart. The receptionist forgot to give us towel cards upon check in and we were denied towels when we went to the pool. We were forced to walk all the way back to the lobby to get the towel cards ourselves. I had stayed at the property back in April and purchased a pair of shorts from the gift shop. The lady in the shop told me if it didn’t fit, I could come back and exchange it at any time. When I returned 3 months later, the shop refused to do the exchange (unworn with tags intact, and receipt) because the policy is actually 3 days, which I was not told! We went to the steakhouse for dinner and ALL of the food was overcooked. There is mold in the grout in the shower and the furniture in the bedroom is falling apart. (See pics below) Of course no complimentary late checkouts were available. We were forced to pay extra for a late checkout because the rooms weren’t correctly assigned in their system. (Their fault, not ours, and we had to pay for it! Ridiculous!!) We went to the pool and left our towels on the chairs while we were swimming…..when we returned to our chairs, the gardeners were pruning the trees/plants next to the chairs and left all the dirt and leaves on our chairs and towels (see pics below). Again, we had to change out our towels and clean up the place ourselves. I voiced my concerns about the issues we were having in the hotel and nothing was addressed. I gave the staff several opportunities to rectify the issues and make it better and NOTHING was done. Overall, the staff is pleasant and friendly, but they are not very accommodating at all. And the staff is not all on the same page…..one employee will tell you one thing and another employee will tell you the opposite causing tons of misinformation. I would highly recommend you STAY AT THE ROYALTON HOTEL RIGHT NEXT DOOR INSTEAD! It’s a much nicer hotel experience!
