Everything you need to know about staying at Rooms in Ocho Rios. This is an extremely long BUT very helpful review.
First of all, if you plan on having a relaxing vacation with peace, quiet and harmony all around you, do NOT book your stay at Rooms. I would never recommend this hotel to anyone and to be quite frank I wouldn't recommend Ocho Rios to anyone! GO TO Negril or Port Antonio!!! After my hotel review, I will review the hotel area and how to best handle the constant harassment by the locals!
I lived in Kingston, Jamaica for a good chunk of my life and I have been ALL around Jamaica. I have stayed at MANY hotels while travelling the country and I've never had any issues with any of them, until I went to Rooms. I had my cousin's wedding to attend in Kingston and decided that my husband and I would stay in Ochi and take the Knutsford Express to Kingston and back. We chose rooms because it was quite cost effective and seemed OK. (We didn't pay too much attention to the bad reviews until after booking and still thought that it wouldn't be so bad!)
The bus from the airport dropped us off at about 8PM. It was rainy and dark as December is NOT the best month to vacate to Ocho Rios. You have to walk through the half indoor/outdoor diner to get to the check-in desk where we were checked in immediately and the lady at the check-in counter was pleasant enough but not overly friendly. We walked to our room and were impressed with how clean and illuminated the halls were, as if they were just painted, renovated. We walked into our room and to our surprise it looked clean. We then read the note on the side table stating that the sheets will not be washed every day unless we request it in the interest of saving water. We then examined the top bed spread and found removable stains. Yuck. The AC worked very well so we had no complaints with that however if you turn it off for at least an hour, you will get a funky mouldy smell in your room. Bring air-freshener/perfume. We checked the windows to make sure they were locked but the sliding door was unlocked AND the lock was broken. We called for maintenance and Junior came up to take care of it. In fixing one side, the other got unlocked but my husband took care of that. Junior also showed us how to use the safe which is of no extra charge and easy to use. Unfortunately during our stay we lost hot water 3 times and lost running water altogether on the day we were leaving for Kingston. Desperate for showers, my husband and I walked to the public showers on the beaches which were surprisingly clean... You could smell the cleanser. (We felt homeless.) The toilet would not flush properly for the majority of the time and almost caused a minor flood on one occasion. We called for maintenance but no one came for a few hours. Finally, my husband went downstairs to get the plunger himself, getting a rude attitude from the reception desk lady. After that day, the toilet flushed but you HAD to press down on the lever for app. 5 seconds. The toilet seat wasn't bolted on well so if you have little ones, they risk falling off or falling in.
We found the bathroom gross! I was always reluctant to wash my hands as the faucets were DISGUSTING! Mouldy, cracked, dirty. There was mould in the bathroom and that is where the small closet is located. The bottom of the bath tub is OK but we still wore our flips flops. The floors are kept clean. The furniture is old and battered and all the TV channels have very bad pictures. The bed mattresses are firm and not too comfortable depending on how you like to sleep. I personally tossed and turned and woke up every 4 hours. If possible, bring a blanket. You have to leave the AC on to prevent that smell, however it gets quite cold and you do not want to cover yourself with that rarely washed top cover. (Comforter... not too comfy...) The alarm sounded off a few times in the middle of the night as some guests didn't realize that there is no smoking in the hotel. Also remember, marijuana IS in fact illegal in Jamaica contrary to popular belief. The one night that I was in a deep sleep, there was a man yelling like a LUNATIC in the hotel. I woke up startled! He was swearing and going crazy, arguing and yelling at someone. This went on for a good 20 minutes until he was escorted outside. We were in a room at the far corner of the hotel so I can only imagine what the other guests had to endure! I guess when you stay at a cheap hotel; the possibility of cheap guests staying there is greater.
The continental breakfast consisted of, dry cereal (Raisin Bran, Frosted Flakes and Corn Flakes.) There were always baskets of white and brown bread and an industrial toaster. It's a little crumby and grimy. You can eat that with butter and Guava Jelly Jam or raspberry jam, depending on the day. They may serve little muffins or cakes but that's about it for the continental breakfast. For app 4.99$ US you can get a regular eggs and Bacon breakfast and for 5.99, a Jamaican breakfast. (Callalou, Ackee and salt fish...) Note, at the time 1$US was equal to 84$JA. We never ate lunch or dinner at the hotel so I can't comment on that. We left the grounds and ate at KFC, Island Grill or Mothers... Everything is of walking distance and the food is good.
The pool is clean and the man who cleans it takes a LOT of pride in what he does. I can't remember his name. I would like to say Brian but I'm not sure. Anyway, you can refer to him as 'super star' and he'll laugh. Very kind and hard-working! The pool was way too public for me. There were WAY too many people around for us to enjoy a leisurely swim. We would walk the extra 12 feet and go to the beach. The beach area is small. You definitely cannot expect a 7-mile beautiful turquoise beach in going there. The sand isn't shimmering white as I like it and a cruise ship docks there every day except for Saturday and Sunday. (While we were there anyway.) It's definitely not always pleasant to have that in the way! We walked to reggae beach. It was almost an hour to walk there and a 10-15 minute taxi ride. It is 9.50$US to get into and they serve food (Not included in the initial fee) and play reggae music. Captain Kirk is the hotel taxi man and he will get you there and back for 15$US. It's a shorter distance to go to Duns River Falls which is nice to hike if you enjoy freezing cold fresh water. Most cabs will charge 20$US return but you can bargain.
Now for the constant harassment! As soon as you leave the hotel, people will ask you if you need a taxi. There is one nice guy James, who speaks Spanish as well as English of course. Very nice guy but other than him, stick with Captain Kirk from Rooms. Every 2 seconds, someone is asking you if you need a taxi, want you hair braided and my personal worst; they just start walking with you and start up a conversation. After that, they ask for money. We got suckered into that on the very first night. Some man started walking with us and my husband, being the kind person that he is, continued the conversation. The guy showed us a few places and at the end, my husband gave him like 5$US and the guy asked for more, "Can you do better than that?" ARE you KIDDING ME? We were angry with that and ended up being extremely rude to anyone who spoke to us after that. I figured out how to be polite AND keep people from harassing... I broke out my Jamaican accent. I'm fair-skinned so it took people by surprise (although there are MANY types of Jamaicans) AND it worked! Here are some key phrases to practice: If someone says "Taxi?" You say "No Suh!" DO NOT say "NO MAN." If someone asks to braid you hair, you say "Nah, me nah like dat." If they insist, keep walking and shake your head. If people are harassing you to enter their shops, tell them that you are from Kingston. "No Suh, a from Kingstun yu nuh. I get dis areddy" Practice these key phrases. After stating it once, just shake your head from then on. The people remember your face the next day and you are harassed WAY less!!!! Don't look too nice either. Also, if you ask someone for directions, they will walk you there and then expect a tip. Try not to look lost. It's a bit of a zoo there. You don't entirely get away from the harassment within the grounds of the hotel. Rooms' beach is a public one so locals can pay to come in and talk to you. You will have people coming up to you every few minutes telling you about their excursions and asking if you'd care to jetski or whatnot. You can bargain with these people. Sylvester, an older man is always there and quite trustworthy. You can book excursions with him and find him on the beach, although he will probably find you first.
Staff at the hotel: For the most part, the staff was ok. We met REALLY friendly people such as the smiling cleaning lady, her hair always pulled back, her birthday on January 9th I believe (I wish I knew her name) and like I said before the pool man. There were some friendly waitresses as well but not all. There was only ONE friendly desk person. There's another one with a reddish colour hair who was mildly disrespectful and rude on a few different occasions. My husband left the hotel in a bitter mood after she had checked us out. It was a very quick check out at least!
If you HAVE to stay at rooms for whatever reason, plan excursions. We did the Blue Mountain bike tour and although there were many stops, we REALLY enjoyed the beautiful scenery. The tour guides were friendly and hilarious!
Ultimately, I am definitely NOT recommending this hotel NOR this area to anyone. It's a disgraceful representation of Jamaica! No man!
Room Tip: You will never escape the noise! Bring ear plugs and ask for a view of the pool, second floor. (Mo...
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This review is the subjective opinion of a TripAdvisor member and not of TripAdvisor LLC
