My hotel reservation was for the 11th & 12th of December 2010.

My husband and I were allocated to room 7 for the 2 night duration, which is opposite the pool and very close to the outdoor eating area, which offers a excellent view of the mountains and river .

On arrival the hotel was very silent, but we were greeted by the resort owner and warmly inducted to the resort .

Our room was very small, with a low dresser and 1 chair. We were given a jug of iced water on arrival and had available equipment to make hot drinks, but no products (fair enough, we can and did buy our own) for the price per night, one tea bag or a sachet of coffee would have been great for any guest on arrival, in particular those that have had a long journey and arrived late in the night, just enough to get the guest going (considering this hotel is in the heart of Blue Mountain it is not a big ask)

i fully understood that this resort was not a 4 - 5 star hotel on booking, not alarmed to such an extent when there was no security on arrival. However when the door to our room would not lock as it had ceased up by the recent heavy rain, and having some difficulties in loacating staff within the reception area and all the light had been turned off began to cocern me. I eventually found the owner, who then tried to fix it but could not initially and then said not to worry, I could sleep with it unlocked,!!! which I clearly stressed I would do no such thing. She (unhappily) returned with some product similar to WD40 and the lock was fixed!!. I must mention that the entrance to your room is through double door, one that is a grill and the second is glass. To lock the gril is with a a padlock, so if there was a fire in your room - your in trouble should you become unable to open the door yourself ( please note this is a reflectiononroom 7 and i cannot account for the other rooms)

To cut the reflection of my stay short i have inserted the below extract from a letter written to the owners to raise my concerns about the quality and standard of my stay...................

"On awakening from my second night of stay I was surprised to find that I had received a number of bites to the left side of my abdomen and chest area, to such a degree that my skin was blood shot in particular to the chest/ left breast area. My initial thought on assessment was that I had been badly bitten by mosquitoes. However after checking out from your resort and approx 24 hours post bite appearance, the area were more red, itchy, bloodshot and breast area swollen and uncomfortable, to such that I was required to seek medical advice.

I was assessed and informed that what I thought was mosquito bites was in fact 'Bed Bug' bites, which required steroid cream and oral antihistamines. I am very disappointed and disgusted that this is an outcome of staying at the resort. I accept that the situation may have been exacerbated by the heavy rain fall that kept us confined to a room with one chair for 2 persons, and the resort having very little other facilities in such weather circumstance. This resulted in staying within the room and laying on the bed to either watch TV or read for the best part of the day, however this is not acceptable.

The situation in terms of the ‘Bed bugs’ needs to addressed immediately, as I am sure more knowledgeable guests, who experience what I did on awakening will bring it to your immediate attention, and possible demand some form of compensation. Had I known that the cause was bed bugs, I would no doubt have done this.

Again, with regards to room 7, the mosquito net is only partially fit for its purpose, as I was required to tie knots in the net (look to the left side of the net, I am sure the knot will still be there) as there were holes in the net that was letting the blighters in – hence that was why I initially thought my bites were mosquitoes

I feel that I must share with you also the quality of the Breakfast on the Monday morning. After having an enjoyable breakfast on the Sunday morning, we opted to have the same again the following morning. The following morning standard of breakfast was significantly below the previous morning, same basic breakfast, with new ingredients added to the ackee and salt fish I.e. thyme which spoilt it, cooked in a strange tasting oil or butter, and the absence of dumplings and a pile of banana in compensation, coffee was bitter as hell. We did raise it with the waitress.

Finally I think that it was a poor show to your customers, that though the occupancy of the hotel at the time of our booking was low, most of the lights in reception were off; no staff around,,what appeared to be a bar area was closed / no visual products there was no life in that area at all. The following morning the lady on reception advised that the CD player was broke when we got so board with the rain holding us hostage to the room, and the playing cards we found were worn and tatty. Your hotel ambiance/message was, ‘we are not going to waste any electric, effort for so few guests’ and I am convinced that it was not a chef that cooked that dreadful breakfast on the Monday morning

There is no doubt that your hotel is in a picture position, and has an authentic Caribbean feel, you have some good reviews on the key trip advisor website, which is why I chose this hotel"

Readers, I can overlooke luke warm showers and poor water flow, i can overlook that there is no ventalatiion in the rooms c/o painted over, the sheets were not changed, bed not made until late afternoon i understand that the rain is not thier fault, even the attempt to overcharge me for the second (awful) breakfast, and the poor quality TV (as you get what you pay for) but bed bugs - no way.

My advice to people thinking of going there, if beg bugs don't bother you,hit and miss meals and lack of hospitatility then you will be fine, if not avoid.

This review is long overdue. I stayed at the Rio Vista on September 14th, 2009 for two nights with my husband (BF at the time) so we could explore Portland. The good: the locationbeing close to many of the sites we checked out, inlcuding bamboo rafting on the Rio Grande River, Frenchman's Cove beach-one of the most beautiful beaches I've ever seen, boating on the Blue Lagoon-very pretty, and Boston Bay Jerk-yummy jerk lobster. It also has a great view-the eating area overlooks the Rio Grande River. The bad: We stayed in a room, not a villa. It was okay except for the bed and the bathroom. We thought we were getting a king size bed, but it was actually just two beds pushed together which moved and separated at times. The other issue was the bathroom. It was the type of room that didn't have the roof actually attached to the walls and so as you could imagine I had to share the bathroom with all kinds of bugs and lizards. If you don't mind this then this place is great for the value. However our room did not look anything like the pics. Unfortunately I didn't take any of my own to share. I'd recommend this hotel to friends that I know don't mind bugs and lizards-so none of them!

We went to this villa for a mini vacation and it was a great retreat.

The staff were helpful and offered us a cozy room, which was a good thing since it rained the whole weekend. The room was a little small, but clean. We absolutely loved the view of the Rio Grande from the room and it was great walking down the stairway from the hotel to the riverside--it was like a tropical rainforest! We also loved the deck, the poolside and the free wireless internet service.

On the downside, we had a small invasion of ants on the second day and we had to ask the owners to turn on the heater so that we could get a warm shower. Also, be sure that you'll have transportation if you want to get to the town nearby (it's about 10 minutes' drive).

Overall though, if you love great views and a natural environment, it's a great stay and good value.

I have co-led five study abroad experiences for college students. We have stayed at the Rio Vista each year. The setting is beautiful, the rooms are nice, and the staff is wonderful. The location is away from the major tourist resorts which provides for a peaceful, relaxed experience. I recommend rafting on the Rio Grande in the afternoon as you pass by the Rio Vista as the sun is setting.