went to jamaica which we normally wont do prefer going elsewhere but was a good vacation....food was fantastic...but drinks could be improved my biggest complaint would be with the service which i understand is a common thing...for instance i was approached by one of the maids while i was in my room getting changed asking me to get her a drink at the bar....i was rather surpised by an employee approaching a guest with this request so just informed her that i was rather busy ...she left but then came back again about 10 minutes later to say that she was really thirsty and would like a frozen drink...the fact that this woman had my room key ...this incident happening at an upscale resort had me seriously concerned ....would i go back to jamaica....no

Stayed here January 13 2012 for a week with 3 other women. We were treated to some of the best service i've ever had. The food was very good, the staff were awesome, the drinks were great. Everyone was always swinging and swaying to one song or another, it was soo catchy. There were smiles and service from sun up to sundown. The hotel was huge, so you had to plan your day so you weren't walking back and for to your room for every little thing, The rooms were spotless, mini bar repleneshed daily, extra towels daily. The evening there were security on each floor, so you didnt have to worry about walking about the resort by yourself if you had to. Plan on doing alot of walking, their property is very big. The best beach is on the far side of the resort, with resteraunts and gift shops close by. The Jerk Chicken was awesome, and daily entertainment was good. Nightly entertainment was a little lacking but the disco was fun. I would come back here again:)

Stayed at the Gran Bahia Principe in Runaway Bay from Jan 15th-Jan 22nd 2012. Travelled with my husband and 2 children (aged 8 and 5) along with our friends and their 6 year old daughter. We are all in our late 30's, party of 7 in all.

Upon reserving our trip in November 2011, we had several requests: connecting rooms, top floor with ocean view, requested King bed with pullout couch for 1 room and 2 double beds for 2nd room. Upon arrival, check-in was a breeze (we had the Golden Club and had a separate area to check in and although there were quite a few people, it didn't take more than 15 minutes). We arrived at 1:30pm and the rooms were not ready yet, no problem, as we were starving and took the time to go grab some lunch at the Orchid buffet. Upon returning around 3:00 our rooms where ready. Headed up to room 23502 and 23503....ALL our requests were fulfilled!!! and we DIDN'T email the hotel 1 week before as many guests recommed you do. Room well appointed, clean and spacious with minibar replenished daily with 2 large water bottles, 2 orange sodas, 2 sprites, 1 coke and 1 diet with some pringles chips....nice! Daily maid service as well and we were never in the need of towels, faceclothes or handtowels.....replenished every day. Our friends did encounter an issue with their toilette and received a note that they would have to change rooms. When we explained that we were travelling as families and needed connecting rooms, they were very accomodating and moved all of us two floors up to rooms 23702-23703 , the rooms were exactly as the ones on the 5th floor. Again, what amazing service!!!

The beaches are nice but not long stretches of sandy beach like you will find in Cuba, Mexico or the DR, but still very beautiful in Jamaica. If you have your heart set on taking long beach walks, well this resort wouldn't be for you and I would recommend you visit the beaches in Negril (7 mile beach) if this is the type of ocean front you are looking for. The main beach in front of the hotel is nice to look at but that's about it. The beach consists of rocks (no soft sand and need shoes or sandals to walk in comfort). And even in the ocean is very rocky. However, on this beach if you are facing the wedding gazebo, to the left of the gazebo is a great place to snorkel. Nice reef and coral, all sorts of fish (I felt like one of them as I swam with a school of fish for over 5 minutes). Also saw stingrays, eel and baraccuda. Bring some bread or banana from the buffet and you will love the show underwater!

The best beach for swimming is the one situated at the far end of the resort, right below the night entertainment/shopping area, this is were we spent our entire week. This beach has a very nice stretch of natural sand, in and out of the water. The beach is nice to walk, not a long walk but still nice and at the very far end (near the nude beach) is a bar and washrooms. You could walk out far into to ocean and still be in shallow water. We really liked this especially that we had our kids with us. They could safely play in the water as I supervised from my beach chair.....ahhhhhh.

For the food, I was a little disappointed. Don't get me wrong, none of us starved and none of us got sick. I was always able to find something to eat and never left feeling unsatisfied. The only problem was that for a 5 star rating hotel, the selection of food left to be desired. Not many traditional Jamaican dishes, just a small area of 4-5 trays of Jamaican food. I stayed at the Grand Palladium Lady Hamilton in Jan 2011 and found the selection of foods to be so much better. We didn't try the à la carte restaurants, so I cannot comment on those. The bartenders I crossed where all very friendly and happy to serve (and this wether I tipped or not). I never felt like I had to tip and didn't always, but brought lots of $1's and used them all up. The employes don't make a big salary and I know our tips really help them out, so I was pleased to do so.

With regards to other travellers saying the staff is rude......well I think it's perhaps because said traveller is rude. I did not encounter one rude person, as a matter of fact, I found the staff nicer than those at the Grand Palladium. They were more sincere and really interested in getting to know you if you struck up a conversation. Meet great people like Nelson at the Orchid buffet, Julesia at the tours desk near the outdoor buffet, Robert the lifeguard at the snorkel beach who calmed my friend down when she panicked about stingrays and barracudas, lol, and Kervan my cutie at the beach!! And lastly, look for Derek, a local who sells wooden art that he makes and paints. He's at the end of the sandy beach right near the washrooms and was there on Wed and Friday when we were there. Sweet man looking for a nice single Canadian girl.....too bad I'm taken.....truly a gentleman this Derek!! Rule of thumb, you get treated the way you treat people. RESPECT is earned not given, so speak to others with respect and you will get it back. ONE LOVE !!!

There was just one thing that really turned us off......the odor of sewage that we found on the 1st and 3rd floor. The odor wasn't everywhere just in a certain areau near the shops on the 3rd and near the buffet (not the Orchid but other one). Didn't affect us in our rooms, but on some days the odor of sewage in this area was, well, gross. It didn't occur everyday, but just enough for you to notice the unpleasantness.....we thought is this because the septic tanks are not cleaned out and that the gazes are working there way out? Think of that hotel that exploded a couple of years ago in Mexico because of this.......left us a little concerned, we shouldn't smell this odor anywhere in my opinion......when I asked staff, they didn't seem eager to give me an answer, they were kinda ambiguous and beat around the bush.

Anyways, we really enjoyed our stay and would return.

Don't listen to the bad reviews, go and have a great time!

If you have any questions just email me at [--]

IRIE

ONE LOVE

We will be back

This is the first review that I have written on trip advisor, but I feel it very neccessary.
I travelled to Runaway Bay, Jamaica from Toronto on January 13-January 20, 2012. What a WONDERFUL resort.
I was really nervous about all of the reviews that I had read before travelling and promised myself that once I returned back to Toronto I would share my experience with others.
We LOVED this resort. It's not a 5 star but it's definately worth a visit! The staff at the resort were AWESOME. I read some reviews that stated the staff weren't very friendly, but remember you must be friendly as well.
THE GROUNDS- This is a pretty big resort but is VERY clean and the grounds are beautiful. A lot of stairs.
THE ROOMS - The rooms were VERY clean and we didn't have a problem at all. Of course there are small issues in every room (cracks in the tile in the shower, etc) but nothing that would ruin your trip.
THE BEACH - We made our way over to the beach next to the Jerk Centre and found the water just beautiful.
THE SPA - I had the BEST massage EVER. Ask for Corona and you won't be disappointed.
THE FOOD - The food was good. There was always something, even for the picky eaters. We ate lunch daily at the Jerk Chicken area and LOVED it.
THE ENTERTAINMENT - We didn't watch any of the shows but we did induldge in the singers/bands that were at the resorts daily. They were VERY good.
THE GOLDEN PACKAGE - We did upgrade to this and I was happy with the service. We had seperate check in, 30 mins of internet daily, beach towels in our room, the safe in the room was provided in this package free of cost.
Overall, we had a great trip and I would recommend this resort! I will definately be returning to Jamaica. So, if you are booked for this resort just sit back, relax, soak up the sun and everything will be irie mon!