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So you are staying at RIU Club? Here's the lowdown:
1. The buffet is OK. Sometimes really good, but usually just OK. We've never eaten in the ala cartes because of the stupid policy of having to queue at 7am for reservations.
2. The jerk chicken hut on the beach produces EXCELLENT jerk chicken and sauce. EXCELLENT.
3. The rooms are nice, big and have a great minibar and liquor dispenser. Don't be shy about calling the front desk for anything. We needed OJ for some screwdrivers and they brought a gallon jug up to the room.
4. The swim-up bar and the bar above it have had consistent sewer gas(methane) odors since the first time I was there in 2007. Still had the odor in June 2010. Very unappealing.
5. The entertainment was barely watchable, unless it was the nighttime beach reggae bash.
6. The gift shop at the very front of the resort has the most reasonable prices on the resort. Its almost hidden.
7. The internet availability sucked. They may now have wifi. If not, good luck. Their internet room's computers never worked in 3 trips to the RIU.
8. The staff is OK. Not the most friendly, but not hostile.
9. The resort is kept VERY clean, as is your room.
10. No beach higglers.
11. Visit the Office of Nature on the beach for good lobster and good vibes.
12. Don't get taken for a ride by the contract cabbies out front, use a route taxi.
Any specific questions about the RIU will be answered.
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If you go to the office of nature for lobster ask to see them first or they may try to slip you some smaller sized lobsters. They are excellent though. If you go off the property try not to let the locals know you are staying at the RIU. You will become an instant target for the higglers. Last time I stayed at an AI we had to wear the bracelet things and they pick up on that right away. You will love Negril have a great trip. Cosmos is not to far from there either for some good food and local atmosphere.
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also - a comment on the rockhouse hotel restaurant.. my group of 11 called them for a reservation and they sent a brand new 40 passenger bus for us - free of charge from any negril hotel. but the return trip cost us $25.. we still thought it was a great deal.. 12.50 each way for a nice ride all together.. if you go to negril, and dont catch a sunset at the rockhouse - i dont feel your vacation is complete.. they have the best service i have ever seen ANYWHERE in the world. i swear if you drink some of your water, they atomatically come fill, before it is even empty.. we always get the servers opinions on whats is best today - they are always sooo knowledgeable about the dishes, and so very friendly.. and the view of the cliffs and cottages and the sunset CANNOT BE BEATEN.. i am rambling, but it is only because i really love the Rock House..
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i have been to RIU Negril many times, here are some inside tips and suggestions:
1, email ahead of time about which room you want -- the closest to the action is building one, first floor, the best rooms of all being 1013, 1014 and 1015, imo ....
2, if there is a problem, tip the desk guy five bucks, and he will help you a lot. the women workers at RIU dont respond as well to tips ....
3, tip five bucks for a small handful of extra towel cards -- they come in handy if you want to leave a towel or two behind during your stay ....
4, use a route taxi during the day and pay 100j per person to the roundabout, and 200j per person to the CLiffs .... if it's late at night, ask for P KING, a private driver who ALWAYS hangs in front of RIU. Tell him Gerry G from LA sent you, and he will take good care of you .....
5, While at the buffet, you can tip the worker at the pasta station to give you a sampling of the meat entrees at the ajoining LIUGI BRAZILIAN restaurant -- it's like getting two meals in one.
6, of all the workers, hang with Spiderman. He's a great guy.
7, Check out the singing bar man at night, he is good. in the lobby.
8, make SURE to get an RIU awards number, and use it for 15 percent off all scubacaribe services like snorkeling and scuba .... You can save a lot of money but no one tells you this unless you ask!
9. take a ride the other way towards the air port to Half Moon Bay and/or Rhodes Plantation -- you will feel like you're in a scene from The Blue Lagoon movie.
10, order drinks two at a time. not sure if they're watered down, but it just seems like you can drink a lot more in Negril compared to USA .... and have fun!!!
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Da Rev - Sand Gravity is hilarious! I love it!
I would suggest a quick stop at Rick's, but got to Catcha Falling Star for a really good time. I personally find Rick's rather American/Canadian and that's not why we go there!
Catcha is great! Beeeyooooteeeful! Much less crass and commercial than Ricks, and tres elegant.
Before you go, check out the web casts that the lovely people who run this message board do, and find out when the One Love Pub crawl is going (I think it's Wednesdays).
Rob and Lisa are AWESOME and the pub crawl will give you a taste of the Cliffs! It's wonderful!!! Great fun. good times and you will see the Real Negril (pun VERY intended, Rob!)
realnegril.com. Trust me.
If you are going in January, there may be again this year some great concerts at Negril Escape, again on the Cliffs. We saw Taurus Riley. For the price, it is Awesome.
There is a fab little hotel on the Cliffs, The Seastar, that has a live Reggae show every Sat (you can get your friends back home to log into the chat room and you can wave to them)
with a great buffet ($18-20 all you can eat and worth it; or order off their menu as it's the best food on the island!). Go early because the atmosphere is so fun.
Enjoy your stay. Get off the reservation. REally! Do the Pub Crawl. You won't regret it. Party on!
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THANKS SO MUCH to everyone so far for all the wonderful information, good and bad. Of the 20 of us going I know forsure at least 10 (great friends of ours out of the 20) of us will head out a night here or there. Helps to know what we need to do ahead of time to gather up this many as well as line up taxi's or a bus. Being our 1st time there, we DO want to adventure out and see different things. With many trips to the Southern Caribbean islands we've always rented a care and checked out everything we could about the island, however I know this is something we will not do in Jamaica as it's much larger of an island vs. St. Thomas or St. Maarten where you can drive around the whole island in half a days time. Not to mention heard it is dangerous to rent a car and venture out along, thanks to those people who told us this.
I'm getting more and more excited reading what everyone has to say. So much to do and lots of planning still to come, but love the ideas so far.
Yes, we do not want to hang out at the AI all the time - we like to get to know the 'real' Jamaica and island life. Thanks again for now.
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So.....outside of Red Stripe beer, what other brands of beer does Negril offer?
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Most all Jamaican establishments offer Red Stripe, Red Stripe Light, Heineken and Guinness. The ones that offer more will also offer Red Stripe Bold (think Sam Adams), Real Rock, Dragon Stout (very sweet) and Dragon Stout Spitfire (very strong). Occasionally, you will find a stray Bud Light, Miller Lite or Corona, but those places are few and far between in Negril.
