May-2012 at RIU Palace Tropical Bay, Jamaica ( 7 days )

First trip to Jamaica

Located on Bloody Bay in Negril Jamaica. A small cove that is sheltered making the water very warm and calm. Great for playing in the water or just floating without worry about undertows.

One of the friendliest places we have stayed not just the staff but the guests.

The beach is the best we have ever been on. The sand is power smooth and the water is super hot and shallow and calm. This is great for people who are not great swimmers and worried about undertows. No seaweed on the beach and it’s nice and wide.

You can rent a Sea Do for $40 per half hour and have a blast going all over the cove. We rented one every day.

There are statues all around the property and they have watermelon carving at meals. The buffet has an area by the beach so you can wear your bathing suit to grab a bite to eat.

There is a lot of marijuana on the beach and you will be asked but they don’t really bother you. The beach has a public area where locals hang out but don’t bother you other then to ask if you want to buy some marijuana.

There is a sister RIU hotel at the end of the beach where you can go in to get a drink after walking down the beach. Thats a great bonus. They have water aerobics everyday in the ocean. Other hotels usually have this in the pool but since the beach is so calm and shallow they do it in the ocean. My wife is not a water person but was in the ocean every day. The cove seems like a giant swimming pool (or hot tub).

The hotel property is narrow but not too narrow. You can sit in the lobby and watch the sun set over the ocean every night. Some rooms are near the road and may cause some noise issues.

It is a long drive to the hotel from the airport but interesting. Some road is good and some is very narrow going through small towns.You also see small goats on the road. I’m not sure why they don’t get hit.