RIU Palace Aquarelle Resort Jamaica Review

Sprawled on White Bay Beach in Falmouth, the capital of Trelawny parish in Jamaica, Riu Palace Aquarelle opened to the public in May 2024. By now, my regular readers know I love a good Jamaican all-inclusive resort. Especially since the Jamaican experience has spoiled us for hotel stays elsewhere. So, when I was shopping resorts in Jamaica for our trip and saw that it had just opened, and the Riu Palace Aquarelle reviews had been good this far, I was super excited to check it out.

We – my family of three – stayed there on our most recent trip to Jamaica just two months after the hotel opened. I stayed at the Riu in Mammee Bay, Ocho Rios, years ago, and it was lovely, though I will confess that was over a decade ago and have no idea what it is like lately.

Unfortunately, Hurricane Beryl interrupted our trip. The category-five storm raged across the eastern Caribbean and made its way to Jamaica. While this doesn’t impact our stay at the resort specifically, there were visual signs of it on the hotel compound. RIU Palace Aquarelle Jamaica is about 30 minutes drive from Sangster’s International Airport (MBJ). It is located to the immediate left of Royalton Blue Waters resort when facing the resorts from the A1 highway.

Check-In

Check-In was a fairly smooth process. There was a little snafu with our room number, however, it was expeditiously resolved and forgotten almost immediately. The staff were helpful, with a friendly disposition. From the gate to the lobby, to the reception and bell-men. I really enjoyed the entertainment staff being around the lobby area. I could really feel their energy and it made you want to dive into what was happening immediately. More on that later.

The Room at RIU Palace Aquarelle

Our fifth floor room was cozy and modern. We had the option for a king or double beds, and we requested double. I had some so on the reservation but the staff explained the doubles were very small, and asked if we were sure. With our 7-year old along, we were sure about the double beds, although when we got to the room, it was immediately apparent why the receptionist was trying to prepare us.

They really are the smallest double beds I’ve ever seen. My husband and I are both petite (5’5, 150lbs) people and slept quite comfortably. We also tend to intertwine ourselves when we sleep. Obviously, our daughter slept just fine on her own. Ultimately, though, depending on how many people will sleep in one double bed and their body size, be wary if you are booking a double bed room at RIU Palace Aquarelle.

The room has other standard amenities, a mini fridge (re-stocked daily), a coffee bar, dining and sitting areas, and a property and beach view. There is a closet, iron and ironing board, robes, hangers, a safe extra pillows.

Food

The resort has five restaurants. Four of which require reservations. I myself declined to make any. I was quite content with the variety at the buffet snd the snack bar for all our meals. The food was good and so was the dining staff and service. There is also a snack bar by the pools and beach.

All meals held an awesome variety that made me want to try far too much at each meal. I was also pleasantly surprised to find that the coffee served at breakfast was a strong, dark roast, a contrast to my experience with hotel coffee to date. I usually find them weak and watered down.

You May Also Like: Moon Palace Jamaica Review

The Property and Amenities at RIU Palace Aquarelle

We can’t do a RIU Palace Aquarelle Review without talking about the amenities. As I mentioned, our stay began a few days following the passage of Hurricane Beryl with category-four winds. Notwithstanding, save for a few distressed palm trees, the ‘R’ in RIU taking a walk away from the ‘I’ and the ‘U,’ and some broken balcony railings on higher floors, the resort showed little signs of a natural disaster.

There was a stark contrast in the community surrounding the resort that looked to be waiting for power restoration. Still, the expansive property is beautiful. We had a full view from out room, facing the sunrise.

The Beach

The beach is as one might expect in Jamaica—white and sandy. There was a lot of debris on the shores, and the waves were a bit forceful, as one might expect following turbulent weather, but nothing prohibitive. My 7-year-old enjoyed it thoroughly for hours with our careful supervision. At about waist height, there are rocks in the water. I can’t say how far they go out since I turned back once I felt them

Pools and Bars

There are five pools and about six bars on the property. Two pools have swim up bars, two of them hosts entertainment with staff including games, pool volleyball, etc.

One is a large pool with water slides called Splash for older kids and adults and one is a water park for smaller children called RIULAND, which also has a play centre where children can be dropped off for games and play.

We ended up with a long overdue professional family photoshoot, and while I wouldn’t have chosen to do it in a hotel pool, midday and sunburned, it was nice to not put effort into ‘preparing’ so much. We got some amazing shots capturing the day authentically as we experienced it. I wanted to selected many more shots than we did end up choosing.

Water Sports, Gym, Spa

There is kayaking, snorkelling, canoeing, tubing and other water sports attractions. There is a cost for some water activities and a few are included in the hotel stay. Damage to water vehicles and choppy seas prevented us from partaking ourselves (I am a little sad about it.)

Final thoughts on

In rounding out this RIU Palace Aquarelle Jamaica review, I would definitely visit this resort again and recommend it to anyone looking for a nice stay on Jamaica’s north coast. It is comparable to my last resort stay at Moon Palace Jamaica, and RIU has a slightly lower price point.

XO, Shandean

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