padams421

Any comments on the Ritz Carlton near Montego Bay, Jamaica? We got a great deal on 5 nights at the Ritz from a charity silent auction. Now, I am wondering what we bought. I hope we will enjoy it. Is there anything we should do in that area of Jamaica besides the beach, pool, etc. at the Ritz? Thank you!

eileen

If you got a good deal you will enjoy it even more. I was there last year. It's a beautiful resort with wonderful service and good food. The beach is not that great, there is another beach club they will shuttle you to if you want. You can also walk to a lovely shopping center with a few restaurants. The Rose Hall Great House is also interesting to see and the golf - "White Witch" is world-class. It's a large, full-service resort. If you can, see if you can purchase the "Key to Paradise" plan as an add-on, it is an all-inclusive plan for all meals and drinks, a good deal compared to going a la carte on everything. Not our favorite resort by any means but definitely a worthwhile destination.

liza

Lots to do within 2 hours of there.

Waterfalls (climb or swim in), bamboo rafts on rivers, tubing, a Costa Rica jungle canopy zipline thing, mountain biking, caves....something for everyone.

Very close to the Ritz is Luminous Lagoon, one of very few places where the water glows (some sort of tiny animal), you can swim and you glow too. Best done on a night with little moon, boats go out from the restaurant there, Glistening Waters.

The Ritz has a great tour desk, one of my good friends runs the VIP tours there.

Tonya

I got married there last October. It was a wonderful resort - good food - great service - great rooms. I would agree that the beach is not that great. We went to the shopping nearby - probably wouldn't do that again. We also went to the beach club - we felt we wasted our time there, although we did have a great limbo contest! The spa is superb!
We did the Key to Paradise Plan - there is no other way to go - it would be way to expensive otherwise.
We went to Margaritaville, but it was a bit dangerous as our group of 8 was approached 3 times from the parking lot to the door for drugs.
I would highly recommend this resort!

barbfam

my husband and i stayed here 2 years ago. the resort itself is great, rooms clean, nice pool etc. the golf course is beautful, and the food at the golf course restaurant (White Witch) was the best we had all week. however, food everywhere at the resort is very expensive - to the point that i could not justify eating breakfast or lunch most days - breakfast for 2 would have been approx 60.00 for two. the concierge level is probably worth it as they were serving food all day long. there is nothing within walking distance really, and it is not safe anyway to walk along the main road (speeding cars, people throwing stuff at you...). you can get a car to take you to the downtown montego bay area, but it was expensive and from what i understand, there is not much to do in downtown montego bay. i did request and pay for an oceanview room, but my room was a second floor room that was farthest from a view, and only by leaning off my balcony and craning my neck, could i see a speck of ocean. the place was full, so my room could not be moved, so i wrote a letter when i got home and did receive a letter from management apologizing and offering something(i forget what) should i ever return there. karen

Patty

Rose Hall Great House was interesting to tour. The Ritz shuttle (the one that goes to the golf course) can drop you off there and pick you up when you're done. Their shuttle system is very convenient. There's also one that takes you to the shopping center at Half Moon and another one that goes to Rose Hall beach club. We did walk back from Half Moon one day along the road and didn't find it that bad. There's no sidewalk but there is a small path so you are not right up against the traffic. I also agree that the AI plan is a good value compared to the a la carte food and drink prices. Our favorite meal was at White Witch.

ccastaldo

We went last October for 5 days and loved every minute of it. We opted for the all-inlcusive package, which turned out to be a great option. It even included room service. One tip - check with the desk when checking in about the restaurant schedule. They are not all open every day. My husband and I do not do buffets and were slightly disappointed to find that on two days there was nothing available but. So, we ordered room service. The spa was wonderful and pricy, but that is to be expected when stay at a Ritz property. The staff was polite and very accommodating. You should have a great time.