My husband and I just returned from a 6 night stay at the Royal Plantation. We had a blast. It is so relaxing and everyone is soooo nice. The staff is just awesome. Our room was AMAZING! We were in the Prime Minister suite which does cost a bit more, but I think it is worth the extra money. I can't say enough about how wonderful everything was at the RP. Definitely try the Hummingbird drink at the beach....we really miss having those every day....also, the mangosas are really good. We both thought the food was good, but not the best. Fortunately, neither of us are really that in to food, but for those of you who are...you may be somewhat dissappointed. Nothing was bad, but nothing was just really really good. We did do the Royal Plan which was nice. It was one less thing to worry about. We would recommend you taking dollar bills and fives. We had 10s and 20s for tipping, so I think we spent more on tipping than others. The staff definitely deserves it, so you may want to tip with 10s and 20s....but they don't expect it.

This has nothing to do with the hotel, but when you first get off the plane in Montego Bay...watch your stuff and be careful. We had someone approach us to see if we wanted to buy weed. We said 'no'. When got to the hotel, we met a few other couples who heard that some of the people who approach tourists for weed are actually the police. They arrest you, take you to room and take all of your money....wow - that would be a nightmare.

When you book the tours, know that it will take up half a day. We went on the dune buggy tour...which was really fun. We had a blast and the staff there were great as well. The only problem was that they stuffed us in a bus, and we stopped at all of the Sandals resorts on the way to pick up others. Request for a private transfer if possible.

We really miss being at RP....I would definitely recommend it! Especially for honeymooners and couples.

After getting married on Saturday in Negril, we traveled to RP in Ocho Rios for our honeymoon. We chose this resort based on all the awesome reviews it got, and let me tell you, they are all true!!

To start off with, the private transfer to/from the airport is such an excellent touch. Who really wants to be stuffed inside a van with 10-12 strangers for almost 2 hours? No one... that's why RP has private drivers... they want to start it off right!! Then, upon arrival at the resort, we were greeted with champagne - perfect!! Then we were shown to the room - which was fabulous! The bed was soooooooo comfortable, the bathtub large and the robes/slippers cozy. Seriously, I could have laid in that bed all day long. I have to agree with some of the other reviewers out there: if you're booking a luxury oceanfront suite, REQUEST ROOM 261. It's the farthest north/west room in that category, so it has an extra window that opens to the north - and it's a bit larger than other rooms in that category. We sat at the table next to that window every morning and ordered room service for breakfast - which, if you're on the royal plan, does not incur the $10 delivery charge. The other good thing about that room is that, since it's at the very end of the resort, no one can hear your bathroom banter when walking by - which is good if you plan on using the whirlpool tub.

Aside from the room, the rest of the resort was absolutely wonderful too. The staff at the Royal Grill and beach were our favorites. CLEON IS THE MAN!! He truly made our trip just that much more special... we miss him already!! All of the staff works hard to satisfy your every need. We visited the French restaurant one night, which was excellent - with outstanding service provided by Gary. And dinner at the Terrace outside under the stars was nice as well.

For our honeymoon, we were surprised with a bottle of champagne and a $50 spa gift certificate, which we promptly used to schedule a couples massage. The spa was very nice, but grossly overpriced, in my opinion. We probably wouldn't have gone if we didn't have the gift certificate.

The price you pay to stay at RP is pretty high, but it is a perfect splurge for a honeymoon or other special occasion. We'll definitely be back!!! And cheers to the great couple we met from England - Paul & Cheryl - hope you enjoyed NY - we'll be in touch soon!!

I got married on May 31st and my husband and I were torn as to where we would go for our honeymoon. There were some great reviews and terrible reviews for many of our choices and finally we decided to splurge on the Royal Plantation.
Let me tell you one thing...if you are going to Jamaica on your honeymoon you must go to the royal plantation. The staff was amazing and we didnt lift a finger. The food was great, our room was spotless and the other people staying at the resort were very nice.
Several couples decided to go to the nearby Sandals to check it out (since we can go there and they cant come here) and everyone we spoke to said it would be a good idea to go and just see what your honeymoon could have been like. People passed out by the bar, pushing to get a drink, no reservations to eat so its a fight to get a seat, vacationers yelling insults at eachother...just a mess.
When you book at the Royal Plantation not only are you going to have a great vacation but you also get your own car at the airport. You aren't pushed into a huge shuttle with strangers, instead you and your mate have a private car stuffed with Red Stripe and a great driver who will tell you anything you want to know at the area.
Also, there are several stand-outs at the hotel. Cleon, the main beach guy, is just amazing and so is Sibony in the Appleton Bar and Gary is the best waiter I have ever had. You you will have great stay, meet some great people and never want to go home!

We just spent 11 nights (Honeymoon) at Royal Plantation and it was GREAT.

What we really liked:

The people - very friendly and willing to do anything to make you happy. Marcia was friendly, funny and very helpful. She became a highlight of our trip; we wouldn't miss tea with her on the terrace. We also liked Ramone who served us breakfast each day and knew how I liked my coffee by the second day. Leon down at watersports was also great, always smiling and getting our chairs ready as soon as he saw us.

The resort - absolutely beautiful. The beaches are great and the landscaping is amazing. The terrace is a great place to relax, open and airy and a beautiful place to sit and have a drink.

The service - everyone from the wait-staff to security to the landscapers are friendly and helpful, always smiling. People don't just do THEIR OWN job, but they do anything to make sure you are happy. This can be confusing at times, wondering who should actually be bringing your drink, or getting your beach chair, etc. but it didn't really matter because you can ask anyone and it will get done. It is island time though, so don't expect everything to happen immediately like we're used to in the states.

The food - amazing. After 11 days, the menus can get old but Silvio did customize a delicious dinner for us which was outstanding. The steaks and desserts are incredible. We are not seafood eaters but we enjoyed the lobster, snapper, etc. Also, even if you don't like soup, always try it. Their soups are delicious.

What we didn't like:

The tours - the tours are good but very overpriced. We did most tours on our own for a lot less (sometimes saving over $100 between the two of us). We would just get a taxi (still a racket, but cheaper than the hotel's tours) and go to the place on our own.

The spa - the massages were good, but when I splurge for 80 minutes, I expect to get 80 minutes. As we were signing the receipt, we noticed it was 4:15, when our massages were scheduled for 3pm (and didn't really start until several minutes after). You do the math. We guestimate that we got 60 minutes at best. Their response was that the 80 minutes includes ALL your time in the spa. BS - I've been to spas before and have never seen this.

The resort was under filled - because the resort was supposedly only half-full, they closed the Royal Grill at night, stopped the breakfast buffet and canceled the Friday marketplace. These were things we had our first few days and really enjoyed. It was definitely a bummer to see these taken away. Especially, when there are only 3 restaurants to eat at, and then they take one away for dinner each night. The other two (La Terraza and Le Pappilon) were great, but again, the menus get old.

Overall, the resort and service are impeccable. For the money we spent, the accommodations, food and service were completely worth it. The tours and spa were not, in our opinion.

We would definitely go back, and will do the Royal Plan again when we do.