THE Hotel RIU Ocho Rios opened its doors on September 21, 2019 after several months of renovation. The changes to the resort have been described as a “completely new appearance, thanks to a complete overhaul of its facilities”.

The opening is good news for the local tourism market, where the RIU chain is very popular with Jamaicans.

“We have been looking forward to the reopening of RIU Ocho Rios because being closed we had less rooms available to the local market,” said Steven Kerr, general manager of Trafalgar Travel Ltd. “Their price point made them very accessible to the local market even though other options are available.”

“It is now even more family-oriented and we know they will do well, as they have always done,” he added. “Even in their first weekend after reopening they have been fully booked.”

The stand-out feature of the upgrade has been the addition of Splash Water World, which is essentially a water park. Splash Water World, which is already present in RIU hotels in Mexico and the Dominican Republic. has an area for younger kids, older kids and adults.

Water parks have become very popular with family-oriented hotels and Hotel RIU Ocho Rios is now up-to-date with the trend. The space was available for such a feature as Hotel RIU Ocho Rios is the largest of its properties in Jamaica.

The overhaul of the hotel also includes an increase in capacity to 901 rooms and renovation of all pre-existing rooms. A new ‘RiuFit’ area has been created for physically active guests to practise sports, while the swimming pool area has been redesigned and expanded to five pools, including two with swim-up bars.

For children, there is the play area called RiuLand, which is in close proximity to Splash Water World and contains a swimming pool with slides, while the new RiuLand kid’s Club boasts a covered park with a ball pool, mazes and slides. The newly upgraded hotel will also provide teenagers with their own area, Riu4U, where they can socialise with other teens.

A new fusion-food restaurant called Kulinarium has been added to the existing Asian, Italian and main restaurants, and these facilities are said to have been renovated with “a lighter, fresher decor”.

Sue Rosen, general manager of Total Travel Services Ltd, also shared her excitement about the return of Hotel RIU Ocho Rios to the market following the upgrading of its facilities.

“The RIU chain is very popular and we’re very excited with the additional room space especially in the peak season,” she said. “A lot of people want to go there now. Due to demand they should book early if their plan is to visit during peak periods.”