Jump to content
Jamaica
ROR Review (May 21, 2011) by eddieandsheila
This is a review of:

RIU Ocho Rios All Inclusive

Detailed Ratings
Accomodation Value:
5.0
Communication:
4.0
General Location:
5.0
Wedding Sites:
5.0
Wedding Value:
5.0
eddieandsheila

By eddieandsheila, · 1,101 Views · 6 Comments

Pros: Friendly staff
Cons: 2hr bus ride

Hey Ladies,

I cant believe it's time to write my review! So here goes (its a long one)...

 

 

THE RESORT

If you book ROR you will not be disappointed. From the moment you walk into the main lobby you can feel the warm breeze and see the white sand beach. The scenery is breathtaking & the rooms are neat and comfortable. Check-in was a breeze - we simply showed the front desk our hotel voucher and they did what they could to keep our rooms as close together as possible. We had two groups checking in on different days and everything went smoothly for all.

 

**Upon check-in for the standard rooms, they only give you 1 key. You can request a 2nd and they give it to you no problem. I didn't understand why they didn't do this in the first place. However, when you check-in to the junior/deluxe suites, you get 2 key cards.

 

 

THE STAFF

They were amazing! They seem to work with a "No Problem" mentality. Some guests requested extra keys, and they received them on the spot. One of our guests had a minor issue with their key getting stuck, but someone from the front desk went with them to the room to fix the problem.

 

**On our first night, we met Kimon at our rehearsal dinner at St. Ann's (who we also requested for our Wedding) - he was amazing. My parents loved him, as he was very friendly and accommodating. He was fun, quick with our orders and always had a smile on his face. We even got him to bust a move at our reception, it was hilarious! I would definitely recommend him.

 

 

THE FOOD

My favourite restaurants were Mammee Bay Steakhouse (reservations needed) & St. Ann's (the buffet). We had a family dinner (about 12 people) at the steakhouse the day before the Wedding and they all loved the food! My mom made the reservations Friday morning for the same night, with no trouble (esp considering we were a relatively big reservation). The buffet was a hit with our family & friends - most actually preferred to dine here then make reservations at the a la carte restaurants. They had a good variety, changing up their menu's daily.

 

**We didn't like Mandalay at all. The food was very bland - we ended up at the buffet after! Sir John seemed a little to "posh" for us, so we didn't even bother.

 

 

THE SPA

The ladies at Renova are absolutely amazing! On the day of the Wedding, I had a mani-pedi and my hair done, plus 4 other hair appointments set up between 11a-2p and they did such a great job. None of us every felt rushed or felt like they didn't have enough time to accommodate what we wanted done. I loved my hair! I usually have issues with curls, but they held up well into our pool bar reception! I 100% recommend the salon! :)

 

**A day before the Wedding, hubby & I had a couples massage. The one thing I will say is, their "medium" pressure feels more like "hard" pressure. Even when adjusted, it was still quit hard. But after the fact, I was so relaxed...

 

 

THE WEDDING

I have nothing but wonderful/incredible/amazing things to say about Keisha and her assistant; they were a pleasure to work with. I had been in contact with Keisha months before our Wedding to go over all the arrangements I had made with the old coordinator and she followed through with everything that was promised to me. We set up a welcome dinner at St. Ann's for 40 people, a rehearsal at the Garden Gazebo the night before the Wedding and she was able to set up the menu's/rose petals/centrepieces we brought for our dinner.

 

We did the Caprice package - we had a beach Wedding under the huppah, which was beautifully decorated with white tulle (at no extra cost). I had light blue rose petals down the isle and white chairs for our ceremony (again, no extra cost). My mom set up the programs/fan giveaways/bubbles on the chairs - they looked perfect.

 

The assistant came to the room about 15mins before the ceremony to walk me & my bridesmaids down. There was a little worry about rain, but it held off and it was perfect for pictures. The Minister did a great job - we wrote our own ceremony/vows and he was able to blend in some of his words with ours. There were a few hiccups during the ceremony, but that was due to the wind blowing out our unity candles. But for us, it was "No Problem, mon" :)  We booked the steel drum band for an hour 4-5p and they did a great job -they added to the ambiance of the location and everyone agreed it was a nice touch.

 

After the ceremony, our guests were served rum punch (at no extra cost) while we took family/group photos under the huppah. We originally planned to have dinner at Mammee Bay, but decided we wanted something more private, so we moved to Plantation - we couldn't be happier with our decision! We still had the Mammee Bay menu, BUT had the whole restaurant to ourselves. Keisha set us up on the 2nd floor, which over looked the pool and it was the perfect setting. We requested speakers, as we planned to use our iPod for music during dinner, but the DJ ended up playing some for us. Instead of the traditional cake, we went with cupcakes! Keisha sourced a vendor and we paid $200 for 40 cupcakes.  Everyone loved the idea and they turned out great.  They were a little sweet, but they were beautiful.  We did our Bridal Party intro & First dance at the Planation. Our dinner ran a little late, we went from about 7-9:30p.

 

We had dancing/drinks after dinner by the Plantation pool bar. We booked the DJ for 2 hours and he had everyone jammin'! We didn't come with a set-list request, but the music was still good. Dancing went from 9:30-11:30p.

 

 

EXCURSIONS

I read many reviews about Norma from Lee's Tours and they did not disappoint. We set up a private catamaran/Dunns River excursion the day after the Wedding for 40 people. Norma was a pleasure to work with - she and my mom got along so well! Definitely recommend her too. http://www.leestours.com/

 

 

FLOWERS

I brought Real Touch flowers from Toronto. I got my flowers & parasol's (for my bridesmaids) through Enchanting Memories. My friend used them for her Wedding and I loved her flowers, so I also decided to go with them. They did an incredible job and everyone loved my bouquet. http://enchantingmemoriesstore.com/

 

 

So, to all the ladies planning to get married at ROR - you will love it! If you have any questions, feel free to send me a PM. And don't worry, everything turned out better than I ever could have dreamed!

 

Shei =)

 

 

Here are some photos!

 

 

 

 

(Photographed by: Jason Montojo)

 

6 Comments


Hi Shei.

Thank you so much for the great review! I live in Hamilton, Ontario and am also using Enchanting Memories. I have been thinking of just doing a bouquet for myself and parasols for the BMs. Is that what you did or did you have flowers and parasols for the girls?

 

Link to comment

wow thanks for the great review. We are getting married there July8th so it is coming up soon. Glad to hear things went well with Keisha. I do have a question about the set up of the plantation. We are having 60 guests and are booking the plantation for 2 hrs. I keep hearing they are slow with dinner. If dinner takes longer, do they charge you beyond the 2 hrs? Also how are the tables set up? I have heard it is one long t-shape but cant imagine that with 60 people. I'm a little concerned about music/speeches etc. at the plantation. We were going to bring our Bose speaker and play an ipod playlist. Did you pay to use the DJ speakers. Were you able to use a microphone? cost? Keisha was quoting me about $150/hr to use the speaker/microphone system. We are booking a DJ for our poolside reception also. Any information you could probide regarding all of this would be great. THanks!!

 

Link to comment

Hey meeshie77!

I only got a bouquet/parasol for me and just parasols for my BM's. They turned out beautifully and worked so well with our Wedding on the beach :) And Debbie was so great to work with. Will post a pic soon!

 

Link to comment

Hey booschmit!

The service was great at Plantation - we started dinner a bit late, but we never felt rushed at all. We were actually there for 2 1/2 hours. No extra cost for us.

 

For the setup, you can have a head table if about 10 people. Its kind of shaped like a "V". The bottom of the V being where the head table is, so you would have a long table of 24 on each side. Its set up nicely, everyone will be able to see you. I asked Keisha if we would have a mic and she said it was included with our package.

 

We requested the DJ speakers and we got them at no extra cost (perhaps due to our package as well). The speeches were done by the head table - and with the setup, everyone could see and hear fine :)

 

The DJ was great! We had him for 2hours at $150/hr (this was the price last year when we booked our Wedding). Definitely keep all correspondence with quotes, as they will keep those prices regardless of price increases.

 

If you have any more questions, lmk!

 

Link to comment

Create an account or sign in to comment

You need to be a member in order to leave a comment

Create an account

Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!

Register a new account

Sign in

Already have an account? Sign in here.

Sign In Now
×
×
  • Create New...