Riu resort reopens Dec 5
Tropical Bay upgrading to Palace brand

Tropical Bay, located in Negril, is undergoing a complete renovation. The beachfront resort, which opened in 2001, will reopen on December 5 after a four-month renovation. Riu Palace Tropical Bay will offer 400 guest rooms, 24-hour all-inclusive food and beverages, 24-hour room service, and new themed restaurants. Riu Hotels & Resorts is investing US$25 million (approximately J$1.9 billion) in the remake of Riu Palace Tropical Bay.

"Riu Tropical Bay, our first resort in Jamaica, has been very successful," said Luis Riu, CEO of Riu Hotels & Resorts "We felt that a full upgrade to a Riu Palace would complete our range of product lines in Jamaica to ensure continued success and customer satisfaction. The North American market, our primary market for our Caribbean hotels, has responded very positively to our Riu Palace resorts, which is our luxury line of all-inclusive hotels. Responding to our clients' desires is what makes us successful and what keeps our repeat customer rate so high."

major changes

The major changes that the resort is undergoing to meet the Riu Palace standards are as follows: All of the rooms will be completely refurbished - new linens, new flooring, new hardware, new furnishings. Rooms are now junior suites rooms will feature plasma flat-screen TV, laptop-size safe, peep-hole, hydro-massage tub, shower and a king-size bed or canopy bed.

Additionally there will be 24-hour room service, and two new à la carte restaurants: Krystal, featuring fusion cuisine in a contemporary dining room and Little Italy offering Italian favourites.

Riu Palace Tropical Bay will offer 24-hour all-inclusive food and beverages. This will include five great restaurants for fine dining - the Negril; an open-air steakhouse Bloody Bay; Hakuchi, offering Japanese décor and menu; as well as the two new à la carte restaurants, Little Italy and Krystal.

four resorts

Riu offers four resorts (2,357 rooms) in Jamaica Riu Montego Bay, Riu Ocho Rios, Riu Negril and Riu Palace Tropical Bay. The hotel group has created more than 2,000 jobs as well as many indirect jobs, on the island. Riu invests every year an estimated US$45 million in maintaining and updating its hotels to meet the high Riu quality standards. In addition to Riu Palace Tropical Bay, the resort chain is investing approximately US$15 million in the complete renovation of Riu Tequila in Playa del Carmen, Mexico. Both resorts, which were closed for renovations on August 20, will reopen in December.