Ryon Cupidore
Google
Stayed from 21st-25th March 2024 with my wife.
Rooms - The room itself was pretty decent. A bit cramped and not much closet space to store our luggage, but we made it work. I suppose "cozy" would be a more appropriate term to describe the size of the room. We never really felt closed-in, but there definitely isn't a whole lot of space in the junior studio room we booked. The AC unit worked well, but even during the day without the cooling function on the room still was at a pleasant temperature - we actually only had the unit on to circulate the air because it can feel a little stale with the door closed.
The toilet and bath area was adequate. Not huge, but serves its function. However either we didn't know how to use the hot water or there was no hot water in the shower, but I only had hot water on one of the days we stayed. Also a colleague of my wife who stayed in another room during the same time period had an issue with their toilet backing up but I don't think this is a normal thing and the situation was rectified quickly.
A working microwave and fridge was a bonus. Would have appreciated at least some glasses or cups in the room, even disposable ones, but that wasn't a major thing for us. Bed was very comfortable. TV is on a wall mount with a good selection of channels, but as stated in a previous review the volume settings are iffy. It's either mute or volume with no difference when adjusting via the remote. You'll have to manually set your volume preference using the buttons on the actual TV set itself.
WiFi is a bit spotty but generally works. I still am unsure where the actual router is located, one would assume it's in the lobby, yet the restaurant directly above the lobby had no access to the WiFi on both of our phones. In the actual room it was hit-or-miss but more hit than miss.
We stayed near the front of the hotel, adjacent to Hope Road, which is a major road in Kingston. Vehicular traffic is high but we didn't notice much noise except for the occasional motorcycle or siren.
Outside of the rooms, there are sitting areas on the compound, although I found them to be dusty - I believe that people mostly stay in their rooms or go out into the city itself rather than hang about the compound, but they are pretty peaceful if you want to just relax. There is a pool. That's about all I can say about that. It isn't dirty but it didn't seem very inviting either. A small gym set is located near the pool for use as well.
I'd give the room that we stayed in and the overall vibe of the place a solid 3.5 (rounded up to 4) stars out of five. It's affordable and for the price you do get a decent room in a decent place which feels more "home" than "hotel".
Service - Five stars and more right from the get-go. Everyone was friendly and willing to assist us without being overbearing. Even though most of the rooms were booked over the weekend, it still felt as if they knew who everyone was and I felt as if they weren't just staff, they were our new friends.
Breakfast is included with your stay, which was a bonus as we thought we would have had to pay extra for that. The selection of dishes isn't that large but it is tasty. Do not pass up the Jamaican options for breakfast and you still can get your bacon, sausages, eggs, butter and toast with that as well. It will carry you through lunch and your day without being too heavy. The restaurant also has a lot of windows overlooking Hope Road so you get a lot of natural light. Some of the tables are a little wobbly though, so be careful with your hot dishes.
While we were there, I believe there were two separate events happening on consecutive days and yet we never felt put aside or that the staff focused on the events more than the guests. That's a tribute to them.
I can't give the staff any less than five stars and if I could rate them higher I would.
Location - It's in Kingston, the capital of Jamaica. There's a shopping mall nearby, a lot of food options, and easy local travel options. Just be careful crossing the road.
Overall Christar deserves an easy 4.2 stars.
