Holiday Inn Resort Montego Bay All-Inclusive

We stayed at the Holiday Inn for one night before our week at another all inclusive. Check in: be prepared to wait in line for one hour. With 6 people working the desk, it took about 11 minutes per check in. They did bring us fun punch drinks while we waited. We stayed in the adults only section. I’d recommend this part of the property if you’re looking for a little bit more of a quiet area. The gym was great, if you’re into lifting. Real old school style setup with weights and machines. Nothing new or modern. Eats: The jerk hut had amazing jerk pork, and chicken. Highly recommend. The main chow hall has pretty good food. This isn’t a Las Vegas buffet, so have realistic expectations when entering the buffet. You’re also seating essentially outside, so this is worth knowing. Really great value for quality of the hotel.

Beware of the pricing when you book on Holiday Inn's site. If you are traveling with more than one child under 11. We booked this resort (hotel) based on the price and location close to the airport. Upon arrival we had to pay $50 more per night for our second child. So an extra $250. There are several other resorts that the initial pricing is a couple hundred more than Holiday Inn. I would suggest you look into those other resorts. We tried to argue that the extra charge is not listed when you book. They said call the 800 number, the people at the 800 number say talk to hotel management. So no help from either side. You get stuck paying more than you should. This happen to multiple other families upon checking in. Some were able to get the 800 number staff to tell the hotel staff to waive the extra charge, by waiting on hold for a long time when checking in. But others like myself were not able to, very inconsistent. When I was on a call with the 800 number and the front desk the front desk tried to say it's $100 more per night. It is a frustration to start off vacation which is supposed to be relaxing. The hotel rooms and much of the grounds are old/ in need of repair. The rooms are nothing glamorous, but we knew that it would be going into the booking. We had to keep asking for soap/shampoo, only 1 shampoo and nothing else upon arrival. The tennis court and rackets are falling apart, along with the mini golf course and clubs. The kids club is for young children, I'd say 5 and under. There is no option for kids between 6-12. The arcade/game center and casino are closed, but the site does not tell you that. Snorkeling gear is supposed to be included, but it is not and you have to pay for it from a vendor on the hotel grounds if you want to snorkel. Most of the staff were friendly, but many of them seemed annoyed to be answering questions or dealing with anything you ask for. A few positives: The AC worked really well in the room, food was decent, drinks were good (only beer option is Red Stripe), beach and ocean views are nice (you won't be able to walk past the resort lines, so no option for shell hunting unless you go on a separate tour), there is one pool for families it is a good size pool and we never felt crowded, 3.5 ft deep. There is an adult only section of the resort which has it's own pool. The other reviews posted can help you in the sense that the resort is an economical vacation option but nothing glamorous. But the pricing is not upfront and fair. It is false advertisement. If you are traveling with more than 1 child under 11 look elsewhere!

The hotel is in mid transfer to new owners who will hopefully give it a much needed refurbishment. Location fantastic but understandably some of the staff are worried about their jobs so service suffers . But the outstanding staff working the Jerk Hut were all absolute stars and made our stay fantastic whilst using this bar. Particularly Chadisha AKA Shorty Also Nahje Cain who went out of his way to mix a great Rum runner cocktail Then Leonard and Shannon who served up great food and drinks and kept bar spotless and also Jermaine Matheson who works both the kitchen and Jerk Hut all fantastic staff.

This was my first time visiting Jamaica. This Holiday inn resort in Montego Bay was great, the staff was amazing. Everyone was very polite, from the front desk to all the other departments all over the resort. Courtney who helped us with our luggage to our room was great. There was a small issue with the room & he got it resolved right away. Samantha, the waitress in the buffet area was great to my family and I. Javon, our tour guide was outstanding. We really, really appreciate everything. We would definitely come here again. Thank a million. The Tucker's.

We have just returned from a good stay at the Holiday Inn. This was our fourth visit here. The reason we return is because it has a lovely relaxed atmosphere. It's a lovely set up. Right on the beach. Lovely safe swimming pool, plenty of lifeguards. The rooms are a bit tired and could do with brightening up though. However, the rooms are very clean. Cleaner comes in daily. The room we had, had new air conditioning which was much needed. The safe worked perfectly. We were upgraded to a larger room with settee which was nice. Our room overlooked the tennis court and lovely view of the sea. Holiday Inn are being taken over soon so it will be interesting to see the new upgrades. One of the Managers said they would be looking to go up a star. I wonder if this would impact on returning guests. The thing about this hotel, currently, is it is cheapest of Montego Bay hotels and the standard is good for the price. If they upgrade a star and with the cost of any reburshments it may put this hotel in same price bracket as other hotels in area. Anyway although we have been back a few times, not as many as some guests who have been 47, 44, 30 odd times, we didn't like the food. God love them for trying but we cannot say there was any meal we enjoyed. It became a chore going down for our meals. We booked the Italian restaurant and we didn't enjoy what we ordered. But as I said that hasn't stopped us returning to Holiday Inn. However, unfortunately I found some of the staff a little off this time round. I walked past one of the staff possible management level. I said Afternoon and she just walked past without answering. On another occasion I walked past two women again looked like management level. I said Afternoon, one of them looked like she was trying to speak but her mouth was glued shut and the other one didn't answer. I think she may have been the first one I mentioned but not sure. I shouldn't let people like that bother me but it does override the good experiences with the staff. I would still recommend this hotel as it is. The price was good and we were out alot as we have family there. Not sure if I would return though I just felt like I was bothering some of the staff. Not all of them, some of them were nice. We await to check out the changes with the new owners.

It's like staying at an old holiday inn but on a beach. For the price you can't beat it! For being 10 minutes from the airport, you can't beat it. For having a lot of beach front, you can't beat it. I have been going here since 2009, now the rooms are a little run down, but it's like going to Grandma's house. You feel at home and the beach and location make up for everything. I have been here 5 times and will continue going.

Kids are ***NOT free***, so make sure you plan to pay $50 per day if you have more than one child. Only one child is free! We knew this in advance, but Trip advisor says kids are free so I want to make sure you know =). || Hotel is changing ownership as of July 1, so it will not be called Holiday Inn anymore and there are many changes expected, especially with remodeling. Our building (building 2) had great A/C and working fridges, I have no complaints on the rooms! We did hear many other visitors say otherwise though, so I suspect only certain buildings may have updates. One of our new friends said her refrigerator was not working and the front desk offered no solution, they said to put her diabetic meds in an ice bucket 😔. Apparently there was no way to move to a different room bc of being fully booked. Mosquitos are pretty bad, have your bug spray! ||The Italian restaurant is the ONLY INCLUDED one with A/C…so we ate there most nights. Food was really good, excellent filet mignon! The other two restaurants were always hot and humid. Again, be sure to have your bug spray for dinner if not eating at the Italian. Fish was hit and miss, some nights it was delicious, others just ok. There is a Japanese restaurant that lots of people raved about, it has A/C and is $39 pp.||We absolutely loved the private beaches. There are many on property which makes it feel like a different location at each one. We loved the one by the water sports bc it was shallow and perfect for our littles. The water is clear and clean. There is an island that is just amazing and you can easily walk from the mainland to it with ease. On our 7 day vacation, we saw manta rays, variety of fish, a live conch, a dolphin, loads of crabs and hermit crabs and a few cats. ||Entertainment was great, every night was something special and excellent talent. I especially enjoyed the musical portions but the audience participation portions were the most fun. As expected, Jamaican music puts the groove in your soul and is fun and gives that feel good vibe. There were daily entertainment activities as well, my husband won one of them and got a small bottle of Jamaican rum!||We enjoyed our stay at this resort and its old Caribbean hotel feel. Yes, updates are needed and will come with the new ownership, but you couldn’t beat the price of this place and the amenities were great. We would definitely come back here but I’m afraid the new changes will be out of our price range for a future visit. All in all, the private beaches were very relaxing with no vendors and low traffic. Free water sports included kayaking, paddle boats, catamaran rides and you don’t need snorkeling gear to see fish around the little island (although I recommend bringing at least goggles).

Not a five star resort but a great place to stay! Constant entertainment and activities like a cruise ship. The drinks aren’t really watered down, get them frozen! Tip your servers! The food is was good, the staff is friendly. The island is pretty awesome and the water is very shallow, great for kids! If you want a hut on the beach, get your towel there at 5am literally. Bring your snorkel gear! Very clean rooms, our bathroom was small though, that was my only issue. You’ll enjoy this all inclusive resort!