Grand Palladium Jamaica Resort & Spa - All Inclusive

Customer Ratings & Reviews

TripAdvisor Traveler Rating

18045 reviews

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  Unsafe and chaotic during Hurricane Melissa — shocking mismanagement

  I stayed at the Palladium Jamaica during Hurricane Melissa and was appalled by how poorly the situation was handled. I asked to move rooms because mine was just metres from the ocean, but the process was chaotic. The new room was missing basics — no pillows, bottled water, or coffee machine — and hadn’t been cleaned, given we were to be in this room for the duration of the hurricane and depite three times asking for water it was never forthcoming. Communication was terrible. Guests were told the whole island had no power or internet, which was untrue, while staff clearly used their phones. After the storm, they reopened the pool too early and glass was later found in it. Most facilities were closed, rooms uncleaned, yet guests were still charged over $350 USD per night to extend their stay. The worst part came when we were forced off a bus supposedly commissioned by Air Canada, left stranded for hours, and missed the emergency flight. We had to pay extra nights in Kingston. A truly distressing and unsafe experience. The Palladium chain urgently needs to review its hurricane response, communication, and duty of care to guests.

  Nov 09, 2025
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  The Problems Are Deeper than the Hurricane

  I will say, the resort was beautiful. The food was blander than I would have expected for a culture with so much vibrant food, but that's a buffet for you. When the hurricane started forming, no information was received from the hotel. We asked and we were told, "Yes, there are procedures in place. We'll keep guests informed." Great. Waited another day and nothing from the hotel. We asked again and told that it'll be announced shortly. Never heard anything. The night before the storm, we were told we'd get a care package of food for breakfast since they were expecting it to be dangerous in the morning and the rank and file staff were busy storm-proofing the resort. No worries, we're very patient people. That care package looked like a 5 year old dug into the supply closet and fished out the leftover crackers and some baked goods. We were told we could make our own way in the storm to get dinner that night, but warned it was quite dangerous and it was at our own risk. Gotcha, I get it. Liability and all. And then nothing. No communication. No announcements, no letters slipped under the door letting anyone know anything. The internet was still up until about noon on Wednesday. Hey, that was bound to happen. Again, we were patient with the staff because, honestly, they didn't know anything either. But, see, the internet wasn't actually down. The hotel shut if off to guests so that they could only use it on specific laptops, and even those only worked sometimes. But, lol and behold, when the ones up in reception were down and we were told to come back tomorrow after waiting on and off for 5 hours, there was one working just fine for their Signature guests in their lounge. As I am not a Signature guest, I asked them if it was OK if I could use that one. They said no, because I wasn't a Signature guest, that wouldn't be possible. Alberto Grau, the manager of some sort, lied right to our faces about when we could access any information or whether the hotel would send any updates to guests other than announcing after 9 pm at the thrater/bar. Towers from Mexico! The crews were sleeping! 2 days later, no updates. And still no internet, except those laptops. Now I get that they didn't want to tax the system. Great! But there were ways to COMMUNICATE THE ISSUES. They didn't even bother to tell staff that was dealing with customers what was happening. I'd say 4/5 rank and file staff had no idea and just kept telling people what management told them, which was just that we could only extend one day at a time and the issues would be fixed tomorrow. For 5 days. The only communications were official announcements from the airport, the US State department, and specific tour operators posted around the resort. That's it. Oh, and the airport opened, but they chose not to tell anyone about it. For a day and a half. The closure announcements were still up and 7 days old when we finally left the resort. More and more I believe that the hotel knew if we all left, the money would stop, so they kept us in the dark as long as possible. And this wasn't the only resort to do this to guests. We heard from people at the airport that at least 3 other resorts did the same thing. I understand infrastructure going down. I understand roads and airports closing. I understand the dire situation all around. But if they would have just been honest with guests instead of lying to our faces or just plain giving regular honest updates to guests, many of the people reviewing this resort from the last 2 weeks would never have had a bad word to say. But this hotel chose ineffectiveness and inefficiency over basic honesty, even if there was no update. This was my first and last time at a Grand Palladium resort. It's a shame because, again, the staff at the makeshift desk, working all day listening to panicked and pissed off people? Heroes. Kitchen staff and hostesses who hadn't been home in 5 days, not knowing if they still had a home to go to? Legends. Bless those people who tried everything that they could. Those staff are the only reason this resort got 2 stars from me. We even tried to keep them informed of things we heard so someone could figure out what was actually happening. But the staff that lied to us? The staff that told me directly that the piece of paper in my hand, the posted information from them, was incorrect and they didn't know where I got that from? Those staff? They will not be missed. They'll make excellent management one day.

  Nov 06, 2025
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  Poor management

  We stayed at Grand Palladium Jamaica Resort & Spa during Hurricane Melissa (October 2025), and what should have been a relaxing trip became a nightmare. After the storm, staff told us the Montego Bay airport was closed and roads were impassable. No internet or phone service for few days after the hurricane. Staff gave us no update. We later learned from taxi drivers that roads were open and flights were running from Kingston. There was no communication, no management presence, and no disaster plan. Guests were told to pay full rates for extra nights or risk being locked out, while rooms went uncleaned, garbage piled up, and bees and wasps swarmed around overflowing trash bins. Many guests ended up cleaning their own rooms. It was heartbreaking to see families and elderly guests left without guidance. I understand the hurricane was a tragedy for Jamaica, but a resort of this brand should have been better prepared and more compassionate instead of prioritizing profit during a crisis.

  Nov 06, 2025
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  NEVER Again

  Nice Hotel. I went just before the hurricane first 9 days was good. Bad experience with the reception staff, no customer service very rude. I would NEVER come back to this hotel very BAD experience.

  Nov 06, 2025
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  Brilliant Staff

  I don’t usually write reviews, but we were here during the hurricane and our experience was so different from some of the other reviews that I felt I had to share a more positive perspective. Jamaica was devastated by Hurricane Melissa, yet the staff at this resort continued to look after guests and clean up the damage all while dealing with the loss of their own homes and being unable to contact loved ones. How anyone can make that about themselves is beyond me. Yes, there weren’t as many restaurants open as usual, and yes, the Wi-Fi wasn’t working — but what do you expect after a hurricane? We were actually lucky that the main restaurant reopened the very next morning, and that staff had already cleared so much of the damage that we could move around the resort safely and comfortably. As for being charged for extra nights that’s exactly what travel insurance is for. The resort was dealing with an unprecedented situation and was clearly responding to things as they happened. There was no rulebook for what they were facing. We saw guests shouting and yelling at staff, and honestly, what did that achieve? Do you really think your situation was worse than theirs? People’s selfishness truly staggered me. I actually feel embarrassed for those leaving terrible reviews they’re showing their true colours. We genuinely appreciated everything the staff did and tried to give as many tips as we could. Thanks to them, we were able to have a relatively “normal” holiday in the middle of chaos. Our only issue was with Virgin Atlantic, who abandoned us completely — but that’s another review.

  Nov 04, 2025