Moon Palace Jamaica

The experience at the Moon Palace Ocho Rios was wonderful. The staffs treated my family and I with respect. Staff member, Ms. Setirah was kind to me and my children at the Playground when my children visited.

Dates: Aug 6-13, 2026

Transportation(it’s a long drive from Montego Bay airport- about 2 hours). Private transportation: very good and no issues on arrival or departure. Drivers were professional, friendly and provided info about Jamaica. Kinda like my own private tour guide.

Arrival MPJ: The outside staff in Bellsman area all friendly. Once inside; met with welcome drink: pine/ginger

Check in: Diamond Lounge - very clean and comfortable. George Smith my assigned concierge. Mr Smith did an amazing job. He made sure all my needs were met and he stayed in contact with me the entire trip. Also met Vac Planner Mrs K Hamilton. She was on point for all my reservation needs. Both were very professional, kind and welcoming.

Room: As a Residence Member; this was my first trip to MPJ. The property is small and easy to navigate. I stayed at the Cabana Building and my view from the 3rd floor (balcony) overlooking the beach was amazing. Btw a Carnival Cruise ship made for extra scenery from my balcony. Just amazing!! Room was clean and no issues: everything working properly.

Staff- POOL AREA: I spent most of my time at the pool. I believe it was the fantasy or north pool. This area had a Dj and other staff engaging with the guests. I saw the same people/guests daily and these same folk had a blast with drinks, music and good fun.

And speaking of drinks and fun. Swim up pool bar tender Omar and his crew did an amazing job. They made drinks, sang sounds and engaged with all at the swim up bar. Also the pool concierge team Rushaun, his male coworker-(I can’t recall his name) and Sabrina all did an amazing job. They made sure I was happy and if I needed anything- they were on point.

Restaurants: The Restaurants were ok - small selection compared to other palace properties but I knew that coming in. Again; the food was ok- not overwhelming to the taste buds- at least not mine. My shrimp dish at Momo was salty but the chicken with noodles was pretty good and the sushi was good as well. The other places: Jerk Hut(dry chic), Gondola, Pier 8: food ok. Wonder why they don’t have a full scale Jamaican Resturant? That would be nice experience traditional Jamaican food(at full scale Resturant) versus a Jerk Hut with limited dishes. By comparison in Cancun for example(full scale): The Grand - Habibi(Lebanese) and Arrecifes(Brazilian)

SPA: Tried to make a joke with female staff member(nothing disrespectful or flirtatious) at spa check in (massage pedicure/manicure)but she wasn’t having it. However; she asked if I wanted to pay extra for some detox treatment- heck no I wasn’t paying extra with her negative body language in the air. Also; I wasn’t acknowledged after waiting for manicure/pedicure. I cancelled, walked out and reported to my concierge. I was later contacted at the pool by my concierge, the vac planner and Spa manager. Again; as a Residence Member there is an expected level of service. And when that level is not met; I have zero problems addressing matters that are concerning.

Property: The entire lobby are was clean, well organized with the famous moon palace aroma on the air. The entire MPJ property is clean and beach area although small is very nice and clean as well. The lobby bar staff and music very relaxing, engaging and a fun atmosphere. Had those energy cookies almost every night from the 24 hour coffee shop.

Entertainment: Night club Noir is small but decent. Security staff member Jerome and server Laytoya (I believe) that’s her name. Very nice and accommodating . One night jad to ask club manager if Dj could change up music selection . People would walk in for about 5 mins or less and walk out. One would think the Dj could read the crowd and play music selection accordingly.

Overall: Again; My first visit to MPJ. I had heard from other members it’s ok and I had to see for myself. And yes; it’s ok but like any resort; the staff can make the difference. Other than a minor concern as pointed out with the Spa (not a deal breaker) the staff was great. The food fell short of my expectations. In fact; I saw several people ordering outside food. That’s an interesting sign. With that said; not sure if I would revisit MPJ. It’s also at least 2 hours from Montego Bay airport and you lose a day of resort fun with that alone.

UPDATE: STILL NO RESOLUTION, AND OUR WEDDING VIDEO CONTAINS ANOTHER WOMAN’S VOWS

I am updating my previous review because Moon Palace Jamaica publicly responded to it on June 26, 2026, stating that our concerns regarding communication, accommodations, and the coordination of our wedding had been noted and would be shared with the appropriate leadership teams for careful review.

We hoped it meant someone would finally address what happened.

Unfortunately, we are still waiting.

We have continued reaching out through emails and phone calls a plethora of times. We have contacted and escalated our concerns to multiple representatives and provided detailed information regarding what happened before, during, and after our June 12, 2026 wedding.

At this point, no one is talking to us. We are not receiving a meaningful response or resolution.

And now another extremely upsetting problem has occurred.

We finally received our wedding video, and my voice was dubbed over with another woman’s vows.

I cannot adequately describe how upsetting it was to watch the video from our wedding and hear another woman’s words where my own vows to my husband should have been.

This is especially devastating because our guests could not hear our vows at all during the actual ceremony because the ceremony audio failed. Now, the permanent video that was supposed to preserve that moment does not accurately preserve my vows either.

Our guests did not get to hear our vows in person, and our wedding video does not contain my actual vows.

That moment cannot simply be recreated.

This latest issue comes after everything we previously reported.

For approximately 18 months leading up to our wedding, we dealt with communication problems, unanswered questions, delays, and last-minute planning. Despite booking a destination wedding with professional coordination, I ultimately felt like I planned my own wedding.

On the wedding day, guests did not know where to go or what they were supposed to do. There was inadequate direction and coordination.

Our ceremony audio completely failed, and our guests could not hear the ceremony at all.

Our $150 welcome sign was not placed until after our guests were already seated.

The six uplights included in our DJ package were not provided.

We also did not receive the full four hours of DJ service that we paid for.

Our accommodations created another series of problems. We had to change rooms three times. We experienced roaches in one room, blood in another, and no hot water in another. We ultimately incurred an additional room charge of approximately $1,200 while trying to resolve the accommodation situation.

And through all of this, I cried at my own wedding.

That is a memory I will carry with me.

What makes this situation even more frustrating is that Moon Palace Jamaica has now publicly acknowledged our complaints on review platforms. Their June 26 TripAdvisor response stated that our concerns would be shared with leadership for careful review. They have also publicly responded elsewhere stating that our concerns were shared with Executive Management and directing us to continue communicating through the established official channel.

We followed those instructions.

We continued emailing. We continued calling. We continued documenting. We continued escalating. We continued asking for someone to speak with us.

Yet we still do not have a meaningful resolution.

At this point, the issue is no longer simply what happened at the resort. It is also how the company has handled the situation afterward.

We did not expect perfection. We expected the services we paid for, sanitary accommodations, functioning ceremony audio, competent wedding coordination, the contracted DJ service, and an accurate wedding video containing my actual vows.

Most importantly, when serious failures occurred, we expected someone within the company to communicate with us and work toward a reasonable resolution.

We have made extensive efforts to resolve this privately and directly with Moon Palace Jamaica and corporate leadership. We would still prefer for the company to address this appropriately. However, after repeated emails, phone calls, escalations, and public assurances that leadership would review our concerns, formal legal options are increasingly looking like the remaining route available to us.

That is not the outcome we wanted.

We wanted our wedding.

We wanted to enjoy Jamaica with our family and friends.

We wanted our guests to hear us exchange our vows.

We wanted to watch our wedding video years from now and hear my voice saying my vows to my husband not another woman’s.

Instead, we are still fighting simply to have someone meaningfully address what happened.

Couples considering Moon Palace Jamaica for a destination wedding should know about our experience. They should also know that, in our experience, getting accountability and meaningful communication after serious problems occurred has been extraordinarily difficult.

Moon Palace Jamaica has publicly stated that our concerns were sent to leadership for review.

We are still waiting for that leadership to speak with us.