Hotel Gloriana Review – Montego Bay, Jamaica
Hotel Gloriana
I’ve stayed at Hotel Gloriana in Montego Bay, Jamaica on two separate occasions, and overall I really liked it. I actually kind of miss the times I’ve had there. Below is my personal opinion of the good and bad at this hotel, you’ll notice the positives far outweigh the negatives and I would definitely recommend staying there.
POSITIVE
- Location is EVERYTHING! I love the location of this place because its on the main drag in Montego Bay, right on Sunset Blvd. For sensible people it’s a cheap taxi ride to anywhere on the “hip strip”. For brave people it’s within walking distance of everything, even after dark.
- The price is right. Two people can stay for about $60 a night which is totally cheap when splitting the cost.
- Its a 5-10 minute stroll to Dead End Beach. I love this beach because it’s right beside the airport and the planes are practically touching the water when they come in to land.
- It’s a five minute ride to the airport which makes it a super convenient place to stay if you have an early morning departure.
- I’ve stayed in three different rooms at Hotel Gloriana. Two of them were fabulous, one of them is in the “negative” section below.
- Restaurant staff, bar staff and housekeeping staff were all great! The restaurant and bar are on site in the courtyard. Decent food at reasonable prices, and they serve both western and Jamaican food.
- You can reserve a room with no deposit. You simply call ahead to reserve and pay upon arrival. I’ve never had any issues with availability either.
- Even though the pool closes at 11pm, we’ve come back from a night of partying at 4am and still gone for a QUIET dip to cool off before bed.
- 24 hour security.
Courtyard at Hotel Gloriana - Montego Bay, Jamaica
NEGATIVE
- My first impression of the front desk staff wasn’t great, and that spilled over into my second impression. They like to make you wait for seemingly no reason or explanation, almost like you’re invisible. I didn’t find any of them very friendly during both my stays.
- Don’t ever think anyone can come in and visit you. This rule is fine for people with no friends in Jamaica, but I have several friends there. It was VERY inconvenient on a night when me and five Jamaicans drove to Montego Bay from Ocho Rios for a concert. Because I was the only registered guest my friends weren’t even allowed in for 10 minutes to change clothes for the event. They had to change in the car. Not cool.
- Some of the rooms were the strangest I’ve ever seen. We ended up in a room that resembled a breezeway….long, narrow and no room to move. There were no windows to the outside, except one in the bathroom. When we opened the curtains hanging on the wall there was nothing but wall behind them. Odd.
Odd room at Hotel Gloriana - Montego Bay, Jamaica
In spite of any negative points I would recommend staying at Hotel Gloriana in Montego Bay.
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You know we really had a good time there…I loved the hotel. I agree with the negatives….the staff were three times worse than being on Jamaican time lol….and sometimes they had room mix ups. But in the end it was worth it. If you make sure you get a good room…not the strip dungeon we got as illustrated by the picture….you will LOVE your stay.
The pool is great, the staff at the resturant and bar are fantastic….and I love how there is a section under cover in the shade with a bunch of couches where you can cuddle up up with a book or your signifigant other to get a break from the heat. There is an public indoor area beside the pool where you can hang and watch tv if your tuckered out!!
I also think they have the coolest groundskeeping and housekeeping staff in the world. I hung out with them for a while and had a blast…a funny nice group of people!
Despite the negatives about this hotel..It’s my hotel of choice when in Mobay…I love it!! Its so close to everything to!
One thing that is great to..is if your traveling with a party…you can get the room we had overnight once…with like seven beds in it!! Jamaicans don’t do the whole ” two beds” to a room only thing we do here. They are prepared for big parties..or someone with ten kids!!
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I’ve stayed there . . . twice. I wasn’t impressed with either room and the front desk staff had “no change” when I went to pay on the first night . . . so he kept the change!!! The second night, he didn’t give me the discount from the money he kept the first night! I was staying with a friend (local), and he left a ring in the room by accident… Read More. It was a “family” ring, handed down by his grandmother . . . probably worth some money as it was gold with diamonds. We weren’t 5 miles down the road when he discovered that he forgot it. We went back to the Gloriana to check the room (mind you, it was only 5:00 a.m.) — but the room had been “cleaned” and nobody knew anything about the ring! Amazing!
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UGHHH Kelly that’s unbelievable! Funny that I’ve read a lot of hotel reviews online and all the ones I love seem to have similar stories to yours!!
Sorry that happened girl.
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which are the good rooms?
thanks!
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My personal favorites are the ones that open out onto the pool area/courtyard. I’ve also heard there’s a new wing of the hotel with rooms that look out onto the airport. Never seen those rooms but I think they’d be pretty sweet. The only crappy rooms are the long narrow ones like in the picture I posted. I think there’s only a couple of those.
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Stayed there twice – same room on both occasions. I find this h ome away from home. Front desk employees are ok the food is great I love my Jamaican food – I am Jamaican.
Location couldnt be better and feel safe as there is a police station across the street.
Glorianna is a place to relax if you like limelight forget this place. I love it cause I eat my b/fast, walk the gorunds, watch t and then take a nap. Also talking with Ms Gand the staff really is good
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ive been their a few time
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Hey wha gwaan Dagga!! Thanks for visiting my blog!
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i have
stayed there and for the most part it was very good. the front desks staff was pretty friendly with my boyfriend. the rooms on the ground floor are not so good but the others are great. this hotel is unbelievably CHEAP!
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I have stayed at the Gloriana twice now. I stayed for location and price. I did not get a chance to eat there. (although I would like to)
What I can say is…. The first room was just fine. Everything worked and the bed was SO comfortable. The second time… well… The first room’s AC didnt work. The second room’s hot water faucet didnt even have water return. The thrid room we just settled for. The bed wasnt as comfortable and I swear the room was haunted! lol We kept waking up in the middle of the night saying “what the F$%K was that?” Some strange noises let me tell ya. I was just glad I wasnt alone. But Im not a fussy person in Jamaica. I love the everyday life and the local stuff. So I plan to stay there again when I go. Got to take the good with the bad. I have stayed at lots of resorts in Jamaica. They are great.. but expensive. And if you go as much as I do well, its best to just stay somewhere cheap.
I have a friend I go there to see, so I feel perfectly comfortable staying there. If I was going for a first time I wouldnt. But all in all, its not a bad place.
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stayed there a couple of years ago bought the book watched the video all i have to say gloria deserves the utmost respect had a hard working time with children and various other jobs well donehopefully your time has come that you can put your feet up and take some well deserved rest .
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Hotel Gloriana is not a hotel it is a Motel no refund for cash or credit card , the government need to regulate . need supervision by the tourist board.
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I saw this place when I came into MoBay last year. It appeared to be run down. I passed on it and stayed at Polkerris in MoBay. So glad I did. 5 star stay at a 3 star price
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It’s been a couple years since I paid any attention to Mobay. That’s disappointing that it’s getting run down. However the outside street view is nothing compared to the inside of the place, the courtyard is really nice and the rooms are decent.
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