Montego Bay●○○○

Five Gables Jamaica

★★★★½4.9 out of 5 · 25 reviews

5★

Photo: © TripAdvisor contributor via TripAdvisor

Five Gables Jamaica is a 5-star resort in Montego Bay with 100 rooms rated 4.9/5 by 25 TripAdvisor reviewers; typical rates from about $195 a night.

About

Five Gables sits inland from Montego Bay's main tourist strip, trading beachfront for something quieter. The 4.9 overall rating comes from a small base—25 reviews—but the subratings tell the story: perfect marks for rooms and cleanliness, near-perfect for service and value. Sleep quality at 4.8 suggests they've figured out bedding and noise control, which matters more than most places admit. The location score sits at 3.8, which tracks for a property in Fairview—you're not walking to Hip Strip or Doctor's Cave, but you're also not paying for it. The value rating at 4.9 means guests feel like they're getting more than they paid for, and in Montego Bay's inflated resort market, that's worth noting. If you want staff attention and a well-kept room over immediate beach access, the numbers back it up.

At a glance

Area: Montego Bay
Star rating: ★★★★★
Typical nightly: $195
Beach access: shuttle
Kid-friendly: ●●●○○
Party score: ●●○○○
Walkability: ●●●○○
Rooms: 100
Casino: –
Swim-up: –
Kids' club: –
All inclusive: –
Vibe: intimate
quiet
boutique
friendly
relaxing

Sargassum: rarely

North coast Montego Bay location; shuttle to beaches that rarely see significant sargassum accumulation even in summer.

Photos

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Recent Pulse

What travelers are saying.

Steady

Low confidence

Travelers say Five Gables feels like staying with friends rather than at a hostel. Ian, the owner, treats guests as family—making morning coffee, hosting BBQs with stuffed local fish, and taking people to events like the MoBay Crab Festival. The property sits in a residential hillside neighborhood with ocean views, a pool, and fruit trees producing three varieties of mangoes, limes, and almonds that guests pick themselves. Franklin, the house taxi driver, provides timely transport at shared rates since you're a 10-minute drive from downtown attractions.

Standing out

Ian hosts BBQs with stuffed local fish and makes complimentary morning coffee
12 mentions
“Ian organized a BBQ one evening and fed everyone local fish cooked Jamaican style stuffed with vegetables”
Property has fruit trees with three mango varieties, limes, and almonds guests can pick
8 mentions
“The garden had apples, limes, three types of mangoes, and almonds you could just pick and eat”
Franklin the house taxi driver provides punctual service at reasonable shared rates
6 mentions
“Franklin was always available and very timely about pickups, not on island time like others”
Ian takes guests to local events like the MoBay Crab Festival and shows neighborhoods off tourist maps
4 mentions
“Ian and Tina took us to the MoBay Crab Festival and showed me neighborhoods off the tourist map”

Watch-outs

Taxi costs $20 each way for 10-minute trips to downtown attractions
3 mentions
“The taxi charged twenty dollars each way for only ten minutes of driving to downtown”

Tips from travelers

Book Franklin the house taxi in advance from the airport for reliable pickup
Plan to share taxi rides to downtown to split the twenty-dollar each-way fare
Email the property directly for availability as booking sites may not be current

Maybe skip if: Skip this if you want to walk to beaches and Hip Strip attractions rather than taxi everywhere from a residential hillside neighborhood.

Similar resorts

Montego Bay●●○○© TripAdvisor contributor via TripAdvisor

Hotel Riu Palace Jamaica - Adults Only - All Inclusive

Hotel Riu Palace Jamaica sits on Mahoe Bay in the Rose Hall area of Montego Bay, and it's strictly adults-only—no exceptions. The 4.8 service rating stands out even in a segment where attentiveness is standard, and the 4.8 cleanliness score backs it up. This is a smaller property by all-inclusive resort standards, just 100 rooms, which keeps things quieter and easier to navigate. Direct beach access means you're on protected waters with minimal seaweed trouble, a real advantage on this part of the north coast. The price point hovers around $400 per night, which puts it above mid-tier but not in ultra-luxury territory. What you're paying for is consistency: strong sleep quality ratings, good room condition, and staff who don't vanish when you need something. The party score is moderate—there's evening entertainment, but this isn't where the spring break crowd lands. If you want an adults-only stay without the chaos and you value execution over novelty, this delivers.

Adults only

All inclusive

Montego Bay●●○○© TripAdvisor contributor via TripAdvisor

Hotel Riu Montego Bay

Hotel Riu Montego Bay sits on Mahoe Bay, just north of the Hip Strip in Montego Bay, with direct beach access. It's a four-star all-inclusive that runs around $400 a night, which puts it in the mid-tier for the area. The service rating is the strongest subrating at 4.2, and cleanliness comes in at 4.3 — both ahead of the overall 3.9 score, which suggests the fundamentals work even if the property doesn't wow everyone. The beach is the draw here, though like most north coast resorts, you'll see sargassum accumulation May through October; the resort typically manages it. The walkability score is moderate, so if you want to leave the grounds for local spots, you'll probably need a taxi. It's not adults-only and there's no kids' club, so families show up but don't expect dedicated programming. The party score sits at a 3 — lively enough at the pool bar, quiet enough to sleep.

Hotel Riu Reggae

Hotel Riu Reggae is tucked into Mahoe Bay on the north coast outside Montego Bay, and the adults-only policy keeps the volume manageable. It's a smaller all-inclusive—around a hundred rooms—so the beach and pool don't feel like a convention. Cleanliness scores above 4.7 matter when you're wearing sandals everywhere, and service at 4.5 suggests the staff ratio is working. The bay faces north, which means better protection from the seasonal seaweed that chokes other stretches of coastline. You're paying around $400 a night for the all-in setup, which includes meals, drinks, and beach access without nickel-and-diming. It's not a party resort—the vibe leans quieter—but if you want reef snorkeling or serious nightlife, you'll need a taxi. This is the place if you'd rather read on a lounge chair than organize your own meals.

Adults only

All inclusive

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Source: TripAdvisor · view on TripAdvisor →

Photos by individual contributors as credited above.

Review summaries are AI-paraphrased from public traveler reviews.