This was our second family trip to Breezes Runaway Bay. Our first trip was 4 years ago. This time our two sons were 19 and 21 along with a 19 year old girlfriend. Our family of 4 also went to Breezes Negril the week before Christmas in 2010. Breezes Runaway Bay is vastly superior for families with teenagers or college students. There are many more activities and more young people to engage in activities like beach Olympics and volleyball. The rates at Breezes are generally very good and are a tremendous value for a family of teens/students. The buffet has definitely slipped in the four years since our last trip. However, the other restaurants were quite good and the service was always very good. We had a Verandah plunge pool room which we found to be worth the extra cost. The plunge pool was a little too cool for frequent use, but the larger private patio was very nice. The teens had the cheapest rooms. We requested the two rooms for the college kids be located close together. The resort was very accommodating on this request. It rained the first couple of days and the resort did a good job of keeping the entertainment going, lots of Bingo.
The beach itself is excellent. However, it was a little rough and the dive/snorkeling boats only went out a couple of times all week. The resort needs to do a better job of cleaning the beach. There was trash on the beach most of the time.
Overall, Breezes Runaway bay is a great resort for families with older teens or college age kids. I do not recommend it for the 14-16 year olds, even though they are welcome at the resort. It is up to the parents to police the drinking of those underage, the resort pretty much serves everyone that is staying.
My only complaint with this resort is the day pass issue. Several times each week there is a large infusion of Jamaican residents that hold events or purchase day passes at the resort. I have no issues with the locals at the resort, my complaint is the sheer number of guests. On two days the line at the jerk pit was completely unbearable. The day passers were lined up 40 deep with only 3-4 of the regular guests in line. This basically makes the jerk pit unusable for the regular guests and it was during 11:30-12:00 timeframe when there was no other food available at the resort. This will not stop me from returning, but it definitely makes me hesitant to recommend this resort to others. When the resort intentionally creates a situation at an all-inclusive resort where there is no food available to the guests, this is a problem that needs attention.

The resort was decently kept. The grounds could have used some work and the food...well thats where you could tell what star rating it was.
Im a 5 star person and had hopes this would fit the bill.
The biggest let down were the employees. At the sandals resorts Ive been too....the employee made the huge difference. Everyday you would walk out they would great you and make you feel like you were the only one. NOT HERE. Only a select few speak.
I give this place a 6

Stayed here March 2011 with 2 other couples, requested our rooms together as it was the other 4 ppl's first time in Jamaica. We were spread out as far apart as possible, when asked to be moved told they were full. Our room was "old" and musty and the chairs had mold on them, went straight back to the desk to request any other room as i didnt' even want to unpack my suitcase, told the hotel was full to check back in the morning. They moved us 2 doors down in the afternoon the next day. It was the same room without the mold.

The food was good, the beach was small but nice, and we like a smaller resort so we liked the lay out of the place but it is really really dated, could be a beautiful place if they just spent a bit of money updated the rooms and lobby.

Not going back as we have stayed at nicer places in Jamaica. Like the Iberostar Rose Hall and Grand Bahia Prinicipia

It was my first time in Jamaica. We went to this resort with a group of 41 people, most of them being scubba divers. It was a very nice experience.

The room, to start with, was okay: clean, confortable with a nice king size bed. There was only a by shower for 2 people (no bath).

The restaurants are good. The Japanese is a bit overrated, but the food and the show is okay (pretty far from Kobe if you see what I mean). The Italian was good but the some meals were not available all the nights. The buffet are very good with a lot of choices in terms of salads, fish, meat, pastas, dessert, etc. The lady doing the omlet is great as the guy doing the seafood pasta. The alcohol is excellent and you can ask for high quality drinks (make sure to ask for Expresso Martinis if you never got that).

The beach is very neat, but there is not much room to swim. If you want to snorkle, you will see a lot of fishes around the borders of the swimming area.

The PADI shop is decent, but you can't rent any wetsuit (so don't forget to bring yours). The dive masters are great when you get to know them. The sites are excellent and you don't want to miss the night dive (the best dive we did).

Highly suggest you don't buy anything at the resort as the prices are too high. You'll find much lower price at the duty free shops, especially for wine and alcohol. You can also buy cheap T-Shirts in Ocho Rios.

Overall, a great vacation in a good (but not outstanding) resort.