First trip to Jamaica, and it was head-and-shoulders above all other resorts we have stayed at in other countries, including Mexico, DR and Cuba. The only resort that has been better than this was our time on our honeymoon in Dalaman, Turkey. But this was a VERY respectable second and we have nothing really negative to say about our entire time at Rose Hall Suites.
I want to state - I don't know how people can complain about a place like this. I don't know who you are or what palaces you live in at home, but if you're finding things to complain about while you're here, it would appear to me that it's more a "you" problem than a resort problem.
There are MINOR aspects of the resort that might give the appearance of being dated, but 99% of everything was GREAT, so you really have to want to find something to complain about if you're not having a good time.
We were worried about the hurricane season and we saw that the weather showed it would rain all week. We didn't find that to be an issue for us - every day had a beautiful morning at the beach and mid-morning at the pool. Some days it rained the afternoons, but that wasn't an issue - plenty to do, or just to take a break indoors from all the sun you got in the morning. No downside.
The upside was that there were ALWAYS recliners on the beach or by the pool, restaurants were not too busy so there was always seating wherever we wanted to eat, pools weren't too crowded and service was fast. My new favorite time to travel!
I don't know when we will be returning, but we will be returning! This was our first in Jamaica, so we will probably try out some other locations just for variety. But we expect to return!
Travelled as a family of 6 - 2 grandparents, myself, my pregnant wife and our two kids ages 3 and 1.
Food - Best Caribbean resort food I've ever had. The restaurants didn't need bookings - so we ate EVERY dinner at a restaurant. And the fare was GOOD. Like, actually good. Not every dish was to my pallet, which is to be expected, but there was something to love no matter where you went. And this is coming from a foodie. Didn't make it to the Hibachi, which was the only restaurant that needed a reservation (we got the reservation for our last night, but the Asian was so good that we didn't want to risk something new considering how dang good the Asian was!)
Christine's goat curry by the pool was excellent! Whenever she was there, I was having lunch there.
The food truck is super convenient by the beach. New love for Jamaican patties unlocked
Nice coffee bar - always love a dedicated coffee bar!
HUGE call-out to the best drink I had my entire trip, which was a chai-vodka-bitters drink served outside the Asian restaurant. I wish I had discovered that before my last day. So unique and refreshing!
The decor at all the restaurants were also on-point!
Rooms - clean, well furnished, good washrooms. No complaints. Lots of add-ons if you're travelling with kids.
Staff - This was the second best part (second to the food). 99% of staff were so very friendly and welcoming, playing with our kids - even while our little ones (3 and 1) didn't understand restaurant etiquette and were full of energy, they carried them and played with them so that the dining experience was fun for the parents and the rest of the guests. Although I can't remember all names, Obrian was great at check-in on day 1, Nekeisha and Tamara at the Asian restaurant. Eric over at the Waves Italian restaurant. Pooh Bear with the activities. Really all the staff deserve a shout-out.
Wifi - Great and everywhere.
Beaches and Pools - We had access to the Waves resort, too, but we never felt the need to go. There was really only just 1 pool, but it was all we needed. Infinity pool overlooking the beach and the ocean, bar was right by the infinity-edge. Not crowded. We didn't tire of it at all. More isn't always better. Beach was clean, some rocks but it didn't bother us at all. The Waves side was way rockier, but our side was good. 20 feet in there is seaweed/sea grass. It's just weird to stand on so we didn't go past that, but once again - we had all we needed to have a great time every day at the beach as a family.
Kids activities - It was a good set-up indoors, but the timings were not friendly for families with young kids. If your kids are under 4, you can't be there past 4PM. The policy doesn't even allow parents to accompany their kids and play with them. I don't understand it and don't agree with it, but we didn't let it ruin our trip. Tip to the hotel - if the babysitters are watching the other kids, there is no harm in letting other parents play with their own kids in the play area. There should be no difference in liability or anything else, considering that's also how every playground everywhere works - you watch your kids, and others (or their babysitters) watch their kids. So it was unfortunate that it just wasn't accessible to us when it rained on a couple of days and the kids had energy. Not trying to complain, but this is an easy one to improve.
The only thing to really improve would be the water pressure in the kid play pool - that is way too high. As an adult I felt like it was jetting out and too powerful. Certainly my kids were terrified to go near it. It doesn't need to be that powerful lol. Turn it down a bit and I think the whole thing would be much friendlier to kids, especially younger ones. All the kids activities seemed to de-prioritize families with younger kids, but it's also VERY easy to fix that and make it more approachable.
Other:
- Loved that the wristbands were the room keys. Can't go wrong there!
- Loved the no-reservation situation for the restaurants
- Kid play area in the lobby was also very useful
- Available floaties were great
