TripAdvisor Traveler Rating

We came to Iberostar Rose Hall Beach in November for a girls trip. This is a family, older persons, and couples resort. The resort is pretty much dead anytime after 1 am. The bars are not open late and the service is not fast at the main bar they were understaffed most days. The workers are either very friendly or very unfriendly and come across as rude. The entertainment team were very personable and wanted to get guests to participate in the activities. Skinny, Finez, and Cookie are super high energy great performers. Sparkles, Fayah, and Fresh are sweethearts and very fun. All of the ladies in guest services are sweet and always available to ensure you are comfortable and safe at the resort. We had issues with our wifi, door scanner, and bugs in our room but they were efficient communicators and sent someone to fix the issues right away. We liked the buffet food and our favourite host Myisha, it has decent variety as they have different cuisine nights and they always have Jamaican cuisine available. They have 2 special themed drinks for each dinner alcoholic and non- alcoholic which we liked. We found the drinks at the bar were very strong and the bartenders seemed offended when we asked for more juice or pop and the bartenders flat out refused (more than once) to give us more juice or pop in our drinks. The Italian restaurant was decent we liked the Japanese restaurant because they prepare the food in front of you and keep you entertained the entire time. The chefs are very talented. The music by the pool was good and we liked the pool side challenges. We liked the ice cream shop. The beach was nice although there are jellyfish in the water and vendors on their kayaks everyday all day. The beach parties were super fun but ended at 10:30 which was super early we would have liked to party for longer. The resort overall when we went was more relaxed not really a party vibe so you have to make your own party. We found the on resort club to be dead with not that many people. For how much we paid to stay at this resort the unfriendliness from some of the staff ruined the quality of our stay. We felt like an inconvenience to the bartenders. Even though a lot of the staff are nice it would have been better if that was consistent throughout all the employees. Being refused drinks from the bar is not acceptable because we are at an all inclusive and we were refused by all 3 bars on separate occasions and had to ask multiple times to actually get it when we asked for more juice or pop in our alcoholic drinks because they were poured extremely heavy.

I never write reviews, but I thought it was important to share our experience. The Good: The staff was friendly and kind and our room was clean and we had a beautiful view! We were lucky to get windy weather throughout since the temperatures were 86 degrees daily, so we welcomed the wind and breezes. We saw a great Michael Jackson show that is not to be missed. We thought the hotel itself was really nice. The not-so-good: The food was just average. We enjoyed breakfast the most. We felt that there were not enough restaurant choices and not enough choices of food in each. The entertainment was lacking. We were looking forward to a show each night, but we only saw a mediocre magic show (more for kids). Also, this beach had an abundance of seaweed in the water. There were only a few spots that you could actually swim. It's the first time we experienced so few people in the water with such balmy weather. The worst: My husband I could not believe how out of control the locals were who showed up in the morning with their canoes filled with home made stuff and drugs. They harassed anyone near them and even yelled to people who were farther away. They were literally allowed to be there all day. The concierge told us that they were only supposed to be there in the mornings. Not the case! My husband witnessed one of the locals using the ocean as his own private bathroom in the worst possible way. Security did absolutely nothing to control them and even seemed to be buddy, buddy with them. We had no choice but to go to the opposite end of the beach just to get some peace and feel like we weren't being stared at and hassled. It ruined our whole trip. I felt like we paid a lot of money and deserved the vacation we paid for. Let me just say that we have stayed at the Iberostar in the Mayan Riviera several times and loved it...that is why we chose this resort. Completely different experience there.

TL;DR: Good beach and swimming, great staff, clean, good food. I saw a total of 3 mosquitos all week, locals selling on the beach was annoying but went away after saying no (some can be pushy), my biggest gripe is the concierge being too aggressive with their "breakfast" sales pitch. Small resort with sprawling vibes. We stayed at Rose Hall Beach April 18 - 25. Beach: The beach is great here. After spending time in Mexico and in PC, the beach at this resort is amazing. Unlike the other AIs that we've been to, there is no heaps of sea weed on the beach. HOWEVER, in the water the dark patches you can see on pictures are seaweed. Plenty of room to swim and float, caused me minimal stress. Just off the beach you can snorkel, lots of fish to see, the water is amazingly see through, warm, and lip burning salty. You can do a fair bit of walking on the beach from Grand Suites past Rose Hall Beach and a bit further past the Smokehouse. The sand is exactly what you'd expect, fine beige/white sand that feels almost silky under your feet. The worst part about the beach are the locals trying to peddle their China bought wares. The whistling and the, "Hey boss mans!" could get annoying, especially how they are all spaced 30 feet apart from each other like guards surrounding a bunch of prisoners. Don't make eye contact, say no thank you if you do, move on with your day. HEADPHONES are their weakness, it's their kryptonite. Obvious signs that you aren't listening will scare them away. Food: Like all AIs the buffet gets old around day 3. The food is good though, one of the better quality places we've eaten at. The breakfast is all the standard AI stuff omelet station, juice bar, the stuff you think about when you want breakfast. There are some local things for breakfast, but, I'm not feeling too brave in the AM after drinking 2 bottles of wine, beers, and shots before bed. The al a carte restaurants are decent too. The Italian one set up was good (family style serve yourself apps, desserts and entre was brought to you). I smashed the mozzarella sticks and all but poured myself a cup of marinara to sip on. 10/10 recommended. The Japanese restaurant was good too, fun time, it's the only place where you need a reservation. Down side? The other 2 resorts can come here and pilfer the 1 of your 3 al a carte restaurants (you can't go to theirs). Smokehouse was good, you just show up, you don't order, then they bring you out their menu, all of it. It's pretty good. Staff: ISLAND. TIME. You are going to wait, but it's OK. Your dessert might not show up until you remind them. All were friendly, all eager to help, they made the trip for me. My biggest gripe is the concierge. ON CHECK IN, just tell them no. No breakfast, no presentation, literally say, "Vacation, not obligation." Ours tried at FOUR different times to get us to go, including the day before we were leaving. I was assertive and said no EVERY time, but they are persistent. We were woken up to a call one morning for this reason. Leave me alone. Bar staff is amazing, they'll remember you. Room: The AC is incredible. Cold even. We had a partial ocean view room, good balcony, the bathroom was behind TWO doors! Great for those of us that have sensitive bellies and a spouse that likes to announce to the world what I'm doing. House keeping is amazing, I just feel like they went above and beyond tidying up, clean towels, new TP, never had to ask for anything. Would I return? Probably. I would say 100% yes, but we went to Negril for an excursion and need to have a week on that beach before I go anywhere else. Special shout out to Odean. This guy makes the jerked chicken on the beach, the guy is amazing. Try. His. Chicken.

Iberostar Rose Hall Beach was our first experience in Jamaica. It was just my husband and I without our kids. We were looking for good food, good drinks, and tropical paradise. This was our second Iberostar stay. Rose Hall Beach is beautiful, rooms are comfortable but no frills. We had a lovely balcony view of the courtyard facing the pool. The pool was great - always clean, never too crowded. We had no issues getting a chair, but the shady spots were often taken quickly. Music at the pool all day, we enjoyed it, but if you like constant music maybe you wouldn't. The beach at the Beach has lots of shade from trees. We did go down to the beach just one day and had to search for two chairs, but eventually found them. The entertainment/activities staff are awesome! Engaging, energetic, always around. The staff at the hotel lobby bar, specifically Rushane and Dean, were so much fun. Like all of the staff we met at the resort, they were personable, friendly, helpful, and just enjoyable to talk to and get to know. We spent lots of time there, in the morning for coffee, for a drink on our way to the pool, for a happy hour drink, or a night cap. Our one negative of the trip was the concierge upon arrival. We were simply trying to make our dinner reservations, but upon finding out we had attended the sales presentation in Mexico, the mood quickly changed and we were shuffled around. Long story short, our first full day, we met concierge Jelicia, who was our saving grace. Jelicia took care of all of our questions and made some recommendations that MADE OUR TRIP WHAT IT WAS. Even after we met with her in the lobby, she checked in on us to be sure we were okay, enjoying our stay, and to help in any way she could. We chose to do a daily upgrade to The Suites for $35 a day which was a huge. It wasn't important to us where we slept, but having access to the Suites allowed us to expand our restaurant options and try a different pool on the property. The vibe on the Suites side was definitely different (at least the days we were there). Busier, but again we were able to find chairs. Pool was a bit more happening and alive. I felt like the activities staff spent a bit more time over there, but it could have been the day or just my observation. Food: The buffet was good. My husband and I didn't have any trouble finding something to eat, but the restaurants we ate at were absolutely delicious. We chose Steakhouse and Lobster and both of us enjoyed our steak and appetizers, the Greek Restaurant which was absolutely delicious. I would have returned if we had another night. And the Japanese Restaurant which was also very tasty and entertaining. The Jamaican restaurant was only open one night while we were there which was the same night as our Japanese reservation. We are not big early morning eaters, so having something available late morning or noon time was important and we were able to find food two of the days around the pool at the Suites and at the beach at the Beach. The people of Jamaica and Iberostar left a lasting impression on us and our opinion of Jamaica. They are warm, helpful, friendly, personable, and everything in between.

While the resort and staff itself were wonderful (especially their beach security staff- they made us feel much more secure), sadly we won’t return. Due to the aggressive men on the beach, selling drugs and souvenirs, we felt incredibly uneasy. While most were fine, it only took two men to ruin it for everyone. We try to support local when visiting places and when I accidentally missed one, he called me a fuc$&ing b**ch. security tried to intervene several times on the beach, but their hands are tied when the water is public access. I just don’t understand how other resorts can manage this type of abuse from locals but this resort cannot. Some of these men, when they realized I was upset by the name calling then took it upon themselves to follow me around the beach and try to antagonize me. Another day, we witnessed a local get mad at security for asking him to move off of guest chairs and he threw a beer bottle at him, soaking myself and the guard in beer. I did make a formal complaint with the Public Relations manager and was assured they are looking into this matter, however I’d never visit again due to this unsafe environment on the beach.