Here is my review for Iberostar Rose Hall Beach Resort. We were married there January 13, 2011. Everything was perfect and I wouldn’t change a thing!! No pro pictures yet but I will add some photos from friends.

Flight
We flew WestJet from Toronto.  We had a few issues with our travels but I have used West Jet before and loved them so I am not going to hold it against them!  My husband and I paid extra to pre-book our seats – when we arrived at the airport they said they didn’t have the seats we booked and we would have to sit somewhere else. I thought that was kind of odd – we made sure to do web check-in for the way home to secure our seats and didn’t have any trouble. We also had a 2 hour delay both on the way there and on the way home because of all the snow!!

Resort
The resort was beautiful! My husband and I have stayed at over 8 all-inclusive hotels (Jamaica, Dominican, Bahamas, Mexico, Cuba etc) and this was one of our favourites. A few of our guests stayed at the Suites and spent most of their time at the Beach resort. From what I noticed the only real advantage to staying at the Suites is more choices with regards to food/restaurants. Staying at the Beach you can use the Spa and the Disco both located in the Suites. I am sure the rooms are also nicer at the Suites but I found the rooms at the Beach to be fairly nice as well.

Usually I am pretty good with directions but it took me the whole week to figure out my way around the hotel grounds! Make sure you take a look at the resort map they give you when you check in so you don’t waste any precious vacation minutes wandering around the hotel lost. The hotel grounds were immaculate – there were workers cleaning up and scrubbing everything in site from morning until dark!

Check-in
There were a group of probably 25 who arrived at the same time to check-in. We were greeted with a delicious frozen beverage to enjoy while we waited. We arrived around 5pm and everyone’s rooms were ready at this time. The check-in process was fairly quick and we made our way up to the room leaving our bags with one of the bellman. He arrived only a few minutes after us with all our bags and helped us settle in.

We didn’t use a travel agent to book but those groups who booked with the same company seemed to have rooms fairly close together. The resort wasn’t as large as some others I have been too so it wasn’t too big of a deal to us that all the rooms weren’t side by side. It was only a short walk to the other side of the hotel.

Rooms
We did not have any issues with our room and as far as I know none of the other guests did either. We booked an oceanview junior suite and it was very nice - located right on the beach and next to the pool. Not the nicest decoration I have seen in a room but also not the worst. The rooms were also a pretty decent size – the suite has a nice little sitting area. The air conditioning did not get quite as cold as we normally like it but it was cool enough. The TV got tons of channels (not that we spent much time in the room).  We also had a bottle of wine and fruit tray waiting for us in the room when we arrived which was very cute!

Food

My husband and I loved the food – as did most of the guests from what I overheard during the trip. The a la cartes were fairly basic but delicious and the buffet had TONS of choices. It would have been nice to have a few more dining choices but we definitely didn’t go hungry! Also no one complained of becoming sick due to the food.

Buffet: had lots to choose from. We even had a couple vegetarians in the group and the LOVED the buffet – said there were lots of vegetarian friendly options. While many items remained the same throughout the week there were a few different choices each night. My sister-in-law even had crab legs one night at the buffet (I am sorry I missed out on that!).For lunch you can also eat at uncle tony’s which turns into a lunch buffet serving similar items to the main buffet. We ate here a few times as it was closer to our room and the beach.

Jambalaya: a few guests had complaints about the Cajun restaurant but the majority of the group enjoyed it. My husband and I had dinner there one night and had no complaints. We were actually prepared to have to visit the buffet after dinner at the Cajun restaurant because of all the negative reviews we read but were pleasantly surprised and enjoyed our meal there. The coconut shrimp at the buffet appetizer table is DELICIOUS. We loved it so much we requested to have it served at the wedding. I ordered the salmon and my husband ordered the grouper – both were delicious.

Uncle Tonys: my husband and I had dinner at the steakhouse the night before the wedding and we really enjoyed it. It was nice to be able to see what was going to be offered at the wedding beforehand. There are TONS of appetizers at this restaurant. We were barely able to finish our dinner here after having so many appetizers. I ordered the salmon and my husband ordered the ribeye – both were delicious here as well. I ordered the ribeye the night of the wedding and it was very tender and tasty!

Japanese:this was by far our favourite restaurant. My husband and I ate here 3 times during the week. The first night we just walked in and asked if they could squeeze us in and they said no problem if we came back at 9pm. We also chose to have our welcome/rehearsal dinner here. Tameica made us a reservation for our whole group (30 people) from one of the nights and everyone loved it. It is very fun and interactive and I am glad we chose to hold the dinner here instead of at the Cajun restaurant which I don’t think would have been as fun for the large group. The meal at the Japanese is quite salty but we still enjoyed it very much.

Pool/Beach

Nothing really to complain about here expect some difficulty finding somewhere to sit by the pool or on the beach anytime after 9am. Fortunately my husband and I are both early risers and were out there by 8am.
the pool was fairly large and rarely had people swimming in it from what I saw. We spent most of our time on the beach. The water was beautiful and warm – yes there was some seaweed in it but no more than I have seen anywhere else. And the staff did their best to sweep it up every morning and keep the beach clean. I found the beach to be a little quieter than the pool as there were activities going on all day at the pool.  We loved to join in the daily volleyball games and my husband and the rest of the men tried archery and loved it.

Disco

We went to the disco a couple of times during our stay and loved it! It seemed as though they played some older music (definitely has some flashbacks to high school) until about midnight and then started playing more current music. Both times we went there were quite a few people there and we had a blast dancing the night away!

Activities/Excursions       

The only excursion my husband and I went on was to the Luminous Lagoon. It was a really neat experience and was a lot of fun since we went with a large group of friends. The lagoon was beautiful and a once in a lifetime experience since only 3 places in the whole world have an area like this with microorganisms in the water that glow when disturbed. The only suggestion I have is DO NOT take the boat there! You can either take a taxi there which takes 15 minutes or a boat ride that takes 45 minutes. We thought it would be nice to take the boat but we were WRONG .... it was the scariest 45 minutes of my life. We were soaked by the time we got to the lagoon. The waves were huge and I am pretty sure the boat was built in 1970. I have never been so scared in my life and they didn’t even put life jackets on us??  Maybe we just had a bad experience but the captain said that kind of weather and ride were normal.

A large number of people from our group also went on the zip lining excursion and they loved it. I would definitely recommended going if zip lining is something you are interested in. I saw some pictures and it looked really cool.

The resort also had some really nice tennis courts which we played on a few times during our week there. You can make reservations for certain times if you want. We went up a couple of times without reservations and never had to wait very long for a court to open up.

Service

The service at this hotel was great. The Star Friends seem to love their jobs and after only a few days remembered all of the faces in our group. While I sometimes felt they acted a little inappropriately considering this is a family resort it was all in good fun.  At the bars and restaurants the service was quick and friendly. I don’t think I came across one worker who did not seem to genuinely love their job.  

We didn’t have any issues with housekeeping although some days our room seemed to be clean alot earlier than others (I think they rotate the areas they clean each day – one day our room was cleaned first and the next day our room was cleaned last) – no big deal though! We did have to leave a note and a tip to have our refrigerator stocked with some more water and beer. Our phone was also broken when we arrived (the zero did not work which meant we could not call any rooms which had a zero in them). I notified the front desk and they fixed the phone right away – unfortunately the next day it stopped working again. We just decided to use the phone in the bathroom to make calls instead – no big deal!

Spa

While I originally planned on doing my own hair I made a decision a couple of weeks before the wedding to get my hair done at the salon just to take some pressure off of myself. When I arrived at the salon with my sister they said they had time to do 2 people so she also got her hair done there (see picture below). I was pleasantly surprised by how my hair turned out (although I did have to add in quite a few bobby pins upon returning to my room as my hair didn’t feel very secure). My sister on the other hand felt that her stylist used a few too many bobby pins and hairspray. Guess it just depends on the stylist you get. If you plan on using the salon services I suggest knowing what style you want and probably having a picture with you (I brought one with me and she did a good job executing it). I also had clip in hair extensions and she had no problem putting them in for me.

My husband and I also got the couples massage the day after the wedding and we both really enjoyed it. The spa facilities are very nice and the massage was soooo relaxing. A few other people in our group got massages and pedicures and also enjoyed their experience at the spa. I found their prices to be a little high but I am glad I didn’t take on the challenge of doing my own hair!

Wedding Ceremony

The ceremony was beautiful (or so I have heard) ... everything went by so quickly and is kind of a blur! I am anxious to see the video which was taken by a friend of the ceremony so I can relive the moment.
There are 2 locations to choose from for the ceremony. We chose the one further to the side of the beach (right in front of uncle tony’s). This site unfortunately had some boats in the background as that is where the water sport activities station is located but I liked that it was further away from the resort and people sunbathing. The second location has a better background for pictures but it is right in the middle of the busy area of the beach.  I looked out my balcony about an hour before the reception and the site didn’t seem to be ready. Fortunately the staff worked very hard and everything was perfect in time for the ceremony (so don’t worry too much if you think they are behind).

The Reverend was super nice and sweet. Everyone loved the ceremony and he made both my husband and I feel very comfortable.

The setup of the ceremony was also beautiful. I brought a large piece of purple fabric to wrap around the arch to match our colors. The basic setup is a plain white arch which you can add some greenery/leaves to if you want.
 

I also chose the white aisle runner and silver bows for the chair backs.

Myself, my sister, and my sister-in-law all got ready in my room while my husband got ready in his brothers room. Once it was time to head to the ceremony site Tameica came and got me and showed me where to wait while the MOH and best man made their way down the aisle. I brought 4 songs on a CD and they sounded great on the sound system they provided (MOH/Bestman, Bride entrance, registry signing, exit song).

Wedding Reception

Tony’s Steakhouse: we chose to have the reception at Uncle Tony’s. We mainly chose this restaurant because of the menu but I am very glad we did as the location ended up being the best for us as well. We liked that the restaurant was located away from the busy area of the hotel (off to the side of the beach) whereas the other restaurants are right in the middle of the hotel. We also liked that the restaurant was open air and not enclosed. Luckily it was a fairly windy day/night and the weather was perfect for the outdoor reception. I also think the food in this restaurant was the best for a wedding. It had the largest appetizer bar of all the restaurants and the menu had quite a few options (chicken, steak, pork shop, fish). As we only had 29 people in our group they let us order off of the menu – if you have more than that you have to choose a set menu. We also opted to add lobster to the meal ($10 per person) and it was delicious.

The only small issue that occurred with the reception was that they were a little behind with the setup. My husband and I arrived around 6:30pm (reception was beginning at 7pm) and not everything was set up. We tried to pitch in and help (gladly) and Tameica would not allow us – she told us to sit down and relax. Once 7pm rolled around they were still putting the finishing touches on the tables and decorations and the guests had to wait outside the restaurant for 10-15 minutes (which wasn’t a huge deal as most of them had a drink in hand and mingled amongst each other). Overall everything turned out beautiful so waiting the 15 minutes wasn’t the end of the world.

Flowers: Before arriving at the hotel I was hesitant to purchase alot of flowers as they seemed pretty expensive through Tai Floral. In the end I did end up purchasing a few extra flowers and I am glad I did because they turned out beautiful and really add to the pictures. It is also nice because any flowers you purchase for the ceremony they bring over to the reception as well. I ended up getting a bouquet for my maid of honour and a boutonniere for the best man. The picture below is of my bouquet which was included in the package price – I simply told Tameica that I would like the majority of the flowers to be purple and white and this is what I got – it was really nice. For the ceremony I purchased 2 floral arrangements to place on pedestals beside the arch. I told Tameica how much I wanted to spend on the flowers ($100 per arrangement) and Tai Floral made the arrangements based on the amount I wanted. For the reception I purchased centrepieces for each of the tables (they came to $35 dollars each).

Decorations: The setup of the restaurant is pretty plain and simple but they definitely do a good job making it look different than every other night in the restaurant. White table cloths and silver or gold chair bows are included. I brought a few decorations with me and gave them to Tameica. I told her to do whatever she wanted with what I gave her and they did a wonderful job. I had brought silver fabric, sea shells, stones, candles, and confetti. I also brought table numbers, place cards and favors to be placed at each person’s seat and this was completed perfectly without much direction.

Cake: The cake was beautiful. I don’t have a picture yet but it was very simple and elegant. White icing with purple orchids on top. We got the chocolate cake and it was pretty good. Truthfully I was too full after dinner to really eat any of the cake but I did take a bite and it tasted good.

Bar: Another extra service my husband and I decided to get was the open bar. Because Uncle Tony’s is located on the far side of the beach there are no bars close to it for guests to get drinks other than the beer and wine which are included with the reception dinner. We are very happy we decided to get the open bar as most of our guests did get drinks from the bar throughout dinner and we didn’t limit them to beer and wine. The bar even had a blender and made delicious frozen drinks all night long!

Steel Drum Band: we also made a last minute decision to have the steel drunk band for the last hour of the reception. This was probably one of the best decisions we made with regards to the wedding. The band was awesome and everyone loved them. I think is added a real Caribbean feeling to the wedding rather than playing music we hear everyday on an ipod (which is what I originally planned on doing). We have quite a few musicians in the family and they thought the band was amazing – one of them even joined the band for a couple of songs. As our dinner and speeches kind of ran a little later than expected we missed our first dance before the band started playing. My husband asked them to play something slow we could dance to and they actually played a really nice song for us (I think it was Stuck on You by Lionel Ritchie).  

Wedding Coordinator: I have nothing bad to say about Tameica. I sent her numerous emails during the months leading up to the wedding and she always responded within a few days despite the fact that she had tons of other brides who needed her attention and whose weddings were before mine. She works very hard and I truly believe she loves her job. My husband and I were changing our minds and adding things to the wedding up until the day before and she made all our requests happen (steel drum band, floral arrangements, open bar).The week I was there I think there were 3 other weddings happening and I am amazed by how smoothly everything turned out.

The best advice I have if you are planning your wedding at this resort is to not worry too much about all the details until you get there! I went crazy trying to decide about every little detail before getting their but once you see the resort and your options it is a lot easier to figure things out. Tameica will meet with you soon after you arrive at the hotel and go over EVERYTHING with you. I hope my review and pictures help with your planning! Feel free to message or email me with any other questions (my email is [email protected]).