Iberostar Rose Hall Beach review --long

[dodds]

Hi Taylorbride,

I did not rent out the steakhouse for my reception. With my 20 guests, we were given half the restaurant, and the other half was open to the public. We barely even noticed them though as I believe they started arriving about 1hr after my reception started.

And it is correct, I had to pay $18 per person (over the 8th person).

[Carina]

Hi Ladies,

Well, I think I have my computer issues worked out and figured out how to get my pictures on here.

 

Anyway, here is a quick review of the Iberostar Rose Hall Beach.

The resort was beautiful, we booked the best room and hoped to get upgraded to the Presidential Suite, I think there are 2 or 4, but apparently they just varnished the floor so couldn’t do it.

 

We arrived on the Saturday and had a rehearsal dinner on Monday night at the Japanese restaurant as some of our guests didn’t arrive until Monday. We were all seated around the grill and had a great time.

 

We got married on Wednesday and I chose 3:30 to get married so that it wasn’t too early. Everyone hung out at the beach, then my maid of honour and I and our mothers went to the salon which is at the Iberostar Rose Hall Grand. For the life of me I cannot remember the manager’s name, but she is a beautiful lady, inside & out. We actually had a manicure and pedicure the day before and at that time checked our appointments for the next day – good thing – they only had me booked for a hair updo, but I had requested hair & makeup for both myself and my maid of honour. Anyway, the manager rectified that by calling in extra people. They drive you back and forth from the spa in a golf cart, but on the day of the wedding, the manager brought her extra large car to drive all four of us so that the wind from the golf cart would not mess up our hair! The bookings were originally made by Sandy from the IRHB, so, I suggest you all doublecheck your appointments with the spa directly once you arrive.

 

I notice a lot of you seem to be trying to find someone to make a cake. We had the cake that was part of the package and it was delicious. They make it according to how many guests there are – we had 29. So, to me, trying to find someone on the island to supply one just seems to defeat the purpose of a destination wedding when the cake the resort provides is great!

 

Also, the pictures I have posted were taken by the resort photographer at Digipix. We advised that we wanted to upgrade to 24 with a CD but on the day of, my husband and his best man spoke to the photographer and asked him to take as many pictures as possible and to give them to us on a CD and they’d throw him some extra on the side. So, in addition to the hotel package – we also have a CD (and a spare) with close to 500 pictures which we had by the next morning.

 

For the flowers I just went with what was provided, but picked the alternate tropical. I did ask for the multi coloured palm leaves wrapping the stems and didn’t get them, but no big deal. I think the flowers were beautiful and also ordered a bouquet for my maid of honour, and a wrist corsage for both of our mothers, with boutonnieres for the groom, best man, and the groom’s father. I didn’t order any extra flowers for the pews or for the arch, just took their standard which they then added to the dinner table after – even though I don’t think they matched my decor!

 

I included pictures of the dinner set up at Uncle Tony`s as I could not get Sandy to tell me the length or set up no matter how many different ways I asked. Anyway, we had 29 people and that was the set up – except that they originally had space between the three different tables, but my cousins made them move them together! I brought the decorations for the table, all they had was the white table cloth, cutlery and glassware. I brought the brown and teal runners, the shells, tea lights and holders, and starfish in addition to the starfish bottled stoppers.

 

The one major suggestion I have for anyone getting married here is to rent the restaurant. Sandy kept telling me that you had to have 40 people to do this and we only had 29, however, there was someone on the next night with 28 that did it! Further, on the night of our wedding, another wedding party was ushered into the restaurant just as we were finishing. Their ad says one wedding per day – so it was a bit of a surprise – but apparently, when I spoke to the manager – he said that we didn`t book private so they figured it would be okay and that party was married offsite and only having their dinner there. The other issue is that there are not really any bars or discos to go to after dinner. There is a disco next door but it doesn`t get going until later and is for a younger crowd, so it may not be appropriate for all of your relatives. There is a karaoke bar, but not really where you want to be on your wedding night. I would suggest either renting the beach restaurant and having a band play afterwards with an open bar, or having a cocktail party with DJ or band set up on the terrace.

 

As for the wedding itself, everything went smoothly as far as I was concerned, although my fiancé was sweating it out!! It had started to rain so they pulled the chairs inside off the terrace where we originally planned on having the ceremony to see if it would dry up, but it didn`t so they set up in the lobby instead. This ended up better in my opinion, as even though we were inside in the air conditioning, it was still hot, so imagine being outside! And, the marble looked great in the photos in my opinion! While waiting for everything to be re-arranged, I was in my room with my MOH and mother having room service (advice – don`t have the veggie sandwich – onions! My husband didn`t appreciate it) and champagne and OJ! The wedding consultant`s assistant, Crystal, waited with us and then when they were ready, brought us down and instructed us. I also had a CD playing before, during, and after the ceremony – all wedding songs done on the steel drums!

As you can see from the pictures, the weather cleared up even before the ceremony started. I would recommend around 3:30 for the ceremony so that even with delays, you will have time for pictures before the sun sets, which is around 6 pm or so in May. You can see from some of the pictures on the pier that the sun is going down, however, the pictures taken on the beach with the pier in the background were taken after that and it seems brighter!

The best advice I can give is to try to arrange everything you want, but don`t stress too much. You will meet with the wedding coordinator once in Jamaica, and honestly, I think that is probably the most important meeting as she didn`t seem to recall any of the prior requests I had made. For example, I enquired about the prices of different flowers by e-mail using the specific reference numbers on Tai Flora`s website, and once there she told me it was too late I should have enquired before!! And she also told me on the day of that the flowers ordered for my hair wouldn`t be there in time for my hair appointment but in time for the wedding. The salon called over and pressured her and the flowers arrived in 15 minutes!

 

Overall, everything was amazing and we shared an incredible week with our friends and family!!

 

Iberostar Rose Hall Beach Wedding - a set on Flickr

 

If this link doesn`t work, let me know your e-mail and I`ll e-mail the picture!

 

Carina

[debbmach]

Thanks for the review Carina, sounds like you had a great time. Gets me excited about going! How was the beach? Is it much different then the one at the suites? I've read mixed about it.

[newflores]

hi dodds,

 

i wanted to ask you, i'm also from Canada, how much did it cost for you or your guests to book their tickets? Was it a package price (includes air and hotel)? or they had to pay air and hotel separately... Did you have a travel agent that booked all your guests' tickets?? was it a good price?

[blckrevpower]

thanks for sharing!

[mekanabr]

Great review, thanks so much for all the information!!! CONGRATS!!!!!!!

[[email protected]]

I had a question about the Steakhouse...how do you pick the wedding dinner? Are their options for our guests? Do they simply pick off a menu? Can we customize the menu?

[dodds]

Hi newflores,

Sorry for the delay in getting back to you. I did book with a travel agent. My family is all over Canada so I couldn't get a group rate, but each family went to their favorite travel agent and booked the air/hotel as a package. Everyone mentioned they were part of the wedding, but the hotel staff still placed us all over the hotel instead of on the same floor.

 

To ms. abby,

I don't really remember, but I think we had a choice of two or three meals for the dinner. I do know the appetizer and dessert was buffet, but sorry, it was too long ago to remember what I did for the dinner. Maybe Carina remembers better than me since her wedding was more recently.

 

By the way Carina... I love your pics. I now wish I had my ceremony in the lobby. You are right, the marble floors do look grand.

[michelle10]

Great reviews. Thanks so much for the info!

[BrenBren]

Hi Ms. Abby,

 

I'm heading down to Iberostar Rose Hall Beach Resort there next month for my wedding and have been corresponding with Latoya about a number of items... Here are some answers to your questions:

 

Here is the menu for Uncle Tony's Steakhouse (not too sure how to attach docs here):

 

APPETIZERS

Curly Lettuce * Red Cabbage * Onion Rings * Tomatoes flavored with oregano * palm hearts with curry * small cucumber boat with tuna * shrimps salad * Beef Carpaccio * Crab and poultry terrine * English roast beef * Liver pate * Choice of smoked cuts * Shrimps boiled in Lemon * Sauce of melon, mustard, French, vinaigrette, Mexican, blueberry * Buffet of pickled fruit

 

CHEESE BUFFET

Cured Manchego * Blue Danish * Fresh Cheese in Oil * Dutch Gouda

Raisins * Dry Apricots * Dates * Plum * Cucumber * Celery * Carrot

 

HOT BUFFET

Buffalo Chicken Wings * Pork Chops in Smoked Sauce * Fried Onion Rings with Honey * Corn Fritters * Grouper sticks with Spices Hot Potato Matches with Cheese

 

ENTREE

 

TENDERLOIN - This fillet steak comes completely from the back

 

GRILLED CHICKEN SUPREME WITH SMOKY SAUCE - Tasty marinated chicken breast on the grill, served with a smoked sauce

 

GRILLED SALMON MEDALLION

 

DESSERTS

Hot apple pie with cream

Chocolate Brownie

____________________

 

For groups of 25 people or more they require a set menu, which is the same entrée for all the guests; but really I think they just need a count of who is having what entrees!

 

Hope this answers your questions!

 

Bren