Iberostar Grand Rose Hall

[allieplask]

kfarkas26, have you decided what you are doing about your wedding? have you sent out std's or anything or are you still trying to finalize the hotel?

 

leah22 mentioned half moon bring cheaper and i can tell you that half moon was our first choice - the property is beautiful and i have ALL the wedding information BUT i received itemized bills, invoices for what we were going to pay for the wedding and it was ALOT.  the rooms/villas (which were what we really wanted) were much more expensive per person, also we were going to have our guests on the all-inclusive plan and they wanted us to pay $180 per person for our wedding reception dinner/open bar!  and that was a discount that was applied if you have over 30 guests at the wedding.  the normal price was like $230 per person which i found to be INSANE! just saying... but the property is beautiful

[Leah22]

Allie,

 

I almost booked the Half Moon.  I worked with a wedding coordinator for about a month.  She sent me several itemized bills and we went back and forth editing, changing, deleting until it was a price I was comfortable with.  They will work with you if you give them a budget to stick to.  We were planning on renting the villas (which come with a private pool and personal chef).  It did get a little tricky deciding between the all-inclusive versus non (since all guests should be on the same plan).  But when we were working with the wedding coordinator there was no additional fee if the guests were on the AI plan.  So I'm not sure about the extra $180pp.  In the end we decided against it because we were worried the room prices were too high and we weren't sure what our final numbers would be (I originally planned for 30, that jumped to 60, we ended up with 87).  But at the time we were assuming all of our guests would stay at the Suites or even the Beach resort.  In the end the majority of our guests chose to stay at the Grand, which is comparable in price to renting a villa at the Half Moon.

 

Originally Posted by allieplask 

kfarkas26, have you decided what you are doing about your wedding? have you sent out std's or anything or are you still trying to finalize the hotel?

 

leah22 mentioned half moon bring cheaper and i can tell you that half moon was our first choice - the property is beautiful and i have ALL the wedding information BUT i received itemized bills, invoices for what we were going to pay for the wedding and it was ALOT.  the rooms/villas (which were what we really wanted) were much more expensive per person, also we were going to have our guests on the all-inclusive plan and they wanted us to pay $180 per person for our wedding reception dinner/open bar!  and that was a discount that was applied if you have over 30 guests at the wedding.  the normal price was like $230 per person which i found to be INSANE! just saying... but the property is beautiful

[kfarkas26]

Originally Posted by allieplask 

 

kfarkas26, have you decided what you are doing about your wedding? have you sent out std's or anything or are you still trying to finalize the hotel?

 

leah22 mentioned half moon bring cheaper and i can tell you that half moon was our first choice - the property is beautiful and i have ALL the wedding information BUT i received itemized bills, invoices for what we were going to pay for the wedding and it was ALOT.  the rooms/villas (which were what we really wanted) were much more expensive per person, also we were going to have our guests on the all-inclusive plan and they wanted us to pay $180 per person for our wedding reception dinner/open bar!  and that was a discount that was applied if you have over 30 guests at the wedding.  the normal price was like $230 per person which i found to be INSANE! just saying... but the property is beautiful

Allie, in the end the WC at the grand said she would honor the 90% at all three properties and that we do not need to have a certain amount at the grand... we looked into half moon which is GORGEOUS and also grand bahia principe which I liked alot too... I would have been happy with the grand bahia BUT my only issue was that we were JUST at the iberostar, we stayed a week and we were excited about it, we knew our guests would love it so when we got word that she would honor the old contract we just figured it would be easier. My std's are in the process of being made right now I'm just waiting for them to ship, They are luggage tag magnets from ApriltwentyFive on etsy. I LOVE LOVE LOVE them I can't wait to get them out. I am very upset about Leah's review because I felt the same way with Janeile and I was just figuring she was just busy with current brides, however Leah made it apparent that this is not the case and she pretty much just sucks (which was the impression my TA and I have been getting also). My only hope is that they get someone new who is detail oriented and actually likes their job by my wedding (apparently WCs at these places change very frequently) It sounds horrible I know... On the bright side though for you Allie, I have heard nothing but amazing reviews for Nicole the WC at the suites!!!

 

It sucks... yesterday was the one year mark for our wedding (also our nine year anniversary--- were getting married on our 10 year anniversary) and I'm still annoyed with the Grand....

[kfarkas26]

Here is our save the date... for some reason it is coming out black... but if you click on it- the color is correct... weird

 

[sunshine2413]

Originally Posted by kfarkas26 

 

No I did not have any issues with Janielle! Sorry for your bad experience Leah... I am sure your wedding was gorgeous and fun though!

 

I had printed instructions (with pictures) on how I wanted everything prepared for her (so it left nothing in question). I met with her 2hrs after I arrived, as I asked for her at check in. Every time I needed something or had a question, I could find her on property or call her and it was handled. Janielle in my opinion excuted my wishes above a beyond. I have to admit I was alittle leary before arriving, given the delay in responding to emails and price changes. But since I had those feelings, I was super worried, so I OD'ed on providing information, and organized requests. I will provide more extensive review soon (when I get my pro pictures to include). 

 

Also, all of my guests but two stayed at the Grand so really had no issue with group dinners and all that. Janielle informed me, if I could try to have all guest at the Grand it would be so much easier on us and her. Like Leah, the two guests that stayed at the Grand, we did not see much but for the rehearsal dinner and wedding day! FUTURE BRIDES: I would highly recommend having everyone stay at the Grand if you are having your wedding there. They are strict and it's not worth the headache!

[Leah22]

Yes, my wedding was gorgeous and fun.  But I chose a destination wedding because I did not want to obsess over all the details.  And I didn't.  I went with the flow.  If Janielle told me I couldn't have something (like during my rehearsal ceremony she told me I couldn't have my cocktail party on the lobby terrace and 4 hours before my ceremony she told me I couldn't have the wicker chairs for my ceremony), then fine I accepted that and moved on.  My reception decorations turned out beautifully and exactly like I anticipated (keep in mind that I brought ALL my decorations and gave Janielle a color plan of how I wanted the reception set up...I ordered a few centerpieces from Tai Floral, but I didn't trust them since I could never get a response).  But the day of the wedding, several issues with our ceremony arose and the planning process was a nightmare from the beginning.  I actually arrived at the hotel pissed off because of emails that I received from Janielle at midnight the night before I arrived.  I enjoyed the Grand.  I enjoyed my wedding because it was my wedding!  My guests enjoyed the Grand and the Suites and they enjoyed the wedding.  But the process was unpleasant and tarnished. And, like I said, I would have chosen a different hotel with a more experienced wedding planning process.  Especially for the price you're paying at the Grand you can hire a private Jamaican wedding coordinator to organize something off property for cheaper.

 

If you have the time to plan out and coordinate every detail, and then provide full detail instructions to the hotel wedding coordinator that you explain 20 times before you arrive and 20 times after you arrive, then you have nothing to worry about.  But the hotel's wedding fees will probably go up and their policies will inevitably change at the last minute.  From what I've read on this forum, the fees and policies have already changed for upcoming weddings.

 

Originally Posted by sunshine2413 

No I did not have any issues with Janielle! Sorry for your bad experience Leah... I am sure your wedding was gorgeous and fun though!

 

I had printed instructions (with pictures) on how I wanted everything prepared for her (so it left nothing in question). I met with her 2hrs after I arrived, as I asked for her at check in. Every time I needed something or had a question, I could find her on property or call her and it was handled. Janielle in my opinion excuted my wishes above a beyond. I have to admit I was alittle leary before arriving, given the delay in responding to emails and price changes. But since I had those feelings, I was super worried, so I OD'ed on providing information, and organized requests. I will provide more extensive review soon (when I get my pro pictures to include). 

 

Also, all of my guests but two stayed at the Grand so really had no issue with group dinners and all that. Janielle informed me, if I could try to have all guest at the Grand it would be so much easier on us and her. Like Leah, the two guests that stayed at the Grand, we did not see much but for the rehearsal dinner and wedding day! FUTURE BRIDES: I would highly recommend having everyone stay at the Grand if you are having your wedding there. They are strict and it's not worth the headache!

[susan1672]

I also got married at the Grand on the same weekend as Shannon and Leah and wanted to weigh in on my experience with Janielle, as this seems to be a hot topic.

 

I had high expectations for Janielle after seeing some post-wedding reviews, but I really can't say I had the best experience with her. She was very slow to respond to my e-mails and wouldn't fully answer my questions throughout the planning process. The main issue I had was that I wanted to have a buffet at my reception and the prices are based on 30-50 people and then increase by $1,500 for 51-75 people. Well, I of course, had 51 people and tried to get her to budge on this extra $1,500 for MONTHS! There was no way I was paying $1,500 for 1 extra person. She didn't budge until the day I actually arrived and met with her and Angellie which really pissed me off because people have to budget for weddings and I really had no idea if they were actually going to let it go. It was just way more stressful than it needed to be. I also wanted to extend my reception for an extra hour and was told that I would have to pay the staff $250 in cash to pay for their transportation home!!! I still don't understand why. The worst part is that she provided me with an updated invoice a few days before the wedding but the $250 wasn't on it so I accidentally forgot to pay it prior to the wedding and she had the NERVE to come up to my new husband and I during our wedding reception at 9:30PM and demanded we pay $250 in cash before 10PM. It was TOTALLY UNPROFESSIONAL! She could have asked before the wedding or waited until the next day instead of asking us during our special time. We didn't have that much cash on us and didn't want to go up to our room so we had to open up a wedding card from one of our guests to get her the money. It was just very rude in my opinion. We also wanted to get some appetizers for our informal cocktail hour on the lobby terrace but were told we had to pay for the option with the open bar AND appetizers ($25 per person) and not one or the other. We were not going to do this since the lobby bar was about 10 feet away and our guests already paid to be at an all-inclusive resort. To top it off, she never once followed up with us after the wedding AND she forgot to give us back half of our things before we left the resort for our honeymoon. Thank goodness my outside wedding coordinator was able to gather the stuff and get it to us.

 

I also provided a very detailed list to both Janielle and my outside wedding coordinator and had no issues with the decorating or setup...it was mostly just the extra fees! I also used Tai Floral and they did an amazing job. One thing I would recommend is copying Janielle or Angellie on your e-mails to them if you aren't getting a timely response.

 

On a side note, beware of Godfrey Guy!!! I lost a $250 deposit to him and I would never recommend him to anyone...he is a horrible vendor!

 

One thing I do recommend is hiring an outside wedding coordinator if you can afford it. The communication process with the resort was way too stressful so I would recommend hiring a local wedding planner in Jamaica to assist with this. I found Sadeki from Chic-Events a few months before my wedding and wish I had hired her sooner! She is truly amazing and made it so much easier for me. Her prices are reasonable too. You can contact her at: [email protected]

 

Our wedding really was amazing and I wouldn't have changed a thing. I still would have chosen the Grand but just wanted to warn you to be prepared for some hiccups. I'm glad Shannon didn't have any issues and it could be that Janielle is just hit or miss.

 

I will post a more detailed review later...as soon as my professional pics arrive : )

[kfarkas26]

Thanks for your input Susan! I am so frustrated with these negitive reviews of Janielle, I have yet to hear a bad review of Nicole at the suites or the WC at the Beach... I mean come on the Grand is supposed to be the the best resort of the three and yet everyone is having problems with this woman... UGHHHHHH!

Originally Posted by susan1672 

I also got married at the Grand on the same weekend as Shannon and Leah and wanted to weigh in on my experience with Janielle, as this seems to be a hot topic.

 

I had high expectations for Janielle after seeing some post-wedding reviews, but I really can't say I had the best experience with her. She was very slow to respond to my e-mails and wouldn't fully answer my questions throughout the planning process. The main issue I had was that I wanted to have a buffet at my reception and the prices are based on 30-50 people and then increase by $1,500 for 51-75 people. Well, I of course, had 51 people and tried to get her to budge on this extra $1,500 for MONTHS! There was no way I was paying $1,500 for 1 extra person. She didn't budge until the day I actually arrived and met with her and Angellie which really pissed me off because people have to budget for weddings and I really had no idea if they were actually going to let it go. It was just way more stressful than it needed to be. I also wanted to extend my reception for an extra hour and was told that I would have to pay the staff $250 in cash to pay for their transportation home!!! I still don't understand why. The worst part is that she provided me with an updated invoice a few days before the wedding but the $250 wasn't on it so I accidentally forgot to pay it prior to the wedding and she had the NERVE to come up to my new husband and I during our wedding reception at 9:30PM and demanded we pay $250 in cash before 10PM. It was TOTALLY UNPROFESSIONAL! She could have asked before the wedding or waited until the next day instead of asking us during our special time. We didn't have that much cash on us and didn't want to go up to our room so we had to open up a wedding card from one of our guests to get her the money. It was just very rude in my opinion. We also wanted to get some appetizers for our informal cocktail hour on the lobby terrace but were told we had to pay for the option with the open bar AND appetizers ($25 per person) and not one or the other. We were not going to do this since the lobby bar was about 10 feet away and our guests already paid to be at an all-inclusive resort. To top it off, she never once followed up with us after the wedding AND she forgot to give us back half of our things before we left the resort for our honeymoon. Thank goodness my outside wedding coordinator was able to gather the stuff and get it to us.

 

I also provided a very detailed list to both Janielle and my outside wedding coordinator and had no issues with the decorating or setup...it was mostly just the extra fees! I also used Tai Floral and they did an amazing job. One thing I would recommend is copying Janielle or Angellie on your e-mails to them if you aren't getting a timely response.

 

On a side note, beware of Godfrey Guy!!! I lost a $250 deposit to him and I would never recommend him to anyone...he is a horrible vendor!

 

One thing I do recommend is hiring an outside wedding coordinator if you can afford it. The communication process with the resort was way too stressful so I would recommend hiring a local wedding planner in Jamaica to assist with this. I found Sadeki from Chic-Events a few months before my wedding and wish I had hired her sooner! She is truly amazing and made it so much easier for me. Her prices are reasonable too. You can contact her at: [email protected]

 

Our wedding really was amazing and I wouldn't have changed a thing. I still would have chosen the Grand but just wanted to warn you to be prepared for some hiccups. I'm glad Shannon didn't have any issues and it could be that Janielle is just hit or miss.

 

I will post a more detailed review later...as soon as my professional pics arrive : )

[Leah22]

Susan, did you have to pay anything else to extend your reception besides the $250 cash for the staff's transportation?  We asked Janielle to extend our reception for an extra hour and she said it would cost us over $1000 (she was charging us an extra per person fee)!  So we passed!  Then right at 10 o'clock one of the hotel managers (a Spanish woman) comes over to my DJ and tried to pull out his speaker plugs.  He makes an announcement on the microphone threatening her not to touch his equipment until he was finished (it was funny, but very irritating).  That was the only complaint from my guests...that our reception was too short.
 

[kfarkas26]

I can not wait to see all three of your amazing photos and reviews!!!!