Lisa's Iberostar Rose Hall Suites Review

[NegrilLB]

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Originally Posted by wendyjd Lisa, THANK YOU for the thorough review. Its good to see a review from IRHS. Everything looked beautiful (well, except the cake, my FI thought it looked like an ice cream cake that was left outside for a couple of hours), but the resort cake looked good. I really like that you had the wedding on the great staircase. Did you have random people walking thru? I hear that onlookers are common at DW. Congrats on a wonderful wedding and for having a terrific outlook, not worrying about the weather and laughing at the cake, I envy you. Congrats and thanks for the thorough review!! Its so reassuring.

Thanks! Actually due to the layout, we didn't have any on-lookers at all. You pretty much have an enclosed area to yourself. I was worried about people walking in the lobby hanging over the glass balcony at the top of the stairs, but they had signs set up saying it was a private event, so no one went in that area.

[NegrilLB]

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Originally Posted by breeze616 YAY YAY YAY! finally a wonderful detailed review from IRH!! Thank you so much for posting! That Cake made me pee myself laughing!! OMG I would die! Thank goodness the resort was able to whip one up for you! I have a few questions for ya! 1. Your welcome party on the lobby terrace, did you have appetizers served at it? Do you know if they allow appetizers on that terrace? 2. How did your make-up hold up in the heat/over the night? The only reason I would consider using the resort make-up artist is because maybe they know what to use to make the make-up stay put while your sweating and stuff Thanks again Lisa! So happy your wedding went well, and that even though you weren't married on the beach, that staircase is GORGEOUS. It was meant to be!! Congratulations!!!!!

Thanks Sabrina!

We didn't have any appetizers for the welcome party, but I'm sure you are allowed to have them on the terrace if you want. They are extremely flexible with everything. I was surprised they let us have a dj playing out there until 10:30, but there was no issue at all.

My make-up stayed on pretty much all night, but I don't know if it stayed on any better than if I did it myself. I just made sure not to rub my face at all, and only used blotting paper to soak up the sweat.

[NegrilLB]

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Originally Posted by magz88 Lisa!!!! Many congratulations to you! It was beautiful. I'm sorry to hear you didn't have your beach wedding...its actually something i think about alot since we are in may which is start of rainy season. It's good to hear that your alternative worked out and you were very happy with it. It looked beautiful. It seems like the lobby balcony would be a nice option too in case it rains?? Couple questions: are we allowed to have the cocktail hour w/ hor d'eourves right on the beach after the ceremony? that was my hope. In the steakhouse, is there room to set up 8 tables of 8 and have room to dance? I am hoping to keep everything on one side. how did it feel to have the party kinda separated? thanks so much for your help. can't wait to see more pics. congrats again!! you were a beautiful bride.

Thanks Magz!

I haven't heard of anyone using the beach for their cocktail hour, but since they let us use the beach for dancing and the bar, I don't see why not.

We had 8 round tables on one side of the terrace (7 on the other), and there wasn't much room left for dancing, unless you use some of the area that's between the 2 terraces. We actually used that area for our first dances so that everyone could see. Here's a picture of the terrace with 8 round tables:




If you used the rectangular tables for 10-12, that might leave enough room. Having people on 2 terraces for dinner wasn't bad at all. The wall doesn't go all the way thru the restaurant, so the people at the tables closest to the beach could still see the people on the other terrace, and just about everyone could see our table which was set up between the two terraces. Also, the way we set up the seating was so that people were sitting on the same terrace as all their friends and/or family, so they didn't miss the people on the other side For dancing after dinner, everyone on both terraces could see the beach, so it wasn't separated for that part.

[NegrilLB]

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Originally Posted by TanyonL Hi Negril LB. Your review: A++++. I am so happy for you. Your wedding was so beautiful, your hair looked amazing. That cake...well ummm uh...your centerpieces looked spectacular :-) Quick Question: Can you rank the ceremony sites (including the rain location) in order of beauty? Best first. Thanks and congrats!

Great question - I love ranking things! This is a tough one though because it totally depends on what you're looking for. I think that the beach, lazy river island, and lobby are the prettiest locations they have. The beach and lazy river are beautiful when the weather is nice, but if it's rainy or really cloudy then the lobby would be prettier.

2nd tier in my ranking would be the lobby balcony. It's nice up there because of the view of the pool, but the balcony itself doesn't have much to it. If it's raining and you still want to do it outdoors though, that would be a good option because I think it's covered (not totally sure though).

The other 2 locations I know of are the gazebo in the pool and the "rain location". The pool gazebo looks plain to me, and you would have to worry about people swimming by, lol. The "rain location" is an area between the Suites and the Grand. It has natural light because of the dome overhead, but to me it feels a little claustrophobic, and there's not much to it, so I would rank that location last.

Hope that helps!

[Knbell22]

Congrats!! Everything looked beautiful!

[magz88]

Lisa,

Thanks so much for answering my questions.

 

Did you have to bring your own string to hang the lanterns with or does Nicole have that? Also, did you have to bring your own votive candles and holders or does Nicole have them there for an option?

[Jules23]

Congrats Lisa on your wedding! Everything sounds like overall it turned out perfectly. Thanks for the very detailed review, I was looking forward to it for awhile now! haha. I just have a few quick questions for you:

 

1. In terms of choosing your locations for your welcoming party, rehearsal dinner and cocktail hour; did you choose these prior to your arrival? Im just concerned about choosing prior to arrival that I may change my mind once I see the different locations in person.

 

2. You mentioned you used your own DJ for the welcome party, how about for your wedding reception on the beach? Or did you use the resort DJ (any feedback about the resort DJ as we know theres mixed reviews about him).

 

3. Since it rained during the day - how was the sand at night for the beach party - wet or dry? And was the extra cost for the beach party the same pricing structure as it is to have for the cocktail hour or welcome party?

 

Thanx! and Congrats again!

[michelle10]

Thank you so much for the awesome review!! I am getting married there in January, and all of your info will help so much!

[NegrilLB]

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Originally Posted by magz88 Lisa, Thanks so much for answering my questions. Did you have to bring your own string to hang the lanterns with or does Nicole have that? Also, did you have to bring your own votive candles and holders or does Nicole have them there for an option?

No prob - glad I can help! I just realized, your date is coming up soon!

I didn't have to bring string, I just gave them a box with the lanterns and the LED light terminals and they took care of the rest.

We did bring our own votive candles since they were only $40 for a box of 72 (including both the candle and the holder). I'm not sure if Nicole has any there for people to use. For the welcome party they put those battery powered simulated candles on the tables, which was nice because we didn't even ask for it, but I don't know if they have any regular ones.

[NegrilLB]

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Originally Posted by Jules23 Congrats Lisa on your wedding! Everything sounds like overall it turned out perfectly. Thanks for the very detailed review, I was looking forward to it for awhile now! haha. I just have a few quick questions for you: 1. In terms of choosing your locations for your welcoming party, rehearsal dinner and cocktail hour; did you choose these prior to your arrival? Im just concerned about choosing prior to arrival that I may change my mind once I see the different locations in person. 2. You mentioned you used your own DJ for the welcome party, how about for your wedding reception on the beach? Or did you use the resort DJ (any feedback about the resort DJ as we know theres mixed reviews about him). 3. Since it rained during the day - how was the sand at night for the beach party - wet or dry? And was the extra cost for the beach party the same pricing structure as it is to have for the cocktail hour or welcome party? Thanx! and Congrats again!

Thanks!

1 - We visited Iberostar twice in the last year because we were in JA for 2 other weddings at ROR, so we were able to choose our locations in advance. Also, about 2 weeks before the wedding date Nicole sends a "Final Details" worksheet that asks about where/when you want your welcome party, cocktail party, etc. They are pretty flexible there though, so if you choose a place but then decide on somewhere else once you get there, they could probably work it out as long as no one else has that area reserved. Only thing is that you'll have to notify your guests of the changes after you get there. Let me know if you have any questions about the different locations and I might be able to help (and might have a picture). The main ones are the lobby staircase, lobby terrace, Mango Walk club, and Blue Moon music room.

2 - We used our own dj for the reception also. He's a friend that was there for the wedding, so he was there the whole weekend. If you use your own dj, you still have to pay to use their equipment, and their dj will be there also. I think it's to kind of supervise the equipment and make sure it's not playing too loud. He wasn't in the way or anything though.

3 - I was worried about the sand being wet for the reception also, but by then it was dry enough and totally comfortable to dance on. I think it stopped raining around 3:30 and we were on the sand around 9. There wasn't any extra charge for having the dancing on the beach during the reception. We just had a bar set up out there instead of using only the one that's inside (that one was open also) for the regular $8 per person per hour, and the dinner was still included at no cost.