Saturne-79

Good day,
We have a booking at this resort in January, staying there 9 nights with my wife and 3-year-old son. First time in Jamaica and first time in an AI Hilton resort. Few questions I have:
How they treat gold members? Do they give any on-property benefits? At least I should't choose the breakfast as an amenity....
Any advice for the rooms? We have queen ocean front booked now.
How are the restaurants, do you need to bok them in advance, like before you even check in? We prefer early dinner with the kid.
What is the best way from the MBJ airport, regular taxi or transportation from the hotel?
And is the water park included, I mean no extra charge for going there?

Thank you in advance for any advice you have!

skimple

If you've got a queen ocean view room now, I wouldn't expect any upgrade. You're already ocean-view so the only thing they could upgrade would be to move you t oa higher floor.

You get the same gold benefits as any other Hilton (Wi-Fi, etc). No complimentary breaskfast because it is an all-inclusive. I think we got bottled water every day. There is also a discount on cabana rentals (10%?).

I would suggest booking restaurants (and cabanas now). Not only can you get better times, but the line in the lobby to book them is very long to wait in. We tried all of the restaurants. They were all OK and a nice change from the buffet style restaurant. I wouldn't expect to have your socks knocked off.

You can reserve a taxi/shuttle in advance or just pick one up at the airport. I think this thread has contact info for Greg somewhere. I can tell you that it probably would have been quicker for us to just get a taxi at the airport. The traffic at the airport was so bad that our driver couldn't get in pick to us up for some time.

Saturne-79

Thank you skimple for your advices! ^
We will check the restaurants beforehand.
What about the neighborhood - is there anything nearby or are the shops and restaurants in Montego bay?

SamRothstein

Just back yesterday, and had a great time.

Can't speak to how Golds are treated (I'm blue!), but I had zero issues with service, and found everyone to go out of their way to accommodate anything. To add to the above breakdown of the different bands, I saw all the ones listed, plus several people with golden bands which I presume is for gold members, and also a white which may have been for non-HH members? My wife things she heard the people behind us at check-in say they weren't members and they had white bands. Seems white bands were the majority here. As a blue member (blue band) I was entitled to 5% discount at the spa. It also appears that all guests now get free in room wifi, or you can upgrade to a faster speed for $5 a day. Higher status gets the upgraded internet, but not sure which level it starts at. The basic internet was good enough to Facetime and watch Netflix in the room, so I wouldn't be concerned there.

We had a King Oceanfront and had no complaints. We were on the ground floor of building which actually turned out to be nice as there is a path and a gate that leads right out to the pool, beach, restaurants and water park. View was nice, but if you want a great view, ask for higher floor for sure.

We ate at all of the restaurants, and again have no complaints. By far the best experience was at Three Palms, followed by Luna. Dinner is only done at Sea Side based on demand so they say, but it seemed to be open all three nights I was there and never full. Its much more casual, than the other two ala cart restaurants. I did make all the dinner reservations via email prior to arrival, but they apparently got lost (my only complaint against the hotel), but the lady at the reservations desk got us straightened out with no issue. I believe all of the ala carte places open at 6pm. Breakfast buffet is full of the usual suspects, with a fantastic omelet cook. Several lunch options with the buffet, Mangoes, Sea Side and the Pizza shack. Pizza was pretty tasty. As stated elsewhere, this isn't Michelin star quality stuff, but Three Palms and Luna are both very solid and impressed me based on my expectations of an AI. You also get two free bottles of water per day. We had four in the fridge the first day, and got it replenished on the second and third days.

For transport, we had a shared ride via Costco package. As it was included I didn't fret, but we waited at the airport for about 30-40 minutes before finally setting off. Luckily there was only one hotel before the Hilton so it wasn't a long ride, maybe 20 minutes. A private driver or private shuttle would be the way to go if you have the option and are short on time.

Water park is included, and you just walk over and jump in. There are two slides. One is a big slide at 280ft and the other is broken into three short slides. The lazy river is pretty nice, but you may have to hunt and ask for a float.

The hotel also provides a shuttle to some shops down the road. They looked nice as we passed by, but I've got no interest in shopping so can't comment on what was in there. There is also the Rose Hall tour across the street which was fun. The hotel does a free shuttle but the tour is $20pp.

Anything else just ask!

squarestatejeff

I would recommend you book your dining reservations in advance. You can contact them two weeks before the night(s) you want to secure a reservation for. We have always called the resort to set up our dinners, but I hear some have used email to do the same.

We always just grab a local taxi when we leave the airport. When you leave the customs area, you can tell the greater you want private taxi, but if the greater is busy, the private taxi area is to your right. Make sure you negotiate your price before you agree to a drive, and verify that the person is a "red plate" driver. A price of $35 U.S. seems to be the norm for the ride to Hilton.

squarestatejeff

Was the Seaside Grill open for dinner any evening during your stay?

SamRothstein

We ate dinner there the first night (Monday) and it looked to be open every other night as well. The dinner was much better than the lunch.

widemmj

Just completed a stay here last week and I'm not sure about gold members but diamond members get complimentary cabana for a day, free room service, and one room upgrade but you're likely not to get the upgrade if you're already ocean side. This is an all inclusive all meals and drinks are covered. Water park is free and non-motorized water sports (kayaks,wind surfing, etc) The cabana is a nice perk ($130 value) but if you're used to prompt service its not worth the money. You likely get 10-15% discount on spa and cabana rentals being gold. We took a shuttle going to the resort for $10 each but it take 45 mins to fill the bus so opting for the cab ($35) is worth it to me. Hope this helps

widemmj

Recently stayed at this property and wanted to list the pros and cons of the hotel compared to other Hilton all inclusive (Hilton Puerto Vallarta):

Pros: Nice private beaches, nice water park, nice complimentary water sports activities, complimentary cabana (diamond members), clean room, free room service (diamond members), nice golf course, food quality was good for an all inclusive.

Cons: Property is dated, staff members are inconsistent on hospitality, poor drink quality (alcoholic), wasn't easy to make reservations for restaurants (multiple calls and trips to the reservations desk), tiny rooms, power went off several times during our first day (which is not a big deal if you're in the room to manually turn on the A/C) .

Overall its a decent spot to redeem points if you can get the room for 50k a night.

SamRothstein

I agree with your pros, but didn't experience any of your cons thankfully. Maybe some of the premixed "drink of the day" cocktails were inconsistent, I agree. Where you there the day the power was off from 9am-5pm?

Saturne-79

Thank you for your comments and advices!
Will send them email about restaurnat reservations in advance.
Is there minibar included in the AI plan, or just the waters? And if I understood, room service is not included either?

SamRothstein

No minibar, just the fridge with waters. The gift shop had a small selection of booze, but there's some shops down the road with a free shuttle provided by the hotel.

Saturne-79

Hello,
does anyone have a email address to the hotel? I have tried to find it but no luck

moobearus

Hello,

Here are the details from our Hilton Rose Hall Montego Bay Vacation:

Our slideshow:
Any and all thumbs up are appreciated!

8 nights at the Hilton Rose Hall for 60,000 per night or 480,000 for all 8 nights.
We flew American Airlines from ORD for 65,000 and $106 each direct non stop!
We did pay $25 each way for an extra bag.

We stayed Dec. 24 to Jan 1. It was a great trip and they do Christmas very well! The nightly entertainment is some of the best in the Caribbean.

Thank you!

squarestatejeff

Just returned from a stay, and there were a few changes this year compared to the past:

* Dinner reservations can only be made for the upcoming week starting on Friday (you can call in advance or in person if already on site, make reservations starting on Friday for the upcoming Saturday through Friday only).

* Luna Di Mare is no longer an Italian restaurant. In fact, there wasn't a single pasta dish on their menu the night we went there. Food was good and service was better than we remember in the past, but just don't expect he same type of fare as in the past.

* The new restaurant down by the beach (can't remember the name of it, but the place where you can order pizza during the day) is now the place where Italian food is served for dinner.

* The new beach area on the far east side of the property is a really nice addition. The sand is fairly hard and compact, but it helps spread guests out quite a bit, especially for those wanting to camp out on the beach.

Overall, the stay was nice and food quality across the board was better than we remember in the past.