isle-hawg

Recommend a cab, easy and quick and only about $30 for a minivan for the crew, was my experience.

JDiver

Hilton Rose Hall Resort and Spa
Rose Hall Road, Montego Bay, Jamaica
TEL: +1-876-953-2650 FAX: +1-876-684-0203
Web: link


Season: Dry season is high season, December - April. Rainy / low season June - October, possibility of hurricanes. Current temperatures are ranging from 80F / 26.7 C low to 90 F / 32 C high, with moderating breezes throughout the day. Occasional showers in area, particularly afternoons.

Built: 1974; Year Last Renovated: 2007. Room renovations coming Sep 2016! New coffee shop, Internet cafe, Japanese restaurant, extended air conditioned teerrace bar coming. Two new towers at east end, one for families, one for adults: ground preparation under way.

All inclusive beach resort oriented to families. "This is an All-Inclusive Resort. Children under 5 stay and eat free, ages 6-14 will be an additional $75/night, and age 15 and older will be charged an adult rate. Please ensure children 15 and older are registered as adults, otherwise $99 USD per night, per child will be added to your account at check-in. May 1 to 20, and June 1 to 19, 2016 child charges will be waived."

Smoking: no smoking in room - $150 cleaning fee - or any interior space. Outside, restricted to signed designated areas.

Restaurants, bars, non-motorized water sports, tennis, shuffleboard, children activities, classes, other extensive activities are included in the price of the stay. Large water park, cabanas for rent, pools, extensive spa services offered, fitness and business centers, tours and auto rental desks, etc. Entertainment. Warm Jamaican hospitality and friendliness are pervasive and contagious, though sometimes fails to translate to actual action.

Issues: Free (but imperfect) WiFi throughout. In room measured 9 ms ping, 2.24 Mbps down, 0.39 Mbps up. Occasional drops requiring reacquisition. Diamonds given "high speed" premium access, otherwise $5.00 extra daily. (Saturday we awoke without WiFi or hot water on our floor - quickly rectified, and gained a few no-see-um bites.) Our regular housekeeper - room attendant (Donnarena) is super; her replacement forgot to leave a bath mat or hand towels.

Hotel orientations at 1100 and 1700 near lobby bar "King Frog". These can be useful, as published information and maps are obsolete and opening hours of various venues will vary seasonally.

Arriving: We arrived via MBJ - Donald Sangster International Airport, Montego Bay, via AA and splurged a little by purchasing Club Mobay for our arrival. The Club Mobay representative met us after we climbed the inside ramp to proceed toward formalities with a large sign with our names on it. From there we took a back way down to the Club Mobay Fast Track kiosk, passed Immigration followed by Customs (we did not check bags, but if we had I can tell you bags were not on the carousel yet). Exiting into the arrivals hall, we entered the somewhat 1950s Club Mobay Arrivals Lounge, where we were offered coffee, fruit punch, etc. There is WiFi. Link: www.vipattractions.com (works for Club Mobay at MBJ and Club Kingston at KIN. Pricing $50 per adult arrival and $30 departure, less at KIN.) Given arrival chaos at MBJ and Lady JDiver's Alzhheimeer's disease, worth it for us.

For transport, we had booked Reggae Tours (you can find them at kiosk #18 in the arrivals hall), and Paul, our driver, helped us to a nice, new Toyota Camry. He offered chilled water or RedStripe (beer) and ~20 minutes later we were at Hilton Rose Hall. Cost USD $30 paid on arrival. We arrived at the hotel just over 45 minutes from disembarkation - I had to use the Club Mobay to download some email. Link: www.reggaetourz.com

Property: The resort is beachside on a spacious piece of land that includes a golf course (western end), extensive water park (east side) and areas of cabanas and chaises. (An adults only tower is scheduled to be built at the east end of the property.)

The building is like a "|----|" with seven story towers forming the ends of the H. Lobby, shop, restaurants are in the central connecting portion, which is two stories. The higher numbers (x50-x92) are in the East tower - odd numbers face the center court, even the water park (and occasional events). x00-x19 and x50-x68 are in the forward Oceanside of the H, x20-x43 and x70-x92 Mountainside block on the west side. The majority of rooms have partial ocean views of some kind. Full ocean views are x00-x05 West and x50-x55 East. East even numbers sunrise, West odd sunset; probably 42 rooms have full on mountain views.

On arrival we were greeted by a friendly bell man, who kept our baggage as we proceeded to the HHonors desk position. We were attended by a trainee who had to consult the rules book a couple of times - no problem, she just wanted to get it right. We were on an award stay, and she assigned a room on the 7th (top) floor, west side (our balcony faces west - the par 72 golf course and remains of the plantation aqueduct, odd numbered, meaning the quieter side of the property.

We were given red wrist bands as Diamonds; they definitely get better and expanded service. The most common wrist bands are white, followed by blue and yellow. Golds get Gold bands, Silvers silver bands. So far, I've only noticed two other red bands - at the Monday afternoon Manager's Réception for HHonors elites. Management staff was there, wines and drinks on offer, curried shrimp on rice, Guinness beef stew on rice or mash, hors d'oeuvres. 4 Diamonds and their guests, about 8-10 each Golds and Silvers. A large family of "white bands" attempted to cash, but they were escorted away.

Room: (DeLuxe King, partial ocean view)

Our room is in fairly decent shape for not having been refurbished in nine years. White tile floor, ivory ceiling, white walls other than a light blue grey wall opposite the bed. Furniture is black and contemporary design from the 1970s. There is a medium sized balcony with a small drum table and two side chairs. The impression is Spartan but adequate, and good external but very poor internal sound proofing. You can hear your neighbors and anyone speaking in the corridor. A/c is loud - bad, but good white noise against noisy guests. Bring ear plugs - the restaurant and bars are open to 2:00 AM, and there are noisy partying people and families here.

Our Diamond gift was a bottle of Don Simón Tempranillo from Castilla, Spain, left in room with glasses, corkscrew and serving cloth.

The accommodation sports a larger bedroom with king bed flanked by two shelves that pass as bedside tables on each side as well as lamps - all attached to the large black wooden headboard. Furnishings are rather Spartan, including what looks like a newer take on a rectangular fainting couch, rudimentary desk and rattan task chair, clock, lamp but no extra power outlet. Adjacent is a larger bureau with six narrow drawers and fridge - in our case with four bottles of water, replenished daily - and a very large flatscreen television, ice bucket and two glasses.

The closet is double wide, but only has a total of eight hangers. There is an electronic safe mounted on the high shelf (shorter people will not appreciate this "feature"), and a luggage jack, iron and ironing board, hair dryer.

The bathroom is on the small side, with a shower tub combination, single sink, toilet and shelving under the single sink, provided with basic Peter Thomas Roth amenities (one "massaging" soap and one facial bar, shampoo and conditioner, but no body wash, etc.) Toweling is substantial. Chits for beach towels.

Air conditioning is effective but appears strained - it's on ~90% of the time, and is supplied by a central air duct. Available power jacks are sparse, in UK three prong and 220 VAC. 110 and 220 US and UK jacks near the sink. Lighting is just adequate - in addition to the three mentioned, there is a floor lamp behind the couch and a foyer light.

Kids tend to love it here - the beach, activities, kids club, all you can eat, etc. seem to please and families abound. There are couples as well, and they will be served by an entirely new tower facility that is to be built on the east side of the property. Thee big bargain is when they suspend child fares, as right now: there are no bookings available. (And yet, the property is so big it doesn't feel too crowded - until you go to dinner.)

Dining and Drinking: (RR means venue requires advance booking)

Much of the food is imported, so I suspect beef, chicken and definitely fish - lots of salmon, some mahi mahi etc. most obviously - are frozen (but kept properly frozen).

Wine is of course extra other than the mediocre at best house plonk and imported, mostly from Italy, France, USA, Argentina, some New Zealand and Australian, but no genuine premium wines - though prices are premium. E.g. Kiwi Twin Isles Marlborough Sauvignon Blanc $51.00, California Ferrari Carano Sauvignon Blanc $61 (US retail ~$18). Add 10% tax, 10% service charge.

Fresh Restaurant (Lower level): The main dining venue also has the most availability. On the ground floor with inside and outdoor dining, this buffet restaurant offers themed food as well as reliable and popular offerings. The themes vary every day: Wednesday was Asia day, Thursday Jamaica day - specialties vary accordingly. The Fresh Restaurant also has a fresh cook to order island, serving stir fry etc. Asia night, and for breakfast made to order eggs, pancakes and waffles. At lunch, burgers, etc. Sylvester the short order cook is a courtly and very friendly man. Dahlia (day-lee-uh) was a top notch server.

Hours: 0730-1030 breakfast; 1230-1430 lunch; 1800-2200 and 2230-0200 dinner.

Luna di Mare (RR) (located inside, ground floor): More or less Northern Italian fare, 2.5 of 5, in a bit overdone Italianesque setting on the ground floor. Antipasti were fair. Roasted vegetable soup good. Calzone were truly second rate, chicken "Milanese" style was dry and not flattened, vegetables were a bit woody, polenta was OK. Salmon in orange sauce, dry; accompanying fettuccine was overly al dente (undercooked for al dente) and agli olio was barely, very bland. Dessert cannoli were fair at best.

Hours: 1730-2130.

Three Palms (RR) (on property map, at golf course - take shuttle by lobby five minutes prior to your reservation): "Creative cuisine". Venue offers inside and outside fine dining, six starters, five a la carte mains (I had the very bland seafood rundown with unidentified fish, two mussels, two scallops, bay shrimp and one prawn on jasmine rice with a cream sauce - needed saffron, tomato or some flavor to add, a few bones to watch out for) with a special (mahi mahi with garlic mash and julienned vegetable medley tonight), choice of five desserts. Wine list includes mid-level US, Argentina, New Zealand, Italy and France. Attentive service. Food, 3.0 to 3.5 of 5, IMO. Not bad for a four star AI.

Hours: 1800-2130.

Seaside Grill (RR): Near the pool, covered and outdoor. This casual restaurant has a limited menu that serves Jamaican food. Akee (say "achey") and salt fish for breakfast; jerk chicken and pork, burgers and one or two others for lunch. Dinner requires reservations. (Dinner offers 5-6 starters, eh, and five mains plus a special of the evening and five desserts. The special tonight was fettuccine with chicken nuggets, and other possibilities included beef and black bean stir fry, coconut curried shrimp with veggies, blackened snapper, supreme of chicken.)

Hours: 0800-1100 breakfast; 1230-1600 lunch and 1800-2130 dinner. Bar service 1000-2130.

Mangoes (east side out by water park): Sandwiches, salads and other light bites.

Hours: 1130-1800.

Moonstone (Not on map or in room guest book "yet", East close to beach): Casual, light fare leaning pretty much to pizzas. Dinner by reservation, Italian pastas, etc.

Hours: 1100-1700 lunch, 1800-2130 dinner.

In room dining: 0700-2300. Incurs extra charges a la carte, light menu. Charges supposedly waived for Diamonds.

NOTE: Restaurants requiring reservations may be booked by dialing 50 or visiting the lobby desk between 0900 and 1500. Luna di Mare and Three Palms have a dress code.

Bars: (restaurants generally offering bar services).

King Frog lobby bar (undergoing renovations) 1100 - midnight. Seaside Grill by beach, east, 1000-1530.

Bar and nightclub Cricket Club, 2200-0200.

Executive summary: there is lots to do nearby and here. The location is nice, but the true highlight is warm, genuine Jamaican hospitality. I'd return.

Artemk

JDiver, thank you for a lot of useful info.

As we are nearing our trip questions start piling up:
- Club Mobay arrivial lounge - seems to be included with Premier Pass. Do they off the same meet service for PP members? Would I need to contact them prior to arrival or should we just walk in the lounge?
- Any information on diving there (did I interpret your nickname correctly)? I noticed on the hotel's web site that they offer diving there as well as there is Dressel down the road at Iberostar. I dove with Dressel in Mexico and still have some credit with them...

JDiver

I'm guessing the PP is lounge access only, and not the VIP meet and greet service. Arrivals is $50 p/p, departure $30 p/p. For lounge use, the arrivals lounge is to your far right as you emerge from customs into the arrivals hall. (If you want to use Reggae Tours, you can go to your left and it's $30 with cold Red Stripe included.)

Guilty as charged! I've been scuba diving now 60 years . I'll ask about the diving and eyeball the dive op (I used to review dive OPS globally), and suspect Dressel would be the better bet. Now, I'm not diving this trip - my gear is home; it's windy, choppy and the vis looks impaired. Rain has let the many rivers silt things up, I suspect.

Artemk

Again, thanks for your adivese. Will contact both the lounge and the Reggae, as both seems to be worth looking into. Raggae is $70 round trip for 4, seems to be a fair price and you can't beat ice cold Red Stripe on arrival

Let me know about diving, but get off your computer and enjoy the vacation

JDiver

Will do. And hey, mon,, we be limin' here, yeah mon!

sam_goh

Just absolutely awful gaming of the system by the property. Anywhere from mid December through end of April, not a single room is available at standard rates. All premium with 148K+ instead of standard 70K.

Hard to believe the property is that sold out... pity needing an 8 night stay here in April.

JDiver

Diving in house, PADI : $20 gear rental, $60 single tank, two tanks $90. Off shore reefs, pay through hotel front desk. Definitely need a C card.

www.kellywatersportsja.com

sassamanlaw

Great posts JDiver, thanks.
I'll be there in 30 days with two kids in their late teens in tow. I hope they have a good supply of Red Stripe. I'll need it.

brodielayne

Gaming? It's high season in Jamaica from Dec 15-Apr 15, with some properties stretching it from American Thanksgiving to the end of April. I like to go either the beginning of Dec or the middle of April to get the low season rates and the perfect weather.

aeg42

Looking for some advice from people who either are much more familiar with HHonors than I am or have been to this resort (or ideally, both!)...

1. If you book this property on points, how many people does that cover for the all-inclusive for each night? I would be going with my wife and my two kids, ages 8 and 4.

2. Again, with regard to points, do Diamonds and other elites still get 5th night free when booking all-inclusive resorts, or are those excluded?

3. Does Rose Hall "food and drinks" include alcohol? Are you allowed to bring your own alcohol in, if you'd like to have something nicer to enjoy in your room or whatever?

4. I assume anything booked at the Spa costs extra. Are all the restaurants on property included though? What other ON-SITE activities aren't part of the all-inclusive experience?

Thanks much in advance for any answers to these questions! :)

BrlDsguise

You should look and as questions on the Rose Hall Thread

http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/hilto...t-spa-jam.html

A few answers:

There is no 5th night free on all inclusives.

Alcohol is included but there is nothing to stop you from bringing your own to the room.

Restaurants are included and for diamonds so is room service. Diamonds also get a free cabana rental which will include food & drink.

aeg42

Thanks much for quick response! With regard to paying for rooms with points, any idea if there are extra charges for additional people beyond one or two?

BrlDsguise

I know there was some discussion about it on the thread I linked - if you read the last couple of pages of posts you can see if there is an answer to that question.

jerry a. laska

As advised above, you should look at the thread. The hotel website also provides:
The thread contains info suggesting that if you list the additional people when you book the room with points that you may not be charged the cash fee, others report that the cash fee is assessed.