Hilton Rose Hall Resort- Good But Could Be Better
- Keeds
- Feb 9, 2020
- 5 min read
Came to this hotel for a close friend’s vow renewal. Reviews were mixed but I hoped for the best. The first source of contention is it was extremely hard to reach anyone at the resort. We were arriving on New Year’s Eve and I wanted to inquire about any special dinners or events they were having. There is no number available on line nor email addresses. Around Thanksgiving I called Hilton Reservations who said they would leave a message for the concierge at the resort, I never received a call back. A few weeks later I tried calling again and this time the reservations specialist tried to connect me but even she only received voicemail so I once again left a message. I was finally able to reach someone one day who transferred me, after answering a couple questions, to another voicemail. Luckily the friend holding the vow renewal was able to make reservations for the NYE dinner for our group. Besides that I would not have even known what was going on. Once there the service was great. Everyone was very eager to please and always had a smile.
Check in was not great. The room wasn't ready which I guess was okay because we arrived close to 1pm and check in is not until 4pm but there weren't enough people working at the front desk. It was NYE and I’m sure they knew how many parties were checking in that day. We waited on line quite a bit of time. Once checked in we were given wristbands and able to eat and drink freely. I checked back in closer to check in time and received the keys to our room. There was an issue with the elevator on the side of the hotel we stayed on and we often had a wait. Hotel employees were constantly on standby at the bottom floor, I guess making sure it remained working. On my last night it broke down, by the next morning it was working again.
The room was a good size as was the balcony. The bathroom was small and could use some TLC. It was clean on the surface but it could still use a good deep cleaning and updating (mostly to the bathroom). Our room was partial ocean view overlooking the main pool area and the ocean. It was beautiful. The room does have a big closet, safe, ironing board, iron, small fridge restocked with drinks and water daily. The bed was comfortable and the blackout curtains came in handy for those mornings we wanted to sleep in. I didn’t have an issue hearing neighbors next door. Housekeeping was great! No matter what time we left, sometimes later in the day, the room was always clean when we returned. They do come and do turn down service as well.
With all the cons there are some great pros. My favorite…the food! The food on the resort is amazing. My family is Jamaican so I know Jamaican food and I was sa-tis-fied! On our last trip to Jamaica we stayed at a five star resort and I can say the food and options here were better. The buffet always had a plethora of options, American and Caribbean, along with stations with food made to order. I enjoyed every meal at the buffet. There are several restaurants throughout the property. Three you need reservations for: Three Palms, Seaside Grille and Luna del Mare. We were not able to get reservations at Seaside Grille for dinner but did have lunch there and it was great. My favorite was Luna del Mare. Everything we ordered was delicious. We each ordered appetizers, two entrees each (they will let you get a half size portions) and desserts. The house red wine on the resort is also great, my first time trying it was at the restaurant. Three Palms did not impress. We arrived for our 830p reservation and they were out of key ingredients for the starter salad I ordered so it came out as a very basic salad. The lamb entrée I ordered had a few charred (hard) pieces and was just okay. We ordered the seafood dish to share which was better. I would have been better off at the buffet that night.
There are a couple other restaurants on site, no reservations needed and the ones we tried were great. We didn’t get to them all. Another crowd favorite was the jerk hut. It is open during the day and has jerk pork, jerk chicken and festival. We went there daily and even one last time before leaving. Every Thursday the hotel has a Grand Buffet and it is Jamaica night so pretty much all the Jamiacan dishes, dinner and breakfast, you can think of are offered. The fried dumplings were sooo good! The buffet is set up outside along with live entertainment. The food service at the pool is also great with a lot of different options. There is a café open, just off the lobby, overnight where you can get patties, pastries, and other items. We did room service once ($5 charge with my Hilton status) for breakfast and it was delicious. We ate on the balcony. During the day the café is also open but I never stopped by so not sure what is there. There is also a Coffee/Natural Juice Bar off the beach near the Jerk Hut. This place is great too for fresh natural juices. Each day there are daily specials.
The resort also held a lavish buffet on NYE and it was opulent to say the least! There were lots of stations with lamb, crab legs, seafood, American options and Caribbean options. The night was complete with fireworks, balloon drop, champagne toast and a lovely band.
The resort is very large and the grounds beautiful. I enjoyed hanging out at the pool and we didn’t have too many issues getting chairs. People did leave towels and their belongings but some would always free up when I was looking. There are two beach areas and we spent the most time by the cabanas. They enclose an area in the water that is safe to swim and frolic in. We took advantage of the water activities offered from the resort and went on a sail. There is also a lazy river with tubes and two water slides, along with a swim up bar. The lazy river was not just for kids as I thought and we enjoyed it. There are jacuzzi’s on site but I never saw them.
There are activities to choose from daily, a teen room with video games, nightly entertainment and music and entertainment at the pool and lazy river. There is something for everyone.
We took a trip to Montego Bay last year and did most of the tourist attractions then. The only thing I wanted to do this trip was rafting down Martha Brae River. I was able to book this with the Activities desk in the lobby. We booked the day before and it was a great experience. There are two pickups, 10am and 2:15pm. We opted for 2:15pm trip so we could sleep in. We were the last pick up for the trip and first drop off. We were back at the hotel by about 5pm. It was $147 for the both of us. Check out my review on Martha Brae rafting for more information on that excursion.
I give the resort a 4 because even though it started off not great, the food, the grounds, and the staff made up for it. Updating the rooms/bathrooms will give them a boost. I would definitely recommend the resort if coming as a family or group with kids. Maybe not so much for a bachelorette/bachelor party. Possibly as a couple but I would probably prefer an adults only resort in the instance of a romantic trip. We had a wonderful relaxing but fun-filled vacation!
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