After reading many reviews on different resorts, we were prepared to have to choose between lots of kids activities for our 7 & 8 yr old girls and sacrifice our comfort level. Needless to say, everybody got what they wanted at the Rose Hall Resort & Country Club in Rose Hall, Jamaica.
For the Parents:
When we first arrived at the hotel lobby, we were seated and waited on with drinks. The desk attendant brought over the paperwork, keys, and bracelets (for all inclusive) to us. We did not have to stand in line so I thought this was a nice touch.
We did have to wait about 45 min for our room to be ready, but that gave us time to explore the resort and get something to eat while we waited.
We were taken to our room by the bellhop who brought up our luggage, and the room was immaculate. We had pillow top mattresses on the queen size beds, and the best part is the view. We reserved a mountain view but was given a room that had a view of the ocean that could be seen from the balcony, a full view of the golf course, and a partial view of the mountains. Absolutely gorgeous!
We always had hot water for bathing the kids and ourselves and had absolutely no problems with any insects like at one of the other resorts. Hint: If the resort you are evaluating comes with mosquito nets for the rooms, I suggest you high-tail it over to Rose Hall.
For the kids:
Where do I start. On day one, I highly recommend that you enroll your kids at Kidz Club. Its free of charge and it will give parents time to relax without having a child constantly underfoot. Kidz Club began at 9a, break for lunch at 12 and resume from 1p – 5p. They have a schedule of activities that will be done on each day, and you can drop off your kids during specific activities that they like. My 8 yr old loved going to kids club everyday but my 7 yr old like hanging with mom & dad, so she didn’t go everyday.
There’s also a bulletin board in the courtyard next to the activity center that displayed activities that were going on for that day. There were so many activities that it would take 3 months just to complete them all such as:
Water slide & tubing
Bingo
Volleyball
Family kite making
Jewelery making
Movie night
Magic show
Beach parties
Contest & races
Trivia
Board games
Ping pong
Banana boat
Glass bottom boat tour
Kayacking
Parasailing
Water aerobics
Exercise bikes class
and the list goes on…
Some resorts talked about being bombarded from the locals. You will find none of that at Rose Hall. This resort respects the privacy of their guest and we never had any locals roaming around trying to solicit us. The employees were very attentive to us and never expected a tip. Of course if we offered them one they took it but they didn’t have this look of “expectancy” on their faces like at some of the other resorts I reviewed. They literally walked around the poolside asking “can I get you anything”. I absolutely loved being waited on!
I also like the fact that they were constantly keeping the resort clean. There was always someone wiping down the glass, doors, picking up liter, dusting, removing towels people left laying around, etc. Kudos to the staff!
The Food:
You have got to try the Jerk Chicken at the Seaside restaurant. It’s outside, next to the ocean and has a covered section and an uncovered section. The jerk sauce they put on the chicken & pork is to absolutely die for.
They also have a little restaurant next to the water-slide & pool called Mangos. There’s a section off to the side that has bar stools & tables in the pool so you can sit in the water while you drink.
Nobody got sick or had any gastrointestinal problems with the food. You could either eat at the daily buffet for breakfast, lunch & dinner, or mix it up a bit with some of the outdoor restaurants. There are also 2 restaurants that you had to make reservations for and dress appropriately such as no shorts, tank tops, or flip flops.
Even though the food was good, i didn’t care for the burgers because it didn’t have the consistency or taste of ground beef in the USA. The chicken & fish was awesome and I love the variety of choices. If you wanted something stir fried, go to the wok station, if you wanted eggs cooked to your liking, go to the grill station. There’s definitely something for everyone to eat at this resort, including the most picky eaters like my daughters.
Overall, we got the best of both worlds at Rose Hall for the kids and also for ourselves. I highly recommend this resort and it is worth every penny. We spent more taking the kids to Disney every summer but it’s back to Jamaica next year for us!
