We had an absolutely great stay at Iberostar Grand Rose Hall! From the minute we got off the bus, we were treated fabulous... check in was a breeze! The staff was great!! Our butler, RuShane was the best and helped make our stay wonderful!!! The al a cart restaurants were amazing... and if you are lucky enough to have Fitzroy as a server at Surf & Turf, you will understand!! The pool bar was a great time, met some great people. Beach-side service was a bonus. Plenty of pool chairs and beach chairs... I never felt the need to reserve. Plenty of food whenever you are hungry especially with 24 hr room service. Top shelf liquor and bar tenders who can make something special for anyone... you cant go wrong. The lobby bar/lounge was a great place to stop before dinner it had a great ambiance. There was entertainment every night, the beach party was my favorite! I cant find anything to complain about!

We had been to the Grand once before and had a great time. We had never returned to the same resort twice and were a bit nervous that our excellent first experience would not be repeated this time around. As it turned out we had no reason to be concerned. From the grounds through every staff member to the rooms, beach and restaurants everything was top notch. Even the security and life guards made sure they said hello. Even the cat by the breakfast buffet garden was well groomed and friendly.

There were two big corporate groups but the hotel seemed to handled them well and there was no problem with them ganging up on the rest of us - thank you!

Too many staff to single out, although Rachel and the other wait staff on the beach walk their legs off every day and deserve special mention. We didn’t use the butler but he was there if we needed him.

To have a great time just ask for whatever you want, but remember you are in the Jamaican’s country so don’t be demanding – it’s all about one love after all. At the Grand they make things happen.

As many posters have said, the Grand is the adult only part of the Iberostar complex, so if you’re looking for party nights I suggest the Suites or Beaches might be a better choice (hint to the 50+ year olds who felt the need to smoke-up non-stop on their balcony – the 60’s called and want their weed back LOL).

There is no wi-fi in the rooms but you’re on vacation, so relax! (BTW on the balconies of the 5 wing you can connect to the lobby wi-fi).

We only ate at the buffet for breakfast and it is excellent. The al la carte’s were all good, although the surf and turf and Japanese were our favorites. If you want lobster with any meal just ask for it. Italian was probably our least favorite only because it was lots of pasta we could have anywhere. Try the Jamaican dishes whenever you can. Don’t be put off because it looks different – e.g. akee and salt fish is fantastic. Jerk chicken, pork and beef is one of the reasons we come to Jamaica. We don’t bother with room service – we want to be out in the sun and sand but others we talked to said it was prompt and good.

The shows are actually better than most, with live singers and house band that can really play. What the dancers lack in technique they make up for in enthusiasm.

There is some lounge saving that goes on especially at the pool, but even at full capacity there are chairs enough for everyone. There is no need to fight about it or get up at 5:00 to get a lounger. Really, must you have that one particular chair – really? On the other hand, if you’re not coming down until 2pm, why do you think it’s alright to save beginning at 7am?

The Pirate night on Thursday was fun, but for the amount of time it took to set up and tear down I wonder if they should give the staff a break and try something else.

The beach is not miles of white sand beach like Punta Cana or Negril but it is nice and well maintained all the way to the boat dock at the east end. There is a sketchy shanty town past the dock if you want cheap trinkets or some actual handcrafts, and vendors on surfboards are along the beach every morning. FYI the best prices and selection for “stuff” is at the MBJ airport. Sunshine liquor there is cheaper than the duty free store.

If you see a negative review about the Grand, look closely at the complaint. If yelling at the staff failed to improve the service…imagine that. If not having someone turn down your bed at the exact time you wanted it has ruined your vacation perhaps you better save your money and stay home.

Overall the Grand is ire mon.

We stayed @ the Iberostar Grand Rose Hall from Jan 13-18. It was one of the most relaxing vacations we've ever had. No worries...starting with the mimosas we were handed when we arrived.
Pros:Rooms were large & the swing seat on the balcony had a fabulous view of the pools & beach (no seaweed that others have mentioned). Our butler, Wheeler, was fabulous (setting up a special jacuzzi w/rose petals, candles, & champagne for our anniversary). The pools were beautiful & the bartenders/waitstaff were extremely nice (always greeting you with a smile). The restaurant food was good; especially the Lobster Thermador).
Cons: Wireless is only available in the lobby. That made it difficult to stay in touch with our kids (with school, their schedules, & our dinner reservations...the time to talk to them via Skype was 6-7:30pm). Unfortunately, that's when everyone was a the lobby lounge having pre-dinner drinks and there was always live music...great, except if you are trying to hear). They should expand wireless to the rooms. The only other criticism is that the restaurants were only about 1/2 full, but people were turned away if they didn't have a reservation. We ate our whole meal at the Gourmet and 1/2 the tables were open...I'm not sure why they wouldn't let the other couple change their reservations? We saw this at all the restaurants, not just the Gourmet.

Overall, we loved Iberostar; it was beautiful & well maintained. We can't say enough about the Iberostar employees...they made us feel special during our stay. This is the first time we've stayed at an all-inclusive or at an Iberostar resort. It was a great experience and we would definitely consider returning or staying at one of their other resorts.

First of all, let me say that I was reluctant to write this glowing review because I did not want those Sandals customers that had complaints, flooding to this resort and driving the price up. I decided to go ahead anyway because based on most of the other Trip Advisor reviews of this resort, the cat is already out of the bag.

I will start by saying that the service, rooms, food, location and resort in General are all worthy of a five star rating. Anyone with any major complaints about this place is just being petty. If you do have any issues, they will address them expediently. I am not the type of person that gives up a 5 star rating easily.

Service and staff and tipping:
If anything the staff is always there and asking you if everything is OK, and if there is anything they can do for you. I realize that it will give you a feeling of a need to constantly tip, but I believe that if they give you good service then you tip, if not, don’t tip. If you were at home, you would be tipping more for the same service. We were two couples and we always gave ten dollars to our servers at the a la cartes. That is reasonable and it is well deserved. A two or three dollar tip for lunch, and/or for a round of drinks. There are too many butlers and too many maids to give them all 5 dollars a day. I gave them a tip when they did something I requested.

Star Friends: Beautiful, talented, and very wonderful people. They were not in your face all day, but if you wanted to participate they were a lot of fun.

Nightly Shows;
I only went to the disco show and the super bowl party. They were fantastic. Our friends went to most of the other shows, and they said they were great. The Star friends and the night friends were the major part of the cast and they were very talented. A big shout out to Bubbles, Shortcake and Kiki. Really nice young ladies.

Accommodations:
All the rooms are suites and seem to be the same. Very luxurious. A lot of the rooms on ground level and level one do not have much of a view. Confused? Let me explain. In many Caribbean and Mexican resorts the ground level is known as level “0”, the first floor up is known as “1”, what we would think is the third floor is level “2”. The first number in your room number is the building number. We were in room 6231, which is building 6, level 2, and room 31 on that level. Building 1 and 2 is the Iberostar beach resort, building 3 and 4 Iberostar suites and building 5 and 6 the Iberostar Grand. The beachfront rooms had the best views but cost a premium. If you are on level 2, 3 or 4 I believe you should have a view of the ocean from any room. Hope this helps.

Pool Chairs:
We had no problem getting shaded pool chair loungers at 09:00 am each morning. They were also quite nice and comfortable. Also they were pretty liberal with the towels, not requiring towel cards each time you asked for a towel or returned them.

Food
The food at the a la cartes was the best we have had in a total of 34 destinations over the years (except Horizons Bermuda). The buffet was a little weak, but still OK. We ate dinners at Surf and Turf, and Italian twice each, and once each at the Gourmet, Japanese and the buffet. The Surf and turf and the Italian were our favorites. There were two buffet locations for breakfast and lunch. We ate most breakfasts in the main building and lunches at the beach buffet. Lunches were pretty good. Service was fast and always done with a smile. Now for the best tip in this dissertation. If you want to eat early, at the a la cartes, you can e-mail them a few days early (before your trip) and request either 6:30 0r 7:00 pm reservations. Otherwise you may be stuck with 8:30 or 9:00 pm as there is nothing in between. There is a concierge desk in each building to book your meals and your golf.
Pr.grand@iberostar.com.jm

Wine
They have several to choose from in each restaurant, Mostly Spanish but some Argentinean and South African, Someone in an earlier review said the wine was not good. We purchased a couple of bottles of duty free to take there, but found it was not necessary. We liked their wine. If you are a real wine snob, you can purchase more expensive bottles or take some with you. They will serve up your own wine at the restaurants if you prefer.

Excursions:
The Tour rep will fill you in, and there are several excursions to go on near and far. Make sure you know, how far and how long your trip is. You can spend two hours traveling each way to some destinations.

Golf (This is what the golfman is for)
If you stay for 5 nights or more, then two rounds of golf are included. This includes transportation to and from the course, caddy fee, green fees, water, soft drinks and beer. It does not include mandatory golf cart, (a bone of contention with Air Canada) or caddy tip (suggested $20.00 per player) or rental golf clubs. The rental golf clubs are $52.00 to $55.00 so it can get expensive if you do not have your own clubs. They assign one caddy for each of two players and they are well worth the tip. Our caddy both days was Michael Adams and though very quiet, he is a great caddy. The cart fee is $20.00 per person. My wife and I had our own clubs so it cost us only $40.00 each per round, including caddy tip. Cinnamon Hill has some very beautiful holes overlooking the ocean. The front nine is fairly easy but the back nine is quite challenging. The first hole, a par 5, is known as The Big Bamboo.

Finally, I want to thank Denston and Kevin (butlers), Peter (the bellman), Maureen, Big Ned, Bubbles, Shortcake and Kiki and all the staff of “The Grand” for making our stay extra special.

Bond, James Bond (The golfman100) Week of Jan 29 to Feb 5
(Disclaimer: All information in this review is subject to your own independent verification)