Iberostar Selection Rose Hall Suites

I always read reviews before going anywhere, and honestly, I was nervous about staying here after reading some of the reviews. I'm really glad I gave it a chance because we had a great experience overall. The hotel is gorgeous, and our room was spacious, clean and comfortable. Most importantly, I didn't see a single roach during our entire stay anywhere. The staff were very busy, but for the most part they were friendly and kind. I found that they give you the energy you give them, so make jokes, smile and be patient for a better experience. We had a few small issues with our room, and whenever I messaged through the app, someone responded quickly and the problem was usually fixed within 5-10 minutes. Calling directly was much slower and sometimes resulted in miscommunication between staff members. Bring your own shampoo, conditioner, and body wash. The products provided were very thin and shampoo and conditioner left a waxy feeling on our hair. Slippers — the floors can get cold. Your own refillable water bottle. There are water stations near the rooms, but the large glass bottles they provide are awkward to carry, especially without a tote bag. A reusable straw. The paper ones aren't very good. If you plan on using the bathtub, bring your own bath bomb or bubble bath. The provided gel soap doesn't really bubble.

If you go to the beach, be prepared for some sand in your room. It seemed like the floors were mopped but not vacuumed, so sand from our balcony eventually made its way inside and near the beds. We had to lay towels down to constantly rub the sand from our feet.

Overall, we enjoyed the food. The main buffet had lots of fresh, flavorful options. The biggest issue was that the meat and fish were often on the dry side. Aunt Ruby's was our favorite in terms of service and presentation. Unfortunately, the lobster and T-bone were both dry. The Italian restaurant was disappointing for us because the pasta was very heavy on cream and light on flavor. The Greek restaurant was okay — the lamb was excellent, but the other dishes we tried weren't as good.

We were also there to celebrate my husband's 50th birthday. We let them know ahead of time, they said they would put a banner on the door and provide a cake. Unfortunately, after seeing no banner on the door, the morning of his birthday, I went to guest services only to find out they ran out of banners and the cake would be left in room with no way to light it. Hopefully they improve the communication around birthday celebrations because I would have happily brought my own banner if I'd known ahead of time.

Thankfully, I mentioned his birthday at Aunt Ruby's, and they brought the cake out at the restaurant with a sparkler and sang! That ended up being much more special than having the cake sitting in our room.

The location was very convenient — only about 30 minutes from the airport — and for what we paid, I thought the overall value was excellent. They are doing some construction right now, but it didn't bother us too much. I love how authentically Jamaican it was in terms of music by the pool and the funny sayings on the pillows at the cafe. There was one woman working the cafe and she's amazing, I recommend going there for coffee and tipping her as she deserves it for all her hard work. It seemed that tipping was expected throughout the resort, so bring lots of small bills. There was one guy trying to get us to go to the breakfast presentation but we kindly explained to him that we were not interested and that was that. There was no sales pressure that we experienced which I really appreciated. Despite the little issues, we had a really good time and I would absolutely go back. We're actually thinking about returning in the near future - maybe for my 50th!

We travelled with a group of 8 adults ages 24-60. The resort (located about 15 minutes from airport)is on the smaller-medium size. The food at the buffet was good….restaurant food very good. The employees who were happy to be working were fantastic, the ones who didn’t want to be there were miserable. The grounds, rooms, pools, etc were all in nice condition. Since we were staying at Selections, we had privileges at Waves also which is nice to have additional choices. Joia (all adult/luxury) is undergoing major renovations and is currently closed…to reopen Dec. 1st. We were invited to an “unveiling” evening and it looks like it is going to a beautiful upscale resort! Would definiately book it if we return to the Iberostar brand in Jamaica.

We recently completed an 8-day stay at this resort—our first all-inclusive vacation in the Caribbean. While we have no other all inclusive resorts to compare it to, here's what we experienced.

Check-in & Rooms

Check-in was quick and efficient. We received our requested room on the top floor with a partial ocean view and visibility of the children's pool. The room was clean and comfortable, though I'd rate it 3.5 to 4 stars rather than 5. Note: The large hallways and elevators throughout the property are not air-conditioned.

Pools

The property has three pools, but the middle pool was under construction for our entire stay, with daily jackhammer use that was audible even over the music at the main pool and lazy river. Had we known about this maintenance, we may have chosen the Waves resort next door. The lazy river had a significant dead section where water didn't circulate, forcing us to walk through rather than float. The main pool, however, was huge and magnificent—we enjoyed it for several days.

Beach

The beach is pleasant with adequate sandy swimming area. However, seaweed beds begin approximately 10–20 yards offshore. Beverage service was only available on the western half of the beach. When we spent time on the eastern side, we saw no servers; service resumed when we moved west.

Dining

Food quality was good and portions were generous. Standout experiences: Aunt Ruby Steakhouse served excellent ribeye and New York strip. The Jerk Hut's daily barbecue was excellent. The Asian restaurant offered superior taste and selection. We also visited the teppanyaki-style restaurant at the neighboring Iberostar Waves resort, where food was cooked at our table—we had a wonderful experience there. Disappointments: Lobster was minimal in portion and underwhelming in quality. The Greek restaurant's lamb dish wasn't to our taste—we wished we'd ordered differently.

Entertainment

The live reggae band (two nights) and lobby violinist were highlights. The magic show and circus were average. The Motown night featured three singers with choreography and good vocals, though it felt karaoke-like. Note: Pool music was predominantly Jamaican genre; a mix of 70s and 80s hits would have been welcomed.

Service

This was the resort's weakest aspect. While a few staff members were exceptional (Kimi and Kanisha), many employees seemed bothered by guest requests, regardless of how politely we asked or how well we tipped. This inconsistency significantly disappointed us and lowered our overall rating.

Overall

Would we return? Possibly, but we'd like to experience another resort before deciding.