Hello fellow wanderers!
We were invited by some good friends of ours to join them in Jamaica this last November. Well, at the time we were not sure where we wanted to go but we knew the parameters had to include an all-inclusive package and the resort had to have a lazy river. After some research, we narrowed it down and decided we were going to the Hilton Rose Hall in Montego Bay, Jamaica. Neither of us had ever been to Jamaica before and could not wait for our next adventure into the caribbean!
Hilton Rose Hall Resort - All-Inclusive - know before you go!
OUR ROOM
We stayed in room 439 which had a partial ocean view that also looked out over the Cinnamon Hill Golf Course. The sunsets from the balcony were stunning!
The room was clean and had plenty of space, but the beds were hard, way too hard for us and uncomfortable and the room smelled a little mildew-like when you first entered it. But these are our only complaints about the room. The balcony was great, and we use it to hang our swimsuits and towels out there to dry.
We have a full video tour of the Hilton property and our room on YouTube. Search for Wandered Off.
As Hilton Honors Diamond Members, we did take advantage of the discounts on the room, dinner reservations at Three Palms and renting the cabanas by the lazy river. They even had a special gathering with food and drinks one night for the Hilton Honors members. As a Diamond Member, they also delivered a complimentary gift to our room that was a bottle of rum cream.
Because the resort is all-inclusive, you will be given a wrist band to wear at all times. Diamond Members are red in color. There are few different colors of wrist bands and I do not know what all the colors meant, but Diamond was red.
FOOD OPTIONS
The Hilton Rose Hall has 9 restaurants to choose from. Most of them do require a reservation and you should decide on where you want to eat and when and then make those reservations with the concierge when you first arrive. These places do fill up fast.
The Buffet - No reservations required. Casual Dress. Different themes nightly with entertainment. The buffet is open for breakfast, lunch and dinner but does close in between those times to flip the food lines. The buffet was a hit or miss for us. Some meals were great, and some were just ok. We never had bad food, but this is completely biased as we all had different experiences with our different preferences of food.
The Coffee Shop - Located in the lobby area and they serve coffee, pastries, sandwiches and ice cream. Try their pistachio ice cream... it was the best we have ever had! The coffee was really good, Blue Mountain Jamaican coffee and they even have the non-dairy alternatives, Brandi drinks hers with coconut milk. This place is also open late until about 9pm. Plus, the views from the balcony while you drink your coffee are not bad!
Annies BBQ - reservations required and a little more dress up than casual. This place was our favorite! We ended up eating here twice for dinner. The restaurant is outdoors on a patio overlooking the ocean and the beach. The BBQ, drinks and desert and the service were excellent! Highly recommend this place! Also, by day, this place is a bar that serves pizza for lunch.
Rum Jungle - Reservations required with a dress code. This restaurant is indoor only with an Asian flare for the food. For all of us, the food was ok. Nothing to write home about. We ate here once to try it.
Seaside Restaurant/Bar - Reservations required for dinner but not for lunch. Casual dress for lunch, a little dressier for dinner but located in the main pool area overlooking the ocean. Beautiful views. Seaside only serves seafood for dinner and since two of us in the party do not eat seafood, we opted out of eating here for dinner. But we did wander in for lunch twice and was not disappointed! The food was great, and they have the best rum cake we've ever had! Highly recommend!
Cricket Club - The Cricket Club was a late night hang out that serves drinks and burgers starting at 9:30pm. They play movies on the big screen and sports on the TVs near the bar and they even have a pool table. We never stayed late enough to try the food or drinks here. This place is indoors located next to the lobby near the gift shop and teen arcade room.
Three Palms - Reservations required, dress code. This restaurant is located across the street at the Cinnamon Hill Golf Club and a shuttle from the Hilton is required (included). This restaurant is extra $$ per person, however, as a Diamond member, they waived those extra fees. Three Palms is Italian with steak and seafood and was excellent! Highly recommend!
Mangoes - located adjacent to the lazy river with a swim up bar. Lunch only, no reservations required. This place serves all pool food including some good nachos and amazing drinks!
Jerk Hut - We did not stumble upon this little find until later on during our week here and wish we had found it earlier. This hut is located behind Annie's in the bushes. You have to look for it! Or smell it! They service jerk chicken and pork starting at noon until 5pm or when it is all gone. It was delish!
Private candlelit dinner for two along the beach - This is by reservation only and is $90 per person. This is not included at the resort.
RESORT POOL & LAZY RIVER
The Main Pool - was open early to late but grab a chair early if you plan to hang to hang out all day. There are cabanas for rent, and you can either walk over Seaside to get a drink and food or wait for a server to pass by. We only swam in this pool once, at night, while listening to the entertainment on the lower deck next to the buffet.
The Lazy River - We spent a lot of time in the lazy river! We also rented cabana 11 at the river twice. I believe cabanas were $80 for the day but Diamond members get $10 off. We had servers that brought up food and drinks. The Lazy River has entertainment of its own with drinking contests, dance contests, a swim up bar and two water slides. There is hot tub also. the only downside to the lazy river is that is closes at 4pm. That may change in the summertime when the sun is out longer.
Tip - inner tubes are first come, first serve. See an empty one, grab it.
Tip - you can buy your own inner tube or floaty in the gift shop.
Tip - bring or purchase a covered cup for your drinks. the water features in the river will soak your drink if it is an open container.
ENTERTAINMENT & THINGS TO DO
Nightly entertainment - is typically located at the buffet. We saw steel drummers, dancers, fire dancers, unicycle riders, Michael Jackson night, Jamaican night with Reggae, they had contests that involved the families and violinists on the upper balcony.
Daily Entertainment - There is daily entertainment that pops up all over the resort. There is a reader board in the lobby that tells you what the adult and kid activities are daily. We did not have kids with us, but we did see the teen and kids arcade and centers, tennis courts with pro shop, lawn chess, corn hole, darts, bocce ball, soccer, beach volleyball, hammocks to lay in, ping pong and pool tables to name a few.
Water Sports - non-motorized - the resort has kayaks, paddle boards, peddle bikes and Hobie Cats available. Everything is first come, first serve. We took a Hobie Cat out for a spin and had a great guide and had fun.
EXCURSIONS
RastaSafari Experience - We wanted a truly authentic experience in Jamaica and after doing a ton of research, we came across this excursion that takes you out to a Rastafarian Village that has about a population of 500. We ATV'd through their village, hiked some nature trails, ate food off of the trees, visited their pot farm, learned about their culture and ate a home cooked vegetarian meal after swimming with them. This was such an awesome experience, and we would highly recommend it to anyone looking for something authentic to Jamaica! You can only book this tour through Trip Advisor. It was $160 each well worth. We have a video on our YouTube of this day at the village. Check it out. Check them out on Instagram on Facebook as well. This is an all-day excursion, not recommended for kids.
Tip - have cash. they will sell you their "goods" as soon as you get on the shuttle, during the hike, after the hike etc.
Tip - you are with several guides throughout your time here, tips are appreciated and somewhat expected for each
Rose Hall Great House - Legend of the White Witch - we toured the Rose Hall Great House during the day and then went back at night for the interactive ghost tour. If you love plantation homes dating back to the 1700s and a good ghost story, this tour is for you! The house and gardens are stunning, and the history is crazy with the Legend of Annie Palmer, who is apparently buried on site in her tomb. You need a taxi to take you to the great house. Check out our day and night tour on YouTube, search for Wandered Off. Day tours are $25 each and night tours are $30 each. Don't forget to try the Witches Brew!
Cinnamon Hill Great House - Home of Johnny Cash - Any Johnny Cash fans out there?? Who knew that the Carter/Cash family lived in Jamaica from the 1970s to 2012? In a1700s plantation home?? The grounds are beautiful, and the home is stunning. The best part is... the home is still full of Carter/Cash family relics and the guides stated that the family still visits and stays from time to time. How cool is that! Check out our video tour of the home on our YouTube channel. $25 admission each.
Tip - you pay and start tour at the Rose Hall Great House
Tip - you need a taxi
Chukka Eco Tours - Zip Lines & River Tubes - We booked a half day tour with Chukka that included four zip lines (website says 6), we river tubed which was also fun and then we climbed up the pool waterfall to the top and jumped off the 45' tall waterfall. There is a long water slide, restaurant serving jerk chicken and a bar with drinks. There is a decent sized gift shop and nature trails walking through the historic plantation property dating back to the 1700s. I think we paid roughly $130 each for the half day. This place is still recovering from the pandemic, so it was not very busy. Check out our full video of our Chukka experience on YouTube. Search for Wandered Off.
Tip - Lockers cost $10 to rent
Tip - wear water shoes
Tip - have a waterproof case for your phone
The Aqueduct - there is a historic aqueduct on the golf course adjacent to the Hilton that is a few minutes to walk to go explore. This aqueduct was built in 1837 and if you love historical structures, it is definitely worth the walk over to see it. Not to mention, the golf course is beautiful too! And it is free to see!
The Shops at Main Street - we walked across the golf course to the Shops at Main Street to do a little souvenir shopping and exploring. The shopping center was vibrant and had a jerk chicken hut, street vendors and shops with restrooms. If you do not want to venture into Montego Bay for shopping, we highly recommend this little place and the best part is, you can walk over there for free, you just have to cross the golf course.
OVERALL EXPERIENCE
Tip - Hilton is all-inclusive, however, if you receive exceptional service, they would like you to tip, but not required
Tip - Taxi drivers are licensed and only drive vehicles with red license plates. Tourists should only get in vehicles with red plates for their safety. Taxi drivers are always upselling and will randomly take you to a shopping center trying to get you to shop
Tip- Tips in general, carry cash. The Hilton has an ATM and will provide change for smaller bills. We were tipping in $5 but quickly realized that $1 tips were sufficient
Tip - Once you leave the resort, they all expect a tip, but never forced. Everyone we encountered was very nice and respectful
Tip - Do not eat at Scotchies in Montego Bay. This was the only place we encountered rude people during our entire trip. After leaving a tip at the front counter when we paid, the cook actually demanded a tip from us before he would let the lady give us our food. And the jerk chicken was not that great. We had way better jerk at other places. Save your taxi fare and time and do not go here!
Tip - We never felt unsafe anywhere we went. As a tourist in a foreign country, you have to always be aware of your surroundings and do not make dumb decisions. We felt more unsafe in Mexico than we did in Jamaica
Tip - Ask the Hilton Concierge for their list of excursions prior to booking. We booked all of ours through other agencies prior to arriving
Tip - Airport Shuttle - Hilton provides a shuttle service for a fee. $50 each way for a private shuttle or less expensive if you share a shuttle and don't mind stopping at other resorts along the way. We opted for the private shuttle. Well worth it. You can also book a shuttle through Expedia or other booking sites.
Tip - We had booked a Catamaran Cruise that was taking us to Margaritaville in Montego Bay, but it stormed that night and the tour cancelled on us as we were driving there in the shuttle. We knew it was going to be cancelled because it had stormed and poured all day, but if we cancelled, we didn't get a refund. So we went along with it. While we were driving to Montego Bay, the shuttle driver pulled over into a shopping center and announced that the cruise was cancelled, and we now had time to shop. Everyone got off of the shuttle except us. We had done our shopping and didn't want to shop anymore. So we were forced to sit on the shuttle and wait for almost an hour. We feel that the cruise was cancelled earlier in the day, and we should have called to check, versus be forced to shop or sit in the shuttle and wait. It was very frustrating.
Tip - There is a fitness center to use if you want to burn off the calories that you eat.
Overall, we had a fantastic experience in Jamaica and would go back. The only downside to the Hilton was the super hard beds, but some people like that, we do not.
Check out our series of videos from our Jamaica adventure on our YouTube channel, search for Wandered Off.
We really hope that you enjoy our vidoes and that they help you during your planning phase of your future Jamaican vacation!
Thanks so much for wandering off to Jamaica with us!
Wandered Off
Chris & Brandi - Guest Starring Rick & Ginger
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