Rosalie Bay Resort

We were looking to find a base for exploring a new place: Dominica. We found an oasis of beauty, tranquility and organized efficiency on the east coast of this volcanic paradise. After hurricane Maria in 2017, there are still signs of that devastation in and around the resort, but compared to the rest of the island that we saw, the facility has been carefully and thoughtfully restored. It exudes an almost old world calm and charm. The staff is very friendly, attentive and efficient. Many are from local villages like Grand Fond which we walked to and clearly the resort is also a mainstay in the local economy. The local plantings are lush and well attended. A well outfitted spa and exercise facility are present but we were too busy scooting around the island to use much more than the pool, which was nice. We relied heavily on the excellent included breakfast and went for dinner all but two nights. We did lunch on the road most days and stored some food in the room fridge. It would be nice to see more creole dishes on the menu. We felt too much effort went into catering to mainland preferences but all was well prepared and presented. Service was excellent. The surroundings of the Rosalie River, black sand beach, turtle reserve were spectacular and almost otherworldly in beauty. The incoming trade winds make the beach unsafe for swimming but great for turtle nests! If you want to swim, there are beaches on the west coast with none of the charm of Rosalie Bay. Taken as a whole, we loved it. Its as far from a cruise ship experience as you can get. Many thanks to Odette, Danielle and Zahir and all the other staff who make this a special place , not just in Dominica, but among all the places we have seen in our travels!

This property was so fun to explore! The ocean and river are stunning and everything is very peaceful. We especially loved the driver for the resort, Zia. He was so friendly and knowledgeable and a pleasure to have accompany us on all of our excursions! We would love to come back during turtle season!

This is necessarily a mixture review of the Rosalie Bay Resort and Dominica island, as you will see below. Everything on the island is less developed, looked after, and sophisticated than on most of the rest of the Caribbean islands. We did not visit the northwest area but expect it applies to that area as well. Arriving at the airport from Miami was simple and fairly quick processing. Leaving was far more difficult-the airport personnel are much more strict on what you can put in your carryon luggage (although a 4 ounce bottle of vanilla made it through, while they seized a 1/4 inch slide razer cutter that was not seized when I boarded with it in my carryon in the U.S.) Rented car from Courtesy Rental car at the airport. They charged $50 to pick up the car at Rosalie days later, but worth it to avoid stressful drive (ride to airport to go home was included in resort room rate). Small building with several rental car "offices" at the airport. Car was not very recent vintage, but understandable given the horrible condition of the roads, and I mean horrible. There are switchbacks on narrow 2 lane roads every 100 yards or so on most of the roadways (not exaggerating) with little curbing and large ditches on the side, so driving on the island (on the left) is not for the faint of heart (i.e., may jeopardize your marriage). I averaged 25 m.p.h. for the whole trip, and learned about "beeping" as I approached each blind switchback turn. Rosalie Resort is a lovely well maintained and landscaped large rural venue on the east coast. There is hardly anything in the area though. We stayed in a Premier Oceanfront unit with 2 "queen beds"- they are not queens, but closer to doubles. The room was immaculately clean, and housekeeping (optional each day) kept it so. The building is two story, one unit above another, set back about 20 yards from the "beach". The complex has lots of signage for getting to the different places (i.e., Reception, Parking, Restaurant, etc.) There is a sign- "BEACH". There is no "beach" per se or swimming there-only a black sand berm with yards of kelp piled up along the shore. You can't sun yourself there and there are no beach chairs or loungers. The view from the unit has multiple trees that partially block the view of the sea, but the front patio of the unit is a very nice place to just lie on the chaises (very thin cushion though) and relax-also has tables and other chairs. The room- good size room and bathroom, although the shower wall is too short to block water from the floor and the shower head basic, with a hand sprayer as well. No control over the strength of the water spray, but pressure was good and hot water plenty. The linens, pillows (choices of firmness), and towels quality were all first rate. nice size small fridge, although no ice tray. There was no instruction on use of the remote for the " in wall/near ceiling " air-conditioner, but once we figured it out, it was the bes

We had a delightful 4-night stay as part of a week long family vacation to Dominica. Lovely grounds. Accomodating service. We had a fantastic riverside cabin where we could watch the birds anytime of day from our porch. Also steps away from the restaurant (yum) and the underrated pool. A couple short easy hiking trails on or near property. Sargassum on the beach does complicate things, but we hadn't planned to spend much time on the beach anyway. Oh, and we had a leatherback sea turtle come ashore to lay her eggs one night -- amazing! Admittedly, Rosalie Bay's isolated location can be both a strength and a weakness. The magnificent natural setting -- strength. The inability to easily get to other locations without a car -- weakness. We had already planned a couple days of excursions with a guide to drive us, so we did not need to rely on the daily excursion schedule at RB. However, it would have been nice to easily get a taxi/ride to go off site for dinner for a night -- not easy. Still, a terrific stay.

Cannot recommend this place strongly enough. The rooms are large, clean and comfortable. Internet is strong. The staff is very helpful and beyond nice. The bar is well stocked and the food is excellent. Try to take a trip with Zaire. He is a driver/guide and you will enjoy every minute.

I’d say this is only a place to go to if you want space and quiet. There is very little to do around here without driving and you will be stuck having dinner every day. The menu is strange and doesn’t vary. I am enjoying it but May have been more adventurous in my hotel decision if I’d realized how isolated it is here. Car absolutely necessary.