RCS Review: Rosemary’s Pearl

Back in February, Mrs. RCS looked at me and said ‘where are you taking me for my Babymoon?’.  Being that I’m a first time dad (rather out of touch with babymoon-esque tradition), and an amazing husband, I told her to ‘stand by’.  It didn’t take long for me to settle on The Pearl.  We decided that a long weekend over Memorial Day would be perfect, so we called, reserved, and started counting down the days.

The Pearl is located right in the middle of Rosemary Beach, which is on the far east side of 30A.  As most of you know, 30A is the hot spot for Southeasterners from NOLA to Jackson to Birmingham to Nashville to Atlanta.  It’s the perfect location for a relaxing vacation on Florida’s gulf coast.  The beaches are very clean, the water is beautiful, the people are friendly, and the pace is a little slower.  It’s like the turn the lights off at 10PM.  On 30A, everywhere you look is a postcard view.

What drew us to The Pearl was the attraction of the luxurious ‘one-stop-shop’.  The hotel itself is picturesque, and the full service offerings were very attractive for our babymoon.  We really liked the ‘we don’t have to worry about anything’ mentality.  Upon arrival (3 hours early before check in), they took care of us from the get-go.  Our room was ready, so we got settled in a flash.  Everyone was smiling and very accommodating to my better half and me.  We immediately knew we made the right choice.

A typical day for us looked like this:  We would wake up between 6-6:30AM (CT), and go get some breakfast.  We took a morning walk to the Donut Hole a couple mornings, and we went over to Amavida Coffee as well.  After breakfast, we came back to the room, and got ready for the day.  After lots of SPF and packing our beach bag, we headed down to the beach and plopped down in our Pearl-provided chairs and umbrella.  We liked to be in the first row, so we were usually there around 8:30.  After some walks, some reading, and watching the waves, we’d head up for lunch.  Between Cowgirl Kitchen (get the shrimp quesadilla), La Crema (it’s tapas, but get the brussel sprouts), and Summer Kitchen Cafe, we were good to go.  The burger at SKC is outstanding.

After lunch, we’d head back to the beach for an afternoon siesta. Around 3:30-4, we’d head up to the pool at The Pearl for a quick dip to cool off.  I have a hard and fast rule that any vacation accommodations must include a pool.  At The Pearl, they take it to the next level, with chair service, including a full drink and food menu.  This is where the Transfusions started…

After our dip, we’d head back up to the room to chill out for a bit, and try to head out to dinner no later than 6PM.  This meant that I’d be at the rooftop bar around 5:45 (for another Transfusion), where Mrs. RCS would come fetch me for dinner.  While 6PM sounds early, we tried to eat a little early because a) Mrs. RCS is pregnant, and b) some of the restaurants are first-come, first-serve.  Luckily, we never had a wait at either Edward’s or George’s.  We did get reservations at Havana, the restaurant at The Pearl, and lucked out with a table next to the window.  We got to watch the sunset, which was really nice.

After dinner, we’d usually go walk around town, or head down to the beach for a bit, and then up to the room to wind down.  We got a lot of reading done, a lot of relaxation, and it was mostly in part to the great service at The Pearl.  Mrs. RCS and I are very low maintenance people, so us calling the front desk for anything is a little out of our norm.  Whether we needed towels, our car brought around, a burger recommendation, or something random, the entire staff at The Pearl was more than accommodating.

Here is my take on The Pearl:

It’s a little on the pricy side, but you get what you pay for. The rooms are really nice, all the amenities are top notch, You are right in the middle of Rosemary.  The nightly rate includes a ton of amenities: bikes, water, soft drinks, clean up/turn down, access to an awesome rooftop bar, spa, and restaurant, reserved beach chairs/umbrellas/towels, and free parking/valet. Most of this you pay for outside of your nightly fee just about anywhere else on 30A.

I would highly recommend for a long weekend.  The extra cost alleviates 90% of the other ‘stuff’ you have to worry about.  It won’t get much better on 30A than The Pearl, and all those pictures you take will be framers.