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Barbados Beach Resort - Barbados

Barbados Beach Club - Barbados Beach Resort

Operator and Date: Janet Smith Feb / Mar 2007

Opinion submitted in March 2007 by : Bill & Tricia - Dunfermline (57,56)

Resort Rating: Average

Accommodation Rating: Good

My/Our Holiday Opinion: 

For those of you with Google Earth the Hotel is located at North 13 Degrees 03 Minutes and 55.32 Seconds; West 59 Degrees 33 Minutes and 30.68 Seconds. That's right - it's under the cloud! For those who have a choice as to where they can sit on the Aircraft ask for a Left side window seat and don't forget to have your camera handy. Most Aircraft arrive in the afternoon and the approach is by flying across the tip of Barbados, all the way down the West Coast and then along the South Coast to the Airport. A great way of seeing the Island and Bridgetown. Pity we were seated on the right side!!

As has been said by others, all the staff are very friendly (although I reserve judgement on the receptionists) but so too are all the people that we met on the Island. Our rooms and the Hotel were clean and the rooms cleaned every day. The bathroom did look a little dated with a fixed shower head. Best that can be said was functional - certainly no wow factor. Unless, that is, you are having a shower and someone flushed a toilet. Then you have the wow factor as you are subjected to hot water for a few seconds until the cold comes back through.

We asked for an Ocean View and were originally put in 206. Later that evening we were told to move to 304 due to an Air Conditioning problem. We were less than happy about this but it worked out OK as we had a slightly better view and a larger fridge. Our Ocean View was more land than sea. Also, something that most of us suffered from, there are quite a few mosquitoes around.

The views from lower floors are obscured by the trees so the higher the floor the better. A Pool view on one of the higher of seven floors would be a good place to be. Pool views also face more Westerly but you are subjected to the evening entertainment until 23:30. As opposed to us in our Ocean views subjected to dogs barking at odd times throughout the night!

I am a fussy eater and there was always something for me to eat at any of the meal times. We also enjoyed the fact that there was very little queuing for the food and the Restaurant was never full - very civilised.

During our time there (late Feb/early March) the climate was brilliant, 25-30 Centigrade all the time. A little hot in direct sunlight but very pleasant in the shade. The South is subject to the prevailing South Easterly wind. Throughout our time the waves became steadily stronger until it was no fun at all going into the sea. On the other beaches there were red or yeoow flags flying for must of the time. Tricia and I took a couple of poundings when we were caught by breaking waves and the under-tow close to the shore. With the stony (smoothed coral) sea bed it was quite painful sometimes. All this upset meant that the sea near the Beach was permanently filled with sand particles. Contrast this with a visit we made to the West coast - there the sea was much calmer and clear and the sea bed sandy.

A vast improvement would be a shower for those coming from the beach back to the Hotel. All we had was a tin bath for washing our feet. A shower booth had been built near the pool but there was no plumbing and this confused a lot of people.

We spoke to two Canadian couples who had been coming back to the Hotel for 25 and 15 years respectively. They told us that the beach used to go out 50 or more yards from where it is now. I noticed that in the short time we were there a lot of the sand had been washed away and areas were being scalloped away on the larger beach further along.

Note - A lot of Canadians come to Barbados; if you want to get off on the right foot do not ask what part of the USA they come from. Apparently it is on par with asking a Lancastrian what part of Yorkshire he comes from!

We used the local buses a lot; both the 'proper' ones and the local 'pick-up' ones. Both charge B$1.50 for each person no matter how near or far but you need the exact change for the 'proper' ones. Note, the yellow buses run all the way up the West Coast and have their own Terminus near the Docks. The Blue ones have a Terminus near the River in the centre of Bridgetown. The 'pick up' buses have another Terminus close to a market about half a mile away from this Terminus. Stand 12 at the 'proper' bus Terminus will get you on the main road to Oistins and it is then a matter of knowing which stop you want - it's the one after the Plumbers on the left!

When we were there the exchange rate was - in round figures - 2 Barbados Dollars to a US Dollar and there were 2 US Dollars to the pound. So a Barbados Dollar was worth 25 Pence as near as makes no difference.

We never ventured out in the evenings so cannot objectively comment on the lack of other places to go. Staying in the Hotel was more to do with the people we chummed up with rather than anything that the evening 'entertainment' could provide. The Hotel DJ consistently managed to ruin the evening by cueing up records without realising that this was interrupting the record being played; and he managed a 20+ second fade in / fade out to really spoil both records!

We did note there was a British run bar and the Mermaid restaurant in one direction outside the Hotel and a bar/restaurant in the other. As stated, we chose to stay at the Hotel purely because of the company we kept. If we had been alone we would certainly have looked for other venues most nights!

What would be a tremendous improvement would be seating away from the 'entertainment' - I use the term loosely - so that people could talk without having to shout over the music or could listen and enjoy (sometimes) the music at a lower volume.

Do go on a Catamaran trip, it is really worthwhile. They all seem to follow the same schedule and go to the same places. On the Friday when we went there were 7 of them with slightly staggered times all stopping for Turtle feeding, snorkelling and lunch. We went on the Rubyat which caters for the younger element with loud music all the time and dancing on deck positively encouraged. All good fun but we would choose one of the other, bigger, ones next time with more shade and indoor seating area.

If you just want to look at Turtles then take a walk (40 minute gentle stroll with time to admire the views along Oistins bay) along to the pier at Oistins fish market. We went on three different occasions and there were always some around but, apparently, most appear on fish market days when the Offal is thrown into the sea.

If you want to do your own thing then hiring a Taxi at B$60 an hour is a good way of seeing things at your leisure and not being herded round on a schedule. We hired one to visit Orchid World (not as good as we thought it would be) and Gun Hill (great views on a clear day - ours was a little hazy but still good).

If you want to keep your room past midday you have to let them know and pay £45. I know it is good business for the Hotel but we did take it as a personal rip-off for no more than 3 hours extra (most flights are in the early evening so pick-up is about 15:30).

When we were there the temperature was a very nice 25-30 Centigrade. Maybe a little hot in direct sunlight but very comfortable in the shade. We had the odd shower early morning and evening but nothing of consequence. It was also warm rain and the temperature meant that you were dry again in no time.

Would we go back again? Not to this Hotel and this is really nothing personal. It is mainly to do with location. Yes we would like to visit Barbados again but next time it would be the West Coast. Somewhere between the Cement factory at Hangmans Bay and what smelt like a chemical factory at Batts Rock Bay. So saying I have met people who were not overly impressed with Almond Beach, somewhere we considered before going out. Oh well, it will have to be Sandy Lane then!

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Barbados Beach Club - Barbados Beach Resort

Operator and Date: janet smith - 2006 / 2007

Opinion submitted in March 2007 by : alan- middx  49, 46.

Resort Rating: Average

Accommodation Rating: Excellent

My/Our Holiday Opinion: 

Barbados Beach Club is o.k but do remember this is only 2 star and therefore limited in some respects. i.e. only 1 bar on the site and this is as far from the beach/pool as it could possibly be. the grounds are a sparse but being a beach person this did not worry me.The rooms are a good size, clean airconditioned and from what i could see most had a sea view,rooms cleaned every day, all the staff at this resort very friendly and the restaurant staff very efficient, plates removed and drinks topped up as soon glass was empty. we were able to get clean beach towels every day but a deposit of 30 b.dollars per towel was required. safe in room available to rent but free safety deposit boxes in recepition available if required.

The downside was that the beach immediatly outside hotel although sandy was quite small, though never crowded, they have free sunbeds but no sun umbrellas so you have to hire these from reception. the sea is quite rough so watch out for children.You can walk a few hundred yards past some small rocks and the beach continues on and is bigger but this part of the beach has no sunbeds for hire as they are all owned by the hotels.

The worst thing about this hotel was the food, very hit and miss and at best lukewarm, the hotplates were kept warm by little more than a candle and were constantly left open. All in all we had a good time loved the people and loved Barbados we will return but not to this resort, it is worth paying a bit more and really enjoying luxury all said and done this must be one of the best 2 star resorts around and great value.

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Barbados Beach Club - Barbados Beach Resort

Operator and Date: (Virgin Discounts) Virgin Atlantic - Sept 2005

Opinion submitted in Sept 2005 by : David Judd 66 Brenda Judd 55

Resort Rating: Very Good

Accommodation Rating: Very Good

My/Our Holiday Opinion: 

Submitted by Mr Judders, As promised a few weeks ago. My wife and I have just returned from a ten day holiday in Barbados staying at Barbados Beach Hotel.  Much-maligned in many of your reports on Holidays Uncovered.  I am happy to say we found much of this criticism unjustified. Classified in the Virgin Brochure as an 'All Inclusive' 3 star Hotel, you can't compare it to a 4 or 5 star establishment. However to call it shabby and in need of renovation,  as has been quoted in past reports seems to be quite unfair. 

We upgraded to a Superior Deluxe  Room, which was well worth it for the superb sea views, and spacious room with air conditioning and a huge bed. The service throughout was extremely efficient and friendly. We were shown to our table for every meal in the self service Restaurant,  and were well looked after with top ups of wine and water. The food was as varied as you wanted, the choice was yours. There was either beef, pork, lamb or chicken on the menu every night plus vegi,  rice and salads. The grilled steak from the weekly barbecue was excellent. The sweets did'nt really live up to their appearance and were a bit heavy going. Two other Restaurants were available, and could be booked  twice a week by 'all inclusive' guests. Italian style at the Venetos balcony Restaurant and Sea Rocks A La Carte Restaurant,  just a few steps from the hotel. We tried both and found Sea Rocks was excellent both for food and service. Supplementary charges only for Lobster and Steak.

The Pool was kept very clean and the water really warm. The terrace area was somewhat basic compared to that we have experienced  elsewhere, however  there was plenty of space  and sunbeds were plentiful.  Every night  music from a resident DJ or live group entertainment ,  and a weekly cabaret show, which was more than some of the neighbouring 4 star Hotels had available. Service at the poolside Bar was always prompt with no shortage of drinks available  especially  recommended  the Fruit Punches with or without Rum and Pinacolada cocktails, as well as local beer, which was quite drinkable and consumed in great quantity by many guests!

Overall  we were quite impressed with this Holiday Package from Virgin Atlantic. Their Twilight Check in Service at Gatwick the evening before departure worked well. They even do a check in at your Hotel prior to your Pick Up, on return,  so you only need to go through to departures once you get to Grantley Adams Airport.  Pity about  the gargantuan queue to get all passengers through one single security check point. Perhaps this will be improved once the New Terminal is completed next year.

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Barbados Beach Club - Barbados Beach Resort

Operator and Date: (Virgin Discounts) Virgin Holidays- august 2005

Opinion submitted in Oct 2005 by : Sarah Pappa- Crawley West Sussex- 18

Resort Rating: Excellent

Accommodation Rating: Excellent

My/Our Holiday Opinion: 

when we arrived we were welcomed with a drink in reception. Our overall holiday was very poor as me and my boyfriend split up and he met another woman but other than that it was great.

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Barbados Beach Club - Barbados Beach Resort

Operator and Date: July 2005

Opinion submitted in Oct 2005 by : Ivana 48 Lorraine 47 - glasgow

Resort Rating: Good

Accommodation Rating: Very Good

My/Our Holiday Opinion: 

Having read mixed reviews about this resort I was a bit concerned about it, but on arrival I can only describe this hotel as excellent.

the staff were very friendly and did everything to make the guests feel welcome.  The food was good and plentifull and there was always something that you could eat, it was also good being able to try different dishes that you would probably not at home.  The bar was well stocked with most drinks and the service was very good, in fact after ordering only twice, the staff knew what you wanted without having to ask you.

The room was very spacious and cleaned every day, and lovely white towels replaced again every day.  the staff in the restaurant, bar and hotel could not do enough for you always willing to help out and offer advice on all things, places to see, trips to take. 

I only went to the beach once during my two week stay as i prefer the pool, but the sand was great and a polite refusal was all that was needed for the guy with the briefcase selling his wares, i was not at any time offered any illegal substances but i am assured if this is what you are looking for the sellers will always find you.

I liked this hotel and the company we met and i would recommend this hotel to all.  OK it may not be 5 star but what more could you ask for, good food, lots of drinks and nice weather and good company.  my friend and i are thinking about going back in 2006.

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Barbados Beach Club - Barbados Beach Resort

Operator and Date: (Virgin Discounts) Virgin - 2005

Opinion submitted in July 2005 by : Mr Judders

Resort Rating: No rating

Accommodation Rating: No rating

My/Our Holiday Opinion: 

The reviews to date i.e. July 2005 are very mixed and inconclusive. Thomas Cook who i booked my holiday with had could not make any coment about the reviews I showed them, saying this was an 'unregistered' web site, as far as the travel industry is concerned. I am booked to arrive on 1st August 2005 at Barbados Beach Club on their all inclusive deal. so watch this space and I will be happy to reveal the latest truth about this Hotel which has been both malined and praised in your reviews.

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Barbados Beach Club - Barbados Beach Resort

Operator and Date: (Virgin Discounts) Virgin - June 2005

Opinion submitted in July 2005 by : Roger, Beryl, Chrissy & Paul (47,50,54&55)

Resort Rating: Very Good

Accommodation Rating: Excellent

My/Our Holiday Opinion: 

On arrival in Barbados we did not realise how laid back this island is.  Everyone is so friendly and laid back as if tomorrow is soon enough.   

The only thing we could fault about the BBC was the deserts!!!  Apart from the rum-baba and the fruit salad everything else was like rubber mousse.  The main dishes are excellent. The rooms are spotless and cleaned every day, all staff are fantastic.  

We hired a car for 3 days and got lost at least half a dozen times, there are no road signs once you get off the main roads, so be sure to take a good map, but that is part and parcel of exploring the island, we all thoroughly enjoyed our adventure.  A firm NO THANK YOU with anyone trying to sell you anything is quite ample. The fish night at Oistins is not to be missed.  We also went to the Harbour Lights which was very good value from money, the floor show was brilliant.

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Barbados Beach Club - Barbados Beach Resort

Operator and Date: (Virgin Discounts) Virgin december 2004

Opinion submitted in Feb 2005 by : jim porter - kent (47, 45, 16, 11)

Resort Rating: Very Good

Accommodation Rating: Average

My/Our Holiday Opinion: 

This was our 3rd consecutive christmas holiday in Barbados: We love barbados, all four of us do. We normally stay at the fantastic 'Almond Beach Village' but this year fancied a change. And what a change it was!
Rooms at Barbados Beach Club are bigger, the pool is fine ( small, but fine) the beach was good and the staff (as all Bajans)great.

But, if you stay at this hotel...... take plenty of spending money with you. All inclusive to this hotel means : doing all that they can to drive you away from the hotel of an evening to stop you drinking at the all inclusive bar. tactics include : advertising other local bars for you to go to for the evening ( the one opposite the hotel he actually owns , so he gets his money twice from you if you go to the pool bar!)The evening entertainment is the most 'stingeyest' I hope that you ever suffer, such as an old member of the door staff playing records with great professionalism like: the birdy song followed by an obscure David Bowie track , followed by the kinks followed by elvis.sounds funny now! but when you realise this is designed to stop you relaxing at the hotel bar, it stops being funny. Also Wine is NOT available ( even by the glass ) unless it's with your meal at meal time, and even then you have to play hunt the waitress.

The meals are quite interesting too, very clean, but the local pigeon likes to walk around the restaurant at breakfast and lunch
All in all great holiday but take plenty of money to go to Lawrence Gap with you

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Barbados Beach Club - Barbados Beach Resort

Operator and Date: (Thomson Direct) Thomson - Dec 2004

Opinion submitted in Dec 2004 by : ange 47 claud 43

Resort Rating: Excellent

Accommodation Rating: Excellent

My/Our Holiday Opinion: 

we have just spent 2 weeks at bbc and it was wonderful. 

i was a bit worried after some of the reports i had read. i need not have worried the hotel room was great ( it was great having a fridge) the rooms were spacious and we had clean sheets every day. the food was varied and i enjoyed it all. the staff were friendly and helpful. the only complaint that we would have is that the d.j. every night was a bit too much ! the same christmas songs every night for two weeks ! 

the beach was small but there was always room for us but i dont know what this would be like when the hotel was full as it was very quiet while we were there. i would recommend the catamaran cruise it was a fantastic day and i had to be put to bed as soon as we got back due to the fruity wine!

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Barbados Beach Club - Barbados Beach Resort

Operator and Date: (Thomson Direct) Thompson-june 2004

Opinion submitted in July 2004 by : M.BELL. 53,45,40,39.

Resort Rating: Good

Accommodation Rating: Poor

My/Our Holiday Opinion: 

This was meant to be a special holiday-unfortunately it wasn't!.I cried for 2 days as our upgraded rooms,which cost our party an extra 800 pounds ,although spotlessly clean,were in dire need of refubishment.Rust stained baths,bathroom fittings coming away from the wall, extremely dangerous service access in bathroom  with inadequate locking-our rep was actually reporting this to thompson as a matter of health and safety!!

Pool area was filthy ,often smelly  where the pool had leaked out on to the terrace.Poolside tables ,chairs and loungers were absolutely mortifying-and those were the ones that weren't broken! Another thing that spoilt our sun bathing was the garden areas used as litter trays by the hotel cats -and in tropical heat you can imagine what that smelt like!

Food in the restaurant was repetative and of a mediocre standard-it got worse when several foreign bodies  of the 'animal'  kind were found in it!After speaking to other guests who had had the same problems we formed 'THE MAGGOT CLUB' -this helped us make the best of a really bad job.We actually met the hotel owner who told us that he had 3 hotels and that this one was the last on his list to be upgraded!It was such a shame as the hotel is in a prime beachside location and could be absolutely fantastic.

Barbados is a beautiful island and the people are wonderfully friendly.I would recommend the'ROOTS AND RHYTHYMS' evening -absolutely fantastic!- book it yourself and take a taxi there.and save yourself some dollars-your holiday company has had enough off you!Also try the catamaran trip and snorkel with the giant turtles and fish-absolutely a wonderful experience.---JUST DON'T STAY AT THE BARBADOS BEACH CLUB UNTIL IT HAS BEEN COMPLETELY OVERHAULED.

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Barbados Beach Club - Barbados Beach Resort

Operator and Date: (Virgin Discounts) Virgin - may 2004

Opinion submitted in June 2004 by : rachel and lee 20 and 25

Resort Rating: Very Good

Accommodation Rating: Very Good

My/Our Holiday Opinion: 

We stayed at the Barbados beach club for 10 nights in May 2004. I think a lot of the other reviews for this accommodation are extremely unfair.

The hotel and its grounds were immaculate. The rooms were cleaned every day, this included the bed linen being changed everyday!

The food was full of variety and contained local dishes as well as english favorites. The desserts were extremely tempting!!!

The all inclusive drinks were served in small plastic cups, which was a bit inconvenient but you can drink as much as you like and the bar staff were friendly and happy to serve you as many times as you went up. Yes some international brands are at an extra charge - but this is standard through most all inclusive properties.

As one comment says the beach was small - i dont really think thats the hotels fault!! However, all beaches in Barbados are public so you can take your towel and plonk yourself on any beach. The sea down this bt of the island is a bit rougher that the west coast, but its a lot of fun. Jumping over the waves, surfing through the waves etc. made for a few laughs between me and my partner.

I personally would recommend this hotel not only for the points above but because the staff were so friendly and helpful - unlike most hotels ive been too. As a travel agent I wouldnt hesitate sending customers here.

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Barbados Beach Club - Barbados Beach Resort

Operator and Date: (Virgin Discounts) Virgin - May 2004

Opinion submitted in June 2004 by : Richard and Debbie Aston - Warwickshire (40, 35)

Resort Rating: Excellent

Accommodation Rating: Excellent

My/Our Holiday Opinion: 

GENERAL : For those people who want affordable all inclusive accommodation, in clean friendly surroundings then this is it.  This was our first time 'all inclusive' and we were both very impressed.  We used the hotels guest services to book a trip to The Garrison Savannah to watch an afternoons horse racing and it cost us around £7 each.  We also used the hotels free shuttle bus to and from Bridgetown - very handy, which you also book through guest services.  We also booked our island tour by coach through the hotel instead of our tour operator and paid only BD$30 each, the highlight of which was a picnic on deserted Bath Beach with the other people on the tour - 8 in total.  

Highlight of our trip must be the island tour by Helicopter - booked direct with Bajan Helicopters - it was slightly expensive at BD$180 but worth every penny - it was absolutely fantastic and one we will never forget!  If you're a cricket fan don't forget to ask directions in Bridgetown to The Kensington Oval - although the ground was officially 'closed' the gates were open and we could enter and take photos and video my husband loved it here.

HOTEL : My husband is a fussy eater but he found something to eat at every mealtime.  Food is plentiful, hot and delicious.  There is either roast beef/pork/lamb/chiken on the menu every night (plus vegie / fish / salads / pasta / rice / potatoes) and the puddings are to die for, and one night a week they cook steaks on the grill.  For breakfast there is fruit, cereals, toast, marmalades, scrambled eggs, bacon, baked beans, plantins and there is someone there to cook you omelettes, pancakes and fried eggs if you wish.  For lunch again there is enough to tempt you.

You are told that you have to pay for cocktails and any 'non-local' drinks, but I was drinking Bacardi Rum and Coke and this wasn't the case.

Rooms are large and spacious and kept very clean every day.  Bathrooms also.  Towels are changed regularly, infact ours were changed every day.

We went out one night for a meal to The Ship Inn at St Lawrence Gap and had 'The Captains Carvery' - at BD$42 each - we had lamb, beef and pork carved onto our plate and helped ourselves to loads of vegetables - we were asked if we wanted seconds but that was enough.  I don't eat lamb at home but the lamb here and at the hotel was simply delicious.

The beach is a good size and because the hotel is on the south coast the waters are rough and really only for strong swimmers.  But if you walk round to the next beach it is larger and we used to walk to the end and back most days.

Overall, we are very impressed with Virgin and The Barbados Beach Club.  We can't praise this hotel and its friendly staff highly enough.

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Barbados Beach Club - Barbados Beach Resort

Operator and Date: (MyTravel Direct) My Travel january 2004

Opinion submitted in Feb 2004 by : janet and steve fuerteventura (46 , 49)

Resort Rating: Average

Accommodation Rating: Below Average

My/Our Holiday Opinion: 

We stayed at the Barbados Beach Club 19 January 2004 14 nts after getting a great deal on my travel auction site for £620 14 nts all inclusive . If we had paid the full brouchure price we would have definatlely asked to be moved to another hotel.

The hotel is very shabby and our bathroom had cracked and dirty tiles the whole hotel needs renovating.The food in the pool side restaurant is ok (breakfast lunch dinner)but the restaurant needs an overhall. The food at Venetos Italian restaurant is not so good and the food at Searocks was ok (had to pay extra for steak and lobster).

There was no activities during the day  and evening entertainment was very low key (no holiday atmosphere at all). The hotel is next to a beach but because it is on the Atlantic side the sea tended to be very rough some days and was not safe to swim in unless you were a very strong swimmer.(best calm beaches are on the west coast).

Barbados is truly paradise and we cannot fault the island or its people . We went on the Atlantis Submarine and dived to a depth of 150 mtrs and saw corals a shipwreck turtles and lots of fish it was amazing (nearest thing to scuba diving). If you chose a catamaran trip dont go on the Heatwave choose Cool Runnings or Tiana (the people on those catamarans looked to be having a better time than we did).

If we returned to Barbados we would not stay at the Barbados Beach Club ever again.

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Bridgetown - Barbados

Hilton Barbados - nr Bridgetown

Operator and Date: British Airways - September 2005

Opinion submitted in Oct 2005 by : Ken & Sheila (60ish!)

Resort Rating: Excellent

Accommodation Rating: Excellent

My/Our Holiday Opinion: 

Holiday started off badly, as we had booked meet and greet service to park the car.   Despite phoning, as requested, from the M23, and arriving exactly at the stated time, Maple Manor Parking turned up half an hour late to pick up the car.  I could have used the normal long-term parking quicker, and at less cost, and avoided the irate Traffic Wardens!

We flew to Barbados in BA Club Class.   What a wonderful start to any holiday.  Very expensive, but, oh boy, do they look after you well.

The BA rep met us at the airport (or building site as it has become known!), and very speedily got our transfer to the hotel.

The new Barbados Hilton is a magnificent hotel, having been opened only since July 2005.  It is superbly located on a small peninsular of land, so the sea is on all sides.  It is only a few minutes from Bridgetown (Hotel Shuttle $3US for 2 people). We were greeted in reception with a cold towel and a much welcomed drink.  All the rooms are the same (except the suites) and are of typical Hilton 5 star standard.  Every room has a balcony over looking the sea.  The food in the Hotel was of truly excellent standard.  Each evening in the 'Lighthouse Restaurant' there was 'A la Carte', or a magnificent buffet, the theme of which changed each night (Bajan, Tex-Mex,  Asian, Seafood etc)  There was another 'A la Carte' restaurant which seemed more expensive, which we didn't use.  Buffet Breakfast cost about £15 and Buffet Dinner cost about £30 each.   There were two bars, one inside and the other, 'Waters Edge' very close to the beach.  Happy hour 5-6 each night.  The hotel caters as much for conferences and air crew stopovers as it does for holiday makers, but that means the wonderful pool area isn't as busy during the day.  Despite the hotel being full, it never seemed very busy. There were 3 pools, with one being just one foot deep for kids. 

The golden beaches were wonderful, with imported rocks dividing the beach up into safe little shallow coves.  Being on the south coast of the island, the sea isn't as calm as it is further north on the east coast.   The rock pools were a delight to see all sorts of highly coloured tropical fish.  There is a dive and water sports centre very near-by, which we didn't use.

We hired a car for a day, and drove round the island.  Some roads are a patchwork of potholes, and it's impossible to drive more than about 10mph - unless you are Bajan of course!  Of note, the insurance on the car doesn't include for wheels and tyres - I now know why!

The Bajan people were extremely friendly, and whilst in Bridgetown, taxis drivers hassle you, they accept a polite 'no thanks'

Return home was as good as the journey out, so we had a wonderful relaxing holiday.  Even Maple Manor did better returning the car!

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Christ Church - Barbados

Allamanda Beach Hotel, Christchurch

Operator and Date: 2004

Resort Rating: Good

Accommodation Rating: Good

My/Our Holiday Opinion: 

We arrived in Barbados with a pre booked appt waiting for us. This turned out to be hell, so had to arrange for a hotel for the rest of our 13 night stay.

We booked into the Allamanda Beach Hotel in Christchurch. The hotel is on 3 floors, with apprx 52 rooms. All rooms/appts overlook the sea, either full on or side view. Our appt was very big, with a basic kitchen, large fridge and freezer, full oven/cooker, crockery etc. There was a table and chairs and an easy chair. Ours had 2 large single beds that were pushed together and quite comfy.The appt had Satelite tv, air conditioning (free and effective) and ceiling fan and direct dial phone. The bathroom had the usual, plus a large shower stall (no bath). In the bathroom, in the wardrobe is a safe which the hotel charge for, but there is also one behind the reception in a locked room that is free of charge. 

Opening the door onto the balcony (which stretched the entire width of the appt) there were 2 easy chairs and a table. On first looking we thought that the pool may be a little small for the hotel, but at no time was it in any way full. I think its busiest was when there were about 6/7 people using it. Thankfully there was never an issue of the 'sunbed wars'. Anytime, no matter what time of day we were able to get beds. There are beds around the pool and in an area that has been nicely decked out where you can relax, overlooking the sea. 

Even though the hotel is on the beach and you can get to/into the sea there is not an area to lie on beds. It's down 4/5 steps and rocky, but the hotel has cleared a path so that you can swim out between the rocks. From here you can walk along the white sandy beach. The staff at the hotel are very friendly and helpful and if something needs doing, its done straight away. There is a small restaurant/bar that caters quite well with snacks/meals/drinks and a shop that sells bits n bobs. The rooms are basically decorated, but clean The bedding is changed daily and the towels every 2/3 days. You will be given 1 voucher per person for towels that you can use for the beach etc. Once handed in you can then have clean ones the next day.Overall a very pleasant place to stay.

The downsides (which are not many)are that there is no lift (if you are on the 3rd floor), there is no entertainment at all, the bar shuts at 10.30 and as the hotel's on a main road it is quite noisy at night.
Whilst talking to the manageress she told us that the hotel is being fully refurbished in 2005, Even the pool is being re designed. It will still trade under the same name.

The Allamanda has a sister Hotel (The Amarylis) which is a short hop away and of which there is a free shuttle bus to and from. This hotel is much bigger and grander and has a fantastic beach with free non-motorised water sports. All of the Amarylis facilities are also for the use of the Allamanda guests. Again at this hotel sunbeds were never an issue either on the beach or at the pool. The meals in the Amarylis were superb. We had the buffet menu (BD$50 approx £23)per person and the al la carte which came to about BD$160, about £55 for the 2 of us.

We were quite dissapointed with St Lawrence Gap. We had been informed that this was the place 'to be at'. Well we found it very low key, with roughly 20 restaurants and no entertaining bars etc. Quite a let down. If you dare..... then get onto a mini bus into Bridgetown. The drivers are manic, the buses are heaving and yet people still get on. Another first for the Guinness Book of Records I think.
On the whole we had an absolutely fantastic holiday, doing as much or as little as we wanted. Enjoy!!!!

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Amaryllis Beach Resort - Christ Church

Operator and Date: (Virgin Discounts) Virgin - June 2005

Opinion submitted in July 2005 by : Vikki Bibby - HULL (60,60,40,39,30,30,3)

Resort Rating: Very Good

Accommodation Rating: Good

My/Our Holiday Opinion: 

Hotel - Beautiful beach front location (as they all are in Barbados). Very clean and modern. Maid service excellent. Option to use hotel beach towels for a 25 dollar returnable deposit. A-La-Carte restaurant (to rich - did not know whether to frame it or eat it!). Turtle beach bar excellent for quality of food and service but be prepared to wait awhile! Be warned - hotel mini supermarket VERY expensive and the manager was seen to be buying from the local supermarket and bringing the goods to the shop to sell!

Trips - Turtle swimming is a must!!! fabulous experience that we will never forget. Crew of the catamaran were wild! Be prepared to drink plenty! Be careful of taxi drivers in Bridgetown, they hassle you in every shop and hover in the doorways, they also make their prices up as they go along. St Lawrence Gap is a good night out but keep your wits about you in the Reggae Bar!

Overall the place looks like paradise and well worth a visit.keep a close eye on your change as when you pay for items in US dollars, you get the change back in Barbados dollars and if you dont know the difference in exchange you may end up out of pocket.

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Amaryllis Beach Resort - Christ Church

Operator and Date: co-operative travel - 2005

Opinion submitted in Feb 2006 by : vikki Bibby (hull) 59,59,39,39,30,30,3

Resort Rating: Very Good

Accommodation Rating: Average

My/Our Holiday Opinion: 

beginning with the negatives! Poor hotel entertainment and the main bar closed around 10-30 every night. if All Inclusive I would advise that you stock up on alcohol before they close. Food repetative and ok for salad freaks.

Now for the positives. Place lovely and clean and literally on the beach which is a great place to snorkel. Be careful as there is a small coral reef that will cut your feet to bits! Turtle Beach bar has nice light meals, burgers and snacks but can get busy but worth the wait.Satff very friendly and always smiling, nothing is to much trouble. Rooms had air con, were basic but clean. Some rooms are next to the laundry and this made it very noisy very early in the morning. Lots of wildlife roaming around such as humming birds, bull frogs and wild monkeys passing through the dining room! Watch were you are standing on a night as the hermit crabs tend to congregate in the dining room (which is on the beach)but they are great to watch. Swimming pools small but nice and clean and to be honest the sea was better, shallow for children and very warm. Hotel surrounded by well tended gardens. 

For a great trip (but maybe not with the kids) try the turtle swimming, they are awesome and huge! Crew were wild (hence not for the kids) but great fun with nice food. Turtles fantastic, best thing I have ever done.

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Amaryllis Beach Resort - Christ Church

Operator and Date: (Virgin Discounts) Virgin - Date Not Specified

Opinion submitted in Jan 2004 by : Danielle Small

Resort Rating: Poor

Accommodation Rating: Below Average

My/Our Holiday Opinion: 

We booked our holiday in September through V----n to go to Amaryllis Beach Resort on an all inclusive basis. Our experience was far from happy, although the weather was very good and the beach location was perfect. 

The Amaryllis Beach Resort is advertised as a 4 star hotel. In our opinion it is struggling to achieve 2 stars. The facilities, quality of service and quality of food were all very poor. The entertainment was practically non existent and there was no kids club. The most popular activity, judging by attendance, was the filling in of complaints forms.

To make matters even worse the limited resources offered by the hotel were not shared equally amongst hotel guests. We witnessed that the guests of an Italian tour operator were getting preferential treatment over the other guests. This included the best seating positions in the restaurant, the best service, a separate supply of beach towels and the preferred positions on the beach offering natural shade. There were at least 4 representatives from this tour operator who had effectively taken partial control of this hotel to ensure that their guests were well looked after to the detriment of other guests.

We were made to feel so unwelcome that we resolved to leave the all inclusive scheme and distance ourselves from the hotel as far as possible. The all inclusive didn't mean all inclusive for the 39 steps restaurant and the Pizzaz restaurant. It was limited to one use only and up to a value of $42 per person at the 39 steps restaurant. We do however recommend The 39 steps restaurant which although included as part of the hotel complex is independently run and offers good food and live Jazz music on Saturday night. It proved to be our sanctuary from the frustrations of eating at The Almond Tree restaurant.

Other things you would not expect to encounter at a proper 4 star hotel included, a noticeable shortage of staff, absence of ceiling fans in the Main (Almond Tree) restaurant, missing fixtures and fittings from rooms, shortage of beach towels and no parasols provided on the beach - hence the importance of finding natural shade.

We don t consider ourselves to be natural born complainers and normally we try to enjoy all our holidays even though there may be certain problems or deficiencies. The extent and severity of the problems we encountered at The Amaryllis Beach however made it impossible to enjoy this holiday and the attitude of the hotel toward its non Italian speaking guests was nothing short of disgraceful.

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Bougainvillea Resort Hotel - Christ Church

Operator and Date: Air Canada - March 2004

Opinion submitted in Mar 2004 by : Michael Butler - Nova Scotia (51, 48, 17)

Resort Rating: Excellent

Accommodation Rating: Excellent

My/Our Holiday Opinion: 

March 21, 2004

We just returned from Barbados having spent 7 days at Bougainvillea. We loved our stay. We hope that the following comments help you make decisions about your trip to Barbados and your stay at Bougainvillea. Everything was well organized from check-in to checkout.

All the staff was well trained and wanted to ensure a relaxed stay. Francina, Heather, Babita, Don and Leena made the front desk a great location to find out about the facilities. Avril and Rosalind made sure that any activities you wanted to do during your stay were organized for you.

Our room was on the ground floor with a private patio, table and chairs. It looked right out on to the pool and was seconds from the beach. Listening to the waves was magical. The kitchenette had all the basic kitchen utensils, pot and pans, hotplate, toaster, microwave oven and coffee percolator as well as a full size refrigerator. There is a grocery service available. You can fax an order to the hotel before your arrival and they will have your order in your room when you arrive. If you do not pre-order there is a little store two minutes down the road where you can pick up milk, bread, etc. before you go to a grocery store. Check on hours of operation.

The room was spacious, clean, air conditioned, with and in-room safe. There was lots of closet space. The bathroom was spacious and clean, lots of towels and face cloths, soaps and shampoo. When you arrive the room is sprinkled with local fresh picked flower petals, which is a lovely touch. There is a 20-inch television in the room. Channel selection is basic. There are not enough programs to keep young children entertained but you really want them outside in the fresh air anyways. We brought a portable DVD player and disks to hook up to the television so we could watch movies at night, which was a lot of fun.

The room was cleaned daily. You are expected to wash your dishes. You can dial long distance from your room. On arrival you are provided with voucher cards to get your beach towels from the water sports hut on the beach. You can exchange the towels daily and on the last day you exchange the towels for the vouchers, which you give back to the checkout counter otherwise, you are charged $25.00US for the towel.

The beach is fantastic. It is clean, safe, few vendors, lots of chaise lounges, shade, breezy and close to the rooms. You can get umbrellas from the water sports hut. We walked past other hotels along the beach and we were of the view that the better beach location was at Bougainvillea. The water was very rough during our entire stay. Unless you are comfortable about being thrown about and bashed by waves, you will not be spending too much time in the water.

The pool is fun and you can use the pool at the sister hotel at Sand Acres next door. At Bougainvillea there is a lovely bar in the pool run most days by Marguerite. She makes excellent rum punch and other drinks. There was no excessive drinking, loud parties or noise at the bar. Smoking is still very acceptable in public locations and in the rooms. The little children playing in the pools were all well behaved thanks to their parents. There is a hotel policy restricting visitors to the hotel. Non-guests must be registered with the front desk. The resort is patrolled 24 hours by security.

We prepared breakfast and some lunches in our room. We ate most other meals at the Lantern Restaurant, which is right on the beach. The staff were pleasant especially Eurita who always made sure we had a great table, lots of great cold water and Bajan hot pepper sauce. The food was well prepared and presented. Freddy's mashed potatoes were delicious. The drinking water in Barbados is excellent and safe. You can drink the water right out the tap, wash food and make ice cubes. The hotel organized two weekly cocktail parties and provided entertainment. These events were lots of fun. Make sure you make reservations so you are not left out. We did order pizzas a couple of times from Pizzazz Pizza, which were delivered within an hour, hot and delicious.

To do a round trip to buy groceries was about $17.00 US. Grocery shopping was fun and everything you could want was available including rum, wine, beer, snacks, yogurts, milk, bread, butter, etc. There is a shuttle service available for guests three times a day to Bridgetown which you book for at the Activities Desk. The shuttle takes about 30 to 40 minutes depending on traffic. It drops you off close to the main shopping district and across the street from the main branch of the Royal Bank of Canada and the Bank of Nova Scotia. Taxis are always waiting in front of the hotel. We were, however, disappointed with the non-grocery shopping. Nothing grabbed our attention (probably just our taste) although all of the jewellery shops had beautiful items. Harrison's and Cave Sheppard have changed their marketing approach and I guess we did not fit the profile they were aiming at. We ended up purchasing all of our gifts at the Bougainvillea gift shop rather than using our precious time to go back to Bridgetown.

Make sure that you check out the night before your departure to avoid the rush during the morning of your departure. Credit cards, traveler's cheques, Barbados and US dollars are all used. Check out is 11:00 am. If your flight is later in the day, you can use their lounge facility (shower, bathroom, etc.); however, it can get hectic and cramped if there are too many families all wanting to use the facilities. Try and request a day room from the front desk. There is a $75.00US charge but it is worth it if a room is available. They could not leave us in our room but they gave us a superior suite next door at Sand Acres, which was nice to try out. Sand Acres is 30 seconds away and has all the same amenities as Bougainvillea.

Luggage can be stored with the doorman for the day until your departure time. Tipping is not expected at Bougainvillea, as it is included; however, we found that we were so well treated that we always wanted to leave a little something special to say thank you. Also it is important to remember that the pace is generally slower in Barbados, which is the reason why you go there. If you expect a frenzied response to your requests then you need to chill out and have another rum punch. Just go with the flow, man, and you will have a vacation to remember.

We have tried to mention the main points that you need to consider before leaving home and arriving at Bougainvillea so that you are well oriented on your first day. The dress around Bougainvillea is always casual; however, you need to wear t-shirts with your bathing suit at the Lanterns Restaurant and many other restaurants in Barbados have a "no shorts" policy. Make sure you check when making reservations about the dress code. In each room there is hard covered book about Barbados which you should review as it covers numerous topics that you might want know about to make your stay more enjoyable.

Take lots of sunscreen, t-shirts, shorts, sandals and bathing suit and 2 or 3 cans of Tim Horton's ground coffee if you like your Timmy's in the morning (assuming that you are Canadian, eh). Have fun in Barbados and especially at Bougainvillea. Michael Butler in Canada

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Dover Beach Hotel - Christchurch

Operator and Date: (Airtours Direct) Airtours - May 2005

Opinion submitted in June 2005 by : Annie - (35,32,2)

Resort Rating: Excellent

Accommodation Rating: Average

My/Our Holiday Opinion: 

The location of the hotel is excellent.  Just at the corner of St Lawrence gap so all the bars and resturaunts are easilly accessible and it was on the beach.  The rooms were cleaned and the beds changed daily.  However, you would call it quite basic in comparison to european rooms and  the amount of money it costs.  But I do believe that some rooms were a lot nicer than others!

Beaches to die for on the South coast and very friendly locals makes this a holiday to remember.  Especially in St Lawrence Gap, you do occasionally get approached for drugs and legal saleable goods but just say no with a smile and they wish you good day and leave you alone. Ive been to places such as Mexico and have felt extremely threatened by the locals but in Barbados, they were fine.  The people actually talk to you in the shops and they appear to have a very good sense of humour. Sometimes, they appeared more British than the Brits on holiday! Rockley beach, just up the road, was the nicest beach and sea I had the good fortune to swim in.  Absolutely beautiful.

Definately go to Oistins for the fish fry every friday.  Although the locals all go, the tourists outnumber them. We also did a bit of Celebrity spotting there as well!

Do not make the trip to Sam Lords Castle which is apparantly derilict.

You've got to remember that this is a developing island so there are a lot of building/refurbishment going on but the other attractions make up for it.

We got the mini bus at the top of St Lawrence Gap to Bridgetown.  You can squeeze on these mini buses for $1.50 which was about 45 pence anywhere on the island.  Our little one loved the bus, with the callipso music blasting out.

Enjoy your holiday.  I enjoyed it so much that i am planning to go back. PS.  It was hot hot hot! 104 degrees phew!!

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Pirates Inn - Christchurch

Operator and Date: Independant-Feb 2007

Opinion submitted in March 2007 by : V&S - W.Sussex (26&29)

Resort Rating: Very Good

Accommodation Rating: Excellent

My/Our Holiday Opinion: 

Pirates Inn offers fantastic value for money, friendly staff and an excellent location to explore the island or chill out on the beautiful Rockley Beach which is 5 min walk away.  Rooms were clean (as was the pool area), spacious and the kitchen was well equipped with everything needed for the self catering holiday.  However, if you can afford the extra charge for air-conditioning we'd highly recommend it! We found most of the guests to be annual regulars and knew the area and all the good eating, drinking and shopping spots very well.

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Rainbow Reef - Christchurch

Operator and Date: (Airtours Direct) Airtours - 2004/5

Opinion submitted in Mar 2005 by : Debra - London

Resort Rating: Very Good

Accommodation Rating: Poor

My/Our Holiday Opinion: 

This trip didn't start too well as our flight went from Gatwick via Manchester - a small detail Airtours declined to mention in their brochure or website.  At least we had realised about a week before - some people just got a nasty shock when they got to the airport!  The flight also ended up being delayed another couple of hours at Manchester due to a "baggage discrepancy" so it would have been nice to arrive at a clean, comfortable hotel where we could crash out and relax after the horrible journey - unfortunately we were at the Rainbow Reef.  

Our room was the absolute pits - old, shabby, dirty (the bathroom and shower were totally disgusting)with just enough room for 2 single beds, no balcony so just like a little prison cell really.  Other guests mentioned that they had had their rooms broken into so there is obviously a security issues into the bargain.  After complaining to the rep (a not very helpful guy called who couldn't see what our problem was and infuriatingly kept going on about following procedures) we were offered an "upgrade", at our own expense, to a studio which was a much better size but just as shabby and not much cleaner.  We declined and moved to the Butterfly Beach hotel which is exactly what you would expect of a decent 3* hotel, i.e. clean and spacious.

I would say avoid the Rainbow Reef at all costs - it is just horrible.  There is no way Airtours should be touting this as 3* and the double rooms should not even be an option - the studios you might be able to stand at a pinch.  The only good thing about this property is its proximity to Dover Beach

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Sandy Bay Beach - Christchurch

Operator and Date: (Virgin Direct) Virgin -Jan 2007

Opinion submitted in February 2007 by : both 39

Resort Rating: Very Good

Accommodation Rating: Very Good

My/Our Holiday Opinion: 

Well it was right on the beach, crystal clear waters, huge rooms and bed, comfy too , clean ,great bathroom, staff very helpful and friendly, if you treat them nice theyll reciprocate!!!

Youre in Barbados so expect to take things slow, wait for a drink it wont kill you.

Nothing for us to moan about but then we expected a Caribbean holiday and thats what we got, try doing just that and you may enjoy it, expect more and youll most likely be moaning but please dont spoil the Caribbean way for the rest of us,do us all a favour and go somewhere else instead next time.

Best bit was watching a humming bird in action in the gardens by the pool, worst bit was overhearing moany people moaning cos it wasnt like the UK !!!!! and they couldnt get wrecked in 30 minutes.

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Sandy Bay Beach - Christchurch

Operator and Date: (Virgin Direct) Virgin Holidays - Oct 2006

Opinion submitted in January 2007 by : Jane & Mark - Surrey (47,51)

Resort Rating: Below Average

Accommodation Rating: Poor

My/Our Holiday Opinion: 

This is certainly not a 3.5* hotel as rated by Virgin, more like 2*.
Damp musty rooms, filthy communal areas by the (very small) pools.  No parasols. Only one bar for the resort, over 200 rooms, rude bar staff.  Not recommended at all.  Virgin have received loads of complaints about this hotel yet still market it as 3.5*.
The rep only has this hotel to lok after as she is dealing with complaints all the time!  We demanded to be moved after 2 ghastly days and they did so without any hassle.  The rep admitted that she has to move loads of people.
New hotel much better (Sea Breeze) but still spoilt our holiday as only there for one week.

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Sandy Bay Beach - Christchurch

Operator and Date: (Virgin Direct) Virgin holidays oct 2006

Opinion submitted in November 2006 by : dawn - bristol -38 gray - 42 - marg -64 - ryan 10

Resort Rating: Average

Accommodation Rating: Below Average

My/Our Holiday Opinion: 

well all i got to say is i dont understand why vrgin are sending people there. 

The apartment wasnt to bad, the food isnt that bad apart from none of the food is hot its freezing cold, even the kids chips, its buffet style outside, and its covered in flies, that put us of striaght away, cause i like my food hot.The attitudes of the people that work at the hotel was discusting.

The beach looks beautifull untill you see the cats digging holes on there and going on the toilet then digging it back over,i wouldnt let my 10 year old on the beach because of that as you dont know what you can pick up.

There was nothing to do at the hotel so we decided to go on a couple of trips, that we booked with the vrgin rep, we booked the safari jeep trip and the sumberine trip, the sumberine trip was brilliant so was the safari jeep one untill we got in to the woods and had a punture on the jeep, well you have never seen anything like it, are guide who took us didnt even know how to change a tyre, he tried to phone for help but because we were in the woods he couldnt get a signal on his phone so its just as well my husband was there he had to take his tee-shirt off and get on the floor to put the jack under the jeep he was covered in mud and big ants i felt so sorry for him, but if he didnt do it he could see we were going to be there for a very long time. Apart from that it was a brilliant trip you must go on it.The weather was boiling hot it was beatifull to get up everyday to sunshine.

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Sandy Bay Beach - Christchurch

Operator and Date: (Virgin Direct) Virgin - September 2006

Opinion submitted in October 2006 by : 23 - 23 - 24 - 26

Resort Rating: Excellent

Accommodation Rating: Excellent

My/Our Holiday Opinion: 

I have just returned from a fabulous week at Sandy Bay Beach resort, Barbados.

I read all the reviews about the hotel before we went and was left feeling very apprehensive, this shouldn't of been the case.  What a fabulous place.

The hotel was basic but still very nice, very clean and the rooms were huge, we had a kitchen, lounge and bigger than average balcony on the first floor, the lounge had a TV with all English channels, news, sports, comedies etc.  The second floor had 2 bedrooms one en suit and a further bathroom.  Both bedrooms were air-conditioned, the sheets and towels were changed everyday and the place was always clean.  On arrival the fridge was stocked up with pop and beer and a bottle of rum.

One of the bedrooms faced onto the road - who goes on holiday to stay in your room - the balcony looked out to the sea and that's all that mattered, we were advised that they would be more than happy to move us but it wasn't a problem, we were happy to stay put.

The reception area was very nice with a shop and beauty parlour, the shop assistant was hilarious.  The restaurant and bar area are outside -it was very nice, who could complain, eating your meals looking out to sea, although the place is hounded by birds.  There's a wide selection of food for breakfast and lunch, the evening meals were a little samey, chicken and rice, but there was still always something to eat, plus I'm a picky eater anyway.  There is a snack shop anyway and they would cook you anything you wanted - sandwiches etc.

The beach was just amazing, the sea was so clear and so warm, and clean, just fantastic.

The hotel is 5 mins from St Laurence Gap were all the night life is - it was good fun.  A little intimidating on arrival but the locals are welcoming and it was good.

I advise hiring a car and travelling the island - we hired a mini moc £50 for the day, it was bright yellow and stood out like a sore thumb, but this added to the hilarity.  We were stopped by a local guy when touring the Island he was in St Lucy he stopped to advise us where to go, then asked for a lift (we felt nervous letting him hop on board, but shouldn't have) which turned into 2 hours of site seeing, sites we would never of found without him, we tipped him $40 Barbados dollars and he asked us to double it (cheeky begger), which we did, it worked out at £20 which was nothing after the places he'd taken us - turns out this is how they make their living, so don't turn them down - go find him, his name was Andrew and he was hilarious, he made our day and the photographs we got to take were amazing.

To sum it up we had a fantastic holiday and I would go back tomorrow if I could, people who have posted bad report on here must be seriously unhappy people to find things to moan about.  They are so chilled out on the island and will do anything to help, even the local guys on the beach who tend to the sunbeds.  It's a fantastic place and if you cant enjoy it, there's something amiss.

Advice - Don't buy the Aloe Vera from the guy on the beach, it appeared off to us - although this wasn't the case, fresh Aloe Vera just smells really bad like sweat and resembles male body fluid.

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Sea Breeze Hotel - Christ Church

Operator and Date: (Virgin Discounts) Virgin  November 2005

Opinion submitted in Dec 2005 by : Paul Berry - Hampshire-(Both  55)

Resort Rating: Excellent

Accommodation Rating: Below Average

My/Our Holiday Opinion: 

Sea Breeze was in a lovely setting with a large beach frontage with sandy/easy beach access to the azure sea.We had a top floor room overlooking the second pool and the beach.

We learnt that the hotel changes ownership this week which is probably the reason for the very tired looking decor of the bathrooms and the general upkeep of the hotel infrastructure.The whole place needs some tender loving care.We had water pouring down the inside wall during the above average rainfall for this time of the year and the restaurant also leaked badly.The pool table needed replacing as it was badly worn.Having done the negative bit i can say that the staff and especially the restaurant staff and the bar staff made our holiday with their cheerful/smiling/willing/attitude.

The food was excellent apart from a couple of dinners.The choice was very good.We would go back -WHEN  The bathrooms in the other two blocks have been re-furbished and the whole place has had a facelift.Virgin do not have their Chill out Check in service pickup from Sea Breeze.You have to drag your suitcases to the Barbados Beach Hotel although passengers are picked up from Sea Breeze.A bit Short Sighted of Virgin.

All in all i would rate this accomodation as 3 rating not its current 4

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Sea Breeze Hotel - Christ Church

Operator and Date: (Virgin Discounts) Virgin - September 2005

Opinion submitted in Oct 2005 by : Hayley, Clinton - London

Resort Rating: Excellent

Accommodation Rating: Very Good

My/Our Holiday Opinion: 

My partner and I travelled to Barbados with Virgin for 10 nights in September and decided on the Sea Breeze based on what we had read on this site, and the value for money compared to some other hotels.

We arrived to a welcome drink and were shown to our room which was as described, of good size and clean with a beach and ocean view (most rooms here have this view which is a bonus!)

We opted to stay all inclusive which we would recommend as the food here is great, and they have a different selection every night. We did however venture out for dinner on a few of the nights mainly because the nightlife isnt that great, its more like background music and we fancied a livelier night on some occasions!!

The staff were all fantastic, they would greet you morning and night and were always happy to help with any questions. The beach vendors were there every day trying to sell you things, but they would leave you alone with a polite no thanks!

We went to both Harbour Lights and Roots and Rhythms in the evenings which were both great but very different. We prefered Harbour Lights which is basically a show with Limbo dancers, fire eaters, stilt walkers etc... but they get you involved (if you want to!) Its a really good atmosphere and the food was good too! We went in a package trip but decided not to get the coach back at 10.30 as the party goes on til around 4.00am with free drinks til 2.00 (plus it was only $25bd to get back!) Roots and Rhythms was again a show with the above plus a steel band but its more of a caberet show where you watch then dance for a bit later but it closes at 10.30 sharp!

Other recommendations are the catemeran cruise, caves and critters where you visit harrisons caves, then visit a wildlife park where if your lucky you get to feed the monkeys (remember to take some bananas!) Also if you fancy visting one of the worlds top 50 restaurants The Cliff is fantasic! Great food, great service and great views! It came to about £110.00 for us both which was great value for the quality of the food!

So overall Barbados is a great place to visit, we would definately go back! The Sea Breeze is quiet but friendly and situated in a good area (near to Oistens and The Gap for nightlife and Bridgetown for shopping!) I could go on but i think i have said enough!

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Silver Rock Hotel - Silver Sands, Christ Church

Operator and Date: (Virgin Discounts) Virgin Dec 25 2003 to 7 Jan 2004

Opinion submitted in July 2004 by : 51.62

Resort Rating: Very Good

Accommodation Rating: Good

My/Our Holiday Opinion: 

The hotel was ok, we had a room on top floor (3rd) overlooking the beach and this made it for us. The hotel is quite small, certainly the grounds are but beach is right on the doorstep. Sun beds in short supply and a bit passed their best, the pool is very small. Food acceptable & some days very good, entertainment most nights and some of the acts very good-others notso! The main difficulty is getting used to the layed back approach of the staff especially in the bar and local spirits a bit iffy. 

Trips out - the island jeep safari was good fun and informative the cat. boat trip a blast from start to finish and both well worth the cost. easy to get about in the local buses which pass close to hotel.

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Silver Sands Resort - Christ Church

Operator and Date: September 2006

Opinion submitted in October 2006 by : JJ, 42,39

Resort Rating: Good

Accommodation Rating: Average

My/Our Holiday Opinion: 

We have just returned from the Silver Sands Resort. We flew with First Choice and the service from them was OK.   We found Barbados beautiful, the hotel itself lovely but isolated, and the hotel room (no 89 ocean view studio) a dump but we didnt stay in it too much.  The food at the hotel was nice and varied despite other reviews, but the best food we ate was at the Surfers Bar which is about 200m (signposted) from the hotel.  You could get a lovely meal for around 26 to 49 Bajan dollars and the beer Carib, Banks or Stag at 4 BDS was just great.  The food at the Cricket Wicket pub just outside the hotel entrance was great as well.

There wasnt much to do at the hotel and the sea was very choppy where the hotel is so we found a lovel little cove just beside the Surfers bar where we used to go everyday for a swim and some peace and quiet, lovely !

We hope to go back to Barbados but not the Silver Sands.

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Silver Sands Resort - Christ Church

Operator and Date: (Virgin Direct) Virgin Holidays - February 2006

Opinion submitted in Feb 2006 by : Alan Johnson - Warrington (49,50,57)

Resort Rating: Good

Accommodation Rating: Excellent

My/Our Holiday Opinion: 

We bave just returned from an excellent all inclusive holiday.  Hotel excellent, food good, staff very nice, beautiful beach and sea, although sea very choppy, but fine, if you like any kind of surfing.  The hotel is very secluded, only a couple of local bars, one of these show sky sports, but doesn't open until 18:00 hrs. which is 22:00 Hrs BST, so no good for watching live football, had to go to St. Lawrence Gap, which is about a 15 mins. drive by Taxi costing about $15 Barbados Dollars.  Would recommend this hotel to anybody.

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Silver Sands Hotel - Christ Church

Operator and Date: (Virgin Direct) Virgin - September 2005

Opinion submitted in August 2006 by : Amy Jones - (24, 25)

Resort Rating: Very Good

Accommodation Rating: Very Good

My/Our Holiday Opinion: 

Had a fantastic holiday at the silver sands.  Set on a beautiful beach the small complex is quiet and friendly.

The hotel is a taxi ride away from lively St Lawrence Gap and there are some fantastic restaurants and bars in 'the Gap'.  The bajan people are so friendly and we felt very safe in the resort. 

You get hassled on the beach by the locals about buying things but there are plenty of sunbeds around the pool.

You have to give $500 upfront to put on a card to use in the hotel shop, bar and restaurant, whatever you dont spend they put back on your card at the end of your stay.

The best night out is 'Oistins Fish Fry' a local event which happens every Friday night.  The locals cook fresh fish and serve with rice and veg and then it turns into an outdoor r'n'b night. 

Make sure you take a taxi ride to sandy lane beach, Paradise!!! Watch out for the crab apples falling from the trees as they blister your skin.

I would definately go back to Barbados but maybe try a more central hotel next time.

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Silver Sands Hotel - Christ Church

Operator and Date: Tradewinds - August 2005

Opinion submitted in Sept 2005 by : Jon Nicholas - Essex (46,46,22,20)

Resort Rating: Very Good

Accommodation Rating: Good

My/Our Holiday Opinion: 

We found the staff helpful and all the locals very friendly. Booked through Tradewinds who were very good and flew with BMI, also v.good, from Manchester. 

The hotel was nice and comfortable and we found it quiet and relaxing. There were 4 adults in our party and we booked 2 x Garden view studios which Tradewinds kindly upgraded for us to Ocean view on their suggestion, at no extra charge. 

The sea at this part of the island is not suitable for swimming as it is too rough however this hotel has 2 good sized pools which are kept clean. Upon arrival at reception we were asked for BD$500 to put on a card which you have to use when purchasing from the bar/restaurant as they do not take cash.This "threw" us a bit as we were tired form the flight and initialy confused at being asked to hand over approx £170 as soon as we booked-in but once explained it worked out to be a good system for us to use. At the end of your stay you get a refund on what you havn't spent from the card. The rooms are basic but clean and comfortable with aircon and sliding door to either balcony or small patio area. The rooms are cleaned and towels changed daily. 

The hotel food and drink are not cheap but have reasonable taste and portion sizes and unless you just want to laze around the hotel all holiday then I would recommend you hire a car for your stay - there's lots to see and do and its expensive doing all the organised tours - be warned though that road direction signs are rare and stay clear of the public transport (mini-buses) - their driving is eratic and fast - about the only thing that moves at speed in the entire country! We would definately book with Tradewinds again, definately fly with BMI again and definately stay at Silver Sands Hotel again. 

The only thing thing we would not do again is stay at the Moat House Hotel, Manchester. We stayed there overnight before our flight to Barbados and left the car in their car park. Although they state that continental breakfast is available from 0400hr when we went to get something to keep us going at 0630hr the one member of staff in the restaurant was very anoyed that we disturbed him and  extremely rude to the point that we didn't eat anything however, as we each had a glass of fruit juice we were charged £22! If you value your money and expect good service then don't stay at the Moat House, Manchester but do go with Tradewinds, BMI and Silver Sands.

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Silver Sands Hotel - Christ Church

Operator and Date: (Virgin Discounts) Virgin - Aug 2004

Opinion submitted in July 2005 by : D Rose - Hull (34, 26, 65, 62)

Resort Rating: Excellent

Accommodation Rating: Excellent

My/Our Holiday Opinion: 

I went to Barbados with my mate (2 females) and my parents in August 2004.  I had wanted to go for a few years as I have a penpal living there (local lass) so we decided to go and check it out. 

Before going someone mentioned this site and after reading certain comments I have to admit I was a bit worried about going (not really for me and my mate as we are both well travelled and pretty unshockable) but more so about the fact that my elderly parents were going too.

On arriving in Barbados we were met by my penpal who took us to Silver Sands Hotel (about a 20 mins drive from the airport).

We were greeted to a very friendly reception and promptly shown to your rooms (beachside studio).  The room was very clean, albeit basic, but with ample facilities (TV, shower, telephone, cooker, fridge and ALL working!).  All local and mobiles on the island from the phone in your room are free.

Anyway, once we had got into the place I realised that the bad comments I have read on here regarding this Hotel/Resort/mugging/attacks and beggers must have been for the very unfortunate few people. 

The people were lovely, and so friendly.  The hotel was excellent (apart from the crabs in your room actually walking up the walls but then again we was situated right on the beach) But dont worry they are tiny.

A definate MUST is Oystins Fish Fry on a Friday nights, music (reggae), vans serving alcohol (mount gay rum 'n coke it's a killer or Banks beer etc..) also seating areas where you can eat fresh fish cooked while you wait, I would definately recommend the Blue Marlin with rice it tastes like pork.   If you are not intimidated when surrounded with locals (I only came across one rude person there all night and she was a brit) then it's a good family night altho...  After midnight the air is thick with 'wacky backy' smoke, (I don't go there myself but the atmosphere, music, layed back people it was awesome).  We all left at 5am (not the parents of course) and it was still going strong . 

Bridgetown is great for shopping (clothes are about the same price as here) but such a busy town and so many colourful people with dreadlocks everywhere!!  We had lunch there and watched the hussle n' bussle from a rooftop restaurant.

The Weather was VERY hot (as I said earlier I am well travelled but this was HOT!!) however don't be suprised if your topping up the tan by the pool and the heavens open it happened to us a few times, but 30 mins later your tanning again, we went to Holetown beach one day and people were still swimming in the sea even though it was raining as its still very humid.  I'm usually very warey of swimming in the sea, scared of anything swimming about with me but the sea was so turquoise and clear I was lovely.

You will see rum shacks dotted about everywhere, little wooden huts serving rum (of course) and anything else you would like to drink, usually run by very friendly, comical people, but don't use the toilet unless you DEFINATE have to!!

Silver Sands Hotel has a free rum punch night also doing soft drinks (its a rum shack on the beach), its worth going, i think it was every tuesday 7 til 8.  Everyone stands/sits about on the beach listening to steel drums while a few locals are selling hand crafted sarongs etc).
 
The food at the poolside bar it lovely but plenitful, one portion would easily feed two and don't be suprised if, when you are done eating birds (the feathered type) sit on your plate and finish it off!! 

Entertainment at SS Hotel was good (cropover dancers, fire eaters, limbo dancers) but not on everynight.  Sticky Wicket Pub is just outside the gate and up the hill, but bear in mind the hotel to the gates was a taxi ride in itself.

You will probably get hassled by beach traders on the SS beach, they are persistant but will go if you are firm and tell them no thank you.   I, however wasn't so lucky so if you come across one called Trevor tell him he still owes me 5 bajan dollars!!!

The Best place to go in the evenings is St. Lawrence Gap, it's a street lined with kareoke bars, restaurants etc. (it's not Falaraki type bars but its a good night out for couples/families).

Also if you like a party go out on the Harbour Lights Cruise, it's a floating disco with free drinks sails from 11pm and back in at 3am.  Mostly Bajans when we went.  Lower deck is the bar area, middle deck the disco top deck just open air to watch the island sail by, you can see loads of flying fish leaping from the sea.  The Boatyard club is good too!!

Taxi's are outside the hotel lobby so its easy to get about but agree the fare before setting off.  If you are more adventurous walk up to the gate and the local bus will pick you up (its a white transit van and he will stop anywhere and shout out where he is going) its worth getting in just for the experience, you wont believe how many people can get in them vans (legs and arms out of the window) locals (bajans) almost sat on your knee etc.

If your prepared to adapt to the bajan way of life (no rush, no worries) then this is the place for you.  Absolute Paradise!!

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Dover - Barbados

Rainbow Reef - Dover (ChristChurch)

Operator and Date: (Going Places) Going Places - June 2004

Opinion submitted in July 2004 by : John Bradley & Sarah Green (19)

Resort Rating: Very Good

Accommodation Rating: Excellent

My/Our Holiday Opinion: 

The Rainbow Reef Hotel, well what can I saw, totally different to what i was expecting. I had heard reports that the hotel had unhelpful staff and unclean rooms. What a load of rubbish. The staff where some of the most helpful I have ever come across, and the cleanliness was excellent, cleaned every day, new towels on request and they even done the dishes!!

The hotel is just off St Lawrence Gap, this is the main place on the island for good food and lively nightlife (5 mins walk)

The hotel pool was a reasonable size, good for cooling off after being in the humidity all day. The pool was 9ft deep at one end and about 1ft at the other.

The room was lovely, all self catering rooms are on 2 floors, kitchen/lounge/dining room downstairs, and the bedroom and toilet upstairs. The bedroom had a air conditioning unit, which was a must in the barbados heat, 2 double beds, plenty of storage space and all the normal things you'd expect.

The hotel is set in some nice flower gardens, and there are also some birds and animals on site which the owners keep as pets. The hotel has a seating area that looks out to sea, be there at about 4pm and you'll see the turtles feeding out at sea.

Food:
The hotel has a restuarant (Woodies) we never ate there, but just down to the fact that other people had said it was expensive.

We tried to eat at a different place every night and only failed once. Good places to eat are;

JUNGLE TREE HOUSE, just opposite the hotel, fantastic food, brilliant atmosphere and reasonably cheap.

THE SHIP INN, very good cheap food, almost seems english. Try the bajan flying fish, lovely.

BELLINIES, Italian restaurant at the end of the gap, bit more pricey but fantastic food.

CAFE SOL, Mexican food, has a happy hour between 6-7, good cocktails, and cheap aswell.

We went on two trips
MALIBU DISTILLERY TOUR; Bit disapointing the tour itself lasted about 30mins and the ret of the day was spent on the beach and drinking malibu, hicup!

ISLAND ADVENTURES; This trip cost us $452 barbados dollars (BDS) which worked out at £128 for both of us. They pick you up from the hotel and take you round the island in the back of a landrover showing you all the best bits of the island that you normally wouldn't see. At lunchtime you then change and get on a catamaran, you then have a buffet lunch of flying fish, chicken, salads and plenty of cake. Unlimited bar all day. Hicup! The catamaran takes you round the coast. You have two stops at sea, one to swim with the turtles and the second to swim over 2 ship wrecks (snorkel gear provided) take a underwater camera with you!!

If your only going to do one trip do the Island adventure its well worth the money.

Hope thats of some help to you.

I throughly recommend the hotel and resort.

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Turtle Beach Resort - Dover

Operator and Date: first choice - august 2006

Opinion submitted in June 2007 by : louise hartley - co Durham 30,26

Resort Rating: Very Good

Accommodation Rating: Very Good

My/Our Holiday Opinion: 

We travelled to Barbados for our Honeymoon. The hotel itself was really lovely and relaxed. I didnt think it was  worth the amount we had paid for it though. The food is excellent in all three resturants and plentiful. The only one we got a bit fed up of was the buffet resturant at lunchtimes,towards the end of our second week it became really repetitive. The entertainment was fine but didnt last long each night finishing at 10pm, apparantly this was due to the hotel being a family one! The staff at reception and in resturants were really friendly, but the ones behind the bar were really miserable and sometimes I thought they couldnt be bothered to serve us and were quite rude. The only bar man that was friendly and full of fun was maradona, bringing drinks and fresh fruit down to the beach each day.

All in all we did enjoy it but we would go to a livelier hotel if we did return to Barbados.

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Turtle Beach Resort - Dover

Operator and Date: Thomascook Signiture - 2006

Opinion submitted in July 2006 by : Harry Cunningham - Luton (55 49 22 18 15 68 62)

Resort Rating: Excellent

Accommodation Rating: Excellent

My/Our Holiday Opinion: 

It was most of our holiday parties first time in Barbados. We had come out as we were getting married. The hotel Turtle Beach is the best hotel I have every stayed in. The welcome we got on arrival was excellent, just like we were all friends arriving. The staff could not do enough for you and our wedding was fab.
Food was very good and all facilities great. Hotel was very clean and there was nothing you could find fault with. We will be returning in the near future.

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Turtle Beach Resort - Dover

Operator and Date: Prestbury Travel, Cheshire - October 2005

Opinion submitted in October 2006 by : 27, 28

Resort Rating: Excellent

Accommodation Rating: Very Good

My/Our Holiday Opinion: 

We went to Turtle Beach for a 2 week holiday all Inclusive.  This was the first time for both of us in the Carribean, I won the holiday in a competition draw.  We flew BMI who were great and then we were met in Barbados by a taxi company who took us straight to the Hotel.  The Transfers too and from the airport were included as well as the flights and 2 weeks accomodation.

We thought the staff were great at the Hotel, they would offer you fruit while sunbathing and ask if you would like your drink/juice topped up.  The three eating venues were fine as well.  The only thing you had to watch was, when going for breakfast in the Chelonia the birds would fly to your plate if you left if for a second.

We ate more times in the Chelonia Restaurant at night instead of the other two restaurants.  We had no problems booking where we wanted to eat if done in advance.

We decided to do a few trips while we were there, and the Reception Ladies were really helpfull making a few phone calls for us.
We went to Bridgetown twice as well as the Rum Tour and also the Deep Sea World trip.

We had no problem jumping in and out of taxis we felt that it was quite safe.

Our room was cleaned every day and could not really fault it apart from the bathroom we felt that it could of been decorated a bit more.

We were located on the bottom floor which was great to get quick access to the pool and the bars, all though we did not have any children.  It also came in handy with the downpours as when it rains it really does rain and having a balcony on the bottom floor made a difference making a run for it.

In all we would love to go back there but this time we would have to pay for it!

We alse saw two weddings take place over there which was nice to watch.

Gill - Scotland

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Turtle Beach Resort - Dover

Operator and Date: (Thomas Cook Direct) Thomas Cook May 2005

Opinion submitted in Sept 2005 by : Lynn Archer - Newcastle upon Tyne 54, 59

Resort Rating: Very Good

Accommodation Rating: Excellent

My/Our Holiday Opinion: 

Wonderful hotel, can't praise the staff enough.  Beach was great, food absolutely fabulous.  Rooms excellent.  Getting around the island with various tours is a pleasure.  Locals so polite they could give us a lesson or two!!!.  Flew with BWIA and will never do so again (apparently locally it stands for but will it arrive!!).  Thomas Cook were no help at all with the problems we had in both directions with flights, will never use them again.

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Turtle Beach Resort - Dover

Operator and Date: (Thomas Cook Direct) Thomas Cook Signature Holidays - 2005

Opinion submitted in Apr 2006 by : Peter Hill - Ipswich (47, 46, 45, 40, 16, 13, 13, 13)

Resort Rating: Good

Accommodation Rating: Average

My/Our Holiday Opinion: 

The hotel (15-20 minutes from the airport)was rated as 4 1/2 'ticks' but at best it is no more than 3 stars (using int'l rather than brochure ratings). Rooms (we had all standard double rooms) were spacious and clean but in need of renovation (as was the hotel overall), especially the bathrooms.

Be warned however - the hotel, although not marketed/sold as such, has many families with young children (i.e. under 10's) so be prepared for lots of running/noisy kids, so if like us you have teenagers this may not be what you are looking for, although it is close to St Lawrence Gap where most of the nightlife is. 

There are 3 restaurants (1) Asiagos (Italian & child-free) is good rather than spectacular and the staff by comparison are friendly, (2) Chelonia, the main restuarant, has a nice look & feel about it, however, staff are indifferent. The food overall is good if you can put up with the birds flying about (especially at b/fast & lunch although staff do clear up any bird-droppings). One observation that did concern me was during the b-b-q night when i pointed out to the (one) chef on duty he was using the same tongs for raw as well as cooked meat - he seemed to laugh this off but did use two sets of tongs therafter. We were all-inclusive but it was against hotel rules to leave the bottle of wine on the table (!) which meant we had to continually catch the attention of staff for refills - we had to go to the bar now and then to get our own drinks. (3) Waterfront Restaurant (dress code allows shorts) - suggest avoid b/fast which is a disaster but evening meals are okay without being truly great. However, the staff are not attentive at all and lack any personality which is a shame as the setting is nice.

Bar staff everywhere have had personality by-pass operations and if someone in front of you orders 2/3 cocktails be prepared for a long wait. This issue reflects one of the key problems for the hotel - there just isn't enough staff to cater for the number of guests.

The beach is great and the breeze keeps you cool although the water can get a bit rough at times (we went during Easter) but there is a flag system in place so need to be careful if you have young children. The beach staff (Sam , Duane, Leo) are brilliant as is Maradona the little guy who comes round with trays of cold drinks every hour or so.

The Adventureland 4x4 tour of the island  was good fun especially if you get Cassius as your driver/guide (well known island celeb) and the lunch was taken at a fab location in Bathsheba.

Would recommend taking a catamaran sailing trip for a day (we chose 'Silver Moon') which included lunch [v.good standard], swimming with turtles and snorkelling over wrecks - great day out with Capt. Nick and Tony.

Oistin's on a Friday night is good fun - best b-b-q fish we have ever had, all washed down by a cold beer or two. Music is loud and in your face and there is a variety of places to eat as well as buy any gifts from the numerous stalls.

We flew Virgin economy which was a little cramped (if you are 6ft plus with seat pitch of 31") but overall service was what you expected - very good. Returning to the UK overnight was always going to be difficult due shorter flight (7 hrs) but the seat-back screens do make it better than the competition.

In summary, great holiday, perfect weather but the hotel needs to reassess its market and sell it to the right audience - i.e. families with young children.

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Turtle Beach Resort - Dover

Operator and Date: (Thomas Cook Direct) Thomas Cook - September 2004

Opinion submitted in Sept 2004 by : Janette, 47 - David 33

Resort Rating: Excellent

Accommodation Rating: Very Good

My/Our Holiday Opinion: 

Just returned from 14 days at the turtle beach resort in Barbados.  We had a fantastic time and will be returning to Barbados in the future.

The hotel room was clean and well furnished.  The bathroom was a bit shabby, cracked tiles and the grott a bit grubby.  Towels and bed linen were changed every day.  Fresh beach towels were supplied at the beach hut, daily, so no need to pack any.

The food was excellent and varied.  The Itailian restaurant was great, especially if you want a more grown up enviroment, as no kids under 12 allowed.  The children are allowed to run riot at times in the other 2 restaurant, allowed to climb up the pillars as their parents take photos!!

The staff varied from superb to sullen.  They tend to speak to each other without making eye contact, so it is difficult to know to whom they are speaking.  Most of the staff were excellent and extremely helpful.

If you want a really quiet, laid back holiday, Turtle Beach may not be for you.  There was a wedding every day sometimes 2 and they all came with their families and assorted children.  Usually groups of 10 to 14 and they take over the pool area, I realise it is their holiday, but it is my holiday as well. 

There is only ever 1 member of staff working the bar and if a group order cocktails a wait of 10 to 15 mins to be served is not unusual.  When I complained, shoulders were shrugged and nothing changed. They are truly the most laid back nation I have ever met.

The beach is fabulous and the watersport staff terrific.  Sam is good fun.  People do try to sell things but are'nt pushy.
The water is very rough and unsuitable for swimming, current really strong.  There was a hatching on the beach one night and the sight of all those baby turtles heading for the sea will live with me for a long time, fantastic!!!

Entertainment was'nt bad, the jazz duo were terrific and nice guys to chat to.

The Tiami catamaran cruises are excellent and such good value for money.  If you fancy a different island tour try Ted's Island Tour.  He is very different from any tour guide I have met.  He goes around bare foot and is very knowledgeable.  You never know when he will bring you back!!  Good fun.

We went to the Cliff Restaurant for dinner.  Not cheap, but needs to be experienced.  The surroundings and the food are fabulous and the staff delightful.  It was our anniversay and they made a great fuss of us.

We flew with Virgin Airlines and they were excellent, they even come to the hotel on the day of your departure and you do the airport check in there and your luggage is taken for you.  All you do is get to the airport and go straight into the departure lounge, best hassle free check in I have ever had!

We were unfortunate to have Hurrican Ivan heading toward us.  Very scary, but the staff were fantastic and looked after us all so well, even managed to cook a meal for us when all the power had failed.  Outstanding. Other than that the weather was really good.  Showers only lasted a few minutes.

All in all a fantastic holiday and I can not wait to go back. 

Janette - Scotland

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Turtle Beach Resort - Dover

Operator and Date: (Virgin Discounts) Virgin Holidays - June 2004

Opinion submitted in July 2004 by : Sabrina & Jason - Ireland   (27 & 27)

Resort Rating: Excellent

Accommodation Rating: Excellent

My/Our Holiday Opinion: 

We chose Barbados as our dream destination to get married abroad and i can safely say that it was the best wedding ever and the staff made it a real dream come true for us and couldn't do enough for us.  

Our accommodation was fantastic, we were given an upgrade to a one bedroom suite which was gorgeous.  Everyday our mini refridgerator was stocked full of drinks for us and they also left us a snack everyday.  The staff were so friendly and it doesn't take a lot of time to chat with them and get to know them - they are great and we promised we would be back on one of our wedding anniversaries.  The 3 restaurants served brilliant food and each nite there was something different.  In the Chelonia restaurant they would have theme nites and you just have to try a little bit of everything.  All alcohol is inclusive and the cocktails are just great!  

Our room was cleaned everyday and we couldn't find any faults in this hotel.  It is the best that we have ever stayed at.  As for the beach it's just great and just watch out as it can be rough at times and catch you unaware and the current can pull a bit but it's fun jumping the waves.  As for people selling on the beach just say  not thanks and it's no problem.  

All in all a great holiday and virgin were just great  the best airline.  So anyone thinking of a beach wedding i say go for it we had a great time and the photo's prove everything - everyone says it just looks like paradise. 

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Hastings - Barbados

Allamanda Apartments - Hastings

Operator and Date: May 2004

Opinion submitted in July 2004 by : The Parkers 37 32 29 31 35 36

Resort Rating: Good

Accommodation Rating: Good

My/Our Holiday Opinion: 

The first time we went to Barbados was 2002 and we loved it so much we went back. 

The first year we stayed at St Lawerence but the hotel was booked so we ended up staying up the road in Hastings. It is alot better because your out of the noise from the gap but that really didn't matter to us as we were a bit younger and didn't mind, but it was very pleasurable staying at Hastings as St Lawrence is only 5 mins away on a Number 11 bus (What an brilliant experience we used them all the time.) 

The Allamanda is very clean and small appartments which is nice as the pool is not crowded. The Staff are lovely (but the owner is ignorant but you don't see alot of him.) Its not exactly on the beach although its a sea fronted hotel but if you walk to the end of the decking and walk down the steps you can walk in the sea 2 mins to get to the main beach (which is lovely.) There's alot of waves on the south coast so go very careful swimming if your looking for flat water go to the west coast (STUNNING.)

The meals in the Allamanda are lovely but quite a basic menu but you are quite safe to wander out of the hotel and see whats about. There are alot of places to eat which are all very very nice. I can really recommend Opa which is next door to The Allamanda. It is a greek restaurant with brilliant owners (John and Vaso) and the staff are fab aswell, lovely food. After you eat you get to smash plates (well funny as we ended up playing frizby one night !!) Next to to Opa is another Restaurant called Bistro Monet (Yum Yum), you MUST go in there!! Get a car and travel up the east and north coast very pretty but go careful its not well sign posted but that's more fun ! The Cat is excellent, you get to go snorkelling with the turtles and see a ship wreck and all different fish its lovely. The locals are really nice people they may try and get you to buy things off them like dope, Aloe Vera, etc but politely say no and they'll leave you alone. 

All in all a brilliant holiday, you will be very unlucky to have a disappointing holiday on this Island. I love the place and will definately be going back again

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Allamanda Beach Hotel - Hastings

Operator and Date: (Virgin Discounts) Virgin - April 2005

Opinion submitted in Apr 2005 by : Kris W - Hampshire 40

Resort Rating: Very Good

Accommodation Rating: Excellent

My/Our Holiday Opinion: 

The Allamanda proved to be just the sort of place That I was looking for. I had a self-catering apartment on the second floor overlooking the pool and gardens. The room was light and airy, cleaned each day but some really friendly staff ( as were all of the staff in the hotel, even the poor bloke who waits up to let you in at 5.00 in the morning!)
The hotel does not have much of a beach of its own, but down the steps from the garden, turn left and two minutes later, you're on wide open sandy beaches with fantastic swimming.

About half a mile up the road is a small shopping plaza, with bajan style fast food  restaurant in the car park. Great value eg. flying fish, rice, grilled veg. bread and a Banks beer...about £5.
After reading some reviews, especially from some of our USA cousins about the hotel before I went, I was being to have some reservations. Ignore those US comments!

I will be booking this hotel again in 2007 and can't wait to get back there.

You get what you pay for.. if you want staff fawning around you, mopping your brow, cutting up your food...go to one of the overpriced hotels on the West Coast where the film stars go.
IF you want a hotel where the staff do their best to make you feel welcome and enjoy your stay...book the Allamanda!

Thanks to Virgin too- no complaints about any of the arrangements. The Check-out and Chill service meant that I could have an almost full last day, turn up at the airport anout qine hour before the flight and check in in 5 minutes! Have booked with Virgin already for next year.

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Amaryllis Hotel - Hastings

Operator and Date: Tropical Places - June 2004

Opinion submitted in Aug 2004 by : Haughey - Co. Louth

Resort Rating: Very Good

Accommodation Rating: Very Good

My/Our Holiday Opinion: 

We travelled to Barbados on our honeymoon in June. The Amaryllis hotel was absolutely gorgeous. We arrived very late and were promtly led to our room. The rooms were quite small but had air conditioning and everything that you would need when all inclusive. The scene that we woke up to was like something out of a film. We were right on the beach - beautiful sand, very clean and an ample supply of loungers. The staff were very friendly and helpful and the hotel in general was very clean. There was always sufficient staff on. Service was slow but we were on holiday and in no rush for anything.

The food in the hotel was always very good and there was a pizza place at the top of the resort that made pizzas you would die for.

If we had any complaints it was that the entertainment was not up to the standard of the rest of the hotel.

It was also a pleasure on the beach. Very few hustlers. Beware people selling Aloe Vera!!!!

All in all a lovely place to spend two weeks in paradise.  We'll definitely be back.

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Coconut Court Beach Resort - Hastings

Operator and Date: Hotelopia  june 2007

Opinion submitted in July 2007 by : Tom + Ann   Middlesbrough ( 64)  ( not telling)

Resort Rating: Very Good

Accommodation Rating: Average

My/Our Holiday Opinion: 

The trip to Barbados was booked through BMI and Hotelopia The Flight was excellent with excellent service and comfort.The arrival at Grantly Adams was a little frustrating as 3 flights in at once so took over an hour to get through passport control,our hire car was available with good service from EASY CAR.

The coconut court was a little dissapointing as it could do with a full makeover a little tired the room was large but the bathroom was small and had a fixed shower, no bath.Full fridge microwave and kettle this was a suprise as we were on A/I the food left a lot to be desired the best part was the perfect setting right on the beach with no hawkers or flies.We still had a wonderfull holiday but we wont be going back to the CC.The island is full of buetifull places to see like Bathsheba and the Crane beach also the historic garrison area and the hill stations steeped in our own British history.I also have to say that the bar staff and the waitresses were very good with a smile and laugh all the time.Do try to eat out at the Crane a very speacial treat and the Fish night in OISTINS friday night for local colour,The dining out in the GAP is fairly resonable and safe.

All in all a very good holiday just that we were dissapointed with having to pay for EXTRAS in the CC whitch we would have taken for granted in other A/I establishments.You get what you pay for Stick to 5 STAR like the Almond Beach Village which we stayed in on our last visit to this Island paradise     

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Coconut Court Beach Resort - Hastings

Operator and Date: Gold Medal, October 2005

Opinion submitted in Nov 2005 by : Liz & Graham Wilson, 55 & 56 Scotland

Resort Rating: Good

Accommodation Rating: Average

My/Our Holiday Opinion: 

We were warned by Gold Medal that there was renovation work being carried out, supposed to be completed one week before our arrival - It was still ongoing!
 
There is only one restaurant & the beach bar was unavailable during our stay.

The room we stayed in had been recently renovated & this was obvious, not very professionally.

We were asked to pay $20.00 US per day for air conditioning!
We were asked for $100.00 US deposit, (if you pay in US you get $195.00 Barbadian back.
Despite all of these, the hotel is in a beautiful location, the beach was clean, the staff were very friendly and helpful.
The pool was adequately sized and clean.
And we had a good holiday.

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Coconut Court Beach Resort - Hastings

Operator and Date: (Thomson Direct) Thomson - June 2004

Opinion submitted in July 2004 by : Stephen Poynton - Leicester (47, 47, 17,17)

Resort Rating: Below Average

Accommodation Rating: Poor

My/Our Holiday Opinion: 

Booked 'allocation on arrival' which we were advised would be one of 3 all inclusive hotels in Barbados.

Arrived at Coconut Court to find:
Reception dark and dreary.
Room on third floor (no lift).
No airconditioning (ceiling fan only worked at slow speed).

Bathroom (no bath) shower cubicle and sink, again dark and not very clean.
Swimming pool very small.
Little entertainment.
Suplements payable for most cocktails.

Food good.
Beach good.

Asked for immediate tranfer and local rep organised to transfer to Barbados Beach Club after 3 nights.

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Coconut Court - Hastings

Operator and Date: (Virgin Discounts) Virgin - 2004

Opinion submitted in Nov 2004 by : Ramon Clarke-Glasgow,(49).Jenifer Clarke(49)

Resort Rating: Poor

Accommodation Rating: Below Average

My/Our Holiday Opinion: 

Do not go to this hotel.
I could go on, but not much point.
After 3 days got transfered to the "Amaryllis Beach Hotel" Absolutely fabulous. 

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Coconut Court - Hastings

Operator and Date: (MyTravel Direct) My Travel - Date Not Specified

Opinion submitted in June 2004 by : Loraine, Graeme & Lewis deFreitas (30ish and 10)

Resort Rating: Very Good

Accommodation Rating: Very Good

My/Our Holiday Opinion: 

This is an eco-friendly hotel with emphasis on re-cycling.  This is what drew us to the Coconut Court.  We were a little disappointed initially with the accomodation which was a bit basic and slightly shabby - the shower room needed an update and the kitchen(ette) reminded us of our student years.  However, we didn't plan to spend too much time indoors so felt that what we had was adequate.  

The balcony was large and we had a bit of a sea view, but looked out mostly onto mango groves.  We weren't able to leave the French doors or windows open because the birds (bless them) took every opportunity to raid our fruit bowl (even when we were present!).  Mosquito's weren't too bad but you need to burn coils at night or the blighters creep up on you during slumber.  The rooms on 'our side' of the hotel had ceiling fans which were very necessary at night.  We learnt after 6 or 7 days that the rooms on the 'other side' were posher with air conditioning (but more expensive too). 

The staff were lovely, especially the 'bell boys' who were polite and helpful and the waiters/waitresses/ housekeepers worked very hard and made us feel welcome (it's worth leaving a small tip each day in your room to show your appreciation).  The hotel is very clean and 'gardening' went on most days. 

The 'security' was quite tight and this is apparently a necessity.  There are guards on the gates and a rota of guards (but I use the term loosely) on the beach.  There were a few problems with 'sales people' at the shoreline but if you are seated in the 'hotel beach' vicinity no one troubles you (beware the 'beach bums with little monkeys). 

Since the hotel had a strong recycling policy we were a bit surprised to find a number cans/bottles in the sand each day. Our son spent quite a lot of time collecting  these and reporting the finds to beach security who took the opinion that if you found it then you should dispose of it.  Bit of a shame that no one was 'policing' the litter problem.
The kids club was pretty good and the young lady in charge very patient and knowledgeable.   Our son particularly enjoyed feeding the fish IN THE OCEAN at low tide!

There wasn't too much entertainment and most guests made their way to the RED ROOSTER bar across the road (which we suspect was owned by the hotel manager).  We were advised not to walk out after dark - in fact we went shopping at the local grocery store late one afternoon to find the staff closing up because 'the manager was away and the sunset brought out all sorts of problems'. 

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Pirates Inn - Hastings

Operator and Date: (Airtours Direct) Airtours - 2004 / 5

Opinion submitted in Apr 2005 by : Debbie Sayers - Hertfordshire   (42 & 47)

Resort Rating: Excellent

Accommodation Rating: Excellent

My/Our Holiday Opinion: 

What a great little hotel. Small and not at all rowdy - a good relaxing way to spend a week.  Rooms basic but very clean - cleaned everyday.  The location is first class - away from the main road so its quiet and just a 5 minute walk to Accra/Rockley beach, which sandwise is superb but I found the sea a little to rough - great for boogie boarding and surfing and great for people watching.  Didnt eat at the hotel apart from breakfast round the pool as we ate out everynight - Can highly recommend OPA (opposite end of road) Its a greek restaurant with fantastic sea views. Didnt have one bad meal anywhere.  A lot of people wait for the busses to get them from A to B but we found the taxis so cheap we got taxis everywhere.

Batts Rock beach is a lovely beach with calm waters on the West Coast and we were lucky enough to see a couple of wild green monkeys frolicking in the woodland close by.

I would certainly recommend the Pirates Inn for both couples and families with young children.  And the hotel staff cannot do enough to help.  A first class break!

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Sandy Bay Beach Club - Hastings

Operator and Date: (Virgin Direct) Virgin - Aug 2006

Opinion submitted in September 2006 by : DEAN 44,38,8,7,

Resort Rating: Good

Accommodation Rating: Poor

My/Our Holiday Opinion: 

August 2006.Well, we have just got back from what I consider to be the worst place I have ever stayed in! Virgin should be ashamed of themselves for how they have described this im their brochure.This was once  self catering accomadation which has been poorly turned into an all inclusive hotel, and sadly, it just doesn't work. 

Whilst the staff are very friendly and polite and the food was excellent on some nights [ even had roast beef and yourkshire pud!]the actual accomadation is of a very poor standard and the hotel itself is compact. On first arrival the reception area is clean and of a high standard. Once you walk through to the hotel grounds you are greeted with what we thought was the kiddies swimming pool as it was so small but no! It was the actual pool for all residents and it was tiny. A second pool with jacuzzi was of a similar small size. Needless to say, the kids used both pools at all times!
1.Entertainment stops at 10.30pm most nights, 10pm on some,  and the bar closes 11pm so no late nights here ??
2.The electronic[?] games room consists of one air football (broken) under a gazebo not much for the kids to play with.
3.The kids club is more like a creche, one room and they do not take the kids out to play games etc. We made a point of booking a resort on the childrens activities offered. Again, the brochure was mis-leading about this.
4.There were numerous complaints about the food being served under legally required temperatures. Which was confirmed by another guest who had the food tested with a food probe.[for the record, that guest & his family moved to another hotel!]
5.Our room upgrade was a joke. We paid over £500 extra to have up-graded room facilities eg/ mini bar stocked daily, after complaining about the bar on at least four occasions to  reception we approached the Virgin rep who chased it up on our behalf. They managed to get it right the day before we came home!The general state of the bathrooms in our view were grubby and could have done with a refit. We also had band aid plasters holding the front of the aged air conditioning unit in place.
6.We also found out to our disgust that all the activity staff were released some weeks earlier so anyone wishing to take part in any beach activities would have been rather disappointed.
7. Having a child with an autisic spectrum disorder, which Virgin knew about,safety and undisturbed night time routines are crucial. Both bedrooms experienced outside noise. The childrens room had no view, looked onto a brick wall and large, noisey extractor fan which serviced the kitchen. Our room was noisy due to the fact we were right next to the bar. Steep wooden stairs were dangerous for children.

However, the beach is lovely, albeit small, Barbados is a beautiful Island and offers great day trips and dutyfree shopping in Bridgetown. we would go back to Barbados,but not to Sandy Bay beach Club!

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Sandy Bay Beach Resort - Hastings

Operator and Date: (Virgin Direct) Virgin Airways - March 2006

Opinion submitted in Mar 2006 by : Susie Thompson. Sean, Eddie, Sonya, Billy and Tina(all mid forties)

Resort Rating: Excellent

Accommodation Rating: Excellent

My/Our Holiday Opinion:

Just back from our 1st visit to Barbados! What a fantastic time we all had,the beaches certainly look exactly like they do in the brochure, and the Sandy Bay is stunning!

The hotel its self is situated right on the beach,restaurant looks out to sea. Buffet style meals food available all day and the cocktails are somthing else. Staff very freindly, cannot do enough for you. Even come and serve you drinks on the beach, at this all inclusive resort.

Brilliant location not out on a heel like some of these resorts 10 mins walk to the St Lawrence Gap which has plenty of night life if you require it. Taxis very cheap we got one from the airport to save waiting for transfer about £15 for 6 of us!

Just one thing we had already up graded our rooms and they were fantastic an upstairs and downstairs with a kitchen i think these must of been self-catering a one time. But standard roomes meant to be very small heard people complaining,but it does state this in the virgin brochure!

First time to fly with Virgin and they really do live up to there name!

We cannot wait to go back and would most certainly go back to Sandy Beach.

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Sandy Bay Beach Resort - Hastings

Operator and Date: (Virgin Direct) Virgin - Mar 2006

Opinion submitted in Mar 2006 by : Charlie Way - Cheshire (52,50,48,48,45,38)

Resort Rating: Excellent

Accommodation Rating: Excellent

My/Our Holiday Opinion: 

Having read some previous reports we were wondering what we'd got ourselves into!! No need though this place (to us) was brilliant. 

if you only book the standard room then forget it, although the brochure does warn that they're pokey holes with windows looking out onto a passage! We booked the one bedroomed suites which were probably self catering apartments in a previous life. ours was on one level with modern bathroom, lounge and a kitchen with kettle, fridge freezer etc and then the airconditioned bedroom which was big with plenty of storage space. If you had a third person they would be in the lounge and thus only have the ceiling fan to keep them cool. The other two couples in our party had two storey apartments with bathroom/bedroom upstairs and kitchen/lounge below. 

The pools are very small and only good for small kids (and cooling off in) but then you can step onto the beach from the bar & restaurant so it's no problem and the sea is lovely. There is a reef about 200 yards off shore so the water is smooth around the beach but then there is a strong current running from south to north which can drag you up the shore a bit. It is safe (as it just takes you up the beach to the next cove) but may worry the weaker swimmers. Don't take beach towels there are plenty of big fluffy jobs which you can change when-ever from the beach/sports hut. 

The food is the best we've ever had from an all inclusive package!!! The main restaurant has a large choice then there's the Al A carte (pre bookable 5 times a week....and excellent)and if you still can't find something the newly built snack bar is open from 10 am 'til late and serves burgers, chicken, steaks & toasties etc. There are also places across the road which are open 24/7 serving food and drinks......you won't starve!! The "Gap" is only 5 minute walk away and good for a night out. Try Pisces restaurant for a meal, then McBrides. Happy hour from 10 'til midnight and always crowded. You may get hassled by people offering you stuff (plus taxi's) but just say no and they leave you alone. Don't miss Oistins on a Friday night. Big Banks (the local beer) roadshow loads of places to eat and Packed with locals and tourists a really fun night. Did the Tiami catamaran trip...fabulous day well worth the £45 (B$150) sail up the coast swim with the turtles all food and drink included plus they collect & return you to the hotel. We booked it ourselves by phone so we saved a bit! Getting around is easy. Wait at a bus stop or just flag down one of the "Boogie" buses. They have number 11 on the front (not to be confused with the normal minibuses which charge from the meter) and cost B$1.50 (45p) for as far as you go. They get packed and then some but there are so many you can get around in no time. 

Babados and the Bajans are fabulous we will definately go back and very likely to Sandy Bay. (Don't get me wrong there were people moaning about this and that but that's their problem....we go away to enjoy ourselves and we did just that!)

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Holetown - Barbados

Mango Bay - Holetown

Operator and Date: (Virgin Discounts) Virgin - Feb 2004

Opinion submitted in Feb 2004 by : Brenda ,Ted Parrish - Wilts  (  50 , 48  )

Resort Rating: Excellent

Accommodation Rating: Excellent

My/Our Holiday Opinion: 

This all inclusive hotel has everything you would want from a great holiday.The food is al a carte and very enjoyable.
The beaches are very clean and with plenty of room if your not worried about getting a sunbed , you can take long walks along the sandy beach and enjoy the crystal clear water.

The staff are the most friendly and helpful we have encountered anywhere , nothing is ever to much trouble.
To look at most of the island we went on a jeep safari which i highly recommend as we went to places where coaches couldn't reach.

Holetown has some very nice craft shops at chattel village plus all your other usual shops eg bakery , supermarket etc.

You must have a ride on the yellow buses it's an experience in itself
I could go on forever but just to say the ideal place for a relaxing holiday

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Sunset Crest - Holetown

Operator and Date: Private - September 2004

Opinion submitted in Oct 2004 by : Kirstie Maskell - Ascot (34,41,44,45,48,54)

Resort Rating: Excellent

Accommodation Rating: Very Good

My/Our Holiday Opinion: 

Flew with British Airways with no problems.

The apartments that we were staying in were basic but clean and had everything you needed, the cleaner came every day and towels and bedding were changed on a regular basis and for $52 US a night was fantastic value.

The beaches around Holetown weren't brilliant but that was more down to the time of year and the fact we had just missed a hurricane !  Sandy Lane beach was extremely nice and the snorkelling was great.  The beach hawkers we didn't find to be a problem at all they just accepted a polite no thanks.

We didn't find that eating out was that expensive and I strongly recommend The Mews, Groots and Angry Annies.  For drinks we tended to go to Cocomos for happy hour 4:30-6:30 where a lot of the beach hawkers and jet ski boys gathered and relaxed and just wanted to talk to you about their lives and the UK.  Oasis bar on first street was also relaxing and good fun on a Sunday night when everybody turns out for Kariokee where believe me the standard is one hell of a lot better than here.

We hired mokes for three days which are great fun and a must for seeing the island but nothing compares to the yellow regaee buses, the drivers tend to stop to pick you up even if you aren't at a bus stop and drop you off wherever you want - imagine London with those !

We also did a catamaran trip with "El Tigra" which was great even if it was raining !
The diving is also very good and also good value and as it wasn't very busy it was usually just the dive instructor as your buddy.

All in all we really enjoyed Barbados and will be going back there next year - the people really make it a memorable experience

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Sunset Crest - Holetown

Operator and Date: Hotffoot (Virgin) - August 2004

Opinion submitted in Feb 2005 by : Geoff,Amanda,Jack,Alice (37,36,8,6)

Resort Rating: Excellent

Accommodation Rating: Average

My/Our Holiday Opinion: 

Booked Holiday as was the cheapest way to get to Barbados, reasoning that could always change accomodation once arrived.
Flights with Virgin were excellent.

The apartment was clean,secure and spacious and near the pool. It was a bit like a large Beach Hut. However the resort is very basic as you would expect with 2 stars. We hired a car for two weeks, which could be parked outside your room and just toured the beautiful island and fantastic beaches. Crane beach is a must, either accessed through the hotel or direct from the road.

If you looking for a nice hotel this is not for you, if you want a base to explore the island then could do a lot worse.

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Maxwell - Barbados

Butterfly Beach Hotel - Maxwell Coast

Operator and Date: (Virgin Direct) Virgin Feb 2007

Opinion submitted in March 2007 by : Sue / Sarah 38,45

Resort Rating: Excellent

Accommodation Rating: Excellent

My/Our Holiday Opinion: 

Have just returned home from an excellent stay at the Butterfly.

The hotel is lovely right on the beach,the staff very friendly and helpful nothing is ever too much trouble.The roams are clean and tidy with a/c and fans.The hotel is on a busy main road which can be a little noisy,but was not a problem for us.The hotel is quiet and although we stayed during half term there were very few kid"s,( only very young one"S)The hotel has no kid"s club or kid"s pool which make"s it more suitable for adults of all ages. The food served at the hotel restaurant(which is on a sun terrace over looking the sea)is excellent and very good value Breakfast 7.30-11am,Lunch 12-2.30pm,Snacks 3-5.30pm,Dinner 6-9.30pm.You will find that everything is very laid back in Barbados with most restaurants closing up quite early(most nights we were given our bill  by 10pm).If you go into st Lawrence Gap there are severel bar"s/music bar"s that stay open late,it is advisable to get a taxi as the road is very dark and unlit at night.An excellent night out is the Oistins Fish Fry, Friday or Saturday(Friday is a lot busier than Saturday)we prefered Saturday, walkable from hotel but again very dark.

If you want to see some of the island then Ted"s Tour"s is a great day out,he takes you round the island in a mini bus holding about 25 people stopping of at various attraction"s (with rum punch and lunch inclued).Ted is a very funny character and the trip is informative as well as fun.Another great trip is Rusty"s Boat Trip you can find him on the beach outside the Sea Breeze Hotel(next to Butterfly)he has a small boat holding only 4-6 people and takes you along the coast to swim with the turtle"s and over a ship wreck(again more rum punch)he go"s out 8am or 2pm much nicer than an over crouded larger boat.Bus"s are very regular but are an experience.Blue is the official, reggae are yellow and white are called kamakazie,yellow and white,say your prayers!!We visited several beach"s and in our opinion Maxwell was the best(unspoilt and peaceful)Crane beach is good for surfing and great view"s from Crane hotel.Barbados is not expensive on average we spent around £10-15 per head for evening meal with wine/rum punch.

I would reccomend to anyone Barbados and will be going back next year to celebrate my 40th.

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Butterfly Beach Hotel - Maxwell Coast

Operator and Date: First Choice - Aug 2006

Opinion submitted in September 2006 by : Alistair H - Scotland (40)

Resort Rating: Very Good

Accommodation Rating: Very Good

My/Our Holiday Opinion: 

Fabulous beaches and lovely people. Great watersports and varied nightlife to suit all tastes. Friday night at Oistins Fish Fry is a must. Bus travel is very cheap and easy for everyday but hire a car for a day or two and you will see the real Barbados. ABC Deals (Miss Moneypenny) is the best and she is just brilliant. Car delivered and collected. Gives you map and great advice.
Swan Street and Roebuck Street in Bridgetown, where locals shop, are good.

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Butterfly Beach Hotel - Maxwell Coast

Operator and Date: (First Choice Discounts) First Choice  -  Jan 2006

Opinion submitted in Feb 2006 by : Mary and George (45, 45)

Resort Rating: Good

Accommodation Rating: Very Good

My/Our Holiday Opinion: 

Excellent price travelling with First Choice Holidays.  Really recommend travelling long haul with First Choice.  Paid the extra 17 pound each to 'sit together' and this meant that we got two seat row so no stranger to sit next to for 8 hours.  For an extra 5 pound on board we got access to extra movies and channels that started when you wanted to watch them.  

The Butterfly Beach Hotel was very nice.   The room which was self catering was spacious and had a patio.  The furniture could do with a lick of paint, however, there were rooms along our block that were clearly being renovated (some noise, but not troublesome) so I think in the not too distant future all the rooms will be upgraded.   The outside of the hotel, which is right on a small beach looks onto a very scruffy road.   There was a lot of construction work 10 mins walk away and lots of potholes and no pavements.  This made a walk into Oistins a bit dangerous.  However, there is no need to walk as the buses run frequently - every 5 mins -  they are very cheap  approx 50 pence per trip.  They are a bit manic and you certainly need a sense of humour at times as on one occasion I ended up on my husbands lap as the 13 seater was holding approx 25 people!  

The hotel maid service was excellent.  They cleaned every day.   The kitchen equipment was a bit sparse, although managed to prepare reasonable meals.   For nightlife you really need to go to St Lawrence Gap - 10 mins by bus or you could take a taxi approx 4 pound.  

The restaurant at the hotel was ok.  We only ate there twice the first night and had a very tasty meal and the last day, lunch was a bit slow as I think all those leaving the resort that day had the same idea as us.   The cost of meals out was a bit pricey to other holiday resorts which I was aware of, but I was a bit disappointed that there was not a great variety of local foods.  If you like mexican and general internal fare then you will be OK.    For a local cheap meal, go into Oistins to the big supermarket and line up with the locals to get the Village Deli -  you can get a Village special for 1.50 and it is enough for two people.  This was some of the tastiest food we had whilst in Barbados.   We went to David's for a last night slap up meal.  This is in St. Lawrence Gap and was a romantic setting.  Book in advance and you should get the seats that overlook the sea.  We also ate in Opa, the greek restaurant near Rockley Beach.  The greek food was OK, but it was not quite as good as I have had in Greece. 

There were lots of mosquitos when we were at Butterfly Beach, and so many people had nasty bites, so take plenty of spray and keep spraying regularly.   Having said that I guess after complaints the hotel came and sprayed insecticide all over the place and in rooms and things improved.  We went on the submarine trip which was well worth it, particularly as I have never snorkelled - about £50 with transport there and back.  My husband went game fishing and caught a reasonable sized tuna fish, so he was happy.  This four hour trip via the rep was approx £100, but worth it,  included transport and drinks/snacks.

The bajan roots and rhythms was a great night out.  Very well organised, informative, creative and fun. The drinks flowed all night long and it was anything you wanted - not just rum!  Oistins fish fry - this was one of the highlights of our holiday.   We went the second night we were there.  Arrived at 11pm and did not get back till 3am.   It was full of locals, but holiday makers are made to feel welcome.  Even though we felt a little intimated at first.  However, 3 rum punches later.......   The rum punches here are cheap, but very strong!  

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Butterfly Beach Hotel - Maxwell Coast

Operator and Date: (Airtours Direct) Airtours - Dec 2005

Opinion submitted in Jan 2006 by : Ann Jones  35

Resort Rating: Good

Accommodation Rating: Good

My/Our Holiday Opinion: 

Recently refurbished, nice rooms, clean outside area's, some of the Bar Staff are exceptionally rude, watchout for the Regea parties at the green shack next door, 24hour music sessions at full volume, no one sleeps, and the police don't do anything to stop it, this however is beyond the control of the hotel.
Chinese Restaurant/Takeaway acrosss the road is good value for money.

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Sea Breeze Beach Hotel - Maxwell Coast

Operator and Date: (Virgin Direct) Virgin - October 2006

Opinion submitted in October 2006 by : Paul Gledhill - West Yorkshire (46,44)

Resort Rating: Very Good

Accommodation Rating: Very Good

My/Our Holiday Opinion: 

Just got back yesterday what an holiday,it was superb. 

When we arrived we booked in and was shown to our room it was awful mould in the bathroom, shabby fixtures and fittings the room was really dark, my wife would not unpack, i went to see the receptionist who put me in touch with the allocations manager who was'nt helpful at all so i asked to speak to the virgin office the up shot was within 20 minutes we had been moved to a relly nice room in a different block. The hotel is in the middle of being refurbed but this is being done slowly so that guests do not realise anything is being done and it doesnt get in the way of your holiday. The food in the restaurant is superb every other night it is ala carte and then buffet we were all inclusive and the drinks are geat all premium brands and local brands are included this hotel has a great beach but watch out for the aloe vera men they are a nuisance and the lucky lucky men selling there bracelets and tacky jewellry. The sea is very warm and crystal clear. be warned the only air con is in your room the dining rooms are open with roof fans NO AIR CON and the humidity is awful on an evening you sweat buckets, the staff are great nothing is too much trouble and the beach staff are even better if there is such a thing.

The helicoper trip and the submarine is well woth doing but do it as a combined package as doing them indivdually it costs $538 and the package costs $500 each a must is Teds Tour book this through the hotel not virgin as they charge $120 and the hotel is $110 each Ted is a scream all way round the island always cracking little jokes and filling you with rum punch you also get a nice meal in with the price. We did the triple delights package, Ocean park is ok but certain parts were closed while we were there, the mount gay rum tour is good especially the rum tasting at the end, the catamran was very good more rum punch of course and swimming with turtles and the sunset was amazing this tour was $142 each, We also did the Starlight Dinner Cuise this was superb a meal drinks and a show on what looks like a mississippi river boat this was $145 each. There are lots more trips to do it is just having time to fit them in inbetween sun bathig and swimming in the sea.

On the down side we had 3 different reps as the normal rep was on holiday, that side of it was not good, but by the end of the holiday carla the normal rep was there, and turned up on time unlike the other 2!!!!!.
The hotel run a courtesy bus to bridgetown twice a day and you can get anywhere on the island for $1.50 on the buses the taxi's were also pretty cheap. We had 2 large thunderstorms but they we after sunset so did'nt bother us. the hotel had a gift shop, also jet ski's, kayaks, a catamaran, snorkeling, tennis court,2 pool tables, 2 swimming pools 3 jacuzzi's all in all plenty to do in the day. 

On a night very low key entertainment normally a singer/duo/band in general average. The Island is really green and beautiful the people are really friendly we will go back in a couple of years when we have saved up. If anyone is thinking of booking this hotel i would advise you to pay that bit extra and book a sea view refurbed room because the are fantasic compared even to the room we were moved to, they have a 42" in plasma screen tv a luxury bathroom a sofa in the room and the views from the balcony's are superb. the garden view and pool views by the reception have not been refurbed and are tatty inside definitely not 4* more like 2* that said we have had a superb holiday and would recommend this hotel. 

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Sea Breeze Beach Hotel - Maxwell Coast

Operator and Date: Virign (FirstChoice Hypermarket) - July 2004

Opinion submitted in July 2004 by : Neil and Emma - (30, 27)

Resort Rating: Excellent

Accommodation Rating: Very Good

My/Our Holiday Opinion: 

After booking through V1rgin at the lastminute we were worried about the fact that July is the start of the rainey season and the hotel - shouldn't have worried!

Any rain that was there (and when it rained it did go for it) cleared quickly and then made way for sunshine. In fact 20 mins of rain was good to take the edge of the heat some days.

The hotel staff were excellent in all areas except for 1 of the member of the reception who appeared a bit unfriendly but was still very efficent. The maids, bar and restarant staff were all very helpful and excellent.

Standard of the food was absolutely superb and would have been in any case but was even better as we were all inclusive.

Hotel had all sorts of places to relax, sunbathe etc including 2 stretches of beach, one sandy terrace above one of the beaches and 2 pools, Jacuzzis, bar areas, covered seating on decking etc - there were plenty of places to hide away for some privacy away from the crowds if you wanted to.

The resport is on the South-West so the sea isn't as flat as the west coast but is still fine for swimming and watersports. The hotel is an easy trip to Oistins and the St Lawrence Gap and Bridgetown.

Only negatives if we had to pick them is, Virgin Rep although very good could have been a bit less salesey on the first day, reception staff could have been a little friendlier and hotel although the rooms are well kept and clean could do with some of the bathroom and kitchen fixtures updating as they look a little tired.

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Sea Breeze Beach Hotel - Maxwell Coast

Operator and Date: (Portland Direct) Portland - May 2004

Opinion submitted in July 2004 by : Denise + Gareth - North Wales (23,29)

Resort Rating: Very Good

Accommodation Rating: Excellent

My/Our Holiday Opinion: 

We stayed at the Sea Breeze hotel for two weeks in May 2004. The hotel is lovely with beautifully maintained gardens, two pools and jacuzzis.  The bedrooms are spacious and very clean.  The best thing about this hotel though is the food. We were on the all inclusive plan.  2 times a week the evening meal is a buffet, 3 times a week the menu is a la carte, saturday is a BBQ and thursday are table d'hote. In the 2 weeks we never had the same meal twice.  There is also a nice lunch time menu and a pool side bar serving snacks.

The hotel has 2 small beaches and a larger beach.  The sea can be quite rough at times.

The hotel is located on the Maxwell coast road and does feel a little bit isolated but St Lawrence gap is a short taxi ride away.  The nightlife isn't exactly bustling but the bars are pleasant enough and all offer happy hours.  There are also many restaurants in the gap.  We went to one called Josefs were the food was superb.  It has a romantic sea front balcony and it was here were we got engaged.

One must is a visit to Oistins on a friday night for the fish fry.  This usually starts around 7ish and gets very busy.  The food is delicious and fairly cheap as are the drinks.

The only complaint about Barbados is the hassle you sometimes get from people trying to sell you things especially drugs but a firm no thanks and they leave you alone.

We'd definatly recommend the Sea Breeze and we'll certainly be going back some time in the future possibly even for our wedding.

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Paynes Bay - Barbados

Tropical Escape - Paynes Bay

Operator and Date: (Thomson Direct) Thomson - October 2004

Opinion submitted in Nov 2004 by : Jan & Jimmy (33,40)

Resort Rating: Excellent

Accommodation Rating: Excellent

My/Our Holiday Opinion: 

This was a surprise 40th Birthday present for my partner and I was not disppointed with the accomodation or his reaction. 

The Tropical Escape from the outside is a little off putting, to be honest it could do with a lick of paint!  The inside however was immaculate.  The dining room, reception area and bar was clean and bright.  The hotel staff were very pleasant especially Felix, one of the many bar staff.  The atmosphere was relaxed and stress free. We unpacked and went straight across the road through an un-used bar and on to the beach.  The view was awesome. White sands, blue sea and palm trees.(The water was even warm!!.  Although you had to cross a busy road to get to the beach the Bajan people were very courteous and would stop to let you cross.(Wouldn't see that in England!) The food in the hotel was fantastic and although my partner is a fusy eater he always managed to find something that he would eat.  It would alternate between buffet and A La Carte each evening which was fine. 

The room was clean and spacious and had a view over the pool.  If you were on the other side of the corridor you would have had a view of the road, so ask for pool view when booking.  The towels were changed on a daily basis and you were also provided with beach towels which you changed at the pool bar every morning. The room was also cleaned on a daily basis which was needed with all the sand we brought in with us. 

We went on a Catamaran trip one day which was well worth the money and I would also recommend Teds Tours, a Bajan who took you around the island in his coach and showed you all the sights.  He was really entertaining!
We only went for a week and wished it was for 2.  

Fantastic time and would definately go back again.

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Prospect Bay - Barbados

Escape Hotel and Spa at Prospect Bay

Operator and Date: (Virgin Direct) Virgin - April 2006

Opinion submitted in June 2006 by : Sue Porteous - Sheffield 52,50,49,46,20,11

Resort Rating: Average

Accommodation Rating: Average

My/Our Holiday Opinion: 

We went on this holiday for my sister's wedding and had been looking forward to it for 18 months.  In the hotel grounds there are villas for 6 people in the gardens and rooms in the hotel.  Some rooms are standard and some luxury.  We had booked a luxury villa for 6 but both Virgin and the hotel seemed unable to understand we wanted to stay all together and despite having a letter from Virgin stating we had been allocated a 6 roomed villa, on arrival at the hotel we were all split up. Four of us in a villa with two strangers and two in the hotel. In the end we did get what we wanted but this involved room changes part way through the holiday.

The luxury accomodation is really nice and I would recommend any one who can do so to upgrade as the standard rooms needed a refurb.

The food is very good and there is plenty of it.  The breakfasts and buffets not up to 4 star standard but the restaurant meals were excellent.  Although we were all inclusive we did eat out a couple of times and I remommend a visit to the Lonestar for lunch as the setting is beautiful.

The entertainment was also very good in the evenings and although there is not much to do in Prospect Bay, it is easy to get taxis to go elsewhere at night.  I would say a car is essential. We did some touristy trips round the island which were great fun as there are no propoer road signs!  We did feel very safe there. Shopping is fab if you like jewelery so a trip to the Columbian Emerald Shop and diamond shops is a must!

The beach and sea are lovely, both very clean and we loved swimming and sun bathing every day.  The wedding was also great, a beautiful setting and the minister gave a lovely service.

Don't expect everything to run like clockwork as the Bajans are very laid back but if you ask, they are usuually very obliging and will do their best to help.

All in all we had a good holiday but it's not the best long haul I've been on.  I'd definitely go back to Barbados but not sure about the hotel or using Virgin again.

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Escape Hotel and Spa at Prospect Bay

Operator and Date: (Virgin Direct) Virgin Dec 2005-Jan2006

Opinion submitted in Jan 2006 by : Mark +Alison   40,41

Resort Rating: Average

Accommodation Rating: Poor

My/Our Holiday Opinion: 

We booked in Nov2004 , and arrived on 26-12-05.what a Dump!
Room was disgracefull!
I would expect this standard of room in a £15 a night doss house.
I would not recommend this hotel to my worst enemies.
we have been with Virgin 12 times now and after this shambles there will not be a 13th , as we think the standards of their hotels are declining.
THIS HOTEL IS DEFINITELY NOT A 4V HOTEL.
We moved the following morning.

Barbados overall---nice enough  , but overrated and in need of a good tidy up  island wide.
The image that the brochures   portray is not what you get when you arrive.
We rate our holiday at this hotel as a complete waste of time and money.

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Escape Hotel and Spa at Prospect Bay

Operator and Date: (Virgin Discounts) Virgin - September 2005

Opinion submitted in Oct 2005 by : STuart Pearson  - London (26, 24)

Resort Rating: Very Good

Accommodation Rating: Poor

My/Our Holiday Opinion: 

If you are looking for a 4* hotel in Barbados, then look elsewhere as this hotel is definately not a 4* as quoted in Virgins brochure, more like a 2*.

To be fair the food is excellent and the staff are very friendly and helpful, especially Tania which made staying her bearable. However, the hotel itself is particularly run down, tiles are coming off the floor, concrete is damaged everywhere, guttering is broken and the spa pool is losing tiles everyday as they seem to fall off when you sit on them.

The beach is very small and cramped, typical of what you would expect in the Costa's and throught the hotel there seems to be lack of space to sunbath.

The rooms are very basic indeed and we had to climb 12 stairs in our room to get to our sleeping area and down again in the night for the toilet.

The entertainment was terrible with only 1 decent night out of 15 and as a result, for a friends birthday, we actually paid for our own entertainment to turn up at the hotel in the late night bar, which to say is just an unused hotel bedroom.

Barbados itself is lovely and the people are so nice but if you are looking for a quality hotel, look elsewhere as the 10's of people who complained and changed hotels on arrival can't all be wrong and I only wish I had done so too.

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Escape Hotel and Spa at Prospect Bay

Operator and Date: Barrhead Travel - August 2005

Opinion submitted in Sept 2005 by : Denise Duncan - Aberdeen (52,48)

Resort Rating: Excellent

Accommodation Rating: Excellent

My/Our Holiday Opinion:

Just returned from a wonderful 2 weeks here.  

Our second visit to Barbados.  Previously stayed at the Sea Breeze on the South Coast but wanted the West Coast this time,as we enjoy snorkelling. Stayed in the Spa rooms - very quiet, over 16s only.  We enjoyed all the meals but especially the Garden Restaurant.  Fantastic beach, loved the snorkelling, went up the bay a little to Fitts Village where it was quieter, only one family using it and the fish plentiful.  Used the local reggae buses and tapped our feet along with the locals to the very loud music.  Went to Oistins - friday night fish fry - a 'must do'.  Also went to The Cliff Restaurant as a special treat - expensive but well worth it for a bit of pampering. The nightlife in the hotel was very good also.  Met some lovely people.  

The holiday did us the world of good and we still feel 'chilled' - The Bagans have the right attitude to life.  Some people did have complaints but I think they would probably complain wherever they were.  

Will certainly return.

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Escape Hotel and Spa at Prospect Bay

Operator and Date: (Virgin Discounts) Virgin - July 2005

Opinion submitted in Sept 2005 by : Karen - London

Resort Rating: Very Good

Accommodation Rating: Very Good

My/Our Holiday Opinion: 

Having just returned from a fortnight stay at Escape at Prospect Bay and having reviewed some of the comments posted on the excellent site we went with mixed opinions. When we first arrived at the hotel our hearts sank as the first impressions were not that great. Thankfully we proved to be wrong! We stayed in one of the villa rooms. 

The room was basic but kept clean on a daily basis with towels refreshed daily and new sheets on a regular basis. As we did not spend a lot of time in our room it was sufficient for us. All communual areas were clean at all times, as were the two pools. The gym was working, so was the steam room and the jacuzi. Although the hotel is beachside, the beach is rather small for the number of guests staying at the hotel. Although sufficient loungers are provided for all guests, they took up most of the beach space making it feel it little bit cramped. Nightly entertainment is provided 6 times a week which is best descibed as low key for our age group (30's). 

All staff were very courtious and friendly and would go out of their way to make you feel comfortable. During our 14 day stay we can honestly say that we did not have one bad meal. The quality and presentation of the food matches that of any more expensive hotel. Both the Seascape Restaurant and Garden Room Restaurant provided excellent a-la-carte meals in the evening. Breakfast and lunch were served buffet style from the Seascape Restaurant and these meals were also of good quality. An extensive cocktail menu is also available from the bar which served the drinks without having to wait too long. The watersports facilities are good so was the complimentary catamaran trip to swim over a shipwreck provided for Virgin Holiday guests. Overall we would recommend the hotel to those wishing to stay in a relaxing environment with good quality food. It is excellent value for money baring into mind the price you pay for the holiday. If you want to spend 14 days in utter luxury, you could spend easily 5 times the amount of money and stay at the Sandy Lane Hotel! 

You pay what you get for and for what we paid we received excellent value for money

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Escape Hotel and Spa at Prospect Bay

Operator and Date: (Virgin Discounts) Virgin - May 2005

Opinion submitted in July 2005 by : Helen Chilton - Nottingham ( 23, 52, 51)

Resort Rating: Excellent

Accommodation Rating: Excellent

My/Our Holiday Opinion: 

Spent two fabulous weeks in lovely Barbados and in a fantastic hotel. Myself and my parents were in a deluxe room with a balcony overlooking the breath-taking sea views and horizon. Room kept immaculately clean by the cleaners and robes and towels changed frequently. Special mention to Lolita who came in every evening to 'turn down' our beds and stock up on bathroon essentials all with a friendly smile and conversation about how our day had been etc. 

Food was out of this world, a good selection at both breakfast, lunch and dinner and all served with a smile. Nothing seemed to much for any of them. The Garden Restaurant across at the Spa building was also gorgeous with first class service. Robert and Sandra who run the main restaurant were so helpful and always had a smile for you. Good selction of drinks on offer too alongside some pretty good cocktails. After Hours Bar over at the Spa building was also a lot of fun with guests mingling together and chatting amongst one another. The barman up there, Wendall, is the most friendly person you could come across and makes the evening so much fun with stories about Barbados etc . .

The beach attached to the hotel is superb too, very clean and plenty of free sun-loungers to go around. Bit short on brollies if you prefer a bit of shade though. Do get a the jet-ski boys asking if you want to ride but a polite no does the trick and they don't bother you again, they too though were very friendly. Swimming in the sea is amazing here, snorkelling is available for free and you can see plenty of fish.

Can recommend doing the Jeep Safari trip, a fantastic day out, also the Virgins Ahoy Catamaran trip where we swam with the turtles which was amazing.

All in all, this was the best holiday I have ever had. Two weeks in absolute paradise in a fantastic hotel. Would go back year after year if I could afford it but will start saving up for another trip there in the next few years.

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Escape Hotel and Spa at Prospect Bay

Operator and Date: (Virgin Direct) Virgin Holidays - 2005

Opinion submitted in Mar 2006 by : Kay & Chris (43 & 50)

Resort Rating: Very Good

Accommodation Rating: Very Good

My/Our Holiday Opinion: 

After reading alot of negative reviews on this hotel, we were on the verge of changing our accomodation.  We are so glad that we didn't! 

On arrival we were welcomed with a drink which is just what we needed after the long flight.  Our room was a superior room which was quite basic but very clean and comfortable.  The 'extra virgin' touches such as bath robes, beach towels and toiletries were really nice. 

The food in both the restaurants was very good.  The Seascape had an excellent breakfast buffet and a wide choice of salads and fresh fruit, fresh fish and pasta daily as well as several main courses for lunch and dinner if it was a buffet. If it was an a la carte evening the choice was equally as good.  The house wine is nice but if you want a particular type you can pay extra for this.  The Garden restaurant was intimate and the food was very good.  You do have to book for your meals but can do this for a week at a time if you wish so there is no need to book on a daily basis.  Sandra the Guest Relations Manager and Jacquline in the restaurant are great and nothing is too much trouble.

The staff really are a credit to the hotel and are extremely friendly. Kenny the barman, Ray on the watersports, Prudence who organises the activities deserve a special mention!

The beach is very clean but is small so space is a little limited at times, but there are plenty on sunbeds up on the terrace or at the spa pool.

Overall this is a comfortable, well run hotel with nice staff and good food.  The evening entertainment is excellent especially the Divas and Elements! It is extremely good value for money when you compare it with other hotels along the West Coast. There has been some renovations to the reception area and there is redecoration taking place in some communal areas and the rear of the building is due for some renovation shortly.

We would definately return to this hotel.

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Escape Hotel and Spa at Prospect Bay

Operator and Date: (Virgin Direct) Virgin holidays - 2005

Opinion submitted in Feb 2006 by : cheryl &andy

Resort Rating: Good

Accommodation Rating: Poor

My/Our Holiday Opinion: 

This was are wedding in paradise.
This was not to be,
Upon arrival the hotel looked run down. building work going on.
No free room upgrade as promised, they put us on the 4th floor no lift, in what I would describe as a pigeon loft, no dressing table to get ready for our big day dirty and drab.
after 4 days of false promises to move us we where ready to come home.
The wedding plans where a sham, They expected us to marry in the gardens full of weeds and over grown shrubs.
They where painting in the corridors where i had to walk in my wedding dress down 4 flights of stairs as the lift wasnt working, (we stated when booking I had a medical condidtion thrombosis)
The staff couldnt understand why we wasnt happy. I cried for 4 days.
This is just a few problems we had i could go on and on.
It cost us £1500 to move hotels this was the only option virgin gave us.
this is not 4V flagship hotel as stated in the brochure this is a youth hostel.

We moved to crystal cove hotel a mile away
this was excellent out of this world what we thought we bought in the first place.

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Escape Hotel and Spa at Prospect Bay

Operator and Date: (Virgin Discounts) Virgin - 2005

Opinion submitted in Aug 2005 by : 63, 40, 39, 17, 14

Resort Rating: Poor

Accommodation Rating: Poor

My/Our Holiday Opinion: 

Do not be fooled by the 4 Star rating given to this hotel.  It is tired, run down and very dirty.  The Barbados Tourist Association only rate this hotel as a 2.5 star!  The staff were rude, unhelpful, unfriendly and generally despondent.  The food was awful.  The accomodation was basic, mis matched and not as clean as you would find in a youth hostel.  Avoid at all costs! Even if you manage to get this hotel at a vastly reduced rate, don't bother it is not worth it.

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Escape Hotel and Spa at Prospect Bay

Operator and Date: Keith and Jean Edwards - 2005

Opinion submitted in July 2005 by : Keith Edward - Sheffield ( 68, 65 )

Resort Rating: Very Good

Accommodation Rating: Poor

My/Our Holiday Opinion: 

We spent 1 miserable night at this hotel. The hotel looked good what we saw of it, but please make sure you upgrade your room. We were having a free room upgrade as a bonus from Virgin for booking almost a year early, Things went wrong and when we arrived we were put in a basic room which was to say the least absolutely diabolical.  We had to clmb 12 wooden steps to get to the bedroom, but come down them again through the night if you needed the toilet as the only other thing upstairs was the TV !!!!

The room we were put in had no varanda and and overlooked the main street and carpark (you looked at them through 9" panes of glass). On the first morning the room was filled with sewage smell as a tanker pumped out the hotels effluent tanks, and this was to happen every morning according to the hotel staff!!

We were offered a room on the other side of the corridor but this was exactly the same except it overlooked ehe sea. The rooms you MUST avoid are 400 - 410. They are rooms that have obviously been added on to crush more people into the hotel and looked as though they were top floor staff and store rooms. 

WE were more than happy to transfer to "The Escape at the gap" even though we were down rating to a 3 star hotel

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Escape Hotel and Spa at Prospect Bay

Operator and Date: (Virgin Discounts) Virgin Nov 2004

Opinion submitted in Nov 2004 by : Scott 37-33

Resort Rating: Excellent

Accommodation Rating: Very Good

My/Our Holiday Opinion: 

Well before i booked this i did do a lot of research and did read many different opinions on this hotel this is my personal opinion on this particular holiday on past hotels and resorts all over europe and the US..

Like i said the resort is excellent with plenty to do, the water sports that are included free are. kayaking/snorkelling/sailing/windsurfing.. there are plenty of jetski's to hire out on the beach they cost between $60-100 barbadian dollars(2 barbadian dollars= 1 US dollar)you do get pestered all day by the locals trying to rent you a jetski, but if you politely say no then thats the end of that(for that dat atleast) there is a beach bar that opens at 10am - 5pm ish. they do any drink you desire...(small tip..if you pal up with the locals and provide them with free drinks they do haggle on the prices for the jet ski hire) 

The friendliest Local i met goes by the name of 'BOOTS' just ask for him and you will be sorted!!! im not saying that the others arent friendly because everyone is!!! but after 2-3 days of knowing BOOTS you will know all there is to know about barbados and beleive me its facinating..anyway back to the hotel....
the food is excellent, you get a wide choice of meals from breakfast right through to evening dinner.drinks are available  inside all day aswell..

over the road you have the spa, loads of different treatments all at reasonable costs..my wife paid the english equivalent of £25 for a full mud wrap thingy with a massage!!!
Dont turn down the complimentary catamaran cruise and try the snorkelling around the coral reefs and old wreck!!! it was awsome(never been before) you can do some duty free shopping in bridgetown but be prepared to get hassled by locals trying to sell you there stuff or trying to get you to buy them duty free goods..i always said "sorry i havent brought my passport with me" always worked.......

even though the hotel was a 4 star in the brochure, what you have to remember that this island is very poor in relation to say the US or even the UK,
I have stayed in a resort and spa on the gulf coast of florida and i must say this wasnt no where near as luxurious BUT and i meanBUT having said this the hotel is very nice,always very clean,room service is very good,all staff are very friendly...so if you are thinking of choosing this hotel i would give it a BIG thumbs up!!!

sorry bout the length of this report but its how i see it... oh yeah one more thing november is the end of the rainy season, so if possible choose either late december to june for unlimited sun as we had or fair share of rain..arrived wed late pm..thurs 18th nov scorching sun...fri 19th  scorching sun...sat 20th  scorching sun...sunday 21st overcast but still hot...mon 22nd rained all day...tues23rd rained even harder all day...wed 24th departure day sunny so i thought id make up lost time got absolutley burnt silly through the clouds 2 hours of sunbathing!!! suffering as i type this (my own stupid fault.so beware even when cloudy you still get very burnt!!!)

basically if your thinking of booking a all inclusive with excellent beaches/great food/wide variaty of drink and cocktails/friendly staff book this one!!!!
ps book a deluxe room with ocean veiws!!!!you also get a mini bar that is stocked daily all included in the price

and dont forget ask for BOOTS!!!

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Escape Hotel and Spa at Prospect Bay

Operator and Date: (Virgin Discounts) Virgin - January 2004

Opinion submitted in July 2004 by : Richard Newitt - Kent (21,24,24,25,33,34,36,36,42,43,62,65,68,70)

Resort Rating: Excellent

Accommodation Rating: Excellent

My/Our Holiday Opinion: 

We had a fantastic time here (all 14 of us) and could not fault the hotel at all.  The service from virgin and all the staff at the Escape was superb, and we could not have wished for a better holiday.

The hotel is all-inclusive with a buffet breakfast and lunch and a la carte most evenings in the main restaurant.  There is also another restaurant, which is open for lunch and evening meals.  The food in both restaurants is great and you could probably never eat the something twice on a two-week holiday.  The drinks that are included in the all-inclusive package are great; the house wine was really drinkable, as was the house beer.

The beach is OK if a little small, however as all beaches on Barbados are public you only have to walk around the corner to find a perfect stretch of deserted sand.  You can walk for quite a long way in both directions along the beach before you can go no further.  If you walk to the right from the Escape's beach you will eventually reach a point were the sea reaches the cliff face.  It is possible to wade through the water and reach the beach the other side and eventually reach Bridgetown (the capital) although you should be prepared for crabs large and small covering the rocks and at one point you will have to walk through a small cave waste deep in water with crabs crawling across the ceiling a couple of feet above your head (great fun).

We stayed in the deluxe rooms, which had the best view you could possible hope for.  Some of our group stayed in the spa rooms, which although they did not have the view were just as nice as the deluxe rooms inside.

There is really very little not to like about the Escape and I would highly recommend this as a safe bet for a holiday to the Caribbean.  It easily out does most accommodation in this price range.

As stated above we travelled with Virgin and the flights were excellent.  Each seat had its own TV with around seven films playing at the same time.  There were so few people on the plane (747) all fourteen of us could have sat at a window seat or slept across a row of three seats for the whole flight.

All in all a superb holiday and we will all be going back as soon as possible.

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Escape Hotel and Spa at Prospect Bay

Operator and Date: (Virgin Discounts) Virgin - Date Not Specified

Opinion submitted in Apr 2004 by : Jessica Vickers - Kent (25,26,54,54,57,54,58,55,24,28,34,42,4,5 months

Resort Rating: Excellent

Accommodation Rating: Very Good

My/Our Holiday Opinion: 

A beautiful place.  Friendly staff and very helpful.  We got married out here in the second week.  The wedding was excellent with the perfect surroundings.

We all enjoyed the holiday.

Lots to see and do, but if you enjoy just lying in the sun then there is plenty of that!

Would definately go back. 

Virgins check in and chillout is a great idea too.

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Rockley - Barbados

Magic Isle Apartments - Rockley Beach

Operator and Date: (Thomson Direct) Thomson - May 2004

Opinion submitted in June 2004 by : Sharon Calvert (23)

Resort Rating: Very Good

Accommodation Rating: Very Good

My/Our Holiday Opinion: 

he Magic Isle Apartments are basic but very clean and overlooking a beautiful white beach.  The staff at the apartments are extremely friendly and there is maid service daily.  The pool area is relaxing and you can always get a sunbed.

The apartments are excellent value for money, however, if you can afford a little more it is worth paying.  Last year we stayed at the Casuarina Beach Club and found the location and hotel itself to be a much better standard.  (There was no reception or anywhere to get a drink at the Magic Isle Apartments).

If you are looking for cheap, clean accommodation in beautiful surroundings then this is the perfect place for you.

The Jolly Roger and Catamaran excursions are a must, as is the Barbados Wildlife Reserve where you can see lots of different wildlife including green monkeys.

Barbados is the perfect holiday destination - we will definitely be returning!!!

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South Beach Resort - Rockley Beach

Operator and Date: (Virgin Direct) Virgin Holidays Nov 2005

Opinion submitted in Jan 2006 by : Alex & Sean Asquith & Children 32, 31, 5, 1

Resort Rating: Excellent

Accommodation Rating: Excellent

My/Our Holiday Opinion: 

This was our dirst trip to Barbados, so we flicked through many a brochure and websites until we finally settled on the South Beach Resort.  This was an excellent choice along with booking through Virgin. Excellent Hotel, Food, Staff and Location.

The hotel is situated opposite Rockley Beach which was a fabulous beach and not very crowded.

The rooms were very well planned out, two wash basins in the bathrrom, luxurious jacuzzi bath which easily accomodated two, Dining area, fully equipped kitchen, large TV, Video, Satellite in the lounge as well as in the bedroom. All rooms faced onto the pool area and the beach.

Free washers and tumble driers on every floor made my life much easier when i got home as we were able to do the laundry whilst getting ready to go out on an evening.

Restaurants around the area of Rockley included Chefette and KFC which was ideal for the children.

Will I visit Barbados again.... DEFINATELY.

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St James - Barbados

Almond Beach Village - St James

Operator and Date: JULY 2007

Opinion submitted in July 2007 by : MANDY THOMPSIN - 41 (38)

Resort Rating: Below Average

Accommodation Rating: Below Average

My/Our Holiday Opinion: 

I visited Barbados with my Partner to convince him how wonderful the caribbean is and how he has missed out on it so long ( as he has never flown long haul)

How very dissappointed this hotel was...not having much facillities in the Almond Club( Adult Resort) as they did at the village ..the club is in desperate need of refurbishment and was so full of rules and regulations that you were not infomed of until you already overstepped the mark.(quite often with an audience..they are not discreet)
Had many an embarrassing situation for not doing things in the right time or even going to the POOL BAR..from having dipped in the pool.
Obviously this has put paid to any further visits as a couple to not only BARBADOS..but to the carribbean.
Long way to go for rudeness..unhelpfulness and generally a very laid back ...LAZY..ATTITUDE!!!
Be prepared to wait for a drink ..they are definately laid back.
Did not even feel when I brought it to the managers attention ..he was not bothered or appeared not to be too worried..

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Almond Beach Village - St James

Operator and Date: Touchdown Travel, January 2007

Opinion submitted in January 2007 by : Mr and Mrs Holme Nottigham, 37,28, 4

Resort Rating: Excellent

Accommodation Rating: Very Good

My/Our Holiday Opinion:

Just returned from a week stay at this great resort. I have read the reviews and those people who have complained, even if they had won the holiday.
we really enjoyed our holiday. The room was clean, the kids club was great they were really helpful and kind. The choise of food and places to eat was good. The staff were efficent and happy to help. Great water sports and pools.

Would def recomend and go back. Barbados is a wonderful place, well worth the money.

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Almond Beach Village - St James

Operator and Date: (Virgin Direct) Virgin Holidays - August 2006

Opinion submitted in September 2006 by : Hannah and Matt West (23,25)

Resort Rating: Excellent

Accommodation Rating: Excellent

My/Our Holiday Opinion: 

We have recently come back from 2 weeks at The Almond Beach village and had a fantastic time.

We went for our honeymoon and it was the perfect destination. It was hot (there was heavy rain at times but it would generally last a couple of minutes and then the sun would be back out) and it was relaxing.

There is an area especially for over 16's only. This is where we spent most of our time. There were 3 large pools in this area, lots of sunloungers, a bar- with a wide choice of drinks, we enjoyed the pina colada's and the fruit punch.

Breakfast each day is a large buffet with lots of choice. It gets busy though so we'd recommend getting there early if you can.

There are various places you can go for lunch, but most days we ate lunch on the boardwalk over looking the beach.

In the evening there are 4 restarants to choose from and all are excellent. There was a buffet most nights at Horizons and the food at La Smarritta (the italian) was delicious. The staff are great at all the restaurants and are constantly topping up your water glass and offering you more wine etc. with your meal.

It was very busy when we went and to accommodate the extra people the management organised evening buffets on the boardwalk and beach BBQ's. They were excellent. The buffets included a mexican theme night and an indian/asian night. Yum!!

We did a 4x4 trip around the island which was fantastic. We also went swimming with turtles which was a great experience.

Our room was very good, excellent air conditioning, clean, tidied everyday and as we were on our honeymoon we were upgraded to an ocean view which was fantastic. We were also provided with a fruit platter and a bottle of champagne. On our 2nd night some beautiful flowers appeared in our room too.

Barbados is a beautiful place and I would say the holiday is what you make it. For us it was relaxing, we had some lovely food in some brilliant restaurants and had the holiday of a lifetime.

Almond Beach Village was the perfect place for our honeymoon and we'd reccommend it to anyone.

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Almond Beach Village - St James

Operator and Date: (Virgin Direct) Virgin-jan 2006

Opinion submitted in May 2006 by : 19,21,25,43,48,65,67

Resort Rating: Very Good

Accommodation Rating: Excellent

My/Our Holiday Opinion:

i got married at the almond beach village our wedding was amazing and so well organised the wedding co-ordinator was a bit scary but did a good job. foood was good esp reef and the italian are a must, lunch food was ok the same every day.beach was nice in parts, the guys who rent the jet skis could be anoying at times for people, but we made quite good friends with them.could be a bit cleaner but the resort is so big prob takes ages.  staff were ok cd be a bit rude but i just think thats the way they are.  on our last night we went into speightstown to a resturant called mangos very pricey but so amazing a must for honeymooners!!turtle swimming is a must on the glass bottom boat and off road jeep safari.

was a fab holiday would go back but trying dominican next.

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Almond Beach Village - St James

Operator and Date: (Virgin Discounts) Virgin - May 2005

Opinion submitted in Sept 2005 by : Suzanne Honey (37,34,2,37,32,2)

Resort Rating: Average

Accommodation Rating: Below Average

My/Our Holiday Opinion: 

We booked a holiday for a group of 6. Two couples and 2 young children, we thought this hotel looked great in Virgins brochure and had facilities for the kids.  Flights were very good with Virgin however on arrival at the hotel after a glass of rum punch we were taken eventually to our rooms. We had booked 2 deluxe ocean view rooms and were put in rooms overlooking the childrens pool that had no ocean view and no balciny or patio as described in the brochure.  

We were after some time moved to 2 more rooms and we were all so tired we went to sleep only to be woken by a band playing directly below us. These rooms were worse than the first ones and had obviously not been refurbished since the resort opened about 10 years previous.  In the morning my husband and his friend saw the manager who then moved us to 2 more rooms (no fun with 2 year olds). These rooms were ok and we had a reasonable holiday from there on in.  I would not recommend it as a four star hotel as although the kids club is good, the food was the same most days. Staff were ignorant and looked as though they had better things to do and the Rachels nightclub smelled of sick!  

Save your pennies and go somewhere else especially if you are getting married as the decor on the sugar mill they use for the cermonies has definately gone past it's best.

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Almond Beach Village - St James

Operator and Date: (Thomas Cook Direct) Thomas Cook signiture - 2005 / 2006

Opinion submitted in May 2006 by : alyson lander- stamford (41 )

Resort Rating: Excellent

Accommodation Rating: Very Good

My/Our Holiday Opinion: 

After reading some of the reviews i was a little concerned about the amount we paid for this holiday ( of a life time! )but after a good flight fed and watered for nine hours,a little bit cramped we arrived in Barbados and i was impressed by the service we recieved from the very start. At arriving at the Village we were greeted with a punch drink which was quite potent! (nice)and escorted to all our rooms which i found to be clean and well equipped,plenty big enough for two, and a pool view. 

Staff at all bars were very accomadating to our party (13 of us) all were well mannered and could'nt do enough for us. overall found everything to be of excellent standard good food, great drinks and very helpful staff. recomend swimming with turtles   brilliant!!!

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Almond Beach Village - St James

Operator and Date: British Airways - November 2004

Opinion submitted in Apr 2005 by : 30 - 38

Resort Rating: Poor

Accommodation Rating: Below Average

My/Our Holiday Opinion: 

Hi,

If I can pass one tip on to anyone - dont waste your money and go this shockingly poor resort.

The food is average, the staff were rude and the rooms were below average.

We has a number of problems - our room was miss booked and resulted in a whole catalogue of disasters. Nail clipping in the bed so god knows when it was last cleaned.

The bar service was poor...and god only knows how you procure even a bottle of water after 1100.

The guest 'services' area was full of punters complaining, with no management available to sort the problem.

No clean towels were available from the towel exhange for 4 days on the trot. Dirty towels and cups left around the pool......I could go on.

You would be better off spending your cash on a week in Butlins....the staff, accomadation and food would be of better quality.

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Almond Beach Village - St James

Operator and Date: (Virgin Discounts) Virgin Oct 2004

Opinion submitted in Mar 2005 by : Emma Matthew(16,18,18.45)

Resort Rating: Excellent

Accommodation Rating: Excellent

My/Our Holiday Opinion: 

I dont know how any one can slate this hotel. I stayed there in october 2004 and had the best holiday ever,the food was great the staff were great the accomadation i had was lovely i was put into the deluxe ocean view rooms as the party i had gone with have travlled to this hotel 8 years running.
The only thing that could be beter for the young duration(18-25) is for the club racheals could be open longer.
Also breakfast could be improved as left out for a long time.

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Almond Beach Village - St James

Operator and Date: Thonas Cook Signature - August 2004

Opinion submitted in July 2005 by : Kirsty Murphy - Liverpool (35,36,9,8,7)

Resort Rating: Excellent

Accommodation Rating: Very Good

My/Our Holiday Opinion: 

We booked our holiday for our wedding/honeymoon all in one.  There were 12 of us all together including 3 kids.  The kids club was excellent and they loved going there, especially during the day as it was too hot for them outside.  The staff in the kids club were very friendly and the kids loved them.  In the evening they would go to the kids club to meet lots of new friend while the adults could have there evening meal in peace.

Our wedding couldnt have been any better apart from the rainstorm half an hour before we were due to get married on the beach.  The hotel delayed the wedding for an hour but we decided to go ahead in the rain and got married in the Sugar Mill which was beautifully decorated.  We had ordered a steel band to play but because of the rain unfortunately he couldnt play for us.  However the photographer arranged for us to have our wedding photo's taken two days later on the beach and in the beautiful gardens.

The food was varied and the variety of fish dishes was lovely.  Plenty of snacks, ice creams etc for the kids and plenty of booze.  The bar by the Horizon restaurant closed at 6.00pm but would have been nicer if it stayed open later. It was lovely to sit by the beach in the restaurants listening to the sea.

The beach was clean and everything you would expect in Barbados.  It was literally a minutes walk from our room with plenty of sunbeds but you would need to get on the beach early to get an parasol or hammock.

We booked to go on a catamaran cruise and swim with the turtles.  This was a trip to remember and a must do for anyone going to Barbados.  Sailing in the Carribean Sea, listening to Bob Marley, and drinking Mount Gay Rum is what Barbados is all about.

No complaints at all.  My husband and I are returning to Barbados in October 2005 but on our own this time so that we can see more of the island.

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Almond Beach Village - St James

Operator and Date: (Thomas Cook Direct) Thomas Cook Signature - June 2004

Opinion submitted in June 2004 by : Stewart & Sue Timmins - Worksop (45,38,11,10 )

Resort Rating: Poor

Accommodation Rating: Poor

My/Our Holiday Opinion: 

We booked this holiday in september of last year to include our wedding in what we thought would be paradise.  However this place is sure to feature on HOLIDAYS FROM HELL so hopefully anyone looking to book this place will read this and book elsewhere. 

We flew with virgin from Gatwick economy class and wish we had upgraded as they were no better than any of the basic airlines we had travelled with previously.  Next time we hope to fly with British Airways.  However we arrived on time although it took over an hour to obtain our luggage at the airport and a further 45 mins to clear passport control.

After an eventful hours drive on a very basic minibus we arrived at the resort which on first glimpse looked very much like Butlins but we thought it would probably look better once we got to our room.  The greeting was probably the worst we have ever had with a "cocktail" being served from what resembled bleach bottles with few people drinking them.  We were not taken to the reception area but were told that we would find registration cards in our rooms to which we were then given our keys. 

We had booked a Superior Deluxe Ocean View Suite and had been told that we would definitely be given an upgrade as we were getting married during our stay.  The block in which our room was situated resembled a toilet and when we opened the door to our room we were shocked at what we had been allocated.  It was dirty, dark, had shabby furniture, no ocean view, plants growing through the windows, and the smallest bathroom I have ever seen.  The bedroom was only large enough for 2 people with the third bed being a sofa bed which could not be used due to the other furniture in the room being in the way and the 4th bed being a camp bed which our youngest refused to sleep on as it was too small and extremely uncomfortable.  To make matters worse the patio door could be opened from the outside by anyone passing by and the resort was rife with mongoose running everywhere.  There wasn't enough wardrobe space for 2 people let alone 4 + Wedding attire.   At this point we decided to go up to reception and make our complaint.

No wonder they kept us away from reception when we arrived as it was full of people complaining about exactly the same things as ourselves.  When we made our complaint we were told that the village was fully booked and no better rooms were available and were told we could use the telephone to speak to our tour operator, or wait 7 days for a better room to become available.  It was obvious almond beach couldn't care less about our complaint and weren't bothered about the large queue that had formed in reception.  

When we spoke to our rep she initially tried to stop us from moving by saying that if we did that we wouldn't be able to get married and that we wouldn't get a room anywhere else on the island as everywhere was fully booked.  However we got talking to another couple who informed us that their tour operator had taken them to another hotel (Fairmont - Glitter Bay) to view their rooms and facilities and that they were moving there straight away.  So I rang Glitter Bay to see if they had availability for a suite for 4 persons to be told they had.  Thomas Cook then had little choice but to move ourselves and another couple there (see seperate review for Glitter Bay).

Just before we left the resort director asked me to meet him in his office to which I agreed.  He agreed that the room we had been allocated was below standard and was unsuitable for 4 persons.  He offered us a free meal and drinks before we departed.  We went to the buffet restaurant and were horrified at the conditions in which we were expected to eat with dirty floors, dirty tables and sub-standard food so we decided to leave it.

We do not know how many people decided to do the same as us but 7 families in total came with us to Glitter Bay and like us had a fantastic holiday.  So do yourself a favour and read our report on Fairmont Glitter Bay and book that resort instead of this hell hole.

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Almond Beach Village - St James

Operator and Date: (Virgin Discounts) Virgin HOLIDAYS - Jan 2004

Opinion submitted in Jan 2004 by : MR & MRS DENNEY + 6 YEAR OLD DAUGHTER

Resort Rating: Below Average

Accommodation Rating: Poor

My/Our Holiday Opinion: 

With my wife and six year old daughter this was our first family holiday in over 4 years. We stayed at WHAT WE THOUGHT WOULD BE THE  "LUXURIOUS" ALMOND BEACH VILLAGE, Barbados from the 4th Jan - 19th Jan 2004, having paid some [£3777] Virgin Hoildays] for the privilege. We were extremely disappointed with this so called 4 star holiday village and so, read on........... 

Our first room, which was standard, was in poor state and was long overdue for refurbishment; dirty bathroom, ants in room even though the room was on the 3rd floor and leaking air conditioning - which the resort failed to repair. We saw the Manager and he said he would find a better room for us and so we waited ending up living out of suitcases for three days which did not exactly provide for a relaxing holiday mood in this supposed four star top quality Caribbean resort.

We were moved to a room with better decor albeit with a worse view. We coiuld live with that but the ants appeared yet again! Some two days later they did finally clean the room and got rid of the Ants! Not only did we contend with Ants but we also found there was no running water in our room apart from the little yellow/brown liquid (water?) coming out the taps. Spoke to the village Reception who showed zero concern and we had to use a vacant room in another block in which to shower (of course it goes without saying that room was also alive with Ants!!). Next night, same thing . this time we did not bother to report the water issue but just asked for a key to another room in which to shower and so...... after 5 days of HELL we did our best to get on with the holiday. 

Breakfast was like being at Victoria Station, total chaos, although to be fair the food (cold) was okay. The lighting through the grounds was so out of date and very poor, again a refurbishment is badly needed. As for the staff - 50% okay but the rest did not want to be there - again, bad management.  

The "village" then refurnished our room while we were there with dark furniture which should have gone into the room when it was decorated and not while we were there. 

To sum it up, if the resort had proper management and offered the same standards throughout it would have so much to offer. Instead it takes advantage of people who do not know the rest of the Caribbean and the very high standards provided elsewhere. 

To strike a balance, the Italian restaurant was great, beach was great but beware there are rocks in swimming areas and the Entertainment was good.Out of four visits to the Caribbean this was by a long way the WORST RUN resort we have been to. DON'T STAY AWAY FROM THE CARIBBEAN BUT DO STAY AWAY FROM THIS WHOLE RESORT UNTIL IT HAS BEEN COMPLETELY REFURBISHED and............ they get new MANAGEMENT.............................

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Almond Beach Club and Spa - St James

Operator and Date: (Thomas Cook Direct) Thomas Cook - 2006

Opinion submitted in September 2006 by : Lynn & John - Cambridgeshire (42 & 44)

Resort Rating: Very Good

Accommodation Rating: Good

My/Our Holiday Opinion: 

Almond Beach Club & Spa is the adult only sister site of Almond Beach Village.  It's a small site with the accommodation  around the main restaurant, bar and pools (3 pools, small but very attractive - overhung by beautiful trees so the petals fall in the water)

Three restaurants, the main one serving a la carte and a buffet most nights - food excellent, really couldn't fault it.  There was a great choice, really fresh fish & meat and some quite imaginative dishes.  It's all inclusive and you can eat a lot as there's breakfast, lunch, afternoon tea and dinner.  The dress code is upheld fairly strictly - if you are wearing swimwear the beach bar is your best bet as you'll feel underdressed in the main bar even wearing a sarong or summer dress, Men have to wear T-shirts or shirts definitely not vest tops. 

Recommend Enids for fantastic Bajan food and Waterside - which is tables set out on the beach in the evening distinguished only by it's menu - fish only (fresh & lovely). The beach is quite rocky but less than 2 mins away is the lovely Sandy Cove where we went celebrity spotting! There are several recommended trips including the Turtle Trip and the Ship Wreck.  Turtles are at Paynes Beach 2 bays along so if you are happy walking along the beach from the hotel you can go by yourself - it takes about 20 mins along the beach to the left of Almond Club the ship wreck is about 100 yards to the right and swim out - fantastic fish around the wreck and you really shouldn't miss the turtles.  

We did go the Almond Village (by shuttle bus) to go the much recommended Italian restaurant (it's OK but nothing special) - the village is fine, much larger, with children - very well behaved children we were surprised but the noise level when you have spent a week at the very quiet Club is a shock.  The Spa is fantastic - one of the best I have been to.  The Piano Bar is open after the other bars close and you can have a great time till 2am drinking rum and listening to the entertainment.  We travelled around by yellow bus to Bridgetown (you do take your life in your hands on these buses but they are great fun and really loud with reggae music).  

Hire a car and go round the East of the Island recommend Cove Bay - really dramatic.  The beach on the East are great to look at, dangerous to swim in - even paddling you could feel the currents.  To sum up our holiday - Loved it, going again, we found everybody extremely friendly.  The hotel staff are very professional, always smiling and really happy to help.  We were not bothered by vendors (although we had seen on other beaches that they do come right up to your sunbed and pressurise for sales however the at the Beach Club they cannot 'cross the line' and the security guys ensure you are not hassled.  Buy if you want to - some of the products are really good value - loved the guy making reed baskets, hats etc and carvings from coconut shells.

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Almond Beach Club - St James

Operator and Date: almond beach vacations - Nov 2005

Opinion submitted in Dec 2005 by : Ireland  14 of us between 27-30

Resort Rating: Very Good

Accommodation Rating: Excellent

My/Our Holiday Opinion: 

I could not fault the Almond Beach Club.
I got married there in Nov 2005 and I had one of the best times ever.Staff at the hotel were very nice and looked after us all very well. The wedding co-ordinator went out of her way for us. The 14 of us, which were all my friend's were upgraded from standard rooms to sea view deluxe or upgraded to a similar deluxe room.
The beach in front of the hotel isn't great,but the sandy lane beach is fantastic and we were made feel very welcome to the beach aswell.
The food in the hotel is amazing and I rolled out of the hotel at the end of the week.Anybody who has a complaint about the food would have to be seriously fussy.
The biggest complaint that I had was with the airline B.W.I.A: I will never ever set foot on their planes again,we were delayed 2hours going out and 2days coming back...they did put us up in the Hilton though, which was amazing.

Overall fantastic holiday and honeymoon.

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Almond Beach Club and Spa - St James

Operator and Date: (Virgin Discounts) Virgin Holidays - March/April 2005

Opinion submitted in Apr 2005 by : Gemma, Nick (26, 26)

Resort Rating: Average

Accommodation Rating: Average

My/Our Holiday Opinion: 

A few days before we were due to travel, we read several news articles showing that Virgin Holidays were the most complained about tour operator.  By the end of this holiday, we could certainly see why!

We'd pre-booked Virgin's Clubhouse Lounge at £30 each and, having duly arrived nice and early and checked in, we found it locked and in darkness.  We eventually found out that it doesn't open until 7a.m but nowhere do Virgin appear to advertise this fact.  Not good and a somewhat bizarre policy given that Gatwick airport is pretty much on the go 24hrs a day; it's not as if international flights only happen during office hours!

Once the Lounge actually opened, we couldn't fault it, the food and drink is excellent and there are shower facilities, newspapers, magazines, internet access and free phone calls as well as being a safe, peaceful haven from the hustle and bustles of the departure lounge.  However, be aware of the prohibitive opening hours if you're thinking of booking it.

We also paid an extra £980 for an upgrade both ways to Virgin's Premium Economy.  The seats are wider, there's more legroom and you get a complimentary glass of champagne as well as a dedicated check-in area.  However, because the section we were in on the outbound flight was fairly small, we had to ask twice for headphones (by which time the films being shown were well underway), were missed out on at least one drinks run and forgotten about completely when the duty free trolley was going around.  This was particularly annoying given that we hadn't bought any duty frees at Gatwick and, as we were to discover, you can't buy duty free cigarettes or drinks for use on Barbados, they have to be sent to the airport and you collect them when you depart.

So we ended up paying full local price for cigarettes.  For the price of upgrading, we at least expected the opportunity to purchase some duty free goods on the plane. 

Not good Virgin, some serious cabin crew training is in order!  (For what it's worth, and to show I'm not totally anti-Virgin(!), the cabin crew on the homeward flight were absolutely magnificent).

Our outbound flight was an hour late leaving even though we were boarded and ready for take-off.  Now while this isn't Virgin's fault, there was no announcement or anything......we all just sat looking out of the windows at the terminal buildings.  Again, something as simple as some basic communication ("sorry for the delay ladies and gentleman, we're having difficulties obtaining clearance from the tower" or something similar) would have made all the difference.

On arrival in Barbados, clearing Customs takes forever (we'd read elsewhere that Caribbean Customs are slow so we half expected this) but this has a nasty knock-on effect in Barbados at present..........once through, we met our Virgin rep and she gave us our welcome pack and told us to wait for others to clear Customs so that we could all be allocated a vehicle to transfer us to our various hotels.  We also loaded our luggage onto awaiting wagons (the luggage travels to the hotel separately).

So we waited in bright, sweltering sunshine; Barbados airport is currently undergoing a major refurbishment so there's very limited shelter from the sun.  There are concrete mixers, pneumatic drills, JCBs and angle grinders churning up masses of noise, dust and diesel fumes are belching everywhere.

So we waited.......and waited......and waited almost 90 minutes for all 280 passengers to clear Customs.  See what I mean about the nasty knock-on effect?

We subsequently found out that public buses in Barbados cost just 50p whatever length of journey and are extremely frequent and quick.  If we'd known this at the time, I think we'd have grabbed a bus straightaway and headed straight for our hotel without hanging about in those conditions (both of us had a light coating of dust in our hair when we showered later).

We've no doubt that when the work's finished, Barbados will have the best airport in the region but for now.....the less said the better.

Once we eventually got transferred, the time from airport to hotel is about 45 minutes.

The first thing to bear in mind about this hotel is that although it's actually advertised as an adults-only resort, this isn't strictly true.  The reason for this is that a shuttle bus operates between here and the Almond Beach Village sister resort about 20 minutes away.  The Beach Village is a family resort. 

In theory, this service means that residents from both resorts can freely mix-and-match restaurants and facilities but it also means that, for obvious reasons, children from the sister resort can and do end up at the adults-only hotel.  Someone clearly hasn't thought this through properly!!

This didn't necessarily bother us but it's something you need to bear in mind if an adults-only environment is high on your list of priorities.

Upon arrival, we were surprised to find that there isn't actually a recognisable reception area.  There is a circular foyer with two doors leading off and you have to knock and wait to be asked to enter!  This is awkward as there are sometimes people sat in the foyer area waiting for tour buses etc and so to avoid potentially pushing in you have to go around asking them all "are you waiting for reception?".

Bizarre.

Anyway, we were all served with rum punches and allocated rooms and room keys.  Our first problem was that the key we were given didn't fit the lock to our room.  So, back to the foyer to spend 10 minutes sorting that out.  The hotel's first response was, unbelievably, to give the very same key that I had just told them didn't work to their security guy who tried it in our door before pronouncing to me "it doesn't work"!!!  I was like "yeah, funny that isn't it, same thing happened to me, that's why I told them it didn't work".

Anyway, that over with, we then found that the lock on the patio door to the back of our room didn't actually work, which meant anybody could walk into our room!  So, back to the foyer a second time.

Not the best of starts when you've been on the go for over 24hrs and all you want to do is shower, freshen up and get some food inside of you.  To the hotel's credit though, by the time we'd got back from dinner that evening, the patio door lock was fixed.

We had a wander round the complex that night after dinner and found to our dismay that the spa and gymnasium are both currently closed pending refurbishment.  So the Almond Beach Club and Spa actually doesn't offer a Spa facility!

This is a great shame because I find that after three or four days of slapping suncream repeatedly on your skin, a nice, long session in the steam room does wonders for the pores.

A few people complained to the Virgin rep the next day about this very issue and she said that Virgin themselves had only just been informed by the hotel that those facilities were being closed.  Not sure how true this claim is but I won't hold my breath waiting for Virgin to voluntarily refund part of our holiday costs associated with unavailable facilities that we paid for!

Again, something to consider if a spa and gymnasium are integral to your holiday plans.

Food - there are two restaurants to choose from, Sunset and Enid's.  Enid's needs to be pre-booked though as there is limited space.  The food in both of them is excellent although the emphasis is very definitely on presentation rather than quantity.  Breakfasts are served from 7.30a.m in a buffet style with a choice of sausages, bacon, corned beef hash, scrambled eggs, omelettes, waffles, pancakes, fried bananas, beans, yogurt, fresh fruit, cereal and toast.  There's certainly something for all tastes.  Lunch is from noon and is either from the menu or you can again go buffet style although this tends to be limited to chips, burgers and salads.  Dinner is from 6.30p.m and, as you'd expect on an island surrounded by sea, is heavily stilted towards fish dishes although there are alternatives.  I tried six different types of fish I hadn't tasted before and all were delicious.

What we did notice straightaway about this resort is how noisy it is.  For the first three days, we had a guy on the roof of one of the bars cutting tiles with an angle grinder.  Then there is also a guy with a leaf-blowing machine who wanders around every afternoon.  Add into this the renovation work going on in the spa and gymnasium and you'll soon find yourself buying painkillers for the headaches from the on-site shop.  And each evening, the music from the main bar can probably be heard in the next town.  The first night there, we were shattered so had an early night and even with earplugs in I was awoken at 11pm by someone murdering "Dancing Queen" in a karaoke contest!  If you want a nice, quiet, relaxing atmosphere, this hotel isn't for you.

The beach area in front of the hotel is nice although you definitely need to wear flip-flops as it's riddled with fragments of shells and they hurt like mad if you step on one with bare feet.  Also, in common with other places, as the beaches are public you'll be approached by locals selling horseback rides, wooden gifts, jetski rides, dr*gs and much more.

Be warned about buying dr*gs - penalties on Barbados are severe (apparently you'll go to prison even for marijuana usage) and we were told that it's not unheard of for undercover police officers to masquerade as dealers on the beaches.  Whether this is true or not I don't know (thought that was called entrapment) but it isn't worth the risk.

Tours - we went on the island tour (£70 per couple) and also the catamaran cruise down the West Coast (£90 per couple).  Both are highly recommended; on the island tour, you basically see all four coasts of the island, stop for lunch and a free tour of Sunbury House before heading home.  It takes about six hours but one genuine tip: do NOT have a heavy breakfast before setting out on this, some of the roads in rural Barbados are terrible and you WILL be bounced up and down for a large part of the journey!!!

The catamaran cruise sets off from Bridgetown port and you cruise up the West Coast, stop for a swim with the fish and some turtles and then snorkel down to a shallow water shipwreck.  The crew don't stop plying you with alcohol all day and there's a very nice barbecue lunch thrown in as well.  You then head back down the coast to Bridgetown.  There's a saying in the region that applies to suntans that one day on the boat equals three days around the pool and this is very definitely true; you certainly catch more sun out at sea than on land.

To summarise our holiday, the complex does need some updating as it looks quite weathered and nothing works exactly as it should (using our safe key, for example, was very hit-and-miss as to whether the safe locked or not - you usually had to try two or three times before it worked).

Likewise, don't leave anything under the air-conditioning unit in your room as it drips constantly.  We reported it (as did several others who had similar problems) but it was still dripping when we left.

We were told that hotels in the Caribbean are reluctant to spend too much money renovating as they are smack in the centre of the hurricane belt and the next hurricane could always be the one that destroys them.  A sobering thought, I guess.

Finally, the day before we were due to leave, we heard some astonishing news.  It turns out that Virgin, for reasons known only to themselves, had cancelled that day's flight from Gatwick and because Virgin use that same plane for the return journey, this meant that there could be no flight back to Gatwick that evening!

So 280 people in Gatwick lost the first day of their holiday (bet they're big fans of Virgin now - not!) and 280 people already in Barbados got to stay an extra night.  And whilst the latter seems great, the people we spoke to in our hotel who were affected weren't that happy about it because alternative accommodation had to be found, they'd already packed and now had to unpack, some of them were due back at work and were now frantically phoning bosses, car parking at Gatwick had only been booked for the original dates etc etc.  Having witnessed this at first hand, I can say that whilst getting an unexpected extra night's holiday sounds idea, the hassles far outweigh any benefits.

Would we return to Barbados? Yes
Would we use the hotel again? Probably not
Would be use Virgin again? Definitely not

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Almond Beach Village - St James

Operator and Date: (Virgin Discounts) Virgin Holidays - 2004 / 5

Opinion submitted in May 2005 by : Laura DuPont - Worcester (33,30,18mnths)

Resort Rating: Poor

Accommodation Rating: Poor

My/Our Holiday Opinion: 

We booked this holiday as we were all in need of 4 star luxury treatment. It offered childcare for the under twos and said it had been refurbished.

We paid addiotnal money for the upgrade super delux beachfront views!! To be honest it was a good job we did as the view was the only thing 4 star about this room.

The bathrooms had no seen a maekover in about 30 years. It was as long as a 3/4 lenght bathroom ( not big enough for 2 people standning side by side)

Generally I would say the waiting staff and bar staff were rude. I would almost say they were unhelpful - standing watching me struggle with a pushchair and two plates of food.

Many services were available to us apparently however we only found this out from people we meet during our stay.....for example childrens meals can be pre ordered...apprantly!!

During our stay one of the restaurants was closed...causing us to listening to drilling everyday....and the gardener costaly use leaf blowers to clear the lawns and beaches this is also very noisey.

If you have booked this hotel don't worry you will be fine..you'll have a great time..however if youre thinking about it I am SURE that you can get a better class of resort and accomodation and certainly service for your money elswhere.

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Almond Beach Village - St James

Operator and Date: (Virgin Discounts) Virgin - Date Not Specified

Opinion submitted in May 2004 by : JOHN& lLISA HIBBERD WARSOP

Resort Rating: Excellent

Accommodation Rating: Excellent

My/Our Holiday Opinion: 

On arrival greeted with drinks.We Were given an upgraded room without asking.We were given a bottle of bubbly & fruit in our room.An excellent choice of restuarants.I could`nt all the pools,Plus we were right in a fantastic beach front.There was a decent 9 hole golf course,But the entertainment was a bit repetative? But we really enjoyed it.

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Colony Club Hotel - St James

Operator and Date: Independent - April 2005

Opinion submitted in Apr 2005 by : Tim Franklin - Staffordshire (44,43,12)

Resort Rating: Very Good

Accommodation Rating: Average

My/Our Holiday Opinion: 

An upmarket hotel on the fashionable St James west coast. Beach is beautiful - white sand, and turquoise ocean. Water sports are included, but not food.
We had a suite over looking the garden and pool. Room was spacious and clean.
Hotel dining room service left a lot to be desired. Food is expensive in this hotel,and to be frank there are better restaraunats in the nearby area (Tides, Olive's,etc.)

We had transfered to Barbados from St Lucia, and I think this tainted our view of the Colony Club. This hotel is over priced,service is slow and poor, staff are not friendly and not receptive to putting things right (e.g. replacement light bulbs in the room, etc.)

The best was the watersports (especially waterskiing), and the gorgeous beach.

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Coral Lane Beach Apartments - St James

Operator and Date: Independent - Feb 2005

Opinion submitted in May 2005 by : Cashmere Donegan - London (22,21)

Resort Rating: Very Good

Accommodation Rating: Very Good

My/Our Holiday Opinion: 

My friend and I stayed at Coral Lane Beach Apartments (which was formally called paynes bay apartments) and we really enjoyed ourselves. I told people that I was staying in St. James for a month, they thought that I had won the lottery but the apartments were very reasonable even to us and we were students on a very very tight budget.

I would say that it is more like a guest house than apartments, we were a bit put off by the outside as it wasn't very inviting and all the locals referred to it as "that ugly white building behind the church" (so if you stay there be warned that's the only way taxi drivers will know where to pick you up from) but the inside was still very nice. All the rooms were self-catering. The rooms were spacious and had a huge TV (cable) small, bathroom, microwave, two ring stove kettle etc. There is a window seat where you can sit and look out onto the beach which was beautiful. Obviously the rooms were very basic but we were still very comfortable

The Apartments are set on the edge of a small residential area where everyone seemed very friendly, happy and helpful, its actually in paynes bay and the beach is literally just across the road where the sea is lovely and calm. The apartments are also within walking distance from Daphnes (Go during happy hour the cocktails are lovely).

A very short bus ride north and you are in holetown which is the closest place for shopping, banking, fast food etc. I would definitely go back there with a group of friends and I would recommend these apartments to couples or groups of friends who would love to stay in St James and are travelling on a budget. As we saw people of all ages staying there. It definitely would not be suitable for a family with young children though.

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Crystal Cove - Fitts - St James

Operator and Date: (Thomas Cook Direct) Thomas Cook Signature - April/May 2007

Opinion submitted in May 2007 by : The Olivers - York (58,46)

Resort Rating: Very Good

Accommodation Rating: Good

My/Our Holiday Opinion: 

My husband and I booked this resort as a special treat for surviving 25 years of marriage and having previously been to the Almond Beach Club on two occassions  decided to try another resort. Before going we read some of the reports listed here and took on board the comments, however being seasoned travellers and knowing that one person's opinion is not necessarily what another might agree with, we went with an open mind and we were not disappointed. 

The hotel is fairly small and has limited pool and beach areas.  The sea is quite rocky and there are only a few places where you can get in and out easily, however this was not a problem as the clear water made it easy to see what was underfoot.  It also made it easy to spot the turtles which swam by.

The main restaurant, "Reflections", served some very good food, although the choice is limited, especially for a fussy eater - 3 choices of starters and 4 choices of main followed by 3 choices of dessert at dinner, however there was always something available and mostly very good. My husband managed to try 9 different types of fish in 14 days!  The one criticism we had during our two weeks was the buffet dinner on our last evening, which was very disappointing.  Perhaps because the hotel had been very quiet up until our last few days when there was an influx of people, Brits and Yanks, and the standard fell short of what we had been used to.  The "Drifters" restaurant (on the beach) served a buffet lunch which will remain a point of disagreement between my husband and myself, I disliked it and he thought it was good, but then he eats anything!  We did not visit "Drifters" in the evening.

The room allocated to us was fine, if a bit on the shabby side, huge bed, plenty of storage space, ironing board and iron, they also provided a hairdryer.  Large bathroom with shower and small bath.  Don't flush the loo or run another tap if someone's in the shower as you could scald them!!  The room was cleaned everyday, no complaints there.  They also provided plenty of towels, even beach/pool towels, which they also changed every day.  There is a room safe for which a deposit is required.  Our room had the old fashioned key type, whilst the courtesy room we used on our last day had the new electronic type.  There is also a small fridge in the room and a short distance away there is a large supermarket where you can buy water etc. A small plumbing problem we encountered was dealt within 1 hour of being reported.

The watersports section was well run and my husband used it daily going kayaking in the morning and out on the "Hobbie", a catamaran, in the afternoon.  He particularly enjoyed sailing with Lee, who he thought was an excellent instructor.  We had no trouble with jet-skis, I assume because we went after the school holidays and there wasn't so many youngsters around.

There is no late night entertainment to disturb guests.  The entertainment is okay, some very good and generally finished around 10:30pm.

On the whole I would say that this is a good choice for someone looking for a quiet(ish) place to relax.  Although I would advise getting out of the hotel even if only for a visit to Bridgetown.  The local bus is $1.50 Barbadian which is about 40p and quite good fun, don't be put off by the loud music.  Tell them where you want to go and they'll let you know when to get off.

We would certainly consider going back as the staff are friendly and the location suited our needs.

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Crystal Cove - St James

Operator and Date: (Virgin Direct) Virgin - March 2006

Opinion submitted in Mar 2006 by : Derek Olrog - Herts - 52

Resort Rating: Good

Accommodation Rating: Good

My/Our Holiday Opinion: 

Crystal Cove in Barbados.
This is an All Inclusive Hotel, and not the cheapest place in Barbados. We had 5 days and four nights here. The rooms were spotless and they also have English plugs which helped, try and secure a sea view which is far superior to other rooms. The food was only average, the evening meal at the Al Carte restaurant very disappointing, so we ate out at fabulous places, 'The Cliff' which is a must although not cheap, by any stretch of the imagination.
The 2 bars are easily accessible and the staff are very helpful. The evening entertainment was also very good what we saw of it.

The beach needs a serious tidy up, there is only one small part of the beach that is sandy and excessible to the sea without climbing over the rocks in the water. There are water sports at hand all of which were easy to book, but the jet ski boys can drive you mad.
The is not a place to go if your not easily mobile as the hotel is built on the side of a hill. 

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Crystal Cove - St James

Operator and Date: (Virgin Direct) Virgin 2006

Opinion submitted in September 2006 by : Ruth, 44, 40, 7

Resort Rating: Good

Accommodation Rating: Good

My/Our Holiday Opinion:

Just returned from a 10 day holiday at the Crystal Cove Hotel. We were a bit disappointed as we did not get the room we had booked but this was due to the tour operator and NOT the hotel's fault. That's another story and one I shall not burden with you here as you want to know about the hotel!

The hotel staff were, in the vast majority, happy, helpful and hard working. Being an all inclusive holiday they are pretty much on the go all the time and have long shifts so if they weren't ALL cheerful ALL of the time that's understanding but their manners were immpeciable whatever the time of the day. You should have no problems at all here.

The staff on reception were particulalry helpful and kindly sorted out a number of excersions for us as our rep decided to keep clear of us at all cost! They arranged a particlarly good glass bottom boat trip that I can highly recopmmend which was cheaper than our reps and more enjoyable. The trip included a stop off to feed turtles & fish and snorkelling off a sunken barge. It lasted about 2 hours.

Additionally being horse racing fans, they also sorted out some complimentary tickets to the rcecourse to see the Derby which was only about 30 minutes away by taxi. Worth a visit if your keen racing people like us but make sure you don't get there too early as we normally do in UK but try and reserve a table in the air conditioned bar/restaurant. The buffet on course was overpriced but hey - we were on holiday!

We also tried the submarine trip in Atlantis - also highly recommended. The 5 hour cruise on the Harbour Master boat was quite nice but our 7 year old son was a bit bored although there is some etertainment on board.

We would also recommed car hire for a day. It only takes a half a day to drive around the island - which seemed about the size of the Isle of Wight. If you can, I would suggest you take it in turns driving as the driver doesn't get much of a chance to look at the sights as the roads can take up all your attention. We had one of the smallest air con cars available and it would have been nice to have splashed out and got a decent 4x4 if we had thought about it and if the money side isn't an issue.

The hotel has 2 restaurants. The main one is open sided (with nylon netting so the bird issue is no longer existent)and overhead fans (no air con). Nevertheless because of time of year we went (end of August) it was hot and VERY humid. I felt the humidity was more exhausting than the heat and our son was close to fainting by the time we sat down to the earliest setting for an evening meal at 7pm. After about day 4 we sussed out that the best thing to do was to arrange for him to have his dinner earlier in the evening in the kids club room which is fully air conditioned. Once we had found this out his apetite returned. Have to say the kids menu is a bit narrow, (chicken nuggets, pizza, sausages, bolognese - but this was rather spicy for our boy - soup etc) but he managed.

Breakfast is extensive and there should be no complaints about it. The evening meal when table d'hote was marvellous but we did get a bit bored with the buffets every other day. Don't forget to book your table early if you want to eat at 7pm. REMEMBER -YOU HAVE TO BOOK YOUR TABLE AT THE RESTAURANT!

We didn't take an evening meal at the other resaturant which is outside next to the beach as we got bitten in the evenings by mozzies/sand flies and just used it for lunchtime snaks.

We visited the Colony Club - one of the sister hotels (the Tamarind was closed for refurb) and that was beautiful. If you girlies want a treat then make sure you get ove there (free water taxi collects you from the beach at Crytal Cove at 11am) as they have a full beauty parlour that does facials, manicures (including false nails) and massages and body treatments. The Colony Club is a real 4 star hotel but is not all inclusive. As a resident of Crysal Cove you get a discount off any food ordered there but you have to pay full price for your drinks.  It was nice to go there for a day just to get out of our hotel for a change.

The Crystal Cove has 3 swimming pools on 3 levels. They are lovely and warm but our son did scrape his feet quite a bit on the imitation stone sides and steps. I also saw a few children slip on the tiled surfaces becasue like all children they were in a rush. After 1 or 2 slips they tend to slow down!!

We visited the nearest town of Hole town. It's pretty small and not bustling when we went except on the Sunday night when one of the streets is turned over to Karioke for the locals! That was a real laugh. The locals may have rhythm but I assure you they can't all sing loke Bob Marley or Barry White!!

We tried to go to Oistins on the Friday night which is supposed to be good fun too but there was a downpour at 6pm so we had to give it a miss.

Hubby had a round of golf whist over there. You don't need golf shoes as they all play in trainers and I am told that was no problem. You can hire or buy everything else you need but at the Rockly course where he went, they didn't sell golf gloves and apparently this was a bit of a problem as the clubs get slippy in sweaty hands. (Well that was his excuse!) So the boys can have fun at the golf course and the girl can go for a spa treatment!

The kids club was surprising quiet for the August summer holidays when we were there. As we have an only child our son found it a bit too quiet at times but we just left it to him to say when he weanted to go there. Sometimes he just went there to literally chill out and play a computer game or watch a movie for an hour. We arranged babsitters for about 5 evenings. This has to be arranged through the kids club and they charge a minimum of 2 hours at B$15 per hour (approx £5.00 per hour when we went). If they are sitting after 10pm though you have to pay their taxi fare home too so this can add another B$20-30 to the price (£6-10). But again - if money's not a big issue it was nice to get out of an evening even if it's just to a bar for a drink.

We visited the presitgous Sandy Lane Hotel which is about 15 minutes up the road and had drinks there. That was really nice but be prepared to pay West End prices for drinks. They have good bands there so again another nice evening out.

Our last night we went to The Cliff restaurant WOW!! Very romantic, unbelievable setting,wonderful food (not small portions either) but pretty expensive. We knew this was coming when all you see on the menu is minimum charge on the menu and no other prices!! The minimum charge is B$175 (approx £60). I don't think I would go there in the day for lunch as presently there is large building site next door and I think this would spoil things, but it may well be completed by next Easter.

Our room was a very large Junior suite. We had a super king size bed and our son slept on a large double sofa bed. There was still plent of room and a balcony overlooking the sea. Nice enbough bathroom with bath & shower ad 2 sinks.  Kept very clean, seperate clothes room with quite a lot of room, shelf space, 2 hanging rails & the safe. There is also a mini fridge which you can get stocked but we just bought our own booze from Holetown supermarket and stocked it oursleves. Air con and ceiling fans in the room.

You can get ice easily before you go to bed from a large "wheely bin" next to the Cave bar but the bars close at 11.45pm promptly. (It opens at 10am). There is afternoon tea at about 4.30pm with cakes and a few finger sandwiches which is good to keep the kids going until the evening meal.

Although rated as a 4 star I would say this is probably due mainly to the fact that it is all inclusive. I would say it was a very good 3 star but it is not as luxurious as the Colony club. But you pays your money....... We chose it for the kids club from 9am to 9pm and for us this was a bonus. Also our checking out bill was not a shock as it can often be when you are charging drinks & snacks to a bill. There are lots of steps so take this into account if you have anyone who would find this a problem and also if you have very small children/buggies etc.

To get around try the local bus. That is a laugh! They drive fast and hoot their horns constantly. It's B$1.50 per person one way (50 pence) and is very regular. The stop is right outside the hotel on both sides.  Otherwise taxi's are cheap enough, an average journey was about B$20 (£7).

I never managed to go shopping in Bridgetown - I think hubby was too scared but next time.......

Anyway. I hope this summary is useful to you. The very vast majority of people staying at the hotel were from the UK with a few American's and 1 family from Italy. Mostly families so there were other children around for our son to pal up with in the pool.

If I were to go here again I would probably book the 1 bedroom suite (which is what we thought we had). This has a downstairs bed setee with bathroom and a big bedroom upstairs with bathroom too.  The country is lovely and I felt very safe and welcomed. Next March/April will be very busy as they have the world cup cricket final in Barbados in April & the God Cup horse racing in March.

I would recommend the hotel for families but probably not a couple. I think the Colony Club would be better suited if you wanted a romantic holiday. Have fun and enjoy.

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Crystal Cove - St James

Operator and Date: (Thomas Cook Direct) Thomas Cook Signature - May 2004

Opinion submitted in July 2004 by : A&I - Cheshire

Resort Rating: Very Good

Accommodation Rating: Very Good

My/Our Holiday Opinion: 

My husband and I decided to get married at the Crystal Cove and had read a number of reviews before doing so. With both our parents booked into the hotel too, we were very keen for this to be a good holiday. We needn't have worried.

The location is wonderful although a little far out from anything in the way of nightlife. There are more bars up towards holetown but, to be honest, we didn't feel the need to stray very often, only to meet our friends who were staying at other hotels.

The hotel is right on the beach, albeit a small and rocky one. There are plenty of sun beds and if there aren't any out, just grab an attendant to get one out for you. They are a bit short on umbrellas though.

It is by no means perfect - there are lots of birds hanging around the restaurant area during breakfast and lunch, which is a bit of a nuisance, the service can be a little slow at times etc but overall, this is a wonderful place which has a very relaxed and laid back atmosphere - exactly what we wanted rather than the sometimes stuffy feeling you can get in other all inclusives (sister hotels fall into this category).

The fact that motorised watersports are included is a fantastic bonus. But be warned, you must book the day before, as when the hotel is busy, all the slots are taken by 930am the day BEFORE. I managed to master the water skiing which was exhilirating.

The jet ski boys, not linked to the hotel, pull up every day and try and sell you time on their skis. They could get annoying, but our best advice would be to befriend them and chat to them, they are very respectful then.

Make sure you take the water taxi to visit the sister hotels (colony Club and Tamarind Cove). As the other west coast hotels aren't all inclusive, take a packed lunch with you (just order it at reception) so you don't get stung for an expensive meal out! Our friends were at the Tamarind Cove - they had originally booked the Coconut Creek, but when that was sold and shut, they were moved to the TC on an all inclusive package. Service at the TC was dire - they had to wait 45 minutes to get five drinks from the bar on one occasion. And the staff are much less friendly, not even so much as a smile. But the hotel is fabulous and well worth the trip, the beach is less rocky than at Crystal and there is better snorkelling.

There are only two restaurants (Reflections and Drifters). They aren't always open at the same times but we found Reflections to be that little bit better. You need to book a time for your evening meal, the most popular times being 7.30 and 8. There are also two bars (Drifters, again, and the Cave Bar) so you're not exactly spoilt for choice.

Our wedding was a fabulous day and the co-ordinator, Fay, does such a good job that it is all so relaxed and taken care of that you don't have to worry about a thing. I didn't even feel nervous on the day, I just wanted to get on with it! Our ceremony was on the beach by Drifters, but the waves crashing against the rocks and the occasional speedboats and jet skis meant that our guests had trouble hearing what we were saying. The photographer was good but not excellent, but we didn't have much of a choice in that.

One sour note was that the service at our wedding dinner was appalling. We were left for 35 minutes without any water, it took 55 minutes to get some wine (when they finally brought the wine glasses) and an hour to take our order. We complained to one of the fantastic girls on reception (Lisa, she is fantastically barmy!!) and she kicked --- for us. The next morning, Fay and the Guest relations manager, Celeste, asked for our version of events and offered us compensation. They paid for our photographers package, all US$350 of it - most generous we thought. This meant we were able to buy all the extra photos we may not have been able to afford otherwise. And teh experience certainly didn't detract from what was otherwise an absolutely wonderful day.

Our rep angered my parents on their last day. They had 'booked' through her to go on a catamaran cruise and were really looking forward to it. They were given their confirmation note with a pick up time, only the taxi didn't show for them. It turned out the rep had forgotten to book the tour for them and had basically ruined their last day. She didn't even have the nerve to front up to them to give them their deposit back, she just left it with reception.

In summary, the food is fantastic, if you make an effort with the staff, they make an effort back with you, it is a wonderful place to spend your holiday time. I hated leaving.

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Discovery Bay by Rex Resorts - St James

Operator and Date: Kuoni - October 2005

Opinion submitted in May 2006 by : MacDonald Family  - Southampton (27, 27, 6)

Resort Rating: Very Good

Accommodation Rating: Very Good

My/Our Holiday Opinion: 

We travelled to Barbados in October as a half term getaway in the sun.  After initially watching the weather for months and seeing it was rainy a lot we were a bit worried.  However for the whole week we were there we had the most glorious blue skies and sun and only two 5 minitue downpours.

We flew with British West Indian Airways and thought they were excellent. Although we have travelled with our son before we had never taken him on such a long flight.  It was great though showing good kids film and providing suitable food and drink, excellent friendly service.

When we arrived in Barbado customs and all that was slow but were so glad to have arrived (i generally hate flying) that we didnt mind.  We were quite quickly transfered to our bus which alhtough not airconditioned was cooled by the breeze as we drove, was early evening at this point.  The memories of driving to our hotel with the wind in our face as the sun set made a lasting impression with us and we were not disappointed when we arrived.  Although a reletively small hotel its location on the beachfront is second to none, a small secluced beach you stp onto from the garden of the hotel. 

We had a room with a garden view, all rooms were centered around the garden area, like a square with the beach coming out one end.  It was cool and spacious with adequate wardrobe space big kins size bed too a camp bed type thing was provided for our son which was more than adequate.

When we arriveed it was dark so did not really see anything much till the morning, when we arrives though there was a bbq buffet on (we were all inclusive) and the staff in the restaurant were excellent, friendly and helpful, chatty and pleasant to us and our son. It hada roof but two sides were open, it was a bit warm as ceiling fans did not really cool it but drinks aplenty meant that it was okay.  The food is vast and varied, we all tried all the differnt Bajan dishes on offer form spicy to chicken and rice and found them excellent.  The lunch meal was served poolside and was a smaller choice but of excellent quality food, fresh tuna etc. 

When we got to bed the first night we soon woke early as jet lag did not seem to deter our son from getting up at 6, we left our room, was silent and went down to the beach, 30 seconds from our room, i was sppechless, we all were, the sea was as warm as a bath and the sand white like the kind of paradise you expect on a desert island.  We walked a few mins up the beach, it was only small and felt a world away from anywahere else.

During the week we hired a jeep and went exploring, great fun and went on the catameran cruise which was great value, drinks all day, bbq food great.  Snorkelled with turtles and crew were great with kids, patient and helpful for those who wanted a go.

I could go on forever, we had the most amazing week ever and are longing to return to Barbados, it was breathtakingly beautiful.  Although the hotel was lovely, we would probably stay somewhere else on next visit to try new things, also hotel was nice but one of those that if didnt have referb soon may go downhill.  The staff were friendly and warm at all times. 

We look now at the pictures we took and all feel we had the most amazing holiday ever you dont have to stay in best hotels to get the best holiday as location is so great.  I would always recommened staying near holetown on the West Beach as beaches are lovely there.

Locals on the beach selling stuff was a bit annoying when you are trying to relax but they never apporached our son which was all i was worried about, only one was a bit pushy and did buy somethign in the end as was planning to anyway.  Husband did a jet ski and loved it for about 20pounds was out ages.

All in all an excellent place to go, resort was very nice as a last minute but would normally chose somewhwre with bit more, hwoever we spent all week mainly in the pool.

Fab

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Escape at Prospect Bay Hotel and Spa - St James

Operator and Date: (Virgin Direct) Virgin Holidays - January 2007

Opinion submitted in January 2007 by : Stuart Harvey - Cornwall (33,25)

Resort Rating: Excellent

Accommodation Rating: Excellent

My/Our Holiday Opinion: 

I was slightly concerned after reading reviews of this Hotel prior to Travel. Having just returned I cannot understand them in the slightest

I found the Hotel to be absolutely superb in every way considering the cost compared with other Hotels

We had a deluxe ocean view room which was modern, cleaned daily and air conditioned. I cannot comment on the other rooms but they looked OK from what i saw.

The staff were all so helpful and nothing was too much trouble, the food was simply excellent, particularely in the Garden Restaurant in the Spa section.

The only negative point about this property in my opinion is the size of he swimming pool on the main site but the beach is a few steps down and this is where virtually every one was apart from some children who were using the small pool as it is safer than the sea.

A large pool is available in the Spa complex which is in the adults only section accross the road.

The beach is not massive but it easily accomodated the people staying and also there WERE plenty of sunbeds and towells which are supplied by the Hotel.

Make sure you go on the free catamarin Trip, it was really good. Low key entertainment was available and a late bar is in the Spa section for late drinks

I would have no hesitation in recomending this hotel and plan to return soon!I spoke to several other visitors and most of them have been to this Hotel several times before which speaks for itself Not one person had any complaints about the Hotel!

For those who have left negative reviews I can only suggest that they book a five star resort at twice the price if they are that set on finding faults. You get what you pay for and taking into account what we paid for this Hotel we were more than satisfied!

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Escape at Prospect Bay Hotel and Spa - St James

Operator and Date: (Virgin Discounts) Virgin Holidays - February 2005

Opinion submitted in Feb 2005 by : Michael Miller (49-52)

Resort Rating: Good

Accommodation Rating: Excellent

My/Our Holiday Opinion: 

What an hotel!!  We returned from 12 days at this hotel last week.  Having read mixed reviews on varying web sites we were a trifle apprehensive before our arrival...not that there was any need at all.  

We stayed in the Spa area and our room was excellent.  (5 yards from the pool and 10 yards from the bar)  We have stayed in "all inclusive" hotels in many parts of the world and the food and drink in this one out does them all.  The staff were friendly and very helpful (OK so one or two waitresses could be a bit crabby first thing in the morning but then so can I).  One review we read said the staff watched how much food was being taken.....what a load of rubbish..we never once felt we were being watched and on one occassion when we said how much we had enjoyed our dessert we were asked if we would like some more!  The only thing we felt could have been improved was the seascape bar could have done with a second barman but the bar in the Garden Restuarant was fine. 

A special mention should be made about Sandra the Guest Relations Manager who always made an extra effort to solve any problems anyone may have had, always remembered peoples names and always kept her promises.

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Escape at Prospect Bay Hotel and Spa - St James

Operator and Date: (Virgin Discounts) Virgin Holidays - July 2004 - via Travelwise, Liverpool

Opinion submitted in July 2004 by : J Marsh - Wirral - 36, 33, 16

Resort Rating: Excellent

Accommodation Rating: Excellent

My/Our Holiday Opinion: 

First time in Barbados and first time travelling with Virgin Holidays. Escape Hotel and Spa is a Virgin Flagship hotel, all guests there are from the UK. The hotel is beautiful, the staff are so friendly and the food is excellent. There are two restaurants and in the evening it is waiter service. All food and drinks are inclusive.

The Hotel is based on its own stretch of sandy beach and there are free watersports available here - hobie cats, kayaks etc. There is also a free 3 hour catamaran trip twice a week for all guests (book at reception). 

We stayed in a Deluxe room in the main hotel, which was huge like a suite, there was a king size bed, a single bed for our son, two sofas, a table, satellite TV, CD Player and a fridge/freezer. It also had a beautiful sea view and a veranda where you could sit and have a drink.  The fridge was restocked daily with soft drinks and there was a free supply of spirits in the room too.  The hotel also comprises of  Villas based on the beach and across the road there is a newer side to the hotel which had a large pool and a Spa section where you can have beauty treatments and a hairdressers. The Spa side of the hotel was lovely, but there are hundreds of tiny frogs that make a lot of noise at night over that side.

Trips were excellent - the VIRGINS AHOY 5 hour catamaran trip swimming with the turtles off a shipwreck with lots of tropical fish. BAJAN ROOTS NIGHT - steel pan band, fire eaters, stilt walkers, free drinks all night, lovely buffet. JEEP SAFARI - go off the track through the sugar cane, free lunch and drinks, stopping off on the opposite side of the Island to see the rugged coastline and the massive waves. SUBMARINE TRIP - went 150feet to bottom of the sea to see coral, a shipwreck and tropical fish. HARRISON'S CAVE - good trip into an historical cave. OISTINS FISH FRY - do this yourself - book a taxi as you will only stay about 3 hours or so -you'll eat the most fantastic fish (they also do chicken) and there is an open air carnival type atmosphere with dancing and drinking. CABLE BEACH - best beach on the island with Pink Sand ! We went to Oistins, Harrisons Cave and Cable Beach through Paul, who will speak to you on the beach (not part of Virgin) who takes you in his new air conditioned car to wherever you wish to go on the island at a fraction of the rep's charges.

If you fancy going out for a meal - try THE CLIFF restaurant - most expensive on the island but the setting is fantastic and the food and service exceptional. Great for a special ocassion. Approx £60 per head for two courses without drinks. 

Several people went to HARBOUR LIGHTS nightclub in bridgetown for a night out and said it was fantastic and they felt really safe.

Visited SANDY LANE HOTEL - where all the stars stay, for a drink one evening as the general public can go in for a drink at night. It was like being in a Palace it was so luxurious  - drinks about £9.00 each but worth it for one night. Lots of film stars staying there are the time - but we didn't see one !!

On day of departure, the Virgin rep calls to your hotel at 9.00am to collect all your luggage and takes it to the airport for you and gives you your boarding card so no queuing at the airport, leaving you all day to sunbathe etc before you leave at 3.30pm or 5.30pm. Fantastic.

Highly recommend Escape Hotel and Virgin Holidays - much better service than Airtours.

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Escape at Prospect Bay Hotel and Spa - St James

Operator and Date: (Virgin Discounts) Virgin - March 2004

Opinion submitted in May 2004 by : Frank & Louise Murrell (33, 30)

Resort Rating: Excellent

Accommodation Rating: Excellent

My/Our Holiday Opinion: 

My Partner and I arrived at the hotel on the 20th March, along with another couple who were our friends and would be our Best Man and Bridesmaid a few days later as we had chosen the Escape  to be the place for our wedding.  My Aunt & Uncle arrived the next day.  From the moment we arrived in the reception area and walked down to the bar/restaurant area, we all loved the place.  The view of the beach, horizon and blue sea from this part of the hotel is breathtaking no matter how many times you look at it, and whatever time of day.

My Hubby and I had paid for a Spa room, but received a free room upgrade as we booked early so our room was a deluxe ocean view - and boy was it!  Again fabulous view, bed, bedroom and bathroom all huge with loads of storage space, TV, CD, Tea/Coffee facilities, bathrobes, mini bar/fridge, air conditioning, safe, - everything you wanted.

We both noticed that the hotel was kept immaculately clean and tidy.  Lots of staff always on hand.  The food is a real credit to the hotel, going All Inclusive can be nerve-wrecking, but no need to worry here, lots to choose from and always fresh and well presented.  The restaurant across at the Spa is especially good.  You do have to remember to make reservations though for either restaurant in the evening only.

The beach is lovely soft sand and always kept clean, again always lots of staff about, serving drinks from the Rumshack bar or organising the complimentary watersports.  The beach area is not that big, but the hotel was fully booked the week we were there but we always got a spot and there is plenty of sunbeds and Rum Punch!
Barbados is a lovely place and there are plenty of places to visit on the island.

We did a couple of excursions, one was an island tour which was very interesting and took you to many places including lunch at the Sunbury Plantation.  A bit pricey at £50 each.  As four of us went we did wonder if we could have organised something ourselves with a taxi driver for less than £200.

The evening entertainment is not exactly wild, but very pleasant.  Usually a singer/duet, the first night there was a female limbo dancer getting some people up to have a go, but apart from that it was musicians and disco music.  But to be honest even though we were a group of young'uns by the time we had all had an active day out in the hot sun, and then eaten a three course evening meal, and a couple of cocktails after the evening meal we were all exhausted and off to bed by midnight.

The Escape Hotel is very popular for weddings, with one, if not two every day - one of them being ours!  The Garden area we picked for the ceremony was lovely with views behind of the horizon and sun set.  We got married at 4pm, and as the sun set by about 6pm we also had some photo's taken down on the beach with the sunset behind us - the pictures are truly wonderful and everything a Caribbean wedding should be.

We all had a fab time and when (not if) we return to Barbados we would definitely go to the Escape at Propect Bay.  Better the devil you know - You'd be hard pushed to find a better hotel for your money :-)

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Europa Apartments, Sunset Crest - St James

Operator and Date: (Airtours Direct) Airtours - 2004

Opinion submitted in Sept 2004 by : Nicola Peter Sasha Sonny (45, 47 17 15)

Resort Rating: Good

Accommodation Rating: Poor

My/Our Holiday Opinion: 

Sunset Crest is in a residential area with apartments and villas within it. The Europa Apartments are described by Airtours and the Sunset Crest website as budget or basic. They vary from apartment to apartment, some are pretty awful with old formica cupboards falling to bits others have been decorated with newer kitchen cupboards and newer tiles in the bathroom etc. They are large but there are many problems. The plumbing is poor (limescale on leaking taps, blocked loos, broken pipes resulting in brown water to name a few) The showers are woeful.
Airconditioning only exists in the bedroom is token operated and noisy. The main room is like an oven and is impossible to sleep in or cook in. The curtains and valances are stained.

They are cleaned daily the staff are friendly and helpful.

The accomodation I understand is being overhauled which is much needed. However, the residential status means that the bar shuts at 10 and sometimes before. With little nightlife in Holetown St James it was a big disappointment. The one bartender was fantastic and coped admirably on busier nights.

The pool is small, cleaned daily with an adequate number of sunbeds. Free water is available at the poolside and the bar food was reasonable and nice.

Entertainment consists of a Tues night display of belly dancing or limbo. It is fun for kids but short lived - the bar opens till 11.

The nearby Baku beachclub was like a building site and the disco was empty in Aug. It may be busier in Jan-Mar.

Because there is no nightlife in terms of bars either, locals (builders etc), came to have a drink at the Europa. All the locals are very friendly and these builders caused no 'problems', but personally, I was uneasy to see them playing pool with kids and generally chatting to people at the bar.

I wouldn't recommend the Europa, but cannot fault the staff. In particular the Airtours rep. and the bartender were wonderful.

To the best of my knowledge the Halcyon (no pool) and Travellers Palm were nice and no one we talked to complained about these apartments. The vilas behind the Europa were also apparently very nice but have no pool.

Barbados is lovely, see the whole island and enjoy swimming with turtles, snorkeling, go on a catamarang, do the watersports. The beaches are made of coral so you can walk on them without burning your feet. 

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Fairmont Glitter Bay - St James

Operator and Date: (Thomas Cook Direct) Thomas Cook Signature - June 2004

Opinion submitted in June 2004 by : Stewart and Sue Timmins (45,38,11,10)

Resort Rating: Excellent

Accommodation Rating: Excellent

My/Our Holiday Opinion: 

We had originally booked our stay and wedding at Almond Beach Village but as can be read at our review of that resort we demanded a transfer and arrived at Glitter Bay.

Our first impression was how friendly the staff were and even though we had arrived late and at short notice nothing was too much trouble for them and we were driven the short journey from reception to our suite with our luggage.  We were so overwhelmed at the size and features of our room which had a seperate bedroom with a spacious lounge with 2 proper beds for our boys as well as a well appointed kitchen and a spacious bathroom.  It also had a lovely terrace with table and chairs and a bench sofa for relaxing on with views to the pool area as none of the rooms have an ocean view.  The bedroom had an air conditioning unit which worked well and was quiet with also a ceiling fan as did the lounge.  There was plenty of wardrobe space which was a welcome relief as we had wedding attire as well as our holiday clothes. 

Meals - the resort is not all inclusive so we were on a half board basis.  The Glitter Bay hotel has an informal partly outdoor restaurant which serves set breakfasts, lunches and set menu evening meals, however towards the end of our stay the evening menu was scrapped as the hotel was very quiet and didn't warrant a full menu in their opinion, but did continue to offer the full childrens menu.  

You are allowed to use the facilities at its sister hotel Fairmont Royal Pavillion which is situated right next door whos restaurants were an informal one serving buffet breakfast and light lunch time snacks and a full a la carte one serving evening meals both of which had open views of the ocean.  The buffet breakfasts were excellent in choice offering a variety of English and continental style meals.  We usually had lunch served on the beach however it was fairly expensive costing around £50 for sandwiches with fries and drinks.  The evening menu was very good but would have benefited by having more choice and steaks were an additional cost for half board residents.  We used the a la carte restaurant at the Royal Pavillion on a few occasions with the food being excellent however a little on the rich and fancy side although they would cook almost anything providing they had the ingredients.  You are allowed to use three off site restaurants by means of being given a voucher by reception and all you had to pay for were your drinks.  We went to a beautiful seafront restaurant called Carambola which is frequented by the rich and famous and serves fabulous food in a fantastic location.  Room Service is available 24hrs a day.

Facilities - the hotel has a fantastic sandy beach with free watersports and staff that attend to your every need, you just need to tell them where you want your sun loungers and they put them there for you and give you beach towels and put them all away when you have finished.  There are a few beach vendors who do take no for an answer and gave us no trouble during our stay.  The hotel has its own security who patrol the beach and keep them in check.  

The swimming pool is well maintained and appointed and is family friendly with an area for small children.  There is a kids club which is really only suitable for young children but appeared to be well run and had good facilities.  There was a fully air conditioned gym and business centre which offered free use of computers and internet.  There were several shops however apart from the excellent Jewellers they were quite expensive and you would find better value in the nearby village of Holetown.  The hotel has the most beautiful gardens which are maintained to the highest standard by a large team of staff who obviously take great pride in their work and once a week you can take a guided tour with the head gardener. 

Staff - the staff at Glitter Bay are without doubt the best we have ever come across in all our years of holidaying.  They are so friendly both to adults and children and nothing is too much trouble for them and they always have a smile on their face.  Almost everyone of them we spoke to had worked there for 15 years or longer which says it all.  They all took the trouble to know you by name and some even became our guests for dinner on a couple of occasions.  John the consierge and wedding co-ordinator on learning our youngest son was interested in football took him and myself to watch his son play in a local schools tournament.  They were a wealth of information and would even call you a jet ski if you required one.  The only problem is that you do not tip them individually as a 10% service charge is applied to all drinks and meals.

Wedding - If you are considering getting married while in Barbados then definitely book this hotel.  We had been left high and dry by Almond Beach Village when we were transfered to Glitter Bay, but John Alleyne, Glitter Bays Consierge and Wedding Co-ordinator made our day so special and one we will remember forever.  At short notice he arranged everthing from start to finish including Sues' hair dresser and make-up appointments, beautiful cake and flowers and an excellent photographer who provided us with an album of 40 photos and 77 negatives even though we only paid for 36.  On the day I was provided with a seperate room free of charge to get dressed in and Sue was chauffeur driven to the beautiful setting they had provided in the garden of what used to be Mr Cunard of QE2 fame's private garden in front of the lilly pond.  The wedding cost £700 which was an absolute bargain given the way in which it was conducted and arranged. 

Whilst we were at our wedding night meal the flowers that had been used to decorate the venue were delivered and placed in our room and on our terrace and our wedding cake was put in safe storage so that we could bring it back home.  The following day John delivered a basket of treats to our room and complimentary dressing gowns and slippers.  On our wedding evening the hotel hosted a cocktail party and we were treated like royalty as we arrived in full wedding attire being greeted by the directors who served us with champagne.

Entertainment - Unfortunately we were staying outside of peak season and there was very little in the way of entertainment and certainly none to suit children.  However the staff did tell us that during the main holiday seasons when the hotel is operating at peak levels they do offer a full entertainment programme.

During our stay several premiership  footballers were also enjoying a holiday at Glitter Bay including Wes Brown of Manchester United who was brilliant with our youngest son and even managed to have a daily kick about with him.

If we could improve this holiday it would only be by making the resort all inclusive as we came away having paid out another £2000 above the cost of our holiday however we had a fantastic time at the Glitter Bay hotel and will be returning there in the near future.

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Halcyon Palm - Sunset Crest, Holetown, St james

Operator and Date: August 2004

Opinion submitted in Sept 2004 by : Laura Gower - Sutton Coldfield (17, 41,46,14)

Resort Rating: Very Good

Accommodation Rating: Good

My/Our Holiday Opinion: 

After a 10 hour delay at the airport the holiday didn't get off to a very good start, although Brittania staff were helpful and couldn help the hurricane,once we got on the plane it was dirty and understaffed because of the delay,there wern't enough meals fro everybody and things became quite heated, the staff coped brilliantly considering the circumstances.

The accomadation was very basic but clean, maids serviced the room every day and were very polite.The barman Andrew was great and the themed Caribean nights were great!

The surrounding area of St james is beautiful the beaches were deserted and water was crystal clear - never seen so many fish (and sea snakes! rather scary but harmless!) The chattel village was very picturesque and the locals were very friendly.

Did get some beach vendors trying to sell stuff but just a polite no and they soon dissapear.

Other reviews we read said eating out was very expensive - we didn't find this at the supermarlket imported goods such as ice cream and british newspapers were very expensive but local meat and rice was resonable and rather nice! Cheffete barbados version of Mc donalds was a cheap for lunchtimes, there are also a number of KFC's on the island. The best restraunts we eat at had to be Angry annies (1st strt)and Cocomos (meal for 4 including drinks was about £60) cocomos also had an amazing view.

Bridgetown was nothing special it was very dirty and looked quite poor, tax free shopping is good especially with Tiffanys and Harrisons ect but there were places in Holetown offering similar things. When in bridgetown Mount Gay rum factory was well woth a visit (£3) to get in and you are able to buyrum for about £3 a bottle.

Other excursion well worth doing was atlantis submarine - not for those who easily get sea sick though! Hiring a car was also very good the mini mokes are great value although the roads are not the best, there are not many signposts and maps dont relate! Other places well worth visiting are animal and flower caves, crane beach, Bathsheba, Mullins and sandy lane!

If you dont want to pay much for excursions we went down to Mullins and got a local Rasta to take us out to feed turtles it worked out at £30 for all of us to swim with the turtles for 2 hours on our own private glass bottom boat - it was amazing well worth every penny! the tour companys charge lots more.
There is also an amazing selection of watersports in Barbados jet skis and sofa things were good!

There is also oistins on a friday night the local fish fry where u sit under the stars and enjoy local fresh fish or chicken - its not for the faint hearted but a terue flavour of Carribean life complete with the regaae!

There was not much night life in Barbados the pool bar shut at 10 and Bambu was er very empty not much for people my age they are definitley laid back! The boatyard and coach house were the most livley places we came across other than that we resported to the hotel room with friends for a drink - if your after nightlife dont go to barbados - its certainley relaxing holiday and i would definitley go back again!

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Sunset Crest - St James

Operator and Date: (MyTravel Direct) My Travel - Date Not Specified

Opinion submitted in Feb 2004 by : brian wallace- north east

Resort Rating: Very Good

Accommodation Rating: Very Good

My/Our Holiday Opinion: 

flew from manchester with my travel and booked premier class only to be inform 10 days proir no premier seats
having been let down in the last 3 years with variuos events with airtours a feeling of doom was starting to descend
anyway got to the 3 bed villa at sunset crest very dissapointed it was in a cul de sac surrounded by trees and loads of protective bars and an inner steel door to lock.it had never been refubished for 30 years.we ask to be moved in tha morning after someone knocked on the door asking for money for the eldely,make that of your will
moved to the europa bungalows  about 50 bungalows set nice gardens and a pool.
great place full of canadias but had a good relaxing time

ate at some very nice places TIDES,THE MEWS.SUGAR SUGAR,CCOMOS,and a few others.
saw JUDITH CHARMERS,CILLA BLACK ,TIGER WOODS.they were at SANDY LANE.went deep sea fishing did;nt get a bite.got the yellow bus up to MULLINS BEACH a few times what a great place,swam with the turtles ate at the beach resteraunt a couple of times and took a picnic the other.
thats the good part
day due to come home was rushed to hostpital,had and emergency operation wont go into details
finished up there a week it was called BAY VIEW what a great place rhe staff and doctors were brilliant,said i would be there for a few weeks to recover but managed to get them to send my outside to converles.they let my partner sare my room with me.it only had 5 patients in with about 20 nurses it overlooked a cricket pitch so i got to watch a few local games.

we wre then moved to the RAINBOW REEF HOTEL in dover next to st lawrence gap
first impression was sroutsville,how wrong you can be.
we had the best room in the place 2 bedrooms one with a jaccuzi with 2 terracs
one right over the sea.
the place looks like a fifties miami motel but the guests and staff were great
we used to walk along the beach later in the week when i was up and about to a hotel that was pink and sat having pinicalados in the afternoon
the reseraunts were cheaper than the west coast but not as good but pisces was about the best with great lobster and other sea food
we were never approached by dr*g dealers but you can spot them a least they are open.
after 4 weeks needed to get back home so persaude the doctor to let me come home,he wasn;t keen but said ok
he got them to upgrade me and flew back BA
sceduled flight,sat next to GARY LYNAKER no less and DONNA VERCASE got off as we got on
all in all we had a great time

BARBADOS was wonderful if youre go to get ill be ill there
weve booked the same room at the hotel for 3 weeks next year
my business ass has booked it for 3 weeks in nov
it can take 4 aduls no probs as both rooms have on siute bathrooms and toilets
and the pool is only 6 foot away
ask for room 1107
it is about 1000 qiud a week plus your flight but if you book it yourself they will come down in price its cost us 2500 for 3 weeks plus flights.

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Sunswept - Beach Hotel - Holetown - St James

Operator and Date: Kuoni - Ocober 2005

Opinion submitted in Nov 2005 by : Bill & Dawn - (52, 48 )

Resort Rating: Very Good

Accommodation Rating: Excellent

My/Our Holiday Opinion: 

Excellent basic Hotel right on the seafront. Staff very friendly. Lovely room with large balcony-all have seaviews- but obviously better views from higher floor rooms. Spacious Room, had great facilities- fully equipped galley style kitchenette- 6ft bed-nice bathroom-included bath which was not advertised on website.

The only disappointment regarding the Hotel is that there is now no beach at all in front of the Hotel-in the past few months the sea has risen to such an extent that it now reaches right up to the Hotel grounds. There are just rocks & boulders in front of the Hotel. There are steps into the sea if you wish to swim in it.

There is a tiny beach area to the right of the Hotel but no sunbeds & again quite rocky to get into the sea.
We walked just 10 mins along the beach to the right to Folkestone Marine park where there was a narrow beach and more importantly, a wonderful coral reef-lots of varieties of tropical fish to be seen.- and Green Monkeys in the trees.
A 15 min walk to the left took you past the Sandy Lane Hotel beach & to Paynes Bay Beach where you can hire sunbeds- haggle the prices as they seem to charge what they want.We paid 15 BD for 2 sunbeds & brolly-they were trying to charge 20-30 BD.

Everything you needed in Holetown-nice shops, Supermarkets, Banks, bars, restaurants. taxi rank right outside the hotel. Quite a small resort. We ate at Angry Annies nice food- but preferred Cocomos-better, more varied menu & on the ocean front (right next to the hotel) we could not fault this restaurant. You can pre-book a table on the seafront if you wish.

The only downside to the resort was that we did not feel particularly safe wandering away from the main area at night- we heard that a couple had been mugged along the main road on the second night we were there-& we did feel uneasy amongst some of the locals- it may be due to the time of year as it was low season & there were not that many holidaymakers about at night.

All in all though we had a great holiday & the weather was hot & sunny.
The flight with BWIA was fine-plenty of legroom , good food but don't expect great entertainment-we didn't mind as we had read this much on previous reviews.

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Sunswept - Holetown, St James

Operator and Date: Indigo holidays - August 04

Opinion submitted in Feb 2005 by : Sally & Nathan (29,30)

Resort Rating: Excellent

Accommodation Rating: Excellent

My/Our Holiday Opinion:

Fantastic location! The sunswept is a super hotel set right on the best beach in barbados.  The rooms are reasonably sized for two people, although families would be a little cramped.  The kitchen was great, making a brilliant self-catering holiday to keep prices down. There is a large supermarket across the road selling everything you need.
The hotel shares the bar with cocomos restaurant (great food, not cheap but about the cheapest around. make sure you visit at happy hour for cheaper drinks with a fantastic sunset!). 

DO visit Indigo's restaurant, on the left after the post office/police station on the way to 1st street.  Lovely english owner, fabulous food at really great prices.
Also use the great buses, approx 50p to anywhere on the island, a bit of an experience as they get very full (especially the litle yellow ones) but definitely the best way to get around.

We were there in the last two weeks in August 2004 and the resort seemed to be undergoing extensive rebuilding/ maintenance everywhere.  This seems to be their closed season and we would not go back at this time (there was constant drilling and the resort was really quiet. We obviously like it quiet but we were the only people in every resaurant and bar we went to, we would have liked to see some other people!)We have visited this island before in June, July and early August and it was never like this. 

The hotel right next to the sunswept was also being rebuilt at the time, this should have finished by now but it would be worth checking as we were not informed by our tour operator (Indigo Holidays were very poor if you are considering going with them!).

The Sunswept hotel is an excellent choice in a superb location (every room sea view) if you want a good value accomodation. We would definitely stay here again.

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Tamarind Cove Hotel - St James

Operator and Date: Dec 2004

Opinion submitted in Dec 2004 by : Ian - Basildon  (37,56)

Resort Rating: Average

Accommodation Rating: Excellent

My/Our Holiday Opinion: 

We stayed for 1 week at The Tamarind Cove and would consider going back again. 

The romms are spacious and all have good views. The beach is superb with areas that are bouyed off so that you can swim without getting bothered by jet ski etc. The only problem I had was that the hotel has 2 restaurants 1 a la carte and one buffet. This would be okay if both were open at the same time, but for the duration of our stay only 1 was open at any one time. Evening entertainment was more background music. There are several places to eat within ten minutes walk of the hotel although the walk is not well lit.

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Tropical Escape - St James

Operator and Date: First Choice  May 2007

Opinion submitted in May 2007 by : Monica Dawson  Durham

Resort Rating: Very Good

Accommodation Rating: Good

My/Our Holiday Opinion: 

just come back from tropical escape.  we had a good holiday.  our rooms were cleaned every day, beds were changed daily along with towels.  beach towels wee provided and changed daily.
foodwise there was something to suit everyone buffett 4 nights, a la carte 3 nights.  if they did not have what you liked just ask and they would make it.
the staff were all pleasant and helpful hi to margaret in the restaurant.  pool area could be improved.

trips
we went to st lucia on a day trip whish was brilliant, and we also did the helicopter flight.  there is a trip to oistins with f/choice do it own your own for 1.5 dollars abut 1 hour on the local bus.

the beach is lovely so are the boys on the beach who work the loungers and umbrellas.  there are plenty to go around.

go to holetown on a sun., night its party time in the streets reggae music and karoke in the streets.

go and enjoy but the hotel is 3 star not 5 star for what we paid brilliant

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Tropical Escape - St James

Operator and Date: First Choice - Aug 2006

Opinion submitted in April 2007 by : Gary & Sue - Liverpool (46,46)

Resort Rating: Very Good

Accommodation Rating: Very Good

My/Our Holiday Opinion: 

2nd visit to the Tropical Escape as we stayed here in 2005. Would recommend this hotel to anyone who is looking for good clean and reasonably priced accommodation. Beach is lovely and just across the road from hotel but dont let the ROAD put you off, the drivers are mainly courteous and will stop to let you cross safely. There is a bar called the coach house 2 mins away for all your live sports, oh ok, for all your live footy and Holetown is only a short bus journey away with a bus stop outside the hotel. Bridgetown in the opposite direction is easily reached by bus also but make sure you get the YELLOW 'reggae' bus, not the blue government bus, lots more fun!!! Staff at the hotel are friendly and helpful as are the people in general. The standard of food at the hotel is good and quite varied but my only gripe is the 'long trousers' rule for al a carte nights, the restaraunt is quite laid back and I dont feel this is necessary. 

Overall a great place to stay at a very reasonable price considering its all inclusive and i'm sure we'll be back again but not this year, were off to Aruba in July!!

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Tropical Escape - St James

Operator and Date: (Thomson Direct) Thomson November 2005

Opinion submitted in May 2006 by : Jenny   W Yorkshire age 41

Resort Rating: Very Good

Accommodation Rating: Very Good

My/Our Holiday Opinion: 

The Tropical Escape is very clean and tidy, the staff were friendly and helpful.Rooms are bright and spacious , having aircon is a bonus , towels are replaced everyday , also beach towels provided . The beach is the best I've ever come across , and even staff there to make sure you get refreshments and sunbeds , very helpful.
The food was ok , just at times I felt there was room for improvement with the evening meal.However the drinks were great!
Barbados is a beautiful island and I would very much like togo back one day, I felt I got value for money at this hotel.

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Tropical Escape - St James

Operator and Date: (Thomson Direct) Thomson November 2004

Opinion submitted in Jan 2005 by : Tracey and Chad - Rutland (23,27)

Resort Rating: Very Good

Accommodation Rating: Very Good

My/Our Holiday Opinion: 

We booked about 6 weeks before travel and got an excellent deal.

We have travelled to the caribbean before but have always booked at least a four or five star hotel, so I was a little bit cautious of what to expect from a 3 star.

I was pleasently suprised and we had a fantasic week at the tropical escape.

The hotel rooms are big and clean and from the moment we arrived at the hotel we were made to feel very welcome.

Dont go to the hotel if you want to be kept entertained day and night because the hotel is very quiet and days are spent lazing around the pool or on the beach.

There are basic watersports included in the all inclusive on the beach, grab a snokell and head for the reef.

When you first get on the beach execpt to be met by the locals who will try and sell you everything from boat trips to aloe vera! This wasn't a problem, just say no and they will leave you alone!.

Food was good, we enjoyed the a la carte nights the most!

TIP: Request a room overlooking the pool because a main road runs at the front of the hotel and the reggae bus will wake you up very early in the morning.

The tropical escape was a good, relaxing holiday at an affordable price.

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Tropical Escape - St James

Operator and Date: (Airtours Direct) Airtours september 2004

Opinion submitted in Sept 2004 by : 30,32,59,90

Resort Rating: Good

Accommodation Rating: Very Good

My/Our Holiday Opinion: 

we booked this as a last minute holiday we paid £680 each great people couldnt do enough for you they were frendly and nothing was to much trouble for them . 

hotel was nice and clean, pool a bit small but the hotel isnt that big so it was not over crowded,meals were great but cocktails were very limited entertainment very low key.you dont get hasseled from locals on the beach just a firm but nice no is all they need but normally you dont have to say anythingas the hotel employ staff to sit on the beach to keep an eye on guest.

you must have a go on the jet ski (fantastic) also we hired a car between 4 of us and it cost us £25 each well worth it. we did certain trips are self it included the wild life reserve which is about $12 american dollars each it was brilliant and harrisons cave about $20 american dollars each a must see you can do all these in the same day very easly we also went to see the caves at north point was good but you only spend about 20 mins in it, they drive on the same side as us so it very easy to drive out there we forgot our driving licence so had it email and faxed to the hotel and they printed it off it was fine 

the airport is in refurnished so there is no smoking at all in the airport and the tolets were the only place you could sneak as cig but with risk of getting caught with they are extremly annoyed about (DO NOT make a mistake with the money every thing is priced in barbados dollars so make sure you do not pay the amount they ask for in american dollars example 400 b.h cigs 64 barbados dollars witch is about 30 us allway ask for it in american dollars    

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Tropical Escape - St James

Operator and Date: (MyTravel Direct) My Travel - April 2004

Opinion submitted in Apr 2004 by : Alison Dart and Darryl Whitcombe (36 and 37)

Resort Rating: Excellent

Accommodation Rating: Excellent

My/Our Holiday Opinion: 

Just got back from a fantastic week at the Tropical Escape.  First of all, we've got nothing but praise for MyTravel and our tour rep Solange who was helpful and full of Bajan charm.  Both of the trips we went on were organised through Solange and it made things very easy.

The hotel is small and very friendly.  Nothing is too much trouble for the staff who treat you like a house guest.  The food was superb (even my fussy fella liked everything on offer)and there is plenty of chances to enjoy local delicacies such as flying fish, snapper, bread fruit and rice'n'peas.  The local beer, Banks is very refreshing - just what you need after a long day of doing nothin'. 

We loved the fact that everything was very low key and the place wasn't teeming with kids.  You never felt organised; just totally relaxed and mellow. The sun rises early in the Carib so we followed suit with early morning strolls on the stunning beach and some relaxing lolling by the pool before it got really hot.

We went on the Atlantis submarine trip which was fab. Lots of fish, a ghostly ship wreck and a lovely trip on a catamaran to get to and from the sub.  A word of warning though; don't go mad with the camera or like us you may end up with a whole film of very similar photos!

We also went on a Jeep Safari which was one of the highlights of the trip.  You get to see the inner island; a drive through a rainforest, sugar cane fields and some fantastic vantage points.  You also get to see the beautiful, rugged and lush East coast.  The drivers of all the jeeps are linked up by intercom and the banter is very entertaining.  Also, they are extremely knowledgeable about the island so you get to learn a lot too.  Take care with the rum punch though!  It's free and plentiful throughout the trip and I had to have a little lie down when I got back!!! 

Try the reggae buses they are a real experience!  How many people can you get on 20 seater mini-bus?  At least double that!!

Visit Columbian Diamonds for some real bargains in sparkly things and visit the Chattel Village and De Vine cafe for some high quality souveniers and snacks.

Watch out for locals trying to get you to buy stuff duty free - we got approached twice although they didn't hassle us when we said no.  Apart from that, all the locals are lovely.  They're very courteous and friendly and obviously love their island very much.

I could go on and on - there is just so much good stuff to be said.  We will definatly be going back and definately for longer this time as the nine hour flight does eat into your holiday time.

Barbados has got something for everyone and you can be as lazy or adventurous as you like.  

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St Joseph - Barbados

Bali-Hai Country House - St Joseph

Operator and Date: First Choice from Manchester April 2006

Opinion submitted in September 2006 by : Drucie and David Sherratt Macclesfield Cheshire

Resort Rating: Excellent

Accommodation Rating: Excellent

My/Our Holiday Opinion: 

We had a really wonderful holiday. The setting so peaceful,Sue the owner couldn''t have done more to make our stay as relaxing as possible. We would recommend Bali-Hai Country House to anyone without hesitation

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St Lawrence Gap - Barbados

Bougainvillea Beach Resort - nr St Lawrence Gap

Operator and Date: tropic breeze- may 2007

Opinion submitted in June 2007 by : Pip Hinchcliffe

Resort Rating: Excellent

Accommodation Rating: Excellent

My/Our Holiday Opinion: 

I went to this wonderful hotel with my mum for 7 nights and it was the best experience of our lives. My mum is partly disabled and cannot walk very far. The hotel were aware of this and we were put literally 5 steps from the pool, 7 to the beach and about 10 to the restaurant. It was amazing. We couldnt have been any closer to the beach than we already were. I know what your thinking, they must have had to pay a lot for that to be right on the beach? No, we had a deluxe studio. The second from the bottom of the accomodation choices.

When we arrived there someone took our bags to our room and he showed us how to work things like the safe and the air con.The room was kept clean all week by a maid who came around every morning, she made the bed, changed our towels and even did the washing up. The people were so friendly. If ever we needed anything all we had to do was make a phone call to front desk and somebody would be around straight away to help us.

Each morning there was a man who cleaned the pools and made sure the beach was clean, they even raked it.

I have never felt so safe before neither. There was a security guard walking around all the time. Me and my mum are going back there next year as we will never find a place like that anywhere else in the world. There is so much to do outside the resort but for reasons i have alreasy said we didnt do much walking and found that everything we needed was at the hotel, the restaurant(which was amazing) even did take-aways.

I would definately recommend this hotel to anyone, even those who have children. It was beautiful. Cant thank the staff enough for giving us such an amazing time and we will always have those memories.

Happy holidays......

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Bougainvillea Beach Resort - nr St Lawrence Gap

Operator and Date: Independent - Nov 2006

Opinion submitted in December 2006 by : Alan & Vivienne Hassall - London (50s)

Resort Rating: Very Good

Accommodation Rating: Excellent

My/Our Holiday Opinion: 

My wife and I stayed at the Bougainvillea for 13 nights in November, 2006.

We always book direct with our holiday hotels, and we chose the Bougainvillea from a shortlist compiled from reviews of the hotels that fitted our price range.  As at the end of our holiday we were leaving on an evening flight, a very important requirement was a guaranteed late checkout from our room (not the use of an amenity room, etc).  Of the hotels we contacted, only the South Gap Ocean offered us our requested late checkout at no charge; the Southern Palms refused any kind of guaranteed late checkout and we therefore lost interest and they lost business.  But booking with the Bougainvillea was not without its problems either.  After three attempts at using the 'Contact Us' facility on their website, receiving no response on each occasion, I finally made contact direct with a member of their management team.  Then came the question of a late checkout, an extended exchange of emails, and the issue was eventually resolved to our satisfaction.  We have been on holiday in a number of hotels worldwide, and have never had a problem with early or late checkouts, so this problem in Barbados was a surprise to us.  We are prepared to pay, but we want early/late checkout from our room guaranteed, not just a vague promise of a different or amenity room 'subject to availability'.

The Bougainvillea is in our opinion a good standard four star, with beautifully landscaped gardens and spacious areas.  Because it includes the older Sand Acres hotel, it is effectively two hotels in one, with two of everything - pools, beaches, bars and restaurants.  We never found it a problem to find either a quiet or noisy spot that suited us during the day.  The resort is only 10 minutes by taxi from the airport, but bear in mind the downside of this - there is noise from aircraft approaching the airport, although this is not intrusive enough to spoil a holiday.  On the subject of noise - there is still some coming from the building site next door on that side of the resort, particularly when they are using the heavy equipment, although it looks like the work will be finished in the near future.  Check with the resort if in doubt about whether the noise will affect your holiday - they seem to be very flexible about the allocation of rooms. 

We were given a suite in one of the older blocks - ground floor, as per our request.  While it is difficult to disguise the age of the buildings in this part of the resort, it is commendable the way they have been refurbished.  Our room was more of a one-bedroom apartment than a suite, and was tastefully and smartly decorated.  The bedroom had a king bed, ceiling fan, air conditioning and spacious storage.  The living room had a sofa bed, and more than enough seating area (not that you tend to spend much time sitting inside).  The kitchenette was exceptionally well equipped, with a fridge/freezer bigger than the one we have at home, full oven, microwave, kettle, coffee maker, toaster, and even a sharp knife!  The bathroom (shower, no bath) was the room that most showed the building's age, but everything worked so the occasional bit of discoloured grouting didn't spoil the whole effect.  What was appreciated were the little touches, like the plug-in mosquito repellent in the bedroom, the hairdryer, tissues and toiletries in the bathroom, and the washing up liquid and dishcloths in the kitchen.  There were about 20 TV channels - mostly American, with the token BBC World thrown in, but it would have been nice to have had some local radio channels for atmosphere.  Outside was a double-sized balcony, with two dining chairs and table, two easy chairs and coffee table, and two sunbeds - luxury!  We had two minor problems with the room early in our stay - the TV remote and the toaster were both faulty - and both were dealt with very quickly.   Guests are requested to smoke on the verandah rather than inside, which meant there was no danger of evil-smelling bedclothes.

The two restaurants in the resort provide an acceptable standard of food, although not outstanding.  Breakfast is available at the Lanterns by the Sea until 11am, and the options range from the Continental, at about £7, to the full buffet, at £10, the latter of which gives you an unlimited choice of fruit juices (real juices), tea/coffee, pastries, pancakes, full English, and fresh fruit - worth the money if you are hungry.  We had dinner twice in the Lanterns - the BBQ and the Caribbean buffet - and both were fine.  Our dinner in the Water's Edge restaurant - rather more expensive - was OK, and was good more for the atmosphere of beachside dining than the food.

The beaches and pool areas are ideal for a relaxing holiday.  We mainly used the older pool on the Sand Acres side because it was quieter than the free-form pool, but we could not get umbrellas for the pool from the watersports hut as they only provided them for the beaches.  A lot of the area around the older poolside loses the shade in the afternoon, and it would be good to make umbrellas available by the sunbeds. 

The beaches are very pleasant, with ample umbrellas, sunbeds and towels available at no extra charge.  One of the outstanding features of the Bougainvillea is the availability of sunbeds.  At no time did we have a problem getting sunbeds at any time, nor was there any evidence of selfish reserving of them.  Perhaps the answer is that if hotels make more than enough sunbeds available, people do not find it necessary to reserve them.  The sea is a little rough, and you need a certain amount of confidence to venture out, but there were plenty of people swimming throughout our holiday.  We didn't try any of the water sports or trips, but there were certainly plenty available.  There are a number of beach vendors, but, as other reviewers have reported, a polite 'no thanks' will send them away.  Don't assume, as I did, that the guy who asks you whether you 'want to see action man' is trying to sell you a toy soldier!

Children are well catered for at the Bougainvillea, although for obvious reasons we can't comment in detail.  There is a very well-equipped games room for older children and a fitness room which I promised myself to take advantage of and, of course, finished the holiday without trying.  Other - outdoor - facilities included a giant chess board and a shuffleboard, which was a very pleasant way of passing half an hour.  There is a small library, where you can borrow/exchange paperbacks.

The one thing that we felt let the Bougainvillea down is the poor entertainment.  During our first week, the Caribbean show was enjoyable, but was let down by the DJ that followed playing loud music that had nothing to do with the Caribbean.  The 'steel band' that was advertised several times turned out to be one man with a drum and a synthesiser.  All the entertainment finished at ten o'clock, and on one evening we had just settled down at a table in the pool bar to enjoy the last of the one-man steel band/singer when he started packing away at 9.30!  This drove us to look for something suitable that did not finish at children's bedtime, and on several evenings we walked to the nearby Sea Breeze hotel, where there always seemed to be some low-key live entertainment in the outside (but covered) decked area of the bar.  They also had Banks Beer on draught at half the price of the bottled stuff in the Bougainvillea.  On both Sunday lunchtimes we spurned the one-man steel band at the Bougainvillea and walked to the Southern Palms in the Gap, where they had a full seven-piece band that was very good.  However, I understand that the Bougainvillea will be improving their entertainment program in the near future, so I would not be put off the resort by my comments on this subject.

To get into the Gap, it's a 10 minute walk along the beach and through a small alley - okay during the day, but a bit intimidating after dark.  Alternatively, walking along the road would take at least 20 minutes, but both these routes are unsuitable for people with buggies or disabilities, and both brought you into the quiet part of town, with the livelier part a further 10 minutes' walk.  So it's quite a trek, but taxis are always available outside the hotel and charge BD$15 (£4) each way.

At the far end of town, around a small sandy bay with superb views, were three restaurants with seating looking out over the bay.  Our favourite was Pisces, but there was also David's Place, where good the food and service were slightly let down by the presentation, and Bellini's which was the smallest and required a reservation for a good table.  At the quieter end of town was Luigi's, run by a real Italian couple, which served superb food, although larger appetites might find the portions a little small - but at least this was walkable from the hotel.  A two-course meal with a couple of drinks for two people would cost about £60-80 at these restaurants.  A little less expensive is the Harlequin, with good food and service.  The Captain's Carvery at the Ship Inn was the best value, at about £30 for two; worst value was McBride's, where we were unimpressed by both the food and the service.  We did not try the Restaurant at Southsea, where they have quite a strict dress code, or Josef's, where the menu did not appeal to us.  The crowds and noise at the busy end of the Gap step up a notch after 10 o'clock when the clubs get going, so the older generation tend to be leaving the Gap around this time, while the younger generation are pouring in.

We went to the Roots 'n' Rhythms show at the Plantation, which takes place twice a week on Wednesdays and Fridays.  For about £43 per person, you get a lift from and back to your hotel, a professional Bajan dance and music show, an average buffet, and free drinks until the show ends at 10.15.  Worth it for the experience, but you probably wouldn't want to go twice.

One evening we followed the experience of another couple and ordered a large pizza from Paradise Pizza - phone number at Reception.  They delivered bang on time and with a smile, for a cost of £14 including delivery charge and tip, and the pizza was so large we had to finish it for lunch the following day (thank goodness for the microwave).  On Friday evenings, like everybody else, we went to Oistins Fish Fry (the hotel runs a shuttle bus, but doesn't advertise it).  We bought our food at the Fish Net stall - for BD$20 (about £5.50) you get two pieces of fish, potatoes and salad, and beer is only BD$3 (less than a pound) a bottle.  There's a good atmosphere, and look out for the US all-night style dance room, where the locals are dressed up for a good night's dancing! 

For lunch there is an eat-in or takeaway service at the Lanterns (about £5-8), or rolls and sandwiches available at the bigger supermarkets and service stations (£1.50-£2).  Or there's Leroy's van at the front of the hotel which serves Bajan style fish, chicken or lamb, rice or mashed potatoes, and salad or coleslaw for BD$14 (£4) for a large portion.

With the kitchen facilities in the rooms, it is easy to prepare home meals, but shopping is the issue.  The nearby convenience store is adequate for bread, drinks and other basics, but watch the prices as they can be up to 50% higher than the main supermarkets, and for that you still don't get a smile from the staff.  There is a small supermarket in the quiet part of the Gap, but the main one is in the Southern Plaza in Oistins - at least a 20 minute walk, or a £4 taxi ride each way.  You have to calculate whether you are going to save the taxi fare by going to the main supermarket, or you can take advantage of the supermarket's shuttle bus for the return journey.  Alternatively, take advantage of the 'Commissary Service' from this supermarket - order at Reception and they deliver to your room - but we didn't try this.

We didn't travel around the island too much, as our holiday was for R&R more than activity, but we took advantage of the hotel shuttle bus to go to Bridgetown twice.  There are numerous jewellery shops in Broad Street if you're into Columbian diamonds (but do you really know what you're buying?).  The Pelican Craft Centre is worth browsing round if you can manage the walk from the town centre in the hot sun, but the Jewish synagogue was closed when we were there.  A light lunch at the Waterfront Café is worthwhile, but leave plenty of time as the service can be slow.  We also hired a taxi for a guided tour round the island - the standard charge seems to be BD$60 (£16) per hour plus tip - and 2 or 3 hours would be sufficient unless you want to make lengthy stops in several places.  This can at least give you an idea of where to return to if you subsequently decide to hire a car.  There are many other excursions you can go on - a jeep safari, submarine ride, catamaran, but these were too energetic for us.

As is our normal practice, we went to several nearby hotels - mostly the others on our shortlist - to compare them with the one we chose.  The Barbados Beach Club, next door, has rather scruffy-looking outdoor areas, and is an all-inclusive, so does not welcome outside guests.  A few minutes further on, the Sea Breeze looks quite nice, but the pool, beach and gardens are smaller than the Bougainvillea, and not as attractive.  This would be a good choice for their all-inclusive option (we spoke to several guests there and all were positive), or as a cheaper alternative to the Bougainvillea.  In the Gap, we looked in on the South Ocean Gap, where there is limited space around the pool, which on this particular evening was occupied by a large crowd of beer swillers with bottles all around the pool area.  This was the 'cheap and cheerful' option on our shortlist, but as it is in the noisiest part of the town, we are glad we didn't choose it.  We quite liked the Southern Palms, with its spacious bar, nice (but smallish) pool and beachside location, but we did not look at any of the rooms.  The Southern Palms definitely had the best location, in a quiet but convenient part of the Gap.  Overall, none of the other hotels matched the Bougainvillea for space and well-designed grounds, although the Southern Palms had the best location and both the Southern Palms and the Sea Breeze had better entertainment.

The acid test of any holiday is how sad you are at leaving when it's time to go home, and I could certainly have done another week at the Bougainvillea.  If we return to Barbados, it will definitely be on our shortlist, and I understand that they will have improved the entertainment by then!

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Bougainvillea Beach Resort - nr St Lawrence Gap

Operator and Date: (Virgin Discounts) Virgin Atlantic   -  June 2004

Opinion submitted in July 2004 by : Davies Family  -  Cardiff  (46, 36, 4, 4)

Resort Rating: Very Good

Accommodation Rating: Very Good

My/Our Holiday Opinion: 

This was our first holiday since the birth of our (now) four-year-old twins, so we were anxious to go back to an island we had visited before.   While making our choice we miscalculated our location as the hotel was the Oistins side of St Lawrence Gap as opposed to the Bridgetown side, something we didn't appreciate until we arrived.   This meant we were a little more remote than we thought, but taxis and buses are plentiful, cheap and safe and that wasn't a problem.

The hotel itself was just as pictured on its web site and the staff were welcoming.   The front desk and the activities staff were very helpful, however we had to round up other parents with children to arrange a 'kids club' day, as it wasn't promoted very well and wasn't run unless there were more than three children (something not made clear on the brochure).   There was a lot of work going on at the hotel both construction and painting although it was never a problem and was for me a sign of how much effort was going in to looking after the hotel. There is a ban on 'booking' sunbeds with towels, although in the second week some (I'm sad to say) Brits ignored it.   It was actually a waste of time as, despite the fact the hotel was at 95% occupancy when we were there, there were always enough sunbeds, both at the pool and the beach.

The apartment (we were R/O in a deluxe studio) was spacious, with a bedroom, bathroom, kitchen with a cooker, microwave, sink, large fridge/freezer and a safe.   The lounge had a TV (with limited interesting channels) and a sofa that transformed into a double bed.   The entire apartment was air conditioned, with the addition of ceiling fans if required.   A fair size balcony overlooked the pool and was great for early morning breakfasts.  The main part of the hotel is laid out in a V shape, with the pools within the V and the sea at the wide end.  This meant you were never more than 200 yds from the sea and the noise from the waves (it was a little rough) was great to wake up to.   As said, the sea was a little rough, but safe as long as you were careful  -  it was a little too strong for my kids, but as long as I accompanied them, they (and I) were happy.    It was also possible without too much effort to stroll along the beach to St Lawrence Gap  -   admittedly a bit further if you did it inland.

Barbados was a little expensive to eat out in, even in the non-tourist areas.    Normally it was slightly more than we would be used to in Britain, but as it applied to everyone, it didn't seem that tourists were being specifically targeted.  Despite the island's reputation for friendliness, I found a lot of the people in the tourist/service/shops to be quite abrupt initially (it was almost like visiting London!) and took a while to relax.   That said, ordinary Bajan people were extremely friendly and were always up for a chat.  One lady we spoke to on the street, seeing how tired and hot our kids were (after we took them on a misguidedly long walk) had to be stopped from getting out her car, to give us a lift back to our hotel!

The gymnasium in the hotel is excellent, extremely well equipped and air conditioned and usually fairly empty.   The kid's pools are cleaned regularly and, with their waterfalls, quite picturesque.
There is also a free shuttle bus to Bridgetown.  This isn't widely publicised in the hotel and we found a few people had taken taxis there as they didn't know about it.   Also, the local buses and the 'rasta buses' are a very cheap (and safe) way to travel around (despite how some of them look).

On the down side,  I found the choice and service at the pool bar in the Bougainvillaea to be pretty poor and the happy hour times were rigidly adhered to (the only times that ever seemed to be).  Late in the holiday we found the bar at the sister hotel Sandy Acres, where Rodney the barman would mix some fantastic cocktails (and was far happier doing it).    The other down side was Lanterns restaurant.    We tried it twice....  The first night we arrived and on Father's day as my kids wanted to make an occasion of it and they had a Father's Day Buffet.       On the first night service was slow (we expected that) until some of the family finished their meals  -   personally, I don't enjoy my meal when people's plates are being cleared up while I'm still eating.     However they made up for it on the Father's Day Buffet....  then, no-one cleared our plates for us to try the next course until we move the plates over to a nearby table.    The manager seemed quite surprised at our reply when she asked if everything was OK.   The food (when it arrives) is very good, but the service was worse than you'd expect in a cafe in Britain!

There was limited entertainment, but that wasn't a problem for us with young kids.   If you were looking for more 'life' St Lawrence gap was only a taxi ride away for about £3.   The hotel had a relaxed and safe atmosphere (as did the whole island) and I wasn't concerned about safety at any point.    They'd tried to think of everything, for example,  kids could even borrow a bucket and spade if  they wished to!

Virgin Atlantic were great (not that we ever need the rep).   They now allow you to check your main luggage in at your hotel on the morning of your departure.  This means you only have your hand luggage to worry about and can stroll straight through the queues, into Security and the Departure lounge.  Also, Virgin Atlantic have personal TVs in the seat and lots of goodies to keep the kids occupied.
The hotel has an excellent guest suite, with an air conditioned room and two shower rooms so a simple change of clothing is all you need for the flight home.

All in all it was a great place and we intend to come back to Barbados next year.    Unless something jumps out as a far better deal we'll probably go back to the Bougainvillaea.   We'll definitely travel Virgin Airlines again.

BADs
Lanterns   -    Try Sandy Acres' "Water's Edge", far better standards of service and the food is just as good.
Pool Bar   -    Again, Sandy Acres' bar with Rodney...... superb!

GOODs
Safe, clean, no 'booking' sunbeds, great apartments, good service (on the two occasions I needed housekeeping they were really quick and efficient). Gymnasium, beach,  I could go on.....

TIPS
Paradise Pizza - you can order from your room (the front desk has the number) and they deliver.   Large pizzas, reasonably priced!
Leroy's Van   -   at 12 mid-day, Monday to Friday, Leroy serves good cheap Bajan food out of his van just across the road from the hotel.
Oistins  -   Friday is the 'Big Night'....  but if you're just going to try the food and walk around, Thursday is just as much fun, but with far less people and far smaller queues.
A taxi to Oistins supermarket is only £6 round trip and the driver will wait if you ask, at no extra cost.

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Casuarina Beach Club - St Lawrence

Operator and Date: British Airways Holidays - Date Not Specified

Opinion submitted in Jan 2004 by : Kirstie Dedman- Leeds (28, 27,6,2)

Resort Rating: Excellent

Accommodation Rating: Very Good

My/Our Holiday Opinion:

Beach here is absolutly fantastic the best I've ever seen, with a wonderful breeze to keep you cool.

Hotel is okay but like most Caribean hotels is used all year round so the rooms sometimes do look like they could do with a lick of paint!

Definently try all the restaurants in the Gap, relax and enjoy!

Beach and street vendors are vey polite and friendly, they are alot less pushy than many in european resorts! Or even the U.K.

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Coral Mist Beach Hotel - Nr St Lawrence Gap, Worthing Beach

Operator and Date: Independant - May 2007

Opinion submitted in July 2007 by : V & J Lambert - Norwich 32, 29

Resort Rating: Excellent

Accommodation Rating: Excellent

My/Our Holiday Opinion: 

We decided to book this hotel direct as Virgin Holidays no longer had availability and we really wanted to stay at this particular hotel. When we arrived at Bridgetown airport we took a local taxi parked up outside the terminal which cost us just $40 Barbados dollars (including a tip for the friendly driver). On arrival to the Coral Mist we were greeted by the lovely receptionist who asked us to go the beach bar as we couldn't check in to the room until 3pm. The bar is directly on the beach giving you super views of the ocean whilst kicking back with bottle of Banks - the local beer. Once we were in our room we were pleasantly surprised, the rooms are immaculately cleaned, beds are made you for you daily and the little kitchenette had everything you could wish for, there is also a hairdryer in the bathroom. All of the bedrooms face out to the ocean so everyone gets a great view without having to pay over the top supplements. The beach at Worthing is by far one of the best beaches in the south, sand was really clean, sun beds free of charge and crystal clear sea (beware: the waves are pretty intense so make sure you are a proficient swimmer before getting in). There is a pool at the hotel and also another pool at the sister hotel The Blue Orchid Beach Hotel. There are some restaurants and bars close by and Big B's supermarket is about a 10 minute walk away.

The walk into Bridgetown is long so make sure you take some water a hat and some sun protection. When you get to the city make sure you head to the fish market where you can find amazing fresh fish.

Hire a car and explore the island - but watch out for people loitering by the roadside as they will charge you for directions or try to sell you souvenirs. The West coast has exclusive hotels and some of the best beaches and with restaurants and bars popular with celebrities. The East Coast has The Crane beach, Bottom Bay and Bathsheba - stunning views but you cannot swim in the sea as it is so rough. The Middle of the island is full of lush greenery, working plantations the Flower Forest which is a lovely rest stop with exotic plants and walk ways to discover. Make sure you take a picnic and plenty of water.

Cool Running's catamaran tour is a great way to spend the day; included in the price you pay are drinks and a good lunch of fish and salad You can snorkel over a manmade coral reef with multi coloured fish and swim with turtles. Book through your hotel receptionist or activities coordinator and transport will come to pick you up on the morning of the trip from your hotel and drop you off too.

The nicest restaurant we found was Champers just a few minutes walk from the hotel, the service was exemplary and the food was absolutely delicious the whole evening was very special from the moment we booked to the moment we left. I cannot recommend this place enough. Another restaurant we visited was Josef's which was set in a lovely plantation house but unfortunately the service and food didn't match the quality of Champers.

St Laurence Gap is an easy 20 minute walk along the main road from the hotel and there are a selection of bars and restaurants along the strip all with colourful décor and chilled out atmospheres, we went mostly to Jumbies bar in St Laurence Gap for cocktails and simple bar food and to the Mexican bar opposite the church on the bend of the gap road (can't remember the name!).

The Coral Mist hotel provided us with one of the nicest holiday experiences we have had in a very long time, together with the beach side location and amazing staff I wouldn't hesitate to recommend this hotel to family and friends.

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Coral Mist Beach Hotel - Nr St Lawrence Gap

Operator and Date: No tour operator used - December 2004

Opinion submitted in Dec 2004 by : A. Quinn - Surrey (30 and 27)

Resort Rating: Excellent

Accommodation Rating: Excellent

My/Our Holiday Opinion: 

Self Catering hotel / apartments with everything you could possibly need (well apart from oven gloves!...but who is perfect?!). Our one bedroomed apartment had a large bedroom with ensuite bathroom, spacious living area with dining table, desk, tv with adjoining open plan kitchen and direct access to the balcony that looked directly out onto the ocean. Rooms were cleaned daily and there was tons of storage space. The views from the balcony were amazing and all apartments are roughly 10 metres from the beach! There is a small pool, however we didn't use this as the sea was crystal clear and very warm. The hotel provides sun loungers, kayaks and boogie boards for guests at no extra charge, a real bonus as you have to pay for this further down the beach.

The hotel staff (especially reception - Nicole) were warm and friendly. They were courtious and really did as much as they could to make our trip hassle free. They even assigned us our own taxi driver 'Ron' from Accura Beach Taxi Service who was excellent and ferried us to various restaurants in the evening.

The hotel is situated 3 mins drive from St Lawrence Gap (20min walk down the beach) and cost approx £2.50 in a cab fare. You could easily walk to Big B's supermarket (5 mins away) to get any groceries you need...this was cheaper than the one opposite the shell garage...you just need to do a left at the shell garage and Big B's is approx 250 metres on the left hand side.

We sampled a lot of the restaurants...wont list them all but here were our favourites

1. Restaurant at Southsea (St L Gap)- Service was better than The Cliff and the food was wonderful too.

2. The Cliff (St James) - World Famous...lived up to its reputation

3. Ocean's (St L Gap)- Lobster was one of the best I have ever had!

Weather was excellent give or take a few brief showers that came and went in a matter of minutes and were a welcome relief from the heat!

I would and will return to the Coral Mist Beach Hotel AGAIN and want to reccommend it to everyone!

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Divi Southwinds Beach Resort - St Lawrence Gap

Operator and Date: (First Choice Discounts) First Choice - March 2006

Opinion submitted in Apr 2006 by : Norma Williams - Manchester (61, 67)

Resort Rating: Good

Accommodation Rating: Average

My/Our Holiday Opinion: 

The flights were very comfortable due to the extra leg room in Star Class Premier.  Even the other seats had good leg room.  The seat back entertainment was also good.

The apartment was very nice with a really comfortable enormous bed in a separate bedroom. The lounge had a tv and the kitchen area was superb with new equipment including combination microwave, electric can opener, coffee machine, a lovely electric hob and fridge freezer. All the crockery, pans and utensils were also new.  We didn't make much use of the kitchen because we were all inclusive.

We chose a garden view as we thought a pool view apartment might be a bit noisy.  Our top floor (5th) apartment, Room 511,overlooked the main road which went into Bridgetown, so we didn't use the balcony because of the traffic noise, otherwise we couldn't hear the traffic at all. The pool view apartments weren't noisy at all as it was fairly quiet around the pool which we used mostly because the sea was a bit rough.  There were palm trees on the beach which were nice to sit under.

The hotel and gardens weren't at all noisy and there wasn't any noise from the surrounding area. The hotel was being refurbished but the noise was negligible.

Walking from the main road you come into the hotel reception. Through the hotel to the pool then through the gardens and across the Gap to the beach restaurant / bar.  The Gap was a narrow strip of road with restaurants and bars but it was very quiet during the day and not really noisy in the evenings.
There were 20 First Choice guests but no others from England and the majority of guests were timeshare from America and Canada and they normally went out to eat in the evenings. Unfortunately because of this there were only about 3/5 couples in the poolside restaurant at any one time most evenings so there wasn't really a holiday atmosphere.  It was busier on the night of the weekly floor show which was repeated during the second week and on the other nights there was music and singing.

The food was good on the whole. Breakfast and lunch were taken at the beach cafe/restaurant where there was a buffet evening once a week.  The downside of the hotel being mainly timeshare was that even the all-inclusive guests had to sign for everything; food, drinks, coffee, so that we wouldn't be billed.
The swim up bar was closed because of problems.  Fortunately we were pleased about this as they opened the bar above it.  If the swim up bar had been open, the only way we could have got a drink would have been to get in the water.  Just because we're sitting by the pool and want a drink doesn't mean that we want to get in the water to obtain one.

The bus stop (buses very frequent) was on the main road outside the hotel and for approx. 30/40 pence we went right up the west coast.  Bridgetown was about 15 minutes away but we were disappointed.  Maybe our expectations were too high knowing that cruise ships visit there.  Barbados was okay but apart from the sun and palm trees, much of the island is like England so we probably won't go back.  

Hope you enjoy your holiday if you choose Barbados.

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Escape at the Gap - St Lawrence Gap

Operator and Date: (Virgin Direct) Virgin feb 2007

Opinion submitted in March 2007 by : sally,heather south wales (43,46)

Resort Rating: Excellent

Accommodation Rating: Very Good

My/Our Holiday Opinion: 

Just returned from holiday and all i can say is FANTASTIC! can't wait to go again, 

weather brill,location of hotel couldn't be better,rooms comfortable,staff friendly and helpful. As two women in their forties we were apprehensive of going out in the evenings but were suprised how many people were walking up and down the 'gap' in the evenings,and didn't feel intimidated,locals would call out to us but answering a pleasant 'no thanks' was sufficent for them to move on.Ship Inn good for live groups and food good. Met some great people in hotel which is very friendly and got mini bus from Sam outside to Oistins which is a must. Also had ride on jet ski driven by Shaun on beach something neither of us thought we would do and thoroughly enjoyed it. Virgin's service was superb start to finish twilight check in at Gatwick and luggage collection from hotel all made it so easy and relaxing.Bridgetown trip with free shuttle bus was great we should have stayed longer though and got a later shuttle back as we rushed around and could have seen more.

For beach location,nice clean rooms,good food,and friendly atmosphere between guests you couldn't beat this hotel.

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Escape at the Gap - St Lawrence Gap

Operator and Date: (Virgin Direct) Virgin March 2006

Opinion submitted in May 2006 by : Ron and Shirley West Yorkshire 60/59

Resort Rating: Excellent

Accommodation Rating: Excellent

My/Our Holiday Opinion: 

Please dont belive all you read about this hotel,while not the Ritz its a little gem,food is top class rooms are
spotless staff are very freindly and its right on the beach,sun beds and sun shades porvided,entertainment is low key but we enjoyed it.We didnt go on any trips but we hired a taxi to take us round the island ( best way as he knew all the places to visit) we even got into Sandy Lane.A word of warning the sea can be very rough and has a strong undertow take care with the children,and dont get caught out with the sun its very strong.Recommend the upgrade to Premium economy on the return leg (night flight)

We plan to visit Barbados again and this little hotel will top the list.

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Escape at the Gap - St Lawrence Gap

Operator and Date: (Virgin Direct) Virgin - Mar 2006

Opinion submitted in May 2006 by : claire,dean,matt,gaby - rotherham (30,32,9,5)

Resort Rating: Average

Accommodation Rating: Excellent

My/Our Holiday Opinion: 

Well where to start any gripes we have are with the reosrt and island rather than the hotel. This is the smallest hotel we have stayed in before but it was lovely we upgraded to a delux ocean view room and it was really worth it the rooms were large we had a seperate bedroom and kitchen area and a great view of the beach. The rooms were cleaned every day and the maids were lovely. The food was good and there was plenty to choose from the kids never had any trouble finding something. the pools were ok the main pool was across a road but did have a self service bar where you could get water tea/coffee soft drinks (the kids loved that). The hotel staff were great really friendly and couldn't do enough for you and because it was small you felt more like friends. The kids club was a godsend janette who ran it was brill with the kids it started at 2 and ran til 10 pm with a break in between which was perfect as a morning round the pool in that sun was enough.

Now for the gripes I was expecting a fantastic beach which it was except for the hawkers which to be honest were a little intimidating at times and could get really in your face and persistant. I was also expecting to snorkel everyday yet I went in the sea 3 times over two weeks it was just too rough my husband lost his wedding ring when a wave took him under and even when the waves semed to calm down the currents were still too strong which really spoilt it for me also even when the kids were sat at the edge of the water playing in the sand you had to be wary as the waves could come right in.

Another gripe the people of barbados are friendly but there is always an undertone of them wanting you to buy something which can really get you don if all you want is to go for a quiet walk.
Excursions the hotel has a courtesy bus which goes to bridgetown in the morning and fetches you back just after lunch shopping is a must as diamonds emeralds and watches are duty free you can pick up a bargain. We also went on the virgin catamaran fantastic trip the kids loved it and we swam with turtles and went snorkelling they treat you like kings there was always food and drink on offer.

We had a really good time but I felt that it is a lot of money for an island that is nothing special and no different from the other caribbean islands that are maybe not as exclusive in price.

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Escape at the Gap - St Lawrence Gap

Operator and Date: (Virgin Direct) Virgin March 2006

Opinion submitted in Apr 2006 by : Donna and Jerry Edwards -Hornchurch (43,46)

Resort Rating: Very Good

Accommodation Rating: Good

My/Our Holiday Opinion:

Just returned from Escape at the Gap, had a fantastic holiday, first time in Barbados and it was all i wanted it to be!
Only went for a week but should have gone for two! The beach is fantastic but, the water is rough and there is a red flag on the beach. Although it is magnificent to sit and watch all day.Some people have stated on this site that they paid for sunbeds?? We never experienced this at all, in fact we never spent a penny for the first 3 days!!
If you dont do any other excursions, the Collaps and Relax Catamaran trip is an absolute must, sheer paradise, and the crew really look after you.

Also we dont usually do tours but someone reccomended Teds Tours, we were going to do the Virgin one but it was full, lucky for us because Ted is the funniest tour guide you will ever meet and the iced Rum Punch is available at every stop!! you also stop for lunch and it was superb with stunning surroundings.Cant say anymore about it other than just do it!! The locals are all lovely and very friendly, I cannot wait to go back.

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Escape at the Gap - St Lawrence Gap

Operator and Date: (Virgin Discounts) Virgin Atlantic

Opinion submitted in Aug 2005 by : 25, 26

Resort Rating: Excellent

Accommodation Rating: Excellent

My/Our Holiday Opinion: 

We stayed here in July 2005 and we had an amazing time here in Paradise.

Arrived at the hotel and was greeted by staff who gave us a nice cold rum punch.. Our room which was on the third room was very clean with air conditioning.

Well what can we say about the beach it was beautiful, white sand and clear blue sea. The locals do tend to sell you stuff on the beach but a polite no thank and they leave you alone.

The food was lovely every meal we had..  It was buffet for lunch and you had to make a booking for dinner at breakfast the a la carte over at the Pirates Restaurant is a must the grilled fish was very tasty.

The pool was cleaned everyday, my boyfriend used the gym a couple of times when he got bored of sunbathing!!

We went out in the evenings a couple of times it is very safe to walk around went down to the Gap where you will find all the bars.  It is worth a look and a few drinks!!

We had an amazing time in paradise cant wait for my Boyfriend to take me again..

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Escape at the Gap - St Lawrence Gap

Operator and Date: (Virgin Discounts) Virgin  December 2004

Opinion submitted in Jan 2005 by : 46,43,9,7,4

Resort Rating: Very Good

Accommodation Rating: Very Good

My/Our Holiday Opinion: 

We just got back yesterday from this hotel and we had a great holiday. 

As we are a family of 5 (3 young kids ) we stayed in one of the larger rooms in Pirates block which is another part of the hotel situated across the road from the main building. It is not a main road but can get quite busy but during our stay we found all the drivers very courteous and there is also a traffic bump so no one was travelling fast. It was never a problem for us.  

Our room was nice and comfortable with a lounge area with air conditioning which had a curtain to screen off three single beds, there was a sofa and 2 chairs, tv,telephone and doors onto the terrace or balcony. We also had a seperate double bedroom and bathroom. Bedding was changed frequently and the room was kept nice and clean considering the amount of sand and water around from visiting the beach and swimming pools. Pirates  building also has its own swimming pool which is a nice size and I saw it being cleaned every morning. There are roman steps into the pool that goes from 2ft to 4ft max depth. At the pool there is a self service bar for soft drinks but to be honest its better to cross the road and get your drinks (its not far to walk ). 

The al a carte restaurant is also in this block and that is lovely the food we had was exceptional and I can recommend the marlin fish! The restaurants alternate in the evenings between Pirates or seascape in the main building which is often buffet meals as are lunch and breakfast. We enjoyed all the meals and they will do special meals for kids to have either with the adults or at an earlier time if requested. You have to book a time for dinner at breakfast but we never found that to be a problem as we were always up early with the kids anyway.  

There is a good kids club too and it was nice on occaision in the evening to have dinner on our own when the little uns were being entertained in the kids club. In the main building there is a small pool which had just been repainted etc when we were there so it was a little slippery and its also quite close to the bar and tables.  The bar and seascape restaurant overlook and are virtually right on the fabulous Dover beach. The sunbeds and umbrellas are free and the beach was fab, lovely golden sand and lovely to swim in the sea. There are lots of beach sellers seling aloe vera, jewellery and ladies doing hair braiding. If you say no in the first couple of days they don't bother you again. Aloe vera is good though for sunburn! and facinating how they fill a bottle in front of you.  The weather we had was wonderful with only a few hours rain for the 14 nights we were there, but saying that even when it rains you can still swim or walk around it cools you down and nothing like what we get in the UK for rain!

Lastly I must tell you about the Barbadians they are wonderful people, and love kids. We hired a car one day and got lost and a local reversed his car back to us to see if we were ok and then proceeded to go out of his way so we could follow him to get where we were going. They have a respect for people that has long gone from here in the UK.
This was our first visit to Barbados and I was really nervous beforehand not knowing what to expect as I'd read quite a few bad reports about the hotel but I think it is what you make it and if you go with the intention of finding fault then you can always find something, we had a brilliant time and will definately be booking again.

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Escape at the Gap - St Lawrence Gap

Operator and Date: (Virgin Discounts) Virgin - May 2004

Opinion submitted in June 2004 by : Ali & Sally - Essex & Cambridge (35, 31)

Resort Rating: Excellent

Accommodation Rating: Very Good

My/Our Holiday Opinion: 

We had a great time.  The hotel could do with a lick of paint but hey chill out it's Barbados it will get done tomorrow !!
The hotel staff are all very friendly and will help as much as they can.  Young Mark that works behind the bar always has a smile for all his customers as does most of the restuarant staff.  The food was excellent and very veried.  If you can't see what you want ask and it appears from nowhere.  One tip for the kids is that if you want ice cream you have to ask for it.

We upgraded and stayed in the Pirates block across the road from the main hotel, much better as we had loads of space for all of our shoes that we didn't end up wearing.  Nights out are very casual so don't take anything to dressy.

The nights out are great, there are particular places to go on certain nights.  Irish bar, The Ship, Harbour Lights, The Boatyard and not forgetting the Reggae Lounge (which isn't for the faint hearted).  The hotel bar closes at 11:00pm but if your staying in that part of the hotel you will be pleased.  Once the bar closes walk 10 mins up the road and you can always find a bar open until at least 4:00am.  You are gauranteed to meet a few of the locals in the bars and they always approach from behind so don't be surprised to find someone dancing behind you.

The beach is lovely and yes you have to pay for the umbrellas and the cushions that go on the sunbeds but you don't pay for the white or blue sunbeds as they belong to the hotel.  The locals on the beach are all very harmless and some of them quite funny.  Once we said no thank you we were left alone for the rest of the holiday. 

All in all we had a great time and will be going back next year.  Considering we experienced the worst weather that Barbados has had at this time of year for over 30 years it can't all be bad. 

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Escape at the Gap - St Lawrence Gap

Operator and Date: (Virgin Discounts) Virgin Holidays April 2004

Opinion submitted in June 2004 by : Lynn Blondell - Woking 50, 51, 20, 25

Resort Rating: Excellent

Accommodation Rating: Excellent

My/Our Holiday Opinion: 

We had a fantastic holiday at Escape at the Gap.  It's a lovely hotel at the quiet end of St Lawrence Gap, which is the best place to stay if you want some night life as well as a gorgeous beach.  Our rooms were not luxurious but were comfortable and very clean with room service every day.  We were on the top floor and overlooked amazing Dover Beach which has the bluest sea and lovely soft white sand.   Breakfast, lunch and dinner are served in the informal beach-side restaurant and tend to be buffet style.  Nice food with something for everyone.  At breakfast time, you'll get a beaming smile from Andre and he'll cook you eggs any way you like or a lovely omelette with fillings of your choice.  Dinners are also served on some evenings in the Pirates Restaurant where you can choose from an a la carte menu - very good food -  we can recommend catch of the day!  Nice house wine served with dinner and liquers after, if you like.  Varied selection of drinks from the beach bar in the evening were fine, but it would have been nicer to have glass instead of plastic to drink out of.  

All the hotel staff were very friendly, especially Willy who went out of his way to make us feel at home.  Virgin's rep Jackie was there almost every day, very friendly, helpful and knowledgeable.  There is a phone you can use on the rep's desk which is free of charge to book trips, cars, etc, when she's not there. 

The South coast beaches are beautiful - quite lively surf, so lots of fun jumping the waves and trying out the boogie boards.  Forget the over-rated West Coast beaches - flat sea, very boring and I got oil on my shorts both times I paddled (from the too numerous jet-skis and outboards buzzing around).  The most beautiful beaches we found are at Bottom Bay and Foul Bay (named because ships get fouled on the offshore rocks) on the south-east coast and the amazing Bathsheba on the east coast. 

We hired a car on several days (not cheap - about £60 a day) but worth it to really have a good look around.  Don't miss the east coast where there are wide-sweeping views of the Atlantic coast - wild and beautiful scenery.  The west coast seems to be  where most of the exclusive hotels are but it is basically a long strip of hotels with not much to recommend it.  It's on the Caribbean side and the sea is flat and calm, but the beaches are narrow and not as beautiful as those on the south coast.  

The north part of the island is very pretty and try and call in to the Barbados Wildlife Reserve to see the native green monkeys.  All the people you meet are friendly and will always offer help if you get lost (you can't get too lost - Barbados is only about 20 miles long by about 14).  Bridgetown is not particularly interesting and there's only one department store - Cave Sheppard - where the staff are over-attentive and it's hard to browse undisturbed.

The only way to travel by bus is on the 'ZRs' - white minibuses which are privately run - an experience not to be missed, but it feels a bit like being kidnapped until you get used to it.  Also, you have to like LOUD reggae!  About 45p to anywhere on the island.  There are large, more sedate buses but nowhere near the fun!

Don't miss the Oistins fish fry on Friday evenings - skip dinner at the hotel and have a plate of freshly caught fish cooked on open air fires.  Wash it down with Banks beer and listen to reggae blaring from the most enormous speakers you have seen.  Fantastic!

One word of warning - on checking out, the hotel wanted to charge us for phone calls from our room, which we hadn't made.  When we queried it, they apologised for their mistake, saying the calls were made by a previous guest.  It didn't stop them charging us though, because after we got home, we discovered our Visa account had been debited for £34!

Coming home, we 'checked in and chilled out' - Virgin staff come to the hotel, give you your boarding passes and take your bags away at about midday.  Then you just arrive at the airport late afternoon and virtually walk straight onto the plane.    Virgin Atlantic definitely deserves its reputation - would recommend it to anyone.

All in all a marvellous place - we met some lovely people and would love to go there again.  I think it would be hard to find a better base than Escape at the Gap!

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Rostrevor Apartment Hotel - St Lawrence Gap

Operator and Date: Virgin  Going  Places  July  2007

Opinion submitted in July 2007 by :      David Longman  (54  53 )

Resort Rating: Excellent

Accommodation Rating: Excellent

My/Our Holiday Opinion: 

Having just returned, could not wait to book again for next year.Beautiful island and everyone so friendly.Rostrevor apts smack in centre of ST Lawrence had top floor  brill view over little beach and sea.hired jeep for 10 days seen all. Staff so nice nothing to much for them to do for you,booked again June 07 cant wait

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Rostrevor Apartment Hotel - St Lawrence Gap

Operator and Date: (Virgin Discounts) Virgin - May 2005

Opinion submitted in May 2005 by : Leeds (50,49,47,34,32,30)

Resort Rating: Excellent

Accommodation Rating: Excellent

My/Our Holiday Opinion: 

Stayed in the new air conditioned apartments which were excellent,clean spacious wonderful ocean views.All staff were friendly and very helpful throughout our stay.Pool bar served good snacks and drinks all day.Resort was also excellent varied choice of restaurants and nightlife.

Excellent beaches were within walking distance.All of our party were suprised at how cheap Barbados was as before we went we were warned by everybody that it was expensive.This was not the case one of the cheapest destinations we have visited for a long time.All in all an excellent holiday, resort and apartments could not be faulted.

Standard of food was very good across the range.The Bajan people were  friendly and helpful would highly recommend Barbados to all.The only complaintwe found was with the BMI scheduled flights,the flight to Barbados was ok but the return flight left a lot to be desired, food was appalling only one drink was served in 8 hours and the flight attendents were rude and ignorant throughout the flight.Hopefully Virgin will decide to service Manchester departures themselves in the near future.
As this is the only reason that would deter us fom booking Barbados with Virgin in the future.

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Sand Acres / Bouganvilla - St Laurence Gap

Operator and Date: (Virgin Discounts) Virgin  - Nov 2004

Opinion submitted in Mar 2005 by : Mark ,Marion,Colin and Janice (39  -45)

Resort Rating: Good

Accommodation Rating: Good

My/Our Holiday Opinion:  

We loved Barbados.Every one at the Sand Acres was very friendly.It has joined up with the Bouganvilla to make one large hotel.The only down side is that it is a long way out for an easy stroll to St Laurence Gap,especially at night.The road to the hotel is very dark, you have to get a taxi out to eat if you want something other than using their own lanterns restaurant,this was nice but limited menu at night.The beach was great as was the pool on the sand acres side and ofton we were the only people there.

We would visit again but go more into town.

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South Gap Hotel - St Lawrence Gap

Operator and Date: (Airtours Direct) Airtours - Oct 2006

Opinion submitted in October 2006 by : D&M (47, 27)

Resort Rating: Very Good

Accommodation Rating: Good

My/Our Holiday Opinion: 

We stayed in a studio on a self catering basis.  The room was nice and clean and a decent size with everything you need, with a balcony overlooking the pool area and sea. 

The hotel staff are extremely friendly and helpful and reception is open 24 hours a day which is good.

The hotel is situated right in the middle of St Lawrence Gap with restaurants and bars either side and Dover Beach is only a 5-10 minute walk away.

The hotels restaurant is good value for money and open throughout the day.

The only downside to the hotel is that it is directly opposite the Ship Inn and After Dark which are 2 bars/clubs with music playing till around 3-4am.

Oh yeah and be prepared to get up around 7am to put your towel down on a sun lounger if you are going to be lazing by the pool for the day.

Other than that it is a lovely little hotel and great value for money.

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South Gap Ocean Hotel - St Lawrence

Operator and Date: (Airtours Direct) Airtours - 2006

Opinion submitted in September 2006 by : A Scholey & C Jameson

Resort Rating: Good

Accommodation Rating: Very Good

My/Our Holiday Opinion: 

Hotel is very clean, although studio rooms are quite basic, they are serviced daily(if you wanted it).
View from every balcony is of the Ocean - beautiful breath taking sight!
Staff are extremly friendly.
Pool area is kept clean and tidy,plenty of loungers and seats.
Barman "Jiggy T" is great fun - although he is a close friend of our family!
"The Gap can be a little noisy at first, but after a few days you don't notice it. There are plenty of places to eat,I recommend - THE SHIP INN; JADE GARDEN; ST LAWRENCE PIZZA AND STEAK HOUSE; THE CHICKEN BARN.
Blue and Yellow buses run regularly and cost $1.50(Bajan) fare to any where,although you could take a ZR taxi if you felt inclined.
The beach is a short walk away -and it's magnificent and very safe.

Barbados is beautiful.

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South Gap Ocean Hotel - St Lawrence

Operator and Date: (Airtours Direct) Airtours - June/July 2004

Opinion submitted in July 2004 by : Nikki Robertson - Livingston (29,35,35,32)

Resort Rating: Excellent

Accommodation Rating: Excellent

My/Our Holiday Opinion: 

Accomodation: The South Gap Ocean Hotel is classed as a 2* accomodation and is the best 2* I've stayed in. There were 4 of us staying in 2 separate rooms in the hotel. One was a room only with kitchen area and separate bathroom. The kitchen area consisted of a sink, two ring hot plate, a microwave and fridgefreezer. We also had a toaster, kettle and coffee maker. 

The room was a good size with 2 singles beds, a TV, double wardrobe. The bathroom has a bath and shower and has a hairdryer. The one bedroomed apartment was also a good size and had all the kitchen and bathroom factilities listed above but also has a separate bedroom and living area. Air conditioning was in all rooms as well as a ceiling fan - I didn't find the air con too noisey and slept fine with it on. We also didn't hear much noise at all from the bars in the Gap although our friends in the one bed apartment did hear more as their bedroom was to the front of the hotel - they said it wasn't a problem as you got used to it. The view of the ocean from the balconies are fantastic. 

There is a maid service in the room every day and clean towels are provided everyday. Beach towels are also provided in the rooms. The staff in the hotel are friendly. Trevor the barman is a character (and big flirt). He also has a boat and will take you out fishing or to dive with the Turtles (for a very resonable price). The rum punch party on a Wednesday was when the hotel bar was busiest.

The Resort: The Gap is an excellent place to stay and the hotel is slap bang in the middle of it. There is a bank right across from the hotel (cash your travellers cheques here as they can't cash more than about $100 US at a time in the hotel). The bars we liked best were McBrides - good for resonably priced food and a good 70's and 80's disco on a Saturday, The Ship - not so great for food but a good karaoke on a Monday and Friday, also excellent daiquaris but very sickly, The Jam Rock Cafe - went to see a band called Kite there and they were good and the Absolute shack - go to the karaoke nights it's full of locals and some of the characters are great.

Things to Do: 5 minutes walk from the Gap is Worthing Beach which is lovely. The water is clear and warm. Sunbeds cost $5 (about £2) for the day and we didn't get pestered to buy aloe vera, weed or anything else. The Fish Fry in Oistins on a Friday night is a must. All the locals go here on a Friday and there is music, dancing, jewelery stalls, food and drink stalls - the atmosphere is amazing. I also liked Bridgetown. Cave Shepard is the main shop and is set on 3 floors it sells everything - sports stuff, electrical goods, duty free, clothes shoes etc etc. Little Switzerland was my favourite as Tiffany and Co is there - and the jewelery is about 1/3rd cheaper than normal.

Overall: This was our first trip to Barbados and we will definitely be back. The whole place is amazing. The people are so friendly, the setting is gorgeous and the weather is (on the whole) great (it does rain but not usually for long and you still get a tan even when it's cloudy). 

I would also reccomend the South Gap Ocean Hotel if you are looking for cheap, cheerful, clean accomodation with tremendous views.   

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South Ocean Beach Hotel - St Lawrence Gap

Operator and Date: (Thomson Direct) Thomson - november 2004

Opinion submitted in Jan 2005 by : jo & steve arnold  - rhyl

Resort Rating: Excellent

Accommodation Rating: Excellent

My/Our Holiday Opinion: 

This was our 5th visit to the island and our 3rd visit to the hotel. It has been re-furnished since our last visit, and although still basic, it has all the facilities you will need for your holiday.
Fantastic sea views from every room.

The staff are really helpful and friendly and Trevor in the bar is a real character. If you fancy diving or fishing arrange it with him as he is much cheaper that the tour operators excursions.The resort is just as lively as ever with live music in all the bars.
Choice of food is excellent. If you like fish you must try the Sweet Potatoe and for mexican it's Cafe Sol, also Harlequins resturant, next door to the hotel, is lovely.
Earthworks is worth a visit, if a little difficult to find and Bridgetown is a must...All that fab shopping.

Overall a great holiday and will definatly be returning......

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Time Out At The Gap - St Lawrence Gap

Operator and Date: (Virgin Direct) Virgin - Dec 2006

Opinion submitted in December 2006 by : gary - London (47,23,13)

Resort Rating: Very Good

Accommodation Rating: Very Good

My/Our Holiday Opinion: 

Stayed at time out at the gap from 17th-31 dec 2006, and overall we had a very good time.

The hotel is ok, staff were always friendly, rooms were clean, but basic. In our room we had a tv with about 10 channels (CNN,ABC,National geographic,FX and a few i cant rememver) a fridge, an iron, a hair dryer, and a decent digital safe. Rooms were cleaned daily.

We didnt eat at all in the hotel, except for a cup of tea and toast in the morning which was ok. A bottle of banks (the superb local beer)was $5.50 (barbadian dollars)about £1.60ish i think. However if you drink outside the hotel it will be cheaper. Hotel had a pool which was quite small, we didnt use it at all though as there is a lovely beach 30 seconds walk from the hotel. ALso had a pool table.

The above beach is called dover beach and is very nice, a sunbed will cost you 5 dollars for the day, and a canopy is 10. Expect to be offered necklaces, music cds, pure aloe vera etc by a few of the locals, im not saying there are loads, but generally about 5/6 a day, they are polite enough though and will generally walk straight away if you say no. Always agree prices before you buy anything though, we paid 35 dollars for a bottle of pure aloe on our first day which was daylight robbery (we was paying 20 after that, and maybe others were getting it cheaper i dont know), you can generally get a decent amount of anything if you haggle.

A jet ski will cost you 100 dollars for 1/2 hour (about £25) Go and see andy (fella with the dreadlocks) if you want one, he's a really decent fella. Theres a few small bars at the entrance to the beach, where you can get drinks, and food, try the chicken stew, its nice and aint too spicy, also gillian has a small bar here and does 5 bottles of banks for 13 dollars, and she also does a decent swordsfish and chips! You will also probly see russ at this bar, smallish fella, sounds like a yank but is in fact white bajan, hes also a decent fella, more than happy to have a chat with you and point you in the right direction with any questions about your holiday (he sorted out our marlin fishing trip on the billfisher II boat which was superb - we paid 800 dollars for half a day - about 200 sterling).

Eating wise theres quite a few places in the gap (which is basically a fairly long street with cafes, restruants etc either side). By far the best service we had was at the steakhouse, its underneath a chinese restruant, and doesnt look up to much but the food is superb, and the service was better (try the fillet mignion - superb). We tried a restruant called aquaspice which was very nice and reasonably priced. I think the meal, with drink was about 250 dollars - about £20 per person. The other place we ate and drank alot at was the ship inn, about a 5min walk from time out, but i liked it up there, real old school feel to the place, inside and outside seating, live music some nights, and a choice of food, you can use either the carvery wich was exceptional one night we had it, and very good the other time, which i think was40 dollars per person. They also have a sit down area on the veranda with a set menu which is also very good.

Ive run out of space, but i hope this is helpful.

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Time Out At The Gap - St Lawrence Gap

Operator and Date: (Virgin Direct) Virgin April 2006

Opinion submitted in July 2006 by : Mr and Mrs Cokill (31, 33)

Resort Rating: Very Good

Accommodation Rating: Good

My/Our Holiday Opinion: 

The journey to the hotel takes about 15 mins from the airport. The hotel is located on a quiet road a stone's throw from the beach.The hotel is a little dated but the rooms are airy and clean and it is supposed to go through a refurbishment in 2007.We found most of the staff to be pleasant and helpful.

You can breakfast in the hotel but there are a number of pleasant places to eat just down the road heading into the Gap.Lunch and evening meals are also available but we ate out most nights as there are so many nice restaurants to try such as Pisces and a nice Mexican restaurant.  An average evening  meal costs about £20.00 each plus drinks, although there are cheaper places for lighter snacks. The fish dishes are fantastic especially the dolphin fish (not the Flipper variety!)or flying fish. There are a number of bars in the resort to cater for different tastes, and a night club called Bajan Roots which is an experience in itself! 

The hotel will change approx. £50's worth of travellers cheques a day, but there's a bank in the Gap that will change as much as you want and it has a cash point as well.

The pool in the hotel is small, but quiet and clean. Most people go to Dover beach across the road which is very pleasant but can be busy. The water is good for swimming and safe for children and there are sunbeds and parasols for 15BD (approx £10 for the day).You're not supposed to go topless and it's suggested that you wear a top and shorts when you leave the beach and return to your hotel or wander in to town.There are guys that sell aloe vera leaf extract on the beach in  old rum bottles. They make it up infront of you- it's really cheap and works wonders if you get burnt like we did -much better than aftersun!

It's worth hiring a car -mini mokes are fun -and they're cheap- about £35 quid a day. We'd recommend going through the rep as we didn't, and went for the place to the left of the hotel which was cheaper, but they weren't the most professional car hire company and weren't too hot on insuring us properly!  There are some fantastic places to see-even if you don't hire a car there's a good,cheap bus service that goes around the island. 

We'd recommend Harrison's cave, rum tasting, wreck diving in Bridgetown,Oistin's fish market on Friday evenings, the Animal Flower caves and the Barbados Wildlife Reserve and Graham Hall Sanctuary. It's safe to walk around in the evenings, although they suggest you don't walk on the beach alone at night. In general the people are very friendly and polite, the only problem we had and I had on a previous visit, was the hassle you get as you walk into the Gap from people wanting you to buy things or come to time share meetings. They're polite but very persistant and even rang us in our room one morning to see if we were going to come to a sales meeting! Once a few days have passed and your face is familair, they tend to leave you alone! 

Overall we had a great holiday and found the hotel to be basic but clean, comfortable and good value for money.

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Time Out At The Gap - St Lawrence Gap

Operator and Date: Vigin - 2006

Opinion submitted in January 2007 by : jim Porter, Lorraine Nick and Ronit 48, 49 ! , 18 and 14

Resort Rating: Excellent

Accommodation Rating: Excellent

My/Our Holiday Opinion:

4th time in Barbados, best hotel yet < big clean rooms in the heart of the fun ( beach and nightlife, Friendliest staff esp Chris the barman (Spongey to his friends) .

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Time Out At The Gap - St Lawrence Gap

Operator and Date: (Thomson Direct) Thomson-nov 2005

Opinion submitted in Mar 2006 by : davy and nancy glasgow 41,36

Resort Rating: Excellent

Accommodation Rating: Very Good

My/Our Holiday Opinion: 

From the minute we arrived at time out we were made to feel very welcome and this continued for the whole two weeks we stayed here.The staff are very friendly and cant do enough to help you.

The hotel is quite basic but very clean and well equipped with hairdryer iron fridge kettle and tv with a good selection of channels.The pool is quite small but its cleaned every day and you are given a clean beach towel every day which you can use either at the pool or the beach.The beach is fantasic and the guys from tigers chairs really look after you.There are plenty of quality restaurants to choose from and they are reasonably priced.I would avoid bridgetown like the plague as its very busy its like Argyle Street on the lead up to xmas.Didn,t do any trips as we,ve done them all before but we took a taxi ride round the island with a driver who has lived in Barbados all his life and we saw loads of interesting things.

You can come to st lawrence and have a very livley holiday or a total chill out fortnight its up to you.We enjoyed it so much we,ve booked to come back again this year and a word of warning go easy on the rum punch.

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Time Out At The Gap - St Lawrence Gap

Operator and Date: (Virgin Discounts) Virgin Holidays - July 2005

Opinion submitted in Aug 2005 by : Suzanne & Gary - Macclesfield ( Both 23)

Resort Rating: Very Good

Accommodation Rating: Very Good

My/Our Holiday Opinion: 

Time Out is a great 3 star hotel. Perfectly positioned at the end of St Lawrence Gap 5 - 10 mins walk from the bars / restaurants and directly across the road from Dover Beach. The staff were helpful, but a bit moody at breakfast. The rooms are great, quite basic but very clean and had all the essentials including large fridge, kettle, TV with American channels including one showing movies and air conditioning.

We recieved free breakfast everyday, this was basic but lovely including tea / coffee, toast, cerials and really nice rock cakes. We never ate in the restaurant at night as no one seemed to be eating there but the drinks were reasonably priced. The pool is small, but never busy. There were always plently of free sunbeds to go round.

St Lawrence Gap is the best place to stay if you are room only / B & B because it has the cheapest bars and restaurants on the island. You can easily get a meal for £7-10 each. In my opinion the best place to eat is St Lawrence`s Pizza Hut, its really cheap and the food is great. We had a couple of meals here that came to no more than £15 between the two of us. As well as pizza they also do hot dogs, burgers etc... If you are looking for something a bit more expensive try Cafe Sol, a mexican, the food was lovely and the place is great. All the bars have happy hours with buy one get one free on certain drinks.

If you are going to do any excursions I would reccommend a boat trip to see the turtles and the jeep safari, they were both around £50 each but you get lunch and free drinks included and were well worth the money. Also the Green Money Wildlife Reserve is great fun, its only small and we didnt get to see any green monkeys but there was plenty of other animals to see. In the evening Oistins fish market is well worth a visit, but make sure you go on a Friday night, as thats when all the tourists go. Dont be worried about getting on the buses they are really easy and cheap to use and anyone will help if you hve any problems. Bridgetown is great for duty free shoping but there isnt a lot else there, but it does give you a good idea of the real Barbados.

The only problem with Barbados, espcially St Lawrence Gap is that you do get hasselled, especially when you first arrive, they soon get used to your face. We got asked quite a few times it we wanted to buy drugs, but if you are polite they are polite back and they soon leave you alone.

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Time Out At The Gap - St Lawrence Gap

Operator and Date: Booked through expedia - December 2004

Opinion submitted in Jan 2005 by : Couple aged 23 & 24

Resort Rating: Very Good

Accommodation Rating: Very Good

My/Our Holiday Opinion: 

Me and my fiance were en route to St Vincent where my parents own a house and because the flight price was no different we decided to stop off in Barbados for 3 nights.

It was FANTASTIC, the hotel was lovely, we paid only 158 pounds for 3 nights accomadation and it included breakfast....a bargin, the staff were lovely and for the price we paid I expected a VERY basic accomadation, but when we arrived our bags were carried for us to our room where there were 2 Kingsized beds, a T.V with a vast choice of movie channels/music channels etc, a fridge, a balcony and shower. The cleaners came in every day and tided the room, made beds, changed towels.

The beach was gorgeous and just across the road, and although the pool was small, it was never overly crowded and offered a good alternative from the beach.

Bridgetown was an experiance, hop on a bus ( not like your average London bus ) and enjoy the music & locals...Bridgetown had a few good shops and all shopping is tax free i.e 1Litre bottle of Jack Daniels only 7pound as oppossed to 18pound here and there is a Tiffany jewellry store that is 40% cheaper than the uk, I went 3 times and I was only there 3 days.

At night we ate for around 7.50 per head, and the food was lovely, there are lots of bars and they are a 5min walk away, but the hotel is not disturbed by the noise, we were sad to go and on arriving back in the UK have booked a 7day holiday next December, it was lovely to get away in the Winter and the hotel/resort and country were all idylic.

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Time Out At The Gap - St Lawrence Gap

Operator and Date: (Virgin Discounts) Virgin Holidays Nov 04

Opinion submitted in Jan 2005 by : Julie & Kevin

Resort Rating: Excellent

Accommodation Rating: Excellent

My/Our Holiday Opinion: 

We traveled with Virgin holidays and we could not have been better looked after, the flight was enjoyable the acommodation was basic but clean.  The staff at Time out were fantastic, nothing was to much trouble.  The locals were the friendliest people that we have ever come across especially Rasi he sells the english newspapers by the Silver Fox, he is such a gentleman and we had many a good night proping up the bar with him, the people were so friendly they were phoning our room to see if we would like to go down to the bar for a drink. 

We hired a car and travelled around the island and enevitably when we got lost there was always someone who would stop and point you in the right direction.  Harrisons cave is well worth a visit as is sunbury plantation House. If you stay at the time out hotel you will be well looked after by Margaret she is an ex-pat and a very friendly hard working lady.  

Can't wait to go back. Rasi, Jane & Summer Jade see you when we return.

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Time Out At The Gap - St Lawrence Gap

Operator and Date: INDEPENDANT-BWIA

Opinion submitted in Nov 2004 by : RICK,35,35,25,25,

Resort Rating: Excellent

Accommodation Rating: Very Good

My/Our Holiday Opinion:

Barbados is fantastic.  The time out the gap is fine very clean has everything you could ask for.  The staff are more than friendly and helpful especially jennifar and kim.  The bar staff i will say would need a kick up the a.. Sometimes but thats barbados way!!  

Dover beach which is really nice is just opposite the hotel which is very convient and just a 10 min walk you will be in center of the gap.  Here you have any amount of bars and restraunts very good ones include bellines,cafe del sol, steak house, to name but a few.  We found the ship inn and mcbrides just ok very boring if i must say we generally went on trip eg bajan roots and rythms a very good night +free drink good night for the men!!!!. We hireda moke oh my god watch out no signs at all lost in a maze of sugar cane fields.  It is worth it to see up the west coast eg sandy lane etc although it is very quiet up the west coast although i believe they have street parties in holetown some nights.  

If you are thinking about going dont think just go it is class

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Time Out At The Gap - St Lawrence Gap

Operator and Date: www  fastracksun  co.uk - Date Not Specified

Opinion submitted in July 2004 by : (31,25)

Resort Rating: Very Good

Accommodation Rating: Excellent

My/Our Holiday Opinion: 

Well I had mixed feelings about staying here after hearing some up and down reviews on this place, but it's a nice place to stay it's like a nice Travel Inn. Got an excellent deal through teletextholidays so decided to give it a go. Time Out is in St.Lawrence Gap, which has a few bars souvenir shops, supermarket, restaurants etc. The closest beach was Dover Beach, which is just across the road from Time Out at The Gap. It seemed nice enough but we only walked around there. For relaxing and a nice day at the beach I recommend both Worthing Beach and Rockley Beach. Worthing Beach is a 10-minute walk from Time Out, turn right out of the hotel walk to the end of The Gap turn left and it is a little further on the left. Rockley is a five-minute bus ride away but is worth a visit it is the most popular beach in Barbados but not over crowded.

The room we stayed in was spacious clean and tidy with air conditioning and a fridge.
The staff were friendly and helpful. The pool area is small but nice enough we used it on a few occasions. There were a few stereotype Brits who would put there towel down on a sunbed and go out for hours, but it wasn't a major problem.

There were some road works going on in front of the hotel but it did not cause us any problems noise was minimal and was during the day when you should be out anyway.

Eating out can be expensive but doesn't have to be. After dark outside The Ships Inn Pub there are food stalls that serve lovely Fish with rice and peas really cheap and good quality. The Ships Inn does a nice meal too. Look out for the Cheffette chain as you can get a filling Roti meal very reasonably priced. Just Stop Café serves a good meal, which is a 2-3 minute walk to the left of Time Out.

Breakfast was included in our stay and Sugar Dee who serves the fried stuff is very friendly. You do get approached by people to buy things or ask for money but if you are polite and firm with a no thank you they leave you alone.

This is not a luxurious hotel but it is by no means a dive. I would stay here again if I went back to Barbados.

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St Peter - Barbados

Almond Beach Village - St Peter

Operator and Date: Thomas Cook Signature - May 2007

Opinion submitted in July 2007 by : The Scott Party - 50, 45, 8, 6

Resort Rating: Average

Accommodation Rating: Average

My/Our Holiday Opinion: 

After reading some of the reviews about the Almond Beach Village, I must admit we did try to change our booking.  However, I would say if you have already booked dont worry. It's not the best place I have stayed in but it was fine. 

We got upgraded to an Ocean Beach room which was nice.  It was cleaned daily and was big enough.  The village itself is in need of a bit of a re-furb, but the Carribean isnt like Europe or the USA so dont expect the same standards.  The staff were friendly and nothing was too much trouble.  However, the few times we went into Guest Services to request something, there were always people in there requesting a room change - which they seemed to oblige!  I would e-mail the Resort before you go and ask for an upgrade to Ocean/Beachfront as these do seem to be the better rooms.

The Restaurants were quite nice except for the childrens snack bar area which was scruffy and dirty.  Although our children didnt use the kids club much, when they did they enjoyed it and the staff were kind and helpful. 

The 4x4 jeep safari is worth a go - we had a good day and saw most of the island and the children enjoyed it too.

The beach was the major disappointment for me.  It was quite narrow and the the sea was very rocky.  The view to the north was of some sort of industrial works! 

All in all we had a lovely holiday but I would not go back there - sorry.

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Almond Beach Village - St Peter

Operator and Date: Thomas Cook Signature - May 2007

Opinion submitted in June 2007 by : Clive & Anne

Resort Rating: Below Average

Accommodation Rating: Average

My/Our Holiday Opinion: 

First impression was good, check-in easy. Pools were immaculately clean, bar staff friendly & accommodation simple but tidy.

But.. Guest Services staff were not at all helpful. Menus were very limited and hardly varied in 2 weeks. Food quality was mediocre at best. No buffet restaurant on site, and with the exception of Enid's all restaurants had to be pre-booked. In fact pretty much everything had to be pre-booked, including the shopping bus to Bridgetown, which incidentally was never on time and only allowed a very limited duration in the capital. Entertainment was poor. There was only ever 2 bars open at any one time and these closed at 11pm, then everyone was expected to crowd into a small nightclub on site. Security at the main gate was good, but as beaches are public anyone could walk into the resort unchallenged from beach-side.

Overall, not somewhere we'd return to. The 4-star rating was over-generous (more like 2+), especially when compared to resorts in places like Mexico or Aruba.

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Almond Beach Village - St Peter

Operator and Date: (Thomas Cook Direct) Thomas Cook Signature - May 2006

Opinion submitted in May 2006 by : C Tumbridge - Milton Keynes (55, 30,25)

Resort Rating: Excellent

Accommodation Rating: Excellent

My/Our Holiday Opinion: 

We went to the Almond Beach Village for my daughters wedding. There were 10 of us in all.
On arrival at the resort we were greeted with a Rum or Fruit punch, while the hotel staff introduced themselves and allocated our room keys. All the party were upgraded to Pool or Ocean view rooms.

The rooms were all very nice. They were very clean and comfortable. The staff in the resort were excellent, very helpful.
We had a problem with the air conditioning in our room, which was sorted out very promptly, we were also offered a new room if we were not satisfied.

The resort restuarants were exellent providing a wide variety of food for all tastes.

The swimming pools and other facilities are also excellent.

The wedding itself was wonderful, on the beach, with the flowers, music, photos etc. just as the couple wanted.
Although the resort caters for up to 5 weddings a day, every effort was made to make sure that each wedding was very individual.

I can't praise the wedding service highly enough.

The hotel also provide a wide variety of excursions and trips around Barbados, we went on a catermaran trip and the Rum and History tour. These were excellent, great value for money with food and drink provided.

Barbados is a beautiful island, and we all had a wonderful time. I hope that we can go back again in the future.

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Almond Beach Village - St Peter

Operator and Date: (Virgin Discounts) Virgin - July 2005

Opinion submitted in Nov 2005 by : Darren and Julie - South Shields (38,39)

Resort Rating: Excellent

Accommodation Rating: Very Good

My/Our Holiday Opinion: 

We have visted Almond Beach Village twice in eight months and cannot wait to return.

Our first trip was November 2004 and our most recent, July 2005.  We travelled with both BA and Virgin, but Virgin has the edge with its twilight check-in and check-in, chill-out faclilty, what brilliant inventions!

The resort of Almond Beach Village is wonderful, set up in clusters of small villages, dotted around the ten swimming pools (which do exist) with a village centre in the middle, the main focal point being the sugar mill which dates back to 1885.  The resort is divided into a North End which is more "just for adults" and a South end which tends to be more "family friendly".  This is great as it caters for everyone.

For us, the high point has got to be the excellent choice of restaurants.  First trip we fell in love with the Reef, its location was first class, right on the beach.  Sadly, it was closed for refurbishment during our second trip, but Enids, Horizons and the Italian more than made up for it.   The Service, food and staff were exceptional in the Italian.

There are lots of bars to choose from, Tommys Bar which is modelled on a tyical Bajan Rum Shop is fab, has friendly staff and a nice atmosphere, the adult pool also has a friendly atmosphere, with one lady bar-tender in particular, what a character!

We booked standard rooms both trips.  Our room first visit was next to Tommys Bar, we felt a little small and on the dark side but it was very clean and cared for so it didn't put us off.  Our room second visit was at the North End, in the gardens overlooking the adult pool.  It was much bigger and brighter but again very clean and well cared for.  No problems whatsoever.

We spent our evenings in the restaurants then onto Tommys bar for a few cocktails in the village square.  We never got round to watching the organised entertain ment in Horizons Lounge but we could often hear some good cabaret acts.

Almond Beach Village is set right on a beautiful beach, we saw new sand being laid, which was soft and pure white.  One problem we encountered was the Aloe Vera Beach Vendor, a polite "No thank you" did not work.  Be prepared to walk away until he moves onto his next customer or he will be covering you in green gunk and demanding 22 US Dollars in no time!  There is also a lovely, almost deserted stretch of beach just beyond the water sports hut, in front of Port St Charles. Hopefully, no Aloe Vera Vendor too!

We also took advantage of the free shuttle into Bridgetown.  Althought Bridgetown is not typical to our High Street there are some lovely shops and good duty free bargains to be had. The Harbour and Boardwalk are also nice for a stroll.  We enjoyed lunch in a little English Pub opposite Cave Shepherd Department Store.  It was lovely to mix with the locals, we will definitley look up the Nelsons Arms on any return visits.
We also wandered along the beach at the resort into Speightstown.  We were greeted with a lovely little town, with really nice people, plenty of smiles and hello's.  We went along on Friday afternoon and the Rum-Shops were jumping, the atmosphere was great!   The Barbadian's know how to wind down for the weekend!

We were also lucky enough to be asked to act as witnesses for a couple we made friends with at Almond Beach Village.  They chose to get married at the Gazebo on the beach and it was beautiful.  The bride was gorgeous, the location perfect and the wedding itself was so laid back and relaxed.  The photographs and DVD done by the hotel were truly beautiful, anyone thinking of doing it, go ahead it is perfect.  I want to get married all over again!

Overall, we can only praise the wonderful resort and Island.  We have had two enjoyable holidays there and we will most definitley return in the future.

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Almond Beach Village - St Peter

Operator and Date: (Virgin Direct) Virgin Holidays - 2005 / 2006

Opinion submitted in Apr 2006 by : J Warren - Cornwall (36.39.8.6)

Resort Rating: Below Average

Accommodation Rating: Average

My/Our Holiday Opinion: 

On first impressions we were pleased. Check in went smoothly. When we got to the rooms it was not what we had booked. We had booked a 1 bed suite. We got 2 standard rooms with interconection doors. Not what we paid for. The air con was not working in one room. so we had to sllep in one room that night. The bathrooms were so small that you had to walk in backwards to close the door not enough room to turn around. It did make us laugh to start off with. Whats with the mirrored bathroom doors?

The next day we went to get moved it took over 12 hours not funny. We were moved to the new block. The rooms were alot better and the bathrooms were slightly larger. No more reversing in. We were woken by the bight sunlight are rooms had no black out curtains so we were all awake before 6am. So we asked when the curtains were going up. in a few days was the reply.

We found the restaurant staff to be very abrubt and like they did want to be there. We did find this off putting. i dont like to complain but its not what you expect. There were lots of things wrong that could have been put right quickly. But the did not bother. We had no light bulbs in one room, curtains, hair dryer, room directory, we aked several time and got feed up in the end. the things got done the day we left after 3 weeks of complaining.

This is not a 4* hotel. We felt very dissapointed and let down by this hotel chain.
They need to spend time on there training and customer care, and sould never forget that people have paid to go on holiday. They dont desever to be treated badly.
The food was of average, but badly let down by the poor waitress service.It's a shame because it could be a very good resort.

The plus side the the kids club was very good and they did look after the children and the enjoyed the actives. I dont think that we will return to this resort. Its a lot of money for the poor service. Lets hope that they put it right.

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Almond Beach Village - St Peter

Operator and Date: (Thomas Cook Direct) Thomas Cook Signature - November 2004

Opinion submitted in June 2005 by : Darren and Julie - South Shields, Tyne & Wear (39,37)

Resort Rating: Excellent

Accommodation Rating: Very Good

My/Our Holiday Opinion: 

Almod Beach Village came highly recommended and it did not disapoint - we loved it, so much so we are returning July 2005.

The Village is wonderfully set out with a magnificent choice of restaurants.  We made full use of all of the restaurants and enjoyed every meal.  We will say that the lunchtime buffet in Horizon's restauranton Saturday/Sunday was not of the standard we were becoming used to!
However we have no complaints at all of any other meal - there is always lots of food on the go, it felt like being on a cruise ship! 

The staff were very nice, particularly in Tommys bar and Enids restaurant.  They did their best to make you happy.  One small complaint - we found we had to ask for our drinks in a glass rather than a plastic tumbler most evenings at Tommys Bar, however, it wasn't a problem to serve our drinks in a glass when requested.

Having read other reviews about the standard rooms we feel we must agree that they were dark and overcrowded with furniture.  However, they were cleaned every day so no complaints on that front.  The Village is undergoing a refurbishment and we have looked at the refitted rooms on the Almond Resorts website and they are greatly improved and really nice.  We hope we get a refitted room on our return trip!

The complex itself is very nice and well set up.  There really is ten pools so the choice is yours - kiddies pool, adult pool, quiet, noisy ....... the beach is lovely, but could do with a helping of sand in places, the little stones hurt!

We wandered into Speightstown and were greeted by a small, clean town with nice shops and lovely, friendly, happy people.  We will be going back on our return visit.

We also took advantage of the free shuttle bus to Bridgetown, there is great duty free shopping to be done as well as things to see.  We found a british pub over the road to Cave Shepherd department store and had a lovely afternoon drinking cold Banks Beer and a bar meal, it didn't cost a lot.  We will be looking the Nelsons Arms up on our return trip for certain!

We also did the Turtle feeding trip with the hotel.  It didn't cost mucah and was a basic trip  of out to sea, see the turtles for approx 30 mins and return.  Still, we would recommend it as the turtles are worth seeing.

We can only say good things about Almond Beach Village and hope you have as good a holiday as we did.

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Almond Beach Village - St Peter

Operator and Date: Carib World - Sept 2004

Opinion submitted in Sept 2004 by : Christine Mottley  43,35,13,9

Resort Rating: Good

Accommodation Rating: Good

My/Our Holiday Opinion: 

Having read the reviews I can only presume that the resort has been upgraded and management changeover. We found the resort excellent for our needs, the children loved it they took part in the water sports supplied by the hotel, we also went to feed the turtles, the restaurants were excellent the food was of a high standard we stayed in a deluxe room which led out onto the beach my husaband went for a swim early every morning before breakfast.  The drinks were of a good quality I can highly recommend the pina coladas!  Some areas are in need of a overhaul still some of the bar areas are in need of an upgrade.

The waiting on staff could not have been more helpful, don't go here thinking it's a 5* it's good value for money, clean and the food is very good.  We would go back the children always had something to do.
We flew BWIA and the seating is much better than your usual airlines more legroom and free inflight meals, drinks headphones etc. 

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Hotel Sandridge Beach - St Peter

Operator and Date: April 2005

Opinion submitted in May 2005 by : Peter and Marion Horrocks ( both 50) Newport Shropshire

Resort Rating: Excellent

Accommodation Rating: Good

My/Our Holiday Opinion: 

Second trip to this hotel in 2 years, but will not be going again  Why?  Well let's start with the flight.
Journey out. Four hours into the flight, it was announced that we had to return to Gatwick because of problems with one of the engines.  It was stressed that we were going back because our safety was paramount.  Flying back 4 hours over the Atlantic is safer rather than less than 3 to Barbados, or even 15mins to the Azores?  I don't think so!  So we ended up being put up in a hotel in Gatwick that night, with dinner and breakfast provided.  As another Virgin flight was scheduled for the next day, our flight would have to go an hour and a half later than that one, so we ended up loosing more than a full day off our holiday.
Arrival at Barbados is always a hot experience, but after clearing immigration and customs, we had to wait a full hour before the Virgin bus arrived to take us to our hotel.

Hotel. The greeting was fantastic - cool towels and rum punch, bags taken to our room for us.  All the  staff at the hotel are very, very good indeed, smiles and customer service seems to be the standard they all work to. The Hotel has had a new entrance built and looks much nicer, and the rooms have been given a lick of paint but are still a bit tired.  Excellent new "Hideaway Lounge". 
 
Many aspects about the holiday had changed since we booked almost a year ago:-
1. When we booked, were told that the only way to get there was from Gatwick , a 3 - 4 hour drive depending on traffic.  We get to the Island to find you can now go from Manchester as well!
2. We booked self catering but the hotel is now an all-inclusive resort. In fact, on arrival, the hotel offered to let us change to all-inclusive at $90 per day for the 2 of us.  This was a lot cheaper than the broacher price.  As a 1/2 pint beer was aprox £3 we changed there and then to all-inclusive after all!  Well worth it as the food was excellent, and the beachfront restaurant is so very nice a place to eat in.
3. We booked the hotel as it was very quiet, no kids club and only had some very low key entertainment 3 nights a week.  Guess what?  Yep, it now has a kids club and much louder entertainment most nights! Ok, many folk love that part of a holiday, but our jobs mean that we have to do a lot of high energy entertainment and on holiday we want peace and quiet.  So noisy organised entertainment is not for us.  In fact most of the Med has been ruined for us by overloud entertainment coming from every hotel.
 
General points.  We organised a hire car over the internet- what a bargain! Excellent car and service from Dollar rent-a-car.  The Bajan drivers on the whole show a great deal more courtesy to other drivers than do most in the UK.
We go for the wildlife both above and below the water, and for this the Island is good, with Monkeys coming into the hotel grounds, hummingbirds, mongoose, lizards etc. Underwater, the reefs are in very poor condition, but still some good marine life including turtles, barracuda, reef sharks, and all the usual reef fish.

Overall, we enjoyed our holiday, but the overall character of the hotel had been changed too much for us, though the staff remains a strong selling point for the hotel.  By the way, if you do go here all-inclusive, please remember to still give the staff tips- most guests don't and wages are poor in Barbados, but the cost of living is higher than here

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St Philip - Barbados

Crane Beach Hotel - St Philip

Operator and Date: bmi-jun 2006

Opinion submitted in August 2006 by : d best- birmingham 29,32,58,59,33

Resort Rating: Excellent

Accommodation Rating: Excellent

My/Our Holiday Opinion: 

I travel to barbados at least three times a year and generally stay with family. we have seen the hotel many times but have never had the chance to stay there. location of the hotel is excellent with stunning sea views, from the hotel you are in easy access to all local bus service to get to bridgetown, and you are not far from sam lords castle. the food and service at the hotel was excellent could not fault it. i always go into the gap at st lawrence, and i also tried a pub in speightstown called the fishermans pub, excellent location right by the sea, with music and food being served. if you do get the chance also try tims on the highway, its an openair dance which finishes when the last person has left!!

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South Coast - Barbados

Accra Beach Resort - South Coast

Operator and Date: October 2006

Opinion submitted in October 2006 by : J.Maxwell - Manchester UK

Resort Rating: Very Good

Accommodation Rating: Very Good

My/Our Holiday Opinion: 

We visited the Accra Beach in Barbados for 2 weeks October 2006, Building of the new wing is still going on although didn't present too much of a problem as the major building work is mostly completed therefore it's just the finishing touches I believe until Feb 2007.

The Accra resort itself is very clean! rooms cleaned to a high standard daily & the staff were very helpful both to us and the children.

Locally we would recommend Opa the Greek restaurant, Berts for regular Burger, Pizza & Flying Fish etc , and a good choice of beers and if you want to have a fantastic meal although not cheap , great value for the standard though try "Champers" it truly is in a fantastic setting and the food is to die for !!
The grill opposite the Accra is also really good value.

Go on the Catamaran Cruise spend a few shillings more and go on the Tiamiami Catamaran day out with the barbaque and trip to the Turtles and Shipwrecks , it is a great day out and worth every penny.

Anyone who is going will have a great time !!

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Speightstown - Barbados

Almond Beach Villas - Speightstown

Operator and Date: Hays & Jarvis - June 2007

Opinion submitted in June 2007 by : Phil Clark - Abbots Langley (39, 40, 4)

Resort Rating: Good

Accommodation Rating: Good

My/Our Holiday Opinion: 

If you're happy to stay on the complex, then this could be the place for you as the view is to die for, the gardens well-kept and there are loads of activities (especially watersports) on offer as part of the all inclusive deal.

As many other reviewers have noted, the staff can be a bit hit or miss; some are friendly and others are downright rude, surly and arrogant.  If you're the kind of person that can't just take it with a pinch of salt and can bear to wait quite a long time for service (because the bar staff are having a private joke/conversation for up to 6 minutes at a time and ignoring the queue of customers) then fine, but if that kind of thing really gets under your skin (and it clearly did with quite a few people), then think of another hotel/complex.

We stayed in a one bedroom suite, with our 4 year old daughter using the sofa bed in the lounge.  It was just about OK for her, but there's no way such an old, uncomfortable sofa bed would do an older child or adult.  The metal frame really dug in through the thin mattress