horatio

I confess..I have a couple other posts up re: club meds and AI, but this place was recommended to me by another couple that has frequented the DR and raved about Barbados. And, yet, I hear all kinds of people complaining about the island and this property. Is it a typical AI or is it above average? And, I know, lots of opinions and lots of standards, but is it that bad or run-of-the-mill?

Barbara1

I just stayed on the property in July.
I loved it.
I happen to like Barbados very much also.
I thought the Almond resort properties were quite nice. Although they are older properties, they have done quite a bit of renovation. The rooms were very nice and the staff was friendly and efficient.
I believe from what I heard that Almond Resorts a couple of years ago was not quite up to standards. I think the resport has worked very hard to improve things and it shows.
I thoroughly enjoyed my time there.
I thought the food choices for an all inclusive were very good too.

horatio

Well, that is almost exactly what my brother-in-law said..they spent 2 weeks there in March and said it was much better than DR and no hassles..quite nice. thanks

doug_stallings

I was at the Almond Beach Village earlier this year, and it's nice. My only caveat is that unless you have kids, you really have to get a room on the adult end of the resort, not the family end. It's much quieter down there. The resort has a really long beachfront and good restaurant choices. I thought it was a great place. If you go there, take the free shuttle down to the other Almond Resort to enjoy its nice spa.

horatio

Thanks to all of you for your help. Doug, nice as in B quality? Jolly Beach level? The other option we had was Aruba??

doug_stallings

If you're comparing to Jolly Beach, I'd say it's better, both in terms of the quality of the resort/amenities and the food. The beach is nice, but Jolly Beach is at least as nice in terms of its beachfront location. The relative isolation of the Almond Beach Village can be a drawback if you want to do shopping in Bridgetown or Holetown or want to go to the south end of the island, but it's pretty good in terms of reaching the north-end sights.

horatio

Okay then...just realized the World Cup cricket thing is happening one of the weeks we are planning to go..now I am not sure if that would be wise..thanks to everyone for your help...got to figure this out.