The Crane Review

Reviewed by kmw1211 from John and Karen from Boston, Mass. on 6/5/09
From a letter sent to The Crane regarding our stay in 2008

To the Senior Staff at The Crane Resort Barbados
Dear Sir or Madam,

For years we have relied on "The Fodor Guide" to help us choose our vacation destinations. We planned our first visit to "The Crane Resort" using Fodors in July 2006. We had a great time, loved the resort and returned in July 2007, upgraded our room and again had a great time. For our July 2008 vacation we returned to The Crane once again, upgraded our room again and left extremely disappointed.
Here's Why:

Accommodations:
Beautiful Suite, privacy and view from our deck spectacular, spa did not work, not enough hot/warm water to fill the tub making it unusable for even a regular bath. The refrigerator and gas grille on the deck also did not work.
As these issues could not be addressed to our satisfaction we requested a room change. Unfortunately we were told no other penthouse suites were available nor was a room in the "old Resort".
We moved to a room in the same building (#5) one floor down. At first glance this appeared to be a nice option for us. But then our next and worst problem arose!

Accommodations and Insects:
Minutes after moving to this room we began finding insects. Large and small roaches, bugs in the kitchen cabinets, on the cookware, dinnerware, in drawers, on silverware, cups, glasses and serving utensils even in the zip lock bag containing the coffee filters! We had to wash each item we used from the kitchen before using them. The insect problem was reported immediately and often to the cleaning staff, reception staff, and maintenance staff and management just minutes after arriving in room 544A.
We reported these same problems to all of the previously mentioned staff and upper management without response. For three days in a row! Our housekeeper provided a can of bug spray for our use but it did not alleviate the situation. Our concern of the possibility of insects getting into our luggage aside this was totally unacceptable.
After the third day of complaints, (Lance) was sent to spray for us, he did a thorough job and was very apologetic, however this just brought out more bugs and roaches, including now finding them in our bedding!

Meals:
Before our arrival I arranged via E-mail to procure a discounted breakfast plan at $21.00 per day per person. This reduction was never applied to our breakfast bills even after many inquiries and the fact that we noted, "breakfast plan" on each bill as advised by the reservation and restaurant staff. For our first breakfast on Sunday we were (finally) afforded a table in the "function room" at L'Azure, however, we were advised to be finished with our meal by 10:00 am so as not to interfere with the Sunday "Gospel Show". This was at approximately 9:40 am but we managed to oblige this request, we were then presented with our breakfast bill of over $100.00. We did not attend the Gospel Show, and we left before 10 am as requested yet we were apparently still charged for the Gospel show.

Accommodation and the Outcome:
This was an entirely untenable situation and served to make our stay less than spectacular. None of our issues was resolved to our satisfaction. It seemed that none of the staff cared about our problems and could not or would not help correct the situation. We were not offered any type compensation for our discomfort, inconvenience or horror at being placed in an insect infested room. We asked to be moved to another room, and though we had moved to room 544A on the third day of our eight-day stay and could easily have moved again this request was refused. July is low season many rooms were available.
No adjustments were made to our bill for the restaurant charges, for the breakfast rate we had arranged or the Gospel Show we had been charged for on Sunday.

We left "The Crane" with a large bill and a very bad third impression of your establishment.

On our previous visits we literally "gushed" with praise to friends, family and acquaintances of the wonderful accommodations and beauty of The Crane and it's gorgeous beach! Some have vacationed at The Crane based upon our recommendations.
Customer Satisfaction:
We were thoroughly unsatisfied and disappointed, your staff was very aware of this as we reported this many times during our stay. I have sent e-mails and letters from home as well without response.

Update: I finally (through subterfuge) got to speak with management in May 2009, (Michael) assured me he would personally guarantee a most wonderful experience if we returned to The Crane once more. Great except that he would not be specific. Nothing of substance was offered, free breakfast? No. Room upgrade? No. Was any type of compensation offered at all? No.
Roughly equivalent to someone saying “come over anytime”! If someone really wants you to "come over" they name a day and time!

Member Rating: 1.0
Ratings details: Room: 1.0 Atmosphere: 1.0 Service: 1.0 Value: 1.0

Reviewed by Mellymoo from Reading, UK on 9/16/07
Great hotel, make sure you ask for a sea view or pool room. Construction is on going but it doesnt ruin your stay. Rooms are lovely, huge and complete with kitchen, dishwasher, washing machine, dryer and balcony. 4 pools are in use and the beach is stunning. Yes the hotel is quiet and out of the way but taxis are available and its advisable to hire a car for a couple of days to explore the island and pop to the local supermarket. There is no shop on site. All in all a fantastic hotel, very relaxed.Sit back relax with a rum cocktail and go with the flow

Member Rating: 4.8
Ratings details: Room: 5.0 Atmosphere: 4.0 Service: 5.0 Value: 5.0

Reviewed by smartstuff007 from Miami on 2/24/07
Staff is rude, service is bad, food is a ripoff, and the room is too hot. It's way too much money for 2 star hotel in my opinion.

Member Rating: 1.8
Ratings details: Room: 3.0 Atmosphere: 1.0 Service: 1.0 Value: 1.0