Almond Beach Village

I just came back from a one week stay at Almond Beach Village (ABV) with my wife. It was my first trip to the Caribbean and had no idea what to expect. I was quite nervous about it after reading the reviews here that were mainly negative about facilities, food and staff. I don't know where those people stayed, but it wasn't here. Anyone who finds a Marriott hotel in the US acceptable will be happy with ABV.

We arrived on 9/7/08 to a day of rain and didn't have much hope for the week. On our golf cart ride to the room, we found the resort grounds to be beautifully manicured. As we entered our room, we were happy to see a clean, well appointed room. Contrary to other reviews, our bathroom was clean, bright, and fitted with a granite top vanity and Kohler fixtures. Barbados has humidity similar to Florida, which gave the room a slight musty smell. However, we knew full well the affects of humidity are difficult to manage and adapted to it quickly.

Food and drinks were good in all bars/restaurants. The bartenders are not shy on the liquor. They do use the house liquor for most drinks, but will use top shelf liquor on request. The Boardwalk Bar & Grill near the adult only "north pools" served hamburgers that were a bit gross, but had other food options available daily.

The pools were great. The only pool that was shallow (at two feet deep) was near the Teen Center and was clearly geared towards children. All the other pools were four to five feet deep. The popular adult only "north pools" were perfect for us with the beach near by for salt water, and Caribbean music playing on the stereo at the bar. The only catch is that you have to "claim your spot" by 8:00AM in order to get an umbrella to shade the strong Barbados sunshine. On days we couldn't find an umbrella there, we spent the day at one of the other pools which was just as nice.

The staff was great. They were always willing to help and graciously accepted our thanks for their hard work. After doing some research into the Barbados lifestyle, I learned that they work on "Bajan time". A dinner that you would expect to run 30 minutes might run 60. The thought behind it is, what's the rush? You're in the islands on vacation - sit back, relax and have another drink.

In the end, we were sad to leave and will be booking a return trip soon.

One final note is that we met a nice couple there who had traveled extensively through the Caribbean and told us that was their second two week stay at ABV. Normal people will love this place, so book your trip!