BARBADOS- THE CRANE VS TREASURE BEACH
 

Trying to decide if we go to Barbados whether to stay at The Crane or Treasure beach. There are mixed reviews on tripadvisor.com for both properties so I wanted some recent opionions on the rooms (renovated or not), activities and overall feel of the resorts and location (nearby attractions or rental car needed?) THANKS!

Totally different settings and experiences. The Crane is in a remote part of the island, especially if you wanted to get off property for dinner/entertainment. It is on a spectacular but rough water beach/no snorkeling, sometimes marginal swimming. Treasure Beach is a very small upscale boutique hotel on the calm water west coast. You get a one bedroom suite plus balcony or patio. The beach on either side is long and walkable, and the hotel is in the midst of any number of other hotels, restaurants, shopping, entertainment. If you want more extensive grounds on the west coast, opt for Coral Reef Club. It is the class act on the island. Family-owned for nearly 60 years, and the care shows.
See www.coralreefbarbados.com and www.treasurebeachhotel.com

Thanks xkenx! Have you stayed at the coral reef club? Reviews seem to state the rooms are in desperate need of renovations.

Haven't been there lately, but the owners have a long history of keeping everything nicely, with generations of repeat visitors. My experience with seeing negative reviews of many terrific properties is that the harsh critics did not do their homework beforehand and expected things like grand lobbies, flat screen TVs, marble baths. When they got upscale casual, they ripped it. The tropical Caribbean ambiance in a place like Coral Reef, to me, is the reason for being there.
Their balconies are huge, so you get an outdoor room. If you stay on the floor above the ground, you can live open air 24/7 and enjoy the sights and sounds. (Including being lulled to sleep by the mating calls of tiny tree frogs whose sounds are prettier than most birds). You can stay at a Four Seasons or Ritz Carlton w/o leaving home, but you can only get this environment at a place like a Coral Reef.

wow- great point thanks again xkenx

We actually stayed at both The Crane and Coral Reef Club last October. Loved them both as they offered different island experiences. We stayed our first three days at The Crane. We had a one bedroom (suite?) on the first floor. Our building was one of the furthest from the beach. We had our then two year old with us and the beach was amazing!! It was large and very wide. The water had waves that you could body surf on as many did. Our son loved playing in the soft, white sand. Very beautiful beach. You do have to walk down a few flights of stairs to get to the sand since the hotel is located on a bluff. My only complaints about The Crane would be that there was construction in the "town/shops" area - I would assume this is now complete (?) and the decor didn't really give you an island feel. I would also recommend trying to get a room in a building closer to the beach area.

We then rented a car and took the day touring the northern and center parts of the island making our way to the Coral Reef Club on the western shore. Take care driving if you are not used to driving on the left side of the road!

At the Coral Reef Club we had a one bedroom suite on the top level of one of the cottages. We had a garden view which was beautiful. Since the room does not have a tv we enjoyed our evenings sitting on our deck reading while listening to the tree frogs. We found it to be VERY relaxing. We also enjoyed dining in the open air restaurant. The only negative was young children are not allowed in the restaurant after 7pm. We found ourselves dining at restaurants which we enjoyed since we like to venture out and about.

The beach is small and narrow (15 - 20 feet wide), and on a small slope. I believe this is true with most hotels on this side of the island. The coral reef which this hotel is named after is right as you walk into the water.

I would highly recommend staying on both sides of the island like we did. I do not believe we could have truly experienced the island without doing so.

Let me know if you would like any more information sich as the restaurants we dined at, the little sandwich shop we went to twice on the eastern side of the island, etc.

The crane beach is fantastic and the rooms are very nice, I haven't been to treasure beach lately.

@COBeach Girl. Would love to know which sandwhich shop you went to on the eastern side, would love to visit. Is it Cutters by chance, they have the most delish! gourmet choices.:)

It was Cutters! We also went there based on the recommendations of others. The food was good for sandwiches but what I remember most was the people that work there are wonderful! The owner actually helped us decide which areas of the island we should visit on the day the had the rental car. He actually pulled out a map and marked the locations to visit then gave it to us. He also recommended places to eat at along the way. The experience would not have been the same without his assistance!

We also ate at great restaurant for dinner that first night on the west coast...I will have to remember the name. Since this was the day we were driving around the island, we actually got there before the actual restaurant was open. The bar was open though. :) One of our best memories was sitting on the the restaurant's beach under one of the covered cabanas lined with pillows watching the sunset and drinking rum punch. It was so wonderful! :)

@ COBeachGirl. The people at Cutters are great, your trip sounds magical, I'm curious about the restaurant you went to on the west coast it sounds fabulous:) Try hard to remember the name of the restaurant pleaseeeee ...from your review it sounds like some where I would love to go!

It took me a bit of research on the web but I found it! :) The restaurant is called The Fish Pot. Here's a link to info and some pictures:

http://www.littlegoodharbourbarbados...estaurant.html

It appears that they also have cottages and hotel associated with the restaurant.

I've been to the Crane on a day visit but never stayed. It's a wonderful beach and facility. I like CObeachgirls idea of staying at both.

If you dont stay at the Crane def. visit. The beach magnificent!

Peace, Greenie