short report: Barbados - is there anywhere this friendly?
Jul 8th, 2013 | 02:41 PM
#1
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Joined: Feb 2003
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short report: Barbados - is there anywhere this friendly?
Our holiday in Barbados was structured thus: 2 days Amaryllis Hotel, Hastings; 7 days cruise (not reported here); 5 days Bougainvillea Hotel, Maxwell.
The Amaryllis is a good enough hotel staffed by, as in the rest of the island, extraordinarily friendly people. It is in a great setting, right on a beach with safe bathing in a bath warm sea. The staff are fantastic and felt sorry that they have so few guests. The facilities are just okay. I would not want to spend two weeks here, because its not near enough to other bars and restaurants but mostly because there is such a limited choice of food. Of course you do not need to go all inclusive.
The Bougainvillea Hotel is one that people return to year after year, and I am not surprised. The customer service is exceptional (not unlike much of the island). The rooms are excellent especially the very spacious with panoramic verandas for most of the rooms.
Apart from this there are many other good points about the place. Staff bend over backwards to be helpful. The bar staff are amusing and have a friendly manner – they serve great cocktails. The beach is composed of beautiful white sand and there is more than adequate recliners and umbrellas. The manager, like the rest of the staff, was brilliant, he took a good half an hour out of a busy schedule to talk with us and provide tips on how to enjoy Barbados.
This said, its not all good. The location is very poor – it is a considerable distance from other restaurants. Oistins is a good walk away. There is an excellent bus service – larger public buses and smaller mini buses, both are very cheap, so getting around is quite easy and safe. The wonderful bus drivers often delay setting off and even reverse if they see passengers hurrying towards or after the bus. There are some lovely parts of the Island you can visit by bus including the Crane, Bathsheba, Holetown.
Oistns fish night was as good as they say, be careful where you eat, we had an atrocious meal one lunch there but went to Pats (as recommended) and that was truly excellent.
Don’t believe the occasional taxi driver who moans about it being unsafe to walk in order to get more rides for the taxi service – and do nothing for the reputation of this wonderful Island.
At Bougainvillea, the sea is, I think, quite dangerous and not for children or those who are not physically strong or weak swimmers.
There is some wonderful nature to see on the Island including monkeys, giant turtles, humming birds, flying fish, and mongoose.
There are many lovely restaurants on the Island – we ate at Café Sol. Mexican food cooked well and served in a lovely setting.
http://www.cafesolbarbados.com/
and, even better, Waterside. This is a very romantic place with excellent food and service. It is right on the beach and at night the beach is floodlit and we were lucky enough to see a giant turtle come ashore to lay eggs.
http://watersiderest.com/
There are also great bars – Berts Bar where we met some friendly Americans who were interested in us as much as we were interested in them:
http://www.bertsbarbados.com/
Tiki Bar at Accra Beach
http://www.beachbars.co/
A great way to see the Island is to take the Jeep Safari which is very professional and takes you to the North East of the Island ie Bathsheba and Little Cove etc
http://www.islandsafari.bb/
You are sure to have a fantastic time in Barbados mostly because of the wonderful people. June was a good time to go as it is very quiet – its not their main season, but the weather can be temperamental.
The Amaryllis is a good enough hotel staffed by, as in the rest of the island, extraordinarily friendly people. It is in a great setting, right on a beach with safe bathing in a bath warm sea. The staff are fantastic and felt sorry that they have so few guests. The facilities are just okay. I would not want to spend two weeks here, because its not near enough to other bars and restaurants but mostly because there is such a limited choice of food. Of course you do not need to go all inclusive.
The Bougainvillea Hotel is one that people return to year after year, and I am not surprised. The customer service is exceptional (not unlike much of the island). The rooms are excellent especially the very spacious with panoramic verandas for most of the rooms.
Apart from this there are many other good points about the place. Staff bend over backwards to be helpful. The bar staff are amusing and have a friendly manner – they serve great cocktails. The beach is composed of beautiful white sand and there is more than adequate recliners and umbrellas. The manager, like the rest of the staff, was brilliant, he took a good half an hour out of a busy schedule to talk with us and provide tips on how to enjoy Barbados.
This said, its not all good. The location is very poor – it is a considerable distance from other restaurants. Oistins is a good walk away. There is an excellent bus service – larger public buses and smaller mini buses, both are very cheap, so getting around is quite easy and safe. The wonderful bus drivers often delay setting off and even reverse if they see passengers hurrying towards or after the bus. There are some lovely parts of the Island you can visit by bus including the Crane, Bathsheba, Holetown.
Oistns fish night was as good as they say, be careful where you eat, we had an atrocious meal one lunch there but went to Pats (as recommended) and that was truly excellent.
Don’t believe the occasional taxi driver who moans about it being unsafe to walk in order to get more rides for the taxi service – and do nothing for the reputation of this wonderful Island.
At Bougainvillea, the sea is, I think, quite dangerous and not for children or those who are not physically strong or weak swimmers.
There is some wonderful nature to see on the Island including monkeys, giant turtles, humming birds, flying fish, and mongoose.
There are many lovely restaurants on the Island – we ate at Café Sol. Mexican food cooked well and served in a lovely setting.
http://www.cafesolbarbados.com/
and, even better, Waterside. This is a very romantic place with excellent food and service. It is right on the beach and at night the beach is floodlit and we were lucky enough to see a giant turtle come ashore to lay eggs.
http://watersiderest.com/
There are also great bars – Berts Bar where we met some friendly Americans who were interested in us as much as we were interested in them:
http://www.bertsbarbados.com/
Tiki Bar at Accra Beach
http://www.beachbars.co/
A great way to see the Island is to take the Jeep Safari which is very professional and takes you to the North East of the Island ie Bathsheba and Little Cove etc
http://www.islandsafari.bb/
You are sure to have a fantastic time in Barbados mostly because of the wonderful people. June was a good time to go as it is very quiet – its not their main season, but the weather can be temperamental.
Aug 20th, 2013 | 01:54 PM
#7
Joined: Mar 2007
Posts: 1,126
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Thanks for the report. I had the chance to go to Bougainvillea last year and lost out--It looked gorgeous however I heard the sea was rough there. Other than this it sounds like you would recommend it. I take it you did not rent a car? You can take a bus to restaurants from Bougainvillea I take it easily enough. Was the other one in a better location you stayed at. I don't care for feeling isolated if that be the case.
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