Barbados hotel/resort January
Discussion
I've tried search, but all I get looking for Barbados is Enjoying Retirement and Covid threads 
Booked some airmiles flights to Barbados for coming January
Looking for recommendations for beach hotels or resorts, ideally fully inclusive. Looking for beach, pool and edible food at a retiree-friendly price. Have you stayed anywhere like that that you can recommend?
Booked some airmiles flights to Barbados for coming January
Looking for recommendations for beach hotels or resorts, ideally fully inclusive. Looking for beach, pool and edible food at a retiree-friendly price. Have you stayed anywhere like that that you can recommend?
We stayed at Sandals Royal Bahama in 2021 and it was our favourite of the three Sandals we've done. Staff were super friendly and proud of the island.
Food was the best yet too. The French place up the top did a great breakfast with fabulous views and the steak house was surprisingly great. And the bowling alley was good fun!
Besides that, make sure you rent a car and see the island, we used a hire car company that delivered / picked up from the resort. St Nicholas Abbey has a steam train, grows their own cane and makes some fantastic rum that they sell 90% of from the cellar door. Foursquare make some of the best rum in the world and you can buy their special releases at crazy cheap prices (I think $25 a bottle?) so you have to go there. We didn't make it to Mount Gay so we'll have to go back.
We stopped at a beach side restaurant (Uncle Joe's?) at Bathsheba on the Atlantic side on the way back which was good too. We walked from the resort to Oistins Fish Market on whatever night that's on which was good fun and got a taxi back. Make sure you get USD cash as we had a power outage all day and nobody would accept card = less rum 
Drive a black Cayman and like rum?
Food was the best yet too. The French place up the top did a great breakfast with fabulous views and the steak house was surprisingly great. And the bowling alley was good fun!
Besides that, make sure you rent a car and see the island, we used a hire car company that delivered / picked up from the resort. St Nicholas Abbey has a steam train, grows their own cane and makes some fantastic rum that they sell 90% of from the cellar door. Foursquare make some of the best rum in the world and you can buy their special releases at crazy cheap prices (I think $25 a bottle?) so you have to go there. We didn't make it to Mount Gay so we'll have to go back.
We stopped at a beach side restaurant (Uncle Joe's?) at Bathsheba on the Atlantic side on the way back which was good too. We walked from the resort to Oistins Fish Market on whatever night that's on which was good fun and got a taxi back. Make sure you get USD cash as we had a power outage all day and nobody would accept card = less rum Drive a black Cayman and like rum?
Barbados is very budget sensitive. We stayed at Sugar Bay during the pandemic but I think it’s now a lot more expensive now demand has returned, we got it for a bargain price back then. It fits your bill, they have free parking for the hire car you should definitely have for at least part of your stay. Stoutes car hire are a great little company, they’ll deliver to the hotel for free if you like.
mikef said:
Thanks DJC. So it’s OK staying close to the town?
Yeah. It’s small enough that if you’ve got a car it doesn’t matter too much where you stay. My wife split her time on her last visit, half near Worthing and half in Holetown. The resorts on the west coast tend to be fairly pricey but they do have the nicest beaches if you’re looking to stick around the resort rather than venture out too much.We did a couple of weeks at Crystal Cove in 2021. Not super pricy, room was comfortable, food was decent, pretty quiet and great beachfront location just south of and walkable into Holetown, but the public bus is more fun. A nice feature of the hotels in the same group is a boat that runs up and down the coast all day so you can lunch and use the facilities at the others for a bit of variety.
Another vote for Stoutes, and we were able to park free at the hotel.
Another vote for Stoutes, and we were able to park free at the hotel.
No help on hotels as used air b and b but definitely Give teds tours a go as well. He's great fun and a good way to see the island.
https://www.tripadvisor.co.uk/Attraction_Review-g6...
https://www.tripadvisor.co.uk/Attraction_Review-g6...
mikef said:
Those hotels look to come in at £550 to £700 online, I was hoping to keep under £500 fully incl
Yeah that sounds about right at the moment unfortunately. Victims of the exchange rate with the Barbados $ being pegged to the USD. We paid less than half that for Sugar Bay but as I said that was during covid so rather exceptional.I would have a look on a comparison site like tripadvisor and see if anyone’s doing any deals at the moment. Can always book with free cancellation and then keep an eye on prices in the hope of a sale?
We stay in the Bougainvillaea on Maxwell Beach as its got fairly decent facilities and is locally owned so the money they earn generally stays on the island. Some friends of ours stay in Butterfly Beach down the road while not the height of luxury is comfortable, clean and has all the normal facilities you'd expect. Both a a short walk from Oistens which is great if you like good basic seafood and you can also get to The Gap fairly easily by walking up Maxwell Beach and down the alley by the Dover Beach Hotel.
Stouts Car Hire is a good shout for getting around the Island but also don't discount using Boogie Buses if you just want to go down the road a few miles or into Bridgetown, they are frequent and cheap.
We're off there again a couple of months and really looking forward to a couple of Banks Beers on the beach when we get there
Good luck with your search.
Stouts Car Hire is a good shout for getting around the Island but also don't discount using Boogie Buses if you just want to go down the road a few miles or into Bridgetown, they are frequent and cheap.
We're off there again a couple of months and really looking forward to a couple of Banks Beers on the beach when we get there
Good luck with your search.
Voodoo Blue said:
We're off there again a couple of months and really looking forward to a couple of Banks Beers on the beach when we get there
If you get bored of Banks head up to the Dreadhop brewery on the industrial estate near Kermitts. They do decent grub as well as some really good beers.The Tamarind Hotel right on the beach on the West coast is nice, it’s just below Sandy Lane.
I would recommend lunch at The Lone Star a taxi ride further up the West coast but definitely worth it.
It’s good to hire a car and get out and about if you can, the East coast is rugged and far more wild.
I would recommend lunch at The Lone Star a taxi ride further up the West coast but definitely worth it.
It’s good to hire a car and get out and about if you can, the East coast is rugged and far more wild.
djc206 said:
Voodoo Blue said:
We're off there again a couple of months and really looking forward to a couple of Banks Beers on the beach when we get there
If you get bored of Banks head up to the Dreadhop brewery on the industrial estate near Kermitts. They do decent grub as well as some really good beers.Voodoo Blue said:
Cheers for that, my tastes are pretty simple but my son loves a variety of craft and micro brewery beers and as he'll be with us on this trip it sounds like we've got one night sorted already
No bother. My tastes are fairly simple as well, definitely more of a deputy than a banks man but I was pleasantly surprised by their beers. Shame they’re not sold more widely.Incidentally OP, a good day out if you do rent a car would be a drive to Bathsheba Beach then up to Cherry Tree Hill for some amazing views across the east coast with a stop off at St. Nicholas Abbey for lunch where they make rum the traditional way. It's not cheap but they do really nice food set in a subtropical landscape and you might see a monkey or two. Finally stop at Animal Flower cave right in the north of the island. If it's a windy day the power of the Atlantic crashing into the cliffs is quite spectacular.
Another trip would be to Harrisons Caves which reminded me of the island setting in Live and Let Die but that's probably too much to include with the above. When we were there in 2021 they were planning to build a resort style swimming area so will be interesting to see if that's made any progress when we're there in May.
Another trip would be to Harrisons Caves which reminded me of the island setting in Live and Let Die but that's probably too much to include with the above. When we were there in 2021 they were planning to build a resort style swimming area so will be interesting to see if that's made any progress when we're there in May.
I’ve put a deposit on Sugar Bay, based on price and recommendations here. Thanks all. I like the idea of touring around so a hire car is on the cards at least for a few days. I’ve worked in Jamaica and lived in the Bahamas, got married in Antigua and been to a few other islands so really looking forward to going to a new island
mikef said:
I’ve put a deposit on Sugar Bay, based on price and recommendations here. Thanks all. I like the idea of touring around so a hire car is on the cards at least for a few days. I’ve worked in Jamaica and lived in the Bahamas, got married in Antigua and been to a few other islands so really looking forward to going to a new island
This is probably the weirdest travel tip I’ve ever given but if you have a bit of spare luggage space take some dairy milk bars out. A number of the staff there are mad for it buts it’s quite expensive in the supermarkets, better than a couple of $ as a tip. Helen who works in the bar is just about the nicest person I’ve ever met and never let my drink run out the whole time we were there so she’s one to befriend on your first day. I assume the head chef is unchanged, big Scottish guy, does a superb roast complete with massive Yorkshire puddings and Guinness gravy on a Sunday along with the usual island cuisine. Fantastic place.Reactivate the thread nearer the time of your departure and I’m sure you’ll get some decent up to date restaurant recommendations etc.
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