Colony Club, a Luxury Collection Resort, Barbados

Overall: I wouldn’t rate the hotel 4 stars. I would pick another hotel for my next stay. Rooms: ok. Beds oddly made (duvet cover opening at top of bed where your face is, so your face touches the duvet is unhygienic…). Privacy not so great, could hear the neighbours whisking a spoon in their cup. Pool swim up for some rooms doesn’t feel appealing if you want privacy as there will be people on sunbeds in that area (I didn’t stay in one of those). Restaurant and food generally: very expensive and quality not up to those price standards (eg soggy fries). Menu options also limited. Which is a shame as there is lovely Caribbean food! I have eaten much better and for way less in nearby beach eateries. Drinks good but also very expensive. Staff slow, I ordered a drink at the beach which I never received, ended up walking to the bar to order. Small and private beach. Had an unpleasant encounter with one of the beach vendors that I had to report to the hotel staff for insulting me (solo female). Beach beds need more cleaning, lots of bird excrements.

First let em say I love Barbados because of the people here. They are genuinely friendly! They are happy and have always made my time on the island feel special unlike some other Caribbean islands that seem to want your $ and for you to leave. We are currently staying at this hotel. It’s definitely been updated and it’s nice. Just note: all the tile is porcelain look marble which cheapens it for a “Luxury Collection” property. The rooms are modern and we have a luxury ocean view (upgraded from an ocean view) and outside of the trees blocking the ocean it’s good. Our room is USD$3,500 for 5 nights. The main issue I have has been the service. I know island time and all that but I have been to plenty of 5 star hotels with excellent service. Today we had to set up our own beach chairs and when I asked for help the woman just pointed and said “there are chairs over there.” We moved from the beach to the pool, finally flagged someone down to get a menu to order lunch and then that person never came back. 34 minutes later my husband finally walked to the bar to ask and they said we could order there. NOT 5 STAR. We had similar issues last February at the St Regis Aurba. I wonder why Marriott is getting it so wrong on these so called luxury properties that don’t offer the service promised. They sure charge you the same rate.

recently stayed at The Colony Club in Barbados and overall had a really enjoyable experience. The hotel itself is beautiful, the beach is stunning, and the rooms were very comfortable. Breakfast was acceptable.   l thought for a 5 Star Hotel it would have been much better.  The breakfast area felt quite small and could get a little crowded at times. There were also some lovely touches throughout the day — ice cream or lollies being offered in the afternoon and fresh fruit brought around to guests relaxing on the sunbeds in the morning were both much appreciated. Unfortunately, the biggest issue was the restaurant and food service. The staff seemed disorganised and sloppy at times. We asked four different members of staff for a room service menu one day and despite being told it would be sent to our room, it never arrived. Experiences like this became frustrating. Housekeeping ladies sometimes did not arrive until 4 o’clock in the afternoon. Which made it difficult if you wanted to go back to your room for a little snooze.   If you’re choosing this hotel mainly for the food, I honestly wouldn’t recommend it. It’s a shame because everything else about the property is very good. I’m not sure Marriott are fully aware of the issues with the restaurant side of the hotel, but it’s something they really need to address.   This could easily have been a five-star review, but unfortunately the food let it down. Would we stay again?… Yes,  but we would eat out each evening.

We thought it was a lovely place - nice swim up room nice pools lovely beach all on hand - unfortunately the food was awful and the staff in restaurant not really meeting the sort of service you would expect from a hotel of this caliber and the money they are charging . We ate there a few times but went out to other hotels and restaurants that were far better - like the Cliff , Sandy lane , Lone star, the Muse. Tides etc the food and staff there were far more on the ball and seemed much more professional . It’s such a shame as it’s a lovely place they need a new head chef and experienced restaurant manager . This complaint is repeated several times in reviews I hope the management take action as they haven’t so far !!

There’s a lot to love about Colony Club. The setting is lush and tropical, the rooms are gorgeous. The beds are comfortable, the beach where you can lay your weary head is perfect. The pools and tennis courts on the property are great. The concierge and front desk are helpful. The beach attendant setting up beach beds each morning is very friendly. The food and hospitality however, are waaaaayyyyyyy below par. I don’t understand how you can nail every other aspect of this resort except for the food and food service. I’ll start with the first meal we had, dinner. An incredibly unenthused waitress delivered what were quite literally, 2 of the worst pizzas we’ve ever had the displeasure of consuming. What looked to me a supermarket base, topped with a thin overcooked layer of scattered cheese. The other had some pineapple and ham chucked on. Reminded me of my student days, mustering up whatever I could in a studio apartment kitchen. This as well as a sloppy, milky, kids pasta and a very sad cobb salad, plus a couple glasses of wine set us back almost £250. Yep. Breakfast is average at BEST. For the price we were paying I was expecting much, much better. The servers are painfully slow and miserable. It’s difficult enjoying your time in this environment. The quality of produce is low, the hash browns/sausages etc are drenched in oil. The fruit is scarce and not at all reflective of the environment. It felt more like tinned and packeted food, than the fresh abundance the brochures and websites promise. The coffee … well. Lunch was even worse. It started with my 10 yro daughter asking me why everyone looked so sad. Total bummer. My exotic, couscous salad described on the menu, arrived as follows: a bowl of warm cooked pasta couscous (not the grain as most would assume) topped with 3 squirts of runny guacamole and over cooked, boiled cauliflower. That’s it. That set me back about £30. My daughter’s tropical smoothie arrived as a sickly, sweet strawberry milkshake obviously infused with cheap strawberry yoghurt and milk. How is it possible that a resort in Barbados of all places cannot nail a tropical smoothie?! What hope is there? The good news is that During our 6 night stay, we did not return to the restaurant at all, instead we were pointed in the direction of local restaurants which absolutely assured us that the quality and service elsewhere were top notch. Some incredible restaurants in Barbados, unfortunately The Colony Club are not in any way included in this. This is a Marriot Hotel chain? Cmon dudes! For the price, I would definitely not return and I would hope that reviews such as this would at least inspire some improvement for further guests.