The House by Elegant Hotels

Just come back from a 2 week stay at this hotel having booked through Kuoni. Looking at the most recent reviews, these are an accurate account of what’s happening at this “resort” Please make careful consideration using this hotel. 1) - Beach is virtually non existent. 2)- What Beach they do have with loungers is directly next to a building site which is not cordoned off. 3) - Builder (either from this site or the site next door) decided it was completely acceptable to urinate one day against the hoarding in view of the whole beach. 4)- Building work noise is completely unacceptable and the hotel should have been shut down whilst work was taking place. 5)- supposedly the hotel has been recently renovated, however I’m struggling to see where. Cracked floor tiles. Chipping rusting seating areas out front by the bar. Corridors not cleaned properly. Black marks on the floor. Old beach loungers and Parasols. 6)- Bar area canopy roof leaking when it rains. Bar staff collecting rain in ice buckets. 7) Restaurant and Bar Staff service was more miss than hit. Some days they come round offering drinks. Others they don’t. 8) The looks you got from certain staff at times when asking for basic things like Mayonnaise is completely unacceptable. 9)- Sitting down for Lunch for 15 minutes with nobody coming to us asking if we wanted a drink etc. Then I get up to ask for a lunch menu. To be told i needed to give them a minute. Sit back down wait another 10 minutes for a menu to arrive. In total we waited 1 hour 20 minutes for our food to arrive one day. 10)- on site cat gets injured and goes the vet. Which the resort keeps and looks after. Bar staff approach guests for donations to pay for the Cat vet bill in order to get the cat back to the resort. Was told Marriott would not pay for it. 11)- Leaving on the last day after giving $50BBD to help get the cat back after feeling pressured to do so. I shook one bar tenders hand to say goodbye, his response was (in all seriousness) do you want my bank details so you can send me a tip. 12)- one night we where at the bar waiting for a drink, bar tender comes over and says “you will have to be quick because I am doing other jobs tonight because we are understaffed what do you want” 13)- Another night it is 10:20pm bar busy with a few guests.bar tender abruptly says I’m now finished for the night and leaves. Nobody around at all to serve drinks after this point despite Marriott claiming it is a 2AM bar. 14)- Asked the water sports guy if he could bring 2 padel boards for the following day for us. He said no problem. Next day goes to the water sports area right outside the building site (different guy) asked him if he had the boards. Was told there’s only one board and it’s at a different hotel. Told him I asked the previous day and they would be here. He again told me there’s one board and it’s at the other hotel and I can walk there and get it if I wanted as it’s one 10 minutes away. I again told him the previous days conversation and he just looked at me and said the hotel is 10 minutes away. Went to reception and asked them. 20 minutes later 2 boards arrived. Why did it even come to that in the first place I ask myself. Marriott has a major problem at this hotel. They should’ve closed it when the Tamarind was knocked down. If this place has recently been renovated it’s a shocking one for sure. I will never step foot in another Marriott after this. Our tour rep Kuoni has a lot to answer for with the promise of a relaxing holiday which fell way way short of the mark.

Title: How near perfect can perfect be? "The House" delivers! Having read a few negative reviews before our trip, I honestly have to ask myself if those guests stayed at the same hotel. Yes, there was a bit of building work going on adjacent to the property, and the Tamarind is currently being refurbished. However, was it a major annoyance? Absolutely not. It is a working island, and maintenance has to happen. We mainly used the beach for swimming and walking anyway—though it was a real shame to see that a lot of the coastline had been taken by the 2024 hurricane season. From the moment we arrived until the second we left, the staff at reception, the restaurant, the bar, and the pool were an absolute joy. They were incredibly helpful, friendly, and genuinely funny. A special mention must go to the wonderful restaurant team: Chantelle, Sophia, Sheena, and Shiana (or the "Three S’s" plus one!). We also loved the two matriarchs, Agnes and Patricia, who made your eggs exactly how you wanted them and served up lovely cookies. The food was consistently good throughout our entire 10-day stay. Out by the pool, Kwesi was fantastic, running around all day to keep everyone topped up with cool drinks. At the bar, Dev and Dennis kept the drinks flowing alongside some great, good-humoured banter. While there are a few names I may have missed, every single staff member was a delight. Would I go back? Indeed I would! Do not be put off by the minor negative reviews you read. This place is wonderful. Met some lovely people also during our stay

We booked this hotel for a relaxing beach holiday, (we booked via BA) based on the hotel’s website & BA’s. Their website clearly shows a nice sandy beach stretching the whole width of the hotel. Upon arrival, it became immediately apparent that substantial construction work was taking place at The House itself, in addition to the ongoing works at Tamarind. We had not been told about this in advance. It was also immediately obvious that the beach bore little resemblance to the photographs and descriptions displayed on either the British Airways or hotel websites. The extensive beach shown in the promotional material simply no longer existed. The beach had been washed away during Hurricane Beryl in July 2024 and that restoration work had not been undertaken because of the refurbishment of the Marriott properties. Despite this, The Hotel didn’t update their websites or removed the pre-hurricane photographs. For almost two years they continued to market the hotel using images and descriptions that no longer reflected reality. Had the true condition of the beach been accurately represented, I would never have booked this holiday. The remaining section of beach was extremely narrow, steeply sloping and largely unusable. The sun loungers were positioned on an incline, making them uncomfortable and rendering the tables impractical to use. This limited beach area was also directly adjacent to the construction site. The construction work itself was by far the most serious issue. It took place throughout the day, every day, including weekends, and frequently continued until around 10.00 pm. The beach was directly in front of the building site with no screening whatsoever. The constant noise from drills, hammers, angle grinders and construction equipment, together with builders repeatedly shouting to one another across different floors, made it impossible to relax. Dust and debris from the site regularly blew across the beach and surrounding public areas. There was nowhere within the hotel public areas where guests could escape the noise or disruption. On a positive note, the food was good, the drinks were recognised brands & the staff were very friendly & pleasant. Marriott should have closed this hotel whilst the building work was going on, updated their website & not put their staff in the position of having to defend this situation. One further minor issue that just shows that Marriot Bonvoy cannot be trusted is regarding the use of facilities at their other properties. Most are free, but if you want to eat at The Colony, you pay but get a 30% discount. What they don’t tell you in advance is that you have to pay $150 each to join the Colony club for the day. I will never book another holiday in a hotel owned by Marriot Bonvoy, they are dishonest & mis represent the reality of what you get.

I have been a loyal Marriott guest for many years and chose this property because I previously worked for Marriott and have always believed in the company’s commitment to exceptional hospitality and guest service. Unfortunately, this has been the first Marriott property where I have felt genuinely unwelcome. During our stay, we were refused seating for dinner because we were told we were not “fully dressed.” While I understand that restaurants may have dress codes, this is a beachfront resort, and the restaurant was nearly empty with only a handful of guests. Rather than making us feel welcome or offering a reasonable solution, we were simply turned away. What disappointed me even more was the overall attitude of the staff throughout our stay. The interactions felt cold and unaccommodating, which is not the level of hospitality I have come to expect from Marriott. Great service is about making guests feel valued, and that was unfortunately missing during our experience. Hospitality should be centered around the guest experience. Policies are important, but they should be applied with discretion and common sense, especially when doing so could significantly improve a guest’s stay without negatively affecting anyone else. After years of choosing Marriott properties around the world, I never expected to leave one feeling this disappointed. This experience has fallen far below the Marriott standard that I have always known, and based on this stay, I would not recommend this property to others visiting Barbados. I sincerely hope this feedback is taken seriously so future guests receive the warm, welcoming experience that Marriott has built its reputation on.

Amazing experience at The house, the staff is very welcoming. Everyone in the staff goes above and beyond to make you feel comfortable and right at home. We went for our honeymoon and the room was decorated for my wife and also with desserts. It was really special. The food was amazing, usually all inclusive hotels do not have great food not the case here, the bajan chicken was so good I kept going back for more and the steak was perfectly cooked. Overall everyone was very attentive making sure you had enough drinks and a good experience. Thank you everyone who made us feel special for our honeymoon!