Barbados Lodging information

[bonniejoy03]

Looking at staying in Barbados one night before we depart for the Grenadines (and then one night when we return.) Has anyone stayed at Turtle Beach or Colony Club? I haven't been to Barbados since the 80's so am not too sure of these properties. Also, we are looking at something relatively close to the airport...any assistance???

Thanks!

[disneygal]

Hi - I have almost the exact same question! BJ03, where/when are you going?? I just booked a cruise in the Grenadines on the Royal Clipper for December.

I would be interested in feedback on any of the Barbados hotels featured on LL. That includes most of the Elegant Group. I don't see Crystal Cove listed a la carte right now, but would be most interested in The House or Colony Club, or maybe even the Fairmont. My understanding is that Turtle Beach caters more towards families with children, but please set me right if I shouldn't eliminate it on that basis.

I believe Turtle Beach would be closer to the airport than the other hotels, which are on the west coast. I'm searching the web for a map showing hotel locations, but so far haven't found a good one.

I dealt with this once before - a night in Barbados on the way to the Grenadines. That time I picked a property on the south coast, closer to the airport. It was not an LL property, had wonderful reviews on TA, but wasn't really great. The beach on the south coast was very nice though, and we saw some baby sea turtles hatch! This time, I'm thinking I'll go half an hour further, to the west coast, to get a nice hotel. We also have a night before and night after, so maybe we'll try two different places.

Marla




Message Edited by disneygal on 02-15-2008 08:00 AM

[bonniejoy03]

Hi Disneygal. We are headed to Cotton House in Mustique ....YEAH!! YEAH!!!! We are going in either November or Beginning of December. When are you going in December? Do you actually pick up the Royal Clipper from Barbados?



I did start to research the LL a la carte offerings and cross referenced with other forums. So far I found the Turtle Beach to be the closest to the airport and least cost for airport transfers (about 15-20 usd.) The Colony Club was further away and cost close to 50-100usd for the transfer! Those properties plus Fairmont and The House are listed as a la carte offerings on the dates we are looking at. Though, they are not cheap!! We will probably go with the Turtle beach beacause it is one day in and one day out, all the meals and drinks included. (we are NOT all-inclusive people but for one night in and out its not bad and then we don't have to figure out where and how to get food!) Also, they have tennis courts. We are flying from the East Coast and have found out Barbados isn't THAT easy to get to and the flight times are horrible! Where are you flying from? Therefore, with getting into Barbados late and then flying out late morning to Mustique, we PROBABLY will go with Turtle Beach. Yes, I did read that it caters to mostly families. Hopefully we will be between family holidays and not have TONs of kids. I did like the Colony Club and breakfast and dinner would be included. It was further from the airport. So, this is my research so far....Oh yes, I also did read that the beach and water was better on west side...little farther from airport. I heard the south side (where Turtle Beach is located.) will be rough. I think with our short time there we might just stay in the south side......but...maybe take your suggestion and try two different properties.

[disneygal]

Hi BJ03! I'm sure you'll love the Cotton House. Our last trip to the Grenadines was to Palm Island. Our flight stopped in Mustique for about 10 minutes - it's gorgeous. The flights on Air Mustique were an adventure also!

The two nights we'll have in Barbabos will be December 5th and 13th. The Royal Clipper leaves right from there. We'll have one day docked near Yound Island, so we'll get to check that out!

Last time we did about the same week in December and the water/beach on the south side were beautiful. Certainly not too rough to go in and play. We were very close to Turtle Beach. But they do say the west coast is better. I hadn't thought about the transfer cost. That's a good point. I'm planning to use a VIP coupon for one night, so will probably go with The House. I was surprised at how expensive the hotels are! Yikes!

I'm looking at flights, and hope to use AA miles. We're in Boston, and it doesn't look so bad for the flight times. We can change planes in NY or Miami and get to Barbados mid/late in the afternoon.

Marla

[bonniejoy03]

Hi Disneygal. Yes, we are excited to visit Cotton house. We actually did the sail program from Young Island on our 10year anniversary and docked in Mustique overnight. We took the mule around the property. It should be wonderful. Communication with the property so far has been fantastic...great customer service. ( I always have TONS of questions!!). How as Palm Island? Did you do this as an LL package?

Didn't realize some of the cruises leaave from Barbados. Where will you be stopping on the cruiise? Is Royal Clipper a big or small trip? We could be there the same time as you!!! We still haven't finalized our air plans. The fights on USAir are much better to Barbados but ONLY go Saturday to Saturday!!!! If we fly AA, we need to overnight in Philly. The flight times aren't great. Some have layovers for 6 or 7 hours in San Juan or Miami!! (We were TRYING to use a free ticket.) So, I just keep hoping there will be a MAJOR air sale or they add more flights. Lucky that your flights are good.



I did look at The House and it seemed quite expensive. What else attracted you to the property? Did you see that Little Good Harbour is up for auction in Barbados? It is for 6 nights and the price is good. Was thinking of padding extra time. It starts at about $1000. Check it out. I am still torn about places. Will probably just do Turtle Beach for convenience. I have been trying to be creative and have thought about stopping in Bequia for a few days. If that is the case, I wouldn't stay in and out in Barbados. So many choices but lots of fun planning!!!!

[beerman2420]

bonniejoy-We just returned from Barbados yesterday. We stayed on the west coast at Treasure Beach, which we would recommend but too far for one night. I don't have any knowledge about the places you asked about, but The Crane is on the east coast about 6 miles from the airport. Alot of construction going on up there, but the views are unbelievable. We have also heard good things about Little Arches, Blue Orchid and Coral Mist. Hope this helps.

[bonniejoy03]

Sorry Beerman....I posted to your other question before I read this post to me!!Any other info? Did you fly to Barbados from the East Coast? I was looking at USAir but they only fly in and out on Saturdays via Harrisburg, Philly, and Baltimore. Sounds strange. Thanks for your opinion about staying on the west coast for just one night. We are looking now at more south coast properties due to the location of the airport. I'll check out The Crane.



Thanks!

[beerman2420]

Bonniejoy-We flew direct on Delta from Atlanta. The Blue Orchid, Coral Mist and Little Arches are also close to the airport. We flew to Union Island on a small plane. (10 seats ) We did not go to Mustique on our trip through the small islands. We have been looking at Mustique for awhile. Be interested in your feedback after your trip. Take care.

[disneygal]

Hi, I was also looking at Little Arches. It looks very nice, although not on LL. I'll have to check out the Blue Orchid and Coral Mist also.

We did get an auction package to Palm Island. Had a very nice time, although it was not our favorite. We liked Guana Island much better. Palm Island is very small, but with so few guests it wasn't very social. I think management sets the tone, and it was a bit too formal for us. The cottage was right on the beach though, which was very nice, but we were plagued by no-see-ums. They said this was uncommon, but you couldn't hang out on the beach. But we loved the Grenadines and want to go back. We did a couple of excursions to see the area, to the Tobago Cays and Petit St. Vincent and just loved it all. I also liked the idea of a cruise from Barbados to eliminate the expense of th extra puddle jumper flight. Windstar goes from Barbados also. We've been on Windstar in the Med and enjoyed it very much. Anyway, the Royal Clipper is a huge sailboat, 220 guests. The itinerary includes Carriacou, Grenada, Tobago Cays, St. Vincent (they dock off Young Island), Bequia, Martinique and St. Lucia. Do you think we'll cross paths along the way?

I would like to spend more time in Barbados, but don't have any more vacation time from work! So, will have to pick LL "a la carte". The idea was to use a LL VIP coupon for a hotel, since we're not using it on the main vacation. I thought maybe I could get the bulk of the cost for 2 nights covered, but the hotel prices are high. So that's why I was thinking of The House, and using the coupon for one night. It looks interesting, and the coupon would make it doable. Still exploring options though, and open to ideas... Like most of us here, we enjoy the planning and figuring it all out!

[beerman2420]

We stopped at Palm Island on our catamaran cruise. It was quite "proper". We were with a group of people from the UK. They were suprised how unfriendly it was compared to other places we stopped. Most of our other stops had British influence and were quite friendly. Palm Island isleased by the U.S.A. and although very beautiful was not as friendly.I was kidding around with them,how the only island we go to from my country was the unfriendliest.We almost went there last year. I don't think I would have enjoyed it. We took a puddle jumper to Union Island from Barbados. The flight's were good. But that 1 hour in the air over nothing but water make taking the boat from Barbados sound good. Have a great trip.