Colony Club

Fantastic hotel which has been very tastefully maintained to keep its original character whilst giving a feel of style, grace and openness. Live music every evening and what a talent the various artists are. But what makes this place with its own sandy beach and pools are the staff. They are kind helpful and totally engaging and the standard is in my opinion 10 out of 10. I would like to name Roseanne , Nicole and Suzette in particular what lovely ladies they are and made our Caribbean holiday in Barbados so thank you ladies and a big thank you to all the other staff too many to name. The rooms are of a very high standard and quality. Just excellent all round.

There is little doubt that The Colony Club is a beautiful place set on a wonderful beach and the rooms are lovely but for us this great location never gets close to five stars because of some very strange failings. Our first sense was that the restaurant staff appeared to resent their guests! To be fair, I will give you an example to illustrate the point- I ordered a glass of Malbec from four choices of red wines by the glass. 10 minutes later the waitress told me that Malbec was unavailable- so I asked for Merlot, 10 minutes later she returned saying that Merlot wasn’t available, so I asked for Cabernet Sauvignon which arrived straight out of the fridge. Now for the strange bit - my bill arrived with two glasses of wine - one Pinot Grigio and one Pinot Noir, neither of which I ordered! When the correct bill arrived it came with the words, “is that right now”? I am sure you have all experienced that tone! No apology or an admission of an error- certainly no five stars when two of four choices are missing- am I being unreasonable? The serving area for breakfast is so small everyone bumps into each other and are incredibly apologetic, as am I but it is way too small. In a review I read this week, the writer said that the hotel had nil atmosphere and he was sadly correct. The main reason is that the only restaurant on site is not five star and most guests eat out so how can the hotel generate atmosphere? Not possible. We were told by friends that next door was a better option for lunch as it had a far better more varied menu. We certainly agree, which is a terrible inditement which management has to address right now. The beach staff were brilliant and showed the staff in general how to treat guests properly. One really bizarre item that amused me no end was having the safe in a draw, which when opened led to a very “wonky” drawer. Certainly not what one would expect from a five star resort. I hate to be negative but if the Colony Club wants to be known and appreciated as a 5 star resort, it will have to up its game considerably.

The setting is beautiful but the hotel has no atmosphere .The room was large and beds are comfortable but dark day and night, it did not get much natural light during the day and there is not enough lamps at night. The corridor to get to the room was horrible and smelt dank. I didn't like the fact that staff thought it was ok to come to your room through the balcony so felt there was no privacy if you were on the ground floor this happened 3 times so always had to keep curtains drawn . The breakfast was very limited the eggs were cooked fresh but things like pancakes were like dry cardboard from how long they sat there, things did not get refilled often . Staff in general looked miserable and everything was an effort for them. Cocktails were very expensive as they were premade we sat and watched them all being delivered one day in big plastic bottles and they tasted like it. The food was very average and most people we spoke to go out to eat after the first night as nobody wants to eat there unless you have prepaid for it in the reservation but taxi are very expensive so please take that into account. It advertises its self as a luxury resort but in my opinion its not ,and you can stop it the cheaper all inclusive resorts in the chain then get a free water taxi to Colony Club to use the facilities and not pay the extra to stop there . We have stopped in luxury hotels all over the world and this wasn't one of them and I would never stop here again. The rooms were clean but on one day of our stay they cleaned the room and did turn down service at the same time as so late in the day . There was cleaning carts always blocking the tight corridors when you left your room. It does have a nice pool area but sunbeds were full of people from the other hotels we did spend time talking to them to check this. In general rooms are nice enough but dark pool area is nice but full of people that are staying in cheaper resorts, some staff are unhelpful. Food was mediocre as were the cocktails ,

We have traveled to many luxury resorts in the Caribbean, and this resort fell very short of expectations given the price and label. The service was poor. We were woken up nearly every morning at 9am (there is a time change so it was 8am back home and we have kids and were trying to sleep in on vacation) by housekeeping trying to clean our room. Each day I asked if they could come back later and each day they said yes and never cleaned our room. Pool/beach food and drink service was non-existent most of the time. The “spa” is a TINY building far away from the rest of the resort. Our massages were great. When I was getting mine, however, there were people cleaning and banging on the floors/walls the entire time. It was anything but a relaxing spa experience. There is no sauna. No hot tub (anywhere on the resort). Overall I would not recommend anyone visit this resort considering the high cost and bad service. Barbados was GREAT otherwise!!

We have just returned from a week’s holiday at the Colony Club. We stayed at the Colony before and we found the refurbishment to have been completed with tremendous care and thoughtfulness. The gardens and pools of the hotel are absolutely beautiful and amazing. Beach and the lovely Caribbean sea were just lovely with no issues with loungers. The room was lovely, quiet, spacious , immaculately clean and bathroom upgrade was very tastefully done. Breakfast was all very fresh, varied and great quality. Dinner was excellent, fresh, varied and good vegetarian options. Staff were very accommodating for specific dietary requirements. As for staff at the Colony Club, they are a credit to the hotel. Staff are friendly, professional and work extremely hard. This goes for gardeners, pool staff, reception staff, cleaners , waiters and waitresses. We hope to return to this charming and wonderful hotel before too long.