Coral Reef Club

My wife and I chose to spend an extra couple of days in Barbados on the back of the business trip and based on friend’s recommendation chose Coral Reef. We arrived early and reception was great in getting us situated at the beach while our room was getting ready. As hotel was only partially full. by 1:30 we were in the lovely Junior suit. It was on the first floor next to the ocean and done in such a way that we did not see other rooms. The rooms have a back door and room service uses connections at the back so you never see support stuff around the resort. Great design. Beach is very nice. Service at the beach is prompt. Basically it is a high quality small resort with prices to match. Is it worth the money? For us it was However, the stay was ruined by the staff at the restaurant. We went there for breakfast . The restaurant is right on the beach without any wall. While dinner is more formal ( pants and shirt) breakfast is informal buffet with shorts and t-shirts being a norm. As we were checking-in I was told that I need to take my hat before I can sit down. That was somewhat strange given that there were people working at the restaurant in the hats, some kids were running around in the beach hats and there were no sign regarding head covering. But each establishment can set up their own rules. So not a big deal. I explained that I cover my head for religious purposes. I thought that it was sufficient. However as we were finishing our breakfast the manager of the restaurant (or at least I assume he is one) approached our table and loudly requested that I take off my hat. At that time I chose to leave the restaurant. Later that day the manager who was informed by my wife of the reason for the hat came and told me that I can wear the hat. No apology was offered. I will give the manager benefit of the doubt and assume that he did not talk to the lady I have already explained the reason to (especially since the hat was more of the informal look). However, the fact that manager chose to give me a loud directions to remove the hat rather than have a discreet conversation is unacceptable. Simple: “ Sir, can I enquire if your hat is for medical or religious purposes” would have avoided the issue. It is sad that action of one individual can ruin hard work of the entire stuff

For the second year in succession we happily returned to Coral reef to a different plantation suite , the codrington , all these suites are similiar in design With its large open terrace large lounge and bedroom and very large bathroom , truly a special base from which to enjoy the hotel and Barbados . As I have said you can walk quite a way to the right and left of the hotel along the beach ,easily to their sister hotel , the Sandpiper . Once again we were impressed by the beautiful lounge and bar area by the restaurant which is unlike any other Barbados hotel , the food again was really good both at lunch where we dined casually on a table near the sea And of course on the enjoyable evenings with good entertainment from various entertainers , both service and food is better than most Barbados hotels . After the meal you can relax after the meal with a drink in the lovely lounge We always commenced our meal with a glass of champagne in the small outdoor space just off the lounge , a habit we look forward to continuing in the future. There really is almost no need to go out of the hotel to the many restaurants Other than just for a change , but when we did we were always pleased to return to Coral . The staff are very friendly and humorous making the holiday particularly enjoyable , I was amused by one trip critic who said older people returned to the hotel year after staying in the same rooms as though doing so is somehow annoying , of course they do ! As a couple enjoying many of the top hotels in the world we rate this one very highly and will return next year , with confidence .

The location is superb although the Coral reef is long gone. The hotel was 80% full of older guests who book year after year. All the best sunbeds are booked somehow as are the restaurant tables. Staff are amazing and even say never book this time of year. The returning guests always book the same rooms . We had a terribly dark, old and tired room, despite asking to be moved. It’s a shame because the hotel needs to move on from these old guests as that is not the future the philosophy of ‘it’s not broke don’t fix it’ can only last for so long.

This was our first stay here for a total of eight nights in garden view king rooms. Having walked by the resort on many prior trips and reading the reviews etc we had high expectations. On our first night we dined at Sandpiper and had our worst dinner of our three weeks. The lobster was inedible and the staff there was indifferent. We dined once at Coral Reef and had a good experience along with good breakfasts and a few lunches. Shelly made the best crepes! The smoking tables are right beside the nice dining tables which is bothersome to us nonsmokers. Overall service at the beach, dining and with housekeeping is very good. Most of our calls to the front desk were never followed up on. As an American sports fan I was delighted that a TV could be brought to our room for the NFL playoffs. Matthew in particular made sure it had the right channels. Sadly though despite a few reminders on the 2nd part of our stay noone knew how to do this. Sigh. We learned most guests rebook every year and stay in the same rooms. There is much to like here but compared to some of our other resort stays it left us with a mixed opinion.

We stayed here for 10nights to celebrate my husband’s birthday. It’s a stunning hotel in beautifully maintained grounds and gardens We stayed in the Vinca room which had amazing views over the beach and stunning sunsets from the huge balcony Breakfast was very good served in the restaurant overlooking the beach, buffet style but lots of choice and egg station, which also produced pancakes and waffles. Staff were attentive and friendly. We only ate dinner one night it was lovely and service very good but a bit more formal than we like on holiday. It seemed a bit unusual for men needing to wear trousers in such a warm climate We also ate a couple of times at their sister hotel The Sandpiper which was less formal and very good. Housekeeping was excellent, room was kept to a very high standard and our housekeeper was very friendly There has been some erosion directly in front of hotel but there’s still easy access a few steps further along We were surprised to find that sunbeds seemed to be reserved from early in the morning around the main pool and closest to the beach with no sign of people actually using them. There were beds available on the grass which suited us fine but maybe something that should be looked at.