The not so Grand Barbados Beach resort is located on the west coast of Barbados in The Carlisle Bay Resort. A large property in need of renovation and modernisation which recently went under a refurbishment (lick of paint - outside). The hotelis 10 miles away from Barbados main airport Grantley Adams International, Bridgetown with a transfer time of around 20 minutes.
The concept of the hotel when it first opened must have been a great one which went into a downward spiral and never recovered! It has a big fountain just outside reception which is rarely ever on and with black mould around it. A small pond of some description is located to one side with fish which can just be seen through the mould also. A large undercover area around the fountain is supposed to give the 'Grand' entrance where you would expect a bell boy to wait to open a door and maybe carry a few bags? I dont think so....
You walk through some glass doors into an open reception which is undercover but not enclosed within the building itself. To greet your arrival are a team of receptionists who can only be described as unhelpful and rude. This applies to some 80% of them with the remainder really nice and would do anything. Ask for Cheryl if you can! The reception desk is dominated by about 3-4 staff at a time, which is surprising because they never seem to do much but when you approach the desk, you are not the priority!
Looking around the hotel is supposed to be a four star complex but it lacks the four star quality you would come to expect. Despite a glorious website and layout along with tempting pictures you would become to be very disappointed on arrival - guaranteed unless you have been before. The pictures are very unreliable and dis-honest. One shows a room with a lady seated on a comfy red chair and polished wooden floors - of which they certainly don't have.
A business centre is located next to the recpetion desk with a modern computer and cheap internet access. The hotel also has wireless internet connection and mainly caters for business users.
Three meeting rooms are located at the hotel. I have only managed to see
one near to reception which is the Coral Garden. The wesite states a capacity of 60-250 people with beautiful views of carlisle bay. It could fit 150 MAX and has a wet-bar as described but the views of Carlisle Bay??? You maybe can just see past the stained net curtains that surround the windows and then past the trees that line the property.
The pool is just outside, no room for sunbathers, maybe a few people on sunbeds on the decking but not any more than four. Really unsuitable for children with a depth of 2.50 meters at one end!! The pool is never used by anyone and to be honest i don't think it has ever been used...
The good thing is just through reception you can reachthe beach and sunbeds are provided for use on the beach. Generally the beach is clean-ish but it is spoilt by the hotel being next to it! A pier from the hotel out into the sea is taken by the hotels restaurant with (a majority) of staff who could not care less about being there! They employ so many people to stand around and talk to each other its quite unbeliveable. You would think that a group of people who have ordered a starter, main course along with drinks would get served pretty fast with all them staff? Im afraid not, its hit or miss. We waited over 1 1/2 hrs for the starter, we all just upped and left because we had waited so long, and because it was late we had to go to the chinese up near the main road. They even have one member of staff who just sits at a computer by the side of the bar and adds orders to your room, nothing else, just that!
The bar offers a wide range of drinks from local to branded drinks. Prices are quite high and further down the review you can find a cheaper option...
The remainder of the pier has rooms and the walkway is a great place for sunbathers! The rooms are no longer in use because the roof is broken and hasn't been repaired in months (even with the refurbishment). These are the suites!! So the end of the pier is disused and looks like it will fall into the sea soon! If you like snorkelling under the pier is a hive for tropical fish and if you like a bit of fishing then the pier is ideal otherwise throw them bread!
All this and I havn't got to the rooms!
Just behind the reception desk are two lifts, slow but old! The seventh floor is supposed to be dedicated for business guests. I have never actually stayed in a seventh floor room or known anyone else too, so really could not tell you anything about it. I would not expect much!
A general room is quite spacious with twin beds (both double), balcony, fitted wooden cupboard with sliding doors and wooden hangers. It also has an ironing board and iron inside it. If you ever use the iron it usually cuts off after around fifteen minutes after then you must turn it back on by pulling out and replacing the plug!
The rooms are quite nicely presented and the maids do an exceptional job in cleaning and looking after them, they also are some of the nicest people I have ever met unlike the rst of the staff!! A table with a selection of magazines on local information with chairs is in the corner of the room near to your air-conditioning unit. Some rooms have brand new units and others have older ones. If you have the unfortunate chance of staying in the hotel and have a room with an old unit the plug is a UK style one incase you forget your adaptor!! Both style air conditioning units are easily adjusted with either a remote control device or unit on the wall.
Tea and coffee making facilities are available in the room but with a coffee perculator and not a kettle. The beds are comfortable and I cannot say that I have never slept badly at the hotel. The electrics are poor with some rooms with sockets hanging off the wall.
The TV offers a decent selection of TV channels such as the usual worldwide news channels (CNN, BBC 24) and some american film channels (TNT) and normal tv channels.
The bathroom however is a different story which has maybe had a lick of paint somewhere along the line but no update since the day the hotel was opened. The bath is clean but the plugs / taps / shower heads are poor and rusting! The shower tends to dribble in most rooms and could do with replacements. The bath plug-holes seem to be worse for wear and in many of the rooms wether you have a shower or bath the water tends to take a while to disappear!
The vanity side has two basins and a large mirror. A small basket provides comlimentary shampoo / conditioner, bath / shower gel, a small soap and moisturising lotion. A small ice bucket with two glasses are also provided in the bathroom also. Ice machines are located on the 5th and 7th
Pictures of Grand Barbados Beach Resort, Bridgetown
View from a room
floors (by the lifts) with the one on the 5th floor not working for a few months! Tissues, extra loo rolls and little 'lady bags' for sanitary requirements are provided in a little draw.
The balconys are average size and alot of room is taken by the remainder of the air conditioning unit which is located on the floor of the balcony (the fan thing). most hotels have them located on the wall. But all rooms have sea views.
Some of the amenities listed on the website are, well...., not present??
- Hair and Beauty Salon - nowhere to be seen - Boutique - Erm...nowhere to be seen - State of the Art Fitness Centre - let me see....nowhere to be seen
It does have a dive shop which is located on the beach front which can be accessed by going through reception and by the small hotel pool. Turn left onto the beach and it is a little hut. They provide equipment rentals and lessons for anyone who wants to learn. They seem a friendly bunch of people.
Further along the beach sometimes a lifeguard is present in a little hut, and if you go behind that onto a little parking area you will find the most tasty snacks around! David is the owner of the hut and is a friendly guy and offers fresh egg baps/cobs/rolls for something stupid like 50p/80p and the islands favorite dish flying fish baps/cobs/rolls for around 80p/£1. You can have cheese, salad and mayonnaise on it also YUM! As with everywhere in barbados he takes either Bajan Dollars or US Dollars the average exchange rate around the island is double US. So 4 Bajan Dollars is around 2 US dollars which is approx £1....depending on exchange rates! He also offers cold bottles of beer for around 80p/£1 along with water and pop. It is much cheaper than the hotels expensive snacks and you get served straight away!
A shop is located just across from the main entrance of the hotel and must be the poorest stocked shop you may ever come across. It has items like two packets of plasters, three sun lotions, one souvenir T-Shirt, a fridge full of ice cream and cold drinks and various other small things. Sometimes things you require but don't expect much at all, although the staff are nice and friendly.
Just behind the hotel is a yacht club which on most Tuesday nights or Wednesdays they tend to have a big party for its members. So if your at the back of the hotel or on the far side it can be quite noisey! The far side beach is much quieter and cleaner and can be accessed by getting out onto the beach and wading into the sea and swimming under the pier! Worth it if you prefer a bit of privacy and quiet during the daytime!
The hotel used to provide beach towels in the rooms, for some strange reason they now have to collected from reception and signed for. Free usage daily but as you walk back onto the hotel complex from the beach is a 'wheelie bin' which you place them in before you go back to your room. So a pointless task of signing them out when you don't sign them back in!!
Security guards ponder around the complex and there is one on duty all the time 24hrs. You get the odd one which will wait for you to come off the beach and make you wash the sand from your feet using the shower or tap just by the access from the hotel or you get the other one who can be found sleeping on a table in the restaurant in the pier at night.
The hotel seems to be like faulty towers, they provide something happening every time I go....(I dont choose the hotel im afraid). Once the lifts were not working, another time the fire alarms kept going off all night, another night I was woken by a security guard banging on a door and nobody was in the room!!! I always think...what next?
If your looking for somewhere special to eat out a moderatly expensive menu but nice food is a restaurant called 'Champers' or for a cheaper option with much better food is a place called '39 Steps'. Champers, you will need a taxi, if you do go to '39 Steps' if you walk out of the hotel to the main road and make a right turn and take a 10 minute walk you will come to it. A cheap and cheerful chinese is located just up by the main road also. Im not saying don't eat at the hotel but don't expect too much, the food is nice but the service is terrible!
I know im reviewing the hotel but a good day out can be spent on one of the catamarancruises which leave from various places all over the island. Reception can book you onto one and the cost is around 90 Bajan Dollars (£23 approx). These usually include your taxi to the boat and then free drinks on the boat all day, your food and visits to snorkelling location (equipment provided) and to swim with sea turtles, Great party atmosphere all day long and a good chance to soak up the sun. (make sure you have plenty of sun cream on).
Overall the hotel website is a poor indication of what actually the hotel looks like and what you actually get. I will give it its dues, it certainly makes your choice to book it very tempting but I would not waste your time or money!
What I will do is add real photos of what the rooms and hotel looks like when I visit again so you can make up your own mind, and support my review.
Maybe if most of the staff were more helpful and the hotel made more of an effort on presentation and maintenance it could actually be quite a nice hotel in a lovely location.
I would however take a few moments to look up the Hilton Barbados which is just down the road and with completely different standards and service or maybe somewhere else that has been reviewed?
Website Address: http://www.grandbarbados.com
Address:
Grand Barbados Resort PO Box 639 Aquatic Gap, St. Michael Bridgetown, Barbados West Indies
Phone: +246 426-4000
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