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Member since:03.12.2000
Reviews:148
Members who trust:109
We stayed at the Sugar Cane Club in July 2002 for 6 nights. We got our flights really cheap, so we were looking for cheap hotels to keep the overall price down.
We had two options and pay £150 a night for something decent on an all inclusive basis so that was £900 over 6 nights
Or go for something cheap, which had good reviews on it. There’s another review here on ciao, which decribes the place perfectly. We choice this place because of the price of £33 per night for a double room including Continental breakfast. Therefore over six nights this cost us £198.00 so we added a car hire on as well for £225 for an air-conditioned Toyota Corolla. So we still had £477 to pay for our meals and we were mobile, which is a huge plus with this hotel as it’s located at the top of the island. This hotel has free self car parking which I found to be secure.
Location +++++++
The hotel is located in St Peter’s chapel area of Barbados, which is at the other end of the island of the airport. Transfers take about 1 hour and are not provided by the hotel, so expect to pay about £80 round trip for a taxi. The hotel is located in a decent residential area and is situated in its own lush green grounds. The grounds of the hotel are one thing you cannot fault; it’s a haven for wildlife.
The hotel is located about ¾ mile away from the beach, and a free shuttle runs to the nearest place Speightstown. There’s not a lot here, but it connects you onto a good bus route along the coast to Bridgetown. Holetown is about 5 miles away and is great for shopping.
http://www.caribbean-on-line.com/br/brmap.shtml Hotel is located in Map ref D4 by Maynards.
Rooms ++++++
We had a double room, which is a good size. The room is split but doesn’t have internal doors except for the bathroom. The room is split into a lounge area, kitchen with cooker and fridge, bedroom, and ensuite Bathroom. The room is very basic, but is kept clean, The room has air conditioning which runs off tokens. 10 Barbados dollars (about £3) will buy you 24 hours worth of heaven. Believe me the room gets hot and the ceiling fan will not keep you cool by itself. The air conditioning is quite loud but it is bearable and I only used £6 of tokens during my stay as we were out and about so much.
At the front of the room is a balcony, which is handy for sitting with a beer and watching the Sun go down. One thing is the animals that live in the forest close by, which includes big toads and monkeys. They make a hell of a racket during the night with their mating calls. Be sure to take some ear plugs! Dining +++++
The hotel has one restaurant you get served all meals here. The included continental breakfast is very basic and comprises off: - 2 small pieces of toast Glass of fruit juice Cup of Tea
You will pay extra for everything else including cereal. We had a few meals there and found the food good and had no problems when you finally got it. Service was the biggest problem, or rather lack of it. Staff would ignore you, and tables were never set correctly. One guest waited three hours for a cheeseburger and chips so it was a running joke between guests about the service. We were also served mouldy jam
When we were there on a Saturday night the room was used for a local wedding, which meant guests had to take meals in their room and we felt out of place standing at the bar asking for a drink, when the best man was making a speech. Hopefully the wedding party were informed the hotel residents still had access for a drink, however we did not feel welcome. Meaning on a Saturday night Barry was sober for the first time in a long while.
Bar +++
The hotel did have a happy hour every night between 1800 and 1900. Drinks were a lot cheaper, but you had to find a member of staff to serve you. The only staff you could find were in the kitchen, so now you under stand why the cheese burger took so long….Bazza had found the bar!.
The drink prices were good, not cheap but reasonable compared with the rest of the island. The Beer they sold is Banks, which is an excellent local brew. It is s about 5 percent and tastes like nectar, with no after taste at all. I really miss this beer, and hoped I would find it on sale in the UK. Sadly not however and is not the same as the Banks stuff sold in the UK.
The bar is mainly stocked with spirits and a great selection of local rums
Pool ++++
There are two pools, and both are kept clean and tidy. One is very shallow and is suitable for children. However I think your kids would get very bored here as there is not a lot for you to do except sunbathe and swim.
Maintenance. ++++++++++
This is poor at this hotel. You can find bare electrical wires around the pool area. I heard one guest tell the manager the air con unit has burst into flames, he didn’t seem upset in the slightest! He had taken the Barbados laid back approach on this holiday! If It had been me I would have been screaming at someone…
Conclusion +++++++++
I can only recommend this place if you are after somewhere really cheap. Hotel prices on the island are really expensive and are set up demand so you can go up to £400 a night for a nice four star. We stayed in the Barbados Beach Club (BBB) for 2 nights when our flight broke and considering this was a three star hotel I was not impressed with this either. I heard the reception taking a booking for that night in low season and they still wanted USD99 per person on a room only basis. The BBB had better service, and rooms, but was over run with Americans. Food was acceptable but was better as you had more choice if you ate fish based foods. I hate fish so had Beef Surprise every night….the surprise was it was Crab. The BBB hotel was on the beachfront, but had a raw sewage pipe very close by. Virgin and BA holidays both ship people here by the bucket load. It was helpful for me to compare the two properties and can say the £100 extra in this case was not worth it even if the location is better as its in St Lawrence Gap.
Please bear in mind that Barbados is a very poor island and it shows. I did have a nice holiday here, but one thing that really had me worried is a lack of staff on duty at a night. There is a contact number for the owner, but NO STAFF stay about after 1000pm on a night.
Thanks for the op - very helpful and insightful! I would say however that Barbados is not a poor island, although there are of course pockets of poverty. According to the UN, it is a 'model of development' and is the 20th most developed country in the world - more so than Ireland, Spain, Portugal, Greece etc. Barbados also has the highest literacy levels in the world! Sorry to bore everyone (zzzzzz)! Thanks though. x
janna 30.12.2002 12:18
I loved Barbados - went in Sept 2002 & stayed at Coconut Court Hotel in Hastings, a 3* hotel that I would recommend.
Grace_Mallery 20.12.2002 19:21
I have been to Barbados and stay in a nicer hotel than this
club was. When you aren't happy with your accommidations it ruins your vacation. Bee
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Advantages: Lovely staff, free shuttle, superb views, yummy food Disadvantages: Accommodation not perfect, resort not beachfront, cats around for those who don't like them
Advantages: Lovely staff, free shuttle, superb views, yummy food Disadvantages: Accommodation not perfect, resort not beachfront, cats around for those who don't like them
Oct 27th, 2002
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