Crystal Cove

Been here twice and will return next year. The is the friendliest hotel I’ve been to as it is small and has the best staff ever. Some of the bathrooms could do with updating as the hotel is 25 yrs. old but overall Crystal Cove is wonderful and I can’t wait to get back there.

I stayed at the Crystal Cove with my husband and 2 teenage children (15 & 13) at the end of August - beginning of September 2019 and we absolutely loved it. We like small hotels so it was perfect for us. We had room 241 which was a garden view room but we still had a fabulous view of the sea. This was our 3rd visit to Barbados but 1st time to this hotel and we would return in a heartbeat. 99% of the staff are very friendly, they all greet you with a polite smile and a hello, we only encountered a few grumpy waitresses on our 1st and last day. Our room was clean and tidy, one bedroom with a massive bed with 4 big comfy pillows, large flat screen tv, clock radio, aircon and bathroom. Our children had the lounge area, the sofa turned into a double bed and there was also a single bed in the room, they had a tv, battery powered lamp (i guess for power cuts which we didn't experience any) a minibar, safe, umbrella and their own bathroom. We all had ample wardrobe and cupboard space, and there was a nice balcony to sit on with a drier to hang your wet swim wear The free Wifi was a little hit and miss, but when working it had a great signal in the rooms, around the hotel and even on the beach. We had a few maintenance issues, the safe batteries were flat when we arrived and twice we only had boiling hot water but no cold. Each time we phoned to report it and someone arrived within minutes to sort the problem out. The rooms are cleaned every day and the free mini bar refilled, they also leave clean beach/pool towels in the room for the following day, which you then leave in the bins by the pool/beach when finished with. We found the food and drink excellent. Drifters is an outside restaurant by the beach that is mainly buffet style/BBQ. Reflections is the main restaurant which is open air, the meals are either buffet or a la carte. If you are a dessert/pudding person you will not be disappointed - look out for the apple cobbler with vanilla sauce and the chocolate brownies! My teenage children loved the kids club, with the xbox and pool table and the two ladies who work there are fabulous. They often went between sunset and dinner. The water-sports are excellent and we tried everything except the water-skiing. There's a few people that made our holiday extra special: John the pool and beach attendant (he's a credit to your hotel) Darren and Pamela on the omelette station Marisa who served lunch in Drifters 'Sam the man' visits the beach everyday, we went on a tour of the Island with him and he was a pure delight. He was in demand when we were there and nearly every couple/family we spoke to went out on his half day tour. We booked the "snorkeling with turtles" trip through the hotel - snorkeling with sea turtles in their natural habitat was a truly magical experience. The hotels General Manager Sophia was always there, chatting to her guests and was very friendly and approachable. My only little complaint is that Reflections restaurant got extremely hot when we were there and we needed to sit on our napkins otherwise we would stick to the chairs. We loved our stay and returned home with wonderful memories. I always look at travelers photos on TripAdvisor so i hope you find my photos helpful :-)

Beautiful beachfront location. Hotel staff were very friendly and helpful. Bar staff regularly came down to the beach with drinks. Food was good but there were only 2 places on site to dine. The overall atmosphere was warm and welcoming and it was a bonus to have the motorised water sports included. Would definitely recommend this hotel.