We landed at BGI airport and took at cab to the resort (cost 15USD or 30 BBD). Most restaurants and or service providers accept either USD or Barbados dollars. The conversion ratio is approximately 1USD=2 BBD.
The resorts lobby is a small rectangular building with the receptionist, a check-in agent, a small convenience store, washrooms and an activity booking center. As soon as we arrived, we proceeded to the check-in agent and within 15 minutes had all the paperwork completed.
Notes: If you want to use the in-room safe, you have to prepay for the service in the lobby (5 BBD per day.) Make sure you keep your payment receipt as this is not computerized and they may challenge you at check-out. They will give you a little dongle that you have to plug into a cable in the safe. If the safe’s display is blank, make sure the power supply is plugged in.
We had a standard room but you can choose to rent a 2 bedroom room or one with an ocean view (Ocean view can be bought at the resort for 10BBD per day per person if available). The rooms are old and resemble a Motel 8 type room but were clean. Even if you request a queen bed, it is basically 2 singles put side by side.
Food: Main buffet A la carte (requires reservation) Snack bar (open from noon to 10pm) Main Buffet Although this is a 3 star resort, I can honestly say that this place had the best food I have ever eaten at any resort. Each meal was better than the previous one. They offer a decent red/white wine. The only negative is the “service without a smile”. A la carte This too was a great restaurant. We had a choice of salad, soup (tomato and corn), main meal (chicken or steak) and desert (coconut ice-cream or banana split). Again you have a choice of red/white/rose wine. Snack bar
The snack bar offers hamburgers and hotdogs at all times. These are precooked and are not the most appetizing. During lunch and supper hours, you can ask them to make you a steak or chicken sandwich.
Bar:
The resort has 1 bar close to the beach between the restaurants. The bar opens at 10AM and stays open until 10PM. The bar is well stocked and the bar tenders are fairly knowledgeable. The only negative is the service delay. Often the bar was manned with 1 person and there were 5-10 customers waiting (I once had to wait 24 minutes to get my drinks so bring a big glass).
Beach: The beach was amazing. The water is crystal clear and the sand is white like flour. No seaweed, no rocks and nice delightful waves. The water temperature was a pleasant 25-28 degrees. The sun here is scorching hot and it you want a sun-umbrella get ready to pay. The local activity center rents umbrella’s for 5 BBD per day. It may be more economic to buy one and bring it with you. The beach is public and locals do use it often. You will find at least 2 sales booths plus a couple of passing merchants selling everything from clothes to Aloe. You will also notice that there are a lot of parked boats in the swimming area (at one time there were as many as 8 parked). It was a little annoying when local tour operators parked their boats 10 feet from the short in the middle of the swimming area trying to get customers. A couple almost hit swimmers when they were passing by.
If you want resort provided beach towels, you have to get towel cards from the reception. The hotel requires a credit card guarantee in case the towels are not returned (they destroy the credit card slip at check-out). You handover the cards to the activities center and they will give you towels. You may change your towels as often as you want and trade them in for towel cards before check-out.
Entertainment:
The resort does not have any entertainment beyond loud music played at the restaurants. If you want to explore the nightlife, walk out of the resort, cross the street and then go right. You will pass a police station then you will see an area on your right called “St-Laurent GAP”. This is a small strip with bars and restaurants. It is a 6 minute walk.
Scuba:
Scuba diving at the resort is very expensive (120USD per dive). You could get better rates dealing with the PADI dive center at St-Laurent GAP.
Conclusion:
This is a great resort for those not looking for luxury. It offers clean rooms, great food and a wonderful beach. If you want a calm/no-wave beach then choose a resort on the west side of the island. Shop around as prices for this resort will vary greatly.