Crystal Cove by Elegant Hotels - All-Inclusive

3 weeks ago

We arrived at Crystal Cove the day after they reopened. It was our third visit so knew how it looked and operated before and were keen to see the changes. Crystal Cove is a relaxed laid back small resort – it's not a big bustling full on resort, but that’s exactly what we like about it. Don’t go here expecting full on entertainment and loads of activities. That’s really the charm of the place. The renovations have been completed and the rooms, restaurant and public areas look really nice and fresh. The bathrooms have all been completely modernised. We had some very small issues with the room but once we notified the reception staff they were sorted out really quickly. You could tell that they had only just reopened and the staff were finding their feet, working out processes and procedures, but it didn't cause us any issues. As the week went on, new improvements were rolling out, for example an activity sheet for the day, labels for the food at the buffet, tables for the High Tide (Drifters) bar area. New sunbeds are very comfortable and plentiful. The watersports (SUP, kayak, waterskiing, hobie cats, donuts, snorkelling) are up and running and there are external guys on the beach offering jetski hire and turtle trips (at a cost). Food was excellent although slightly limited choices, particularly for dinner. We were told that the hotel was only 40% full for the week we were there so I guess that wasn’t a surprise. I imagine this offering will expand over the next few weeks. There was always something to eat and the quality was really good. Breakfast and lunch were buffet, dinners mostly a la carte but there was one buffet. We missed the BBQ but I think it was because they didn't have the tables ready at that point, it looked like those might be running again soon. Staff are super friendly. They come to the pool and beach areas semi regularly to offer from a tray of drinks and take orders if you want something. There wasn’t a cocktail menu at the bar when we were there which was a little disappointing but the staff would make whatever drink you asked for. If you want a relaxing chilled week then I definitely recommend this place. I’m sure we’ll be back again.

2 weeks ago

There are still some reopening kinks and limited menu. However, the property, service, and quality are great.

a year ago

I visited Barbados for the first time in September 2023 with my mum, it was her second visit to the island. We had an amazing time. We received a surprise room upgrade to a sea view room when we checked in. We were greeted with punch and the staff were very friendly from the first moment. Special shoutout to Terence who took the time to check on me on a day I was a bit under the weather. Some say the rooms and hotel are dated, but I felt the place had a nice character to it. One night our AC broke and was fixed very quickly. The pools are small but they are great for taking a little break from the heat. The buffet breakfast was always pleasant and there were different options available each night for our evening meal. During the day there were options for lunch and the coffee/wine bar was also a great place to relax. I particularly liked the swim up/cave bar. There were a few bars at the hotel and there were plenty of delicious cocktail options and other drinks. The hotel is right on the beach and the live music at night time added to the atmosphere of the place. The whole place had a very chilled out feel to it. As the island is so small, all of our trips were within short travel distance from the hotel. Overall it was a great experience here. The staff at Crystal Cove could not do enough for us and I wish I could have stayed for longer.

a year ago

Awful hotel!! Due to stay here for 4 nights but checked out after 1. Would have checked out the same day if we hadn't been travelling 9 hours to get there. This hotel is one of the worst I've stayed at and believe me invested in a lot of hotels.it is definitely not a 4-star hotel. The rooms are outdated,verging on dirty. Our bathroom had mould and the toilet didn't flush. All the staff were avoid of smiling and some came across rude. Everything seemed an effort. The food was abysmal.A real lack of choice and quality. The evening buffet was horrific.got to the point I didn't bother eating and my wife left most of hers.breakfast was no better. Checking in was another disaster.no warm welcome and a real poor first impression.the whole experience was terrible. When checking out 3 dats early after explaining why I did not even receive any type of apology at all.Absolutely shocking! I strongly advise staying somewhere else and don't waste your hard earned money on this place

a year ago

The resort is in a nice location. The views are beautiful. Our room was ok, and the bed wasn’t bad. The bathroom was also fine. The fridge was rarely stocked and it was a struggle to get water bottles. We had to repeatedly go to the nearby coffee shop to get small bottles are water and bring it back to our room. There are two restaurants. One is open for a breakfast buffet and also opened for a sit down dinner. The other restaurant is only open during lunch time and is a buffet. The food during breakfast and lunch was fine. However the food for dinner was not impressive. The portions were very small. I ordered a steak one night with shrimp and was extremely surprised about how small it was and how there was only four small shrimp with it. The beach is beautiful. There are two separate areas on a large beach where you can sit with some nice chairs that have shade. There is only a small area where you can swim without hitting the rocks. There are water sports that are also free. We went kayaking and had a blast and also went tubing which was very fun. The pools are nice and the cave bar was a cool spot. We had a great time, but there is room for improvement.