Waves Hotel & Spa by Elegant Hotels

We have today returned from a lovely 10 days stay at Waves. The staff are outstanding, the food was of restaurant standard however I agree that the menu could do with a bit more variation each day. We had a sea front room with a lovely balcony to watch the sun go down. The room was a good size with a very comfortable bed. There was also a little room with a wardrobe, fridge, kettle, and coffee machine with pods, which were replaced daily. Our cleaner Mary did a great job although we never saw her. The room could do with a bit of an update eg..painting etc but it was good otherwise. We used the water taxi once and went to The Tamarind. Virgin offered to move us there because of the renovations going on at Waves. I'm so glad we stayed where we were. It was very tired and not very clean. I understand its closing in June for major refurbishment...it needs it. We went out on the hobicat, which was great fun. Most of the days were spent on the beautiful beach being waited on, sprayed with a lovely cooling spray, ice lollies ,fruit , wet face cloths and of course cocktails We never had a problem getting sunbeds. In fact, when we left yesterday, there were only a few of us there. We did the Mount Gay tour with the hotel and also Oistins on the Friday evening, which was well worth going to just for the experience. We also got a taxi to watch the racehorse swim in the sea. Use the local buses they are also an experience and very cheap. We used Mals taxis to do 4 hour Island tour. If you want a true view of the island, then look him up. He took us to his grandmother's house then for a very cold beer in the village. It was good to see the island without loads of people. He will take you wherever you want to visit and will know all about it. Lastly, we had a few treatments in the hotel spa. They were excellent. My partner had his first manicure. The good to go massage was great. All in all, it was a fabulous holiday. The hotel staff go that extra step to make it special. Thank you to the exceptional staff for making our time spent with you special Read less

From the minute me arrived, given a great cocktail and everything well organised reception staff were fantastic. We were in a sea view room which was outstanding and defo feel value for money. The restaurant is doing its best accommodating the fact only one open, food was lovely so much choice. ( would of been nice that virgin had made us aware) but hotel doing there best and the customer service everywhere in the hotel is fantastic, little nice treats throughout the day was lovely. Excellent leadership and management team interested in your feed back and reflects that staff feel valued, two many names to mention but first time been to a hotel and every member of staff were fab. Can’t wait to return to hotel and beautiful island. Read less

Had a lovely time at Waves Hotel. Having been notified previously that the adult section of the hotel is being refurbished we were offered an ocean front room as compensation. We were welcomed at reception with a welcome cocktail which was a nice gesture. Ocean Front room was excellent overlooking the sea with lovely views. Very spacious with a good patio area and settee. Only issue was that the wardrobe looked a bit shabby, could do with replacing. Staff at this hotel were very helpful and friendly but at times they were kept very busy at peak times especially in the restaurant. Food here was very good on the whole, but think the choices of the al a carte menu could have been a bit more varied as the same choice was offered on more than one occasion. All a la carte meals need to be reserved at reception for the same day or day after. There are time slots to choose from from 6.30pm to 9pm. The restaurant was very busy at times and we had to wait over an hour to be served a 3 course meal. Although the food was good the waiting time was a bit of a let down. It seems that there were not enough staff to accommodate the amount of people at times. There was also a fish fry and barbecue which was available on the outside decking area once a week. Again reservation has to be made at reception. With the adult section under refurbishment there is only a small pool area in the hotel. It only seems to get the sun in the morning though. This did not bother us as there is plenty of sunbeds on the beach available. reserving of sunbeds is not allowed but getting one never seemed to be a problem anyway. Would recommend using the water taxi. This is available at set times to visit sister hotels along the coast. There is the Crystal Cove, The Taramind, Colony Club. Guests are allowed to use any of these hotels during their stay. Reservations are required though to use for lunch or dinner. Colony Club is not available for food as it is not all-inclusive. It can be used but charges will apply for food and drinks. We used the Taramind Hotel on a few occasions as their swimming pool was lovely and their were plenty of sunbeds free anytime of day. There was always entertainment on at Waves in the evening every day, mainly singers. Started from 8.30pm to 10.30pm. There are all inclusive drinks served nightly until midnight but staff seem to want to finish earlier if possible. We found waiter service a bit slow at times and had to go to the bar to get served. Overall we really enjoyed our stay at Waves Hotel and the location is excellent being on the West Coast as the sea is calm. Although the beach is quite small there is never a problem finding sunbeds. There is also a variety of watersports available with being All-Inclusive. These range from Paddle Boarding, Canoeing, Sailing. Water Skiing. There are jet skis but think there is a charge for these. We were informed by a staff member that the adult section which is being refurbished at present will be completed at the end of May 2024. We were also informed that sister hotels along the coast will close in October for refurbishing. Not sure how this will affect Waves Hotel being overcrowded? With the adult section due to open across the road the end of May hopefully this may not be a problem. Really enjoyed our stay at Waves Hotel, and would definitely return again sometime. This was our third time visiting Barbados, the last two being 20 years ago. Noticed it had become far busier with tourists but still a lovely island. If you want to get out and about there is a yellow bus service available over the road from the hotel. It costs 3.50 barbados dollars to go anywhere. We went to Bridgetown for a few hours. There are also taxis available but would cost more. Read less

Our week at the Waves hotel was absolutely amazing! As many of the other reviews have mentioned this hotel is currently under renovation, however this did not impact our stay and possibly made the experience even better. For one we got upgraded to an ocean view room which was wonderful. Second, since only a section of the hotel is currently open, there's a reduced amount of guest which made the hotel feel small and intimate. We felt like we really got to know the staff and the other guests by the end of our week. The beach is on the smaller size, but we never had any issues finding a lounger for our group of 4. The water is very beautiful to swim in and on calmer days my husband was able to snorkel and see a variety of different fish. The water activities available to guest was also a great addition, we go to use the paddle boards and my husband went on the sail boat which he really enjoyed. The hotel also offers a variety of activities, including yoga, pilates, mixology class and spa vouchers. The yoga and pilates instructors were very knowledgeable and it was great to get a little physical activity in the morning. The evening activities consisted of music, bingo, trivia, etc which was very entertaining. The activities usually ended at around 10 pm, but that was great for us since we liked going to bed early. There was also the option to book off resort excursions (through the hotel), which I would highly recommend. Barbados is a beautiful island and getting to visit it was truly amazing. I highly recommend taking advantage of the spa, our couples massage was wonderful and a great way to really relax. The food was also fantastic. Every meal had a variety of option, we dined at the À la carte restaurant 5 out of the 7 nights and I never had the same food. The omelette bar in the morning was a great touch, the buffet lunch options were endless and there was also the option to go to the café for sandwiches, etc. Last but not least the staff at the Waves Hotel are AMAZING!! A big mention to the staff at the bar, the beach staff and activity staff, they were all so friendly and went above and beyond to make our stay amazing. You were always greeted with a Good morning from everyone and the staff really made our stay more enjoyable. We ended up visiting 2 sister resorts which highlighted even more that the staff at the Waves was truly amazing! Read less

Our experience at Waves was amazing to say the least. I rely a lot on reviews when I travel and I really wanted to write a review to say how great this place is as it truly deserves nothing but praise. We had booked our vacation in June 2023, a pool view room, but were informed later of the renovations. The hotel offered us to stay at another property but we decided to stay anyways. We were so happy we did and it worked out great for us since we were upgraded to an ocean view room. There were no disruptions due to the construction. The staff are exceptional and really hard working. We have never been to a resort where all the staff were friendly and always happy to help. Special mentions to the bartenders in the lobby, Jabaar at the beach bar and Kevin for the activities. The food was great and a lot of choices for all the meals. I have not eaten anything I didn’t like. We did decide to do a few meals off site at QP Bistro and the Tides restaurant which I would highly recommend as well. The hotel did offer various activities and there was a sheet every morning with all the activities happening during the day. We enjoyed yoga on the deck, candle making class and the mixology class as well. We also enjoyed the booze and bingo in the evening and the trivia. Other activities were also offered at an extra cost that you could book through the resort. We enjoyed a visit to Mount Gay, a tour of the island and an evening at Oistins. The spa treatments were also great and I would recommend if you have the chance. We also enjoyed the water taxi to visit the sister resorts. We went to Crystal Cove and the Colony Club but we were happy to be returning to Waves. The water taxi was not running one day due to bigger than usual swells but that did not bother us and happy they were considerate of everyone’s safety. The beach was a bit small but we had no problems finding chairs for our party of 4. I had read this in a previous review and found it helpful to know there was a bit of an edge getting in and out of the sea but we had no issues and just took our time. My only recommendation, which is not a big issue, may be for the hotel to give bracelets to the guest so it’s easier to identify you as a guest when you are going to other resorts but they already have a system in place for a voucher if you will be having lunch on the sister properties. All in all, I would highly recommend this resort and we were all sad to leave. We are already looking to book again hopefully soon. Read less