Like having your own private island....
Jun 21, 2022 aggietxgal2018 Temple, Texas
Our week at this resort was hands-down the best vacation my husband and I have ever had, and we consider ourselves seasoned travelers. Let me first state that by far what sets this place apart is the amazing, friendly, service-oriented staff. They truly take the time to bond with their guests, and when we left we felt we were leaving old…
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Our week at this resort was hands-down the best vacation my husband and I have ever had, and we consider ourselves seasoned travelers. Let me first state that by far what sets this place apart is the amazing, friendly, service-oriented staff. They truly take the time to bond with their guests, and when we left we felt we were leaving old friends.
The resort itself has a max capacity of 100 guests, and the week we went was during their slower time (2nd week of June) - there were about 35 guests there. So we truly felt like we had the island to ourselves. I read reviews before going, but none did the resort true justice. You just have to experience it for yourself. But here are a few hopefully helpful comments based on our experience:
ROOMS: We stayed in a Superior Beachfront Room. While we were there, we toured the other rooms and villas and felt that the rooms we had (Rooms 5 & 6) were the best on the island. We got clarification that originally all the beachfront rooms were the same, but people more often requested the rooms 7 and above because they were closer to the water/better views. So Palm Island remodeled the rooms 1-6 as Superior Beachfront - they extended the rooms out a little to add more enclosed closet/wet bar space, remodeled the bathrooms and added a privacy porch with a bed and shower. We felt the upgrades were well done, and we loved the location. The beach in front of the Superior Rooms was a better swimming area, and the large sliding glass doors and porch bed were amazing additions that really sets the view apart. My husband and I have often have trouble sleeping in a bed other than our own, but the beds at Palm Island were very comfortable.
AMENITIES: Things Palm Island provides that you don't need to necessarily bring - beach towels, refillable water bottle (water on island is great), wide assortment of beverages and spirits in your room, small bottles of shampoo, lotion, shower cap, soap, makeup wipes, surface insect spray (not skin), nice hair dryer, makeup mirror, coffee maker and supplies (Maxwell House), laundry services (fee I believe), plenty of clothes hangers, 2 robes, alarm clock with USB ports for charging. Things I was glad I brought or wish I had brought - skin insect repellant, sealable portable cup, hair conditioner (none was in my room but that may have just been an oversight), better in-room coffee if you're a coffee snob like me and don't like Maxwell House, my own snorkeling gear as Palm Island is currently not loaning out face masks and snorkels due to Covid concerns (this doesn't apply to fins or the snorkeling excursions). Also, they have extended the wi-fi on the island and we always had it in our room (room 6), which was a nice surprise. My husband's only complaint was that most mornings around 4:00 - 6:00 a.m., the power would go off for 15 minutes while they changed generators. This never bothered my sleep, and they let us know ahead of time. But my husband sleeps with a bi-pap machine and the power going out gave him a rude awakening. If you use a breathing machine at night, I would look into some backup battery options.
EXCURSIONS/EXTRAS: We did the Yannis snorkeling tour, and really enjoyed seeing the area. The trip includes stopping at one of the nearby islands for swimming, stopping in the Tobago Cays to snorkel with the turtles, a very delicious lunch and stopping at another island in the Cays to feed the sting rays. It also included all you could drink rum punch. We also booked Hammock #4 for the day, and that was quite lovely. I had the Hibiscus treatment at the spa and that was absolutely incredible - great massage! There was a short 2-hour bottom line fishing tour that we booked with our traveling friends that went right off the coast of the island. The minute we first cast, we started catching different types of fish - I caught two on the first throw! There were quite a few swells in the area when we went, though, and my husband got sea sick. The captains were nice enough to take us quickly back to shore. Our friends stayed on the trip and filled up buckets of fish that we were able to eat that same evening.
WEDDINGS: Our friends renewed their vows while we were there, and the ceremony, location and service from the staff was absolutely amazing. I'll include a couple of pictures, but if you're looking for a place to get married or renew vows, this is an incredible place.
FOOD: We never had a bad meal. The food is excellent and the staff is open to anything you want to order/try. There were several times we tried two different appetizers and/or ordered food to go. We certainly never went hungry and I'm currently in a two-week time period of avoiding the scale post trip...ha! My favorite meal was the last night when the chef cooked the fresh fish that was caught on the fishing excursion that morning. He cooked it several different ways but all were delicious!
STAFF: I can't say enough wonderful things about the staff. From the moment we landed in Barbados and were met by a Palm Island representative, we were pampered and taken care of by amazing people. We laughed a LOT, shared stories of family, danced, drank, hugged, and felt at home with the staff and other guests. The people of Palm Island are a rare gem. I know I'm forgetting some, but specifically I'd like to say thank you to Katie, Alaska, Dervon (Ed), Shaq, Tevin, Nia, Parnell, Tamara, Andre, Philicia and Johnny for making our stay absolutely incredible.
My husband and I both love to travel and see different places, and Palm Island is the first place that we have both said we have to return to no matter what. We will hopefully see you all again soon, my friends!
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