Nightmare!!!! Please Read If You're Considering Staying Here!
Mar 20, 2020 Stephanny R
It blows my mind that Barbados Beach Club has a 3 star rating. If there were a negative score, I’d give it less than a star. I had the misfortune of staying there for 5 nights and my experience was by far the worst experience of any hotel I've stayed at. I’d go as far as to say it made me not want to return to the island at all. Not that my…
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It blows my mind that Barbados Beach Club has a 3 star rating. If there were a negative score, I’d give it less than a star. I had the misfortune of staying there for 5 nights and my experience was by far the worst experience of any hotel I've stayed at. I’d go as far as to say it made me not want to return to the island at all. Not that my travel history matters, but apart from having worked in hospitality in the past and as a frequent flyer, I’ve stayed in everything from Air BNBs to 5 star luxury resorts in Amsterdam & Punta Cana among others. This in turn makes me no stranger to basic standards at each level.
I really didn’t have much expectations based on the fact that it was a 3 star resort but for almost 200 USD per night, at the very least I expected basic customer service, a clean room and decent meals as this is advertised as an all-inclusive property. Perhaps my ignorance is to blame as I didn’t realize Barbados was so expensive having been there only once before to apply for a US visa. To be fair, a select few of the staff tried to make my stay a little more tolerable. But the vast majority clearly didn’t care, management being at the top of that list. It's clear that the nonchalant attitude is the culture from the top down, so I don’t anticipate it well get better anytime soon. Noteworthy for their stellar service amidst the chaos are Enrico (front desk agent), Raquel (waitress) & Sandra (hostess) from the resort. Also Michael the taxi I used while on island.
Now, you would think that with the tourism industry being one of the most negatively impacted by the Covid-19 pandemic, properties would want to keep their guests happy so they would want to return and refer. Clearly Barbados Beach Club doesn’t fall in that category.
My first impression before arriving at this property was "attitude". I emailed the property to hold my reservation and I felt like I had to chase the reservations agent throughout that process. Firstly, to confirm if they did taxi transfers (I had to ask several times before that part of my email was acknowledged and a response was provided). Secondly, once I finally got the information, I had to be the one to come back and ask if my transfer was confirmed on the day of my departure to Barbados.
I get to the hotel and the front desk agent who greeted me upon arrival, while pleasant, had to juggle numerous guests at a time. Considering existing occupancy and expected arrivals that evening, he should've had help at front desk! I recall there was a guest who was visibly upset that she hadn’t had hot water for days and at one point had to switch rooms to shower. I remember thinking she was quite rude in her delivery but by the end of my stay there I was twice as frustrated as she’d been.
Pictures of the room, much like the reviews online are misleading. This property is SUPER dated and could use a major face lift beyond a paint job. The room was cleanish. It honestly looked like a place where you didn’t want to touch anything for fear of catching something. The wifi connection was atrocious. In 2020, working wifi is a basic amenity even at the worst of hotels. When I called front desk to report the issue, they were clearly already aware yet for the 5 nights I stayed there I didn't have consistent connection once. I couldn’t get a connection anywhere on the property except my room and even that faltered. Advertising this as an amenity is dishonest. The food was just okay. Very hit and miss. To be honest, I can't say anything about this place blew me away other than the beach.
By night 2 of my planned 5 night stay I began to have an allergic reaction all over my body. I've never had one in my life but my first thoughts were... the shower gel, the detergent being used to wash the bedding/ towels or the water (chlorine allergy). I began a process of elimination. First, I stopped using the shower gel and switched to an all-natural aloe soap sold at the resort's gift shop. After showering before dinner on night 3, my skin was itching incessantly for about a half hour after. I've never experienced such exasperation in my life. When it finally became tolerable, I told the front desk agent on my way down to dinner who said it may be the chlorine but offered no help thereafter and didn’t follow up. Day 4, I decide not to risk the water again. I was petrified of reliving the ordeal of the previous night. So I used purified bottled water to clean myself instead. Same all natural soap. The allergy was obviously still present as I hadn't sought treatment yet but the intense itching I'd experienced the night before didn’t happen. On my way down to breakfast I asked to speak to someone in authority to try to get a resolution for the remainder of my stay. A supervisor was called, Mrs. Yearwood. I explained the situation and was content to have purified water provided for the remainder of my stay... as uncomfortable as that would've been. She said she would refer my situation to her direct manager. I received a follow up call to inform me that as per the GM’s directive, I would have to purchase my own purified water with which to shower for the remainder of my stay (2 nights) since "there was nothing wrong with the water and it was safe to drink". I threatened to write a bad review and take legal action and Mrs. Yearwood's response was "Ok". A request to be credited in some way for the inconvenience was also declined.
That day, I had scheduled a tour to and from Bridgetown so I purchased something from the pharmacy for my allergy and purified water as the resort refused to accommodate me in any way. I returned to the resort after the time lunch was served and headed to the BBQ station to get a burger since that was all that was available between lunch and dinner. When I saw no one at the grill I asked the hostess if burgers were being served. She said not yet and I noticed it was just a few minutes to the hour so I stood and waited. The hostess called Sonja, the young lady that was working the grill several times. The young lady exited the back, clearly in a mood, and strutted past me several times as she set up. So I waited some more. When one of her co-workers pointed out that I'd been waiting awhile she started to cuss at him and then turned to me saying she had a lot to do and I didn't even tell her what I wanted. She proceeded to scream at me if I wanted cheese on my burger. I was at a loss for words that this was the service I was receiving. I gave her a few choice words because I found her completely out of line. So in short, at the Barbados Beach Club, it's the guest's job to accommodate the staff not the other way around? Wow. That was the last straw for me. I didn’t even eat, I just went up to my room and called front desk asking if my final night could be refunded so I could go elsewhere. This request was likewise denied by the GM, who by the way never apologized for his staff’s behaviour or for the complete agony I endured with a full blown allergy I sustained AFTER checking into his resort. They could all see my skin and didn't care less. DON'T STAY HERE. YOU'LL REGRET IT.
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