We had a lovely week in Barbados on the West Coast which offers a lot of good hotels and restaurants all fairly close in proximity to each other. The Colony Club, in my opinion, was good but was not consistently good. (Im giving it 4 circles - very good, because its more than a 3 circle rating of average) It has a great position right on the beach and is a 10 minute walk into Holetown where there is some shopping and bars. The hotel's service is not consistently efficient for it to be a 4* hotel and can be quite laid back and sometimes horizontal! If you are used to snappy customer service, this may not be the hotel for you. Although, Barbados, as an island, is pretty laid back so maybe not out of the ordinary here. No one is rushing anyway. Some of the reception and restaurant staff were very friendly and cheery but some were not. Cory and Matthew serving drinks to the sunloungers were excellent. The food was good. The breakfast offered cereals, fruit and full english, the evening meal was very good but there was a lack of atmosphere in the restaurant. We were on half board but missed a few dinners to eat out at restaurants we wanted to go to through recommendation (Tides, Cin Cin, Daphnes, The Cliff). The rooms were average (cleaned each day very well). Ours had a nice sea view and you could hear the waves lapping on the shore from your room. The complimentary water sports were great as rather underused as a fair few guests seemed to be in the 60+ age group. The 3 water sport guys were great and would take you sailing, waterskiing, for a boat ride up or down the coast to go celeb villa spotting or fishing with reel and bait. The hotel has two tennis courts but as it was about 28 degrees we played at 6pm when its dark and about 4 of the lights had gone, so we told reception and next day they were mended, but if its 4 star why were they out in the first place? The hotel seems to miss a hands on Manager casting an eye over everything. We never saw the Manager during our week there. There was a complimentary excursion to the east coast on a Wednesday which is worth booking. Sharon who is head gardener does a short tour around the pool gardens which was very good indeed. The sunlounger experience was more miss than hit. The towels were late to come out each day and usually the supply ran out fairly early on - again there was nobody responsible for this and when you come to a dream beach like this one, you want a welcome and an experience. I warmed to the hotel towards the end of the week when you got used to its ways but apart from the individuals I have mentioned, the hotel didn't seem to operate in a particular happy and efficient way, it felt a bit unloved. We hired a car for the day and went over the island, Speightstown, Bathsheba etc. The St Nicholas Abbey (not an abbey at all but a former sugar plantation) was worth a visit for the film it shows. Definitely coming back to Barbados, but probably wouldn't chose the Colony.

The staff were very friendly and helpful particularly Corey on food and beverage who was exceptional !
Very pretty beach area in fact one of the best in st James but the rooms were very ordinary and desperately need refurbishing
Food excellent and the Mosquitos and sand flys we're a huge problem as there is a lagoon pool by the rooms which attracts them

Second visit to Barbados, first to the Colony Club. What a find! From the moment we arrived we were made to feel so welcome. Beautiful gardens , wonderful pools and proper comfy sunbeds! From treats on the beach at lunchtime to rum sours watching the sunset on the sun deck was truly wonderful. While the quality of food at the hotel is exceptional it is worth sampling the local restaurants.... The Lonestar and The Beachhouse are two of our favourites. We stayed in a ocean view room which we loved for both the view and listening to the waves each night as we went off to bed. Pure bliss! Hubby enjoyed the water sports , especially the paddleboards. Loved taking our daily walk along the beach to enjoy all the xmas decorations nearby villas had placed in their gardens...amazing. Already looking forward to our next visit!

Had a great week at the Colony Club, from the welcoming rum punch to room initiation, we knew it was going to be good. Ocean view rooms offer a step onto the sand and into the beautiful turquoise water, just be careful of some reef close to shore, then a swim out to the pontoons. All water activities included, reasonable restaurants, a good value proposition, apart from close to Christmas the room tariffs go up exponentially! Its only a short walk to Holetown for alternative restaurants, cafes and some shopping.