Have just returned from Carlisle Bay and feel like I am recovering from a bad case of chicken pox!!! Spent 7 days at the resort and it rained every day for at least 2 or 3 hours - sometimes all day. Apparently this is not uncommon!! Because of the proximity to the swamp and the rainy weather the sand flies were out in force and were remorseless in their biting. Even though I wore loads of protective creams and sprays I was covered in bites and suffered several sleepless nights because of irritation.

This completely spoilt what would otherwise be quite a nice resort. We had an ocean suite which is gorgeous but the beach suites(those with a separate sitting room) were very disappointing and although the same price they were of a far inferior quality. The Indigo restaurant is good quality food but boring after a few days. The main restaurant East, is no better than our local Chinese! All the public areas are too large and with no atmosphere. The spa treatments were OK, with particular mention of Tricia who gave excellent massages. Staff throughout were very friendly and helpful but everything was overshadowed by weather and insects. Cannot recommend this hotel to anyone until they sort the problem out.

My husband and I stayed here for 9 days at the beginning of February. My main complaint about the hotel is the very average service - you are often left to wait over 10 mins to even get a menu in the Indigo restaurant and service is slow. We also found a lot of the dishes in Indigo very dry, however the tenderloin was delicious. The manager did acknowledge there was a problem with service at Indigo and was tackling it (especially after the Valentine's Day fiasco where they ran out of food options and charged $120 pp).

Our mini-bar was not re-stocked at all and we had to call up several times for them to do this. I don't have a problem with them not replacing the toiletries every day but ours ran out and were not replaced the same day which is poor.

Service at the beach was hit or miss, sometimes we had to ask 3 or 4 times for water etc. so they could do with being a lot more attentive.

On the plus side, the yoga was excellent and I had a very good facial at the Spa. We did not get one bite - I did see another guest covered in bites so I guess that just depends.

I would not recommend this hotel to friends - I'm imagining that for the same money you could go somewhere else with excellent service and fewer niggles. Even though some reviews mention that this is the Carribean and people need to chill out I think one can expect a certain level of service when paying this much.

If you do go, it is definitely worth going to Harmony Hall restaurant - delicious food and excellent service.

We have just returned from the most relaxing vacation ever. After reading some of the reviews, we were a little apprehensive as what to expect, but these apprehensions soon dissapeared. The resort is larger than we expected, with beautiful trees and gardens well maintained, the beach runs the whole length of the resort, the rooms, we had an Ocean View, are wonderful, well apointed, spacious, the day bed on the balcony is a terrific touch. Why one would want the toiletries change every day beats me, lovely products in larger than normal containers. Sheets are soft and silky and towels like cotton wool.
East restaurant has top marks for both food and service, while Indigo service is a bit confused at times, we never got a wrong order and the food was excellant. Staff in both restaurants are very friendly.
Although the resort was full , it was so quiet, even the few children were well behaved. No fighting for space on the beach or table in the restaurants.
As far as the "bug" problem, we didnt have any problems,a few around in the evening, but this is the Caribean..one must expect a few.
We couldnt have been made more welcome...cant wait to return...

My family and I just returned from a wonderfully relaxing week at Carlisle Bay and I know I will not have enough room to mention all the good things about it. After reading some of the reviews in the weeks leading up to our stay, I was quite apprehensive about the supposed spotty service issues and mosquito problem - these problems never materialized. The entire staff, from front desk personnel to babysitters, were endlessly accommodating and unfailingly friendly. Each and everyone I encountered went out of their way to ensure that we felt "looked after." One of my twin infants needed medical attention and the staff had us in a taxi to the Island's leading pediatrician within minutes. Both restaurants were delightful...starting each day with a great breakfast (included), choose anything or everything on the menu, and most ingredients were organically grown. You have the option of having breakfast in the beach restaurant, in your room or even by the pool and it seemed to me that they would serve it at any hour! And let's not forget afternoon tea (also included), according to my mother-in-law, "the best scones I've ever had," - no small compliment as she favours tea at the Mandarin Oriental in Hong Kong and Claridge's in London!

Our suite was beautiful and opened directly onto the beach, which was perfect for watching the kids from the patio. The room was simply and elegantly appointed and very roomy, even with a four year old and twins infants. The beach and pool were never crowded, unlike Grand Cayman or Turks. In fact, I enquired and was very surprised to learn that the hotel was at full occupancy.


The bug problem was not nearly as bad as I had been expecting. As with every other Caribbean island, the mosquitos come out at dusk, but a mosquito coil on the patio is all it takes to keep them at bay. I brought mosquito nets (which we never opened) and three kinds of bug repellents that were needed only sparingly. I mentioned this to Management and was reassured that they are dealing aggressively with the issue in an entirely eco-friendly manner. And regarding the complaint that toilettries aren't replaced everyday - who needs three new bars of soap everyday?! Once you've been spoiled at Carlisle Bay, it would be hard to return to the indifference of other resorts in the Caribbean. My family and I loved every minute and will definitely be back.