We just spent 10 wonderful days at the Colony Club. The relatively new general manager Gayle Talma is making a real impact at the Colony and in particular in the levels of service. The staff were outstanding, nothing was too much trouble and this is due to the fact that they are all personally benefiting in the success of the hotel. We stayed in a luxury poolside room which was lovely and I would recommend these rooms. The beach is one of the best on the west coast and yes, there are a few coral rocks to navigate when going into the sea but it was not a problem and there are plenty of sunbeds. The watersports are excellent and free and the beach team are always around to serve you with drinks and complimentary fruit, sorbet and cool towels throughout the day. Breakfast is very good and the standard of food in the Laguna restaurant was as good as many of the restaurants in Holetown. Although we ate at Tides (I suggest you email the restaurant to reserve a table before travelling and then you get one of the best tables by sea), The Mews and others I have to say we enjoyed eating at the hotel as it offered live entertainment most evenings which was of a very high standard. Every Tuesday the General Manager hosts a cocktail party followed by BBQ on the sundeck and entertainment and I highly recomment this. There is lots to see and do in Barbados and I can recommend two specific excursions. Firstly, book the Catamaran Silvernoon before you depart (there are two boats one for 12 and one for 24) and you will have the most amazing day. We went on the catamaran for 12 and sailed to the top of the west coast where we snorkelled with green turtles and had lunch, totally fantastic. Lots of boats offer you this but Silvermoon is regarded to be the best on the island and the crew schedule the sailing so that you are not surounded by other boats and they offer excellent service. It is a 5 hour trip and around BB$350 per couple. We also took a Natural Wonders Tour with Glory Tours. This took us, with the highly experienced guide Steve, to Harrison's Cave, The Wildlife Reserve, Orchid World and local churches and then onto the East Coast to Bathsheba for lunch. Both the Catamaran Silver Moon and the Glory Tour, Natural Wonders can be booked via St James Travel & Tours who we found very efficient and professional. We did finally settle on the Colony as children under 14 are not allowed during February. We are both in late 50's and tend to try to find child -free hotels. This hotel is really not suitable for small children but perfect for couples and small groups of all ages. Finally, taxis are cheap and very efficient, duty free shopping excellent particularly if you are thinking of buying jewellery (diamonds and emeralds from South America) and the Gatsby Boutique in the hotel has some excellent beachware from the US. We met some lovely people at the hotel but I have to say there were some 'regulars' who behaved as if they owned the place and also the appalling habit of reserving sunbeds is flourishing at the Colony. Some beds were reserved all day with the guests turning up at 4.00pm for a 'dip'. This should be stopped by the hotel, at many 4 and 5 star hotels in Europe this is not acceptable and the pool/beach staff remove the towels. Also, licensed vendors can be overbearing but if you say 'no thanks' they do go away. We shall return to the Colony, it is a lovely hotel and we did not want to leave.

This hotel by international standards is not quite up to scratch.

The standard of the rooms is variable. The newly decorated rooms with the garden views are the best value, even though the furniture is well past its best. The more luxurious rooms really let the hotel down, compared to say the standards you find at say The Westin Resort in Fiji or the The Thala beach resort in Queensland, (which charge equivalent rates),.

The food is ok, but the service is agonisingly slow, you can easily finish a bottle of wine before the starter arrives. The demeanour of the staff is variable, The desk and concierge staff were friendly and courteous, as were the more senior restaurant staff. However, some of their colleagues were less than friendly. It costs nothing to smile

In conclusion, They need to smarten up the place and look at the competition

Just come back from an 8 day stay at Colony Club.

Overall it is an excellent place, in a very good position and has a nice relaxing feel about the place. It's not luxurious but it is very good, and somehow you feel an upgrade to a 5 star rating would not suit the place. Better to be a great 4 star or good 4.5 star.

The staff were either very good or excellent (receoption staff were very good), breakfast buffet fine, evening entertainment mild and quiet but very pleasant for the background.

They offer a free boat ride to their other properties, and taking it to Tamarind Cove, then walking back along the beach, past Sandy Lane, swimming in private waters along the way, lunching at Cocomos, then Holetown back to Colony Club was just fantastic and relaxing. We walked back almost every day, only had one day when the sea was a bit rougher with the "tide" in that you could not do it in one stretch.

You can walk easily (just under one mile) into Holetown, although most people in Barbados do not seem to have any legs and take taxis everywhere.

Walking the other way along the beach (be careful of one slippery rocky path bit to watch out for), it takes 15 or so minutes to reach the wonderful lone star restaurant.

The beach vendors are extremely polite and charming, they easily accept a polite no, but they are always around and it does get on your nerves a little it after a while. The hotel should stop them approaching sunbeds that are set a little back from the sea and may perhaps be on the hotel's actual property.

My Wife & I have stayed at the Colony Club twice - and I'm in the process of booking a return in May this year.
From the minute we arrived we were greeted politely and had our bags taken up to our (spectacular) ocean view room.
The service throughout our stays has been superb (OK lets be realistic there are always one or two staff who don't live up to expectations at times and can appear surly but we're all human!!)
I wasn't sure about the hawkers on the beach on our first day - especially as I got "talked into" a back massage after being there for 10 minutes..but hey it was really good and once you get to know all the traders they'll just come and chat with you as they're passing and it got to the stage where I greeted them all soundly each time I saw them - I didn't buy anything though!
The water sports team here are a great bunch of guys - especially Raymond (The one in the Man United shirt if you've been) who came up to chat every day and thoroughly looked after us throughout our stay.
The only negatives I can report are the usual problems - loungers being claimed in the early hours (the sad thing is you end up doing it too just to get one!)
The "Cabaret entertainment" during the themed nights - Give it a miss and dine out! and the nightly Tree Frogs chorus which if you've never been to the carribean takes some getting used to before you can get to sleep.