Spent our Christmas/New Year holidays here, it's the only time we stay in a hotel when visiting the island and that's because we like the festive party atmosphere you don't get when renting.

I have to say that I'm surprised at the lack of reviews that have appeared here for that period, considering the hotel was full to capacity. Anyway, I think a good time was had by all, the other inmates were a friendly bunch and I didn't hear any grumblings. There were a lot of families staying and I would say it is a good family orientated hotel.

Good points:
Friendly, efficient and well motivated staff throughout the hotel, without exception. Not going to name names, think thats a bit naff!
Clean beach towels left in your room each day, no nonsense about paying a deposit, standing in a queue or handing your used ones back, just chuck them in the skip on the beach.
A goody basket of fruit, snacks and sweeties in the room when we arrived. (Boxing Day)
Cold water, fruit and ice lollies brought to your sunbed.
Free room service.
Free water taxi to Tamarind Cove and Colony Club. We used it a lot. You get a credit towards lunch in either hotel, I think it was about $20bds, you buy your own drinks. We filled water bottles at the dispensers in C Cove and took them with us. Cheapskates). The sunbeds at both TC and C Club have 6" thick mattresses, divine, the food is similar to C Cove, not really worth the extra but good for a change of scenery. Staff at C Club a bit over gushy. From T Cove you can walk up to Sandy Lane.
Good gym for a hotel, I made it 5 mornings out of 11- not bad.
Nice walk, turn left up the beach, you can walk as far as Escape at Prospect Bay, if you walk early morning or around sunset (low tide) you don't get wet, there is a paddly bit past some rocks, or you can miss that bit out and walk on the road (no pavements). We saw a sea snake on New Years Day Morning - does that have some significance? On the way you pass IL Tempio, an Italian restaurant, reputedly favoured by Pavarotti when on the island. We often stopped for a glass of wine on the way back, in their beach bar. They are friendly towards barefoot wanderers and we were often offered a lift back to the hotel. We declined and walked home in the dark by the light of the moon and the villas along the way. Right across the road from here is a large supermarket called Jordons in case you need any supermarket type things. Anyway one night we went for a meal there and it was good, not great, but Ok for a change. Not that the food in the hotel was poor, we just like trying new places.
Back to the hotel, the subject of food, most important.
We liked the food, it was a mixture of A la Carte and buffets. Well cooked, well presented and in Reflections, where we mostly ate not too big portions. Both Reflections and Drifters restaurants were open, you need to decide where you want to eat dinner and book a table each day. The quality of food and service were very good both at lunchtime and in the evening. I love white wine and found the house wine OK for AI. You can, if you wish, buy fine wine and champagne which are reasonably priced. Nice breakfasts too.
Good watersports, everyone commented on how patient and friendly the watersport lads were with their children.
Great Old Years Night Party. The staff thoughtfully seated couples on their own next to other couples and we sank lots of chamagne and had a ball.
Now for the negatives:
Rooms a little tired (but spotlessly clean)
Small balconies, although the ones with terraces looked bigger.
Bit of a sunbed shortage while hotel full to capacity but the watersport boys always managed to find you one no matter what time you emerged.
Sea was a bit choppy while we were there, more like the S coast but probably just due to a weather system.
There are no more.

Other restaurants we visited:
Fish Pot - booked while there by the hotel concierge. Fantastic and very reasonable.
Tides - booked in advance, great food, bit pricey (£190 for 2) but had champagne. Saw some gorgeous Miu Miu shoes clack past our table. I think the food - dare I say this - is better than The Cliff. Tides, however, although set by the sea, just doesn't have the wow factor of the Cliff. Incidentaly, The Cliff is just up the beach from C Cove.
Whispers - very good, lovely setting and quite reasonably priced.

Also went on Caramaran trip Good Times, again booked by hotel concierge and excellent.

Blimey, didn't mean to write so much!

Well, yet another fantastic stay at the Crystal Cove Hotel. This was our 3rd visit here and the staff not only remembered us amongst the thousands of visitors that must come and stay with them, but they could not have been more helpful to us during our stay.
The food is excellent, the rooms very comfortable and the entertainment very good.
We visited this year as a group of 8 adults celebrating a 60th birthday. The staff were very accommodating and made our friend feel very special on the day.
I would undoubtedly recommend this to all couples with older children, as although there is a kiddies club, I do not think that it would suit couples with very young children.

I was amazed to read negative reports about this hotel.

It is great value for money for an all inclusive resort . We have learned over the years that 4/5 star Caribbean is not 5star Europe or USA. The hotel is not all marble with white coated skivvies obtrusively bowing and scraping to your every need. It is quietly efficient, the staff are friendly without being over familiar, the room we had was clean and spacious (we were actually given a suite this time at no extra cost as we have stayed there before - and when we arrived we were personally welcomed back - nice touch). The ambiance of the place is charming, completely relaxing.

The food was very good, we particularly enjoyed the casual lunch at Drifters where you can stroll up from the beach covering up with a wrap or tee shirt. I think it is right to have a more "formal" (no shorts, sleeveless T shirts) dress code in the evening for the Reflections restaurant - if you don't want this option Drifters was open in the evening every night whilst we were there where you an wear shorts if you wish. Would agree that the Cave Bar is not particularly inviting -grab a drink and sit somewhere else. The wine is not great, white is drinkable with lots of ice but you can buy wines from the wine list and it is not over expensive. At night they do change the chair cushions at the tables surrounding the pool area.

The only evening a buffet was served was Saturday night which was fine as we do not like buffets. We did go out a few evenings to eat, can recommend Tides and Cocomos(less formal - go for Happy Hour and reserve your table at oceanside) in Holetown.

This is not a hotel to come to if you want exciting nightlife, although there was some sort of entertainment every evening it is was OK, we regarded it as "background music" whilst we had our after dinner drinks. Some couples were dancing.

We were at the hotel for 10 days and during the first week the average age of guests was about 45-50 I would say and mostly couples. We didn't realise that it was half term and toward the end of our stay there were a lot more younger families arriving with young children which did change the atmosphere somewhat (particularly in the restaurants). I would not have thought it was particularly child friendly with all the steps (lots of buggy carrying) but the families I spoke to thought it was a great place to come because it was so relaxing and some had been there before. Personally, I preferred it when it was quieter (my children are now in their early twenties) so I will avoid school holidays in future! When my children were young we went to Almond Beach Village - great at the time but I would avoid it at all costs now I don't have "kids".

We did the Tiami catamaran cruise which was a fantastic day out, great fun, great crew. Also did the Oistins trip on Saturday night, not really our thing though and left early. We have been to Barbados several times so we were quite happy using the reggae bus to go back and forth to Holetown. All beaches in Barbados are public, the good thing about Crystal Cove is that it is a cove and you do not get pestered by beach vendors.

We love Crystal Cove - if you want an all inclusive chill out holiday at a reasonable price this is the place to go.

My husband and myself have just returned from a 10 day holiday at Crystal Cove and, having read some of the reviews on Trip Advisor, we set off with some trepidation. We really didn’t need to have worried about it because it was lovely! We had a really great holiday and wouldn’t hesitate to return. OK, the place isn’t brand new and doesn’t have a great “wow” factor but the service we received was excellent. The food was very good, the whole place is spotless, bright and cheerful and the gardens are very well tended. All the staff that we came into contact with were helpful and pleasant and Peter Charles in the Reflections restaurant is a treasure. He makes a point of remembering your name so you feel quite special. The water sports “boys” are really good fun and made us feel safe when they took us out. So, if you are planning a trip to Crystal Cove, just go and enjoy yourself.