My wife and I booked an all inclusive holiday to Barbados as we have been once before, done all the touristy things and just wanted to chill out and do very little. We booked online with nextescape.co.uk. This was the first time we have booked a holiday online and everything went well.

We were given a room in the Barbados Beach Club Family Resort, which is the new wing of the Barbados Beach Club and is just behind the original building. The new wing has only been open for about 6 months and the rooms were excellent, all new with modern fittings and of a better standard than the original hotel. We could use the pool and all the other facilities at both hotels. The new wing is not on the beach and the rooms do not have a sea view but the beach is a minute away, just across the road. The staff were really friendly and the buffet meals offered plenty of choice.

The atmosphere was lively, both by the pool and in the bar at night and every evening the hotel provided live entertainment. It was great fun and we have no complaints but next time, we will stay at a hotel on the west coast where the atmosphere is more tranquil.

This was our second visit to this hotel, I think it has improved since it was refurbished a couple of years ago. When we arrived the hotel was only about 30% full, as the hotel became busier it was noticeable that the service in the restaurants became slower. The food was fine, nothing special just the normal buffet choices. It made a nice change to go to the Italian and fish restaurants which has waiter service. The rooms were clean as was the hotel in general.
There is some entertainment in the evenings which finishes at 11.30 and the bar closes at midnight, there is a pool bar across the road that stays open later.
The beach is fairly small but does the job, the sea can be a bit rough at times, but good if you like body boarding. The guys on the beach are very friendly and will take you out in the catamaran or teach you wind surfing, there are also canoes and the dreaded jet skis (at an extra cost), they also organise a game of beach cricket most days.
It is about a 15 to 20 minute walk along the beach to the gap which is where the bars and shops are, we went along there to watch the football in the Ship Inn.
We have been to a lot of hotels in Barbados, this one offers good value and a friendly atmosphere.

We stayed in the family building across the road from the main Hotel. Lovely and quiet. All the staff was so friendly and helpful.

Really enjoyed the meals in the SeaRock and The Italian. Buffet meals in the main restaurant was maybe a little limited.

Tip! If you stay here walk down to the pier in Oistins and watch the turtles!!

There are few places that I would say 'never again' but Barbados Beach Club is one of them.....the experience of broken concrete walkways, broken lights, broken sun beds, dirty stairways and most important of all appalling food has led me to say this about the Barbados Beach Club.

The place was virtually empty when we arrived in mid-December. The first night I couldn't believe the food, the only fresh fruit to be had was in the mornings, ice cream was never on offer, at times the desserts selection was empty. Food from the day before was resurrected by pouring a sauce over it and calling it something else. The rep didn't want to know.

As this was my partner's 50th we hadn't got a 'good deal' but paid a lot of money when to be honest a week in the Canaries would have been money better spent. Needless to say we have written to Virgin and are awaiting an agreed settlement.

If you want basic cheap accommodation and are happy to eat BBQ and chips without paying over the odds then this is the hotel for you.