We have just returned from a great week in Barbados! We were wonderfully surprised by EVERYTHING. The Blue Orchids came as a recommendation from my surf instructor, Melanie Pitcher. But we had already read many great reviews about the place here on Tripadvisor.com
The value you get for the money was way beyond what we expected. We stay is some pretty inexpensive places in the Caribbean-all have been great but this was the best. CLEAN CLEAN CLEAN- From the property grounds to the room! The staff was friendly and efficient.
-They do not have room safes but have small Safe Deposit Boxes just like a bank. Perhaps a 3X5 inch. We did not bring a laptop like we had planned because of this. But that was just an adjustment. I believe that we would next time though and not be concerned.
-We rented a car and there was never a parking issue at the hotel.
-The restaurant on the sister property was wonderful! Denisea was SO NICE!! We went there a few of the mornings when we did not eat in our room on the wonderful balcony we had.
-Cable TV was limited to about 5 channels and it partially went out for a few days. We survived...we listened to the waves and the singing tree frogs when we opened up our french doors on our balcony.
-the beach at the hotel is great. Lounge chairs, umbrellas. LOTS of sea glass for collecting.
-there was a meet and greet that the hotel hosted mid week that looked great but we had reservations elsewhere. I really would have enjoyed doing that and NEXT time we will!

My husband said that he was undecided about making a posting because we would hate to not be able to get a reservation when the word gets out about this place!
This review would go on and on about all the wonderful things we can say about Barbados but I really want to keep it about the Blue Orchids.
If you go, ENJOY your time!!

we have just returned from our 2nd visit to Blue Orchids. It is a lovely and clean 3 star hotel with very friendly staff. We had a studio room which overlooked the sea and was fabulous to wake up to in the morning. It is not luxurious but very clean and comfortable with everything you need including electric hob, microwave, toaster, coffee maker and television. There is even an ironing board and iron in your room (not that you want to iron but sometimes it comes in useful). Although the road outside is busy, once inside you would not know because all you see is the lovely view from your balcony. It is very peaceful there too. It is in a very good spot for getting to bars and restaurants and to the Gap. We love it there , it is excellent value which leaves money over to spend at the fabulous restaurants in Barbados. It was our 11th visit to Barbados and I would certainly go back to Blue Orchids. I should also mention the lovely beach at the side of the hotel in front of Coral Mist. We never had a problem getting chairs and sunbeds. You can use the pool at either hotel although neither are very big but adequate to cool off and have a little swim. We prefer the sea which can occasionally get rough but when we were there this time it was good for most of the holiday. I would highly recommend Blue Orchids.

We stayed at the Blue orchids from the 10th to the 20th of November this year. It does exactly what it says on the home website. Our only small grumble had nothing to do with the hotel itself. Again we felt let down by Virgin as we had to wait an hour for our cases to arrive at the hotel, not good when you need a shower and to change out of your clothes which stink of airplanes. Reggie was fantastic, sorted out taxis to various parts of the island. He also sorted out a table at Sandy Lane golf clubhouse, which we highly recommend you go to, they made us feel like royalty. £45 for two for lunch including lots of drinks. Well worth it. Also, Champers is well worth a visit, again really good food and drink at a bargain price.
You must go to "BERTS", all drinks are top notch, the staff, Serge and the snoop dog lookalike treat you really well.
The hotel was clean and the rest of the staff were fantastic. We were genuinely upset at home time, this was our 7th trip to the island and certainly the best. We will definately be returning soon. We didn't really mind the solid day of rain on the saturday, it's still great bimbling around from bar to bar with shorts on and it definately beats a freezing cold uk!!!!
You must go here.

My fiance and I returned from the Blue Orchids and Barbados a few days ago, after spending a week there.

On the whole, our experience was positive, but there are a few caveats. On the plus side, the hotel is spotless and the grounds are beautifully maintained. The beach, which is shared with the Coral Mist Hotel next door, is well maintained and the staff is uniformly warm and friendly (with a few exceptions). The rooms are well-appointed and every effort is made to accommodate guests of all ages. The hotel's restaurant offers a good breakfast menu and limited lunch and dinner options, but the food is well-prepared and there are several other dining options nearby. Grocery stores, ATMs and gift and craft shops are all within walking distance.

The only negatives that I can add are as follows: the rooms all have air conditioning, but it is of uneven quality and can only be used by plugging your room key into the wall. This means that you often come back to a stiflingly hot room when you've been out and about all day. Keeping the windows open does little to alleviate the often intense heat. My fiance and I had a room near the pool and we would often use the room key to activate our AC, and then sit by the pool waiting for it to cool off before we could go inside.

The only other negative was some of the front desk staff. Occasionally, they could be abrupt when it came to answering questions, providing beach towels, etc. Also, contrary to what is said in the guest services directory, they are completely unwilling to do any currency exchanges into Bajan money. This wouldn't have been a problem, except for the fact that they do claim to offer this service.

This is a good hotel for first timers to Barbados, who don't want to pay top dollar for a really swanky resort. It is popular with Brits and a few other Canadians and is a treat for those who just want to kick back, relax and enjoy some sun. Be sure to ask for Stephen the taxi driver when you need to take a trip to Bridgetown, Holetown or to see any of the island sites.