Stayed for 2 weeks at The Crane Resort and very much enjoyed the visit.this is not our 1st visit here,and looked forward to the progress from a year ago.
We were travelling with our young adult children and stayed in a one bed-room ground floor unit with pool in building 4.(1st week)
Wind was stronger than normal and gave a nice breeze at night.Never needed a/c ,ever.
Rooms are well appointed,rollaways added when/if required.
Hot water was not an issue this year.We had lots and it was hot water.
Elevator to beach was working and a great improvement for those who have trouble managing the steps to the great beach.Surf can be rough,depending on wind conditions and tide.Our group enjoyed this beach and liked the challenge.We also drove to Miami Beach near Oistins for those who preferred a more calm beach experience.
The Crane is preparing to add a spa amongst the palm trees on the beach.Elevated,these open to nature rooms will harmonize with the surroundings.The areas all around the beach have been cleaned and are quite well kept.the Crane beach is also looking to regain all its former grandeur and size.That might take a few years,but the beach is already on of the worlds 10 best.
Have been to Crane a number of times,never experienced the Zen restaurant.What a loss to us.Fantastic food ,Japanese and Thai.I have been to Japan and this food is the equivalent to anything there.A little pricey, the locals are frequenting the restaurant from north of Bridgetown.Tells us as well that the food is very good.
Gospel singers on Sunday morning are a treat not to be missed.

There is still construction.Some rooms may get some noise during the day.It never bothered our group.We spoke with other guests,none really spoke to that concern.
During our 2nd week ,we ended up in building 9 ,ground floor.This was closer to construction,yet,in our opinion,no different.Room had a few better amenities because it was newer.i.e.mood lighting,computer lap top plug in on pool deck,more tiling around kitchen counters....
Look for monkeys in afternoon towards the perimeter of property.They are quite entertaining.

We enjoyed it all.Our 20 something age children cannot wait to go back.Neither can we.I would love to rate this property a 5,but a 4.5 will be our choice.We know what is coming and it makes it all the more fun to anticipate for 2009.

My wife and I have just returned from a nine-night stay at the Crane Hotel on a room only basis.

I have been booking my own holidays for a while now, using guidebooks and review sites such as tripadvisor. I always take into account the points being made but at the end of the day, the decision is my wife and mine to make.

I had read mixed reviews about the hotel and after removing the wheat from the chaff; we decided to stay there.

We had a wonderful time at the hotel. There were issues, which if resolved, would have made our stay more comfortable. However, not all of these issues were the hotels job to solve.

I would like to point out some of the incredible comments made on the site

The hotel is isolated; it does not attempt to hide this fact. You do not get a secluded beach setting with plenty of room in an overpopulated area.

The roads are not as good as we may be used to at home. The traffic is not as bad as it is at home, the fuel is not as expensive as it is at home (unless you are American) and the distances aren’t as great as they are at home.

The West Indian nature. My father is West Indian, and after fifty years in England, he still moves at a gentler pace than the average person. If this is a criticism then whoever makes it must live in a cultural vacuum. New York is not the same as Barbados. If it were then why would we bother to visit both?

The comments made on the review site, appear to be made by people who do not read review sites! Most comments refer to issues already raised on the site.

There is obvious construction at the hotel, as a guest you would rather not have this, but I credit the hotel for making improvements, and when is a year round resort meant to do this? We stayed in building five from which, hardly any construction could be seen but it could be heard at times. I have stayed at many hotels, which were apparently beautiful twenty years ago, but made no improvements since and become dated.

The best thing for us about the hotel, were the people. From the security guard at the front gate who waved at you (when does that ever happen?) to the restaurant and pool bar staff, reception staff and gardeners and builders. We never came across a moody member of staff during our stay, quite the opposite in fact. I do not care if the hotel makes its staff say hello to guests, I work with the general public and I know ho difficult that can be sometimes.

I doubt there is a nicer place to stay on the island. Our room was large, clean with everything you could need. If you don’t like to reserve your own table at a restaurant or find it astounding that you should have to walk to get your own drink from the pool bar, then the Sandy Lane is probably the place for you. I think you would pay dearly for those services that you may feel are essential, and who wants to be sat on a lounger next to a footballer anyway?

In conclusion I would say that if you can get over the construction work then the Crane is an excellent place to stay. I prefer to see a bit of the island and try various restaurants; if you do also then a car is very helpful. If the staff are spoken to respectfully, I just cannot see how the people I came across would ever be rude or unhelpful.

We returned from the Crane last Sunday. The trip was disappointing, to say the least. I had been so looking forward to...and needing a vacation and was quite disappointed by many things.

First, they placed us in a suite on the ground floor (it was supposed to be a "garden view")..the only view was tall bushes almost completely surrounding our patio and glimpses of people leaving and entering the building to the left of the patio...hence, no privacy and no view. they moved us after i complained to a top floor suite with a balcony. the balcony overlooked construction debris and men on cranes painting the building across from us. if you are thinking of staying at the crane and have read the reviews, you've read about the air conditioning. well, it's true. you cannot cool below 72 73 degrees. it is set that way and personally, i like it cool for sleeping. it's not. also, unless you are going for the big bucks and staying in a suite with an ocean view, you are going to be bothered by the construction no matter what anyone says. it was noisy almost all the time. the pools were nice. the beach was pretty but the water was very rough...knock you down rough. i felt like i had gone 10 rounds with a heavyweight when i crawled out of it...and i'm a good swimmer. we rented a car and drove the entire island. it was a disappointment as well. garbage everywhere. all in all, barbados was not what a had envisioned. be very careful when booking. the ads are not true.

hello barbados lovers,
we couldn't wait to try the crane. this would be our 5th visit to bgi. we've tried the west and south coasts in the past and were very excited to try the east side. arrival was cordial. room was as described. BED BUGS were unexpected and a terrible problem. the noise/dirt from construction was unbearable. it was constantly there almost like torture. we asked for a different room and were told we would have to pay 100+ usd per night more. this was not an acceptable solution. to compliment the constant noise/dirt the crane would also cut electrical service to our building and others for HOURS (LIKE ALL DAY)at a time. the none existant air conditioning was little relief for us. some people may wonder why the a/c issue with a great ocean breeze: PLEASE REFER BACK TO CONSTANT NOISE/DIRT ISSUE!! if all this wasn't enough we also had to deal with construction workers urinating out in the open. we found the hotel (ESPECIALLY JULIE AND JACKIE)and resturant staff to be wonderful. food at resturants was amazing. all guest we encountered were quite pleasant. most people at the crane seemed totally confused by the meal plans. our hotel bill changed daily by several hundred usd's. i had to correct the bill everyday. crane beach is incredible. the stairs leading down to it are plain unsafe. i seriously doubt if the beach elevator is started/finished. drugs, beach art,bothersome beach peddlers and a shortage of towels are some of the highlights of beach life. the new pools are fabulous. all the grounds are wonderful. this will be a incredible place someday. managements lack of response to our complaints both during the stay and our critique of our stay was totally unacceptable.