I just read a few poor ratings for the Crane and can't believe that it is the same resort that my wife and I have been visiting for fifteen years. In general, people need to do more research before they book a resort. Yes, the Crane is isolated from the hustle and bustle, but that is its lure to many of us. As to the level of service, we cannot agree at all with the negative comments here. We have travelled throughout the Caribbean region for the same number of years and have found the Crane and Barbados itself to be far superior to many resorts and islands as far as the willingness to please guests is concerned. Having read some of these reviews, I have to wonder how familiar some of these reviewers are of the southeastern Caribbean region in general.

In all honesty, we were disappointed on this trip with the quality of L'Azure in comparsison to its prices, which have increased substantially over the years, and we found better value at Carriage House for lunch and Donofrio's for dinner. Guests should also know that the Emerald City supermarket is only a 10 minute drive as the Crane general store is somewhat limited and beyond our budget. Our overall experience at the Crane, which is so very unique in location and atmosphere, was very pleasurable, and we will certainly return this year.

The Crane Barbados.

It was our first time staying in Barbados, and the Crane did not Disappoint. Grounds were immaculate,
Beach pink sugar Sand, very clean.. the beauty is that the hotel is on a cliff, and 50 feet below, by Glass Elevator is the Beach.

We ventured off to explore Barbados, and for the shoppers, a must visit is Lime Grove in Holetown, (Cartier, Ralph lauren, Luis Vuitton,
etc, are all here.. You can have lunch, watch a movie, a spectacular spot.

Dinner Recommendations:

For the Italian Lovers (home made pasta, pizza , etc:
Visit: Il Tempio -- (we actually visited this place, as there was a write up about how Luciano pavarotti enjoyed this place.
Believe me, this place does not disappoint. We met the owners Anna & leo, from Bari, Italy, and amazing people. they
will make anything you want, even if its not on the Menu.

Caribbean:

Cliff Restaraunt.
it is a beautiful restaraunt, perched on a cliff, the food, the ambiance, its a spot, not to be missed.

Contempary Modern italian

Cin Cin

Contempary,elegant waterside dining,west coast at its best. Very romantic.


Excursions:
shopping Tour of Bridgetown, was not impressed, very crowded, and not much variety. I still recommend Lime Grove Complex in Holetown.

A must See:

We were recommended by Anna, at Il Tempio Restaraunt, not to leave barbados without visiting Sandy Lane Hotel & Golf Resort.
This place conjures up images of Serene style in an idyllic resort setting. a perfect location in Barbados overlooking the Caribbean Sea.
You can visit the place for drinks, or have dinner, we decided to have dinner, and were not disappointed.


Again a visit to Barbados is a different experience, Barbados, has a bit of everything, very different island.

This was our second trip to Barbados but our first to The Crane. The views and most of the staff were lovely. We found the room to be more than spacious, attractive and clean. We enjoyed asian restaurant - even if we did have to eat late. We didn't have any issues with the staff - they were helpful and friendly.

Our biggest issues were the lack of services. No decent dinner reservations were available...the entire time we stayed there. No spa appointments were available....the entire time we stayed there. No beach chairs or umbrellas were available unless you arrived before 10am. The options for breakfast and lunch are very limited. There is one casual restaurant by the pool available for lunch and a more formal restaurant (Azure) - that's it. For breakfast - only Azure was available unless you wanted a pastry from the ice cream shop. All the material in the room says that it is a buffet on the weekends and ala carte on weekdays - not so. While we were there it was only a buffet. We are not big buffet fans - we don't eat much in the morning and other than the omelet bar - everything was cold. We finally bought a box of cereal and milk from the market on premises. No food is available on the beach - which is ridiculously inconvenient. Why not have food available as well as drinks? No waitress service at any of the pools. The towel situation is completely perplexing - why are the towels so precious at such an expensive resort????

Our bed was thin and uncomfortable and our air conditioner was crazy loud and not terribly reliable but we didn't complain about either.

This is too beautiful and expensive of a place to be run so poorly. If they can't cater to hotel guests - they should run it as a straight time-share ownership resort.

I recently stayed for 3 nights at the Crane for a wedding. It was my second time in Barbados; I previously stayed at Little Arches, a small boutique hotel near Oistins. The contrast between the two hotels couldn't have been greater. Whereas Little Arches was a small hotel of 10 rooms, the Crane by contrast is a large resort style property. Little Arches was intimate and provided personalized service, the Crane while having many more amenities, offered less in terms of individual service.

Summary:

The pros:

* Great beach and pools

* nicely kept grounds

* rooms and bathrooms are nicely appointed

* nice welcome with a complimentary drink

* very nice bars, ice ream parlour, and cinema

* decent gym



Cons:

* Very poor air conditioning in many units as highlighted in many of the reviews and something I can personally attest to. In fact, after complaining about the air conditioning and not getting any results in getting it repaired, I simply left it off and opened the windows. Not a satisfying outcome in +29'c and humid weather.

* the expensive breakfast buffet at the hotel is terrible, something you would find in a 3 star hotel in the US.

*In addition, none of the restaurants were more than mediocre, and none offered much in terms of local cuisine; if you are looking for a gourmet experience, you'll definitely need to leave the resort.

* some of the rooms (my friends for example) back onto what is basically a construction site (piles of dirt, and old tin buildings)

* very little to see or do immediately adjacent to the resort; renting a car or cabbing is a must if you are interested in seeing more of the Island -- something that I wold highly encourage (the island is safe, the people welcoming, and there are some wonderful sites around the Island)


Overall, if I was to return to Barbados, I would choose to go back to Little Arches. Overall, the Crane was not a great value, and left a lot to be desired as far as service and cuisine. However, those looking for a resort where they can simply kick-back might well enjoy their time at the Crane for the pros I listed above.