We recently stayed for 9 nights at the Crane, which I carefully chose on the Internet as we wanted to get married in Barbados and the pictures on the website were impressing.
The hotel is quite isolated and far from the touristy west coast, and that is one of the reasons why we chose it. It's located about 10-15 minutes from the airport and taxis are always available.
I suggest to rent a car to visit the island, since taxis are quite expensive. If you want to try something different and definitely much cheaper, try using the buses around the island, but hold on tight because bus drivers drive like crazy!
Careful whan driving around the island because the streets can be awful.

The Crane has a very relaxed and cordial atmosphere and the noise caused by the constructions did not bother us.

The concierge personnel were amazing and really nice, Teresa and Dianne did anything they could -and more- to spoil us and to help us with every question we could have and they succeeded in arranging a memorable wedding. They took care of every detail of our wedding with a smile and we often had lovely chats. Teresa even found our wedding cake, which had "vanished" after the wedding! We couldn't have asked for a higher level of service. All wedding arrangements were done before we arrived via e-mail, with many follow-ups to double-check everything.

The beach is absolutely beautiful, with its pink sand, the coconut palms and the constant breeze. You can even swim if you go far enough to avoid the breaking waves.
The pools are very nice as well, even if I can't imagine how someone could stay there with such a wonderful beach close at hand... The beach towels are provided sometimes late in the morning (even after 8,30 or 9), so, if you like to get to the beach early as we did (the best time, I think), you better keep them for a few days when you get them.

The rooms are very nice, clean and spacious and can be spectacular - particularly those closest to the ocean.
We stayed first in a ocean-view one bedroom suite in building 9. The mahogany furniture was nice and tasteful and the kitchen had everything it takes to cook a meal - which we sometimes did to avoid the high prices in the restaurants. The view was nice but not great (that part of the garden is still unfinished and can be muddy, so watch out when walking on the stone path to the beach).
After the wedding we asked to upgrade to a better room for the last 3 nights of our stay and were moved to the (probably) best room in the hotel, a fantastic penthouse in building 5, directly overlooking the ocean, with a private plunge pool in the tower. I'm enclosing the pictures, so comments are unnecessary. One of the nicest hotel rooms so far.
The doors to the rooms slam very loudly and it can be scary to be waken up in the middle of the night by some fellow guest returning to their room.

There are two restaurants on the premises - Zen and L'Azure. Zen is Japanese and Thai, it has a spectacular view of the beach and a good sushi. Too much A/C, though, always bring a sweater!
L'Azure is based on seafood and has even better views of the beach and plenty of sea-breeze. The food at dinner was sometimes good and sometimes so-so, but the sunday brunch with local fare was absolutely outstanding. Breakfast should start at 7.30 (that's what the hotel pamphlet says) but it was never ready before 8. At both restaurants service could be better, it seemed the waiters were left to themselves without proper instructions and coordination.
The Carriage House, by the pool, offers very good sandwiches at lunch and drinks.

As I said, there is lot of construction going on, and what worries me is that the beach and the pools are going to be crowded when the work is done. It seems to me actually that the place is overall already overly developed: the five central buildings would have been more than enough.

Overall, the Crane is a lovely resort, away from crowded hotel strips, it has the best possible beach and you can relax with nobody bothering you, which was exactly what we were looking for.

My husband and I just returned from a 5 day stay at the Crane. We booked our vacation two days before departure and wanted just a relaxing vacation - and that is exactly what the Crane offered.

Room: we stayed in the garden view junior suite which was beautifully furnished and had a jacuzzi, terrace, and mini kitchen with pots, and other kitchen utensils. the room was exceptional.

Beach: beautiful beach with very fine white pinkish sand. The water however is a bit rough and we only went in up to our knees but didn't dare go any further.

Grounds: Beatufiul grounds with spectacular views of the beach. The resort is set on a cliff and offers the best view I have ever seen - have traveled to Mexico and a few other Carribean Islands.

Food: Excellent food and excellent service. Since we didn't want to spend money on breakfast, we brought food from home and had cereal and other things on our terrace. Lunch and dinner at the resort were excellent. You do however wait for about 30 minutes for your food, but that gives you some time to take in the fascinating scenery since the restaurant is set on a cliff overlooking the beautiful crane beach.

Pools: there are numerous pools including an infinity pool and hot tub. There were plenty of very very comfortable chairs by the pools, as well as by the beach.

Overall, this is a wonderful, and as I like to say luxurious, resort. It is far away from everything else on the island, so I wouldn't recommend it for people who are looking for bars and clubs, although you can take a taxi for $25 - US dollars one way to other attractions.

I highly recommend this resort for a peaceful and relaxing vacation.

We stayed a week at the Crane during our honeymoon in one of the newer one-bedroom suits overlooking the ocean/pool.

The accommodations and views were wonderful! We were on the 4th floor, and although it would get a little warm in the afternoon we never felt we needed to turn on the air conditioning because there was always a delighful breeze circulating through the appartiment when we left our windows open.

Everything was clean, and we never lacked for anything we needed. The concierge service was really exceptional!

Although we were there during peak season, the hotel pool and grounds never seemed crowded - the beach sometimes got crowded during the afternoon, but hotel staff on the beach always made sure we had chairs and towles.

The only thing I could really see anyone having trouble with is the noise during the day (8-6) from the construction that's being done to create the Crane Towncenter. If your room is right near the construction, it would be kind of noisy if you left your windows open. However, when that construction is complete in November 2008 the resort will truely be incredible!

Overall Pros:
Views, grounds, staff, restaurants (including Cutter's which is off the resort within walking distance), accommodations, proximity to some of the most picturesque beaches in Barbados (i.e. Bottom Bay), surf.

Potential Cons:
Need to rent a car if you'd like to see other island sites since many are on the south or west coasts. Some construction on the grounds - a con if your room is very close.

Owing to the building work going on my wife and I were offered a suite at a very reasonable rate. This accommodation was quite superb. Although it was possible to hear the noise from the building site, in our block, (5) it was minimal.
The friendly attitude of the staff and their politeness was particularly impressive. Also despite the extensive buiding activities going on in the middle of the site the gardeners still managed to ensure the flower and shrub beds looked beautifully manicured.
The Crane beach and particularly the quality of the sand is magnificent and although the main beach never seemed to get really crowded there is another completely deserted one just a little way along. Wave action though is strong which is fine for good swimmers and surfers but intimidating for those who are not.
With regard to beaches on the island in general both of us were impressed to see that even on remote ones, like Bath, there was a life guard, carpark, showering facilities and toilets.
The whole holiday was delightful.