We arrived at the resort about 4 hours before check in and Dennis at Temporary Reception did everything he could to get us into our room early. Luckily, we only had to wait 20 minutes. So we walked around the property and then headed over to the Carriage House for a complimentary Rum Punch. After that Dennis took us to our room and told us tips about getting around the property. He was a great help. We were in room 852B, it was one of the newer buildings and we were in a
junior garden suite we overlooked the parking lot and the construction, but we were not bothered by it one bit. We didn't spend enough time in our room to worry about what was going on outside on the patio anyway. Besides we were in paradise and nothing was going to bring us down. Our room was equipped with a small kitchenette and very large bathroom. The jacuzzi tub was awesome. Everything was beautifully done and very clean. We were never really bothered by the construction noise, but we did hear it in the mornings, but it wasn't too bad. We did use our A/C a bit because we didn't get too much of the ocean's breeze. We were very comfortable.

The beach was wonderful, the waves were strong, so if you are a weak swimmer, be aware of the power they have. The sand was so soft on the feet and the chairs were comfortable. Everything about it was very theraputic.

L'Azure & Zen, we had dinner at each place once. The first night we went to L'Azure, we were not that impressed with it. It was overpriced and just okay. The view and breeze was very nice. Zen on the otherhand was wonderful. It was a little pricey but given it was fresh fish and a beautiful location overlooking the beach we felt like it was worth it. The atmosphere of that dining experience was very romantic.

The Carriage House is a little bar and grill near the pools that does happy hour from 5-6 every night and they also serve a very good lunch. Again, I think it's a little pricey but it's worth having the views and the service. We really enjoyed Oswald and Jason's service. Two great guys.

We recommend going into town, go to Oistins and visit Uncle George's, his fish was amazing. Especially go on Friday night so you can take in the atmosphere. It's the place to be. Try the breadfruit at Pat's and make sure to drink some of the cheapest and coldest Bank's beer. Go to St. Lawrence Gap and bar hop, we really enjoyed Cafe Jungle. It was layed back and the drinks were very cheap. Have lunch at Cutter's, it's walking distance from the hotel. Take advantage of the Hotel's shuttles to the Grocery Store on Sunday morning and the shuttle on Thursday to Bridgetown. It will help save money.

The overall experience was very rejuvenating and definitely a place to relax and clear your head. If you like to be in a secluded paradise, then this is the vacation for you. We absolutely loved it. We didn't want to come home.

Hotel overall - It is a very beautiful place (residences/time share in reality, but all units are furnished identically), great landscaping, many pools and fabulous views depending on the building . Some buildings are newer (#5) than others (#2) and thus amenities, including room size, will vary.

Check In: Due to a contraction going on, there is a temporary reception area (small) set up next to the parking lot. You may wait outside if there are too many people checking in. You leave your luggage next to the check in area and it will be delivered to your room.

Our Room: We stayed in building #5 (newer), top floor room with kitchenette and a dining alcove. The room was huge, the marble bathroom is enormous with a separate shower, lavatory, and a jacuzzi bath; the view was amazing! We had big windows and a balcony with 2 launch chairs overlooking the cascading pools and the ocean beyond. We never needed A/C during the days or the nights - the ocean breeze was more than enough to keep the room cool. I actually asked for a blanket!

The Restaurants: We are from a big city, so are used to good quality restaurants. We ate at both Zen and the Italian (forget the name). Zen is OK (good sushi, expensive for the quality); Italian wasn't too memorable. Other nights (we stayed 8 nights), we ate out of Crane - go to town.

The Beach: LOVED, LOVED, LOVED the beach - it was never crowded and the sand is a shade of purple! Nice waves, not OK for poor swimmers (which i am, but see above, loved the beach). Few brave soles jumped off the cliffs.

Service: staff was attentive; rooms are cleaned late in the day; front desk made any reservations gladly.

The Location: The Crane is located away from all attractions - If you want to relax, it is the place for you. In order to reach any restaurants, attractions, you must have a car (or use taxi); although we met a couple who used local buses to travel the island.

Construction: It is a construction site, so YOU DO HEAR noises if you are in the room during the day. However, if you are at the beach, the only "noise" is the sound of the waves!

If you want a beautiful hotel, lush landscaping, a perfect view, wonderful hospitality, and a romantic setting - this is the place for you!

First - let me say we were very nervous to book this trip due to some of the reviews we read. Reading through some of them again - I am convinced they were at another hotel called The Crane! Some of them are also very funny to us now - (like the review that spoke of the finish coming off of the hard wood floors). The historic hotel was built in 1887 - how they have kept it in the condition it's in is beyond me!!

Check In: We processed our paperwork in a temporary reception area when we checked in - our room was available (3 hours early) and we were ushered straight in. On the way we stopped to get two complementary rum punches - which were wonderful after 10 hours of traveling!

Our Room: We stayed in the historic hotel - room 14. The view was AMAZING! We were looking at the promotional literature in the room and realized they had to have taken the pictures from the room we were in. There were two huge windows that had a view of the historic pool area and Crane beach. When you went on the balcony you could see the pool, Crane beach and a large expanse of ocean to the right. We never needed A/C during the day - most rooms do not come with A/C in the historic building - however, although our main living quarters did not have AC - our bedroom did. We only used it at night. There was a CONSTANT cool breeze during the day. The room itself was gorgeous - and we loved the fact it was in the historic hotel. We had friends who stayed in the residences and although it had newer features (granite countertops) our suite felt larger and more open.

The Restaurants: We ate at Zen one night - the food was GREAT! The service is slower than we are used to - however, we think it's part of the local culture. We also attended the Gospel Brunch - food and singers were fantastic. Out of a possible 10 - we would both give it about an 8.

The Beach: LOVED the beach - it never felt crowded and the sand is pink! There are also cliffs you can jump off into the water. There were a few guys trying to sell jewelry - if you told them no they didn't come back again.

The Service: Overall I would say the service was great. They did have a mix-up in room service one morning. We had ordered breakfast to be delivered at 8:00 and never recieved it. The order never made it to the restaurant - we spoke to them and ended up going to the restaurant to eat. It did take awhile to get our food. Other than that - our taxi's arrived promptly - (ask for Steve - we called him every time we needed to go somewhere or be picked up). The front desk was great - even going as far as to find a camera that would read our memory card so we could free up space.

The Location: The Crane is located away from EVERYTHING! If you are into partying, being around a ton of people, and being entertained, this is not the place for you. We took a cab into The Gap ($25US each way) two evenings. The Crane was perfect for us because we felt isolated from most everything - but could still go out and party (Jumbies is great!!!) if we wanted to. We will probably go back just to eat at Pisces (a restaurant in The Gap).

Highlights: We went on a Cool Running catamaran trip on Saturday - loved it so much that we went back on Monday. It was WONDERFUL. The crew is excellent - 5 hours of boating - all the drinks and food you can handle. They also pick you up at the hotel - The Crane folks are the first people picked up - so you get to see a lot of the other accomodations - again - from outside appearances The Crane had all of these beat hands down!!

Construction: We were nervous about this when we booked the trip. We could not hear the construction from the pools - beach - or our room most of the time. Out of the 5 days we were there we only heard it in our room the day we left. The staff did deliver a letter saying there would be intermittent noise on that day. Everything was tarped off - and the ground's staff were always smiling and always very pleasant.

Overall, it was a great trip and we could not have been more pleased. It will be interesting to see what the Crane looks like in 5 or 10 years - the one concern we had is if the beach will be able to support all of the new buildings they are putting up. Only time will tell!

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.