Dear maureenjeffers,

Twice in three months!!! We are happy to see that you are enjoying all that The Crane has to offer.

We are continuously working on ways to better serve guests. To this end, a new structure has been implemented to ensure the seamless resolution of all maintenance issues. But it is only through feedback from guests that we know how well things are working, so thank you for your comments. Debbie was extremely pleased to hear that you have noticed the improvements.

We are also delighted that, as an owner, you were able to experience and enjoy another room category. This is testimony to the flexibility which our property ownership program offers. As to the re-opening of L’Azure, which is scheduled for this Summer, you can look forward to some changes in décor and menu - a complete rebranding! L’Azure is set to once again become the favourite dining choice of our guests.

We look forward to seeing you again in November!

Warm wishes,
Michael Phillips
General Manager

Dear psychlone,

We are delighted that as a seasoned traveller, you have now decided to make The Crane your home away from home.

As you hinted, the property is quite diverse and can be enjoyed by both the young and the young at heart.

I have passed on your comments to both Kim and Jackie. Don’t forget to pop in and say hi to them when you return, as we will all be looking forward to welcoming you back as a new owner.

Warm regards,
Michael Phillips
General Manager

Dear Lifeisgreat1964,

We truly agree with you: Crane Beach is most definitely a gem not only in Barbados, but also within the Caribbean.

Our staff is also committed to delivering a level of service which surpasses all expectations. And yes, our Reservations Supervisor, Karen Oliver is quite pleasant and precise as she strives to ensure that guests book the category of room that truly suits their needs.

We are happy that you found The Crane to be the best vacation spot in the Caribbean and look forward to seeing you again.

Warm wishes,
Michael Phillips
General Manager

Dear dailln4n4,

We’re pleased that you found Crane Beach to be lovely. However, we are a little disappointed that in the short 12 hours that you stayed at The Crane, we did not meet your expectations. From reading your review, it seems as though your overall experience hinged on the fact that we were unable to accommodate your request for a late checkout and that you were unable to dine when you arrived late. However, you have made a few inaccurate statements, so we would like to address your list of 5 cons individually.

1. Room service: We take our last request for in-room dining at 9:00 pm (not 8:00pm) since this satisfies the needs of virtually all of our guests – which is not to say that it satisfies the needs of guests who arrive hungry at midnight as you did. Our decision to not offer 24-hour room service helps us reduce unnecessary expenses and enables us to fulfil our overriding mission of providing affordable resort luxury to our guests. Most Crane guests typically stay with us between 4 and 14 nights. We understand that we can’t be all things to all people and, in fact, we do not even accept one-night bookings until just a few days prior to arrival. To ensure that all arriving guests receive the same information, we have recently contacted all of our travel partners to double check that they notify all guests of our restaurant and room service hours and that we offer a pre-arrival stocking service for groceries and/or late-night snacks.

2. Mini bar: It is true that our suites do not feature mini bars, but we believe that The Crane offers something far better – a small kitchen with a fridge in every room, along with a General Store that offers 100 times the variety of a hotel mini bar, at prices as low as 25% of typical mini-bar prices. Unfortunately, you did not have time to take advantage of this feature. We find Crane People want luxury as much as anyone, but do not mind if they can save money at the same time. For vacationers looking to get away from the chore of cooking, we also offer four great restaurants to choose from.

3. Poor Service: I understand your disappointment that we could not accommodate your request for a later checkout, but our firmness on this was because we had to ensure that the next guest was able to check in on time. I can also understand how you could have misinterpreted this as an unhelpful attitude since you thought that the resort was completely empty at the time. We have to take this as a compliment, since we designed everything from the spacious accommodation, private swimming pools, spectacular, multiple public pools, the choice of activity centres (from tennis courts, spa, fitness centre and amazing beach) and the ample 40 acre grounds to make every guest feel as if they were almost alone in our island paradise, even when the resort is completely full, which we were during your stay. We would also point out that any guest who wants to stay on at The Crane after check-out is provided complimentary use of showers, lockers, amenities and a changing room in the new Crane Village so that they can go on enjoying their day and even evening, while the room is prepared for our next guest.

4. Towel Policy: We do keep track of our beach towels for several reasons. First, it is a simple way to be cost effective (and save local beaches from abandoned towels) and to help deliver on The Crane’s promise of “sensible luxury”. It is also an effective way of ensuring that only Crane guests use our facilities.

5. Your last con was the sight of on-going construction. We note that there is construction visible from only 6 out of 230 rooms, which is fully disclosed to potential guests and discounts are offered as a result. Your room was not one of these 6 rooms. There is also no other construction visible from any of our public spaces with the exception of less than 600 sq. ft. of scaffolding under one of our restaurants, due to recent damage from the passing of tropical storm Tomas. This is out of about 1 million sq. ft. of public space at The Crane. Our guests are almost all unanimous that the views from virtually anywhere at The Crane are nothing short of spectacular. I’m not sure if you saw it when you were making your booking, but we found that your tour operator, Jetsetter, provided an old notice of general "ongoing construction" activity at The Crane along with our booking information. We have now advised Jetsetter that this notice should be limited to the 6 rooms listed above as opposed to the entire resort.

As you pointed out, The Crane advertises that it strives to provide the best of both worlds – a luxury resort and a residence at the same time. We also aim to deliver our luxury, residential resort experience sensibly and affordably. The fact that many of our guests are Crane members is in no way a negative. Quite the contrary, our experience is that Crane members, many of whom have spent US$1–3 million for their accommodation and all of whom have a long term interest in The Crane as a luxury resort community, are justifiably as discerning as (if not more so than) our hotel guests who come for a week or two. Both benefit from our team’s dedication to providing the very best sensible luxury, residential resort experience.

We believe that with a longer stay, you would have been able to truly enjoy all that The Crane has to offer. However, we are committed to continually improving our service delivery and thank you for your feedback. We do hope that you will try us again in the future.

Best regards,
Michael Phillips
General Manager