Savannah hotel is a nice hotel with good facilities. The food is ok. The problem is the serving staff Which is terrible especially breakfast when the staff are slow and deliberate and unfriendly. The approach is lackadaisical and there is a lack of supervision. Some of the staff in the beach bar are equally unhelpful and resentful. Would,ny stay agiain.

We spent the first two weeks of February 2013 at the hotel and we are just preparing to leave as I write this. We really enjoyed our holiday, the food, staff and atmosphere were generally excellent, there were only one or two niggly points that lowered the standard.

A typical day at Savannah Beach is to be woken early by the birds chirping. We were in room 123 on the ground floor of the Emerald block so sometimes got woken even earlier by service trolleys rumbling along the corridor. The room was excellent; two large comfortable beds, large patio area with cushioned furniture and direct access to the pool only a couple of steps away. We had a problem with the safe (free to use) which was fixed within minutes by the maintenance guy.

It’s up to Rachel’s for breakfast. Rachel’s is on the 5th floor and there were 78 steps between our room and the restaurant; great for keeping fit (there are elevators if you’re not so mobile). Breakfast is more or less the same each day, scrambled eggs, bacon, sausage and beans – unfortunately nearly always cold! There’s also cereal, pastries, fruit etc. We had a couple of bad experiences; being served sour milk and finding the supposedly clean juice glasses still filthy from their previous use (petty maybe but these things shouldn’t happen), worse was the 2 inch piece of metal from a scouring pad which we discovered in our scrambled egg. We got an immediate apology but this could have been very dangerous and I wonder how the egg can have become contaminated with washing up materials.

Next it’s back to the room to slap on the sun block and down to the beach which is all of a minute’s walk away. Martin is always there to set up your sun bed. There are ample beds and plenty of space so no-one rushes down to reserve them. The beach is a little scruffy but only because of natural things like tree roots and leaves, any manmade litter is cleared away before the morning rush. While away a few hours listening to the birds, watch the sea eagle fishing and watch out for the turtles bobbing their heads in an out of the sea, they come in quite closely when the tide is in.

Jackie will be round to take your drink order several times a day. She is missed on her day off because none of the other staff bother to come around. It’s not a problem however since the bar is only a few steps away.

Lunch is at Drifters. There was a good choice of salad, meat, fish, pasta, make-your-own sandwiches, etc as well a burger and chips if that’s your preference. Sweet is always ice cream, a mousse dessert, tinned fruit or cake.

Back to the beach for a snooze, watch the surfers just along the beach and have an afternoon swim. There is quite a change in the sea conditions depending on the tide, the waves go from small ripples to several feet high. Time to Skype home – the free wi-fi was available from our room right down to the beach.

Just in case you are still hungry, tea and sandwiches are ready at 4pm. This is a good time to meet new friends and to watch for the monkeys.

Then back to the room for a shower and a rest before dinner. Dinner is either at Drifters or Rachel’s. Rachel's always seemed to be over-booked for the middle-sitting; you know if there is going to be a long delay when the bar man asks if you want some crisps! Rachel’s is the only restaurant on Wednesday and Sunday evenings; you have to book to say which sitting you want. The evening meals at Drifters were excellent during the first week, succulent meats and plenty of vegetables. Sadly there were a couple of bad days during our second week when the food all looked and tasted like warmed up left-overs from the day before – it was dry, unpleasant and there was very little choice. Fortunately it is now back to it's former excellence.

There was usually some pleasant entertainment at Drifters in the evening. Time for bed and to be lulled to sleep by the chirping of the tree frogs.

There have obviously been a lot of improvements since the current management took over the hotel in December 2011, there’s only a little more to be done to make this a truly great hotel. Despite the minor disappointment with Rachel’s, we had a wonderfully relaxing holiday, we would certainly return to Savannah Beach again and we would recommend the hotel to our friends.

Tips:
Bring deet because there are quite a few mosquitoes
Bring reef shoes
Leave your diet at home
Book early before everyone else realises what a gem this hotel is.

Accommodation – We arrived at the hotel to be greeted by friendly staff that from the word go wanted to make our holiday extra special and our stay at their hotel as stress free and relaxing as possible. Our room 171 was located beachfront and had all the facilities you could require. Very spacious, great mirrors, hairdryer, iron and ironing board, fridge, super king bed and plenty of space for storing clothes. A lovely balcony and a great view being located practically on the beachfront.
Food/restaurants – Breakfast, lunch, afternoon tea and evening dinner were plentiful and lots of different choices and variety each day. Everything was constantly replenished so there was no rush to eat your meals before everything had gone. Lovely to try some of the Bajan dishes and I will never cook my corn on the cob any other way than their way from now on.
Beach bar – Excellent service from Drifters in particular from Jacqueline who insisted we didn’t get up from our beds and were there to relax and enjoy our holiday whilst she brought over whatever drinks we required. Some nice cocktails, rum punch and rum sours.
Entertainment – A good all round mix of entertainment and some really great vocals from some of them. Enjoyed the Manager’s cocktail party, accompanied by music played on steel pans which gave you a real Caribbean holiday feeling.
Beach – Ok so as you may have read from other reviews the beach at the front of the hotel is on a coral reef so small rocks are dotted around; however this does not prevent you from wading in for a cool off in water that is the temperature of a warm bath. Also if you walk to the corner of the beach practically 100 metres away begins a stretch of white sand with stunning views and a lovely stroll. Then there is the free shuttle bus to Carlisle Bay with beautiful white sand and crystal clear water. The bar there is included in your all inclusive package and the hotel will provide a packed lunch which you can store in the fridge at the beach bar. Beach towels are provided by the hotel and renewed every day.
Staff – We never met one member of staff who didn’t say good morning, how are you and could they help you in any way. What a lovely group of people from the Management, bar staff, kitchen staff, grounds men, beach guys, even your security staff. Savannah Beach you should be extremely proud of your entire workforce!!
Island – We hired a car through Virgin and recommend you do this. It took us near enough a full day to drive the whole island but it was so worth it, there are some stunning beaches, beautiful churches and breathtaking scenery to see. There are also some lovely restaurants within a short distance from the hotel and it is really cheap to dine on some excellent food overlooking the sea if you fancy a change for dinner. Wildlife is plentiful. Green monkeys in the hotel trees and playing on the beach, turtles that bob up and down close to the shore. Lots of lovely fish and birds and some beautiful flowers. There is also the racecourse to see across the road, where you can see the horses training and in their stables being groomed, where you can chat to the very friendly staff there. Taxi’s are cheap but there are also local buses which will take you anywhere on the island for 2 dollars.
Would we recommend and return? Most definitely. The hotel totally exceeded our expectations, the weather was fabulous, and the island has so much to offer and see but the biggest asset of Barbados is the Bajan people. The most polite, friendly and helpful nation we have ever met and some really great characters.

This was a beautiful hotel staff were brilliant and couldn't do enough for you the food was excellent .rooms very big clean and lovely veiws .I will definitely go to this hotel again thank you to all staff for a lovely relaxing holiday