We arrived on Feb. 28 and I was ecstatic! Why? When I got to the airport the morning of departure I found out that even though my husband had a seat, I was on standby. I just happened to get the last seat on the flight and boy, was I happy. We got to this lovely island to find that our luggage was still in Toronto, but, smart traveller that I have become, we had enough clothing in our carry-ons to see us through for a few days in case it didn't show up (which it did the next day). The delay caused us to miss our shuttle to the resort but the rep immediately called it for us when she heard what happened. At this point all I wanted was a very large rum punch!
Anyways, we got to the resort and were taken care of immediately and from there on in it was bliss. The staff, especially Paula, Tony, the girls on customer service and housekeeping, were all fabulous. We traded smiles for smiles, hellos for hellos and stories of home and previous travels (I was in Barbados when I was 21 and the very same airline lost my luggage then, too! Unfortunately, I didn't see my clothes until 2 months after I'd been home and never did get my suitcase). What I'm trying to say is, you're in a beautiful, warm country full of beautiful and warm people, amazing natural scenery (Harrison's Cave) and a plentitude of things to do, so chill out and enjoy! There will always be negatives because we aren't all the same but I for one choose to dwell on the positive, like the food. All the meals we had were 5 star quality, right down to presentation at the 3 restaurants. The buffets were probably the most flavourful of any that we have ever sampled at other resorts and the lunchtime puddings!!! OMG only the best thing EVER!!!
Yes, she is a bit tired, but I wouldn't want the responsibilities that the caretakers of ANY resort have. Our room on the 3rd floor in Block 4 was like being in a treehouse, especially when we were sitting on our large balcony watching the birds build their nest right in front of us! Our room was large, bright and clean and the air conditioner worked. Very comfortable.
I loved my holiday here, as did my husband and we would return in a second if we could. Any vacation is only as good as you want it to be...DON'T SWEAT THE SMALL STUFF and the rest will take care of itself ;)

I'm surprised to read some of the negative reviews from the beginning of March as that was at the end of our holiday. We've travelled quite widely in the Tropics and this was a good standard hotel - yes 4 star. I think some people are never satisfied! Could I respectfully suggest that a few steps from the lobby was a wonderful beach with Mother Natures own air con - a lovely Carribean beach and lots of loungers in the shade or sun as you wished.
The finest asset of the hotel is the hard working staff - nothing was ever too much trouble and the smiles and jokes will stay with me. Gardeners working in the sun all day, busy waiting and bar staff, thorough cleaning staff, helpful reception staff and management making sure everything is running smoothly (and Val and Malachi who took us out on the Hobie Cats) When our safe decided not to open a member of senior management was there in 5 minutes and the problem was fixed in 20 minutes.Thanks to all of you for making the holiday so good.
Next the Food -the breakfast Buffet was amazing , and the evening a la carte was almost gourmet standards ,particularly in Enids and Dover Grill. The wine was a very palatable table wine - you could buy better quality if you wished.There was lots hot food at the lunch buffet but I personally would have liked more salad choice and some cold meats, with cheese and eggs for vegetarians. We did take packed lunches out several days and these were good. Birds in the restaurant ? Just cover your drinks when you leave the table and don't leave food there. This is the same anywhere in the tropics and I'd rather listen to the waves in the outdoors than be shut inside a freezing air conditioned room.
The room - standard room in block 4. Very quiet,view of the garden. We watched a chameleon on a tree just outside our balcony. Nice big room, lovely soft sheets and comfortable bed. The furniture is looking a little shabby perhaps and a waste bin in the bedroom would be good. Loads of towels in the bathroom .Management - when upgrading a grab rail for the bath would be good, also a detachable shower for personal hygiene. I wonder why there was no shower gel provided? That's the one thing I wouldn't bring away with me.
Unless you want a sea view or a suite I wouldn't think it necessary to upgrade -the standard room was fine.We had a fridge too.
The beach was lovely but it was mostly too rough to swim in the sea -get the bus to Carlisle Bay.
Management again please note - my only criticism of this hotel was the lack of public toilets (restrooms) 2 womens cubicles and one mens plus the usual served the beach, the main pool , the bars and the main restaurants. This is really not enough! They were so busy the lady was not able to get in to clean them on a regular basis so they were sometimes less than pleasant.
The entertainment was pleasant but not inter-active. Lovely singing ,jazz and steel pans but really only background music and a bit boring after 2 weeks.
All in all a good hotel but I am sorry to hear it will become couples only - there was a wide age range when we were there and we loved watching the children enjoying themselves. I hope there is a big enough market for this type of hotel and there will be no job losses.

We stayed at this resort for two nights after a Seabourn cruise. It was a very disappointing property.

We got in at around 9:30 AM off the ship and no one was allowed to check into a room until 3:00 PM. We finally got one at 3:30. It had been a long wait in an un-air conditioned hotel to get the room. There was no empathy from the front desk. There was a lot of front desk help but they sat at three different desks doing nothing until check-in time.

Our room had a sea view through a stand of trees and palms. It was a pleasant view but the room was dirty. The floors felt grimy when walked on and the room had only one glass for the two of us. We had to request another glass and the housekeeper seemed surprised that we needed another one. One day we asked the housekeeper to replace our towels and she was shocked we meant all of them. Our room had only one beach towel also but we were able to get more at the pool.

The food was good and certainly there was enough of it. The problem we had with the meals was that we were dive bombed by birds all the time. We watched the birds walking along the tables after they were set and drinking out of the milk pitchers and water glasses. Yuk!!! The help didn't seem to be bothered at all about this.

The bar served good drinks - the wine left a lot to be desired.

We would never stay at this hotel again!! It was expensive and offered little for the money.

Our annual winter getaway was to the almond Casuarina beach resort (couples Barbados) Feb 24th-Mar 3rd.

Check in: we arrived at 9:30 PM, provided with our package and directed to the buffet restaurant where we were able to grab a bite to eat. They tagged our luggage and when we arrived at out room the luggage came about 5 minutes later pain free yay!!!

Room: adequate, king bed, decent balcony, view of pools and gardens(standard).
Furniture in need of replacement but it did served its purpose for the week. We had to add cardboard to the drawers to keep them from opening up. lol no big deal

Food: above satisfactory in my opinion. seriously people, if you can't find something decent to eat at this resort you need to lower your expectations or stay home. I will include a picture of husbands breakfast daily. He gained major. lol

Pools: there are two main pools and a couple of small ones scattered throughout the resort. Always well maintained. Swim up is at the main pool but it’s in shade. You get a little cool from the ocean breeze in the late afternoon. Had to yell a couple times to get service. But hey so what they came right away.

Beach: OMG..... beyond beautiful . Be careful the waves can be large and rough at times. We saw a few people get rolled and complaining later about sore ribs and bruises.
You can walk either way on the beach for a bit. You are very close to Dover beach as well but the beach for the Almond is Maxwell. Of course all beaches are public so you are welcome to go to any of them. We checked out a few other resorts and were invited in to check them out. To the right of the resort you are next to Turtle beach resort. To the left you are next to the Dover Beach hotel.

Excursions: We didn't book any, just ventured out on our own. Went to Bridgetown shopping via public transit. 2 dollars per way. it is very chaotic to say the least in Bridgetown. Had lunch at the marina where prices were decent. Beer was 3 dollars for a bottle of banks.
Also took numerous walks around the gap area for shopping. Very safe and lots of shops, cafes and fine dining options. Prices were better here than in Bridgetown.

WIFI: free at the Calypso Lounge at the Casuarina. wired in the rooms for 20.00 a day.

No this is not a 5 star but in my opinion I think it’s a solid 4. The staff were amazing and we never had to ever wait for anything as they aim to please, trust me....

The only negative I would say is that they didn't have enough entertainment to keep us all happy. Hopefully that will improve with the couples Brand and maybe get a disco or something more exciting then what they had.

Currently there are no renovations going on at this resort. Just tree trimming etc.... they told me that your vacation wouldn't be interrupted in any way during you stay before the transfer over. All the staff seem happy so I don't think there are any issues with people being let go.


Misc: No fridge in room, you can ask for one and get no charge.
bottle water is not provided, but they had fresh water all over the resort that you can fill up bottles.
Dover mart is a short walk where you can purchase water, pop, beer, snacks.
Your coffee maker is in the bottom of the main dresser door.
You can make your reservations for dinner any time at customer service.
Lots of beach loungers so you will always get one, pool or ocean

If your seriously thinking of booking or have already booked, you will be happy. I feel the price we paid for this resort was well worth it. We love love loved it!!!!

Happy travels ya'll. I hope this helps you. But if you have any further questions, feel free to ask away.