Crystal Cove by Elegant Hotels

We have been to Crystal Cove so many times over the years but had not been for 12 years. We were not aware when we booked that it had been taken over by Marriot and after reading so many poor reviews we were very close to changing hotels. However, as we were only staying 5 nights before going to the South Coast for another 6, we decided to stick with our plans. The only regret we had was not staying there for longer! We arrived 21st December and had the warmest of welcomes and our first impressions, whilst sipping our rum punch that we were given on arrival, was that it looked amazing and pretty much as we remembered it from our last visit. Our ocean view room was very clean and comfortable, great bed too, and we always had fresh towels and the housekeepers done a great job. The food throughout our stay was really good and Christmas Day lunch and dinner were exceptional and far exceeded our expectations so well done to all the staff who worked incredibly hard to give us all a wonderful time. We also had the pleasure of meeting once again several staff members we got to know over the years and it was great seeing them all again. All the staff are so welcoming and friendly and just go that extra mile to make your holiday special. A big thankyou to Stephen for his wonderful beach service, always there with a drink or ice lolly and Darren in Reflections who made the best omelettes in the Caribbean! Also a special thanks to Hazel, Donna, Kathy, Tanya, Fabian, Sherri Ann and Juliet and apologies for those I may have missed out. It was really lovely seeing you all again. The whole team at Crystal Cove gave us a very memorable Christmas for all the right reasons and we hope to be able to return once again after the refurbishment.

I am a Marriott Bonyoy gold member so I try as much as possible to patronize its properties. I have been visiting Crystal cove hotel since covid when hotels were promoting staycations for locals. I have done several day passes there (almost 1 a year in November since 2020 ) and bought them as gifts for family members and we also spent a weekend there. I did a day pass today and my review is based on this Areas for improvement when I arrived today there were several people waiting to be checked in so I sat and waited patiently in the lobby with them ; what I noticed however was that the young man welcoming the guests went to everyone except me - offering them a welcome drink while they were waiting to be checked in - this included going to the people who were sitting next to me. I don't want to fathom a guess about why he didn't think it fit to offer me a drink or even to tell me welcome to Crystal Cove Hotel when I entered as was done with the others . I found during covid when they needed locals to patronize them to keep their business alive they were more friendly when you arrived. Eventually I asked another staff member if I could go and book my sailing with the hobbie while I waited to be checked in as I was doing a day pass so my time was limited. She said "oh that is why you were seated here? you don't need to check in at the front desk for the day pass and she assisted me to get checked in. This time around there seemed to be some disconnect among the front desk people about the cost of a day pass with a room; I bought one in October 2024 for a relative as a birthday gift but when I called today to do the same a young man told us that you have to pay for the room separately and for the day pass separately and gave us a cost which would have totaled of 690 BDS; I told him this was strange as I had bought one for my son just a couple months ago and this was not the case; he said this was the hotel new policy as of a few days ago; upon leaving I asked someone at the front desk about this policy - in summary she said she didn't know about it but told me they had no fixed price for a day pass with a room today's options for protein at lunch were fish, pork, burgers- Note that some people may not eat pork and maybe allergic to seafood; No chicken; no vegetarian options (chickpeas, hummus etc) The positives The restaurant and bar staff are very friendly food is very tasty property is clean you have pool and beach options for swimming water sports staff are very friendly and helpful

We were originally booked into Waves Hotel with British Airways but discovered that Shisho restaurant was still not open after refurb.BA offered Cristal Cove as a replacement.This is not a pop at the staff there who were fantastic for the 2 hours we stayed.This place is scheduled for a refit soon and it is shocking. Room 206 was like a tired American seedy 1* Hotel.No power to the safe,beach towels with holes in,stained floors,filthy beige curtains,broken tiles around the sink and floor,mastic bodged everywhere in the bathroom,,i could go on.Its embarresing for the staff to have to try an appease customers as they know too well what an awful place this is.Marriott Hotel management need to hang their heads in shame putting the workforce through this.We accept that the Carribean can be shabby chic at times but there is no excuse for this.We luckily got back into Waves which has had a refurb and Shisho is now open and this place is AMAZING by comparison.Take my advise,i cant state strongly enough,DO NOT stay at Crystal Cove get a move asap.Again i feel soo much for the staff there having to try and be upbeat although to their credit they do.

Please ignore the negative comments, yes the decor and a few other things are tired and need updating hence the reason they are closing in February for a year's renovation. I don't know where to start from the moment you walk in you are made to feel welcome your greeted with rum cocktails and a warm welcoming smile, infacr that goes for all the staff, they are amazing, friendly happy and helpful. The restaurants are kept clean at all times and the food is amazing, I can't say we had a bad meal, the drinks are all premium brands. The beach is raked clear and sunbeds wash daily. Twice a day there is a bar service, ice lolly and ice Creams serviced at your sunbed. If your looking for a glass boat trip see Dwayne on the beach, lovely friendly chap with local knowledge. Hiring a car is a must if you want to see the island at leisure, its a easy drive and locals are happy to help you. Oistins is another must on a Friday night, average for cost 40bbd. So once again another amazing holiday at Crystal Cove we will be back once you reopen. Thank you to all the staff that work so hard to make this happen for us 5* plus

Stayed at Crystal Cove for 10 days in November. We are a couple in our early sixties and have traveled extensively throughout the Caribbean for 20 years. We had originally booked "The House" but the renovations were not complete so they moved us to Crystal Cove. The hotel is definitely in need of an extensive renovation, which I understand is due to start in March of 2025. We were in a two story room that was pretty unique, with the bedroom upstairs and the main living area on the ground floor. The room suited our needs but had a few issues that we overcame ourselves. Note that the rooms closest to the road (as ours was) start getting loud road noise at around 4am. Our room had three closets with 4 closet rods to hang clothes on, but a grand total of only 4 coat hangers. It's hard to believe they couldn't get hangers from some of the sister resorts that were being renovated. The mini-bar was stocked daily and everything in the room worked properly. Being a very small resort the buffet selection is limited, but there was always a decent selection and the food quality was great. The dinner reservation system is brilliant. The menus for the evening meals are there when you show up for breakfast, and you simply review the menu and let the person at the breakfast buffet know where and when you want dinner, simple and easy. If it rains only one restaurant will be open (the other is an outdoor restaurant). Dinners were exceptionally good. The big downfall for this resort for me is the beach. With the exception of one small area that has been cleared for wading, the beach is downright dangerous. Below the surface of that beautiful looking ocean is nothing but large boulders and coral. It's very difficult to enter and exit the water without a lot of painful drama. The chairs on the beach look pretty bad, but once you throw towel on them they look new again. We did several excursions; shopping in Bridgetown, a tour of Harrison's Cave, snorkeling, and the Friday night Oistin's fish fry. These were all arranged for us by Celeste at the tour desk, who did a fantastic job. Definitely take a trip to Harrison's Cave, it's incredible. But I can't emphasize strongly enough just how bad the Oistin's fish fry is. Skip it, it's terrible. Finally, as many other reviews have stated, it's the staff at this resort who make it a great place to stay. If an improvement to the beach is included in the renovations we would consider returning.