Treasure Beach

Recently my husband and I vacationed at Treasure Beach. From the moment we were picked up at the airport by Hubert's Taxi Service, we were in vacation mode. Upon arrival at TB, Hermanius greeted us warmly and after completing required paperwork, we were shown to a lovely room overlooking the ocean. The room was clean, the towels bright white, the king bed comfortable and refrigerator stocked. We had a small balcony where we enjoyed our morning coffee, the ocean view and the majestic mahogany tree. The staff was incredibly welcoming and friendly and made all the difference in helping us feel at home and that nothing was too much to ask. The food was very good, the variety -- either menu or buffet -- was tasty and beautifully presented. There was nightly entertainment that was also very good, especially one young woman (Tiffany) who was such high caliber that she could have held her own at a cabaret in NYC. Whether it was a daily walk on the beautiful beach or a refreshing dip in the pool -- we relaxed knowing that we could take out a jet ski or a paddle board if we were so inclined. Bottom line, Treasure Beach is a top notch Marriott destination.

Overall, an excellent holiday. Well done to the team working at the hotel who have created a lovely relaxing environment. The one Moan We will start with our one major gripe. Many tour operators and the Marriott website boast about the multiple hotel dine-around programme (with sister Marriott hotels). When we were in Barbados (Feb/Mar 25), all but one other hotel was shut for renovation! So much for the 15 restaurant dine around option! We had the one at Treasure Beach and the pair at Waves. As for websites, Virgin Holidays, TUI, Marriott, SHAME ON YOU for mis-leading customers. [Well done to SAGA holidays (who we didn’t use) who clearly pointed out the renovation programmes and what would be available.] The Room The room was newly renovated and comfortable with good aircon and comfortable beds. The turndown service was odd as it happened a couple of times only. Plenty of storage space and a good hot bath and shower. Would be nice if the bath had a shower attachment, so you could sit in the bath and wash your hair, rather than having to use the shower. But only a minor comment. The Food Breakfast is a buffet but is supplemented with a small but good a la carte menu. Typically, we ordered something off the menu and if we were peckish, grabbed something from the buffet. Lunch was from the menu which had about 10 items to chose from, four items changed daily so plenty of choice. Evening meal was five nights a la carte (changing options every night) and two nights buffet (Weds and Sat). Guests aware of this could then arrange which nights to dine elsewhere. The buffet was OK, a la carte more interesting. There were only three choices for the evening meal (Meat/Fish/Vegetarian) I would like to see a few more choices added which would give more variety, and stop that feeling of having to choose something because there is nothing else on offer. However, overall we were very pleased with the food which was excellently cooked and presented. There were sometimes waits for food as it is prepared fresh in the kitchen. The serving team are attentive and fun, but some do rely on memorising your choices (and any variations e.g. “no cheese please”) which we found were occasionally forgotten. The Clientelle I guess it changes, but we had around 70% Brits, 15% USA, 15% Europe. Age demographic is definitely towards the retirement end! Its is, after all, an adults only hotel, so no families. The Pool/Sea Wall As mentioned by a few others, we had the problem of people getting up before dawn and reserving bed-chairs from the pool/on the sea front. And the nationality of these people was…..English! (So, time to stop blaming other nationalities!!). The pool itself was small but was cleaned every day and was a nice temperature. The sea front chairs do get the odd splash from the waves on the other side, so be aware! The Bar and Evening Entertainment The Bar was open pretty much all the time, with a good selection of cocktails. Beer was from a can (unlike Waves which was draught), standard wines served were Pino Grigio, Cabernet Sauvignon, Prosecco and a nice dry Rose. It’s a small hotel, so you never wait that long to be served. The Bar is a focal point and you often will meet and chat with folks over a drink before/after meals. Most nights there was the typical entertainer format of an individual singing/playing along to backing tracks. Some were better than others, the young girl on the Wednesday (we didn’t catch her name) was outstanding. Paynes Bay Beach The beach can be challenging to get to at high tide – unfortunately some of the sand has been recently washed away and for an averagely able person, it’s a case of scrabbling up and down over a concrete wall and up over some large boulders. Less able bodied folks won’t be able to do this, but can wait for low tide. There were no hotel chairs on the beach. The sea area is sensibly broken up into dedicated swimming and boating areas. There are currents pulling you around so be sensible and you will be fine. We swam in the sea every day, sometimes more than once. There were a few things to see when snorkelling although the sea current does pull the sand around making it a bit murky on some days.

We went to this hotel a few times back in the late 80’s. It was wonderful then. As with everything these days we can’t say the same now. It was fine for what we needed for a couple of days prior to a cruise. I’m sure for those on a package deal it was good value being all inclusive, if not, it was over-priced -which seems the case for most of the hotels on this stretch.

We have just returned from Treasure Beach where we had a wonderful relaxing holiday. The staff here are absolutely superb - well done Marriott for picking the best of the best from your hotels which are currently closed. We had our favourites, but to be fair every member of staff we encountered was friendly and welcoming. Refurbishment is very nice, in keeping with the style of the building and the rooms are nicely appointed in soft greys and taupe colours with white. Bed was super comfy and the mix of aircon with ceiling fan kept us at a perfect temperature for sleeping. Bathroom too, nicely appointed with shower cubicle and a bath kept beautifully clean by housekeepers daily. Our shower did have a few marks on its ceiling which looked like mould (possibly from a leak above) which we did highlight to them and shouldn’t have been there after only two months being open. Pool area small but plenty of Sun loungers for everyone and once the early morning bed baggers had gone home after our first few days, there was no rush to reserve sun beds. Sun beds were new and a bit different from the usual padded ones, but the advantage was that they dried very quickly after the inevitable Caribbean showers and you weren’t sitting in a soggy lounger for long. Towels were plentiful throughout the day for you to help yourself. Beach was easily accessible right by the hotel or further along towards Sandy Lane too. Food was really good indeed for an all inclusive. Breakfast was a buffet plus some a la carte items to order. Lunch changed halfway through our stay from buffet to an a la carte menu, some items changing daily, which was lovely. Dinner was a la carte for 5 nights and two nights buffet but they are looking to reduce the buffet to one night only. A la carte dinners were 4 courses and beautifully presented - we didn’t have a meal we didn’t like. There were just a few things for us that would have made it perfect: 1) a mirror in the room other than the only one in the bathroom 2) not running out of Sauvignon Blanc! 3) not allowing smokers to smoke so close to the outside dining area and the bar We would love to return and can definitely recommend if you like a small low key resort where everyone is friendly and the service is exceptional.

We stayed for 11 nights, Feb’25. This was our first time in Barbados and also first time at an AI resort. Overall we had a great holiday and I’m sure we will return. The hotel has been nicely refurbished and was very clean in our guest room and public areas. The staff are exceptional throughout always greeted you with a smile and took the time to chat. Being totally honest we now know that AI is not for us. In normal circumstances the other hotels in the group are available for alternative dining options but due to the ongoing renovation programme the only alternative option available was at Waves. The Treasure Beach food at breakfast & dinner was perfectly acceptable but just a very limited menu. Other than the night it was a buffet (which wasn’t exactly extensive either with choices) the main course dinner options comprised a choice of 1 fish dish, 1 meat & 1 vegetarian. All well presented and tasty but just not enough choices. We decided to eat out on a few nights simply because the offering was so limited. The pool area is ok, the poolside loungers are reasonably comfy but for this standard of hotel I think that the previous mattress loungers are more appropriate. The outdoor area that is set up with loungers along the sea-wall is actually very neglected and really lets the hotel down. This is a lovely area to sit in but the state of it is disappointing. A Guest Relations gentleman happened to ask me one day how our stay was going and I said very well however just look around you, “do you think this is an acceptable image for the hotel. To be fair the debris has almost certainly been left by guests however the same empty water bottles and litter has been here for 6 days so clearly no staff are taking the time to sweep/clean/tidy the area, they couldn’t have missed the debris for so many days”. Next day it had been cleared thankfully. It looks like that same area was abandoned when the hotel reopened as the ‘wall’ and landscaping including the pebble border & small sandy area need some attention/finishing off. A couple of days work for a good tradesperson would have it sorted! Marriott/Treasure Beach - just a little bit more effort to make this an even greater resort.