The Crane Resort

My family and I (three kids, ages 9, 11, and 15) just returned from a week at the Crane. The resort was beautiful, the view of the ocean from our patio was gorgeous, and we enjoyed lounging at the pools and eating at Zen, Azure, and The Carriage House. The kids also loved the cats and monkeys they saw around the property. Anytime we wanted to travel out from the resort or book an activity, the staff was very helpful and attentive. So all in all, this was a good trip. However, we felt that the hotel was probably more of a 3 star for the 3 reasons below and would likely choose somewhere else (on the west coast of the island - calmer beaches, less wind, less seaweed) if we returned: (1) The most negative side of the trip was the beach at the hotel. It was not usable for the duration of the stay due to the sargassum (note that besides being an issue in the ocean, the resort did not clean up the beach up either) and the wind (there was a red flag each day so the ocean was too turbulent to test out even besides the seaweed). As others have noted, there is a shuttle offered by the hotel but between our work schedules (yes we had to work on vacation) and the Easter weekend (the shuttle did not run everyday) this did not work for our family. We could have paid for a taxi (about $90 US round trip) but again with our schedules it just did not work well. So we only went to the beach on the days we arranged for an activity. As we are a beach over pool family, this was not ideal, but I did see from the reviews here that this was likely to be an issue - I just didn’t realize that this is apparently an issue most of the year from what we heard. (2) The other negative of the hotel was how slow the service was by the pool and at the restaurants. Drinks and food were just fine (the kids really loved Zen!) but it would take forever and the resort was fairly empty. For example, it took about 45 minutes to get a drink at Zen and drinks by the pool could be had about once every hour and a half. (3) The housekeeping was a bare minimum. For example, there was a large dirt stain that got on the master bed - this bed was remade each day with the stain front and center. Dirty towels would be taken without replacement. We felt these issues were minor overall but I mention them because when combined, this led to our impression that this was probably more of a 3 star resort. One other point about the hotel - there is ATM on site but we were told at check-in that most people have an issue with it and they can exchange cash for us at the front desk for a 10% fee instead. In fact, the ATM never worked for us and it appeared that it does not work for most people as well. We felt it would’ve been better if there was no ATM at all as doing it this way just seemed a bit off and 10% is a hefty fee! When you’re offsite, you can ask your cab driver to stop at an ATM elsewhere and the fee will be much lower. The best parts of our trip were the excursions. We took a day tour of the island with Ezra Quinn who was recommended in other posts. He was fantastic - the trip was perfectly tailored to our family and he would offer to take photos of us throughout. He was super responsive while arranging the tour as well (and drove us to Oistin’s Friday Night also!). You can reach him at 246-234-8176. We also did a private catamaran excursion with Dreams Catamaran and Captain Mick and Hanjie (apologies I am probably misspelling his name!!) (arranged through the hotel) and it was amazing! The boat was beautiful! They took us snorkeling in Carlisle Bay and then for lunch at a more remote spot up the coast (where there were also plenty of fish to spot). Again, would highly recommend! Finally, outside the hotel we ate at Dis Old House (great atmosphere and great food), Le Shack (just across the street and you can arrange them to drive you - really good drinks and food and super service!), and at Cafe Luna (lovely rooftop dinner overlooking the ocean - it was windy and service was slow but food and view were great). Most taxi drives cost us about $90 US round trip for a family of 5. Enjoy Barbados!

We stayed with our two young children for a week in late March. This was our first time to Barbados. I had read a number of reviews before arriving so I knew that the seaweed was going to be a problem during our stay. Fortunately our kids are young enough that it didn't really detract them from playing at the beach. The waves though were quite rough. The east side of the island, where The Crane is located, is more quiet/peaceful/less crowded but the water is known for being a lot rougher. We took a dinner cruise (called Cool Runnings - highly recommend) to the west side of the island (the "Platinum Coast") where the water was extremely calm. But that is also a very populated area with tons of tourists and I believe overall more expensive, so it's just a matter of what you are looking for. The resort is really beautiful and the weather was superb during our stay. A few notes: 1) We had wonderful experiences with Lana in the General Store - so incredibly kind to our kids. Also Marquita, one of the people who works as a concierge there. And most of all Stefanie, who is basically similar to an Uber driver and you can hire out from the resort. Our daughter got an ear infection while we were there and I can't tell you how Stefanie went above and beyond to get us around the island and get the help she needed. We ended up hiring her a few more times throughout our stay to drive us and she was amazing. 2) Rooms were lovely and we had no issues with housekeeping not coming as some other reviews have stated 3) Something very bizarre to me as someone who has traveled extensively...the placement of the main pool at this resort is terrible. It sits too low and you cannot see the ocean from the pool/pool chairs. Everywhere else I have stayed in my life has taken maximum advantage of the ocean view and this place did the opposite. There are some smaller pools with better views of the ocean but the main pool really misses on this. 4) As far as food, we have mostly good things to report. But I do have to say we had an absolutely miserable experience with Bar 1887. Over an hour for a cheeseburger, we went up 2x to ask about status and the staff there were so incredible rude I don't have the words to describe it. One of them literally put her hand in my husband's face and did the motion to "shoo" him away the second time he asked about it. Also a male that was working behind the counter who was very rude. We had eaten there for light bites earlier in the week and the service was not particularly good then, either, so we should have learned our lesson. I do have to say that the Director of Food and Beverage got involved and we didn't end up paying for the cheeseburger. Service was really slow at the Grove (near the beach) as well - we waited over an hour for lunch and the fries still came out raw. Otherwise, we had pleasant experiences on site and also went to La Shack across the street from the resort (great food!)

I've had a great time hanging out at this resort. The food is remarkable and the people who work here are down to earth and very professional. It's been a great vacation for my family. I have met some great staff and one of my favorites has been Shakenya. She has been a great source for local travel and always checks in to make sure our vacation is going well. High marks for Zen and Azure!

What an ambassador for your resort. Donna’s smile is the first thing you see upon arriving after a long travel day. She makes you feel like coming home for a visit and very welcoming. She set a high bar for all that followed her after you check in. Throughout the week she was always there to make you feel at home and comfortable, she went out of her way to ensure our needs and request were met We will be back in large part because of Donna. Give that beautiful lady a raise.

I love love the Crane. Second time here and yea its truly hard to stay anywhere else on the island. From check in and all throughout stay...IMPRESSIVE. Shout out to Dale the supervisor/manager at the bar...he is amazing and love how he takes care of not only guest but his employees. Thank you Crane for exceeding all my expectations.