Just returned from a wonderful holiday at crystal cove. We had a one bed suite, which was lovely and very spacious. I think the size of the resort is just right, the staff were excellent, the food was very good (much better than I anticipated), with good choices, the wines, beers, cocktails were excellent. The beach is good, although I would recommend swim shoes as it is very stony initially (I am grateful that I had read this on trip advisor and had taken shoes). There were always plenty sunbeds and bringing drinks etc to the beach was a nice touch. The sea was not as calm as I expected and I think it was unusually choppy during our stay, however, we did go out on the Hobie Cat 3 or 4 times, which is great fun, and also used the Water Taxi to visit the Colony Club and to have a general trip up the coast. I wasn't keen on birds in the restaurant, but it didn't seem to bother most people. All in all, highly recommended, we would definitely rebook and would recommend to friends.

First time at Crystal Cove and wasn't at all disappointed. Both restaurants provided excellent food with a good choice of starters, main courses and desserts. The Beach bar for lunch was excellent with freshly grilled chicken and fish. Good cocktails, wine, beer, spirits and fruit punches. All the staff were very pleasant and tried very hard to please everybody which is sometimes very difficult! When the tide is out you can walk for about half an hour along the bay but swimming is difficult in places because of the rocks near the shore. The best place for a swim is to the left of where the water taxi etc. came into shore. The sun beds were excellent with an awning over the top so plenty of shelter from the sun. Again service on the beach was a delight with trays of drinks, tubs of fruit and lollipops just to keep you going through the day - what more could you ask for! Bedroom was fabulous with a nice balcony with two comfortable chairs overlooking the sea. We met some lovely people young and old and will definitely go back again - hopefully next year.

I hate to see birds in restaurants. There weren't that many in Reflections, but a little better maintenance of the netting would have kept even those out. In my view, the netting should be replaced with double glazing to provide a fully enclosed and air-conditioned restaurant, making it worthy of the excellent and beautifully presented food. There were plenty of fans and you needed to sit very close to one to keep anything like cool. Admittedly, it was hot when we stayed, even for Barbados. Wear loose-fitting short-sleeved cotton shirts/blouses.

The cocktails were probably the best we've ever encountered at an all-inclusive hotel. They were all mixed individually and served by efficient and friendy staff. As usual for AI, you shouldn't take too much notice of the brands on bottle labels. Harvey's Bristol Cream was definitely not the sherry my wife knows and loves! I have to say, though, that the Famous Grouse was better than I expected.

The rock pools are attractive but have limited space for sunbeds, which you'll find aplenty on the beach, albeit with the usual competition for a parasol. The beach itself is good, but better at the Tamarind, where access to the sea is also easier.

This was our eighth of ninth holiday in Barbados and it probably won't be too long before we go again. When we do, we'll definitely consider returning to Crystal Cove.

This is a lovely hotel. If you like a big concrete rectangle it won't suit you as the rooms are arranged village-style around the gardens and beach and the external woodwork is painted in pretty two-tone pastel colours. We did not like the location of the room we were initially allocated and, after one night, we were helpfully and courteously offered a different room. The rooms are kept immaculately clean. We loved the relaxing daytime beach service - cold drinks brought to your sun-lounger and fruit salad mid-morning whilst listening to the fall of the waterfall into the lower pool one side and the plash of waves onto the beach on the other. This is a great hotel if you like water sports. Romeo and his team run a really efficient but friendly service. Thanks to TC for helping me to get up water-skiiing again after quite a few years. We also thoroughly enjoyed taking out a Hobie cat every day after our initial trip with Captain Neville who got us back into sailing. We also did some kayaking and going out on the banana boat. This is all included - fantastic value. We enjoyed the food - we ate twice a day in Reflections which offers a four course a la carte meal at both lunch and dinner (plus cheese and port if you like). Food is more than as good as you'd expect for what you pay - blackened marlin, seared tuna, fried calamari and prawns in a spicy marinara sauce, chicken liver pate which is a mouthful of wonderful mousse, great pea and mint soup, pork medallions in a red wine jus with peach chutney. People moaning about the standard of food only need to reflect on how much it costs to eat in a restaurant overlooking the Caribbean on the west coast of Barbados. You can go a few doors up the road to The Cliff where a meal for 2 with a modest bottle of wine will cost you about UK£250. The staff in Reflections are so friendly if you engage them in conversation. We won't forget Dawna, who often looked after us in Relections, and her wonderful smile. Uleesha was amazing in the bars with her efficient ability to prepare about 6 cocktails at once. We were very taken by how many people we met had stayed before. We can understand why. To date we have never revisited a hotel but I think that we may be going back to Crystal Cove. We're already saving ...