Bougainvillea Beach Resort

I chose Bougainvillea because of the reviews. I read through a bunch of them. It mainly ready the bad reviews first just to get a feel. And I KNOW, you can’t please everyone not matter what you do for them. But being a Hotel manager myself for a little over 20 years. I know how to decipher between the reviews.

With that being said I thought this hotel was the best option for my family and I. It had all the amenities we needed from, onsite guests laundry, a kids game room, a swim up bar, and the kitchenette! This hotel is minutes from a grocery store which was perfect!

Upon arrival, the views, and lobby were perfect. They welcomed us with drinks and a warm smile! All started off perfect. Then it all went SOUTH FAST! After the first night out AC went out. Not an issue, I figured they’d fix it fast. But it ended up being a big job so they offered us a new room. Thankfully we didn’t move into that room completely because my daughter woke me up around 3AM stating there were BUGS in the bed her and her sister were sleeping in.

Once I hear that, I jumped up and checked just to make sure it wasn’t bed bugs. And YUP, exactly them. I took videos and pictures for evidence. We got up and went back to our old room. We stayed up because that room was hot. We had the ceiling fans going and the balcony door open. Thanks for the ocean it gave us a good breeze.

I reached out to Expedia to see if we can move or get a refund. They submitted the request but the manager wasn’t in. When the morning time came, I reached out to the manager to inform them that we wanted to check out because of this. Ms. Maggie or Margie (can’t remember the name) informed me. And I quote, “WE DONT have bed bugs. You’re in the Caribbean it’s could be any kind of bugs!” Mind you I’m a hotel manager myself and I know what they look like. I even Googled it again just to be sure. They were bed bugs!!

So I tried to get them to refund me so we my and my kids could leave. This trip was a trip but my oldest high school graduation and my youngest daughter’s birthday! So I wanted it to be special and it wasn’t due to them denying the refund. So we had no choice but to stay. The AC couldn’t be fixed so they gave us a 3rd room! Before we moved, I did a 3 point check of the room. Lifted the sheets checked the corners of the mattress and all. Everything was good. So we moved.

After that they offered us lunch/dinner… Not the best but we had not choice since I spent thousands on this trip. Had to make the best. While in the new room. The door lock had to be reset 3 times! Once the Housekeeper let us in. The other times we had to walk to the front desk to get up. And our room was WAY in the back corner of the resort…

Ordered lunch from the restaurant and my wings weren’t cooked the way I requested. The flying fish sandwich was dry, long waits for the meal when the restaurant only had two tables seated… must’ve been staff doing more talking then working… asked to have my wings removed from bill and they didn’t!

Overall, only plus were some of the staff members, the steak frites, and the amenities! I hate that I had to write this review, but I wouldn’t go back nor would I suggest this place… The owners need to train management better or something. To not offer better service recovery or a refund is crazy to me. But maybe it’s their way in Barbados. But, beautiful island. I would go back just not to Bougainville!

The hotel was very nice. We had a suite with a kitchen which was great because I have a ton of food allergies and the resturants onsite did not have much to choose from. We ate at both (there are 2). Coffee wasnt that great so I stuck to having tea. We went to Massey's grocery store and stocked up on snacks, water and breakfast foods. The prices are average prices you would find in any grocerty store. The resturant is overpriced and the food is mid. My husband ended up with a stomach issue after having a hamburger for lunch. So we just decided not to eat onsite after that experience. The hotel staff were nice, some not so much, very moody. There really isnt much to do at the hotel. They did keep the rooms and grounds very clean and the groundskeeper did a steller job with taking care of the property. Seemed like by 8:00 p.m. they would have a singer and music but it wasnt very livley at all. Kind of dull and boring. They have cab service whrere the hotel will set it up for you. $15 literally any where you go. I was highly dissapointed in the beach. The water was brown and full of seaweed. We have done pretty much all the islands and I was really bored. So we went to Savvy on the Bay. Much more livelier and $20USD for an umbrella and 2 chairs. and tons of food trucks. The water was amazing and excatly what I expected of an Island. They do however start taking the umbrella's down at 5:30 p.m. which was a surprise to us. That was probably the best part of the whole trip. We took the cab there and they said you dont have to pay now but you can pay when we pick you up. Which turned out to be a $70 cab ride. Ostins Fish Friday was cool. Another $15USD there and $15USD back. The food line to Pat's was over a 2 hour wait so we decided to try another stall, there are plenty. They had live entertainment. A Micheal Jackson and Bobby Brown impersonator. And once they are finished on stage they walk around with a bucket for donations. There is really no place to sit because it gets so croweded. Went to St. Lawrence Gap. Not sure if it was dead because it was a Sunday, but it was nothing like what I expected it to be. I was kind of dissapointed. Also, the main resturant does not start serving until 7:00 a.m. as an early riser, it would have been nice to at least get a cup of coffee/tea and sit out on the beach to watch the sunrise. You do not need to rush to grab a lounger at the beach of pool, because it did not seem to crowd like most resorts do so that was a plus. Also went to Chevettes. Another 1 wait for an order and it was mid. Definitley a trip if you want to relax, but other than that not much else to do.