Name: Coral Reef Club
Address: Saint James, Barbados, Barbados, 00000
Telephone: +12464222372
Price range: from £0pp (7 nights includes flights and transfers)

Coral Reef Club Hero

I first visited Coral Reef Club 41 years ago as a teenager during a holiday with a friend and his parents. The experience remained in my memory, and I always intended to return, though I didn't expect it would take 41 years.

On this return visit with my wife, I can honestly say that the resort retains the same charm and elegance I experienced many years ago. Our suite was spacious and beautifully decorated, featuring a large balcony with views of the lush gardens and the sea in the distance. The housekeeping service was superb, keeping our room spotless daily and providing a friendly turndown service each evening.

The grounds are immaculate, with gardeners working discreetly to maintain the beauty of the landscape. They were always friendly, greeting us with a hello and a smile. 

The main clubhouse, restaurant and bar are grand and beautifully furnished. Breakfast each morning was superb, with attentive and efficient servers.  We had only positive experiences with all of the restaurant/bar staff, and believe me, there are a lot of them. But a particular mention to Elliot, David and the lovely ladies on the egg station at breakfast who multi-task like no other!

The beach is run like a well oiled machine, Richard looked after us each morning and is one of the friendliest people you could wish to meet. We never had an issue getting a sun bed and Richard advised on which beds got full sun, half sun or shade, so you could decide on the best location to suit your needs. The beach did get busy when we visited in March, but no one creeps down at 6am to put their Union Jack towel on a bed, it's actually a very well organised process: you see a beach guy, choose a bed and they set it up for you whilst you enjoy breakfast. Give them a tip for their hard work and everyone is happy with no stress.

All in all, we had a fantastic stay at Coral Reef Club, the owners know what they are doing and in my opinion should keep doing it. We'd like to return one day but won't leave it another 41 years.

Timeless luxury

We just spent 5 wonderful nights at the Coral Reef Club to celebrate our anniversary.  It was truly a pampering experience.  The grounds are absolutely gorgeous and the service was fantastic.  The food was great - they had an extensive breakfast buffet every morning, and we also had one lunch and one dinner there during our stay (we like to check out restaurants all over the island).  We heard that the bbq buffet night is really nice but we already had plans that night.  The beach in front of the resort is beautiful, and if you walk 5 minutes north along the coast you will find what might be the most spectacular beach for swimming in Barbados (we visited quite a few different beaches during our stay).  The fitness center was also fairly well equipped.  They gave us a lovely surprise for our anniversary, which we really appreciated.  We met some other guests that visit the Coral Reef Club every year, and we certainly understand why - the place is an oasis.  Overall we had a fantastic stay and look forward to our next visit.

Wonderful stay at the Coral Reef Club

This hotel fitted our preference for a quiet, family run boutique hotel.  

It’s biggest asset is the owner and amazing staff. From our reservation right up to our departure, everyone was so welcoming, attentive and helpful. The O’Hara family live on site and regularly socialising with guests in the bar and restaurant, as well as hosting a weekly cocktail party in their home. There is a good range of accommodations scattered around the well-maintained tropical sea-front gardens. We stayed in a spacious and comfy Luxury Junior Suite with a large covered double balcony (one of the few with a full sea view). We asked for a tea tray, which was very handy. We ate in the hotel for all our meals with the exception of a few lunches. The menus were a bit basic and would get repetitive over a longer stay. The buffet breakfast included cold and hot selections, with a separate station for cooked to order eggs, crepes, and waffles. Each week, there are two sumptuous special buffets (BBQ and International-Bajan), featuring prawns, filleted fish, steaks, chicken breasts, chops, burgers, curries, stir-fries, and plenty of yummy desserts. While the Restaurant is not all pretentious, the dinner dress code may be too formal for some. There was a good variety of live evening entertainment. There were plenty of sunbeds, although we a bit surprised and disappointed that there was quite a bit of ‘bed-bagging’, beginning at 7am (if you want quiet and space, ask the beach butler to set you up on grass behind the main sunbathing area). Reception organised some customised excursions for us and our driver-guide Roger was absolutely brilliant (a very personable and careful driver with a spotless car, who happily accommodated some last-minute changes to our itinerary and offered lots of interesting insights into the places we passed).  We also booked our own private boat with the awesome Captain Dwayne - Livity Cruises (see separate review).   

So why the less than perfect score? The beach is short and narrow at high tide, and the entry into the water shelves steeply, with shifting shingle and rocks. The outdoor pool was too chilly for me. The number of returning guests asking for their regular rooms reduces the availability of certain rooms for ‘newbies’, which is not ideal if you have walking difficulties or other requirements or special requests (advise the hotel in advance and hope for the best).

Pretty close to perfect

Coral reef is a fantastic hotel. The staff are incredible and attentive, the grounds are stunning and the food and drinks were all delicious. We loved every minute of our honeymoon.
I’d read reviews that the hotel seems tired and it was mainly older couples. We found this wasn’t the case. Having stayed at other hotels in Barbados, this is by far the best and most the guests were families with teenagers. There was a nice range of guests. 
The beach is lovely but get there early to get the best spot (I think this is the case with all Barbados hotels). There’s also a cocktail party on Monday evenings which was lovely! 
Thanks to the whole team for a wonderful stay!

Perfect honeymoon

As always a wonderful Hotel and holiday ,
The staff are always happy and helpful, the bedrooms and hotel perfect.
A special thanks to Carlos on the beach and Lennie at the water sports .
Will definitely return 
And thankyou to the O’Hara’s
for welcoming my mother and family back again .

Perfect

This comfortable hotel is set in St James. 

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