Royal Glitter Bay Villas

My husband and I have been coming to Glitter Bay for many years and we were both looking forward to this year after covid. We had an email in November saying about the dispute at Glitter which has been going on for many years but had obviously now come to a head sadly. The email listed areas we were unable to use, swimming pool, bar & eating area and designated seating, we were offered a full refund but obviously the flights had been booked and to get another apartment at the busiest time of the year in Barbados was going to be very difficult, so we decided to still continue with our holiday. On arrival we were given a form to sign to say we except the rules. In our apartment we had separate yellow towels to take to the beach and on our first day on the beach we also had separate yellow sun beds. We were told also because we were unable to use the bar for any drinks at all we had two beach attendants to accommodate us ( it did say limited ) The beach attendants were very accommodating but all they could provide us with was bottled water, coke and Banks beer. My husband and I felt for all the staff including the housekeepers who were all very attentive but unfortunately their hands were tied because of the situation. My Husband is a non swimmer and we had a couple of days when the red or yellow flags were up so with no pool we retired to our apartment just to cool off. Too our surprise the security was very top heavy particularly around the pool area checking that any one with yellow towels were not using it ( very disappointing) We would like to say the way as a paying guest we were pulled into this awful dispute was very unprofessional and unfortunately we will not be returning to Gliiter Bay. We will be returning to Barbados because we love the country & the people who live & work there.

Having been coming to Glitter Bay for nearly 20 years with a group of friends we were looking forward to our stay as always, unfortunately 5 weeks before flying we get an e mail to say that there was a legal problem between owners which would affect our stay, there not being a lot of time to change our plans we thought it wont be that bad and went hoping it would not deter from us having a great time as usual, how wrong we were. Our apartments this trip where booked with Royal Glitter bay who are obviously the underdogs in whatever the debacle is as we had all amenities banned from use and where made to feel very degraded by the experience, we were even put at the back of the beach on inferior sunbeds of different color. The property we were allocated is now in desperate need of upgrading as in the whole two weeks we had hot water to shower. I have contacted the owners and were given a discount this is not what I required, an explanation and reply in the first instance would have been polite but as yet nothing. I will add that the manager and her team, tried there hardest to look after us but have obviously been sworn to silence which must make there jobs very difficult. Whatever there problem is it should not reflect on the paying guest and totally spoil the experience of Barbados, we are unanimous in saying we will not visit Glitter bay again as the individuals and management teams have no idea how to run a bushiness looking after paying guests, and if either side thinks any of this will benefit them in the long term they are very wrong.

we travelled with my parents, a couple in their late 70's who have stayed at Glitter Bay many times. 24 hours after we had paid the final balance and 3 and a half weeks before our trip we had an email to say due to a fall out between RGBV and Glitter Bay Estates we were excluded from certain facilities, the pool, the bar and restaurant and the gym and we had to be segregated from others on the beach. They requested that we acknowledge/accept the situation. We acknowledged it but responded to say that we had no other choice with such a short time until our holiday was due to start. It was a dreadful situation to put us in as my Mum cannot go into the sea after a brain op caused severe vertigo, partial deafness and partial loss of sight,. we were told you can cancel your accommodation and have your money back as compensation!! It was far too short notice to try and organise different accommodation when your flights are set in stone.. We hoped to appeal against the ban for my Mum given the circumstances once we reached Glitter Bay. We had no option but to continue with our booking. Upon reaching the villa we were told by the management of Glitter Bay Estates, not our landlord, to sign a document agreeing not to use the facilities detailed on the sheet. We declined. We did however explain my Mum's position and requested special dispensation, only for my Mum, allowing her to cool off in the pool once a day for 10 minutes. they said no. Furthermore we were were not allowed to buy a drink at the pool bar or have a meal, yet, any non-resident walking along the beach could rock up to the bar and be served, and did on several occasions. What is that all about? I will tell you, they just wanted to make life awkward for us, the guests of RGBV. My Mum did go in the pool, for 10 minutes, each day and one of us watched over her, helped her down the steps and out again. The management of the Glitter Bay Estates and one of the owners actually called security to pull a 78 year old lady out of the pool! Disgraceful. We had a terrible holiday as a result of the fall out between Glitter Bay Estates and Royal Glitter Bay Villas. We paid in good faith for the use of ALL the facilities but were targeted and made to feel like lepers and pawns in the ongoing financial battle. Both sides are equally at fault for totally ruining our holiday, RGBV should have been honest about the situation long before we paid up in full and as for Glitter Bay Estates, the treatment of us and other guests in the RGBV apartments was truly awful. You should be ashamed of yourselves.

All this before i mention that the apartment was tired and in need of decoration, the second bedroom smelt badly of damp, the bed linen was tired and could have done with renewing. The cooker extractor was so rusty that when we opened the hood the rust fell into our food. Although to be fair, the maintenance man did come pretty quickly and replaced the filter, this held the rust back nicely.

All in all - It COULD have been amazing. It was not, it was stressful and distressing.