Crystal Cove Hotel

First impressions of this hotel were fantastic. Cool face flannels on arrival and rum punch etc. As the holiday progressed we started to see more of the true side to the staff. Although many were polite, especially the porters, the reception staff and bar staff can be very rude and ignorant. People thinking of going with children - beware - lots of surface rocks under the surface of the sea, also if you swim out of the small designated swimming area there is a decent possibility of being hit by a jet ski. Birds at breakfast are quite annoying and very unhygenic - but it is an open air resturant. Entertainment almost none existant, there was always a little something i.e. a singer, but this ended at about ten o clock. Nothing to do outside within close proximity to the hotel, it has to be taxi taxi everywhere. To end on a positive note for those who have already booked up, make sure you explore Crane Beach it is a must great for boogie boarding!!! Have a nice holiday.

My partner and I were married at this hotel on 27/oct/04. This is the second time we have stayed here, the first time was in 2001. We decided if we were ever to marry this would be the place we would do it. I am so glad we did. So with 19 adults and 7 kids in tow off we went. We all had a fantastic time. The wedding co-ordinator Faye was fantastic we arrived 4 days before we were due to be married and everything was calm and relaxed the whole way. She realy puts your mind at rest if you have any concerns. I have to say the photographer Elenor was just the best, my photos are fantastic.Our flowers were superb. The whole day was perfect. Now I should write a bit more about the hotel. Mostly the staff are great, there are however a few that need some customer service training mostly the bar staff and a couple in the resturant. The food in the resturant is of a high quality and there is plenty to drink. The birds are a major part of breakfast time, but its an open air resturant in the caribbean, what more can I say!! The bell boys are so great they always have a smile for you and help you in any way they can. The maids are do a fantastic jobs, everyday our room was spotless. If any of you have kids try the kids club. I have always found that I just can't keep my kids out of the place, they just love it. it is open until 9pm so it was great if we wanted a meal in the evening on our own as the kids would eat at the club. The staff, Trudie, lisa and sherre are the best my kids adore them and they recognised the kids from the last time we were there. They even threw a birthday party for my son with a great big chocolate cake. He was very impressed as was I. The pools are very pretty and although the beach is a bit small for some people we found it to be fine. There is a lady on the beach called Patnell who sell jewllery and does hair braiding and she is great. I had my bridesmaids hair done by her on the morning of the wedding and she did a fantastic job. I think having 23 of us there for 2 weeks kept her quite busy she custom made jewllery for us and we all came back with lovely bits and pieces. All in all we all had a fantastic time we had the perfect wedding in a perfect location. We had our wedding reception at The Cliff resturant 5 mins down the road and if you get a chance to go you realy should it is superb.

This is beautiful, easy going resort, friendly relaxing and well equipped. I would recommend it. Food is very good quality. This is a small resort and so you it never feels like a bun fight for food. Breakfast is a buffet with all the usuals: fry up, cereals, fruit, yoghurts etc cant fault it. Lunch is either sit down at the restaurant or at Drifters bar. Likewise, supper is at restaurant or Drifters if it is open. You need to book you evening table, which works out well since service is quick yet relaxed. Portions are not huge, yet with four courses at each lunch and evening meal, this realy wasnt a problem. Take it from me I'm a real fat boy and never went hungry. There birds were a pain at breakfast. They keep away if you are sat at your table but if your table is left unattended they will swoop. Not a real problem but you do need to check a birdie hasnt pooped on your chair before sitting down.

Stayed November 19 - 24. Resort grounds - unimpressive. Room - basic. Food - limited choice and small portions. Drinks - Only 1 beer, and very little premium liquor. Beach - very small with little swimming room. Restaurant - birds taking food from the tables & a dirty cat walking around make for unsanitary conditions. Need I say more.

Recently returned from a week at the Crystal Cove and overall was very impressed. The meals were delicious, often 4 courses with a la carte service, not buffet like at many other all-inclusives. Bar selection was great with many well-known brands. As far as the service goes, I agree with the previous reviewer who said apart from 1 or 2 of the staff members who were a bit surly, most of them were very friendly and attentive. Yes, the birds can be slightly irritating but this will be the same no matter where you stay if you are eating outdoors. We stayed a much fancier hotel on the same trip and the birds lurked around the tables there too. If you are worried about vendors, they really weren’t a problem. I was approached only once the whole week by a local artist. The Jet Ski guys, who are there daily, usually ask you if you’re interested as you pass by, but they don't give you a hassle if you say no. After reading negative reviews about the beach, I was worried about the size but it was fine. Again, we had stayed at a luxury hotel on the same trip and the beach there was much smaller. From what I could see along the western coast line, the beaches aren’t very wide anywhere. A great thing about the Elegant chain is you can take free water taxi to any of their hotels and use their beaches and restaurants. Other pluses were the water sports, beautiful pools and of course, the swim-up bar. I didn’t use the gym, but those that did said it was pretty impressive. If you are thinking of bringing a group down for a wedding, this is the place to do it. The wedding coordinator, Fay, is fantastic. She took care of everything for a group of 60 people, right down to the last detail. The ceremony and dinner setting were beautifully done and we had a fabulous party afterwards with a local band, High Energy. We were even given a free room upgrade with an ocean view which was gorgeous. I did have look at the other rooms, and while basic, they are bright and clean, each with a balcony and large bathroom with dual sinks. In regards to the previous reviewer’s comment that it wasn’t a 5-star hotel, I would agree, it’s about a 4 star. But it certainly deserves the rating of ‘excellent’ here because of value for money. We wouldn't hesitate to back to the Crystal Cove - it was an unforgettable vacation.

My girlfriend treated me to a stay at Crystal Cove for my 50th birthday, and I will never forget the ambiance, friendly service and overall wonderful experience of a vacation at a small all inclusive hotel where everyone cares about your having a wonderful experience. I knew we were at the right place, when upon our arrival at Crystal Cove, after experiencing a long flight and some time spent going through customs, we were immediately approached and asked before checking in what type of drink we would like to refresh ourselves. We found the food and service impressive, and most of the servers and staff went out of their way for us on a daily basis. We met several honeymoon couples, who were equally impressed with the food, service and entertainment offered on a daily basis. I am planning to go back and intend to bring my significant other, as well as another couple, to experience the wonderful service, food, etc. at Crystal Cove. I can't wait!!!

Having read the numerous bad reviews we were extremely nervous about going to Crystal Cove. It was not as bad as some of the reviews suggested, but having experienced true 5 star service we do not believe that it lives up to this rating. The rooms and hotel were clean and well presented, but were pretty basic eg no facility to make tea or coffee in the rooms, and whilst the hotel provided 2 machines for hot drinks these were out of order or empty about 50% of the time. We found that whilst most of the staff were extremely friendly and helpful there were the odd few who were very rude and surly. The beach was clean and well maintained and the nuisance factor of people trying to sell things was minimal. If you say no thank you they leave you alone. The birds at breakfast and lunch were a real nuisance. You couldn't leave any food on the table unattended. It is also unpleasant to have to wipe the chair backs and seats of birds mess before sitting down. They really need to address this issue. Whilst the food was good the choice was limited and the portions tiny. We do not class 1 broccoli head, 2 slices of carrot and 1 slice of courgette to be a balanced meal. We were craving fruit and veg by the time we got home. We were hungry most of the time and were disappointed that the Drifters restuarant was only open for 1 night of the 2 weeks we were there. There was no real evening entertainment and even if there was there were so few tables outside of the resturant that there was little choice but to go back to the room. All in all the hotel was ok, however for the money we spent on this holiday we felt very cheated. If you want true 5 star service and great facilities I would try somewhere else.

I recently returned from 10 great nights, at the wonderful crystal cove hotel! I went with my girlfriend. We both fell in love with the place, the staff were so nice the food was great… what can I say everything was wonderful. I really don’t understand some of the bad reviews on this hotel! I think the hotel is great for every age. Couples wont fill out of place at all, I did find the place a romantic setting especially at night with the fire candles! The birds at breakfast are cool to watch there no way annoying and the locals are so friendly, if your don’t want to buy something say no its that simple. O and if your planning on booking a normal room try and get 346 its one of the best views!

Crystal Cove was the place we chose for our honeymoon, we had originally booked to go to Almond Beach Club & Spa but after coming home and reading bad reviews about this hotel on trip advisor we quickly changed our minds and changed to Crystal Cove. It was excellent, we were so happy that we had changed our choice of hotel, the food was excellent, the beach was clean and peaceful, the staff were so friendly. As soon as we arrived we were greeted with an ice cold face cloth for each person as it was so hot, a lovely cocktail and our suitcases were taken straight to our room by the porter. We were very impressed. We then discovered that our room did not have a TV which we knew we should have had because it was in the brochure, so we phoned reception and within 5 minutes we had a knock at the door and our TV had arrived. Our room was lovely, very spacious and very clean. We really did not want to come home, although we had been there for 2 weeks, we could have stayed another week. Altogether we had a wonderful stay at Crystal Cove.

My friend and I went to crystal cove from 15th - 25th Sept. We had a fabulous time. Not only did the hotel fit us in last minute due to us moving hotels (the previous was awful), but the service during our stay was consistently excellent. The food was great, the room was lovely (great ocean view) all the staff friendly, the watersports guys were great fun and took great care of us. The beach was beautiful and I was very sad to leave. We are looking to return again next year.