Divi Southwinds Beach Resort

My mother had not been back to the island since 1956 and we stayed at the Divi through an exchange with our resort. We got there and was pleasantly surpsised. The staff was warm and very friendley with my son who was 4 at the time. Noone was pushy and when we had a slight problem with the room; W aproblem with one of the windows the staff came up and took care of it. They also assisted us with a problem with the car rental. The cars are cheap and breakdown but we just got another one without incident. We did our own laundry and did somne food shopping at the local market to save some money plus have some indiginous food. although the laundry room wwas drab it was a minor inconvenince. I took the stairs which were a bit dark at night but I'm a guy so no worries. Saying that there were a few groups of women below us and they said they always fellt safe and two of them came with their husbands twice before. The elevators worked fine The staff were always cleaning fallen leaves and that was a problem for one of the pools at the end of the property but they closed it until it was cleaned, and thr rest of the property was clean. This hotel was far enough not to hear the St. Lawrence Gap nightlife but close enough that you do not need a cab. RThe beach was across the street and clean. One of the tennis courts was undergoing rehab and was in bad shape but I am told it has since been redone. We had a balcony in pur room and loved it. I would tell peple NOT to get a room facing the street because there are a few bars across the street that are loud and so we had to close the windows and put on the A/C which by the way worked painlessly and quietly. There is a small store on the property but its expensive. Go tOystens and sit outside eating frssh fish. Go to Bathseba and sit outside on the rocks. Go to thre underground caves. Thats a nice trip too. Check out the Mt Gay factory but be careful driving after you go to the tour you can get really toasted there.

We stayed for a week at Southwinds. The room (102) was very neat and clean, well maintained. The bed was comfortable-I did not notice any difference from mine at home. We could have used more hot water in the shower. The kitchen was fully stocked with anything possible needed to cook.Loved the location-only had to cross the road to go to the beach (nice beach)and all of the "Gap" within walking distance. All of the staff was very polite, and very helpful. The Hotel is undergoing reconstruction, but I would definately stay there again.We only ate at the grill by the beach-the food and drinks there were very good.

We had a wonderful holiday at the Divi Southwinds. This is a quiet hotel, as the apartments are mostly occupied by timeshare people who go out and do their own thing. There is a very relaxed friendly atmosphere here as many of the residents know each other. The staff are friendly and helpful. The hotel, the grounds and the restaurants are clean, all food is covered and tables always being wiped. Insist on a refurbished room, as the old ones are grotty and smell bad. Breakfast and lunch is excellent and served in the lovely restaurante right on the beach. It is so picturesque just like the photos in the holiday brochures. The evening meal is in another restaurant which is a bit dead and the food mediocre.There was a good evening with limbo dancer and fire-eater worth going to, and the barbecue evening was good. You can eat out at night because you are in the restaurante area called The Gap and there are loads of great places to choose from. People come from miles around to see a big show called Roots and Rhythms at the Plantation. This is just accross the street from the hotel and is well worth going to. Food and drink is included in the price and it's in a nice open air venue. Hotel has a laundry room you can use in the hotel. There is a Beach Towel Laundry where you get free beach towels and exchange them as often as you want. The pool at this hotel is really big compared with other hotels in this area. A word of warning, although you don't really see any insects there are mosquitos and sand flys. Most people had numerous bites from the knee down (I had 25-very itchy). This is easily avoided if you get some 'Go' spray from the mini-market on your first day and spray your arms,legs and feet before you go to the restaurante or beach. This was our first holiday in the Caribbean and we will definitely return to the Divi Southwinds.

Excellent holiday. Cannot fault the staff or hotel or anything really. Third visit to caribbean in the last year. Been to Mexico, Dominican Republic and now Barbados. Will certainly go again. People are friendly and food was great. South coast is amazing. Ooops, time to go and book another holiday. This time Egypt (again) (Wonderful place) stevengoodall@oink.co.uk

We spent a week at Southwinds in a 1 bedroom unit(B210) overlooking the pool. The unit was very nice, everything worked etc. The grounds were well maintained and the pool was cleaned daily. The beach at Southwinds is beautiful, with extra palm trees planted up by the beach bar/restaurant. Easy access to all the activities in the Gap area. All of the staff on site were very freindly and helpful. We would be more than happy to stay at Southwinds again.

I recently returned from Barbados and reading some of the other reviews on this website I felt I had to give feedback on my stay at Divi. Having been to Barbados before, staying at a reasonably expensive West Coast hotel, my trip proved that you do not need to spend a fortune at a 5 star hotel to have an amazing holiday. From the moment we arrived at Divi, we were greeted with friendly faces from all the staff and this continued throughout the holiday. Our room was on the third floor and was lovely and very clean. They are re-furbishing some of the rooms at the moment but this didn't disturb us at all during our two weeks there. The pool area was well equipped with sun loungers, pool table area and the pool itself was huge! There was also a pool bar which opened mid morning until late afternoon. We went on the beach a few times and found it to be very clean. The food was excellent, especially the Bajan buffet at the Managers Evening. We also ate a few times in the evening and also at Jocelyns at lunchtime, I recommend the chicken ceasar salad and also the flying fish burger. I want to say thank you to all the staff at the resort who made us feel very welcome, especially to Wally and Michael in the bar/restaurant. The friendliest and happiest service I have received in a long time!! As you can tell, we had a wonderful time at Divi and would definitely recommend it - hopefully we'll be back at the same time next year!!

After reading some of the negative reveiws, I can only say that I was very pleasantly surprised with the Divi Southwinds. We stayed in one of the one bedroom units that had not been renovated. I was a little disappointed that we did not get a renovated unit but we were tired when we checked in and decided to give it a try. Everything turned out fine. The room was clean and the maid brought us fresh towels daily. The ceiling did not leak. The water pressure and hot water supply was ample. The combination of the air conditioning and the ceiling fans kept the room cool. One note: there was no dishwasher but we ate out so this was not a problem. We did use the glasses and the coffee cups for coffee or juice in the am but they were no problem to wash out. The front desk was a little slow but efficient. We had none of the problems that other people complained about. When we first arrived, we were a little concerned that the area around the front entrance looked pretty run down and shabby. However, we never felt unsafe or threatened and we walked or road the public bus everywhere we went. I might add that we are a middle aged couple and it was an easy walk to all the restaurants in the Gap and to the beach. One night, we also walked across the street (out the front gate) to the Plantation Restaurants "Bajan Roots & Rhythms" dinner show (a lot of fun) which includes all the alchoholic beverages you care to drink and still made it back to the room. We were very seldom approached by venders or beggers and they all went quietly on their way when we politely told them no. Actually the beach was never really crowded and the venders were only around when we stayed late on the beach. Speaking of the beach, it was absolutely beautiful. Perfect for body surfing with some really nice waves. It got a little rough one day but all you had to do was get beyond the breakers and it still was not that deep so we felt very comfortable. Even the day it was rough, there were some children playing in the breakers. I think the waves made it more fun. There were always plenty of chairs at the beach and the pool and the trees on the beach provided enough shade if you needed or wanted it. The pools were also very nice and well maintained. It did look like they had had a swim up bar at one time that was not open. The Divi restaurants were nice and the food was good. We ate breakfast at Jocelyns just about daily. We ate one meal in the Bajan Breeze and it was good and convienent for check in night. Most of the time we just skipped the mid-day meal if we had had a big breakfast, but a couple of times we stopped at Jocelyn's for a snack or light meal and a drink after being on the beach. The barbeque buffet on Thursday night was really good too. I can't say enough about the location of the Divi Southwinds. It was wonderful being able to walk down to the Gap each evening. We pretty much found everything we needed at the Divi or in the Gap. We went snorkling at Folkstone Marine Park which was an easy bus ride. For the rest of our adventures, transportation picked us up at the lobby. The activity desk was very helpful in setting up our activities for us and the front desk was good about exchanging money and cashing travelers checks up to $100 per person per day. I ended up hating to leave and I would definately stay at the Divi Southwinds again.

We just returned from a week at the Divi Southwinds in Barbados. I must say I was very nervous after reading some reviews about the resort. All those worries for nothing! We stayed in a one bedroom unit using our timeshare. The room was completely renovated with tropical decor. Full kitchen with all appliances and cooking utensils. The central air worked perfect, not one complaint with the room. We arrived early and had to wait less than an hour for the room, but the front desk staff were very pleasant. They gave us drink vouchers and allowed us to check out the grounds. The beach is absolutely stunning and and by far the nicest on the island. It has awesome waves, a very large stretch of uncrowded soft white sand, with a variety of watersports available (jet skis, banana boat rides, etc). There is also hairbraiding on the beach. Jocelyn's beach bar is right there and offers breakfast and lunch on the beach, with breathtaking views! There is also another restaraunt at the resort open air style- not many places with air conditioning on the island. The only negative side to the divi was that the food was not readily available all the time and during certain hours you might have to visit the gap. The food in Barbados was excellent, although most places had dress codes for men( no sleeveless shirts or flip flops) . The ST. Lawrence Gap has great food with alot to choose from. The nightlife seemed to get started very late so be prepared! Overall we loved the island and are already planning our next trip to the Divi there. The people are wonderful including the staff. The island is clean and has so much too offer we didn't nearly see it all. Harrisons caves, island tours, boat trips, watersports, dinner shows, very relaxing too. I would recommend the divi to anyone not wanting a highrise or very commercial experience and to truly enjoy barbados.

My family and I (12 people) stayed at this resort for a week (July 28th - August 4th 2005). The hotel has a great location and the food was very, very good. However, they placed us in their non-renovated rooms on the 1st floor. One room had cabinets hanging off of the hinges. We requested a renovated room and they accomodated us. The renovated rooms are really nice. If you are going to stay at this hotel, upon checking in, REQUEST a renovated room on the 2nd, 3rd or 4th floor. The first floor has not been renovated yet. The grounds, pools and the beach are great. Most of the staff was friendly and helpful.

We spend a week at the Southwinds July 2, 2005 - July 8, 2005. The resort is under renovation and we had a renovated unit. There are four buldings in the property. Two of the main building have been repainted and many of the units have been renovated. One small building is being used for storage for material and appliance used in the renovation. The smallest build that is all rundown was the timeshare sales office at one time and they tell me it will be torn down. The location is convinient to St Lawrence gap and restaurants. The one bedroom unit we stayed in had a King size bed. The unit has been renovated and had a new kitchen with fully stocked utensils. Some of the furishing are old and repainted. The sofabed appears to be new. The units are small but big enough for family with small children. The resort has three pools and the main pool was out of service for half the time. There were organized sports activities during the day. Kids play beach volley. Other activities includes cricket, tennis, water vollyball and water exercises. The staff was friendly and helpful. No problems getting the unit additional towels or having them call for taxi services. We did not eat in the restaurant but the food did smell good. We only ran into 2 peddlers on the beach but we were not bothered. One was selling T-shirts/hats and another was selling jewrely out of a brief case. There were a couple of guys selling something, probably drugs, but we were not approached.