Grenadian by Rex Resorts

I cannot believe that there have been ANY poor reviews about the rex grenadian. I have been on three occasions, each for 2 weeks with family and friends and we aim to go back again in the summer. The 2 beach's are excellent, both with plenty of sunbeds, as are the surroundings. The sports beach also has many fun activitys for all ages. The on shore snorkelling is very good as well, we have seen everything from moray eels to sea turtles. The staff are friendly and helpfull and the food is excellent, particularly barbecue night! The bars are conviniently placed and make great coctails and the Gym and games room are very good. The rooms are also lovely although We have only ever stayed in beachfront rooms. I highly recommend this hotel.

We stayed at the Rex Grenadian for our honeymoon. Grenada is a BEAUTIFUL island and I want to visit again in the future. However, our next stay probably will not be at the Rex. Our room was clean, most of the workers were helpful. We arrived at the Rex late at night. After a horrible flight that was SEVERAL hours long, I just wanted to eat and go to bed. We went to the restaraunt and the host told me I was not elegant enough and to go back to my room and change. I was wearing a nice pair of shorts and tank top. Whatever, i was cranky and hungry. We went back to the restaurant, the food was mediocre. Each day at got worse though. Our plates piled up, no one was around to give us more coffee/drinks. We went "all-inclusive". Our idea of all-inclusive was completely different then theirs. There are only certain times of the day when you can eat, and not much of a variety. The chinese/indian/Thai restaurant was spectacular however as was the pool restaraunt. Overall, our stay wasn't the worst, but it wasn't the best. I would only stay if you find a great deal and don't expect much. Oh and if you go to Grenada, do not trust the taxi man named "flint".

My wife & I have just returned from a fantastic trip to the Rex Grenadian - It certailly lived up to expectation. The tours around the island were great and I even managed to fit some diving in whilst I was there (some great dive sites!)We ate in the Orientral restaurant - air conditioned - apparantely there are only two restaurants in Grenada with aircon and that was a lovely change from the warm eveningsThe Hotel staff were really friendly and the grounds are the best kept gardens I have seen.Highly recommended

The holiday we had at this hotel was the best we had had for 20 years The accomodation was excellent The staff aimed to please at the highest level The only fault that we found was that 2 weeks wasn't long enough Sue Mountstevens

We had the misfortune to visit the Rex Grenadian at the beginning of February 2004 and we wholeheartedly agree with all the comments set out in the "Service in the restaurant" review. The hotel is set in beautiful grounds and is in a good location, but apart from that it doesn't have a lot going for it. The whole place is dirty and generally run down and doesn't appear to have had any work done to it since it was built. The plates and cutlery in the restaurant was dirty, the service was non-existent and the food was extremely poor. Despite the fact that we had an upgraded room it was very small, the bath was dirty and you couldn't sit down and stretch your legs out (unless you are about 4 foot tall!), and the water was cold. The air conditioning sounded like a cement mixer and kept us awake for most of the night. It is very definitely a 2 star hotel and is a real let down. We wanted to leave the same evening that we arrived and indeed, instead of letting it spoil our holiday completely, decided to pay out a lot of additional money to move to another property. Please take this into account before spending money to stay at the Rex and spoiling your holiday to the beautiful island of Grenada!

We are a 50-something couple who booked a fortnight at the Rex Grenadian without having previously read this review site. How I wish we had because almost all of the comments are as we found it. Yes, Grenada is beautiful. Yes, there are some excellent restaurants to visit (no-one seems to have mentioned La Sagesse, which is excellent and sited on what we considered to be the best beach on the island great for a lunch trip). We toured the island by hiring a car for 3 separate days using the car hire firm in the hotel lobby you have to persist to get the model of car you want but otherwise OK. Remember to take your UK licence; then you pay US$12 for a Grenadian licence no test required. But the hotel was a real disappointment and we were as pleased to leave this as we were sad to leave Grenada. Never mind talk of 4 stars and 3 stars, the Rex Grenadian barely warrants 2 stars. It is set in beautiful surroundings, has a reasonable but small pool, an adequate beach and some tolerable entertainment but the food! The evening meal, instead of being a highlight to look forward to, became a dreaded downer on the whole day until we decided that we would eat out every evening and waste our pre-paid all-inclusive money. The food was poor, the booking arrangements annoying, and the service non-existent. Breakfast was not much better and never varied in its selection. At all meals, we had to queue and then serve ourselves for every course. We had to plead for coffee, especially top-ups. And there were constant shortages of everything; these were caused by the staff not knowing the meaning of the word pro-active you have to tell them that there are no plates, no potatoes, no bread, no eggs because they will never notice. Or if they do, they ignore it. So if you eat there, be prepared to demand, demand again and complain until you are blue in the face it won't do anything or change anything, but it might make you feel a bit better. Or follow my advice book a different hotel.

I booked a trip to the Rex Grenadian in the early Fall and then emailed the resort, as I had done with the Rex St. Lucian last year, and requested two first floor adjoining rooms for two handicapped members of our party. When we got there, we were assigned one room on the third floor and another at the top of the resort (requiring two lengthy flights of steps to get to the building) which was also on the third floor. This meant FIVE flights of steps to get to the room.It took them three days to move us although we saw first floor rooms emptied each day and new clients put in there!The food in the all inclusive restaurant was ok but not great. Having done all inclusives all over the Caribbean, I found the selection pretty poor and the hotel, for some unknown reason, had every one sign up for either 7 or 8:30 dinings and everyone had to line up to wait to get in. Why this is necessary on a buffet is unclear but I talked to LOADS of Canadians and Brits who were VERY unhappy.Swimming at the hotel isn't the best. The water is beautiful but the wind blew the entire week and made getting in and out of the surf a little tricky. The pool was as slippery as ice and we saw several adults and children fall getting in and out of the water.Besides the above mentioned problems, the only other is that the resort is spread out and hilly in places and can be a little hard to navigate if you are handicapped.It is beautiful, the all inclusive drinks are great and the island is worth visiting and touring. Just be advised of the hillside location and the dinner problems and you should have a good vacation!

After reading the reviews on this site, i was nervous about going to the Rex in Grenada but it's not that bad. The parents were complaining that the kids club was terrible and none of the kids went to it. You get bored of the food after 2 weeks but it's OK. Cocktails are strong. Service isn't great but just chill out. STaff are friendly if you say hi. The gardens are lush, pools are great and so are the beaches, some of the best on the island. Evening entertainment is typical hotel ents. Rooms are fine, i stayed in a seaview room had an amazing view. The beach has bendy palm trees, golden sand and strewn coconuts. Go for a meal at True Blue Bay restaurant - is fab and there's a courtesy taxi service. The Virgin brochure says 4 star which i would disagree with - it's 3.5

Note that $1EC, the Grenadian currency, equates to around $2.50US-$2.67US currently and depending on who's doing the calculating.If you plan to go and stay in Grenada for more than 3 days, I definitely advise you to look for an all-inclusive resort (such as LaSource) or even a hotel with a kitchenette and not stay at the Rex Grenadian, which is where we stayed at for 8 (ahem, grueling) days. Although the Rex says it's all-inclusive, you'll have to read the fineprint. For example, you could only use $40EC/person for dinner and that is definitely not enough (i.e., one small bowl of soup costs $15EC). You can guess how much everything else could be. Also, tax and gratuities are not included. We didn't go the all-inclusive route fortunately or unfortunately because we thought the island would be abundant in fruits and vegetables and street food. Wrong!DINING Everything there is extremely pricy. We couldn't have dinner for less than $40US. You can try the grocery markets, but it'll end up costing you the same at the end. In addition, I found most of the produce and fruits there half-rotten to begin with. For example, a handful of grapes will cost you $18EC, which is about $7US. You can try the street food (like the subsidized dorm food located in St. George's University Grand Anse campus) which is somewhat economical and edible, but it'll probably leave you disgusted, especially if you're a healthnut. Street food here consists of a lot of curried, fried and starchy items. A popular item is curried lambie roti (basically a curried conch burrito), which is tasty but you'll want to eat a big salad afterwards. Or you can go to KFC, the only American fast food chain there (and get a heart attack by the end of the trip). Anyhow, here are some tips on where to dine (note that, when I write decent, it's all Grenada-relative and not US-relative): - The Oriental: at the Rex, pricy. Order dishes by chef's ethnicity or cuisine specialty. When we were there, it was a Southeast Asian Indian chef and he made decent Indian cuisine. Do not order the $15EC small bowl of hot and sour soup (it's not Chinese style, meaning, taste and shared). - The Aquarium: take a left and walk all the way down the beach at the Rex. Decent garb and price. - The Beach House: get out onto the main road from the Rex and take a left and another left before the sign that says 'Beach House Restaurant'. It's a half-mile road walk. Wear comfortable shoes and bring a flashlight if you plan to walk at night. It can be kind of scary, so go in groups if you can or you can take a taxi. This place is pricy but somewhat decent. - The Nutmeg: located in the Cartenage, for tourists and cruise people. Ok Grenadian cuisine, not too pricy but you can definitely rack it up. - Brown Sugar: ok Grenadian cuisine, they try to be upscale, so portions are small. They do serve the best Rum Punch. They have complimentary transportation. - Le Boulangerie: located in Grand Anse, across and on the left of Spiceland Mall. Ok taste and price if you like cheap French or Italian fused with Grenadian cuisine. - Bamboo Village: located in Grand Anse, right by the Spiceland Mall. Ok Chinese even though their dishes don't contain many key Chinese ingredients. Do not get the lunch takeout even though it's "cheap", it's worse than Mr. Chau's and Panda Express. - Patrick's: near the Cartenage, we didn't get to try this place but if you want to try a homestyle Grenadian feast, come here. They serve 20 dishes (callaloo soup, lambie[conch], etc.). - Satisfaction Restaurant & Bar: located on Belmont, we didn't get to try this either but it's like Patrick's. The owner, Merlon, has what he claims the biggest aquarium in Grenada. Merlon also lived and worked in Miami for a little while before he came back and started up his business. You can make reservations at 473.435.1635. - Food court at Spiceland Mall: try the Grenadian flavors ice cream (nutmeg, rum and raisin, etc.), ok mall food + more economical price.TRANSPORTATION Even though the Rex is convenient and a short walk to the airport, it is definitely not convenient nor relaxingly walkable to the main towns (Grand Anse, St. George's). We took the bus everyday, which was a small ordeal too, since they can and usually rip off foreigners. Unless if you prefer to be safe all the time as riding the bus is always a risk, do not take the taxi or you'll be even more ripped off (cost is 5 to 10 times the bus fare). If you plan to take the bus, just walk out to the main road and wait for a few minutes. Usually a bus will come by and the driver and his helper will ask if you need a ride. Buses have a white rectangular sign with print on it in the top corner somewhere and they are usually minivans. Also, they should have fare prices taped up somewhere inside. If they don't, it's because they see that you're a foreigner and they took it down. Fare is based on point-to-point rather than one set price. To give you an idea what the fare is per person, from: Rex to Grand Anse (~2 miles), it's $1.50-$1.75EC Rex to St. George's/Cartenage (~4 miles), it's $5.00EC Grand Anse to St.George's/Cartenage (~2 miles), it's $1.50-$1.75EC Note that bus drivers may charge you extra because you're a foreigner, especially on weekends, notably Sundays. If the fare sounds really out of whack, either pay without a bicker or bicker and tell them what you know (and run a risk of vengeance). And on a bigger note: never ask the bus driver and/or his helper how much the fare will be - that's the best way to get ripped off because they can say anything. Just get off, pay the helper who sits in the back by the door, and walk away quickly. Ferries: If you want to visit neighboring islands of Carriacou and Petite Martinique, you can take the ferry. A roundtrip fare costs $90EC to Carriacou on Osprey Lines. Osprey sometimes has tours with a better price (i.e., $100EC for tour and lunch). If you plan to go to Carriacou, the best time to visit is probably a week before Christmas when they have the Carriacou Parang Festival. Other ferries (taken by locals) can be cheaper: Alexia II, Adelaide B, Alexia III, to name a few ($7.50US each way), but they go back and forth at odd times. You'll need to plan an overnight stay or use a different ferry to get back.ROOMS For a claimed 3-star hotel, our first impression: very small. Bathrooms look really used, comparable to a cheap motel. Showerhead is definitely not powerful (like someone taking a whiz on you). Centipedes would crawl in and share your room for the night. Beds, although roomy, may not be comfy for some as one can feel the coil springs in the mattress. Our highlights of our room were the A/C, the cable TV, the small patio, and the view of the ocean. The A/C was noisy though. Originally I didn't want cable TV but thankfully we got it because there was absolutely no nightlife at the Rex and very little on the island. To measure the quality of the hotels on the island, subtract one to one-and-a-half stars.HOTEL ITSELF Owned by Brits and catered to Brits. So to me at least, it reminded me of Old English Society. For instance, it's improper if you wear shorts and a tanktop at night. It was kind of amusing to watch though, especially around dinnertime. People (mainly Brits) would gather to smoke cigars/cigarettes and/or drink in the lounge all dressed up before entering the restaurant for dinner. They also have afternoon tea with crumpets, scones, and other baked goods. I really didn't like Rex's dress up policy for dinner because I came to relax and not get all stuffied up again. But that's just me. Like I wrote before, there is absolutely no nightlife at the Rex, or nightlife that was very off. For example, they had a DJ come and play in the lounge on Friday night. The audience were mostly families with children! Very strange. We did watch fireworks from our room on our last night though, but they weren't sponsored by the Rex. One good thing about the Rex is that is has its own private beach (Pink Gin Beach), where you won't find any beggars and very few souvenir sellers.ACTIVITIES Diving Spectacular but you really need to do some research on the dive sites as well as the diving agencies there. Unfortunately, I decided to go with the diving agency located at the Rex called D20 or Devotion to the Ocean. Really bad idea even though it was convenient. First off, they didn't take me to any of the dive sites on the list I gave them. In addition, I was quoted a price for $175US for a 5-dive package and then a different price before I was about to pay, which was $240US. I didn't even get any cutbacks for saving the divemaster's mum's weightbelt when it fell off on one of the dives as well as stopped her from floating right to the top and getting an air embolism! D20 is operated by Brits but I would definitely not recommend them because they're pricing is very sketchy and you can get better pricing elsewhere at other dive agencies, such as: - Dive Grenada: you get 10% off their already low prices if you reserve online, located at the Flamboyant Hotel. Owned by Americans I think. They have complimentary transportation. I was planning to do this but got mislead at the end by D20. - Aquanauts: they offer a discount if you're a student, located on Grand Anse Beach. - La Source: diving is all-inclusive if you stay at this resort. O yah, Scuba World does not seem to exist anywhere at the Rex even though there's a full-page ad in the hotel's binder of information. Some recommended dive spots, which I didn't get to go to: - Bianca C: biggest shipwreck in the Caribbean - Isle de Rhonde or North Island: excellent wall dive, comparable to Grand Cayman - Molinere Reef: protected and good for snorkelers tooBeaches Grand Anse is by far the best since it is the clearest and calmest of all the Grenadian beaches we visited when we were there. The reef from the beach there is more intact. But if you compare Grand Anse with other Caribbean beaches, it's probably not the best. Other beaches we visited had reefs that were pretty much wiped out by the manifesting algae growing on it. So snorkeling was not too great although we did see some fish and a couple of moray eels. Bathway Beach, across from Levera National Park, is located on the Atlantic side of Grenada. It's windier, more currenty, and much less clear than any of the beaches on the Caribbean side of Grenada.Other places to visit (in order of personal interest): - Eastern side of Grenada (it's a very, very different, check out the Lonely Planet Guidebook on where to stay) - Grand Etang National Park - Caribs Leap - Nutmeg Station - Dougaldston Spice Estate - River Antoine Distillery (Rum) - Gouyave - Grenville - Levera National Park - Concord Falls - Annandale FallsTours Highly recommend Mandoo. He can do trekking as well as personal tours of the island and is very, very knowledgeable. Mandoo is known throughout the island and even worldwide by travel agencies and magazines. He literally knows everything and everyone on the island. Read about his background on the website, he's a very interesting character.Saturday Market Really nothing much to see if you've been to Chinatown. It's a Grenadian version of Chinatown. Very crowded, noisy, and busy.OTHER This island is in the extremes. Outside of the University, mostly everywhere was poverty-stricken or shanty-towned. Most of the people there unfortunately live in poverty. A few more of our experiences you can learn from: - You can't trust anyone, even more so here. For example, we asked one of the Rex hotel front-desk clerks if there was a bus schedule on the second day we were there and they said no buses that day. So we took the expensive taxi to town, and lo and behold, buses were running everywhere! - You'll have to watch where you relax. Took a swim at Grand Anse Beach and we went and lied down on some beach chairs that were in front of a hotel to dry off. Along comes a scarred up guy asking for money. We turned him away and he started saying, quote, "Do you understand English!?! These chairs are for rent! Do you think chairs fall out of the sky!?!...", etc. Great way to relax on your vacation, eh? - You'll have to watch where you take the bus. Was a mile to mile-and-a-half to the Rex and then hopped on a bus, they charged twice the fare than from going from Grand Anse to the Rex, and per person.INTERNET/PHONE CALLS: - We were luckily able to use the fast Internet at the University. To get there, you'll need to wait near the signs across Le Boulangerie and take the St. George's University bus. There's a sign in the bus that says you need to show ID but we lucked out. If they ask, just say, you are taking a campus tour or something. Be creative. J - If you want to save on local phone calls, there are phones around in the front lobby and by the hotel restaurant area. A phone call from our room costs $8US to just dial out. Dial 9 and then the number. Unfortunately, AT&T Wireless didn't work there, so our cellphones were out the door. Heard the Cingular works though.OVERALL - Definitely do not recommend the Rex Grenadian unless if you just plan to stay there and not explore the rest of the island. - Definitely recommend staying at an all-inclusive resort such as La Source. All-inclusive at La Source means: all meals, massages, dives, motorized/non-motorized watersports, gym, etc. You can find good deals to La Source on Expedia sometimes. We had the option of staying there for $800US more but decided to go with the Rex. Bad decision. In the end, it costed the same if not more, with less fun. - Or go on a Southern Caribbean cruise and book a tour of the island with Mandoo. We actually wanted to go on a cruise that would stop by Grenada but it was all booked up. Cruises are good to see other islands as well as prevent island fever from staying on one island that could be the wrong one for you for more than a week.

Stayed for 4 nights in October 03 - excellent location and a 4star hotel. Stayed in beachfront accommodation - excellent. Meals in main restaurant ok and the Oriental excellent, although the service was very slow. The Aquarium Restaurant a short distance down the beach highly recommended, but, although only a short distance it is probably better to take a taxi at night.Staff very friendly and helpful. If going into St. George's, catch a bus, far cheaper and good fun. Not a lot to see in the capital but many local guides will gladly accompany you once off the bus, for just a few dollars. Again, with inclusive packages, hotel meals can be disappointing.