Tropical Escape Hotel

We have just returned from two glorious weeks at the Tropical Escape. It was our fourth visit to the Island so we knew just what to expect - A friendly welcome from the locals, comfortable accommodation, and terrible food........WRONG! But then we had never stayed at the Tropical Escape before. It is a very good three star hotel, with five star food, immaginative, beautifully presented and a la carte four nights a week. The food was the unexpected bonus. The staff were brilliant - friendly, fun and genuine; no simpering fools loitering for tips here! Just hard working folk that would do anything they could to make your stay more comfortable. The hotel is spotlessly clean and the facilities more than enough for a Pool/Beach holiday, they even have a pool table and gym, and if you run out of reading material there is a 'swap' library. The infamous ROAD! - We had a road side room and the first couple of mornings the 7-8 morning rush hour woke us, the third morning we overslept and never noticed it again. We live in the middle of nowhere and have had more trouble sleeping since we got back than we did out there - It's too quiet!!! When we return we will be requesting a road side room as there is nothing more satisfying after a hectic day doing nothing, than to sit on the balcony with a rum & coke watching the sunset and world go by. Life is never perfect but I'm told Sandy Lane comes close (if you like that sort of thing!) If you like Barbados you will love the Tropical Escape.

Can't praise this hotel enough. We arrived on 19th January, it was our 3rd visit to Barbados but the first time on the West coast after staying in the South of the island twice. Everything about the hotel was great, especially the food. Having a fussy eater husband I was a bit concerned but nothing was too much trouble if there wasn't anything on the menu he fancied, they'd cook what he wanted. Plenty of choice, all freshly cooked, and the a la carte nights really were superb. Week 2 wasn't a repeat of what we'd already had on week 1 which was a bonus. Couldn't quite get used to the spicy sausages at breakfast though! The atmosphere amongst the guests was excellent, being such a small hotel. We knew the entertainment wasn't going to be a highlight but who cared after a few rum and cokes? Hayden the barman was a dude who made us laugh everytime we saw him. Must also mention Sandra the barmaid, Eric the chef, Anderson the maintenance man, and the personal welcome and au revoir from Al the Manager. Admitedly we got a great deal on the price for this hotel and knew we'd been really lucky, having paid much more for a 3* place before on the South Coast in Maxwell last year. I don't think it could be beaten for value. Rooms spotless. The beach was busy, and disappointingly the sea was very choppy, no chance of a snorkel for me! There are better more deserted beaches on the South coast and further up the west coast but you'll need to hire a car for the south coast ones, but the sea's rough there too. I was getting really annoyed by the serial complainers at the hotel, some people don't know when they're onto a good thing! A delayed flight destroyed our relaxed state of mind, thanks to M*Tra*el and a complete fiasco of being shoved into an appalling hotel called 'Golden Beaches' (don't want to be sued) right on the southern tip of the island. Fellow guests experienced shere luxury at Turtle Beach. But that's another story and a strong letter of complaint on the way... Thanks to everyone at Tropical, we really enjoyed it and hope to return. V and J.

The Tropical Escape is described as a +3* hotel. In our view it was all this and more. Reading some of these reviews I am not sure that others expectations were realistic. This has led to, in our view very unfair reviews. Please do not be turned off staying at the Tropical Escape, this hotel is exceptionally good value if you don't pay list price. The facts about this hotel are: Situated adjacent to a very busy road which means that road facing rooms are not very quiet to say the least! The beach is accessed by crossing this road and then through a small beech bar. The beach can get very busy. Sun beds were at a premium at times. The hotel supplied beach towel. And soft drinks for hotel guests on the beach. The pool is very small. The food, for the duration of our stay, was plentiful and consistently excellent with a wide range of choice for all including veggies. (A la carte nights were exceptional). The level of service from hotel staff, was consistently excellent. Everyone we encountered made a real effort to make sure that we had everything we needed. The hotel will prepare a very good packed lunch if you are planning a day trip. Rooms were basic but always exceptionally clean. Talking to other guests, the most paid for this 2 week all-inclusive package was £2500 pp and the least was £800 pp. It is our view that £800-£1000 pp for 2 weeks all inclusive represents excellent value for money. In our experience the south and east coast of Barbados is not the most scenic, tranquil and cultural packed holiday destination we have been to (Try Lankawi Malaysia if this is what you are after). It is however worth visiting, particularly if you make it off the beach and travel to the north and west coasts where there the beaches are quiet and striking. Above all, leave the beach and get out and around the island! H & L

We returned to Tropical Escape on 26th January 2004 for the fourth time. Each time we return the staff know who we are, and greet us like old friends. Food is wonderful, drinks plentiful, at the bars and on the beach. All the staff are very friendly all the time, and they do their best to make everybody welcome. Poor Felix had a bad review from someone, and we did find him more jolly than recent years. If you need anything at all while on holiday, just ask and if it can be done,then it will. We even requested a bigger bed, and it was there that same morning. There is fresh linen a couple of times a week. Clean beach towels every day. Everywhere is spotless. There are cleaners working all day. Yes you do have to cross the road to get to the beach, but that is no problem. Walk through Bombers Bar, spot a few celebs. then walk on to the best beach in Barbados. You could stay further up the road in Sandy Lane, if you could afford it, but as we say, we all swim in the same fantastic sea, sit on the same golden sand and lay under the same hot sun. You do not need to spend a fortune on a tropical holiday. Get a local paper and find out about all the local events. We spend a lovely afternoon at a "open house", two visits to the polo at Holders, and an afternoon at the Barbados Horticultural Society.We shall return again next year if not sooner.

We stayed here at Christmas 2003. I would suggest to anyone who is used to living in a quiet area to request a room at the back of the hotel, facing the pool. We had a room overlooking the road at the front, it had the most beautiful views over the sea but we couldn't sleep at night due to buses roaring up the road in first gear. After 5 nights we were able to move room and the whole experience was so different! It was so peaceful and relaxing at the back and the view not bad at all. We have stayed at a number of 3 star all-inclusive hotels around the world.This is a nice hotel with a very friendly vibe, but it really is not good enough for a 3+ star standard. There are 2 bars, but they are both basic. There is only one restaurant. They tried very hard to create a different theme every night (some nights they were more sucessful than others!). Sometimes the food was so excellent that we felt we had gone to a top restuarant, other nights it was average. There is a pool table and table football (both free) which were really excellent, and also a library. However, organised activities were lacking and the pool was very small. Some of the staff are so polite, helpful and cheerful that you feel really welcome. Some staff, however (a minority) are quite determined to do as little as possible. It is ideal for people who want a friendly holiday, because the hotel is small, everyone got to know each other and there was a nice atmosphere around the pool. The quality of the drinks was very good; usually on all-inclusive holidays the drinks are undrinkable but here they were good quality especially the local rum!! The water-sports equipment on the beach was of good quality and readily available (very good!). The next beach there is a top hotel where celebrities hang out so you can people watch. All in all, a little basic for 3+ star, but totally excellent for 2-3 star.

Having read some of the reviews on this site I thought I was going to have the worst holiday ever, it turned out to be my best holiday EVER.Yes, you do have to cross a road to get to the beach, but as we stood at the side of the road waiting to cross, drivers stop and let you cross.No there are not flocks of birds that decend on the dining room, the odd blackbird or sparrow comes looking for a crumb or two.The staff are FANTASTIC and they do everything they can to make your holiday 1st class, yes I would have been a bit dissapointed with my room if I'd paid a lot of money, but I did not pay a lot of money and therefore it's the best value for money holiday I have ever had. The hotel only has 52 rooms, so you meet and get to know other people who are staying there, if you are a snob and want totally pampered,complain about everything, then please stay away from the Tropical Escape, leave it to people who can enjoy themselves. We arrived at the Escape on the 12th Jan and reluctantly left on the 26th, we'll be back to see Al, Gregory and Alicia and the rest of the staff very soon. Peter & Alison Walters

My husband and I went to the Tropical Escape on a last minute deal back in May 2003. I was recovering from a bad accident and went to the Tropical Escape to speed up the recovery process. On first sight of the hotel it looked very basic, however the rooms were roomy clean and tidy. Originally we had been allocated a room further away from the facilities, one mention that could we have a nearer room for the sake of being a little closer to the amenities through my inability to get about quickly, five minutes later we were in the 1st room and what was the nearest room they had to everything. The staff were wonderful, friendly and nothing seemed to be too much trouble with happy smiling faces. In some of the other reviews people mentioned the lack of umbrellas, Yes there wasn't an abundence of umbrellas, but if it was a problem for you with the sun, you only had a short walk to the beach, where you could always obtain one. I was severely hampered with both feet damaged and a spinal injury but still made it to the beach most days. Most days we saw turtles swimming just off shore, the beach was clean and tidy, the sea clear and beautifully warm. For getting out about the reggae bus was easy to get and a bargain at only 50p this stopped just a short stop from the hotel, although we didn't hire a car, plenty did and thoroughly enjoyed the freedom it offered, the cars were delivered to the hotel for you. Food experience was one of the best I've have had, plenty of variety, hot and it was cooked properly. People did complain about the birds that hopped onto your table during the day, but if you found that a problem you could sit in the middle of the restaurant and they rarely ventured there. If you visit many resorts, they always seem to have encounters with animals or birds, but there are always ways round it. The holiday is what you make of it and yes we would definitely visit again. We met some wonderful people there, some of which had been back several times, one couple in particular had been there five times before and were great company. One small point:- Although, I really wouldn't hesitate to recommend it to adults, the only down side I can say about the hotel is, it really isn't geared up for children and it states as such in the brochure, they may get a bit bored with the limited things to do for them. Please Try the Tropical Escape experience for yourself! Thank you Tropical Escape for a brilliant holiday.

Went to Tropical Esacpe 5th dec 2003, after booking our holiday found this ,site read the entries and wanted to cancel !! The last time we went to Barbados stayed at the Sea Breeze , perfect holiday , how would this compare ? Very well actually , lovely coast line , hotel very clean , beach towels clean every day , food good ,yes the dinning room gets too hot advise eat outside when you can, if not get under the overhead fan our room was lovely , nice and big and the furniture is rustic , not shabby ! The staff are very good and my advise is if you want something just ask for it and it will appear because they have got it . We had a great two weeks and hopefuly you will too .

after reading some of the reviews the saying "you can't please everyone" springs to mind. we were at the tropical escape in feb 2003 and will be there at the same time this year. my daughter was with us last time and intends to return next year. we have recommended it to friends who will be with us this feb. i guess there's nothing more to say. except that no matter how good something is, you will always get the people who are not satisfied. maybe they would let us know when and where they did have a good holiday as i had the most wonderful time and have found, what to me anyway, is the perfect holiday.

We spent Christmas 2003 at the Tropical Escape and found the staff to be friendly, courteous and helpful. Room was basic but clean, although everything worked in the bathroom it could have benefited from an upgrade. The bar and restaurant service was good, food was excellant. The traffic noise can be annoying if you have a room on the roadside but you soon get used to it. Beach was very popular and we got into the routine of arriving early in the morning to secure sun loungers and an umbrella (by the end of our stay the hotel had purchased additional umbrellas) From our experience we have no problem recommending the Tropical Escape.