Discovery Bay Hotel

1 reader found this review helpful

What a dump! The hotel is a tired shabby apology of a place, and unfortunately the staff, with a couple of exceptions, are even worse. You have an automatic 10% service charge added onto everything but this doesn't encourage the staff to smile or interact, you feel that it's all too much effort for them!! The bar lady is an absolute misery and the deputy manager a joke along the 'Basil Fawlty' lines, the customer is always wrong! Complained about a drink being 'off', he accused me of drinking 1/4 of it before returning it, he stated that I should have sipped and smelt it!
Tried to charge (+10% service) for a replacement, joke... Everything in the hotel is overpriced or inedible, or sometimes both. The gardener is a happy sole who does however understand customer service, he needs promoting.
The locals are lovely but seem to have had their soles removed once they work for the hotel, nothing to recommend this dump, island generally very expensive, (£80 stg for meal for 2 inc wine), and little to do for a full 2 weeks. Sorry would not return even if free holiday.

I stayed at this hotel with my husband and our young son. We stayed on an all inclusive basis.
The hotel is clean, the staff were friendly and very helpful. The food was good, especially bbq night. the food was a little repetative but was nice all the same. Breakfast offered a good selection of fruit, full english, fruit juice, yoghurt etc.
We visited this hotel as we were attending a wedding at the almond cassaurina.(Info about the cassaurina: The almond is a very large resort with an extensive selection of restaurants. We did find this part of the island unbearably hot in the evening as no cool breeze unlike the west coast where we stayed which was much more pleasant in the evening. Nice but very very very busy hotel. If you want a drink you will be waiting a while)
My little boy fell ill on the flight out to barbados. Our room at discovery bay over looked the swimming pool and the tropical garden and the beach. It was very pretty, unfortunately it had a faulty air conditioning system which didn't help with his fever. My parents spoke to a helpful receptionist who got a repair man to our room pronto. The air con still was not great. But the manager came to check on us as he had heard our little one was unwell, he really went out of his way to find us an alternative room dispite the hotel being fully booked up.
He showed my family 2 alternative rooms which were much cooler (even tho they were due to have guests staying in them that evening) I can't stress just how helpful the manager and his staff were. They really went out of there way to help.
The beach is like a private beach the only people who use it were the guests in the hotel and the jewellery/craft sellers and motor sports sellers. (I have stayed else where in the carribean and this is pretty much the case everywhere. A simple no thanks and they leave you alone.) Security man the beach and hotel to ensure amount of sellers is controlled.
Holetown is nearby with a nice shopping centre, bridgetown is easily reached by taxi and i would recommend the mount gay rum tour (brilliant and cheap too!)
Hotel is not the most luxurious hotel I have stayed at but is great value for money. Lacks evening entertainment but We really enjoyed our holiday here and would definately return to this hotel.

8 readers found this review helpful

My partner and I spent Christmas/New year in Discovery Bay hotel, visiting Barbados for the first time and we give it a 10 out of 10 for staff rating. From the front desk, via bar/restaurant staff to the beach attendants, all most helpful and courteous. Boy, do they work hard to please the visitors!
We booked an all-inclusive holiday, had a garden view room with verandah/airco/tv/kettle/coffee/tea. Every day rooms were cleaned, beds made, new towels provided.
There is plenty of food, mainly fish/chicken/pork. The Bajan cuisine seems to be toned down not to upset guests. Lots of fruit and salads and a variety of deserts, over all well balanced, well prepared and tasty. Barbecue on Saturday night is very good.
Oh and if you prefer bacon/beans/coissants/saugages/hamburgers/spaghetti/poached-scrambled-fried eggs/chips etc. etc? no worries!

We needed another environment after dining there for a week or so. We hired a car through reception and explored other areas (the North and East Coast are worth visits) plus other restaurants. We liked the Mews, the Fishpot, the Naniki, Brown Sugar, Round House and Sand Dunes roadside restaurant. Dining in main restaurants can be a bit expensive, since pound sterling has lost its strength. Average costs for an evening out in a restaurant with starter/main course/wine/coffee or desert are Barbadion dollar 290 (for 2). On the west coast many 'serious' restaurants can be found with 'serious' prices..
We'll try recommended 'local' Bajan restaurants, next time we come over.
Back to the hotel; we've been told the hotel is from the 1960s/70s and it shows. It is very close to the beach and needs never-ending attention, like a ship. Buildings and rooms can have layers of paint with corroded and tired looking bathroom furnishings.
The dining areas are old style and have a regimented atmosphere. It needs a lot of work to put right, but will Rex Resorts spend the money? Most of the other holiday makers we met doubt it.
Perhaps they can fork out a few dollars for faster and properly working self-service toasters! Waiting 3-4 minutes for your toast to pop up guarantees a nice morning moan from some guests, which are mainly over 45 years of age and British.
We are in our 50s, there was entertainment and special things arranged for Christmas and New year, but nothing very exciting.
If you are in your 20s-30s, you may become bored with what's on offer very quickly and you probably will find it hard to meet people of the same age. Good thing is that Holetown is walking distance and has more choice, nightlife-wise.
Having mentioned all that, the hotel is a bit of a time warp and we felt good, so did many other younger and older folks - some of which have been coming there time and time again.
Do not have too high expectations, you have to fork out a lot more if you want a 4-5-6 star environment. This is a 3 star hotel in a good location on the beach. It is the old fashioned quality service with a Bajan smile, which we appreciated most!
In conclusion:
10/10 staff
7/10 decor & room
8/10 food & drinks
9/10 location
so really 8.5 out of 10 and we will come back
R & G

We had a brilliant holiday at Discovery Bay recently. I couldn't fault the hotel and we would definitely recommend this hotel to anyone!! We will definitely be going back at some point. The only thing is the evening entertainment isn't up to much but you haven't got to walk far for it.
The reason I didn't give it 10/10 was because we had a 48 hour delay with XL and we will not be using them again. I do not recommend using XL!!

2 readers found this review helpful

Don't believe any bad reviews that you hear. Me and my boyfriend are in our 20's and heard some mixed reviews.
When we arrived the hotel was lovely you had the beach right at your doorstep, the pool set amongst lovely landscaped gardens and free food & drink, as much as you care to consume.
The food was always excellent and the staff there are the most friendliest people you will ever meet and go out of their way to help you and ensure you have a good holiday.
The rooms are also spacious and very comfortable. The hotel is located in James Town (Gold Coast) where many celebs have homes. It is by far the nicest town on the island.

1 reader found this review helpful

What a fantastic Rex Resort Hotel. Staff excellent - friendly - fun, made you feel really at home. Food plentiful and delicious. All you can eat breakfasts, brilliant poolside lunches, couldn't manage afternoon teas, dinner fantastic. Some entertainment, a couple of lively groups. Superb beach with plenty of sun loungers.
Absolutely no complaints. Booked again for 2 weeks over Christmas taking all the family.
CAN'T WAIT

1 reader found this review helpful

We went to Barbados to attend a wedding and overall we enjoyed our stay. With me was my 6 year old son. A big negative was the sheer lack of entertainment for children. There wasn't even a DVD for him to watch, but luckily he was quite content in the pool most of the time.
There isn't much for adults to do in the evenings either. Local musicians come, but it's all over by 11pm, when the bar also shuts. I was happy with the food at meal times, very bajan, but at lunch you could request something more 'English' if you like.
Our room was lovely; the bed big and housekeeping kept it very clean, although the beach towel wasn't replaced during our 2 week stay. Beware, because our room didn't have a fridge, so water had to be kept in a little ice bucket. On the subject of water, it was hard to find until the bar opened, so we had to buy bottles from the gift shop, it was quite expensive.
Not good if you have small children especially. We found most staff quite friendly, but a few were less than so, especially the female ones. I perhaps wouldn't go back with a child, but if you are looking for a quiet, peaceful holiday, I would definitely stay here again. If all you want is to lounge by the pool, then this is the place to do it.

1 reader found this review helpful

We have just returned from a three week stay at Discovery Bay. We had stayed at this hotel 9 years ago and decided to return again even after reading the reviews!!!
I have to say that as soon as we arrived at the hotel I was so excited as the hotel looked just as good as it had 9 years ago! We were greeted by Edwin who was absolutely great. Friendly helpful and very pleasant. We did have problems with Expedia as we had booked all inclusive but Disco Bay had been advised we were room only! Not a good start. However Edwin was very helpful. The upshot is we are now fighting it out with Expedia as we had to pay an upgrade to all inclusive. Take care here!
We were renewing our vows of 10years so upon arrival we were upgraded to the beach front room (the one we had 9yeras ago) absolutely out of this world. The view is to die for. If you like the sound of the sea and the view, this is a must have.
The hotel was extremely quiet and as a result of this we had waiter service every night and a choice of menus. During our stay I have to say that the food was of a high standard and very enjoyable. There is a mixture of attitudes amongst the staff but overall very friendly and helpful. Even the lunchtime menu at the beach bar was great!
On our last night the hotel was a lot busier and we had buffet. I have to say this was our worst meal!
Every day I collected clean beach towels from reception. No problem at all! My only complaint is that the hotel needs to invest in some beach umbrellas!! They have two lovely static big sun shade areas but if like me you want to get away from everyone down on the beach with own brolly and sun beds forget it! This is my only complaint. (Mind you the palm trees do come in handy). We had rain and showers but the swamp caused no problems.
Overall I want to say that this hotel is lovely. It's quiet and relaxed. Most of the staff are great special mention EDWIN and DONNA and MR PROPHET !. During our three weeks Ann on reception was also fantastic. We had another great holiday at Discovery Bay. Wish I was still there!

1 reader found this review helpful

All I can say after spending two weeks at The Discovery Bay Hotel is Mrs Sutcliffe is so wrong and I am also most certain that she didn't stop at the same Discovery Bay Hotel in Barbados as me!
Me & my fiend went to Barbados on a girls holiday and we were looking forward to staying in a lovely hotel and meeting plenty of nice people. And what can I say every expectation we had was more than fulfilled by the hotel, the staff, other guests, the island and of course the locals!
The food in the hotel was amazing and in my opinion was full of variety and gave you a true taste of Bajan ways. The staff were friendly and always made sure you felt at home and were there for you no matter what time of day it was!
Overall I would recommend anyone to visit the Discovery Bay Hotel as it is a top class destination!

1 reader found this review helpful

My husband and I have just returned from Barbados after a disappointing 7 night holiday. This is our 2nd visit to the island (we stayed at the Escape Hotel & Spa at Paynes Bay last time - brilliant).
What positive points can I say about this holiday apart from touching back down in Manchester!! We booked with Virgin Holidays last time and we really don't think we will be booking a 3rd trip with them.
Don’t get me wrong, Barbados is a lovely Island however this hotel is severely lacking. Our problems were:
1. Mini bus crashed into a pick up truck before we had even left the airport at Barbados (driver not checking what was coming before setting off). The usual chaos when you arrive at this airport ie Virgin reps have never got the busses waiting for you and usually you never see a Virgin bus.
2. On arriving at the hotel we were extremely narked off. Purely because at the ages of 26 and 30, we felt like we had taken early retirement. Not another person of our age in sight. Thank God we were not staying for 14 nights! We much prefer a mixture of all ages so the hotel has a retirement home feel about it - not great!
3. The staff (apart from a few) are completely miserable and make you feel like they can't be bothered. They certainly don't got out of their way for you unlike the Escape Hotel.
4. The food is not very adventurous or even plentiful for that matter. You queue up like a prison in-mate and have your food slopped onto your plate. You are allowed to serve yourself for some of the food but there is so little of it, you feel guilty if you so much as put 2 spoonfuls on your plate! So much so that when my husband went back for a 2nd helping of something (which he rarely does) the member of staff serving reluctantly dished out more whilst shaking her head in disgust in an Oliver Twist fashion!! What sort of an all inclusive is it??!! Utterly rude. Additionally, unless you like to eat the same thing every night for the duration of your holiday, do not come to this one. A menu of rice, chicken, fish and veg is all there is on offer. Apart from disguising the food with different sauces, that was about as exciting as it got.
5. As mentioned in a previous rating of this hotel back in 2004, it has obviously gone down hill. Beech towels are not changed twice daily but in actual fact, never at all. We kept the same one for the duration of our holiday and were never told that we could have them changed. I am glad we weren't staying here for more than 7 nights. In fact, 3 was enough!
6. From speaking to other guests who had been returning customers for years and years, it was clear that this hotel was getting worse and worse as the years went by. Whilst our room was spacious, comfortable and with air conditioning and a fridge, it was shall we say a little 'tired' and in need of an update.
7. The flight home topped it off completely. Our flights were with BMI on a code share and the outward flight was on a jumbo as you would expect with all the mod-cons. When we arrived at check-in we were told that the aircraft had been changed (no explanation given) and the seats had been over booked because of this. Luckily we had pre-booked our seats so were not one of the unlucky ones. When we boarded the plane, to our horror it was a small aircraft, the type used for a flight to Europe and not what you would want to sit in for a long haul flight of 8 hours! The seats were uncomfortable with no head or foot rests, no personal TV to chose what you wanted to watch but instead only 2 films from the TV's above. So basically we paid for the use of a larger plane but instead got a second rate journey home. This is not what is described in the Virgin brochure and not comfortable when all you want to do is sleep on the way home.
From the above, Don't be put off by this report. Barbados is a wonderful island and the locals are really friendly. My advice is be very selective about where you stay and certainly DO NOT stay at this hotel.