Turtle Beach by Elegant Hotels

3 readers found this review helpful

We stayed in turtle beach for 10days and i think it was frankly a waste of money! For starters you had to get up really early to get any decent food for breakfast otherwise you just got the crumbs at the end! The birds basicly attacked you while you ate and they were eating all the food, on the other tables, which was left behind.
Dinner was a nightmare as you could never get a table and the other italan place only took people over 12 which was really annoying as we had a young dauther but the beach front resturant was quite nice.
The beach was fine apart from the huge waves that crash into you when you get near the water and a curent that nearly washes you into the rocks!!! Bedrooms are nice and big but bathroom was tiny and there are bugs coming out the walls, GROSS!!! Very busy so is not recomended to older couples.
Other wise there is lots of sunbeds and the pools are very big. Sevice is very good (apart from breakfast) and staff are very kind.

4 readers found this review helpful

Entering the hotel on its marble floor to be greeted by a rum punch you know you made the right choice by coming here,and it gets better!
The cleanliness is upmost in the minds of all staff,as you will see every day on your stay,the pools are religously and vigourusly cleaned every morning.For an all inclusive stay,we were worried that the food would either be boring or little choice,what a treat you are in for,with every night bringing such a big selection and high quality,we were actually eager for dinner to come around each night!
The hotel has 2 restraunts that are mostly a la carte and also an Italian restraunt that has earned itself a prestgous award for its quality.In the mornings for breakfast it is quite amusing watching the birdlife fly in and out of the main restraunt,bringing 1 or 2 complaints,but after all,wouldnt you rather be in an open air restraunt rather than an enclosed air condition one?
The rooms are spacious and cleaned on a regular basis along with towel changes.On the beach there are plenty of free sun beds to go around.For those of you wanting to shelter from the sun,some have canopys.
We enjoyed our stay,and thought we got good value for money,so much so we have booked to go back next year!!

1 reader found this review helpful

My husband and I were in Turtle Beach hotel in January 2008. The overall cleanliness of the place was disgusting, the food was dreadful and the restaurants were very tired and dingy. There were birds all over the tables and also on the buffet tables. The management and reception staff were most unhelpful and the restaurant staff were very dingy. The rooms, and I would add that we paid £1050 to upgrade our room, were dingy, the plumbing was almoswt nonfunctional, the furniture was old and dingey, the curtains were hanging off the hooks. Towels were grubby, patio furniture was broken. The sun beds on the beach and by the pool were old and broken. As for this being a Four Star Hotel it would struggle to come up to a two star rating. This was to be a holiday of a life time, the most expensive we have ever had. We were completely disappointed and would NEVER return. We did move hotels as we were so dissatified, this cost £1500 and we were then not all inclusive so our food and drink added to the cost.
What a disappointment. The comment was that because of constant use, hotels get a lot of wear and tear. This hotel should most certainly be downgraded or completely refurbished. Our advice to poential holidaymakers is never stay at Turtle Beach. I would also add that we were not the only clients complaining.

5 readers found this review helpful

We booked the Turtle Beach Resort for our Wedding (15.05.2007), after umming and aahing over where to go to get married.
The brochure looked lovely, the wedding sounded superb and it cost £16,000 for a party of 9 of us to stay there for a fortnight (including the wedding).
The resort cannot be faulted, it is clean, tidy, restaurants and bar areas well looked after.
Our room was upgraded on arrival as we were getting married and we had a complimentary mini bar which was stocked with anything you could think of - which my 3 year old son thoroughly enjoyed!
We had a King sized bed and our room was right overlooking the beach - I thought I was in heaven...... or a millionaire!!
The bathroom was clean but it had obviously aged over the years. My husband had to call housekeeping out a few times to unblock the toilet but that was nothing to write home about.
My son was put to sleep on a sofa bed within the room and there was still tons of room!
Meals were ok, the food was of a high standard but were not to my taste. We ate most nights at the al a carte restaurant which by the end of 2 weeks we were a bit sick of.
My father in law discovered a bar across the road from the resort so we ate there on the night before the wedding - steak and chips all round!!
The only other down thing is the birds that congregate every morning when you are trying to have breakfast. The cheeky things land on your table, chairs, food, the food serving areas.....it's not nice but Charles the manager said that they have tried over the years to stop this but nothing can be done!!
Our wedding went without a hitch.....but not after spending even more money on it in Barbados!! We were told that certain things were not included in the price of the wedding such as hairdresser and extra flowers. Its a bit of a scam really as you are not given a price before hand and I am sure that they just pluck a figure out of thin air!!
The hairdresser charged my mother, husband and myself £70 for very basic hair dressing assistance!! My mum had a blow dry, husband a very small trim and I had my hair tonged!!
We paid £50 for extra flowers for the wedding party and £100 for extra photographs which the photographer slyly put into our photo album....as if we were not going to have them!!
We took a CD with us for a song to be played as I walked to meet my poor sweating to death husband but the co-ordinator told us that they didnt provide a cd player.....but she could organise a steel band!! My mum and dad said they would pay for this extra. We were then asked did we want a one man or two man band. I opted for the one man, thinking it would be cheaper. On the actual day, they had organised a two man band which was £160!!! We had to pay for it!!
My poor dad had his hand in his pocket for most of the last week after the wedding paying for extras and he was certain that there was some kind of scam going on which I have written to Virgin about as we are incredibly disappointed with the amount of money that was "conned" out of us!
Anybody going out there to get married, agree all prices before hand!
The wedding co-ordinator out there is ok, to her you are just another number.
She rushes you from point a to b to c on the actual day and I couldnt relax.
I felt that my holiday was better than my actual wedding.
Because we booked with Virgin we were given a wedding certificate signed by Richard Branson but the wedding date on it was wrong. I just feel let down!
All in all Barbados is a beautiful island with beautiful people. They are really friendly.
I would love to go back but at £4k for the 3 of us, I think I can dream on!!

3 readers found this review helpful

Myself and my husband went to Turtle Beach in June with my parents, brother, sister-in-law and nephew.
We were very happy with the flight going out with British Airways and our rep met us at the airport. With only a short drive to the resort we were all very pleased with this.
On arrival at the hotel we were met with rum punch and all the formalities were taken care of.
We had junior suites all ground floor and next to each other. We were all very very pleased with the accommodation and on arrival to our rooms were met with different gifts i.e. Champagne, bath robes and flowers which was very pleasant.
I couldn’t really find fault with anything in the room apart from the patio doors did stick slightly! that’s as bad as I found it!
Although pregnant I couldn’t really sample the cocktails but all the bar staff were very nice and made me different non-alcoholic ones whenever I asked for something different. The rest of my group certainly enjoyed the known brand spirits etc...
All the food (although probably not what I would normally try) was fantastic and we all especially enjoyed the Italian Restaurant.
Weather was fantastic the whole time. We had one morning of very heavy rain till about 11am and then the sun came out.
The Catamaran trip was also fantastic and snorkelling with the turtles was amazing.
We did hire our own car for the day and although got rather lost most of the day it was nice to see the more non-tourist side of Barbados.
My nephew who is 4 tried and tested every single swimming pool from morning till night - you couldn’t get him out of them. If he wasn’t in the swimming Pool he wanted to go to Tommy Turtles Children’s Club and then you couldn’t get him out of there.
Although I will say it probably was more for toddlers! but this suited him and he loved the ladies looking after him as well.
I couldn’t praise the staff in the resort enough everyone I came into contact with was very friendly and happy to have a laugh with you.
The birds in the restaurants were fairly large and not very nice but the staff did all they could to clear away the place settings as quickly as they could so we did not really find this too off putting.
Swimming in the sea was quite disappointing as it was very rough and the whole time we were there the red flag was up but we already knew this before opting for Turtle Beach Resort from various information we had looked at - it was fun anyway getting knocked over by the waves.
We also spent the day at the sister resort Crystal Cove which was lovely. Although quite a bit smaller and a lot quieter it had lovely swimming pools and a swim up bar in a cave.
There was also a free shuttle bus that took you into Bridgetown daily which was useful although watch out for the traffic with the early bus!!
We did go down to St Lawrence Gap on a few occasions and again found everyone very nice and friendly. Felt very safe and not worried about walking around at all.
All in all the whole of our group had an excellent time and would have no problems at all in booking to go again at any time (if we can afford it again!).

Fantastic things - the staff in this hotel are wonderful, food is great, loads of choice for all meals. Drinks are all well known brand names and they aren’t stingy with them, plenty of sunbeds, 2 good pools (although Virgin brochure says 3. I never found the other one).
Rooms are fine too, we were upgraded to a suite which was really lovely.
Do go on the boat trip where you get to swim with the turtles, well worth going on and one of the best days of our holiday.
It’s also just a short drive to the airport so transfers are easy.
There’s also entertainment every night, but it would be so much better if they put some chairs and tables around the area where the performer is.
Not so good things- birds in the dining room, not just little sparrow type things, but huge gull like ones swooping down for food, very scary!
Swimming in the sea isn’t allowed when the red flag is up and the red flag was up for 9 of our 10 days. Drug dealers on the beach, shouting into the hotel grounds and picking on some unsuspecting bloke to go over to them. We had a laugh about it really but it wasn’t funny when someone’s 16 year old was constantly hassled by them.
The kids club is more of a toddlers club, hence the Tommy Turtle name, when my 9 year old went to see what was happening they said oh we may put a film on later. Fortunately he met up with another boy so it wasn’t much of a problem.
On the whole I would recommend this hotel, I would definitely go back, but I would avoid it if I wanted to swim in the sea and was a bird hater!

2 readers found this review helpful

My husband and I arrived back from Turtle Beach just this morning.
We spent a week there as a part of a party of 23 for a family wedding and have to say we were very happy with pretty much every aspect of our holiday.
The food is second to none - the choice, the presentation, the service (Except maybe the 1st evening with a 1 hours wait), the restaurant staff and the actual taste and variety were amazing. Booking you meal in the morning is fine and easy to do. The main downside was the birds flying around especially at afternoon. Not the most pleasant experience.
Accommodation> A little tired in the bathroom (the shower nozzle was not clean and the grouting was a bit mouldy) but the rest of the junior suite was good enough - large bed, nice balcony, TV, air-conditioning all good. Black out curtains were a godsend. The rooms are equipped with their own mosquito repellents.
Pool. We spent our time between the beach and the poolside. It was clean, plenty of sun loungers and close enough to the waterside bar to keep topping up on the famous rum punch/ soft drinks. Pools slightly on the small side, but the kids there seemed to enjoy them. Yes, the sea has a strong current, but it was good fun in there, boogie boarding and jumping the waves. A lovely picturesque walk along the beach - just avoid the local boys who want to sell you aloe Vera, coconuts and marijuana.
There are sand flies and they do bite - so do protect yourself frequently.
Weather. Unfortunately we were on the edge of the rainy season and had 3 days of huge thunderstorms and rain like we'd never seen. The hotel flooded every time which made the main restaurant a bit smelly for a while.
The rest of the time was lovely and warm. The breeze off the sea helped keep you a bit cooler.
Wedding. Even though it was delayed 5 hours because of the rain - it was very lovely. The bride was kept waiting by the wedding co-ordinator for quite sometime though apparently on the previous 3 days. It all went off very well and the photos will be great.
Entertainment. Very varied - singers/ bands/ instrumentalists. Finished no later than 10.45 which was good if you don't want banging music on outside your window. Low key enough to still chat, but we all had a dance.
Virgin. Very well informed and pleasant rep - easy to find. Flight back was better than on the way - better in-flight entertainment kept the long journey bearable.
Day trip. Quite pricey (£50pp) but the catamaran trip with scuba diving and swimming with turtles was a great day out. Well manned, good food, plenty of drinks and good music.
We would like to return next year with our children but unfortunately the price tag of just over £6k for 2 adults and 4 children is way out of most peoples' budget.

1 reader found this review helpful

My first time in the Caribbean and I'm glad I chose Barbados. My partner and I flew with BWI and it was a very basic flight but comfortable.
When we arrived at the resort, we were greeted by friendly staff and shown to our room
Our room was clean and had a good view.
The food here was very nice and there was always good choice. The restaurant was always quite busy so make sure you book up in the morning.
I really enjoyed this holiday it was very chilled out and excellent weather. If you have a stressful job and life and just want to chill out this is certainly the place for you.
My partner also asked me to marry him whilst we were here, which was just amazingly romantic.
I would recommend this resort to anyone!
However if I had to moan about one thing, it would be the entertainment, there was not enough of it in the evening.

Really looked forward to this holiday as I had heard so many good reports about Barbados. Had checked out Turtle Beach web site which made it look fantastic-the rep had also pointed out that it was more 5 stars than 4 star plus- she was obviously referring to the 80's group!
Very disappointed on arrival-although somewhat thankful that we hadn't stayed at Barbados Beach Club or Silver Sands. Nothing on entrance that made us think wow. Yes the staff were friendly on arrival however, this did not catch on with the majority of breakfast crew. I have never been anywhere in the Caribbean before where you have to queue for a table for breakfast! The food however was very very good, we can not fault this. On the whole though-the hotel itself was in desperate need of a face lift, looking somewhat tired and shabby.
Yes some people had told me they return every year-perhaps they need to get out more, I certainly would not rush back, not even to try a different hotel.
The "suite" (It was a room-all though classed as suite in brochure-never in a million!) was clean it was the little things like patio door not opening until you have nearly pulled it off its hinges from trying, knobs coming of chest of drawers, had to have a bath with my foot holding the plug in other wise water would run out. Yes I may sound like I am moaning-that’s because I am-had we been told we were staying at a 3 star it wouldn't have been a problem.
If anyone is fortunate or unfortunate to go to Barbados you must do Ted's Tour- a tour of the island with Ted-who never visits the same place twice-fantastic guide with great sense of humour and a wealth of knowledge.

This is a great hotel in a fantastic resort where the locals are really friendly. The flight out was actually with British Midland although we had booked through virgin. The inflight entertainment, meals and drinks (all free - any brand) were all spot on. As soon as you are in the airport you are greeted by the friendly locals offering to carry your bags (for a small charge of course!), so have a few dollars to hand. The heat hits you the minute you step off the plane but the airport and transfer coach was really well air conditioned.
The hotel looks amazing as you pull up in the coach. There is a security guard on the hotel gate who will not allow entry to anyone who has no business being there which is really reassuring, so don't loose your key or you won't get back in! You are greeted by the hotel manager and a very strong glass of rum punch! Your cases are taken off to your room while you are given a brief rundown on the hotel and enjoy your drink. The room itself is really bright and airy. It is well air conditioned and your fridge is restocked daily with soft and alcoholic drinks.
A basket of miniature sized spirits is also stocked every other day. The room is well cleaned by friendly maids who along with the rest of the staff will go out of their way to help you. I have a mixed opinion of the food. Breakfast is served buffet style in an open air restaurant. The food and the choice is great but the birds are a problem and if you go at a popular time you have to wait for a table. Lunch again is buffet style and you quite often have to wait up to 40 minutes for a table but you are offered plenty of cocktails whilst you wait and you can leave your name and go back to the pool while you are waiting.
For the evening meal you must book your table early or you won't get one! This did happen to me a couple of times and I ended up having to have my evening meals as room service delivered to my room! This was probably my own fault as you are warned to book and the room service food is just as nice as that in the restaurant. It is quite nice to have a meal in private on your balcony! There isn't a great deal of choice on the menu for the evening meal but what is there is delicious and well presented. I was pregnant at the time and obviously had to avoid a lot of the fish so found the menu quite limiting, however I told this to a member of staff one night and they cooked me a meal off the menu, whatever I wanted! It's not often you find people that will go to so much trouble to accommodate you.
The entertainment is nice if you just want a quiet evening. Often it will just be a man playing a saxophone whilst you eat dinner, although some nights there was a good band on. I wouldn't recommend this hotel to anyone looking for a lively holiday. However if you don't mind going out and spending a bit of cash it is only a 5 minute walk to the bars of St. Lawrence Gap which are quite lively but expensive. There seemed to be a price for locals and one for tourists. Getting a taxi to anywhere on the island is easy. Reception will call one for you and the drivers are so friendly and will tell you anything you want to know about the island. We took a taxi down to Oistins Fish Fry which is brilliant.
The atmosphere is fantastic but I wouldn’t stay too late as the tourists seem to disappear quite early. We also had a day in Bridgetown where there is lots of shops but I personally found it far too hot to be shopping in a busy city. We hired a car quite cheaply and went to crane beach and other beaches around the island which are all beautiful and definitely worth a look. Signposts are good and it was quite easy to navigate the island. We didn't book any trips through our virgin rep although we would have liked to. She was very hard to catch. She was very rarely at the hotel at the times she stated she would be and we spent a lot of mornings waiting only for her not to show up.
When we did manage to speak to her I think she must have been having a bad day as she was very rude and blunt. Other guests also commented on this. She was the only downside to this holiday and I would have given it 10 out of 10 if it wasn't for the poor representation from Virgin. I probably wouldn't use Virgin again but I would definitely return to Barbados and to this hotel. It is the perfect setting for a relaxing holiday where you can overindulge on rich food and fruity cocktails until you hearts content!