So Many Barbados Resorts and so Little Time

What is the one thing that makes Barbados different from so many other Caribbean islands?

Hint: you stay for a week or so in them.

Yes, the hotels of Barbados are unique amongst the many islands and are probably the main attraction and definitely one of the main reasons for returning to this most eastern Caribbean gem.

Barbados boasts the oldest operating hotel in the Caribbean, the Crane, and the most elegant, Sandy Lane. Between those two properties, literally, are some special surprises for those who need more than the typical tropical style room in a typical tropical hotel.

The Crane is an excellent place to begin the tour. It's out of the way as hotels go in Barbados, but it's a destination unto itself. Exquisitely crafted from an old plantation home, the "old" hotel, which opened in 1887, boasts 18 inch thick coral and limestone walls and panoramic views from high above the water. You can see the sunrise and sunset in most rooms. You wake up in paradise and drift off to the gentle pounding of water on the rocks below. The Crane's design can only be described as classic, with tall doric columns guarding one end of the pool which overlooks an endless ocean to the east. Two wonderful restaurants are on property, and are the favorite of Barbadians and hotel guests alike. The highlight at Azure is dining and gazing out over the water and down to Crane Beach below with it's pink and inviting sands. The Crane has carefully expanded over the years to accommodate more guests, with a development to compliment the "old" hotel.

Want variety? There is a group of hotels called the Elegant Hotels of Barbados. Here you have a choice of modern all-inclusive in the Turtle Beach, an all suite property, and the quiet and understated exclusivity of the House, with it's adjoining fine dining restaurant, Daphne's. Other resorts in the Elegant bunch consist of Crystal Cove, Colony Club and Tamarind Cove. All are just that much different to make each one your hotel to stay at, but with only one vacation time available you are in luck. You can have exchange privileges amongst the sister hotels. And you can get there by water taxi. How fun! Crystal Cove is a smaller all-inclusive with a special grotto bar and a vista view over the blue Caribbean side waters that will make you want to move in for good. The rooms have peaked roofs and with a little imagination you can think yourself staying in one of the famous "chattel houses" of Barbados. Colony Club will take you back to a Caribbean of history books, to the fifties and before, when travel to these parts was not as common as today and tinged with romance and adventure that made great movies and love stories. Recently refurbished, Colony Club has the charm of yesterday but all the amenities of today, so your own love story happening here will be with all this century's latest conveniences. Tamarind Cove gives you some room to breath, as it spreads its self over a number of acres along St. James Parish. Here you can walk the beach with the soft colors of the hotel to one side and the sunset to the other.

One thing about these Barbados hotels is that they are one of a kind and you are treated the same way. No where is this more apparent than at the family owned Coral Reef Club. Here you feel like you have landed in the garden of paradise, with the flora and the fauna wonderfully accenting every building, pool, stair case and walkway. You do feel like those are your bougainvillea brilliantly coloring your walkway to your room, such is the spirit of the Coral Reef Club.

Part of a larger family, the Fairmont Hotel family, that is, the Royal Pavilion has welcomed guests into it's stately elegance for many years. Here service is a hallmark, and not a thing is left undone. Your rooms are classic Caribbean, muted colors with mahogany appointments. The grounds are immaculate and formal and pleasing to a sense of classic style that comes with the British heritage of Barbados.

A pinnacle of luxury is Sandy Lane. It is the Barbados home on occasion of presidents and royalty. And royal describes the treatment every guest receives, even if they aren't running a nation. Service is white starched and veddy British. A free form pool invites you to linger, float and relax. The 40, 000 square foot spa has treatments to pamper and invigorate. If golf is your game, try the new "Green Monkey" golf course at Sandy Lane. You will be in good company. Sandy Lane was the wedding and honeymoon home of Tiger Woods, who took the entire resort for a week. Oh, yes. Everything is remotely controlled in your suite: the lights, the drapes, the television, everything. And it is control by stretching ever so slightly in bed to the control panel.

Each of the resort hotels deserve their own week, and many visitors take Barbados up on the offer. Of all the Caribbean Islands, Barbados boasts the most repeat visitors.

Start your first week now!

When You Go FAQs:

Money: US dollars are accepted across the island.
Language: English
Water: Drinkable from the tap
Internet access: available at major properties as well as at internet cafes
Average temprature: year round 83 to 85 degrees.

Carriers Servicing Barbados from the US: Air Jamaica, American Airlines, Caribbean Airlines, Delta Airlines and US Airways.

Hotel Web Sites: http://www.thecrane.com, http://www.eleganthotels.com, www.coralreefbarbados.com, http://www.fairmont.com/royalpavilion, www.sandylane.com

Barbados Tourism Authority Official Site: http://www.visitbarbados.org