Tamarind and Crystal Cove in Barbados - opinions sought!

I do vaguely remember a 'where should I stay in Barbados' thread not that long ago, but there seems to be no way to search through threads on the mobile version of the site, so apologies if this is at all duplicative...

So, my beloved Almond Beach Village has closed, the sister alternative of Casuarina is not a good alternative, and I'm therefore on the hunt for a good family resort. Preferably all inclusive and definitely of a reasonable size so that it has enough activities, pools, restaurants and bars to keep the whole family happy. Did I mention 'bars', oh yes, just checking...

I've had a couple of pointers towards either Crystal Cove or Tamarind, and you can mix and match the facilities I believe as they are part of the same hotel group, with a water taxi service.

Anyway, both seem to get good writeups (and yes I know Tamarind isn't actually AI), but wondered if any of the Barbados afficionados on this site had been there and had an opinion to share.

Any other options that you can offer up? I do also have Turtle Beach on the shortlist, having stayed there before. It needs to be very family friendly, but it's also going to coincide with a 'special birthday' for me (bloody oxymoron that, at my age...), so willing to push the boat out. Hell, I'm even going PE, no arguments. Dear wife will just have to realise that after many years of rising APD, fuel surcharges and the like, getting yet another package in the school hols for under 5 grand is a pipe dream, and only been made possible since 2010 by some seriously hard assed negotiating and arbitrage between travel agents on my part. Never again...

Ahem... Rant over... Opinions welcome!

RC

Well, probably not a lot of help to you but - just come back from two weeks at Turtle Beach which our kids loved, but the sea is definitely too rough there for small children. In fact several guests were travelling to Crystal Cove every day for the calmer waters. We went and had a look at Crystal Cove and my view is that it is much smaller than Turtle Beach and certainly looked and felt more exclusive. The pools are small but very nice looking, shaped as several rock pools on different levels decending down towards the beach. Can even have a drink at the bar while in the top pool! Beach area and sea looked very nice but flat calm so if you are going for sailing, dont count on doing much. Seemed like a good selection of watersports on offer though. Cant comment on the food as we didn't eat there, but restaurant area is 'netted' off so you won't be plagued by the birds like you are at Turtle Beach. Have a look on tripadvisor and you'll probably find some better information.

We've stayed at Treasure Beach - next door to the Tamarind - a fair few times and have had a good nosey around over the years. It strikes me as a very pleasant hotel, quite large with a great position on Payne's Bay. Never eaten in the main hotel restaurant, but Daphne's, which is part of the 'group', is connected to the hotel and is very good indeed. Also, the restaurant at Treasure Beach is well worth a visit, as is Scarlet's which is just over the road.

Not so much experience of Crystal Cove, though I've never heard any poor reviews. Don't think it's on quite as nice a patch of beach as Tamarind, and I'm not sure if there are quite so many restaurant options within walking distance.

Either way, I don't think you'll be disappointed. There's so much on offer up that stretch of the west coast. You know, we may be heading off to Orlando and New York in a few weeks, but I'm still mighty envious of anyone lucky enough to be Barbados bound...

Thank you both...

Hunterdwmgzt - definitely agree about the waves, although in the past that was actually a major attraction for my 2 children. Unfortunately they think that because they are both good swimmers that there's no danger... As for the birds, I've long ago accepted them as part of the scenery in restaurants, and avoid leaving our table unattended!

Mdvipond - I did notice Treasure Beach next door and had checked that out in the past as I remember your rave reviews of the place. Problem there seems to be that rooms can only cope with 2 adults and 1 child - not sure I'm quite ready to go with them having their own room just yet! As for being envious, you're the one that goes UC and I'm just about managing to swing a move up to PE, so it works both ways!! Have fun in Orlando/NY. Will be in the latter in a few weeks myself, but sadly only for work...

Think it may end up being Turtle Beach after all, but we'll see...

RC

If you're looking for activities, multiple/large pools and plenty of room for younger ones, then Treasure Beach certainly isn't for you. The Tamarind looks much closer to what you're after, and chatting with some of the people who've stayed there over the years I've never heard a bad report. And location wise, it's ideal.

Will do our best to enjoy all that Disney and NYC have to offer in October. Let us know when you take the plunge on Barbados, and don't forget to post TRs!

Well, have stayed at Turtle Beach 4 times and NEVER been disappointed (my daughter loves it too).

Have visited Crystal Cove, and it's definitely smaller - whether that makes it "more exclusive" I couldn't say as that word probably means different things to different people.

When comparing to Turtle Beach, I'd say it's more quiet atmosphere, a little more "stayed" and I don't think the food as as good - and it's definitely not as good for younger children.

Whilst the sea is definitely calmer, there is just a small roped off patch that is as flat as a mill pond, and beyond that is a place for water-skiing and boat trips so is actually quite noisy with periodic wafts of petrol fumes - I prefer TB, rougher sea and all, but I can see how Crystal Cvoe would suit better for some.

Tamarind - don't know!

It does rather sound like all roads are leading to Turtle Beach for us. It's been 8 years since we were last there but I do remember it being good back then. Actually, what I remember most was that the England cricket team was staying there, but I'm sure the rest of it was great as well.

Didn't get out much then either as we had a 9 month old baby (boy, does that make me feel old), quite looking forward to a second visit as I know it's a pretty lively area to explore.

As for TRs... Have a bit of a backlog to catch up on, but yes, I promise mdvipond...

We've stayed at Treasure Beach - next door to the Tamarind - a fair few times and have had a good nosey around over the years. It strikes me as a very pleasant hotel, quite large with a great position on Payne's Bay. Never eaten in the main hotel restaurant, but Daphne's, which is part of the 'group', is connected to the hotel and is very good indeed. Also, the restaurant at Treasure Beach is well worth a visit, as is Scarlet's which is just over the road.

Not so much experience of Crystal Cove, though I've never heard any poor reviews. Don't think it's on quite as nice a patch of beach as Tamarind, and I'm not sure if there are quite so many restaurant options within walking distance.

Either way, I don't think you'll be disappointed. There's so much on offer up that stretch of the west coast. You know, we may be heading off to Orlando and New York in a few weeks, but I'm still mighty envious of anyone lucky enough to be Barbados bound...

RC, had lunch at the Taramind in May when I stayed next door at "The House" and it was good. Like that area myself like mdvipond as can certainly recommend Daphne's (especially for happy hour!) and Scarlet's across the road and the Roti den for lunch.

Not familiar with the Turtle beach but the Taramind sits on a lovely beach just down from the Treasure Beach. I am sure whatever you choose on Barbados, will be perfect.

Jon

I've stayed at pretty much all of them, although moved out of Crystal Cove after one night. The rooms and the beach were just to small for us and it's quite hilly too.Luckily The Manager moved us to The Colony Club but still on a AI basis, best resort we've stayed in.

However, if you definitely want AI and can cope with the waves, I'd go for Turtle Beach. Whatever you do, avoid The Sea Breeze, rooms and beach are good but we found the food and service very poor.

Jill

I agree with comments regarding Turtle Beach, stayed a couple of times & thought it was very good. Stayed at Waves in July & though that was a good standard but probably not suitable with young children. If you are looking for somewhere special for dinner I would certainly recommend Tides which IMHO is much, much better than Daphnes & only a short walk to Lexys piano bar which is a great place to round off an evening.

Have a great trip

oldboy

So... hell has officially frozen over and I'm flying PE next year. Woo Hoo.

In the end, we decided to give the Verandah Resort in Antigua a go. Tipping point came when on the day I was going to book Turtle Beach, the last of the K fares for that day disappeared and the price went up by a grand immediately! No thanks... but another salutary lesson that you can't hang around when there's a sale on...

Anyway, a truly unbelievable deal on this for the school hols, and over £1500 cheaper than what VH was quoting. Another epic fail from them I'm afraid. I just hope the place lives up to it's good reviews.