Bougainvillea Barbados

Our experience at the Bougainvillea resort was amazing. I would ABSOLUTELY return. The entire front desk was super warm and friendly at all points when we needed help. Kemar was great at getting us set up in our room when we arrived, and making sure we knew how to work the fans and everything. The housekeeping staff were amazing as well, Shavanna in particular was very understanding with my kids wanting to sleep in late and set us up with anything we needed even when the time was awkward, so we really appreciated her. Other things I appreciated? I have never seen a resort that was so well set up with tons of lounge chairs, everyone had their pick and everyone had a chair to enjoy the pool or ocean . Seriously!! No fighting for any beach chairs! Bathrooms and bedrooms super clean. Toilets flush GREAT. We did a lot of take out from the restaurant, everything we tried was very good. Very safe and private. Overall, one of the most relaxing vacations I have had in my life because the resort makes sure everything is taken care of, is very helpful, and you can just melt into your beach chair for a week and worry about nothing :) Read less

We were a family of 9 from 13 to 80 years old - 3 rooms - a 2 bed ground floor apartment and 2 studio rooms. All were tastefully furnished but tired. Incredible views of a stunning beach. The rooms appear to have had some modernisation but the finish is average. We had both toilets flood in the apartment, with sewage onto the room. However the hotel attended to it immediately and gave us a free dinner in the calabash restaurant which was appreciated. Cannot fault the staff - the service is with such kindness and warmth - probably the nicest staff we have had the pleasure to meet on our travels - they really to make the place. Service is slow but you learn to adjust to the Barbados way plus we are a big group so are happy to accept that. The pools whilst looking nice in photographs were very unclean. No other way to describe them - the adults one was green and has been for some time - green along the times and coping stones. That basically precluded us from using them. I politely complained and there was some activity, closing the pool for a while but no discernible difference. To be honest this is just not acceptable. A clean pool in a hotel should be a pre requisite. Management really should take better care here. It didn’t spoil our holiday but it might stop us from returning. I can see why the hotel is a firm favourite with many returning guests, but for us it really does need some investment in improving the quality and standards of maintenance. It could be a 5 star rating - we are being generous with 4 as 3 would be unkind. Lovely people good food from the restaurant, incredible beach but attention to detail in hotel maintenance and standards of the property not quite there for us. A shame as these are all pretty simple fixes. We had a great holiday and will have lots of great memories, chief among the the warmth and hospitality afforded to us by the 5 star staff. Read less

Located right on beautiful Maxwell Beach on the south coast in Oistens, the Bougainvillea is a wonderful, relaxing place to spend your time in Barbados. Right off the start, it is the people that make the Bougainvillea great; from the wonderful staff at the Front Desk, to the Housekeepers, Maintenance, Bar and Food Service, Watersports, Guest Services, and Management, you are made to feel welcome and appreciated from the moment you arrive. We stayed in a one bedroom suite that had a lovely view from the balcony over the grounds and to the ocean beyond. After checking in, we were escorted to our room by the Bell Hop who carried our luggage in and showed us where everything was, set up the suitcase table for us, and showed how to operate the A/C units. We found a bottle of wine with a hand written note in the kitchen to welcome us, and staff had also decorated our bedroom with ballons and streamers as they had found out we were celebrating a special occasion during our stay. Rooms are a little dated, but are well appointed and kept very clean by Housekeeping. The bathroom was recently renovated and very nice and quite large with dual sinks. Our only critique inside was that the lighting in all rooms is quite poor. The only place to read after the sun sets, is in the bedroom as there are reading lights on the headboard, but to sit and play cards, write, or read in the living room is very difficult. We had a couple of issues with the A/C unit in the bedroom, both times we called the Front Desk and both times Maintenance was at our door within 10 minutes and solved the issue within an hour. Impressive! Everywhere we went, staff was very friendly with everyone saying hello and willing to engage. I had a couple of great laughs with the maintenance man that was keeping the gardens well trimmed and perfect, and the pathways clean and swept, while my wife and our main Housekeeper, Brendalee, became fast friends, chatting and sharing experiences whenever their paths crossed, and we also had a nice time with Terecia who told us about a couple of Bougainvillea's amenities that we were not fully aware of. Lance, the Food and Beverage Manager was an absolute riot, and he kept me on my toes, and my wife smiling whenever we connected. The Front Desk staff were exemplary in every way, helping us with excursions and tours, reservations and taxis, which we utilized quite a bit. (My apologies; there are too many names for me to remember, but all were fantastic!) It seems there is no one specific concierge, so all the Front Staff act as concierges whenever necessary. We had no issues whatsoever. The Bougainvillea has their own "preferred" taxis, and we were lucky to have had Trevor become our main taxi driver, which seemed to morph into tour guide, and he even suggested one of our favourite excursions. Another taxi driver, Levere, took great care of us a couple of times when Trevor was booked. There are four pools at the Bougainvillea, and are clean, but not huge. There is a children's pool, a regular pool, and an adults only pool with a swim up bar, as well as another pool next door at Deia Beach Restaurant that Bougainvillea patrons have the use of. Over the course of two weeks, we used the pool on only one occasion. Since we were right on the ocean, we made use of that and the beach, but the surf can be a bit much for children and less strong swimmers, so the Bougainvillea will close the beach to swimming on rough water days. This isn't a problem if you want to go into the ocean since there are breakwaters at Sandal's which is maybe 80 or 100 meters down the beach. We walked down several times to swim when our beach was closed. We spent more than a few days on the beach, and there, the Bougainvillea has a Watersports hut that provides towels, umbrellas, tables, and beach toys. The gentleman that wore the Bass Pro Shops hat (apologies for not remembering your name) would bring out an umbrella whenever he saw us setting up our beach loungers. Such excellent service! Watersports sometimes would come by and offer a frozen cloth to cool off with, or even more fun: Jello shots! When we went to the beach, we stayed all day! The pool bar will mix your drinks and serve in plastic cups to take down to the beach and there are recycling bins nearby so there is no need to leave anything but your footprints! Neville, at the pool bar, made the meanest blended strawberry margherita for my wife and a pineapple rum punch at the Monday gathering that was to die for! There is a small gift shop located just off the lobby that is very well stocked with lots of touristy things, including postcards and stamps. You can also get sunscreen and bug repellent, sweets, snacks, wine, and all sorts of miscellaneous items. Breakfast was included in our rate, and that was at the Calabash restaurant on site where Lisbeth greeted us most mornings and got us squared away. Another friendly, warm, and personable woman that we always enjoyed chatting with when she wasn't zipping around making sure everyone was happy. The included breakfast is the breakfast buffet which is slightly different every day, but has cereals, granola, pastries, yogurt, baked beans, potatoes, pancakes or french toast, sausage, toast, juice, coffee or tea, fruit, and an egg station. Calabash is open for breakfast lunch and dinner, and while we never ate lunch there, we had breakfast everyday, and had a couple of meals there over the course of our time at Bougainvillea. The food is good, and the drinks are great! (I highly recommend their version of the Mai Tai!) Our second critique was the stray cats and chickens they keep on the grounds: the cats use the beach near the deck area as their litter box, and the chickens mess everywhere they go. I am not sure why, or if there is a purpose to these animals being kept, but there is a bowl of cat food under a hedgerow so it is an active participation... a minor thing, but a point to be shared, nonetheless. Overall, the Bougainvillea has become our favourite resort that we have stayed at, anywhere. It's people, it's charm, it's atmosphere, it's grounds and amenities, and it's pride of place make it the most relaxing, lightening, and calming place we have ever been! Thank you to all at the Bougainvillea! Read less

Barbados for me has been the best holiday destination. It’s hard to say way without sounding cliched but the down to earth feel, the generosity of spirit, the amazing scenery and so on. Bougainvillea takes all of this and more and makes it the most perfect place. Staff are amazing. So helpful and friendly with a proper human touch and that is everyone from receptionist, gardeners, chefs, waiting staff and security. My mos favourite place on the planet has also become my daughters and we first brought her here when she was one. She’s now eighteen. Read less