Barbados

Peridot Harrison on 05 November 2015
What weather to come back to! Just returned from a family holiday to Barbados.. oh what a holiday it was ! Our best holiday ever according to our two children!

It truly was a great destination for families. We stayed in Hastings which is on the South West coast, the hotel was the lovely family run Coconut Court. Being a 3 star hotel it didn't have all the facilities you'd find in a 4 or 5 star hotel but what it lacked in those it made up for in service, location and the amazing staff. The hotel is located on a stretch of beautiful white sand that gently shelves into the protected lagoon.. Which is safe for snorkelling and children swimming. The beach is also home to nesting turtles which if your very lucky, as we were, you will see them hatching and making their journey to the ocean! The hotel itself has a restaurant where they serve breakfast, lunches and evening meals including weekly BBQ's. There is a beach bar called Sea grapes that is just brilliant! mainly due to the fact that it has the best bar tender on the island (well we thought so !) Antonio. He has two happy hours a day and will do everything he can to make your day run smoothly. He also serves the family recipe Rum Punch , which is delicious!

The rooms in the hotel are freshly decorated and have recently been refurbished. We had a room in the older part of the hotel which was lovely. We had one huge queen size bed and two single beds for the children. A lovely corner balcony with amazing views over the ocean. (room 53) . It was cleaned daily and also had a fridge and microwave. It is worth noting that they don't have lifts but don't worry the porters will carry your luggage up to your room for you.

The hotel offers airport transfers which were on time and efficient.

We hired a car whilst we were there which was fun! The island itself is only 21 miles long and 14 miles wide and they drive on the same side of the road as us. The traffic gets busy round the capital Bridgetown but the rest of the island the roads are ok, if a little bumpy! It certainly is an adventure but well worth doing as you get to see the real Barbados. You will get lost but just stop and ask one of the locals and they will do their best to direct you to where you are heading !

The highlight of the holiday was our catamaran trip out to swim with the turtles.. it really is a must do in Barbados. We went on a boat for just 12 people as some of the others are bigger boats and they tend to cram a lot of people on to them. They served up a lovely lunch as we moored up just off the coast near to the famous Sandy Lane hotel. They provided snorkels and masks and served drinks all day. The children absolutely loved the experience and I would definitely recommend it.

The weather was perfect, a constant 31 degrees with a breeze most of the day. We had one thunder storm one night but other than that the weather was settled.

We cannot wait to get booked for next year !