Barbados June time and Hilton questions

[jingtan]

Any one been to Barbados at June? Is it not a good time to visit?
Also there are two Hilton there, any recommendations? Thanks

[Rob]

I replied in the chat thread re weather.

The Hilton is meant to be ok but close to Bridgetown – not a remote tropical paradise.

The Marriott ones are still awaiting refurbs and are meant to be dogs.

You need to be very careful in Barbados – lots of worn hotels living on past glories at crazy prices. Sandy Lane may be £1000 per night (less in June) but it does deliver – was there in October.

[Roberto]

There are two Hiltons… The one in Bridgetown is a soulless monolith on an amazing beach a little removed from all the action. The other is a timeshare based resort on the quiet (and rough sea) side of the Island. I have visited both and stayed at neither. There are plenty of other better places on the island. If you have a pile of Hilton points to burn I would choose a different island tbh.

And as for the weather in June I have seen it all. Yes its warm and more likely to be wet at some point but its the Caribbean and its the same all over in those summer months. You would be very unlucky to have a week or rain, it just does not really happen like that (but it could). I have been in pretty much every month (I just had 4 weeks there) and its an amazing island, I would just not stay at a Hilton there.

[Cranzle]

I’ve often wondered by resorts are so underinvested in the Caribbean. You get a far more luxurious experience in many other destinations around the world. Sun and sea are available too!

Given the ‘wealth’ that travels to Barbados, you’d think they would desire something more up to date!

Rob – how does the standard of Sandy Lane compare with the upper end options available in Maldives or say Dubai?

[rahaney]

Copied from reply in daily thread.

Currently in Barbados and feeling it’s a mixed bag…There’s a substantial amount that seems to have been left to fall into rack & ruin, though to be fair they are only just out of Covid restrictions within the last month so perhaps it’s just the impact of the pandemic. Most of the resorts also seem very dated as we’ve driven past. Mosquito territory as well, in case you are not aware. However definitely a few hidden gems around, currently in the Sage Bistro and was at Champers last night, which was excellent. The islanders are all very welcoming. Would head to other parts of the Caribbean before returning.
Ta,

[Rob]

Cranzle wrote:

Rob – how does the standard of Sandy Lane compare with the upper end options available in Maldives or say Dubai?

Sandy Lane is equal to a top Dubai beach hotel (eg Madinat) and priced accordingly.

The gap between Sandy Lane and the Fairmont (historically No 2, probably not any more) is laughably huge. We stayed at both in October. Fairmont wouldn’t even get into the top 50 hotels in Dubai, although you can’t argue with the sea views which are probably the best of any Barbados hotel. (Sandy Lane has huge trees in the 50 feet or so between the beach and building so you can’t actually see much. Fairmont is literally on the edge of the beach.)

You can’t really compare to the Maldives because you’re not building overwater bungalows on a private island ….

There is reader feedback in our Fairmont Royal Pavilion review here – https://www.headforpoints.com/2021/11/09/review-fairmont-royal-pavilion-hotel-barbados/