Island Inn

Small and friendly, full of original character, Earl the bartender is one of the nicest guys you will ever meet, Ricia one of the waitresses, what a character, both, along with the other staff a great asset to the hotel. Great relaxing time, met some very nice people, I would suggest a superior room . We will be back, thanks for a great time.

We stayed in Barbados for 3 nights in early April, ahead of a cruise. We have visited the island many times and in researching this trip we were surprised to see how relatively expensive Barbados hotels have become (partly due to our £ exchange rate since our Brexit vote). We chose the Island Inn based on Trip Advisor reviews; the location and importantly, value. The hotel is small with c24 rooms. Half full at the time of our visit - with many repeat visitors which is usually a good sign. Built in two parallel blocks of single storey rooms, with a small pool at the far end. Situated across the road (50 yds) from Pebbles beach, between the Hilton and Ramada hotels. Nice little beach and worth an early morning stroll at 6am to see the local racehorses being exercised with a swim. Quiet locations, with a few monkeys for company. A pleasant bar and restaurant, outdoor seating and a conference room. We selected a Junior Suite and enjoyed the extra space this offered. The fabric of the hotel is generally good, but some signs of investment needed. In parts, shabby-chic rather than scruffy. We enjoyed a warm reception and all staff were polite and helpful. Service overall was relaxed rather than crisp. The hotel is all inclusive and we were impressed by the range of drinks and cocktails served with enthusiasm in the small bar. Food was better than expected for all-inclusive. Breakfast was buffet style with a range of hot food and eggs to order. Perfectly acceptable. Lunch and dinner were either BBQ, set menu or buffet style and all were better than average. Well cooked and presented with a decent selection, but don't expect too much (as an aside, we dined out at The Tides restaurant on the west coast one evening - fabulous). We did experience a problem with a power failure due to a faulty air conditioning condenser, which affected several rooms, including ours. This was particularly inconvenient as the bathroom in the junior suites have no natural light and showering by candlelight isn't as romantic as it sounds! Service recovery by the hotel staff and the manager left something to be desired - but this should not reflect on our overall assessment. In summary, a decent little hotel if you want to be close to Bridgetown; nice beach nearby; pleasant pool area; good sized suite; decent food; welcoming bar. Basic facilities - but reflected in the price, which we considered good value. If this is important, then the Island Inn won't disappoint.