Barbados Trip Report Week One

Barbados 2004 trip report



Week One



Liz and I set off from Manchester (UK) on June 13th. Our flight was on time
and it was as relaxing as an 8 hour flight could be as we’d pre-booked some
good seats with a bit more leg room. I thoroughly enjoyed the bottle of rum
which I’d purchased at the airport on the plane, so time went quicker than
usual.

On arrival at Grantley Adams airport we managed to get through customs a bit
quicker than normal which was definitely appreciated. We got our luggage and
boarded our bus to Casuarina. En route someone received a text message
saying that England were beating France in the football, so spirits were
high.

The bus made it’s first stop and as we had made good time Liz didn’t might
me leaping off the bus to go and watch the rest of the match whilst she
travelled alone to the hotel to check in. I tried the Whistling Frog but
they weren’t showing the match, so I walked to the Ship Inn where many were
watching it. After a ten minute wait at the bar I then watched the final ten
minutes or so of the match, squinting through the wicker white wooden fence
at the tiny screen in the distance. That meant as the two French goals went
it I had moments of uncertainty before the reality of throwing the game away
became apparent. A depressing start to the holiday not made any better by
the Bajans in French shirts driving past singing and shouting as I trudged
in the searing heat to the hotel.

On arrival I was queuing behind a man who was recognised by a fellow guest
as Tottenham Hotspur (English Premiership Football team) player Rohan
Ricketts. I had a chat with him and had the task of telling him England had
lost (he is English). Surprisingly he seemed pleased with the result!

The lady on the reception desk seemed to think that I would be in trouble
with Liz for leaving her to check in alone, but I assured her that this had
been agreed beforehand and that she was only joking.

I made my way to our hotel room and was pleased to see that we had been
upgraded to a one bedroom apartment. Things were looking up!

We went down to the beach for a swim and to have a good relax after the long
journey and then returned so that I could unpack and get ready for our first
night out. We chose Bubba’s as usually on a Sunday it’s pretty quiet
everywhere and I knew Bubba’s would be a good location to eat and get into
the swing of things straight away. Unfortunately I hadn’t realised that
Sunday is a big night for US sport and the place was packed with Americans
watching various sports. Not that I would have a problem with this, but it
was a bit too busy for our first night. After eating we made our way back to
the hotel and spent time have a few drinks on the balcony listening to
music.

We’d hired a moke for a week so the next day we drove to get some shopping
in for the room and then went for a drive. Liz drove this time and apart
from nearly wrecking it on a high kerb she got used to it fairly quickly. We
drove to the South Point lighthouse and took some amazing photos of the aqua
sea that is around there. Then we headed up to The Crane Hotel in order to
take some of the wonderful beach. Before we got there I’d come up with a
plan to avoid the charge that they make for entry to the Hotel by saying
that we had come to view timeshares. We had previously decided we would look
at some on this holiday so this seemed like an ideal opportunity. It worked
a treat and we were allowed in without any fuss and therefore saved some
money. However this was to prove not to be the case later on…

We saw the timeshare lady and were shown one of the one bedroom apartments.
It was awesome. Top quality throughout, the décor was marble and mahogany
and was complete with a four poster bed and all the top utilities that you
wouldn’t normally expect from a holiday hotel such as dishwasher, washing
machine and dryer, US style fridge/freezer with ice maker, DVD player, two
large TV’s, internet connection, two three piece suites and much more. We
then looked at one which had it’s own pool and this was the icing on the
cake. We knew we had to have it! Over the next few days we discussed it with
a friend of ours who used to work there and it got the thumbs up. We were
even advised that once the final stages of building and landscaping work
currently going on there is completed, the price should rise quite
significantly. This was good enough for us and before the week was out we
had returned to complete the deal. We now have our own place in Barbados for
a week each September for life! Not only that, but as it is the highest RCI
rated hotel out of the 4000+ worldwide hotels that it features, it can be
swapped for most other hotels in the world for 2 weeks. This includes the
very impressive Bougainvillea. So, although we usually do manage to get to
Barbados each year, this now confirms it. We can even go this year but are
going to carry this week forward to September 2005 where we can have 2 weeks
at The Crane. So much for my plan to save money! We are very pleased with it
though.

Monday night we went to the Harbour Lights beach party, and overall it was a
bit of a letdown. First of all, it was busier than normal, plus we were
still tired from jetlag and ended up getting the scheduled bus home at
10.30pm for the first time ever! We usually end up staying and getting a
taxi home at about 1am. On arrival back at the hotel I found that I’d left
my digital camera and spent some time ringing HL to see if they could find
it. They couldn’t and this really ruined the night.

The next morning we went to Bridgetown and bought a new one. A very decent
price too thanks to the duty free, but despite it being a lot better than my
old one it was still money spent that could have been avoided. To cap it all
off, within 10 minutes of getting back to the hotel we received a phonecall
from the very helpful manager at HL who said that he’d made enquiries and a
camera had been found on the bus that brought us back the previous night. We
now have two cameras!

The following day we did our “round the island” car trip, which was as good
as ever. Going up the east coast first we stopped at the Roundhouse to find
it closed for renovations, and instead went to the Edgewater Inn, as our
second choice – The Atlantis Hotel, didn’t look that impressive. We then
went to North Point and immediately were stopped by the vendors on the road
leading up to it. We usually do buy something so we got out to have a look.
However, there was nothing that we fancied so we left and made the promise
that we’d stop on our way back. At North Point we noticed that some changes
had been made to the place. There were a few more vendors there and some
fencing had been put up near to the cliff edges. In general it looked a lot
nicer. One thing they have also built is a bench right on the cliff edge of
the previously barren wild rocks that lead out to the sea and built a hut
over it. It also had a fence on the edge protecting those who sat there from
accidentally falling as they climbed onto it. However, it was still so scary
to even get onto the bench that I decided against this manoeuvre and instead
chose to take a few pics of it and return to the safety of the bar!

After a stay at North Point we drove away and as we approached the vendors
we slowed down but then noticed that they were in discussion with themselves
and had not realised we were coming. Quickly I hit the gas and we sailed
through before they could react. We sped off to the shouts of “Come back!”
We laughed.

We drove down the West Coast and after a long wait in traffic due to an
accident (quite a bad one), we made our way to Mullins Beach where we had a
nice swim and walked along the almost deserted beaches alongside the
millionaires beach abodes.

After this we hit the highway and avoided Bridgetown at rush hour.
Unfortunately I believed Liz’s directions and we accidentally ended up
heading in the wrong direction towards Bridgetown again. We eventually ended
up somewhere the other side of the Garrison which was quite a way out of our
way but at least we knew our way back from there. Overall a very good day
and we got plenty of sun!

We ate at Café Sol that night and it was as good as ever. Pity the service
was as slow as ever too!

The next day I went to watch England play Switzerland on the huge screens at
Bubba’s and thoroughly enjoyed England’s 3-0 victory along with numerous
pints of Banks beer! Back at the hotel we played football in the hotel
gardens and I had the pleasure(!) of being up against Rohan Ricketts. I’d
like to blame the alcohol for how I struggled, but I think I would have
anyway. I paid the price for this though as I’d failed to do any stretches
beforehand and I pulled a few muscles which made it uncomfortable for a few
days afterwards. I was pretty pleased with some of my performance though and
to be told I had “good technique” and be praised for a “wonderful pass”
(cross field – left footed straight to my team mate) by a professional
footballer made up for it.

The next night was Friday and that meant Oistins was the venue. We ate at
the Fish Net as usual and got there early. However, a lot of pre orders
meant we had to wait quite a while for our food. Whilst eating the meal we
got talking to a couple who turned out to have a timeshare at the next room
to us at The Crane. It’s a small world!

We stayed at Oistins till about 11pm and then got a taxi back after having
plenty of rum and coke overlooking the sea. A good night.

The Jolly Roger is a trip we missed last year so we had to do it this. It
now sets off from The Boatyard and on arrival we were impressed by the set
up. There’s a large colourful jetty made specifically for it and it looks
great. Plus we got to see Carlisle Bay for the first time during the day,
and it looks amazing! We had a great trip and met a nice couple who were
staying at Almond Beach Club – an Aussie called Nick and his girlfriend
Winnie (Juanita) from Essex (UK). They were a good laugh and we arranged to
meet them at Oistins the following week, but unfortunately we had to cancel
this so didn’t get to see them again. The Jolly Roger ship itself has
changed since last time, the top deck is half the size and not quite as
good, but it was still a great trip and we ended up doing it again the
following week.

The next day (Sunday) was the day we went back to the Crane to finalise our
timeshare purchase, and we got to stay for the day in one of their smaller
apartments. This was good as we got to use the main pool for the first time
as we were granted resident passes for the day. The pool is the best I’ve
been in in Barbados and has a 10 foot deep end which is nice. Very relaxing
and great views over the beach! We spent a lot of the day taking pictures of
the hotel and grounds and generally relaxing in the luxurious surroundings.



Part Two to follow…

"Richard" <rtownend@blueyonder.co.uk> wrote in message
news:bEGFc.3253$pf5.28316729@news-text.cableinet.net...
> Barbados 2004 trip report

<snipped for length>

Great report, Richard. We looked at RCI timeshares too, it looked like a
good deal. But when we went to the sales meeting, they turned on the
hard-sell like they were high pressure firehoses. And we were going to do
it too, but criminy. Glad it worked out for you.

Looking forward to Part 2...

"Skip Elliott Bowman" <skipster@teleport.com> wrote in message
news:7rHFc.3945$R36.2981@newsread2.news.pas.earthl ink.net...
> "Richard" <rtownend@blueyonder.co.uk> wrote in message
> news:bEGFc.3253$pf5.28316729@news-text.cableinet.net...
> > Barbados 2004 trip report
>
> <snipped for length>
>
> Great report, Richard. We looked at RCI timeshares too, it looked like a
> good deal. But when we went to the sales meeting, they turned on the
> hard-sell like they were high pressure firehoses. And we were going to do
> it too, but criminy. Glad it worked out for you.
>
> Looking forward to Part 2...
>
>

was it at the Crane? when we went there was no hard sell whatsoever and the
apartment sold itself.

"Richard" <rtownend@blueyonder.co.uk> wrote in message
news:AGIFc.3371$K36.28888097@news-text.cableinet.net...
>
> "Skip Elliott Bowman" <skipster@teleport.com> wrote in message
> news:7rHFc.3945$R36.2981@newsread2.news.pas.earthl ink.net...
> > "Richard" <rtownend@blueyonder.co.uk> wrote in message
> > news:bEGFc.3253$pf5.28316729@news-text.cableinet.net...
> > > Barbados 2004 trip report
> >
> > <snipped for length>
> >
> > Great report, Richard. We looked at RCI timeshares too, it looked like
a
> > good deal. But when we went to the sales meeting, they turned on the
> > hard-sell like they were high pressure firehoses. And we were going to
do
> > it too, but criminy. Glad it worked out for you.

> was it at the Crane? when we went there was no hard sell whatsoever and
the
> apartment sold itself.

No, this was a local office. It's funny, all they had to do was let the
company sell itself. It seemed like a great deal, all around. Gave us
pretty much everything we wanted for vacation accommodation. But the moment
we expressed the smallest interest, hordes of them descended upon us and
bombarded us with the hard sell. Chased us off they did. I called the head
office and tried to explain, and actually spoke to a VP of Ops, who said he
would check it out, handle it, and get back to us. That was in 1999! Talk
about blowing off a done deal. Ay yi yi.

Anyway, I also wanted to ask about your mention of vendors. Do you mean the
vendors like one might find in Jamaica or Cabo or Cancun, the ones who
follow you and beg you to buy something so they can feed their starving
family?

"Skip Elliott Bowman" <skipster@teleport.com> wrote in message
news:fIUFc.5180$oD3.3877@newsread1.news.pas.earthl ink.net...
>
> "Richard" <rtownend@blueyonder.co.uk> wrote in message
> news:AGIFc.3371$K36.28888097@news-text.cableinet.net...
> >
> > "Skip Elliott Bowman" <skipster@teleport.com> wrote in message
> > news:7rHFc.3945$R36.2981@newsread2.news.pas.earthl ink.net...
> > > "Richard" <rtownend@blueyonder.co.uk> wrote in message
> > > news:bEGFc.3253$pf5.28316729@news-text.cableinet.net...
> > > > Barbados 2004 trip report
> > >
> > > <snipped for length>
> > >
> > > Great report, Richard. We looked at RCI timeshares too, it looked
like
> a
> > > good deal. But when we went to the sales meeting, they turned on the
> > > hard-sell like they were high pressure firehoses. And we were going
to
> do
> > > it too, but criminy. Glad it worked out for you.
>
> > was it at the Crane? when we went there was no hard sell whatsoever and
> the
> > apartment sold itself.
>
> No, this was a local office. It's funny, all they had to do was let the
> company sell itself. It seemed like a great deal, all around. Gave us
> pretty much everything we wanted for vacation accommodation. But the
moment
> we expressed the smallest interest, hordes of them descended upon us and
> bombarded us with the hard sell. Chased us off they did. I called the
head
> office and tried to explain, and actually spoke to a VP of Ops, who said
he
> would check it out, handle it, and get back to us. That was in 1999!
Talk
> about blowing off a done deal. Ay yi yi.
>
> Anyway, I also wanted to ask about your mention of vendors. Do you mean
the
> vendors like one might find in Jamaica or Cabo or Cancun, the ones who
> follow you and beg you to buy something so they can feed their starving
> family?
>
>

no, these vendors had stalls full of touristy type stuff and they didn't
pursue you down the street etc.

"Richard" <rtownend@blueyonder.co.uk> wrote in message
news:8BVFc.3777$Xm5.32437349@news-text.cableinet.net...
>
> "Skip Elliott Bowman" <skipster@teleport.com> wrote in message
> news:fIUFc.5180$oD3.3877@newsread1.news.pas.earthl ink.net...
I also wanted to ask about your mention of vendors.

<snip>

> no, these vendors had stalls full of touristy type stuff and they didn't
> pursue you down the street etc.

Now THAT I like! I'm waiting with bated breath for your second installment,
Richard...

"Skip Elliott Bowman" <skipster@teleport.com> wrote in message
news:JVZFc.5414$oD3.3715@newsread1.news.pas.earthl ink.net...
>
> "Richard" <rtownend@blueyonder.co.uk> wrote in message
> news:8BVFc.3777$Xm5.32437349@news-text.cableinet.net...
> >
> > "Skip Elliott Bowman" <skipster@teleport.com> wrote in message
> > news:fIUFc.5180$oD3.3877@newsread1.news.pas.earthl ink.net...
> I also wanted to ask about your mention of vendors.
>
> <snip>
>
> > no, these vendors had stalls full of touristy type stuff and they didn't
> > pursue you down the street etc.
>
> Now THAT I like! I'm waiting with bated breath for your second
installment,
> Richard...
>
>

so am I, I will do it tomorrow.

"Richard" <rtownend@blueyonder.co.uk> wrote in message
news:4k%Fc.4154$u51.35851475@news-text.cableinet.net...
>
> "Skip Elliott Bowman" <skipster@teleport.com> wrote in message
> news:JVZFc.5414$oD3.3715@newsread1.news.pas.earthl ink.net...
> >
> > "Richard" <rtownend@blueyonder.co.uk> wrote in message
> > news:8BVFc.3777$Xm5.32437349@news-text.cableinet.net...
> > >
> > > "Skip Elliott Bowman" <skipster@teleport.com> wrote in message
> > > news:fIUFc.5180$oD3.3877@newsread1.news.pas.earthl ink.net...
> > I also wanted to ask about your mention of vendors.
> >
> > <snip>
> >
> > > no, these vendors had stalls full of touristy type stuff and they
didn't
> > > pursue you down the street etc.
> >
> > Now THAT I like! I'm waiting with bated breath for your second
> installment,
> > Richard...
> >
> >
>
> so am I, I will do it tomorrow.
>
>

sorry folks, I haven't had time to post part two yet. I will do it this
weekend at the latest. Promise!