I crave sunshine and warmth in my bones. Most Scots feel this way, especially when holidays to far flung destinations or warmer climes feel like they were a life time ago.

I’m lucky to have visited some amazing destinations through my blog and for my own holidays including Thailand, South Africa, Poland, Australia and America. But Barbados has always been on my bucket list and I couldn’t believe my luck when I got the opportunity to visit Barbados part press trip/part holiday.

Our time here was going to be a story of two halves. The first half would be spent at The Crane, a 5 star resort for 5 days of complete and utter relaxation and adjusting to island time, and the other spent at Dover Beach Hotel in St Lawrence Gap where our main emphasis would be on exploring the island.

THE CRANE, LUXURY RESORT, BARBADOS

Driving from the airport to The Crane gives you a good overview of the island. It takes about 20 minutes in a taxi and you’ll drive through towns and settlements, what feels like neighbourhoods and communities, past rum shacks, churches, cricket pitches and half built houses or dilapidated ones; but then all of a sudden, you find yourself in front of a very luxurious entrance complete with security station and guard and you enter a gated resort perched high on a cliff on the South side of the island overlooking the ocean. It’s stunning.

Stepping out of the taxi, you get hit with the humidity and the heat. Instantly you are a pool of sweat but boy is it nice. I find it hard to describe the feeling- its like getting warm from the inside out; your bones start to warm and you also start to relax.

After a very smooth and easy check in, our golf cart waits for us just outside reception and whisks us and our luggage over to our accommodation.

You don’t lift a hand here. The Crane staff do it all for you. This is 100% luxury all the way.

REVIEW OF THE CRANE, BARBADOS

THE APARTMENT

This is not a hotel room as I know it, this is an apartment larger than my flat in Edinburgh. It’s 3000 ms of prime real estate overlooking the rocks and cliff edge out over the Atlantic ocean.

Our Ocean View apartment came with an open plan fully equipped kitchen, dining area and lounge with double door leading out onto our own balcony. A massive bedroom with 4 poster bed and a bathroom the same size boasting his and hers sinks, toilet, jacuzzi bath and walk in/sit down shower. There is also a separate shower and toilet in the apartment.

The entire apartment is floored in Italian marble keeping the floors cool to the touch (you need it), fully air-conditioned with dark wooden slatted blinds to keep the midday sun out. There is a turn down service and the fridge comes with an ice maker.

The Crane has a range of Suites from one bedroom apartments (Junior Suite), to apartments with rooftop pools (Standard Suite) all the way up to a 3 bedroom Penthouse with plunge pool. We stayed in the One Bedroom Suite at $552 per night or £444 per night.

FOOD AND DRINK

All apartments at the Crane (and most hotels in Barbados) come with a kitchenette/kitchen and allow for self catering. The Crane does have 4 restaurants, an ice cream parlour, a coffee shop, 2 bars and a General Store. So the choice is yours should you wish to eat out every night or want to cook something in the apartment and dine on your balcony.

Food is expensive in Barbados and this is where much of your holiday budget will go. It’s expensive to eat out and its expensive to purchase food at the supermarkets and in this case, the General Store for us.

Breakfast was included in our stay but lunch and dinner we had to purchase in one of their restaurants or elsewhere. There are two top Bajan restaurants at the Crane, namely Zen and L’Azure. Breakfast is usually served at L’Azure so we didn’t really want to head back here for dinner but we did try out the Number 1 restaurant on the island for Japanese Food, Zen and tried out a local favourite which is located 3 minutes walk from The Crane, Marco Polo as well as the onsite Italian, D’Onofrio’s Trattoria. Reviews on these restaurants will be coming soon.

At the onsite General Store, a packet of crisps will set you back £8 whilst a tin of soup will cost £3 and a packet of bagels approximately £5. You’d expect the prices at the onsite grocery store to be more expensive compared to the supermarket, which they are but not by a huge margin.

Breakfast at The Crane was superb. Held in either the L’Azure or the Carriage House, the buffet breakfast means you can eat your fill of everything under the sun and the usual suspects (Brits won’t feel out of place here). Expect to find a range of cereals, fruit juices, fruit, pastries and breads. Choose from breakfast staples of bacon, eggs, beans, hashbrowns, sausages and throw in some Bajan items like plantains and chicken sausages.

The restaurants are all located in beautiful spots on the resort. The L’Azure is predominantly white décor with large floor to ceiling rotating windows that allow for the most stunning views over Crane Beach; Zen is an oasis of calm whilst the Carriage House is surrounded by several of the hotels swimming pools.

GROUNDS

The grounds of the hotel are immaculate and sprawling. The Crane resort sits on 40 acres of prime oceanfront real estate and is also home to many resident homes. I loved the village feel in the centre of the hotel grounds near the hotel reception; here you will find a mixture of boutique shops, the gym, concierge, bars and the ice cream shop.

The gardens are well landscaped and wooden bridges provide great viewing platforms to watch the bright orange, yellow and gold koi fish. The crane bird is also prevalent and you’ll see many odes to the Crane in ponds and shrubbery.

THE BEACH

Crane Beach is considered one of the top beaches in the world and now I know why. The sand is powdery off white/pinkish in colour and is know to turn pinker the closer to dusk it gets. The water is cool not cold with very few large waves as there is reef not too far out to sea. There are plenty of sunbeds and brollies available. The beach is accessed via a glass lift from the resort down to the beach and there is also a public walkway accessible along the far end of the cliff.

On our visit, there was quite a lot of fine seaweed but a tractor ploughs the sand every morning smoothing out the beach and returning the seaweed to the sea; unfortunately, this means that a swim will result in seaweed getting into places you thought only sand could reach!

THE STAFF

The staff here are super helpful and so so friendly. The concierge desk was truly amazing and they are a true credit to the hotel; helping to book dinner reservations to booking us a car. A very simple and easy process where they take all the hard work out of any of your holiday plans.

I thoroughly loved my time at the Crane Resort. It was the height of relaxation and not overly busy around the swimming pools which meant that quite often we’d have a pool area all to ourselves. The restaurants are busy with guests, residents and non-guests visitors so it is a good idea to book well in advance.

Pros

It’s luxurious, 5 star all the way
Close to the airport
Everything you need is within the complex from food, to spa, to restaurants and sporting activities
The staff are tremendous
The accommodation is outstanding
The beach is truly amazing
If you are looking for total relaxation away from everything, then this is the place

Cons

It’s located on the South Coast with very little else around it. There are buses and plenty of taxis but it’s a good 40 minutes into the nearest town
If you are looking for adventure and activity, then this isn’t the resort for you

Would I stay here again? You bet ya! I think we done our holiday the right way. We spent 5 days here relaxing and easing into island life. We needed those days of doing very little to adjust and get out of the fast paced state of mind that we’d come from. Our bodies and minds needed a few days to unwind and become accustomed to the easy going, no hassle, no rush way of life. Once we’d done this, it was time to move on and discover and explore the island and hence the move to St Lawrence Gap.

Thanks to the Crane for a wonderful stay and for resetting my mind and soul. I was truly sad to leave.

The Crane, St Phillip, Barbados Tel : (246)-423-6220 www.thecrane.com

My Spoon Award : Tartan Spoon 10/10

REVIEW : STAY - The Crane, Barbados