We just returned from a week stay at the Bougainvillea and it was wonderful. Everything about the hotel was exactly like the pictures you see, the view of the beach from our balcony was more than enough to get me to come back. The staff did a good job of taking care of all our needs, except they could have been a little quicker at the front desk but they weren't too bad. John at the pool bar was awesome, we spent more than one night sipping on drinks and finding out tons of information about the island and its people. We went on the sunset snorkeling cruise with Cool Runnings and it was worth every penny spent and then some. We went deep-sea fishing and I caught a 35lb kingfish(only fish we got in 4 hours) but it was my first time out so I was happy. The tour and lunch at Mount Gay Rum was very informative and the lunch was delicous, you will definately want to bring some rum home after you try theirs. Scuba diving with Dive-Pros is an experience I will never forget, it was my first time out and I am definately going to finish my certification and dive more. We went to the Roots&Rythmns show and it was the only thing we did that was dissapointing, it is more like a vegas show than anything else. We should have skipped that and went to Oistins fish fry instead. The only negative comment about the hotel is the pricing for the wireless internet access is misleading. You can purchase it by the hour, day or week. We were there for a week so I naturally bought a weeks worth so I could check my business email and such from my room before we headed out. What I didn't know was a weeks worth is actually a week's worth of online time ie. 168 hours of time actually logged in online. During my week's stay I only used 22 hours so instead of spending $85 for the week's time I could have bought a day's worth of time for $16. I asked the manager for a refund but she said I should have been informed about what I was actually paying for when I got the access so she wouldn't be able to give me a refund of the difference. Other than that our stay was incredible and we are definately going back again.

My husband and I stayed for a week at the Bougainvillea for our honeymoon. It was a wonderful choice! Our room was very clean, and because we purchased a honeymoon package, we were upgraded to a 1-bedroom room, rather than the deluxe studio. The staff at the hotel are very accommodating, particularly the bellmen and the bar staff. There are three pools at the hotel - we never got to the third one near the Water's Edge restaurant. The other two were great - each was a different temperature (one warm, one cold) which was perfect! There are always taxi drivers available out front, and its easy to collect their business cards if you can't find one waiting. Because we booked the honeymoon package, the hotel provided us with a taxi driver to pick us up at the airport, but if you do not pre-arrange your transportation, don't worry - there are plenty of taxi drivers there. Taxi prices seemed reasonable to me, and supposedly they are regulated, but I honestly don't see how those regulations could be enforced, because there are no meters or rate schedules, etc. posted. But during our week there, we probably spent several hundred dollars on taxis. There are bus routes nearby, but they're a bit of a walk through a quasi-residential neighborhood. One advantage to the Bougainvillea is its location - if you're looking to explore the island, it is relatively centrally located between the East and West coasts, so we were able to get around pretty well. However, and this is completely subjective, I felt that the water was a little rough for swimming. Plenty of other guests were swimming, but I found that the water was getting in my eyes, and because of the salinity, it burned a little, so I preferred swimming on the west coast. But, the view was absolutely gorgeous!!! Water's Edge is a very nice restaurant, we really enjoyed the food there! The Latern restaurant was not as a good, and quite frankly, I thought the breakfast was gross! (I think it got me sick one day). So, the one big problem we found was that it was hard to get snacks/simple meals without leaving the hotel. Also, in case you haven't read this already, food there is VERY expensive. In my experience, typically in the U.S., you can get a steak for about $20-$25 at the average restaurant, $30-$35 if you're at a fancy steakhouse with premium service. Steaks in Barbados are about $80-90BDS, meaning $40-45 US! Appetizers are typically $30-40 BDS ($15-$20 US). A chicken entree might cost $30 US. So, budget accordingly. Though I have to say, the only bad meals we had were at the Lantern at the hotel, all of the restaurants we tried around the island were fabulous! A few drawbacks at the Bougainvillea: no elevators - walking up to the fourth floor was a little grueling, though manageable. So, you may want to put a request in for a lower floor if stairs are an issue for you. This is definitely a family resort too. It is great for kids, and there are a lot of kids there, so for a truly romantic getaway and if you don't like kids, you may want to think twice about this hotel. The hotel wasn't extremely crowded, but for off-season, there were plenty of people around. One nice service that the hotel offers is that you can keep your room on your final day for a reduced rate, however they do not like to confirm availability until the last minute. They also have DVD rentals and DVD players for rent for a minimal fee ($5 or $10 U.S. per day, with the first day free). As a side note - make sure you go on a catamaran cruise while you're on Barbados. We really enjoyed the Silver Moon, so check it out! It was definitely the highlight of our trip!

Just had to write to say what a wonderful time myself, my husband, son, daughter-in-law and 18 month old grandson all had when we stayed at Bougainvillea Beach Resort in Barbados . We were there for the second 2 weeks in April 08. ALL of the staff were so helpful and pleasant and nothing was too much trouble for them. The rooms were imaculate and everything you required was available. They are very child friendly which is also nice to know when travelling with small children. We stayed in the 1 bed deluxe suites which were luxurious and very comfortable. The Hotel is right on the beach so the location is brilliant. It's also in between St.Lawrence Gap and Oistins. We wouldn't hesitate to go back again in fact we are going to visit again next year and we won't even bother looking for other Hotels on the Island because I truly don't believe we will find one that compares with the Bougainvillea Beach Resort. The Hotel was recommended by a friend of ours and I'm glad that we took her advice. Stay there and you will definately have a wonderful vacation.

We can only echo the vast majority of reveiws about this hotel. We have just returned from a lovely week at the Bougainvillea booked through Virgin. We flew from Manchester and unlike some others had no propblems with check in or getting the seats we had booked. Virgin reminded us of those days before cheap airlines took all the frills away and we thought they were great. We feel very lucky to have had the room we did - 5120. It was a deluxe one bedroom suite in the new block with it's own plunge pool on the terrace. We could sit in the pool and watch/listen to the gentle entertainment which finished by 10pm . My husband myself and 5yr old son (Scottish schools having broken up) spent nearly every day in pool or sea, which yes is a bit rough but good fun. The pools were lovely, staff so helpful and hotel always clean and welcoming. We had one fault with our toilet which was fixed immediately and the welcome pack of groceries very useful Do the catamaran trip and swim with turtles, so worth it. The little shop, out of hotel and right was very handy and Leroys Chuck wagon everyday at 12.30 very tasty and very good value. We didn't eat at Waters Edge but did eat at Lanterns by the sea, the food was fine and service good, a little on the dear side as many have said. We also went to Bellinis, you have to, it's great food and great setting. The Friday fish fry at Oistins is interesting and I wouldn't miss it for the couple of hours you are out. Took the bus into Bridgetown and felt quite safe, didn't realise the reggae buses are actually white mini vans! Yes the Bougainvillea isn't in the heart of things but we didn't want that and for us it was just perfect. I don't often go back to places, figuring the world is a big place to see but I would be seriouslty tempted by the bougainvillea. Happy holidays.

We stayed at the Bougainvillea between 28th of June and 12th July 08. A quick note if you are flying to Barbados from Gatwick with Virgin, I would not bother getting to the airport too early as all flights have the same check in queue and we ended queuing for ages with other customers for other flights being bumped in front of us. Don't bother reserving seats on line either as we got nothing like what we reserved. Don,t print your boarding passes at home as they don't scan. Generally a garbage check in procedure. Any way, to the Bougainvillea. If you have booked here for the first time, well done, you are going to love it. The staff are all extremely friendly and helpful. The location is wonderful and on one of the best beaches on the island, although the sea can be a bit rough some days. The people generally on the island are extremely pleasant and welcoming. I have not seen much mention of the weather on other reviews. It was sunny 90% of the time with a lovely climate, hot in the day and warm in the evening, perfect for eating outside. There was a fair bit of rain on one or two days and quite a lot on 2 or 3 nights. We had teenagers with us (exams finished) and they had a great time, although not many other teenagers there. Good watersports activities and the tennis court was good and always available. You definitely do not need to take beach towels, there are dispensers with shower gel, shampoo and conditioner in all bathrooms. If you have a kitchen they are well equipped, very big fridges. There is a small store within 100 yards stocking all the basics like milk, bread, cereals, beer, cokes etct and the local supermarket in Oistins (5 mins by bus) has everything more you could need. It may be just this time of year, but we each had a few irritating mosquito bites (only a few, but itchy) so would recommend taking some strong spray for people and rooms. Cost wise you could spend very little or a lot depending on where you go. We had a few nights in, a few medium budget nights and a couple of blow outs, which together averaged out to the same spend as a normal European holiday in Spain/Greece. Car hire is cheap (for a Brit anyway) and much easier to drive around than in continental Europe (for a Brit anyway), Barbados being one of those delightful countries who drive on the correct side of the road!!! We look forward to returning asap