About this hotel
General information
Coral Reef Club stands in Holetown on the calm west coast of Barbados, where 12 acres of landscaped gardens run down to a white-sand beach. The hotel dates from the 1950s, when it consisted of cottages and small coral-stone buildings; today it has 88 rooms, cottages and suites in a traditional island style, with wooden balustrades, fretwork and shutters.
Paths wind between palms, mahogany, flamboyant and frangipani trees, bougainvillea and crotons, and the gardens attract hummingbirds and the occasional monkey. The grounds hold two pools, a spa, tennis and padel courts, a gym and a dive school, and the hotel is a member of Small Luxury Hotels of the World.
Location
The hotel lies on the west coast of Barbados, in the parish of St James. Historic Holetown, with its restaurants and boutiques, is a 15-minute walk away, popular beach bars are a short drive, and Grantley Adams International Airport is about 29 km (18 miles) from the hotel. Airport transfers are arranged by the hotel, and guests who hire a car can have it delivered to the property.
Spa
The Coral Reef Barbados Spa occupies a colonial-style building with clean, modern lines in the tropical gardens. It has four multipurpose treatment rooms, each with a private foot-ritual patio and garden, an Outdoor Pavilion for couples, an open-sided relaxation room, an outdoor hydro-pool with shaded cabanas, a thermal suite with a Crystal Steam Room and Experience Shower, a spa lounge, and a manicure and pedicure room looking over the treetops.
Skincare is by Natura Bissé, alongside body treatments created for the spa from local plants and fruits. The menu covers massages, facials, wraps and scrubs, including the signature Lemongrass and Ginger Rub and the Caribbean Calm Massage, as well as full Spa Days with a light lunch between treatments. Group yoga sessions are held at the spa by prior booking, and a hairdressing salon on the property offers cuts, colouring and highlights.
Sports & leisure
Two Astroturf tennis courts and a padel court are floodlit for evening play, and the resident pro gives complimentary coaching in the late afternoon every day except Sunday, for adults and children alike. The gym is equipped with Life Fitness machines and free weights. Two golf clubs lie less than ten minutes away: Sandy Lane, with three courses (the Old Nine, the Country Club and the Green Monkey), and Royal Westmoreland, whose par-72 championship course was designed by Robert Trent Jones Jr.
- complimentary non-motorised watersports: Hobie Cat and Laser sailing, kayaking, paddle boarding and snorkelling
- waterskiing, wakeboarding and inflatable rides behind the hotel’s speedboat
- a NAUI and PADI dive school on the property, with shipwrecks and reefs along the west coast; deep-sea fishing can be arranged
- the Barbados Sea Turtle Project next door, in which guests can take part
- guided tours of the gardens
- the Casual Boutique, with resort wear, gifts and sundries
For children
Children are welcome throughout the year, except for a period in the winter months when children under 12 are not accepted. The Luxury Plantation Suites do not take children under 12 at any time. In the summer months a family programme for ages 2–11 offers three half-hour sailing trips with the watersports team and three half-hour swimming lessons, and older children can join the complimentary non-motorised watersports and the daily tennis coaching.
Cribs, high chairs, bed guards, playpens, baby monitors and other baby equipment are provided on request, and babysitting can be arranged. A children’s dinner is served on the room’s patio or, before 7 pm, on the restaurant terrace; children under 5 do not dine in the restaurant after 7 pm.
Restaurants & bars
The open-air restaurant looks out over the Caribbean Sea. Its à la carte menus change daily, built around fresh seafood and classical cooking with Caribbean ingredients and flavours, and a full barbecue menu is served once a week. Breakfast is laid out as a buffet or brought to the room’s patio, and lunch and afternoon tea are also served. Live music – calypso, steel band, jazz, piano, reggae – is played every evening in winter and on certain evenings each week in summer. The open-air bar, with classic furniture, faces the sea and suits sundowners. The dress code is elegantly casual: after 7 pm gentlemen wear trousers and collared shirts in the restaurant and the cocktail lounge.
Swimming
A white-sand beach shaded by casuarina trees lies at the foot of the gardens, with clear Caribbean water and coral reefs along the coast; snorkelling equipment is available from the watersports team. The hotel has two large swimming pools, and the Luxury Cottage / Suites and Luxury Plantation Suites have private plunge pools.
Pets
Pets are not accepted, including service animals and emotional-support animals.
Rooms
The accommodation includes garden rooms and cottages, junior suites, cottages and suites with private plunge pools, five sea-view Luxury Plantation Suites and two villas set in the gardens. Combinations of interconnecting rooms with two bedrooms are available for families.
Rooms, cottages and suites have air conditioning, a ceiling fan, a refrigerator, a hairdryer and a safe, plus a CD clock radio (an iPod/iPhone docking station in the Luxury Plantation Suites).
Garden Room / Cottage
Air-conditioned garden-view rooms and cottages with a king-size bed or twin beds, a bathroom (mostly with a shower only) and a patio or balcony, for up to two adults. Four smaller single Garden Rooms, each with a bathroom and a terrace or balcony, are for one adult.
Superior / Luxury Junior Suite
A large room with a king-size bed or twin beds, a sitting area, a bathroom with separate shower and tub and a large patio or balcony, for two adults. Superior Junior Suites are in the gardens and have a sofa bed for one child under 12; Luxury Junior Suites are in the front half of the gardens towards the sea, some with sea views and most overlooking the pool or garden.
Luxury Cottage / Suite
Ground-floor cottages and upper-floor suites in the front half of the gardens towards the sea, each with a king-size or twin-bedded bedroom, a dressing area, a bathroom with separate shower and tub, an air-conditioned living room with a sofa bed, a large patio and a private plunge pool. They sleep three adults, or two adults and two children; some have sea views and most face the garden.
Luxury Plantation Suite
Five suites with sea views, each with a four-poster or canopied bed (king-size in three suites, convertible from king to twin in two), a living room with TV, a dressing area and a bathroom with walk-in shower and separate tub, all air-conditioned. Outside there is a large covered terrace with a wet bar and an open sundeck with a plunge pool; for two adults only, as children under 12 are not accepted.
Two Bedroom Combination
Combinations of interconnecting rooms with two bedrooms: two Luxury Junior Suites, two Luxury Cottages, two Garden Rooms, a Superior Junior Suite with a Garden Room, or a villa. Suitable for a family of four or five, with spacious bathrooms and patios or balconies; some have a living room with a sofa bed and some a private plunge pool.
Villas
Two garden villas beside a large shared swimming pool, each with a kitchen, a living room with TV and a large terrace with sun loungers and a dining area opening on to a private lawn. Villa Tamarind has three double bedrooms and two bathrooms: the main bedroom has a dressing room and an air-conditioned bathroom with separate bath and shower, and the other two bedrooms share a bathroom with bath and shower. Villa Ixora has four double bedrooms, three bathrooms and one shower room: the main bedroom has a private patio and an air-conditioned bathroom with separate bath and shower, two bedrooms have en-suite bathrooms and the fourth an en-suite shower room.
Photos are for illustrative purposes only. Actual room layout, furnishings, décor, views and amenities may differ from those shown and may vary between rooms of the same category. Hotel and room descriptions are based on information provided by the property and are believed to be accurate at the time of publication, but are not guaranteed. The hotel may renovate or change its rooms, facilities, restaurants and services at any time without notice. The final details of your stay are confirmed at the time of booking. See our Terms of Use.