Coral Mist Beach Hotel Reviews

We decided to book this hotel direct as Virgin Holidays no longer had availability and we really wanted to stay at this particular hotel. When we arrived at Bridgetown airport we took a local taxi parked up outside the terminal which cost us just $40 Barbados dollars (including a tip for the friendly driver). On arrival to the Coral Mist we were greeted by the lovely receptionist who asked us to go the beach bar as we couldn't check in to the room until 3pm. The bar is directly on the beach giving you super views of the ocean whilst kicking back with bottle of Banks - the local beer. Once we were in our room we were pleasantly surprised, the rooms are immaculately cleaned, beds are made you for you daily and the little kitchenette had everything you could wish for, there is also a hairdryer in the bathroom. All of the bedrooms face out to the ocean so everyone gets a great view without having to pay over the top supplements. The beach at Worthing is by far one of the best beaches in the south, sand was really clean, sun beds free of charge and crystal clear sea (beware: the waves are pretty intense so make sure you are a proficient swimmer before getting in). There is a pool at the hotel and also another pool at the sister hotel The Blue Orchid Beach Hotel. There are some restaurants and bars close by and Big B's supermarket is about a 10 minute walk away.

The walk into Bridgetown is long so make sure you take some water a hat and some sun protection. When you get to the city make sure you head to the fish market where you can find amazing fresh fish.

Hire a car and explore the island - but watch out for people loitering by the roadside as they will charge you for directions or try to sell you souvenirs. The West coast has exclusive hotels and some of the best beaches and with restaurants and bars popular with celebrities. The East Coast has The Crane beach, Bottom Bay and Bathsheba - stunning views but you cannot swim in the sea as it is so rough. The Middle of the island is full of lush greenery, working plantations the Flower Forest which is a lovely rest stop with exotic plants and walk ways to discover. Make sure you take a picnic and plenty of water.

Cool Running's catamaran tour is a great way to spend the day; included in the price you pay are drinks and a good lunch of fish and salad You can snorkel over a manmade coral reef with multi coloured fish and swim with turtles. Book through your hotel receptionist or activities coordinator and transport will come to pick you up on the morning of the trip from your hotel and drop you off too.

The nicest restaurant we found was Champers just a few minutes walk from the hotel, the service was exemplary and the food was absolutely delicious the whole evening was very special from the moment we booked to the moment we left. I cannot recommend this place enough. Another restaurant we visited was Josef's which was set in a lovely plantation house but unfortunately the service and food didn't match the quality of Champers.

St Laurence Gap is an easy 20 minute walk along the main road from the hotel and there are a selection of bars and restaurants along the strip all with colourful décor and chilled out atmospheres, we went mostly to Jumbies bar in St Laurence Gap for cocktails and simple bar food and to the Mexican bar opposite the church on the bend of the gap road (can't remember the name!).

The Coral Mist hotel provided us with one of the nicest holiday experiences we have had in a very long time, together with the beach side location and amazing staff I wouldn't hesitate to recommend this hotel to family and friends.

Self Catering hotel / apartments with everything you could possibly need (well apart from oven gloves!...but who is perfect?!). Our one bedroomed apartment had a large bedroom with ensuite bathroom, spacious living area with dining table, desk, tv with adjoining open plan kitchen and direct access to the balcony that looked directly out onto the ocean. Rooms were cleaned daily and there was tons of storage space. The views from the balcony were amazing and all apartments are roughly 10 metres from the beach! There is a small pool, however we didn't use this as the sea was crystal clear and very warm. The hotel provides sun loungers, kayaks and boogie boards for guests at no extra charge, a real bonus as you have to pay for this further down the beach.

The hotel staff (especially reception - Nicole) were warm and friendly. They were courtious and really did as much as they could to make our trip hassle free. They even assigned us our own taxi driver 'Ron' from Accura Beach Taxi Service who was excellent and ferried us to various restaurants in the evening.

The hotel is situated 3 mins drive from St Lawrence Gap (20min walk down the beach) and cost approx £2.50 in a cab fare. You could easily walk to Big B's supermarket (5 mins away) to get any groceries you need...this was cheaper than the one opposite the shell garage...you just need to do a left at the shell garage and Big B's is approx 250 metres on the left hand side.

We sampled a lot of the restaurants...wont list them all but here were our favourites

1. Restaurant at Southsea (St L Gap)- Service was better than The Cliff and the food was wonderful too.

2. The Cliff (St James) - World Famous...lived up to its reputation

3. Ocean's (St L Gap)- Lobster was one of the best I have ever had!

Weather was excellent give or take a few brief showers that came and went in a matter of minutes and were a welcome relief from the heat!

I would and will return to the Coral Mist Beach Hotel AGAIN and want to reccommend it to everyone!