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Divi Southwinds Beach Resort

Barbados

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It was great. Visited: May 2007
Posted by abs
I really liked my stay here. It was really nice. The staff was kind and friendly. I was impressed, even though this was a two-star resort!
6 users found this review helpful. 2 found this review unhelpful.
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Rooms were clean and comfortable, and helpful staff was at the front desk. Visited: September 2006
Posted by meredith_williams
We booked on the night we arrived from Grenada. After four weeks in Grenada, we were very happy to have stayed in the Divi Southwinds.

Oh, what helpful staff! They always greeted us with a smile. Every member of staff we approached were helpful and friendly. Also, the cleaning staff was courteous.

All in all, we had a great time. We have recommended Divi Southwinds to our family and friends.
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I enjoyed my time in Paradise! Visited: July 2006
Posted by ruusshh
This was the icing on a worry-free vacation.

I booked a beachfront room. The room was in excellent condition. The rooms were spacious, with a full kitchen and dining area. All appliances - stove, full refrigerator, microwave, toaster, and coffee maker - were in new condition.

Also, the rooms were cleaned daily. The staff was friendly and helpful. The staff also located tours and called taxis for guests.

In addition, I enjoyed the safe and secure atmosphere. The grounds were in excellent condition, and were also cleaned daily. The resort was in walking distance of shopping, restaurants (also one on site), and nightlife.

I was unable to hear the nightlife from the hotel at night. There was also someone on the beach to assist with chairs.

I've booked for this November!
11 users found this review helpful. 0 found this review unhelpful.
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This is a great value and a perfect location. Visited: April 2006
Posted by flora_pom
Divi Southwinds has a formal rating of 2.5 stars in the UK, which is about right in terms of actual standards. However, I would give it four stars for location, friendly and helpful staff, cleanliness and a great beach. I think in the states, there is a higher formal star rating which might give people the wrong impression and lead to them being disappointed.

We went to the Divi for a cheap and cheerful holiday, and that is what we got. We stayed in a suite in the Beach Villas. They were 20 feet from Dover Beach, which was a fabulous white sand beach. It was the South coast of Barbados, so the sea was not flat calm. But we had fun surfing on the waves and you can get calmer swimming at the other end of the beach, which is reef protected.

The suite was clean (and cleaned every day with the maid even doing the washing up if I'd left it), and with a good size kitchen with all amenities. The bedroom had a king-sized bed and the sitting room had a queen-sized sofa bed. There was plenty of cupboard space for hanging, and lots of drawers. The air conditioning worked well and was quiet, and there were good ceiling fans too.

The Divi is a timeshare hotel, so everyone was very friendly and it was fairly quiet. The main pool was next to the main buildings which were about three minutes walk from the beach. The pool was huge and not busy. The pool water was a little cloudy while we were here, but they did improve it during our stay.

There was renovation work going on at the hotel, and although this was not intrusive or bothersome (no noise), there were signs of it such as skips with debris in them. It might be worth waiting to go until all the work is finished.

The Divi was moments walk from all the restaurants in St. Lawrence Gap which can provide you with a lively night life if you can stay up late enough to enjoy it.

The best and cheapest restaurants we ate at were Cool Castaways and McBrides. But for a little more money and a lot more class, you should try Aquapisce which was excellent.

We would definitely return to Divi and would certainly recommend being in the Beach Villas rather than the main building. The Cricket World Cup is in 2007 in Barbados, so it might be an idea to avoid the dates that it is on, as I'm told prices will shoot up for that.

Barbados is bliss and you should hire a car for a few days and check out the west coast (Mullins Beach) and the east coast (Bottom Bay and Bathsheba) as well. You should definitely go swimming with the sea turtles - a magical experience - but you don't need to do an expensive catamaran trip, any of the guys with boats at Mullins Beach will take you out for about £10 a head.
15 users found this review helpful. 0 found this review unhelpful.
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What a disappointment! Visited: August 2005
Posted by ms59
My boyfriend and I stayed at this resort. We were quite disappointed by the service we received during our stay.

Water started leaking through the ceiling of our bathroom, and never stopped running. This kept us from sleeping at night. While we were relocated to a showroom to just sleep, we did not receive any apologies for the horrible experience.

We deeply regret that we paid for the disappointing service we encountered.
1 users found this review helpful. 4 found this review unhelpful.
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HORRIBLE.... Visited: July 2005
Posted by rdub252
This was by far the worst experience relative to vacation accomodations - no phone, no in-room safe (working), no hot water, poor service, poor food...only saving grace was the beautiful beach
1 users found this review helpful. 3 found this review unhelpful.
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We experienced a "bait and switch" operation. Visited: December 2004
Posted by mmarep
In October 2004, we had booked a vacation at Divi Southwind for December 26-January 2. But when we arrived at the resort, we were told that they had overbooked and did not have a room for us. This had never happened to us before in twenty two years of extensive traveling.

We were sent to a hotel that did not have any of the amenities of Divi Southwind. While we were waiting in the lobby to see where we would be sent, we overheard the staff telling two other families that their rooms were also overbooked and they were going to be moved, too.

When we were shuttled to a hotel with none of the amenities of the Divi, we met three other families who also had paid for reservations at the Divi. All of these vacationers had prepaid their vacations through various travel agents. The whole tenor of our vacation changed, and we did not enjoy the things we were expecting to have access to at the Divi. Be warned!
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We had a wonderful stay. Visited: April 2004
Posted by godzyk1
This was our second time vacationing at the Southwinds. Both times we stayed, the staff was very friendly, and the rooms and grounds were very clean. The two restaurants were also very good.
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This was the worst Caribbean hotel we've ever encountered. Visited: November 2003
Posted by jeniener
We thought this hotel looked extrememly run down. Basic amenities were not working properly...there was little to no hot water, and the air conditioning in one of our rooms was not working.

In addition, there was extremely loud music played until midnight at a club across the sreet each night we were here, our rooms were dirty (there was hair on the floor), the hotel offered no beach umbrellas, and whenever it rained, the hotel grounds became extremely flooded and slippery.

Also, we didn't think the grounds were all that nice or tropical.

Having said all this, I would like to add that the people of Barbados were very lovely and were the friendliest of any of the people from any of the other Caribbean islands we have visited thus far.

Further, we are not strangers to the Divi Resorts. We stayed at a Divi in St. Maarten prior to Barbados. But having experienced what we did in Barbados, that will be our last stay at the Divi Resorts.
3 users found this review helpful. 1 found this review unhelpful.
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We had a lovely time. Visited: June 2003
Posted by two_wise
After reading some reviews, I was concerned. But, we had a good deal on airline tickets and the suite. This was our first trip to the West Indies, so we figured we could stand anything for a week.

Boy, were we glad we went! The locals were so friendly, polite, and helpful. We had no ugly incidents at all. A few did not see us on the street, but by far, most of them seemed to welcome tourists. Our trip was really wonderful.

The Southwinds was an older property, a large compound with gardens of tropical shrubs and mature trees. It was quite attractive, not old or run down. The resort's continuing renovations were not annoying.

There were two buildings, one on the beach, the other a pleasant two-minute walk from the beach. There was a large pool at the main hotel, and a small pool at the beach. The beach was idyllic, no trash, lots of frontage and a wide, flat berm above the high water line. Several large palms and thick evergreens provided shade. The surf was rougher than the western beaches, very small children would have trouble. Breakers hit waist- to chest-high. The beachfront bar and grill was a great shelter when it showered.

The main restaurant was poolside. It had a good breakfast buffet and excellent supper. Lunch was excellent at the beachfront bar.

The hotel staff was good. Tyrone, the activities coordinator, knows the local boats, etc, and can set you up. The restaurant staff was friendly and on top of things, and the housekeepers took good care of the rooms. The front desk people took as good of care of guests as in any U.S. hotel. Security was evident and attentive.

Our suite was comfortable for the four of us. The air conditioning was okay, with ceiling fans in both rooms. All rooms had a balcony. Cooking utensils were basic, but we had a microwave, toaster, coffee maker, four-burner stove, and refrigerator. There was a grocery within a mile or two, an easy taxi ride or long walk.

The compound was split by St. Lawrence Gap, a street extending north perhaps 3/4 mile, where it ended in a street intersection at a small bay. There were at least a dozen open air bars and restaurants on the Gap, from average to fairly expensive (from $13-30 US).

Try the Harlequin. Aquapisces had pumpkin soup to die for. The Pisces was okay, go there for the atmosphere.

The only downsides would include that the sun was really, really intense down there. I mean really intense. Also, the sofa bed was a poor sofa and a poor bed. It helped to put all seat cushions under the mattress for the night. And, one of the clubs across the street played at full blast until early morning, three days a week. Insist on a room on the ocean side.

Would we go back? Yes, in a New York (not a Barbados) minute!
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Divi offers atisfactory accomomdations, excellent location and a great beach. Visited: April 2003
Posted by chezstanley
We were on a surf trip and selected the Divi because of its location in the St. Lawrence Gap and its close proximity to surf locations on the south and western shores, while the Soup Bowl was only a 40-minute drive.

We were pleasantly surprised at the spaciousness of the room, with a full kitchen and dining room. Our only complaint was that the soap in the bathroom was not replaced during our visit.

The grounds appeared to be well kept, and the beach was excellent with good body surfing and some surprising surf board conditions. There was a restaurant/bar at the beach and several lounge chairs and shaded areas, which were appreciated.

The breakfast buffet was worth the money, but could have used a little more variety, especially in the choice of fresh fruit and juices. We found the staff to be helpful when we needed them and found the check in and check out procedures timely.

We will definitely stay at the Divi again on our next trip to Barbados.
1 users found this review helpful. 0 found this review unhelpful.
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We regard Southwinds as our paradise home. Visited: March 2003
Posted by drpwatts
We have been going to Southwinds since our children were small - that has been over 20 years. We have stayed at Southwinds ever since we bought in our first year.

So the buildings are getting older, but so are we all! With regard to towels (as written in one review) - try hanging them up to dry and conserve water - or are you naturally wasteful?

The service is wonderful - as are all the staff. The food is excellent and very reasonably priced. There are a large number of restaurants and nightspots locally in The Gap to try, and these tend to vary in price but are all good value.

Our children, now grown up, regard Southwinds as thier second home and over the years have made many friends on the island as we have. Anyone going to Southwinds will get a friendly and very helpful welcome from all the staff.
1 users found this review helpful. 0 found this review unhelpful.
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A wonderful island filled with amazing people! Visited: March 2003
Posted by yodupont
My sister and I were in urgent need of "r and r". The Divi Southwinds was exactly what we needed.

The rooms were extremely clean and quite decent with a complete bathroom and kitchen. Service was also friendly. Note: We had to request a room change because of a disco located across the road from our room (garden side) on the second night - and thankfully we were relocated in the morning.

Tyrone did an amazing job at organizing activities for the guests and keeping them informed of what was happening around the island. It definitely facilitated guests getting to know each other better.

We found the surfs at the beach to be higher than we expected, but then this section of the island is meant to be best for surfers, boogie boarders, etc. It did not stop us from enjoying the beach though.

All in all, we had a very pleasant stay at the Divi and we both expect to return sooner than later! What amazed us both the most though, was how friendly and respectful everyone around us was. We felt safe and welcomed!
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What a beautiful beach! Visited: March 2003
Posted by kareencaron
The front desk personnel- for the most part - did not seem to be happy to deal with their guests (with the exception of Anderson). Anderson was of great help to us. He recommended places to go, things to do, and helped choose what would be the best company to go with, etc. He was a great asset to the Divi Resort.

The beach was absolutely breathtaking! It was a very quiet beach though, with not too much action. But it was great for guests who are there to relax to the sound of rolling waves.

The one thing we were disappointed with was that it was very much of an older resort. There were not too many 20-somethings to 30-somethings around. We were definitely in the minority and felt out of place at the cocktail party.

It was a decent place for the money.
1 users found this review helpful. 0 found this review unhelpful.
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What a great vacation! Visited: February 2003
Posted by kwswaine
This was a nice place to stay. Some rooms needed a little "TLC" but overall it was good. It was clean, with plenty of everything.

The pool and grounds were well kept. The beach was big, but the water was a little rough. Tyrone kept the pool volleyball game going each day.

Overall, it had a casual feel with friendly people. It was in a nice area with restaurants, a bank, store, etc. It was easy and safe walk through the gap.

We enjoyed nice Bajan food from the white van out by the gates. It was cheap, too. There was a plantation dinner show across the street. It was a great trip.
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I will be back! Visited: February 2003
Posted by jkmzllc
We had a great time. My kids enjoyed swimming in the ocean.

Tyrone was great! He really took pride in his work. James needed a few days with Tyrone to get his attitude to be customer focused. The front desk also needed to have a fire lit under their chairs....check in and out was extremely slow.

I didn't understand why the pool bar was not open. The last time I got a drink there was five years ago. How much could it cost to staff this gold mine? A lot less Banks would be purchased at the store, but maybe they own the store, so it didn't matter.

Also, why not play some Caribbean music by the pool?

I will be back.
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Great Disappointment! Visited: February 2003
Posted by amy_burkert
Please understand that the photos that you see on the internet are not of the room you'll be staying in! When I stayed there they had remodeled only one of the standard rooms which, of course, is the one they photographed. The maintenence on the old rooms is severly lacking with plaster peeling off the walls, wires hanging out of the walls and bathtubs that drain so slowly that you could drown before you finish your shower. It was not at all what I expected.
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We liked it here. Visited: August 2002
Posted by jklaube
We (my two teen sons and I) just returned from a week’s stay at the Divi Southwinds. It was a great vacation.

The Divi may be an older resort with a few kinks, but we found that our clean and airy rooms, the wonderful gardens, relaxed atmosphere, gorgeous beach, and the relatively low price were a combination tough to beat. Add to this the color of the immediate area with beach bars, restaurants and reggae lounges (we loved it - not being too stuffy to enjoy this, too).

If you look for the type of resort where guests live in splendid isolation, you should find a different place. If you want to be able to touch your host island, its people and its life, you will like it here.

With all the good, here are some caveats: we did need a measure of patience and laissez-faire attitude. Some hotel staff (very few, though) appeared surly and rather disinterested. Breakfast was sometimes inconceivably slow and disorganized. Certain types on the street can be pushy in trying to sell or hustle you.

But then, the overall attractiveness of Divi, the island of Barbados itself, its color and liveliness, the generally friendly native people, and wealth of available activities more than make up for some little irritants.
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This was the best hotel I have ever stayed in. Visited: June 2002
Posted by sikero
Divi Southwinds is a lovely hotel situated right on the beach. The food is exquisite and the entertainment is breathtaking. You are guaranteed the holiday of a lifetime.
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It was enjoyable. Visited: October 2001
Posted by mwellslewis
After reading all of the horror stories from others who stayed here, I was a little nervous about what to expect. My husband, my daughter and I had no complaints.

The on-going renovations were not an obstruction. I mean, as long as you have fresh towels and a clean place to sleep and eat, that is all that really counts. You don't go on a vacation to spend 90% of your time in the room!

The staff was all accessible and very friendly. I didn't have one bad thing to say about our stay here.
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Divi Southwinds Beach Resort Overview

The all-suite Divi Southwinds Beach Resort offers spacious suites with fully equipped kitchens, and private patios or balconies with garden, pool, and ocean views. Resort amenities include 3 freshwater swimming pools, two restaurants, lighted tennis courts, fitness room, mini-market, and activities desk. All inclusive plans are available. ...


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