Barbados, Barbados - Part 1/3

Caribbean sea view by my hotel

In my wildest dreams the Caribbean was never going to be a destination I would plan to visit. Early January last year a friend called me to invite me to her wedding and it was going to be in Barbados! We were still in the New Year resolutions period and I thought “why not?”  Then there I contacted Dial-a-flight and Marion one of the agents whose customer service is second to none.

Marion within 24 hrs sent me few holiday break options and payment plans. She also made sure that I understood everything event two days before the trip… I call that an Excellent service and would recommend Dial a flight to all those who are travelling on a budget or not.

For my trip to Barbados, I opted for a 5 days 5 nights full board, travelling with Virgin Atlantic and lodging at the Butterfly beach hotel in Christchurch, Barbados. I paid £1450 including flight, accommodation, insurance and transfer from the airport to the hotel.


My room at the Butterfly Beach Hotel 1

Upon arriving in Barbados, the immigration and custom process was fairly quick and I was out of the airport within 30 minutes of landing. The transfer coach was waiting for passengers lodging at the Butterfly beach. My first annoyance came as we boarded the coach. The driver reluctantly helped me to load my luggage in the coach which, was unclean and smelly. The driver wasn’t the most welcoming and having paid what I had paid, I was already ticked off, but gave him a BD$10 tip still.

My room at the Butterfly Beach Hotel 2

The hotel was very welcoming and the receptionist surprise surprise was from London. My room was as big as my whole flat in London. It was located on the 1^st floor with a side view of the Caribbean Sea.

The first thing my travel companions and I did after leaving our luggage in our respective rooms was to check out the restaurant and take a walk on the beach… It was just a privilege to be there at this time of the year when in London it is so cold.

View from my room

Our first dinner at the restaurant of the hotel was just average as we all realized that the fish wasn’t fresh. But the sound of the waves beating the sidewalls of the restaurant gave a great atmosphere to the evening.

My first Bajan breakfast

The next day, the breakfast provide included the full English breakfast, fried plantain fish and fresh fruits. The bread was the regular white brown and granary slices we find in the UK… no sign of the spiced bread or things like ackee and salt fish, slices of papaya or watermelon I was dreaming of… by the time I had my second dinner at the hotel, I had concluded that I would not have what I imagined in term of Caribbean cuisine from the hotel… then again the silver lining is that I will not put on weight.. innit?

Stopping here for now… check in next week to read about the great stuff I did and my quest for fresh fish!

Arrivederci!