Island Inn

The hotel is in a brilliant location, just a minute or 2 from beach. The hotel itself is old and outdated, but ironically ands to the charm, I feel however the bedrooms near a massive overhaul. The Food leaves a lot to be desired everything being cooked to death or cold. The bar is in tune with rest of hotel small and quirky,with barman Terry producing some truly amazing cocktails(a credit to his profession) The waiter staff were hit and miss except the the young lad and Elsie who was full of life Would we return unfortunately not as we had several problems that were not really resolved, which slightly spoiled our enjoyment So all said and done the problems could be so easily solved if they wanted too!!!! It’s one of those marmite things you either love it or hate it Read less

Arrived first time for us in Jan 2025 in readiness for my special birthday and warmly welcomed by Carole and looked after throughout. Elsie was awesome and looked after us with her brilliant dry humour and dancing down the restaurant. Her team, Doris, Marlene , Sharon etc were just so welcoming and as I am the worst fussy eater was totally surprised by the amazing food! Hot, fresh , plentiful and just so tasty! I am fatter now! Terry, again totally awesome looking after us at the bar. Thora, the Manager dancing with us when the DJ was playing one night! It's a small hotel so it was wonderful to make friends with other guests. Pebble Beach 2 mins away so can easily see the horses each morning which was wonderful. Carlyle Bay 5 mins away and Bridgetown an easy walk. Washingon House just a 5 min walk. Felt super safe everwhere and from taxi drivers to shop assistants so friendly. Just everywhere incredibly warm and welcoming. Carole can book taxis for you etc. We booked the standard rooms which we found just perfect as could see monkeys outside in the morning. Equipped with tv, kettle, ironing board and iron, hairdryer and complimentary huge room mosquito spray. Huge bed with loads of pillows. Complimentary toiletries too. Just the best experience for us and we will definitely be back! Like my husband said, we are in Paradise, what is there not to like! Read less

This was our first stay at Island Inn Hotel and certainly won't be our last, upon arrival we were greeted warmly by Sharon and offered a welcome drink which was much needed after a long day of travelling, we were quickly checked in and shown to our room. We loved that the hotel was small and quaint, the gardens were amazing with tropical palm trees and plants. The food was outstanding for an AI hotel - a mixture of A La Carte and buffet at both lunch and dinner. The drinks are top notch, the Pina Colada's were outstanding. We were there for 14 nights including New Years Eve or Old Years Night in BIM - an incredible buffet was served with beef fillet, lobster tail, accompaniments and a fresh fruit chocolate fountain - fantastic. The evening was enjoyed by all the guests along with a DJ - amazing evening ! The hotel was exceptionally clean and tidy, the beds very large and comfortable. We enjoyed visits to Mango Bay and The Sands Hotels, both sister hotels to Island Inn but would still prefer to stay at Island Inn due to the homeliness and smallness in size, it is very individual. All of the staff members were so professional, polite and friendly, it was lovely to meet the owner of the hotel on New Years Eve who personally took the time to visit all of the group hotels and mingle with the guests - a lovely touch ! A big thank you to Sharon for your kindness shown to us throughout our stay and last day. All of the guests were very friendly to each other and we made some lovely friendships throughout our stay. The only niggle was being woken very early on a couple of occasions by the leaf blowing machine, probably best doing after 9am. We're missing the tree frog chorus of a night and the green monkeys, until next time thank you for your hospitality and see you again in the future. Denise & Justin x. Read less

We have just returned from a lovely week at The Island Inn It is in a perfect location for Pebble Beach which is just a minutes stroll where if you are early enough you can catch the race horses which we did on our first morning which was a great experience. The hotel itself is great with nice friendly staff Our room was just perfect with no complaints whatsoever and decorated for my wife’s birthday which was a lovely touch The food was of a high quality with good fish options for lunch and dinner The bar scene was good with a good range of drinks and cocktails Had a great time rum tasting with with Tre and Terry Would highly recommend 🤩 Read less

We have been to Island Inn Hotel twice before for Christmas and had a fabulous time. Unfortunately, not this Christmas. Both Barbados and Island Inn Hotel have changed. Sadly, we will not return to either. The Hotel is small and still very pretty with fairy lights in the courtyard. It still has this lovely ambiance. However, the staff and lack of communication spoilt it for us. Only Elsie had a smile and donned a Christmas hat. The rest of the staff just didn't look as though they wanted to be there. This wasn't the case when we stayed before. All the staff were jolly and smiling and it felt just like a family. Communication and management was really poor. We didn't know what was going on and we only only found out from other quests that there are now two sister hotels, Mango Bay and Sands. It appears that we could have visited these but we were never told that and only found out when we got home. We also think that there might have been a managers evening but no note, as we had before, to invite us, so we missed that and never did meet the manager. When we stayed last time, the manageress was always present and even personally delivered the Hotel's Christmas present to us. Just left on the bed this time by housekeeping. There are only 24 rooms. A personal touch wouldn't hurt. Lots of sheets of paper to read left under glass top tables but no Hotel information file anymore. When we stayed before, it was hightlighted that we could have a picnic if we were going out for the day. Nothing mentioned or stated on the room literature so we assumed not. On returning home, it looks like that might have been an option from other reviewers. Just lack of communication again. We always chose this hotel because it was reknowned for it's food. It was the best place to eat on the Island. Vanessa, the previous chef, was brilliant and every dish was excellent. This time we had one really good dish during the 10 days we were there and they could cook eggs at breakfast. The deserts, however, are dire. So much so, that most quests asked for ice cream. The snacks for afternoon tea never varied and the rock cakes were only fit for the birds. Island Inn desperately needs a pastry chef. Housekeeping failed to leave tea bags in our room, so one day we decided to take two bags back with us from breakfast for the next morning. We were both told off in no uncertain manner by Bernadette and had to put them back. You don't talk to paying quests like that. Terry, the barman, knew his stuff but Tre was a nightmare. There isn't enough staff on a busy day. Christmas Day, Tre was stroppy, kept disappearring, obviously didn't want to be there, kept clock watching and refused to serve a quest a drink at 11 p.m. when the bar closed. The quest had been waiting for him to return. Tre was bloshy and it was rubbing off on one of the young lads who waited tables. Tre also took backhanders from other quests who wanted him to look after them, he drunk with his friend at the bar which I suspect wasn't paid for and when he didn't know how to make a cocktail he couldn't be bothered to find out. We also discovered that non residents from the nearby Radisson Hotel were drinking free at Island Inn under his watch. Some quests had to buy their own tonic as Island Inn ran out. Rooms are nice, although being in the Carribbean, you would hope for something more colourful than brown and green. We had to buy our own plug for the sink as the pop up had broken and the mattress was hard and tired. We booked 11 months previously and asked for a sunny aspect room in the newer South block. We were told, although not guaranteed, it wouldn't be a problem. We were allocated a shady room in the old building but it was large and nice enough. People did tend to sit under our window though and make video calls back home. One at 6٫30 in the morning! There was a cafe table under our window where smokers congregated, so smoke filtered into our room which wasn't pleasant early morning. The staff never put the chairs in the courtyard back in the morning so it looked scruffy and, when it rained, all the cushions were just left out so you couldn't sit there until they had dried off in the sun. When we stayed before, the cushions were put away and then brought back out. When we checked in, we were given an invoice for the bed tax which had increased by 1/3rd since we last visited 5 years ago, but I suppose that's to be expected. However, when we checked out, the bill was a little higher. No explanation until I asked. I was told it was a levy, for what I don't know. Then I was told it was optional! Finally, I agree with another reviewer, that it was very clicky. Certain groups were corralling the seating in the courtyard which led to a very noisy environment and ordering numerous drinks to the detriment of other quests. Unfortunately, like all 'all inclusive' establishments, when the word gets out, it does lead to abuse. Shame, it was a really lovely gem of a hotel in the past but has gone downhill and, regretfully, we will look elsewhere for something more to our taste. Read less