Cobblers Cove

A quaint boutique hotel and a lovely place to stay. Our room was large with a big sitting area with a balcony overlooking the ocean. A good size bathroom with twin sinks and a walk in shower( water pressure could have been better) Tea/coffee facilities with fresh milk in the minibar. Excellent terrace and pool, although small was quite adequate. Lots of very comfortable loungers without a fight to get one. The sea comes right up to the terrace so access is very easy with handy shower facility as you re-enter the terrace. A rocky breakwater helps create both a calmer area to swim and a good place to snorkel. Staff served you fruit, sorbets and water to guests on the terrace and afternoon tea was included at no extra cost. The restaurant was highly rated but our experience was mixed. Whilst staff were friendly and helpful service was inconsistent with some long waits and errors. The quality of the food was also variable with some very good dishes but others not inspiring. Some choices of ingredients were very odd, for example to serve lobster on tagliatelle with a tomato chilli sauce meant the delicate taste of lobster was totally lost. Breakfast was reasonable from a somewhat limited menu with occasional long waits and errors. However, despite the criticisms overall it was a delightful place to spend a holiday and we will come again.

Very mixed feelings. But overall, our disappointment outweighs the positives. Let's start with the positives: - the hotel is absolutely charming! What a beautiful scenery! The decoration is so pretty everywhere you look: pictures, lights, dishes, even the straws!!!, umbrellas, beach towels, rooms, TV room, gardens, etc - The food is really good. We stayed in 3 different hotels and these were the best breakfasts we had (except for the coffee which was absolutely revolting including the single espresso). - Great fitness center. Vast. Well equipped (the dumbbells and bars are a bit tired though). - Free afternoon tea every day: simple but good food and very much appreciated. - The hotel is clean and well maintained - Green policy: the hotel does a great job! - Our biggest disappointment: the customer service is incredibly poor... People working at the front desk are the worst : not friendly, nor smiling. We met 4 or 5 different employees. Only once someone was barely friendly-ish. Otherwise, no one greets you with a smile. No eye contact. Not a word. A second time, we were lucky enough to get a soulless "hello" on the 6th day of our stay, we were completely taken by surprise ;-)) In the restaurant, the customer service is also very poor and uneven depending on who is serving you. If you are not a regular guest, you are treated with minimal consideration and attention, no eye contact, no smile, you are given a super robotic « good-morning-how-are-you-today-may-I-take-your-order?". Sometimes we got an uninspired "enjoy". No care, unless you are lucky enough to run into one of the very few employees who do their job properly and engage with you (briefly)... that rarely happened... As a result: 1. we only had 2 dinners at the hotel over a week, giving preference to restaurants where we felt much better taken care of and much more welcomed. 2. We had pre-dinner drinks at the bar only once, as the service was much better everywhere else! The gardeners and housekeepers are much nicer and smiling than the staff members working at the reception and restaurant ! This poor service was shocking to us (and totally unexpected at such a beautiful property, and in Barbados!) after our stay at 2 other hotels where every staff member was so lovely and genuinely caring! The gap is huge and Cobblers Cove should really up their game, instead of only focusing on the regulars. Because with such poor service, who would want to come back? Your customers of today may be your regulars of tomorrow, right? What's crazy is that two regulars told us that the customer service was appalling a few years ago and that it has improved. Seriously?? There's an improvement?? And why did these people continue to book here if the service was even worse than it is today? I am gobsmacked! - The hotel is located right next to the road: constant passage of cars, scooters, buses, trucks. It's a little less noisy around the pool thanks to the noise of the sea which covers the noise coming from the road. - Not even a card for my birthday! I did not receive any special attention that day from the hotel... In the past few years, in ALL the hotels where we stayed for my birthday, I always got a special attention (the staff wished me a happy birthday, and/or a nice card signed by the general manager with a branded gift, or a bottle of wine; in Italy and Dubai : a birthday cake was waiting for me in the room after dinner, I was offered a wonderful breakfast in the villa in the Maldives and flowers on the bed to wish me a happy birthday, etc...) : don’t get me wrong : I'm not posting this 2 star review because I was disappointed that I didn't get a card for my birthday! After a few days, I suspected there would be no gesture so it was not a surprise but a confirmation that the customer service is really bad here. No attention and no care as I said. Mini bar : options are quite limited. No welcome gift as in the 2 other hotels Valentine's Day dinner was good but totally overpriced (same prices as at the Cliff!!) with the usual disappointing and robotic service (except for Keith and another staff member (younger than Keith with a beard, no moustache) who both stand out). FYI: There are many restaurants around the hotel: see my reviews on the the sea shed, The fish pot (OMG great great great experience !! We went there twice !!!) The Cliff (sophisticated and expensive but the place to go in Barbados for a special occasion, outstanding service) Baia (good food however not authentic Peruvian food)

What a heavenly place! We came to Cobbler’s Cove for my 30th birthday and couldn’t have had a more idyllic stay. The hotel and grounds, pool area and beach are absolutely beautiful, staff are so friendly without being overbearing and the food and drink was delicious. We stayed in an upper circle garden suite and it was stunning with everything we could have needed and more! If you like hotels with a boutique feel which are luxury but have a personal touch then Cobbler’s Cove is for you 😊 huge thank you to Joanna and the team for the complimentary birthday wine and card and rum punch when we left! We’ll definitely be back.