The Soco Hotel

We've just got home from 2 weeks at the Soco. We're so relaxed! It's a lovely little hotel, the staff are amazing and so friendly (shout out to both Michelle's, Shane and Kimberly the GM - thank you for everything!). The food is great with always something to choose on the menu. Rooms are cleaned every day and the hotel overall is kept very well. We read a few negative reviews before we booked but some people just don't get Barbados. You're not staying at The Bellagio in Vegas or the The Savoy in London! We're 'well traveled' and Barbados is different - more basic accommodation, but friendlier and much more peaceful. If you book The Soco you won't be disappointed, we did 2 weeks and could have stayed for another 2. Thank you to all the staff for a really amazing and mega relaxing holiday.

Cons: We arrived at the same time as another couple, they had visited the hotel several times and said it was perfect for relaxation. By the end of the holiday they were not coming back, the management had changed and standards had gone downhill. This is something we experienced too. There was a lot of redecoration going on, which meant dust and wet paint and even grouting on the stairs. We felt they were getting ready for the season and not respecting the guests in situ. A closure to redecorate would be much better, we were even woken one morning by banging at 8am! There was an intruder the day before we arrived that had smashed the glass door to the restaurant, this was replaced whilst we were eating lunch! Very dangerous and we did point this out. CCTV was installed whilst we were there, perhaps a bit of an after thought. We were sent a list of policies to follow at check in, like keeping balconies clear of towels, not reserving sun beds and dressing for dinner. None of these were observed by fellow guests, I commented to the receptionist and she was unaware of such policies! Some men were in vest tops at dinner. If you have a policy, the hotel should enforce it. The pool was cleaned most days, with the opening times 8-6pm, but the pool man came around 9am each day so you had to wait. The pool area itself was untidy with wet towels left on tables all day, wet cushions propped all over the place and generally a feel of not caring. As the rain came at night, I don't know why cushions were not stored away, it would take ten minutes to do this each day. The pool was too warm, no cold filter in place. The restaurant had fake flowers on tables, that had flies in, and were generally tatty, dirty and unappealing. The restaurant itself had intermittent music playing, but if you sat near the kitchen you heard the chef's music instead, which was very annoying. We reported our air con as being too noisy, the unit was visibly broken, it took several visits to reception for it to still not be fixed. We lodged a pillow between it and the wall to stop the rattle. The rooms were generally a bit tired, probably awaiting redecoration as soon as we vacated! Positives: The position of the hotel is superb and should be the star of this hotel. Shane at the bar was absolutely fantastic. Shane kept the bar immaculately tidy and served drinks promptly and with much entertainment of singing and dancing and always complimented us when we dressed for dinner, he was a joy. Michelle was also a lovely person, her rum tasting was so much fun and very knowledgable. She also recommended and booked trips for us and when our safari went a bit wrong, she sorted a partial refund. She would make an excellent hotel manager and took strides to try to sort issues for us. The waiting staff were also very lovely and welcoming. The food was of good quality and plentiful, (although some items were unavailable which we were told was down to the purchasing manager not keeping on top of ordering.) The room was kept very clean and the staff cleaning were also very lovely and friendly. The Saxophonist at the Managers Reception Drinks was fabulous, seemed to be a master at many things, welcome drinks and porter! Summary: The management must to be more visible, more accountable and with a consistent approach to enforcing standards. It really felt like nobody cared... apart from Shane and Michelle! Love to them both.

We had an absolutely wonderful time in Barbados and our stay at the Soco was fantastic. When we arrived we were offered a nice cold Prosecco and booked into our room. Our room was on the top floor. It had a wonderful view of the ocean. The room was clean and large. The bed was lovely and comfy. If you have mobility issues note there are no lifts, however staff would be happy to assist with your baggage. The air con in the room was a huge welcome! The hotel is small and you get to know most people who are staying there. One of my concerns was being able to sit around the pool with a lounger. Although there are not many loungers there was no issue in being able to sit around the pool everyday. The beach is literally down some small steps. The water was very warm! This hotel is all inclusive however this is not your usual buffet style for meals. You are offered a menu which had many choices from vegetarian, fish and meat. There would be 3 starters, 4 or 5 main meals and 3 desserts to choose from in the afternoon and evening. The menu would change every two days so you had quite a lot to choose from. The breakfast menu stays the same but again so much choice. All of your meals are cooked fresh for you. Everything I ate during my stay was good and I had no complaints. I actually preferred this way of having meals, this is the first time I have experienced this at an all inclusive resort. The hotel has a small outdoor bar. The drinks were good and plentiful. We didn’t experience any issues with regards to unavailable items etc. So, what makes this place great is the people! Everyone we met who worked at the Soco were incredibly helpful and happy! Little Michelle is so attentive and will do anything for you. She will make sure your stay at the Soco is great! Michelle would always make an effort to speak to guests and to get to know you. She holds the weekly rum tasting and has so much knowledge in rum and the island. Nothing was too much for her! Big Michelle makes the best Tokyo teas! She was always smiling and dancing and really happy! We always had a chat with her! Nikita was another standout for us, she would always speak to us and make sure we were ok such a happy soul. Trudy would always greet us with a smile she was always so happy, but we know her secret, she had the best job in the hotel as she was in the air con everyday! Clive and the rest of the restaurant management team would always ensure that the food was good and made sure we had good service. Darius at the bar made good cocktails! We would often sit at the bar with him and have good chats. I would ask him just to make a good cocktail and each one was great! We enjoyed his company. Danielle and Shanequa on reception/front desk were so helpful! Thank you to you both for sorting out our requests! Kimberley the General Manager also made sure we were having a good time and if we had any issues. She was very attentive. Now this hotel doesn’t have nightly entertainment but they have Shane! Shane is the bar tender, singer and dancer! We enjoyed his antics and he was very entertaining! Also if you like a strong drink, Shane is your man! Everyone at the Soco were great, there are too many people to mention, we have nothing but good things to say! I would recommend anyone to stay here. Just remember it is a small boutique family run hotel. It is not overcrowded and everyone knows you and welcomes you! If this is what you look for then definitely stay here!