Fairmont Royal Pavilion

Andrew Diaz1 year ago

5/5

It is hard to know where to begin. From the moment you arrive to the beautiful pink, colonial-style facilities of Fairmont you know you've made the right decision. An open and breezy floor plan, decorated with bright tropical flowers, surrounded by luscious natural vegetation, and with breathtaking views of the ocean, you are greeted by the front-desk staff and a much appreciated rum punch. Every room of the Fairmont has a direct view of the west coat's pristine ocean. The rooms are spacious with beautiful balcony views of the ocean, and the housekeeping team are so sweet and work for everything to be perfect. The resort itself is the nearest to the water in all of Barbados. Though there are really nice pool and hot tub facilities, we basically spent all of our time on this incredible beach. Our beach experience could not have been any better (their beach is generally accepted locally as the best on the west coast). Aside, of course, from the beach itself, the hotel staff, Michael, Jason and Nicole specifically, make every day a special occasion. They come to check on you, ask about your plans for the day, and by the end of our 8 day stay Michael was setting up our favorite beach chairs very early for us before we even arrived every morning. It was very much above and beyond. The hotel has 3 excellent restaurants, one of which we frequented for breakfast daily. The breakfast buffet is great with a ton of great local food options. We loved the omelettes, cheese selections, salmon, bacon, the butter served, everything! There is great food at the Beach Club where you can also get snorkeling gear and do other water sport activities. Really recommend the fish sandwich and french fries (our favorite fries we had on our 2 weeks trip to Barbados). At our most frequented restaurant at the hotel, Taboras, we were greeted nightly by the chef who would come and check on our meal, chat with us, and make us feel extremely welcomed. There were also 2 cats that roamed the grounds, Rocky and Ginger, that are sweet as can be. I'd like to take a moment to recognize two individuals from Taboras that really went out of their way. Matonia, who waited our tables a few nights, is so friendly and kind, and we spent a lot of time talking about the Caribbean, and our different experiences on the beach. We also bumped into chef Julian at Oistins our first Friday night in town, where we gushed about the blackened fish we had from the night before without knowing HE was the chef (the world is small, Barbados is smaller someone told us!), and the following day at the hotel he had gone out of his way to create a little jar of the blackened seasoning for us to take home!! We are so appreciative of the additional effort both Matonia and Julian made during our trip. As impeccable as the facilities, restaurants, and beach are, they are all surpassed by the staff of Fairmont, which in fact is the highlight of our entire trip to Barbados. Basically everyone we met was so kind and friendly, and very much went out of their way to make you feel at home. They allow you the space and time to explore and experience the resort and beach at your own pace, and they have found the perfect balance of service. There are a few people to highlight for sure, but every individual deserves to be celebrated for their work. Glyne, Michael, Julian, Nicole, Matonia, Shelly, Antonio, Thoriso, Sabrina, Sinclair, Esther, Shackeem and Najae made our stay the best possible experience. As we look back on our 2 weeks stay to Barbados, it is difficult to put into words how special our time was at Fairmont Royal Pavilion, and we are already looking forward to our next visit to what feels much like our home away from home. This is THE place to stay in Barbados. We did some hotel hopping on the west coast to another famous hotel and we very much still choose Fairmont. I envision -- if you are reading this review and considering a stay on the west coast of Barbados -- a very difficult scenario in which Fairmont does not exceed your expectations. Adriana and Andrew