Firstly we did get the wow factor when we pulled up to this hotel. The reception and surrounding areas are beautiful. The reception team checked us in and were fab for the whole week we were there. We had a sea view room which was on the 4th floor and really was a great view. The beds were comfy but some of the furniture was dated. There was no mirror at the dressing table which I found strange, and plugs were limited. We also had ants on the bathroom side, but let’s face it, we are in a hot country!

Whatever u do, do not sit down in the dining areas without being ‘sat down’...you will get shouted at. Even if half the room is empty! They are not in a rush to sit you down or to clear any tables...short staffed maybe? I’m pretty sure I’m the week, we met 2 staff in the main restaurant who were nice. The staff in the restaurants you book gave good service tho

Need the toilet?...make sure you don’t leave it last minute. There is one toilet for the whole pool area, the sand bar and for the whole of the beach too.
At the sand bar was a guy called Winston I believe...could not be any ruder and definitely had his ‘favourite’ customers as he was nice to the odd few. I mean I’m always cheerful and polite towards everyone so I really don’t understand people like that at all and I continued to be polite even when he wasn’t

There were two bar staff each day doing waiter service drinks at the pool and bar who were lovely but it was pot luck if you actually got the drink you asked for so we got our own.

The location of this hotel was brilliant and everyday I got up early and went for a stroll . The water sports team were amazing, the beach was absolutely incredible and all the families we met were lovely too. The food was not great but the drinks were fab!
My kids loved the ice cream shop and coffee shop but it is only open for a few hours a day

We went to several bars in the gap, Carlisle bay and to the boatyard where the staff were incredible and couldn’t do enough for us.

Overall like the title...service let’s this place down massively. I honestly can’t believe how miserable they were...what happened to service with a smile.

Love to go back to Barbados as it’s such a beautiful place...just not to this hotel

I don't normally post reviews and this is the first I've posted on here but felt compelled to so other people looking for a "luxury" holiday to Barbados can avoid Turtle Beach. This was our second stay with Turtle Beach, the first time was in 2013 which was amazing and then recently from 25th Oct - 5th Nov. This place has massively gone downhill - not sure if this is because Elegant Hotels was bought out by Marriot recently but other than the location and Captain Sam & his crew everything else was really, really poor.
The waiting and bar staff were rude, lazy and really unfriendly; getting a drink at the pool bar involved a minimum 10-15 min wait and when you did get served bar staff made you feel like they were doing you a favour. Trying to get a high chair for our 16 month old at mealtimes was a nightmare, waitress would ask if we needed one and then just disappear. Food was 3 star hotel buffet style - when we stayed 8 years ago they used to have fresh fish and meat on the grill, now it's just a burger and dodgy old hotdog sausages and the buffet food was generally the morning or lunch time left overs rehashed - so much so that we dined out 5 of the 11 nights we stayed there. On that note, Cocktail Kitchen and Champers great restaurants nearby.
We booked a one bedroom apartment with sea view and the view is spectacular to be fair BUT there were ants in the lounge on our sons sofa bed. Hotel manager suggested putting down ant powder but not possible with our 16 month old - they did try to do deep clean on room but we still spotted them albeit not as many as first night.
Such a shame as this place was amazing when we visited in 2013. I’m actually amazed there are so many recent positive reviews - speaking to other guests at the pool, we weren’t the only ones massively disappointed with the food and the attitude of the staff (including other returning guests).
We came here for a luxury holiday and for the price they charge it’s just not good enough. Maybe we were just unlucky because, as mentioned, they had just been bought by Marriott and staff thought they were going to get sacked or the staff culture had been run down for a while. Either way they were bought because it has gone down hill and Marriot realise they could spin it back again.
My advice would be to hold off booking here until Marriott invest and kick out existing management and shake up the staff culture.
Final comment - I can say that Captain Sam and his team were great though, always friendly and smiling and the beach is amazing – which is why it’s such a pity management have let this place go.