Flew with Virgin Holidays, someone was there to bring us from the airport to the hotel, check-in was a bit stressful as there were a lot of people arriving at the same time and it was raining so there was no room in the lounge area. The room was amazing, very clean and spacious. We chose the deluxe room and were glad we did when we saw the other rooms as we spent the evenings in the room most of the time. We stayed in the main hotel, and not in the spa area. The first night we were in the hotel, the alternative band was playing, making sleeping very difficult. But the other bands were not so loud and we decided to stay in the room despite having been offered to relocate by the staff. They have a good food choiced with 3 restaurants on site. The buffet restaurant was by far the best although Wed-Fri they have normal service in the evening as opposed to buffet service. You do have to stick to their meal times but I found that these suited us fine. The beach was gorgeous and the staff very friendly, they even brought us drinks on the beach. The only extremely annoying thing was that you had to reserve your chair and more importantly your parasol as early as possible as they are few and far between. This is a very stressful thing to do on holidays as everyone does it and not everyone is pleased if someone else takes a chair near their parasol and might even take some shade in the process. Definitely something that I would like to see improved. For peace and quiet I would recommend the spa area with a pool as most people prefer the beach since that is where all the service is. The hotel does allow children but there are so few things to do that I would not say it is worth going here with kids. The rooms come with free alcohol and mini-bar. Lots of people walk the beach trying to sell you something but even ifyou're not buying they are always happy to stay for a chat. Special thanks goes out to the Virgin rep at the hotel who has endless patience and is always friendly and helps you make the most of your holiday. Barbados is only a short (but suicidal) bus ride away for those who wish to see the town. Staying on the beach is of course allowed. 4 stars mainly due to the parasol issue but otherwise a GREAT hotel!

Friendly staff and very good restaurants, but do ask for a sea view or the spa

Nice hotel room lovely.Food good nice choice.Beach and pool areas lovely.Would return.

We stayed in the Spa section, a wonderfully quiet and beautiful haven. The pool surrounded by decking, palm trees and plentiful loungers allowed one to choose whether to bake in the sun or take a more prudent approach to tanning! Our room, on the first floor, was separated from the next rooms either by the staircase or our verandah / bathroom buffer so one did not hear one's neighbours at all. Our room was serviced daily and the free mini-bar replenished regularly. The road separating our site from the main hotel presents no problem whatsoever, there is a zebra crossing if traffic is heavy - and the locals do not want their visitors to come to any harm!

Food was, on the whole, excellent, we found plenty to our taste, the menus catering for the predominantly US and UK guests. Fish in particular was heaven, so fresh - not what one usually finds. Sandra Blenman does a superb job with her team in the restaurants, Jennifer, Gregory, Berol, Tennyson and all the others.

Another team were the watersports boys led by Ray. Not everyone seems to take advantage of all that is on offer, the Hobycat which can be taken out for 30 minutes, with a chaperone - a very prudent and necessary provision as winds can suddenly gust up and one also need to be aware of the reefs, and the scattering of snorkellers! We were very glad of Kelly's excellent guidance. There were also kayaks as well as the snorkelling lessons and beach walks.

Out and about on the island presented no problems whatsoever, once one got one's hands on a map! The local buses, drivers and passengers looked after us, to take a taxi would be an admission of defeat! One felt totally safe, not what one can say for all destinations.

Do take advantage of the extras of the complementary catamaran cruise and spa treatments. They are excellent. My husband also enjoyed a full body Swedish massage which was well worth the money.

My husband's only criticism was the entertainment programme at the hotel which included very little West Indian music, one can hear pop music anywhere in the world! There was only one evening when the traditional "pans" featured. although two other evenings did acknowledge we were in the Caribbean. There is no entertainment on Friday nights, obviously as many people opt for the Oistins experience. Use the local direct bus from outside the door for this, BDS$2 each way!

Thank you to everyone at Waves, we are on our way back for Christmas!
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