Just got back from 5 days at the Hilton (6/16-6/21). The hotel is average at best, and not exactly what I would classify as up to Hiltons usual resort standard. We ate at the Lighthouse for break fast ( do not make that mistake) the food was very poor and most of the items were either cold / empty or not replenished very often for 83 BDS you can go somewhere else or use the executive lounge instead at no cost. The Grille however was very good the food was well prepared the service was good. The pool was decent, but there were NO beach or pool activities for children, we went with an 18yr old & 13 yr old and they were bored to death
We stayed on the 7th floor ( executive level) make sure that you are not on the end of either wing( poor view) we were in 705 and asked to move twice but were told that they had no other rooms available and could do nothing for us. At the cost we were paying I thought the room value and set up we less than resort standard
We did eat off property several times-- BROWN SUGAR the best place to eat for both taste and value( DO NOT MISS IT), CHAMPER -- good food good service but expensive dinner for 4 was 250 US - No drinks or wine, SWEET POTATOES - food and service both were very average and the cost was line with every place else
Overall I would not return to Barbados I thought it was extremely expensive compared to other place in the Caribbean, Mexico or even Hawaii and I would definitely not stay at the Hilton knowing what I know now

We spent two nights at this hotel, with other nights elsewhere in Barbados. In terms of rooms they are modern and very clean. With double glazing, you can have a quiet nights sleep as well.
The Lighthouse restaurant is good and the Grille Restuarant is very high quality.
Bridgetown is $18BDS away by cab. Super B's Supermarket is about the same distance.
We enjoyed the stay, but would not stay more than a few days before getting bored, as there are a great variety of other places to stay!
Basically a safe bet.

I work for an airline so get to travel to some pretty nice destinations.

We always try to pick a nice hotel.

In terms of luxury this is not up in the same league as say the Madinat Jumeirrah which is by far the best hotel we have stayed at.

But it makes up for it in so many other ways.

The beach is beautiful by day, and it is great to relax in a hammock under a full moon watching the clouds drift by on a stary night.

In terms of affordability it was reasonable. The food and drink prices throughout the hotel and the bits of Barbados we saw were on par with prices in the South of England.

We upgraded to an executive room on the 8th floor.

The view was lovely and the room was modern and clean.

Turndown service every night with chocolates (although they did forget them one night).

The Executive club allows unlimited wifi for those owning a laptop etc, free use of the hotel computer for internet access, Continental breakfast, Drinks and nibbles from 6pm - 8.30pm.

Things like cheese and biscuits, spring rolls etc.

Unlimited wine, beer, some popular spirits eg whisky, vodka etc.

They also offered a nightcap of brandy if you wanted + access at anytime for coffee, water, tea.

In addition they put some cakes out mid afternoon, so you could pop up for a coffee and cake.

There were copies of popular newspapers to read + a local newspaper hung outside your door each day.

We only ate inside the hotel once (apart from room service)

They have a bbq every weds on the beach.

Cost around £40 I think, but well worth it.

Limbo dancing, band. The food was amazing.

Most of the staff were wonderful. A couple in the executive club were a bit curt some days - probably having a bad day.

The hotel has two big pools + a small kida pool and a small heated jacuzzi.

They have a beauty parlour for nails, hair etc + a room for massages.

There is a nice bar for cocktails.

The food in the hotel looked good and reasonably priced, we just had not got enough days left to try them.

There is free use of Boogie boards - Don't make the same mistake and give the lifeguards in the towers your money and use their boards.- They aren't free and you pay $5 a time.

The dive shop let you use theirs for a $5 deposit, returnable with the board.

There are tennis courts, but although we took all our kit, we never got round to using them, not sure if they were free, but you need to book by 4pm to use them.

Bad points.

Not many - The toaster in the executive club is painfully slow. They need another - I did point this out to them - Be interesting to see if they action the comment.

Transport - Forget taxis - A 5 min walk to the main road and you can catch the bus or local mini busses complete with reggae music for a flat fee of BDS$1.50 (about 35p).

St Lawrence is a few mins down the road.

Great waterfront locations and food at Pisces & Bellini's.

Outstanding service and food at Champers nearer the hotel (Rockley I think).

The Brown Sugar just down the road from the hotel - service was slow, but big portions and tasted great.

Lastly Oistins was fun - Went on a Thursday. Quiet but a cheap night out.

My wife & I just got back from 12 nights at the Hilton Barbados. When we arrived, I have to admit to being a little disappointed - it's certainly no looker of a property (in fact, one of the guide books describes it as a terrible eyesore), and the room felt a bit small (even though we took an Executive Floor room in order to get access to the lounge).

The beaches around the Hilton are very good - we drove around the island and checked out a number of others, and with the exception of Sandy Lane, I think the beaches by the Hilton are the best kept and most user friendly that we saw. The only downside is that the current and the wind from the south make for less than smooth sea conditions, which might be great for body boarding but swimming is less calm. The pools are pretty good if you just want to cool off.

As far as restaurants etc go, we didn't really eat in the hotel much, except for lunchtime snacks at the Waters Edge pool bar. After a reasonable lunch, the evening canapes in the Executive lounge (accompanied by a coule of glasses of wine) meant we could go without dinner on several occasions. Otherwise, we lunched and dined at Brown Sugar (just 5 mins walk away, and very good), went into St Lawrence Gap a couple of times (Champers & Josefs - about a $30BD taxi fare each way), ate at the Cliff near Holetown one night ($40BD taxi but expensive meal!) and had lunch in Holetown a couple of days when we had a rental car (I'd say the Tides was easily the best restaurant we'd been in - very good quality, not too expensive ... try that for dinner if you can). We went to the Oistins Fish Fry on Friday night: it's well worth going, though make sure you agree the price of the taxi fare before setting off - in the commotion of getting a cab home, I forgot, and the guy sprung a $40BD bill on me when it should only have been $25BD.

As for the staff at the Hilton, in general they were good - a couple of duffers of waiters in the Careenage bar and by Waters Edge, but everyone seemed friendly enough.

All in all, we were happy with the choice here - it's near enough St Lawrence Gap & Bridgetown to be a reasonable taxi ride away, yet it's still possible to get to the west coast without too much time or expense. Think what money you save in not staying in a west coast resort hotel, will pay for a lot of taxi fares around the island!