Just got back from a week at the Hilton Barbados. The hotel actually exceeded my expectations, but things may have been different if I was actually paying for the whole week as I only paid for one night combined with a 6 night reward that I had randomly booked before the point devaluation of last winter.

I strategically booked my first night as the paid night and paid extra to have access to the executive lounge, hoping that they would keep me in the same room for the entire week given that I got demoted to silver this yr as a result of my change to SPG. Lo and behold, the friendly and helpful girl in the exec lounge made it happen. Although there's no free booze in the lounge anymore, I thought the food was good for a continental breakfast and some snacks at the dinner hour. Not having access would have added a significant cost to the trip as breakfasts were fairly pricey at the hotel.

The hotel didn't seem very busy at all until the US Thanksgiving wknd whether it be at the pool, beach or exec lounge. The pool bar has a good happy hour every day between 5-6 where some of the drinks are half price ($4-5). We only at the Grille after the beach bbq was cancelled due to 'volatile weather?' even though it didn't even come close to raining. The Grille was a huge disappointment. There was probably one five tables taken in the entire restaurant. We didn't even get our drinks until after our appetizers had been eaten. I tried ordering 3 different bottle of wines only to have the waiter come back 10 minutes after ordering each one to tell me that they didn't have that one, but yet, couldn't suggest another one that they did have so the same thing kept on happening over and over again. The food was ok, but when you are paying $40+ for entrees, you expect the main courses to be a little more inspired.

As for other recommendations on the island, Lobsters Alive is a great place right on the beach between the hotel and Bridgetown. It was a little pricey, but worth it. We went to Bert's bar twice to watch hockey and had a great time. The food and drink was very reasonable. We also did the sunset dinner cruise with Cool Runnings which was also worthwhile. As for an island tour, we did a private tour with Sarah at Glory Tours and I would also highly recommend going with her.

Overall, we had a great time on the island. A lot of people complain about everything being very pricey, but we didn't find it that bad. That being said, if you have the kids along for the trip, I could see how meals and entertainment could add up.