prior to leaving we had read the reviews about poor food and service in recent months,but we were pleasantly surprised at how good the food was,the service could be a little erratic at times,but this is the carribean! attitudes are more relaxed.the rooms were clean&tidy and the grounds were beautiful,the beach was clean&safe,with plenty of space.the only problem was the entertainment in the evenings,it was very poor and away from the bar area,it needed to be near the bar to keep people buying drinks and enjoying the music and go on until later in the evening!.we know that a new mangement team are in place and addressing the issues we mentioned.

Just had an excellent week's holiday at the tamarind cove with wife and 2.5year old daughter. Facilities and staff were great, and service was surpisingly good, in stark contrast to some of the negative reviews below. OK service could be erratic at times, but this is Barbados after all, and the staff were by and large charming (I have experienced worse service at more "exclusive" venues elsewhere on the island). There was just about enough variety in the food on offer to last a week, although it's worth keeping an eye on what is, and is not, included in the meal plan. Recommend it, and will be back.

We have just returned from a holiday at Tamarind Cove for the second year running. The reviews we read before going were a bit worrying and very mixed but, as we had had a good experience the previous year, we went ahead and booked again.

Sea and Beach : The hotel is in a beautiful peaceful location with a good beach, only surpassed by the beach at Sandy Lane. It
is not a good beach, however, for children as it does shelve quite quickly and there is an undertow as the sea breaks quite strongly onto the beach. We loved the sea swimming though and the watersports, which are inclusive, are good. My husband took the catamaran out most days and loved it. He found the beach sports guys helpful and friendly, although do check what they enter in the book when you book times as they can get it wrong! There are beachsellers but they don't pester you if you are not interested. they are friendly but not pushy and we found the best way was to shake the proffered hand, exchange greetings but tell them you were not interested for the moment. Politeness costs nothing and they are all cheerful and polite and quite happy to chat and move on. Our daughter decided to have a very relaxing aloe vera foot and leg massage from Charlie, alias 'Doctor Cool'!, on her last day but he hadn't pestered her at all during our days on the beach.

Maintenance: The gardens are extensive and beautifully maintained with two pools in them. A third small leisure pool is within a courtyard of the hotel itself. We found the pools, though not large, very good, the bar pool being more popular for children. The rooms do need some maintenance though. the bathroom tiling in particular needs to be redone and the shower is poor and requires replacing. There is good hanging space though and the room is well laid out.

Food and Service: Last year we went on a Dinner B&B option but ended up all meals inclusive this year. We didn't think this was a good idea and preferred to do our own thing for lunch as there is so much food anyway. I think they should revert to the earlier option. The food varied between buffet which could become a bit repetitive but was fine and an a la carte in the Tangiers restaurant. The a la carte was better but not outstanding. The Sasso restaurant was a bit more upmarket and was included in the meal deal, although it is not open every night. Service in Tangiers can be a bit slow and sometimes slightly chaotic but it is always done with a smile and a willingness to please. Management does need to reorganise the delivery of service we feel as too many people were often trying to do the same thing with inefficient results. The bar service was often very slow but greatly improved when the head barman along with Margaret , young Tito or Keesha were on duty. We ate next door at Daphne's once in the evening. It was very expensive with very stiff, rather haphazard, service and we were not overly impressed. We could have had a beautiful meal at home for that price without the pretension. We would recommend not bothering.

Entertainment: There is entertainment every night with varying quality. Most is ok, if a bit loud. The steel drum player is a real musician and Rosie, and her backing keyboard player, who sings on a Friday is wonderful and professional. She belts out Tina Turner in great style! Watch out for the 'Tom Jones singer'. We didn't know whether to laugh or cry but laughter won the day! He can sing but it is a pretty hilarious and theatrical performance. On Easter Sunday there was a first class singer and keyboard player at lunchtime so the talent is there on the island. We did miss the previous year's night of traditional dancing and the fireater which was very exciting and colourful.

Staff: We found the staff delightful in the main with very very few being dour or unhelpful. The vast majority were charming and fun, even if things run more slowly than they do in the UK. Edward, the new Services Development Manager, is very on the ball and we did feel that there was a tightening up going on. We watched him working with the staff in the different sectors and decided that he was someone who would not ask staff to do anything he wouldn't do himslef. This bodes well for future staff-management relations we hope as we know there has been some unhappiness amongst staff with this in the past. We do feel that this hotel has great potential that still needs some tapping into. The basis of something really good is there.

Price etc: We think that the hotel is overpriced for what it is delivering at present. It was not as busy as last year we felt and that must be a worry. We think they should alter the mealplan, do some renovations and also cut the price a bit. Especially with what looks like a recession coming they need to be one jump ahead to keep people returning to Tamarind. All in all though we would recommend this hotel and would happily return again. We made a couple of good friends who were also guests but, above all, there were certain members of staff we just took to our hearts. In many ways their delightful and affectionate attitude to us is what we take away most.

We had a most enjoyable stay at Tamarind Cove - and which has probably one of the nicest positions on the West Coast ( apart from Sandy Bay Hotel about 600 mtrs away). Excellent food and service (although it can get a bit slow depending on the Maitre 'd of the sitting) Most of the dining is in the Tangiers Restaurant and the nicer Sasso restaurant (a superb spot for a wedding reception)is opened 3 or 4 days a week. Food is carribean with a mix of Mediteranean and the buffets and Bar b ques are excellent. Edward Nightingale is an engaging and welcoming Service delivery manager who takes care to ensure you and enjoying yourself.

Has 3 lovely pools - but they are not very large and if several families dominate them with childrens lilos etc it can seem a bit crowded.

Cruise ships seem to dump a large number of fat Americans at the hotel on Wednesdays - most of them disappear onto the beach - but noisy ones do find the bar and fill it up a bit at lunchtimes - but its not a problem.

The Hotel is in the ownership of a private equity company - and presumably would be moving it on - apart from the credit crunch - Hotels run by Accountants or bankers always have 'something missing' - but nothing is missing yet. However a policy to fill beds on a 'bums in beds' basis will work against those clients paying premium prices and will work against the 'elegant hotels standards' of very smart casual in the evening and the bagging of sunbeds early in the mornings, despite the hotels 'strict policies' and which are not acted on.

Flip flops in the diner maybe OK on the Cost del Sol - but not when you have paid in excess of £5000 to come here!

An excellent holiday - we will return