Fairmont Royal Pavilion

Loved it.

We stayed at the Fairmont Pavilion in the off-season and honestly, I think we cracked the code. The beach was ours alone, not a selfie stick or inflatable flamingo in sight, and the pool was blissfully free of anyone attempting lengths. I’m sure in peak season it’s a different story, but having the place practically to ourselves felt like winning the holiday lottery. The staff were genuinely lovely, adding to that laid-back charm Barbados does so well. And the best bit? We enjoyed every moment without having to pay three times the price for Sandy Lane. Sometimes, being contrary pays off.

Not up to Fairmont standards. For the price you pay I’d expect a lot better. Just middle of the road.

I was staying for my honeymoon and paid for an upgraded to a Beachfront Suite (Room 116). Pre-Arrival Communication with the hotel in advance of arrive was terrible, I tried several times by phone and email, the only time I got an answer was when I complained via social media. Arrival Greeted at the airport and helped by a lovely team, and collected in a new BMW. All very smooth and lovely. Rooms The Beachfront Suite was very tired. The front door completely covered in dead flies. A decorator was painting over them on the neighbouring room door. There was also quite a gap around the door and so lots of insects / rain could easily enter as they are exposed, it also means a lot of noise travels. The double glazed sliding doors to the beachfront terrace were filled with condensation so you often could not see out of them even with curtains open. The bed was comfy and large, perhaps a superking. The TV system worked and the bathroom, whilst compact, was perfectly adequate. The kettle worked, but the ice bucket was not refilled by house keeping, you have to leave the building and walk across the yard to get ice. But as there are no cold drinks in the room it is odd to provide glasses and ice container. The furniture was very tired. The dresser is a white faux leather, so it is not very forgiving and is covered in nicks, marks, make up, stains. The tiled floor is cold and damp to touch. The rug contained extensive brown stains. The minibar is just an empty glass fridge in the middle of the room. The base of the wardrobes are mouldy/damp crumbling. The ceilings/walls/covings were stained and damp, with signs of damp bubbling. The paintings on the wall were damp and dis-cloured from damp. The mirrors were always covered in condensation. Water would pour from the air conditioning and so a towel needed to be kept on the floor to stop it getting slipery. Butler Team The head butler, Peter, is an absolute gentleman and professional. The other members very enthusiastic, but provided us with inaccurate information so we went out for dinner expecting a table reservation, waited in a queue for over two hours before returning to the hotel having not eaten. He had not checked the restaurant for us. Dining/Food The dining room was closed for refurbishment, even though no warning was given during the booking or even in the printed "welcome" letter on check in, so we went to the building site for breakfast to be told all meals were at the poolside restaurant - not exactually 5* luxury. Breakfast was a classic american buffet. Nothing wrong per say but nothing great. Evening meals also had to be in the same place, on the same wobbly and dated wicker garden furniture. Service was a little slow but the staff all very friendly. Unfortunately there were errors with our order on both nights. One night the "rare" steak came back well done, the second night the kebab was mistaken for a steak. Problems, but with a smile! Beach Club Essentially a car park shack. Not a nice / romantic / Caribbean shack, but literally a shack at the end of the dusty car park. Pool Very tired with missing tiles and very strong chlorine smell! Laundry Inaccurate in room information. Called for it to be collected late in the afternoon and was told to leave in bag at end of bed. It was not collected until 7am the following day (so woken up at 7am by house keeping) to then only be told they do not undertake it on site, and the offsite location is closed on a weekend and so it would not go off to be cleaned until the following day anyway! Overall Unfortunately the damp in the room, with its smell, was too much for us. After the second day of poor experience we liaised with the manager to request moving hotel. We established that the hotel was without a general manager as they are recruiting but the deputy manager was very understanding. We had a second night's troubled sleep in the damp and smelly room, and in the morning the manager agreed that she would arrange a full refund and we could check out and move to a different hotel. I continued to pay the two night's accommodation tax and for the (poor) meals consumed and was promised a refund in 3 - 5 working days. We are over two weeks later and I am still without a refund. American Express have tried contacting the hotel but they have no record of the agreement for us to check out early and to be refunded - even though this was by the deputy manager, in front of the reception team, the concierge, and Peter the Head Butler. As such I am still around £8,000 down. I have also found out that a friend had arranged for a bottle of champagne to greet us and paid $300, but it never materialised! I get the impression that it was a fantastic hotel, but it has been underinvested and is very tired, I also understand that they are seeking to be downgraded to 4* so as to lower expectations and are having staffing difficulties. I would recommend avoiding the hotel and staying at one of the many alternative 4 or 5* hotels in the areas.

Highly recommended. Visiting Barbados during its less busy season is perfect, as everything is easily accessible and available. The Fairmont offers a beach that is probably the nicest on the island

We thoroughly enjoyed our vacation at Fairmont Royal Pavilion! It is a beautiful property right on the beach, very well maintained and staffed. Everyone we saw and spoke with was extremely respectful, professional, helpful, positive and pleasant. Staff went above and beyond in all areas of guest service!!

We loved our 7-night stay at The Fairmont Royal Pavilion in Barbados to celebrate our 15-year wedding anniversary. Our greeting upon arrival included a chilled towel and iced fruit punch served near the peaceful koi pond fountain. The oceanfront king room was modern and updated, with in-room air-con and ceiling fans in the room and on the balcony. We also had a mini fridge and lots of extra closet space and storage. The morning breakfast buffet at the Fairmont is first-class, with a large section of tropical fruits, juices, omelet station, hot dishes, and homemade breads and jams. The view from the hotel restaurant is less than 30 yards from the water. The breakfast buffet was included in our daily room rate. We also loved relaxing at the beautiful pool and jacuzzi, encircled by vast manicured gardens and lush palm trees. The property is located a short drive from Holetown in St. James parish, and we enjoyed visiting the Massey grocery store and several nice shops and restaurants in town. The beach water at the Fairmont was crystal clear, with no sargassum/seaweed issues. The rooms are quiet and well-insulated, and we did not experience any outside noise. The housekeeping service is provided twice per day (cleaning and turn down service. We thoroughly enjoyed our stay and would definitely return.

My family and I just had a three week stay, in the beautiful Fairmont royal pavilion! From the minute we arrived, the staff were very attentive and friendly, a massive shout out to Tia on the guest relations, she went above and beyond to make sure we was comfortable, settled and made wonderful restaurant reservations for us all, which we enjoyed. The facilities at the hotel were perfect, our room was ocean facing which was stunning to wake up too, the breakfast had lots of nice options, to choose from and the staff that greeted us, were lovely and helpful! The lunch options were very tasty and catered to us, we are non pork eaters, so they had lots of nice options which we all enjoyed. The beach was by far, the best I've been too in the Carribean islands - stunning views, clear blue sea and white sand.... My daughter enjoyed the water sports, shout out to Ryan, who taught her how to water paddle! But what stood out to me the most was the warm friendly staff, who always greeted me with such kindness , smiles and made us all feel so welcome, The cleaning staff were also brilliant, a big shout to Shanese, who did an amazing job, providing us with clean towels, water bottles, and making our room fresh and tidy - she was amazing and lovely! Over all we had a wonderful holiday, and I hope to be visiting the Fairmont again in the near future. Much love from the Mete family in the UK xx

I think the property was great with good services and attentive workers. However , i feel it was bit overpriced not just for the room also for any extra services we were considering. As result we ended up doing lots of dining outside of the pavillio. And to our surprise we noticed other doing the same. Lol. Amazing 👏

Hi, this took me a while but it is never too late to speak of a good thing. My sister's birthday was on June 26th, and I wanted to treat her to something nice. I contacted Fairmont and received excellent service from my first call to Michael who made the reservation for three of us, as my daughter joined in the celebration. From the time we entered the property, we were warmly greeted by staff along the way, from the gateman to the gardener to the housekeeping lady who directed us where we should go. The atmosphere was very relaxing, and the breakfast selection was wide and tasty. to top it off, the staff, Sabrina and Shereece were very attentive and made sure we were well taken care of. We will certainly be back and will tell our friends about this lovely venue. A staycation is on the cards! thanks agaib to the wonderful staff, especially Michael -management, and Sabrina and Shereece in the restaurant.