Kalinago Beach Resort

Being right on the beach was great.

I thought that I was staying at a nice quiet resort because there were only 29 rooms. But the place had deals with the cruise ship companies, and depending which ships were in, the parking lot was swarming with buses full of tourists. They stormed the grounds and took over the place. They grabbed all the chaise lounges, then they took the chairs from the pool area and dragged them onto the beach. They used the pool, the bar and the shower. It totally ruined the serenity that I was seeking, and was led to believe that I was going to get. And then there was the day that the resort rented out the grounds for a birthday party. There were a whole bunch of screaming kids who took over the whole pool and destroyed every inflatable. And on Sundays, anyone who wants to can pay admission and use the whole place. You don’t see any of this in their advertisements! You keep seeing the word “tranquil” in their ads, but that is not the way I would describe it when the Rhum Runner party boat dumps all its passengers on the beach. Nor is that the word I would use when the fishermen came ashore with all their nets, leaving behind hundreds of dead fish in the water. As for everything else about the place? There are pros and cons. The room was relatively clean, although dated. The balcony had a great view of the beach. The grounds were meticulously maintained. The beach was beautiful. The pool had a swim-up bar. But there were a lot of cons. There was no microwave, no coffee pot, no rack to put the suitcases on, no tissue box and no hair dryer. All we had was a kettle. There was no floral arrangement in my room as they advertised. I never knew whether my shower was going to be the polar plunge or molten lava. It changed daily. For that matter, I never knew if I was going to have water. Twice we lost it, and for hours at a time. We also lost electricity twice. The ceiling fan didn’t work at all. Nor did the outlet in the bathroom for charging my shaver. The air conditioner blew directly onto the bed, and there was no way to angle it differently. The chairs on the balcony were hard wooden slats; no cushions. Most of the chaise lounges on the beach were either broken or missing pieces. I had to get up at 6:00 AM in order to claim a good one. The photos show every lounge in the pool area has a cushion, but I counted only seven. The restaurant was not open for dinner. There was a barbecue on the beach on Saturday night, but they never told us how much it would cost until we checked out. The food was all cold, and the lobster was overcooked and dry. We had to use water shoes to enter the water because what they called “powder white sand beach” was full of stones. I don’t know, maybe remnants of the hurricane? And don’t ask to check out late unless you want to shell out an additional $60 US.

The location is about the only thing that rescues the hotel from being a total disaster. There are some Positives, beds are comfortable, room Air conditioning is excellent and Staff are friendly if a bit slow. However the hotel is run down and in need of some TLC, no one seems to take responsibility for any shortcomings. Their food and drink prices are not cheap. The hotel ran out of eggs at breakfast one morning but no one went to buy some more (there is a supermarket within 10 mins drive). One evening the bar was quiet but no staff member present, after 10 mins I went to reception and one of their staff came to the bar to serve me. About 15 mins later the barmaid returned with her box of KFC and sat down to eat. Most of the sun beds are broken and guests are expected to take them to the beach and return them, there are no umbrellas. The pool sun beds were bare wood, some thin lumpy mattresses dis appear after four days but disappeared again. I discovered a beach bar, La Plywood further down the beach where the food and drinks were significantly cheaper and better.

The property was on rhe beach. This was so nice. I also liked that they made the beds everyday and changed the towels. The breakfast we had was good as well. The coffee quality needs improvement. The light fixtures in the room are ugly and the lighting is poor. Blue color on the wall needs changing.

The location

Would return here for sure! A delightful hotel, wonderful staff and superb location