If anyone would like to post a review, please do so HERE

Hotel website HERE.

Pippy

I would seriously look at changing your accomodation.

We booked the Casuarina way back in May 2006 for an Easter 2007 stay. After several changes to the planned opening date (was originally meant to be Nov 2006) it became clear that it wouldn't be ready for our holiday. I then had the devil's own job persuading Airtours that we would need to change hotel (Virgin customers had a similar woeful time) and eventually went to Almond direct, who assured us we would be moved to the Almond Beach Village.

Almond are still re-building the Casuarina, particlarly the huge beachfront block which has mostly been the reason for the delays (rumours of planning permission and finance problems). It may well just be open for summer this year but you will be among the first guest and therefore part of the snagging team. Have a look on the TA forums for more info, there have been a lot of very disappointed contributors on the subject.

I would agree here - wouldn't risk it personally - the re-build has been going on far too long, best to avoid disappointment and choose elsewhere. We are visiting Bougainvilea - almost next door in April again and so looking forward to it

Hi

Unfortunately we booked the hotel with Virgin on Friday night. My husband and I went to Barbados at the beginning of Feb this year, but I posted because I could not recall
seeing the hotel and all the reviews appear to be before it was taken over with the Almond group. Virgin mentioned nothing about the hotel being under construction and another travel agent had said that the Almond group had a good reputation, that along with the fact they were offering child prices up to the age of 16 (my kids are 16 and 13) was the reason for booking, (although it is still costing £3700). I also felt a bit pressured by the virgin rep as initially they were quoting £4000 for a delux room but she said that they could give us the standard room, thus reducing the cost by £280 but they could not hold it and therefore if we wanted it we needed to book it.

Crockett you mentioned that Almond moved you to the Almond Beach Village, did they do this for everyone, and what did you think of the resort?
I am trying to work out exactly where the hotel is situated because we must have walked by it walking from St Lawrence Gap up to the hotel we were staying in (Barbados Beach Club). I recall quite a large looking hotel with spacious grounds which was fenced off, on the left hand side across the road from the beach side and also what looked like a building site on the opposite side of the road (beach side) but that was certainly not anywhere near completion, only concrete and steel. Could this be the resort or am I in completely the wrong area?

Blue Heather you mentioned that you are visiting Bougainvillea which is almost next door to the Casuarina, you will be able to tell me then if the casuarina is at the top end of St Lawrence Gap or is it nearer to Oistins? As mentioned above, we stayed in the Barbados Beach club in Feb so I am trying to find my bearings from there.

Given that I have booked it and paid the deposit do I have any rights to request a change of hotel? Also should the virgin have told me that the resort was still under construction.

Thanks

keanda

We will be in The Gap on Monday I will have a walk and check the building situation you could check on Tripadvisor there is alot of threads on this Hotel.

I would stay well clear from anything associated with the Almond Group of Companies.

Remember that THEY failed to deliver on the completion of the hotel. It wasn't the tour operators who sold holidays on what they were told by the Almond Group Barbados.

There are plenty of other quality hotels on Barbados available to spend your hard earned cash and well deserved time off on

Mark

After a year of the major grief they've had from misled customers regarding this hotel, I'm amazed Virgin still have it on sale, particularly as the opening date still appears to be in a state of flux. We were worried as it was a special 10th wedding anniversary trip, but bear in mind some of the potential guests had weddings planned and you can imagine the angst. As Mark says, Almond are the root cause of all this and they appear to be misleading the tour operators, but then you'd think the tour ops would be a little wiser as it's been going on so long.

But to give you an idea of how clueless these tour operators can be, at one point during my trying to convince Airtours that the hotel was a construction site, their customers services dept. actually told me that the resort reps had informed them that the hotel was open and had Airtours guests staying there. I followed this by phoning the Casuarina direct (because at this point, I thought I was going mad !!) and the lady in the construction site office found that very amusing, as you can imagine.

If you look on Tripadvisor (sorry to keep mentioning the "opposition", Pippy !!) there's a local contributor who regularly posts photo's of the Casuarina's progress. The shell of the beachfront block is up, but there's still a lot to do. There's also concern that this new block is so large, it will all but block out any sea views from the existing blocks behind

Anyway, if the hotel's not finished, you will automatically be transferred to the ABV at no extra cost. We were rather apprehensive because it gets very mixed reviews, but we had an enjoyable stay, albeit after a few issues with the room. The place could do with some investment though, but word is Almond are a bit strapped for cash what with the two recent St Lucia developments and the Casuarina.

The main downside with the ABV is that it's about as far away from the Casuarina as you could get, being pretty much the most northerly hotel on the west coast (in Speightstown) and feels a little isolated. If you really want the south coast location then the most like for like (ie. 4 star all-inc) accommodation seems to be the Turtle Beach which is right next door to the Casuarina, I think. However from what I gather, Virgin will charge you a supplement for that.

(sorry to keep mentioning the "opposition", Pippy !!

You're just helping keep members informed!

Pippy

Hi

Thanks for the replies everyone.
Qatarman if you could post back on the building situation after your visit to The Gap I would really appreciate it.

After reading replies to my initial post I spent most of the night trying to find out more information, there is not much information though, it appears that they are due to open in Spring 2008. I e-mailed the Almond Group but as yet have had no reply.
I have also tried to find out where the location is for this resort, I am assuming it is at the top end of the Gap away from the main restuarants, clubs etc. I saw a huge building under construction on the beach side, (it certainly didn't look like it was anywhere near completion i.e. breezeblock and steel frame,) but don't know if that is the correct one, it had quite a large hotel and grounds on the opposite side of the road which were fenced off? I wish I had paid a bit more attention when I was there.
Crockett I have had a look on tripadvisor but all I have been able to find is older reviews of the hotel, I also looked on the TA forum on this site but could not find anything about it, although I am pretty sure it will be there, I just haven't been able to find it. I will go back on to try again though.
There is absolutely no mention of the hotel being under construction in the virgin brochure or on their website and the girl that sold me the holiday certainly didn't mention it. I specifically wanted to be on the South side of the island as I liked the central location. I had a look at the Turtle Beach when we were researching the holiday, but I need to take two rooms and I have just checked the cost on virgins website and they are £7500 (for two adults and kids aged 16 and 13,) also I would either need 2 rooms at the Almond Beach Village or to be put in a superior room sleeping 4 which is also additional cost (and I specifically chose this hotel because of its location).
As I mentioned in previous posts I booked this holiday on Friday night and I paid almost £500 deposit, I don't want to lose any money but I chose this hotel because of the location and don't want to be moved to the Almond Beach Village, and I certainly can't afford to double the cost of the holiday. Am I entitled to ask for my deposit back, if the hotel is not available? Any advice would be gratefully appreciated, thanks again

keanda

Hi

Managed to find the photos and information mentioned in the above posts. The hotel that I saw and mentioned in my post was not the same one, my husband recalls walking along the beach and seeing this hotel being built, so I now know the location.
The photos do show the hotel begininng to take shape, although there is still a lot of work to be done by the looks of it. According to information on the other site Virgin are saying it will open April and they will be putting guests in from May 2008. Given the experiences of other people and the problems I will watch with baited breath and not build up any expectations.

keanda

Instead of ruining your holiday, change your hotel would be my advice.

Remind Virgin Holidays (I presume that you booked through them) of the fact that other tour operators and perhaps them too had to let customers down previously with planned opening times of the hotel not being met. Explain to them that it is more beneficial to them for you changing your hotel free of charge now rather than the matter having to end up in court due to breach of contract especially because you know the hotel is not finished as yet.

If you want to stay at St. Lawrence Gap and are looking for AI accommodation, have a look at Escape at the Gap.

Let us know how you get on.

Mark

Just had a look on Virgin Holiday's website and there is absolutely no mention that this is a NEW hotel and is not even finished yet.

The pictures on show do NOT clearly state that they are artist impressions.

I would have a word with Ros Fernihough before proceeding as I can foresee this going bad for you and ending up in tears.

Ros can be contacted on:

Ros has offered our members free impartial legal advice. Please note that Ros does not read or post on this board any contact to her must be made via :-

Tel :- 01922 621114

Mark

Hi Mark

Thanks for the reply. I will give Ros a call and ask for advice.

keanda

Hi again

I have just received an e-mail from Almond Resorts in England. They now state that they will be fully operational and opening on the 1st May 2008.
The information I saw yesterday on other sites said they were suppossed to open in April with Virgin Holidays putting guests in from May. Seems like a bit of deja vu considering the problems have been going on for such a long time.

keanda

Hi Mark,

You suggested that I seek advice from Ros Fernihough's office with regard to the situation at the almond casuarina. To be honest I already had a good idea where I stood but I phoned for advice just to clarify and confirm the situation for myself. Below is the advice that I was given:-

I explained the situation with the Almond Casuarina and her PA told me that if I contact virgin and request a change of hotel then we are lliable for the difference in cost, she also said that we would not be entitled to our deposit back either if we cancel the holiday. The advice was to wait and see. If the resort is not open then they have to offer us alternative accommodation, we can either accept this or be offered a full refund. If we decide to accept the alternative accommodation, then we are entitled to tell Virgin that we are accepting the changes "under duress" and that we intend to put in a complaint and seek compensation upon our return. Likewise if the Casuarina is open but not fully functional and as described then it is important to keep as much information as possible going back as far as the booking ie brochure, web page, names of people spoken to, make complaint about situation at resort, names of people at the resort who have found themselves in the same situation etc, it would then be up to the individual to take the matter further themselves or seek legal advice on their return.

I also see from a different forum and also from checking the virgin website myself that Virgin are no longer taking any bookings for this hotel.

keanda

Hi I have just walked past the hotel cannot see it being open much before July,My opinion only.

Hi qatarman

Thanks for checking that out it was really nice of you. I've seen pictures posted on another forum at the end of February and you can see that there is a lot of work still to be done.
Lots of speculation, I believe that initially Almond were saying 1st April and Virgin were not putting clients in until 1st May. Almond are now saying 1/5/2008 but Virgin appear to have stopped taking any further bookings for this hotel at the moment. As you will probably see from my previous post there is very little that I can do at the moment and I will just have to wait and see.

Thanks again for checking out the hotel I really do appreciate it.

keanda

I booked this hotel yesterday with Virgin.. I'm aware of the situation, but figure that I would be more than happy to be moved to ABV, as we love it there (and it was nearly £1000 more to book) We go 22nd Aug for 10 days.
Casuarina is next door to the Turtle beach apparently. The beaches look stunning...
Either way, hopefully we will end up at either. But I'm hoping we won't be put up in the middle of a building site!! We had that happy experience last year at the Sunset Jamaica Grande, and the building noise was horrendous!!
If I hear anything else I'll keep you updated

Thanks for the feedback Keanda
Perhaps we differ, but I would like to know where we're staying rather than get to a destination with a last change of hotel due to the incompetencies of a tour operator. Even if you do get compensation, it is very unlikely to be 100% so I would not take the risk for a holiday to be spoiled and to be financially out of pocket.

Keep us posted on a any developments.

Mark