I would highly recommend a visit to this hotel, situated right on the beach and within 10minutes of restaurants and bars. The location is perfect if you like to venture away from hotel.

The food was varied and most nights are a la carte.

The only downside is the nightly entertainment could be a bit dull, although as i've said there are bars within easy reach if you fancy a change and the drinks are reasonably priced.

I would definitely return to escape at the gap.

The hotel was excellent you could not get a better located as it was right on the beach.

The food was excellent, especially the Pirates Restaurant and many nights were a la carte.

The rooms were cleaned every day and the housekeepers were very helpful.

Bar staff were excellent as were the girls that run the kid's club.

Apon arriving the hotel does not blow you away completely, but the friendly staff members made me feel welcome straight away with some rum punch at the reception, within 2-3minutes we were being shown to our room and helped move our lugguage to our rooms.

First impressions of my room were brilliant i was not so concirned about how basic my room was but more taken in by the positioning of my room i could see the beach, bar, pool and beach restaurant from my balcony which meant a very short trip to each. My room was furnished with a double bed, cable television, a kettle, safe, your standard bathroom and airconditioning. The fact that all of this was a bit standard did not matter to me, since your in Barbados! why would you be spending time in your room!

I had one problem with my room and that was that my airconditioning unit was not working half as well as my parents room next door and infact the room was quite hot so i reported this to reception who said they would send someone to check it out shortly, and within 15minutes a maintenance man checked it out for me and said that there was not alot he could do untill the repairman was back the following day, after he reported back to his manager she offered to move me to a ground floor room but i was insistant that i stayed where i was so she said there would be a repairman visiting me the following morning. My problem was resolved after his visit and all was fine.

My room was always kept clean, the cleaner would also come back at different times if i needed to use my room when she was working her way around the hotel, bed covers are changed once a week with everything being cleaned every day, your towels can be replaced every day if you follow the directions they give you, and your beach towels can be exchanged for clean ones at 5:30pm every day by the pool.

The food was on some days brilliant and some days very poor, breakfast was great everyday with fry up and cerial available. Lunch was mainly ok some days there were some nice options available from the chef like spaghetti bolognese or another dish but most days it was just burgers and hotdogs, but there are more options available in the help yourself buffet style heaters which usually have different options daily which is quite nice but it all depends on your taste in food, there is also a salad bar in this section for those wanting a light lunch or something else to add to their plate.

Dinner was the main let down for myself, during the week i only had two meals i enjoyed, this was my first night at Escape at the gap where i was booked in to the a le carte restaurant 'Pirates' everything was very professional and nice, the staff were polite and handeed everything well. Midweek there is a beach bbq where all the staff and the manager will be present aswell as the guests where you can enjoy cocktails and food with the manager, this night also included brilliant entertainment of the limbo dancer that involved some of the guests. the beach front restaurant for me did not have the sort of meals that appeal to me but aside from the meals the staff were as good as the ones at pirates. Your best bet is to go to town for food and there are lots of options of where you can eat out, infact theres probably enough to go to a different restaurant each night of your holiday all within walking distance.

Entertainment was a let down, i found myself continuously slouched in a plastic chair with a beer for a few hours, but some nights were fun like the kareokee and the beach bbq. Your best bet is to venture out into the town as only five minutes away or lots of pubs and restaurants with music and whatnot so night time is not a complete loss. also on friday nights everyone goes to the local fish market to party if you enjoy loud music and dancing this is for you.

The location is excellent in my opinion, it took me 30 seconds to walk to a beautiful beach where i could chill all day long, when lunchtime comes the beach restaurant is a matter of seconds away if you dont feel like leaving the beach for long. Same applies for the bar. The bad thing about its positioning is the street by the gaps entrance, walking down it i was asked to buy drugs 6 times into town and back, but all you have to do is just say no thank you and carry on walking, nothing bad will happen as frequent police patrols go down this road.

One thing i loved about this hotel is the feel of the place, its not huge with hundreds and hundreds of rooms its small and has a nice feel to it and you get to know other people and staff in the resort as you see them daily and all in all i really liked that about the place.

I will be booking a holiday here again in the next few weeks, for 14 days next year, i only went for 7 this year and it was no where near enough time to do everything thats on offer with the many excursions virgin holidays offer at this hotel, i miss escape at the gap and ive only been back in england for less than 72 hours.

Just a little note about Escape at the Gap, aparently they do not recieve a very big amount of the profits from Virgin Holidays and say that booking directly with the hotel is better for the resort itself and can help them make it a better place, they also say that if you book through the hotel you could get a better deal, im yet to confirm this but this is what i was told by the manager.

The hotel is not the Ritz but is very clean,staff are very freindly (1or2 could do with the smile needle)the food is very good with full english breakfast buffet lunch and mostly Al-a -carte evening dinner.

We did not use the Pirates restaurant but were informed by other guests it was very good.The evening entertainment was very low key but you are only 5mins walk into the Gap where you can if you wish dance the night away.

The beach is top class the only warning is if you have small children the sea is NOT suitable for them the undertow is very strong,loungers and brollys are provided also small beach towels.I have noted on another web site about the use of plastic cups from the bar,this is only when the beach gates are open and for safety on the beach.

The bar while we were there was well stocked but small we never had a problem with getting the drink of choice.All said we had a relaxing 14 nights and would return.Virgin is the way to fly and I would recommend the upgrade to premium seating on the return leg(night flight).

Having been to the Caribbean before, we were pleasantly surprised with the standard of the resort and the kids club in particular.

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If you want a quiet relaxing beach holiday I strongly advise you to avoid the GAP hotel.

It is not on the beach itself but a street adjacent to it. Not that you would want to spend time at the beach unless you enjoy your holidays being constantly haggled for money or want to buy drugs. The beach is full of these undesirables, I was lucky to move into a hotel on the West Coast which had far better security and the beaches are virtually empty. (area around Holetown).

The hotel itself is pleasant enough, clean and very basic room furnishings. The bathroom was inadequate, the water was always cold. I found the attitude of staff to be very casual with little courtesy. all I would recommend this hotel is for young people looking for a value holiday for access to nightlife locations.

The West Coast is a far more relaxing, safe and scenic part of barbados. Water is calm and beaches less crowded. This hotel is below adequate in terms of location, security, transport links.