Mango Bay

We have had a wonderful relaxing 10 days at Mango Bay and are already wanting a return visit. Before arriving we were a little concerned about some of the negative reviews but can confirm there is nothing negative! The staff are simply amazing, all welcoming and make the stay a fun and relaxed one. A special call out to Rayden, Damien, Andersen kept us fuelled with the most amazing cocktails and drinks - always with a smile and laugh. The food is a wonderful mix of buffet and Al la carte plus the relaxed beach menu. There are snacks and afternoon tea on offer so we were never hungry. Yes we visited a few local restaurants which were amazing. So a nice mix. Calma Bay and Zacchios are great to visit and a nice walk away. The beach is stunning, offering great water activities and chill time and some truly beautiful sunsets. The evening entertainment was mostly chilled singes who were all very good. Our teenage boys - 13 and 20 have loved every movement and we all feel it has been one of our best holidays ever! Yes there is a hotel been built next door - never bothered us at all and to be honest you soon forget about it! So ignore all the negative comments and visit Mango Bay - it’s a really wonderful place!! Read less

We went to Barbados somewhat out of season but still more pleasant and warmer than the UK! We wanted to stay in Holetown and had chosen to stay at Mango Bay after reading previous feedback and we also like to stay at hotels with All Inclusive for convenience when on holiday but will still eat and drink elsewhere whilst away. We arrived on a Saturday and were welcomed with a cold towel and refreshing cocktail and best of all a very pleasing fast and efficient check-in which included a brief tour of the hotel and amenities. We had taken advice from past reviews and had paid for a room upgrade to a beach view room and this was the right decision. Our room was ground floor sea view literally facing the beach about 30m from the sea, we had a veranda outside the room on which the beach guys had a pair of wicker sunbeds with comfortable/quality cushions ready for us each morning. The room was comfortable and spacious and kept cool with good air con, The bed was spacious and very comfortable and the room was kept spotlessly clean by the excellent and attentive housekeeping team, who it seemed checked on the room several times a day, ensuring clean towels, fresh supplies of tea, coffee and biscuits and a regularly restocked fridge of cold drinks and water. They also provided the nightly turn down service and they also provided a mosquito zapper and bottled water on ice.on the Sunday night, once I'd dressed appropriately (you have to wear a shirt with a collar for every evening meal and long trousers on "a la carte" evenings such as Sunday). I can't say that changing into trousers and a shirt straight off an 8 hour flight is ideal but on the flip side it is kind of nice that everyone dresses up for meals. The down-side of arriving on Sunday is that the Standard rooms back onto a street with a karaoke bar which stays open til about 3:30am blaring out music which you simply can't block out even with earplugs, so it's not the nicest way to spend your first night when you're knackered and just want to go to sleep. Thankfully it's only on a Sunday night! The bar has a good selection of drinks, all known brands such as Gordon's gin, Johnnie Walker whisky, Disaronno and so on - even the red and white wines and lager are drinkable! There is also a selection of cocktails (beware they add syrup to them all) but they ran out of Pina Colada on the first day and didn't get any back in til the following Thursday which is a bummer if that's your cocktail of choice. The bar staff just keep providing whatever you ask for, as well as wandering around the pool periodically asking if you want drinks and handing out chilled face-towels. The food choice is ok but not great, it alternates between "a la carte" lunch and buffet dinner, then buffet lunch and "a la carte" dinner - the choices are mainly chicken, pork and fish although we did also have lamb shanks and roast beef on two nights. They also have a bbq night once a week so you can have your chicken barbequed instead of having it baked! What it's missing is a salad bar where you can create your own salad (they usually have at least one pre-made salad on offer but it often contains some weird ingredients), fresh fruit at lunch and dinner, nicer breadbuns (theirs seem to contain sugar) - and shellfish. We love prawns and other shellfish but the only appeared once on the menu in a fortnight. On the plus side you can always ask the chef to make something different, and every time we asked for something different we got it (didn't try asking for steak or lobster though lol). There are about 14 wooden sunbeds around the pool and 20 or so plastic ones on decking by the beach (all of which are thickly padded) and a virtually unlimited supply of unpadded plastic ones for the beach. Getting a sunbed by the pool isn't easy - 14 sunbeds don't divide between 150+ guests - and they have a "no towel reservation" policy - but the pool opens at 6am so you just have to sneak down and grab what you can and then go back to bed! The sunbeds on the decking get a lot of flies buzzing around but if that doesn't bother you then it's a great area to sit in - again provided that you are early enough to get one. Otherwise you're on the beach (which is lovely if you like beaches, just avoid the pushy guys trying to sell you Aloe Vera and carved coconut shells). You also get free use of the water activity equipment such as canoes, pedallo, one-person catamaran etc, and you can also book in for the free weekly glass-bottomed boat trip and catamaran trip to see the turtles. There are a lot of positives about the Mango Bay Read less

My family and I were staying at the sister hotel, The Sands, and decided to try Mango Bay for the day. It did not disappoint. We took a bus from The Sands to Mango Bay and it was about 45 minutes but it was a nice bus ride! We got to speak to some locals on the way. The bus is only 3.5 Baijan dollars, so $1.75 American. When we got to Mango Bay we weren’t sure what to expect, but I thought it would be a big hotel, as it looked bigger in the pictures. The reception area was so quiet and the ladies were very welcoming. They gave us towel cards to use for the beach! It looked like a nice area to lounge in after dinner. The furniture is modern and pretty. The one pool was big and surrounded by luscious palm trees and greenery! The bar was so close by so we left the kids in the pool and went to order drinks. We got the Mango special which was beyond delicious and my kids had chocolate milkshakes which they loved too. The beach …. Wow! The water was crystal clear! The only thing I would prefer in a beach would for it to be more shallow at the shoreline. It’s deep as soon as you step in! There is a rope though so I was not worried about my kids swimming too far out. My kids who are 7 and 9 said this was their favourite beach … even better than Carlisle Bay! Lunch time was interesting. We sat in the restaurant and were greeted so piously. However, the food was just mediocre. I ordered a warm crab bowl which was not very good at all. My kids did enjoy their chicken fingers and fries and my husband said his pasta and chicken were just ok. There were alot of people just eating from the snack bar too. Dessert was banana splits which The Sands never offered so my kids were ecstatic about that! Believe me when I say none of us wanted to leave that beach!!! When we come back to Barbados I would come to Mango Bay just for those pristine waters Read less

I had the most amazing birthday at Mango Bay on July 12th! From the warm breakfast welcome from Melisa & Doneil to the smooth check-in with Noel-Ann, the service was top-notch. Ronald, Damien, Dale, Keurwyn & Tionne kept the drinks and good vibes flowing at the bar, while Sabrina served a delicious lunch with a smile. Special thanks to Cara — an absolute gem who made the day feel extra special. Can’t wait to return! Read less

Hello to all at Mango Bay! Sorry for the late review but the post holiday blues hit us hard when we got home and it’s taken two weeks to recover from the shock of having to cook our own meals and not being able to see you all and the beautiful blue ocean every day!!!Absolutely everyone at Mango Bay knows how to look after their guests so well and the best part is that they also know how to have fun with you too! Thank you to Nikolai, Ryan, Donnell (thank you for all the milkshakes!), Damien, Rayden and Abena as well as everyone else at Mango Bay, you’re all exceptional and if we haven’t named you here it’s only because we have a bad memory for names, as you all deserve a mention for sure! The brilliant Jerry on water sports taught our daughter to waterski, she was so happy, his teaching and patience is amazing. The food at the hotel was delicious with so many flexible options, al a carte, snack menu and sometimes a beach bbq. Our rooms were kept spotless by the cheery and helpful housekeeping team too. In the evenings, the entertainment was very good, especially Mark on Monday evening. Outside of the hotel, we had a fun and informative tour of the island with Scott from Williams Tours and a great day at Hunte’s Gardens with Kate from A+ Tours. If you want to see the turtles, we recommend finding Fernando on the beach, who is so friendly and represents Mark The Shark’s boat tour, they really are turtle whisperers and ensure that everyone sees the turtles but treats them with the respect they deserve! Wish we were still there but we’ll be back in two years for another special celebration, please promise you’ll all still be there! :) Chris, Claire, Jessica and Adam Read less