We are seasoned villa users, staying in around 20 over the last few years. To be honest, we find the reviews published to be a bit OTT. Beyond a doubt the structure of this Villa is impressive, and the location - whilst somewhat remote - did not create a problem. Here are our (hopefully constructive) observations:
Firstly - surely some sort of map, and driving instructions to the Villa could be provided? It was harrowing to arrive at Barbados Airport with just a telephone number to contact. That proved quite traumatic, when nobody answered - and we had no idea where we were going! Thankfully a very helpful lady in the information kiosk managed to make contact, and armed us with some very complicated directions from the Airport. Maybe even a "meet and greet" service might be a good option?
90 minutes after our arrival we found our way to Serenity. As I said, the outside structure is impressive - but the half built properties adjacent are the opposite, a complete eyesore. Mind you, should they ever be completed they will look directly over the garden of Serenity, and be quite an intrusion.
Once inside, the spaciousness of the Villa is evident. The master bedroom is superb, and well appointed. The second bedroom was again well appointed - but the lack of an en suite detracted. The other two bedrooms were more than adequate.
Downstairs, we found to be comfortable - although we spent very little time there other than in the kitchen. We were dissapointed with the equipment therein. In fact, we thought it was poor. All of the China/crockery/glasses were of a poor standard, and there were insufficient pots/pans to be able to cook as we wished. The cooker was large, but temperamental and a dish washer was nowhere to be seen.
The patio area was a wonderful size, but the garden furniture and tables are pitiful. Surely any visitors to this property would expect to eat most of their meals outside? That should be provided for, but there is a rotting table for four outside - and we were forced to bring an unsuitable picnic table downstairs from the verandah to use. We were a party of 5 - I have no idea how 8 or 10 people would cope!
Deck chairs were provided, but two of them were falling apart and unsafe to use.
The pool is most unusual. It's very small and very deep. Not at all safe for young children. The deck area surrounding the pool was dirty, and was never cleaned during our stay.
On the positive side, the cleaner called every other day -