# Crane Residential Resort 3 bedroom exchange and Barbados questions



## ada903 (Aug 1, 2014)

Grabbed a 3 bedroom for May 2015 this morning, can anyone confirm that all 3 bedrooms are penthouses with private plunge pool?

Flights are awful - two stops - but it seems this may be worth.

This would be our first time to Barbados.  Any info or tips would be appreciated - do we just grab a taxi at the airport, no need for car rental? Recommended grocery stories?  Thank you.


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## Beaglemom3 (Aug 1, 2014)

ada903 said:


> Grabbed a 3 bedroom for May 2015 this morning, can anyone confirm that all 3 bedrooms are penthouses with private plunge pool?
> 
> Flights are awful - two stops - but it seems this may be worth.
> 
> This would be our first time to Barbados.  Any info or tips would be appreciated - do we just grab a taxi at the airport, no need for car rental? Recommended grocery stories?  Thank you.





Ada. 
  Could not have happened to a nicer person. You'll love it.
  You can rent a car if you don't mind driving on the opposite of the road (from U.S.), we did it once and found that taxis, the grocery store shuttle van (make a reservation ahead of time), the Oistin fish fry shuttle and the tour bus companies that come to the Crane worked so much better and allowed us to relax and enjoy the scenery. Taxis are a little bit pricey, but cheaper than renting a car - MHO only here.


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## ada903 (Aug 1, 2014)

Thank you for the kind words and advice.  I am finding that being rental car free is best option when feasible, it's more relaxing. 

It appears the resort charges $2 per hour of AC use to exchangers. 

Opinions seem mixed about whether the beach is swimmable.


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## Beaglemom3 (Aug 1, 2014)

ada903 said:


> Thank you for the kind words and advice.  I am finding that being rental car free is best option when feasible, it's more relaxing.
> 
> Yes, for us, rental car-free was not only relaxing, it made better dollar sense to us for our needs ( just the 2 of us - YMMV).
> 
> ...



The beach is lovely; warm water and with ligh,t pinkish/tan, sugar sand. I've in the water, but it can be a little rough in the afternoon when I 've been there, but I always venture in should height when it's calmer.

You can see the great turtles swimming around from higher up units.

A nice trip is the sunset catamaran and turtle feeding/snorkeling cruise. There are a few of them and they're all supposed to be good. This one was, too:  http://www.tripadvisor.com/Attracti...Bridgetown_Saint_Michael_Parish_Barbados.html

Re: the A/C fee, as you probably know, this is becoming the norm around the Caribbean, I find. It does help the resort with those who go out for the entire day leaving the A/C on. This had to have been costly for the resort prior to charging. I think we were there when it was instituted. I'd rather have the ocean breezes - we always stayed in the old, historic hotel part.

The concierge can book trips for you right there in the lobby. They have their own selected tour operators.


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## alanmj (Aug 3, 2014)

I've been to the Crane quite a few times. Do you know your unit number? The first number of the four digit number is the building - you want to be in buildings 2-5. You can see a map at: http://www.thecrane.com/About-The-Crane/Resort-Map/. The second number is the floor. I *think* all 3-beds are top floor units. Very nice! Congratulations!

The beach is not a swimming beach - big waves crashing in. Wonderful for body-surfing, but a very strong undertow. You need to be comfortable in the water if going out of your depth - which quickly happens. Our son, an excellent swimmer, got turned over by a wave when body surfing and bent his back badly.

The sand on the beach is the finest I have ever encountered.

You have to get down early to the beach to get a good pair of deck chairs. The local beach staff seem to reserve some of them first thing - I don't know if a small gratuity to them at the beginning of the week does that for you.

It's very isolated from the rest of the island, so I do recommend renting a car. Shop at the big supermarket at Six Roads. Only a 20 mins drive away. Driving is slow, both because of the roads, the number of cars, and the slow pace of the locals. Very different on some other Caribbean islands where they drive like nutcases.

The west coast - Caribbean Sea coast - is the far more populated coastline. Very busy, though in May it shouldn't be too bad.

Yes, Oisins fish market is wonderful, but you have to be a bit pushy or you'll never get any fish.

Finally, the staff at the Crane is rather cold, to the point of being unfriendly, compared to many of the other islands. On the positive side, they are far more efficient! No "island time" at the Crane!

P.S. The Crane is owned by a Canadian. At the end of the beach is Eugene Melnyk's villa - the Ottawa Senators owner.


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## ada903 (Aug 12, 2014)

Thank you for these tips!  I kept the trip but gave it to a friend who can fly there with one connection, for me it would have been two stops and possibly overnighting, too tiresome.  I will forward the thread with the tips to the traveling friend.


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## Keep Traveling (Aug 14, 2014)

Did you get it through an going search or was it through points


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## ada903 (Aug 16, 2014)

Points instant exchange.


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