Divi Southwinds Beach Resort

Not a fancy hotel but we didn't pay for a fancy hotel. AS others have said--its in a bit sad shape. But if you're not picky about appearances, it will do. The location is perfect with the beach near by and it was fun to walk into St. Lawrence Gap every night. It helped tremendously to have a kitchen as all of the restaurants seemed quite expensive. I would recommend this place for people who are not picky and just want a basic place to stay at.

The SouthWinds Divi is in a great location the pool and the rooms could use some updates but they were clean. The Beach was very nice, good sand and surf decent for swimming and kids can jump around in the water. The beach bar was open during the day but closed at night and the restaurant bar wasn't open. The location in the St. Lawrence Gap was great you could walk to shopping to the left and all the restaurants were to the right. Over all a very laid back stay but don't expect to be wowed by the place, it is in a good safe location and has a clean bed for you to sleep in but don't expect too much activity,

The location is magnificant - aqua colored, warm water with palms on the sandy beach and plenty of lounge chairs. The resort itself shows signs of neglect: no handle on refrig, bathroom not too clean, grounds needed watering and trimming and fresh plants - the garden wasn't really a garden. The staff when we checked in did not welcome us, and when we checked out they did not thank us for staying with them or express that they wished we wlould come back again. With a few exceptions, the staff lacked common courtesy. A couple of the chefs were very helpful and Juliette, the activities director was friendly and worked hard to help customers have a good time.

The Divi Southwind is rated as a three star but to me it deserves a better rating. Much to our surprise the resort was clean, semi-well maintained, close to the beach and food that was at least fvie star quality. My wife commented that this was the first resort that she would feel secure in visiting unacompanied. The units have a kitchen not a kitchenet with all the utencils to cook any meal. Convenience stores are located on and near the resort as well as first class restaurants. We were prepared to spend a lot on meals but with a little planning we found that we could eat as cheaply as at home. If you are a coffee drinker be sure to bring your own coffee or be prepared to drink instant coffee because we could not find ground coffee any where on the island. Even the restaurants serve instant coffee. We will definitely return to Barbados and our priority would be Divi Southwind. If you have children find a resort on Sandy Beach, the water is shallow for a long distance from shore and many ocean creatures to entertain.

Divi Southwinds was about what we expected after reading some of the other reviews.It is an older hotel but clean and comfortable. We were in the main building on the second floor so no need to use the elevator.A short walk to the beach was fine,lots of chairs and the only hotel on this stretch of beach with nice trees for shade.We only ate at the restaurant once,but it was very good and good value for a 4 course meal. Be careful when booking taxis for tours, that you have the price established ahead of time(they charge by the hr)Fri nt at the Oistins is an experience but very crowded. We went on another nt which was better. Uncle Georges for shrimp.There is lots to do on the island altho we found it a little pricier than some other places we have been.

It is difficult to say kind things when I was uncomfortable and did not sleep well. I gave management and staff several opportunities to fix matters but this was beyond them. I slept on the worst mattress. The AC was either frozen or off. The property could be nice if staff cared and it was properly managed. Sadly, this hotel had neither.

My husband and I just returned from a week in the Christ Church area of Barbados. We stayed at Divi Southwinds and both enjoyed or stay. Divi isn't anything fancy, but the staff was all very nice, our room was clean and they have a nice sized pool and are close to the ocean. The location of the reosrt is great!! They are in the middle of St. Lawrence Gap and just a short walk to many restaurants and small shops. We had a garden view room on the 4th floor (looked out over the lobby and street), which was fine for us. The room was a little small when compared to other places we've stayed at. The bathroom itself was very small, but with just my husband and myself it was fine. The bed was a bit uncomfortable and after waking up the first morning quite sore I simply put a few pillows under my back for the rest of the week and was fine. We were wide awake at about 6:30am every morning because of the street traffic and because the bedroom curtains didn't quite close all the way, so the sun came streaming in. But, again we didn't mind because it gave us a jump start on the day! The only thing that I think we would have really liked to have seen was better food and drinks on the resort. One of the first mornings we were there we had breakfast at the Bajan Breeze Restaurant. The waitress pointed to a buffet table and said that it was a continental breakfast of fruit, cereal, taost, and juice, and that we could also get eggs, sausage, bacon, etc from the kitchen. We each ordered eggs and meat from the kitchen and had toast, a couple pieces of fruit and coffee and juice....which ended up being over $40.00 US. We were a bit surprised but later in the week we did see posters advertising their breakfast for $21.00 per person (however most of what was on their buffet wasn't in stock when we ate there. There were also a couple nights when the restaurant and bar were closed right down at 6pm!! We were traveling in the off season (Sept 16-25th), so that might have had somethign to do with it. Later that day went to Dover Beach (just a couple minutes walk from the hotel) and found cheap beers and other drinks and food, so we decided that we would no longer eat at the resort. We had breakfast the rest of the week at the Sanddollar cafe, Happy Days Cafe and Fishbones. We enjoyed them all and while Fishbones was the most expensive (about $20.00 US per person) it was our favorite. You looked out over the ocean and they had the best french toast I've ever had. Overall, we would stay at Divi again. It is a great location, the staff are friendly, it's very close to the beach, and has a good sized pool. Their activiites center will also hook you up with any trips or tours you want to take and also offer tips for where to go. Juliette does a great job at making you feel welcome and helping with dinner reseravtions and signing you up for activities. The resort also has mini gold and tennis, although we didn't take advantage of either. There is a cost for the mini golf and we just didn't have time for tennis! The grounds were average and could use a littel work, but that didn't bother us. If you are looking for luxury, this isn't it, but if you want a nice place to stay in the middle of it all, then you will like Divi.

Hotel was in a good location surrounded by local bars. The beach area was also gorgeous. Did not dine at any of the food establishments within the hotel. The activity center was very helpful with information about acitvities and sight seeing in Barbados.

I enjoyed my stay. The only dark spot was the hot water in the shower. So overall the trip was nice and the resort was nice.

Eventhough it rained, the staff was wonderful and the service too, just one drawback no free Internet service, $11 a day