We (husband, wife and two teenagers) just returned from a one week stay at The Buccaneer and were very disappointed. We booked 2 "luxury ocean view" rooms that were far from luxurious. The air conditioner was weak, the tub/shower had so much mold that it needed to be recaulked (done upon my request), the comforter had stains on it (replaced upon my request), the tile floors are stained and dirty, the bathroom lighting is almost non-existent and the bed was very "lumpy." We expressed our dissatisfaction with the room and were told that there were no more king bedded rooms available. On day 4, we were moved to a beachfront "doubloon room" and it was very nice. No monetary adjustment was made to our bill for the 4 nights spent in a substandard room (think Holiday Inn at Fairmont prices). The hotel did buy our dinner the last night there (sorry for your incovenience...) however, the damage was already done to our vacation. The beach facilities are very nice and the property itself is gorgeous...just don't expect a luxury vacation as their website states.

had oceanfront view with wonderful view of the Carib/beach. Very beautiful property atop a hill overlooking the sea and much of the island. Rooms were clean, nice, good bathroom, plenty of towels, and service; A/C could have been set lower but it was fine. Small frig with complimentary champagne on arrival. Great tennis facility, 8 resurfaced courts but $18+ per hour. Mermaid Beach was great, lots of shade/palm trees, lounges, floats, + snorkels, masks and kayaks on some days. Bar/restaurant right there. Food was uneven at the hotel; very good jerk chicken but "fresh mahi" simply wasn't fresh. The main hotel restaurant, Terrace, has good food but fairly expensive and not great. Found other (more reasonable/better quality) food choices in town; negotiate with cab drivers from hotel. Hotel breakfast buffet is very good every day/lots of choices. Service can be very uneven; some are wonderful/friendly while others are less caring and service is generally quite slow - everywhere. Golf shop had an attitude that was unfortunate for a Carib course with brown fairways. Didnt' try spa but workout facility was good. Pool by beach was small but nice; service at that restaurant (Grotto) was unbelievably slow (1 hour for burgers)but food was fine. Overall, great fun, beautiful place. Don't miss Buck Island for snorkeling and Salt River kayak tour was also worthwhile.

Overall, nice hotel but has some flaws. Good place to relax, but don't expect to be pampered. Beautiful views, grounds are very clean, but expensive food/drink.

PROS: Quaint hotel, comfortable lobby. Plenty of room to move around so if you don't rent a car, you will still have plenty of activities. The terrace is lovely with pleasant breeze at all times. There is music nightly on the terrace, from piano to jazz, and a wonderful classical guitarist.

There are 3 small beaches to choose from (only 2 if you don't want to take a walk a bit). The pool is small but kept clean and is very warm. We were "off season" and didn't find it too crowded. I really liked the fact that there is no smoking around the pool area and is limited on the beaches.

The breakfast buffet is excellent and is served until 10:30 so you don't have to get up early to enjoy it.

Sitting outside on our patio at night we had wonderful breeze and view.

Activities were fun. We enjoyed the crab races (no crabs were harmed) and won free cocktails.

The front desk and the concierge were very helpful, our thanks to Marsha for helping us with problems. They didn't receive our reservation (via Orbitz) and luckily it was off season so we didn't have any problems. Marsha gave us a nice upgrade to beachside rooms.

The Summer Sizzler was a good package and contained lots of freebies, like a rental car and massages which we didn't use. I did use the coupons for half day snorkel trip and it was very nice.

CONS:
Could use updating. We were in the Deluxe Oceanfront rooms. We were told our rooms had been recently updated, but we thought it needed more work. Air conditioner would keep the main room cool, but not cold and the bathroom was sweltering hot after showers, the AC didn't seem to make it that far. I spent a couple of nights putting on makeup with sweat rolling down my face. There's a ceiling fan in bathroom, but it wasn't sufficient for the heat. Patio outside room was broken and uneven, easy to trip on, especially at night. The walls are paper-thin. We were unfortunate enough to be next to a couple who fought every day, starting at 5:30 am. We could hear every word. Even when they weren't yelling at each other you can still hear entire conversations through the walls. Not a place to be if you are a light sleeper.

The service was defiantly spotty. As mentioned the front desk was helpful and most of the waitstaff was very nice. But we got some "attitude" from a house keeper and porter and one of the waitresses. Seems we were inconveniencing them. A housekeeper actually reprimanded us for not putting our "do not disturb" sign out for her. If you want to go somewhere to be pampered, this is NOT the place for you.

Prices of food was outrageous. I know that food/drink is more expensive here, but we often felt like we were just being gouged. I can see fish costing $26 (although it was caught there and should be cheaper) but $23 for a bowl of cheese tortellini? Sandwiches were $12 at Mermaid restaurant and at least you were full when you left. However, at the Terrace our entrees didn't include a salad and only a half slice of bread. They wouldn't leave the bread basket on the table. And when we asked for more bread, (they didn't give you butter) they would come by later with another 1/2 slice. Also, menu never varied. If you have food restrictions (vegetarian or non-meat eater) you are stuck with the same food every day. The lobster bisque at the Mermaid was awful. Runny and bland.

Drinks were extremely pricey. We bought 2 coctails (only 1 was frozen) and it was $30.

Smoking is not allowed by the pool or in areas of the beaches which is great! However, it is allowed on the terrace where the bar is. So if a smoker is upwind from you (and there usually was), you can't get away from the smoke--it ruins a wonderful summer breeze. I had a couple of cocktails on the terrace, the next day my hair and clothes smelled like cigarettes despite a breeze. Also, the beachside rooms had interior doors to adjoining rooms. Cigarette and even cigar smoke came in through the cracks of the door. I had to put towels around the door crack and that helped a little but our room sometimes smelled like stale smoke.

Snorkels, kayaks available but I was annoyed that no one ever mentions to the snorkelers that they should never stand on the coral. Saw lots of folks standing on it! It's a living organism and snorkel fins knock off chunks of coral. Could easily just put a sign up about it....

Overall, pros and cons. I have heard it is the best resort on the island. But we talked to locals and they say they come to the resort for a cocktail on the terrace, but they'd never eat there, even for special occasions.

TRAVEL TIPS: All of the restaurants are open air. I usually bring some jeans or long pants in case restaurants are cold but don't bother here. We never saw any air conditioned bars or restaurants.

There are some restaurants in town along the marina where food is more realistically priced-$15-20 for an entree.

Good Points

Kids Club.. Extremely well run and it is included in the price. the kids had a blast

Value: Even though a little expensive but the fifth night was free ( we stayed 10 days), 2 days of car rental and also 4 massage sessions. Overall pretty good.

Friendly Staff.. except for one individual extremely nice.

Breakfast: Great breakfast, included also in price

bad points

A little spotty service at the Terrace restaurnt, although they did take care of us the next day.

Pool definitely needs to be updated and enlarged. to small for a place this size.