Amaryllis Beach Resort: Overview

A Paradise Lost

The Amaryllis deserves to be included among one of the greatest missed opportunities in the Caribbean. Located on an island paradise, it sports a prime location with both a lovely beach and attractive grounds. Upon arriving at this resort hotel our first impression was that it deserves the "4 Star" rating that it boasts. However, once we got a glimpse beneath its picturesque veneer by entering our room and then by experiencing the level of service the establishment had to offer we came away with a deep sense of disappointment that bordered on a feeling of being violated somehow. \n \nCheck-in was bizarre and the first shot across our bow. After a 40 minute wait while I observed pairs of disgruntled guests simultaneously struggle with canceled bookings and room downgrades (apparently common there), we were finally checked in and entered our room. \n \nI am very easy to please, but our room at the Amaryllis can only be described as mediocre at best. As for the bathroom, it would only be considered "4 star" if you had just gotten out of prison. By any definition it would be considered spartan; unless, of course, you consider toilet tissue that one might find in a third world truck-stop desirable, an utter lack facial tissue and very basic toiletries charming, or you covet a primitive tub/shower unit that fails to offer such things as hot water and pressure. I could go on, but suffice to say that our room offered little more than a harbinger of what to expect from our stay at this "resort". \n \nThe food served at the Amaryllis was unimpressive and played hard-to-get. At the Amaryllis service comes in two flavors: non-existent and poor; its ill-trained and apathetic staff maintained low standards and failed to meet them at every turn. The service was so bad that it became a source of much laughter among the guests as we all became resigned to the ineptitude of our hosts and observed their consternations with amusement. \n \nI felt empathy toward those poor souls who had booked an all-inclusive holiday at the Amaryllis (which we thankfully did not). I surmised that such bookings were what left the beach bar closed at 6:00pm and the other hotel restaurants closed by 9:30pm. Was this some attempt by the hotel to curtail the use of those facilities by their all-inclusive guests? Whatever the motive, the policy left the Amaryllis like a graveyard by 10pm and a pathetic dark spot in the vibrant Barbadian nightlife of the islands other resorts. \n \nBy my estimation he Amaryllis is a resort of great potential, most of which goes unfulfilled. At the end of the day it is a paradise lost due to the inattention of its ownership and/or management. It is a resort that has earned the prefix “last” in my book.