Stayed at the Coconut Court Hastings on the 11th September to the 25th September 2021. This is a 3 star property with Virgin Holidays. The hotel is directly on the beach although there are larger apartments linked to the hotel that are across the road. When we were staying there were still the restrictions in place, and the day after our arrival the government put in a 9pm curfew. As soon as we arrived in Barbados all our documentation was checked and then we were tested in the airport. The negative tests for us were back the following day at 10:30 am; and for context we arrived in Barbados the previous day at 2pm. Whilst you are awaiting your results you are confined to the hotel, which means you can use the pool and the facilities in the hotel and your own room, but you cannot step outside the hotel and use the beach. Upon arrival in Barbados you are given a green band (if fully vaccinated) and you have to keep this on until your negative tests come through. Then you forward the tests results to the reception, via email and upon receipt they then remove the bands and note in the system you are clear. They do enforce these rules and we did see security remove people from the beach. If you are on half board during this time you are either eat in the restaurant on site (if it is open) or a takeaway from Jakes – which is on the opposite side of the road from the hotel. The tables in the Coco's restaurant (in the hotel) are distanced apart and the rules are the same as the UK, you sanitise your hands upon entering the restaurant wearing a mask, but once you are seated you can remove it. If you are on half board, you have to sign for all your meals and then at the end of the holiday, they remove all the non-chargeable food (you just pay for the drinks and tips) – it is worth getting a statement a few days before you leave, as this is quite an onerous task for reception, and a few things do slip through the net. However, the food was plentiful and of a high quality, but considering the prices the service was lacking. The staff were lovely and did their best but at Coco's particularly there were simply not enough of them. But in Jake's the service was better, the portions were huge and because they were a commercial restaurant and also catered for the public, a lot more geared up to deal with the evening rush. The wine selection was good here and again the food was excellent. They also did takeaways that you could get delivered to your room for $5; but sometimes you did have a long wait for delivery, but the food was good when it did arrive. The hotel had a reception, small shop that sold snacks, drinks, water, alcohol, t-shirts, beach wear, beach accessories such as towels, goggles etc, some gifts, personal items such as shaving cream, sun cream and some souvenirs. The also had the beach towels (Blue) that were supplied. You only got the first ones free, if you changed them for fresh ones there was a charge. There was also a trip organiser on site Vaida Blades. She was very good and organised scuba diving for us and a trip to Harrisons cave. Everything was bespoke and she could design your personal trips at competitive prices. Several people in the hotel all had good experiences with her, so well worth a look. She is based on the room a few steps up from Coco's. To eat there is Coco's restaurant and the beach bar – which also did food. But check the opening times as they did vary, and sometimes you had to eat in Jake's as Coco was closed. As I mentioned food was good in all the restaurants, but service was slow. Average price for breakfast was around B$50 (per person) and Dinner was B$85-95 (per person) and this excludes tips and some local taxes. We stayed in room 43 which was on the 1st floor, and this overlooked the beach and restaurant. The room had a very large sofa, table and chairs, and balcony with further table and chairs. Large Queen bed, dressing table, bedside tables with storage, large wardrobe with safe. Kitchen with Kettle, microwave, fridge, plates, cups, cutlery, sink, toaster - but no pots and pans, so you are limited to heating things up and making coffee tea etc or preparing cold food. The bathroom had a large walk in shower, with sink. Fresh towels everyday – if you wanted them that frequently, toiletries, toilet paper. The room was cleaned to a very high standard, and we were very comfortable with the room we stayed in.

In the local area you have an iMart – 10/15 minutes' walk which also had the Lanterns shopping mall. This was a good supermarket and had everything you needed. I was told there was another mall just a bit further down, and this was even bigger. We had a meal in the Tapas – which is on the beach side of the road, and was a wonderful location. The food was excellent, not cheap but worth every penny. For diving I would recommend West Side Scuba, they were really good and Peter the guide could not do enough for me – as not the most confident of divers. Look them up, as I think that they are moving location.

Near the hotel you have the racecourse, Garrison Savannah, and which also has the barracks and the George Washington House, the tunnels and the changing of the Guard, apart from the horse racing of course. Also, if you are an early riser, you can see the stable boys take the racehorses to swim in the sea – everyday around 6 am, near the Radisson.

You can also take a Reggae, Reggae bus into Bridgetown and see the shops, the Duty Free department store is particularly good, as you get a discount from the local taxes providing you can produce either a driving licence or your passport. Once they log you on the system, you only need to provide basic details. There are also a lot of jewellery stores and a great market.

Oistins is normally a great stop, which is a fish market, but where you can eat and be entertained, but it was closed due to covid, you could only get a takeaway. So I would check before you head out, as this is a Reggae, Reggae bus to Oistins or local bus or a cab, but it is too far to walk from this location.

Finally, there is also a great dress shop called Planet Fashions, had so many dresses to choose from – it was mind blowing. Again, will allow duty free shopping. But be aware Barbados is a lot stricter about mask wearing than the UK, and the shops will not let you in without a temperature check and a mask.

Despite Covid had a fantastic trip and cannot wait to come back.