Spring Hotel Bequia

We've had a few meals here which have been good (Roti, chicken wings, caesar salad) but this morning's (Christmas Day) American breakfast really topped it off. Sunny side up eggs, bacon, sausage, pancakes with syrup. I won't need to eat now until this evening. Well done!

We were two couples who throughly enjoyed our stay at Spring Hotel; we were nine nights in the Bequia Suite the other couple 4 in the Canouan Suite both overlooking the sea from the hillside. Beautifully appointed rooms are comfortable with good AC and amenities. Keep in mind the hotel is on a hillside and there may be steps up or down to the rooms and public areas. The pool is beautiful and the included breakfast, although not varied at all, was good. There is a hot water machine in the room with teabags only. Dining at the restaurant several times was convenient with most of the staff friendly. Wine options are pretty minimal. I would stress the need for a rental car if you are there for a few days. The free shuttle they run to the harbor/downtown several times a day is very helpful but the freedom we had with a car was the best as the location is pretty remote. There is nothing in a realistic walking distance. Would we stay here again? In a heartbeat!

Beautiful stunning views over green slopes to the Atlantic. Very peaceful, just what we needed, with a shuttle service to the water. The rooms were spotless and well equipped. Comfortable beds and AC to cool if needed. Kettle and tea provided and good fridge. Our room had a balcony which took in the morning sun and had loungers. Also perfect for star gazing.

Beautiful place, great free shuffle service, and nice and spacious rooms. But, the service was far below what we expected (and compares to the service level we experienced other places in the island), especially in the restaurant. It took very long time to get food, the food was at times not well prepared and had to be sent back to the kitchen, and the restaurant was not able to deliver food to a family of 5 at the same time.

I had a lovely week at The Spring Hotel in January. My room was immaculate and beautifully appointed with a rain water shower in a massive bathroom and balcony overlooking the Atlantic. Great sea breeze as you are in hills. Special mention to the (3?) lady chefs. The food was so good that I ate there every night - and I am very fussy! The red snapper and the tuna folks were exceptional. Staff were completely charming and even ordered in the French wine I loved and Jameson whisky specifically for me. Mind you I drank it! Special thanks to Melanie who is quite amazing in the hospitality business and also to the security man, Alwin who kept reminding me I had failed to lock my rental jeep! The price for both the room and bar and food bills are extremely reasonably. No where in Bequia is more than 15 minutes away - but you are in the hills and there is a very efficient shuttle service for free from the hotel. Having said that, on a holiday I don’t want to be tied down to pick up and drop off times. So if you are staying here, I would really recommend renting a jeep. Brontë at Gideon taxis and rentals provided a fabulous service; she even met me at Port Elizabeth and had all the paper work done in advance. I am going to book The Spring Hotel again for a week in April. Need I say more?!

There are good and less good things. First the receptionist is lovely, kind and knowledgeable. If you text them at the WhatsApp number also they are usually responsive and prepared to answer your questions / give you information. The hotel also has an affordable price and offer a free shuttle at certain times during the day. However it is to note that the restaurant experience is not the greatest, nor the free shuttle one, see below. Shuttle: you have a free ride from/to the ferry, however that is true only if you arrive in a certain time interval. When I arrived with a ferry, the driver was not there, I had to activate international roaming to text the hotel and ask for it. When he arrived, the driver said he had the wrong time (note I had provided the hotel with the right time days before, I also reconfirmed my arrival time the same morning while I was boarding the ferry. Also, the driver is well aware of the ferry timetable, I suspect he forgot). 2 days later I had planned to take the 5 pm shuttle ride from the port bus stop to the hotel. I texted the hotel to ensure this was running and got a confirmation, they said it would have been there shortly. The shuttle didn’t arrive till 5.30 (note I had been there since 4.45 as the hotel recommended). When he arrived, the driver said he had to pickup guests coming later with the ferry, hence he came late to run just one ride (instead of 2 - please note it takes 7 minutes from the hotel to the port by car). We waited there another 10-15 min for the guests to arrive and didn’t leave the port until 5.40ish. I appreciate the driver wanted to do just one ride, but wouldn’t have been fair then to let us know? There were several of us waiting at the bus stop. We could have been waiting in a nice bar on the beach instead of the crowded and trafficked port parking. There are only 3 shuttle departures/day from the hotel, and 4 from the port. So if you plan to take an early tour or a dinner somewhere else than the hotel that is not feasible. Each ride is 45$EC, which is 17-20$US. So if you plan to go down to the beach for the day, come back to the hotel for a shower, and then go back down for dinner, that easily gets to 17-20 x 4 = 68-80$US a day, which doesn’t make this hotel cheap anymore. The restaurant has limited food choice. I had the lobster tail and the lobster was chewy despite this being an island. The day after I ordered a drink to come with my dinner, the drink never came. That being said, the ladies at the restaurant were always nice to me. For breakfast you have a complimentary continental breakfast included in the price, which includes a fruit platter or a juice, eggs, toast with jam and coffee or tea. My fruit platter came with 2 tiniest water melon pieces and 1 slice of orange cut in 3 pieces. I get it that it’s included in the price hence they are trying to save money, but come on 1 slice of orange? I was confused. One more thing to note if you plan to stay here - you won’t get your roo