The Inn at English Harbour

Complete is the word I think best describes our stay at The Inn. This was the most pleasant vacation experience we’ve ever had, with every need and whim met with enthusiasm. Cabin 9 is right on the beach, just yards from the sea and the private jetty. The room, while not huge, has all the features you would expect. The Reef cafe is also just a few yards away. There, you enjoy breakfast, lunch, and tea served by a friendly staff. Dinner is a wonderful experience at The Terrace. The food is outstanding and they have special nights like the Italian night and a barbecue night. The highest praise I have is for the staff. To a person every one was friendly and eager to help, and seemed to genuinely enjoy engaging in conversation. Another bonus is the fact that this is a small, boutique hotel. We got to know several of our fellow guests and enjoyed seeing them each day. I really can’t say enough about The Inn. I’m very hopeful that we will be visiting here again.

What a treat to vacation in such a gorgeous spot and not be overcrowded with other people - and during Christmas, the biggest travel week of the year. Always a shady spot on the beach available, calm, clear ocean, and a large pool. The water taxi to Nelson Dockyard was a really nice feature. View is amazing. The staff is very attentive and tended to a few problems we had in our room quickly and efficiently. So many lovely staff members especially everyone at the Reef and Terrace restaurants. I am especially grateful to the front desk and housekeeping for getting rooms ready when we were forced to return after our flight was canceled and for providing plates of cheese and fruit at midnight which was exactly what we needed after such an awful time at the airport.

The Inn is as good as it gets for a stylish, boutique Caribbean hotel, with the majority of its guests of a certain age, with a sprinkling of younger Americans and maybe some honeymoon couples. Our Junior suite was pretty good, white, light and airy, with discreet housekeeping, a Nespresso machine, but bring your own favourite capsules…. and I took the precaution of requesting a machine before arrival) and an iron and board on request to freshen up clothes. A nice touch was complimentary vacuum flasks to fill up with cold filtered water from various locations. The tap water is totally drinkable, so I was amazed that, apart from breakfast, the only table water was imported still or sparkling at a price reflecting the air miles, storage and recycling costs. I can understand the sale of sparkling water, but not to make tap or filter water available seems a shame for a clearly environmentally concerned operator…… if the Ritz in London can do it….. We enjoyed the food, a high standard, we’ ll really miss the lobster, and the willingness to ta produce off menu items, such as gazpacho. We were on an interesting meal plan of breakfast, tea and dinner, but no drinks (not even water….!), which meant we could go out to Nelson’s Harbour for luncn, not for any better food, but for a chance to see some quite amazing floating boy’s toys, and soak in a bit of history. Activity on the tennis court was sadly lacking for us, and the only sailing activity was 2 Lasers. Vern, who ran the very efficient shuttle to Nelson’s Harbour, warned me that the wind in the bay was flakey, and I duly managed to capsize , but he helped me back up, all that was damaged was my pride. I had been told that there was a Sunfish, but apparently it was not available, and given the unreliable breeze, a small Hobie would be a far better option than the Lasers, plus something else more stable. Moving on, Reception was professional and vey pleasant, and the shuttle from the rooms up to the Terrace for dinner was pretty reliable. In fact just about everyone seemed to be enjoying making our stay a memorable experience. In summary, we had a great 10 day holiday, the location is superb, most people will not be disappointed if they are looking for style, comfort and atmosphere, as good as anywhere in the Caribbean.

This is a beautiful hotel with a luxurious old world feel. Two lovely restaurants, breakfast by the ocean is a real treat and dinner with a view equally stunning. The staff were welcoming, kind and looked after us really well. Thank you to everyone at the hotel for some excellent hospitality.

It is a rare moment when you genuinely want to hug staff members upon a departure from an Inn, but we did just that. A very harmonious group of employees that extend warmth, kindness, and helpfulness. I think we miss them more than the ever-present island breeze, and stunning view. The Inn attracts lovely people whose temperaments are low-key, friendly, and easily approachable. We met, and struck up many conversations with quite a few guests. It was part of the daily joy. And, we noticed that almost ninety-nine percent of the guests had been to the Inn repeatedly over the years. Something you don't often hear. The Inn's reception area is so alluring with the windows wide open allowing the delightful breeze to spill in. All so naturally beautiful, and soothing. This is a special place to savor, and create indelible moments.

This was our fourth visit to the Inn at English Harbour and previously I have given 5 star reviews but sadly both my partner and I agree that it's not quite worthy this year of top scores. Here are our reasons and the pros and cons. Pros 1. The resort is stunning and beautifully maintained by the gardening team. 2. The location in English harbour is terrific, you can watch all the boats passing into English Harbour. If you feel like a change of scenery in the day, the short boat ride with Captain Vere provides access to the harbour, sadly this finishes abruptly at 4pm and the times are very regimented. 3. The sand on the beach and swimming is wonderful close to the jetty, but not further along the Bay - see note about Loose Cannon below. 4. The lunch menu is fantastic and the reef restaurant a beautiful location to spend a leisurely lunch. 5. We love playing tennis and hardly any one uses the courts, good to see 8 new tennis balls had been bought, but not enough when both courts are being used. The rackets are also quite old now and could easily be replaced 6. The rooms are lovely, we have stayed in all the room levels and this time chose a cabana. It was small and convenient being next to the beach and I believe recently updated, but really needed decent sized mosquito nets over the bed as the sandflies were rife and small enough to come through the window in bathroom and vents. 7. The reception staff are wonderful as were the reef restaurant staff. Cons 1. Each year there are obvious cuts to quality of food. When we first stayed at the resort there was fresh fruit and squeezed fruit juice delivered to the table for breakfast, now it's self serve and the juice seemed long life. The breakfast is poor, several times I had to send uncooked eggs back or simply leave uneaten, in the end I didn't order from the breakfast menu. 2. The dinner menu is limited and dated and apart from a new pasta section, the menu has not changed in the last 4 years. In our view, the food is below standard for a five star hotel and I have fed this back several times to management. At our first evening meal, fish was served semi frozen in the middle, and we saw another family walk out mid way. As we were staying half board, we chose to have lunch each day and took taxis ($30 round trip) to eat out in English Harbour we didn’t return for dinner, we love Incanto and Catherine’s Cafe 3. Although the location in the bay is beautiful, the noise from Loose Cannon is an issue. The thumping of 'house style' music throughout the day and partying at night has changed the whole perspective and clientele of the Bay. I realise this is not the hotels fault, and for some guests having Loose Cannon may be an added bonus, but the noise… 4. I didn't feel safe swimming the length of the bay due to the constant arrival of speed boats dropping youngsters off at Loose Cannon. Again, not a criticism of the hotel, but it does limit where you can safely swi