Spring Hotel Bequia

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

Booked a reservation through ***********, and ended up contacting *********** immediately to cancel it once learned that the only way to arrive to this hotel from an international airline was via boat. We are attending a funeral on the mainland, and it wouldn’t be convenient at all to have to travel by boat back and forth just to get to our hotel accomodation. Booking advised that they contacted the hotel to cancel the booking. My aunt contacted the hotel right after, to which the Hotel manager Jason advised that he will her communicating via message in booking.com’s and also kept telling her *********** doesn’t want to cancel the reservation. This was since the early morning. It is now almost EST, and I had to actually call the hotel to which I was told to call Jason’s number. Jason hasn’t been answering calls from my aunt since this morning, and also was not answering mine. To which I located the website of the hotel, and called the owner Chris who is listed on the website as a contact as well. I advised him that I was trying to get in contact with Jason, and he advised me to try messaging him on WhatsApp. I contacted Jason to inform him that booking.com’s representative stated that they sent them an email 19 HOURS AGO, requesting a cancellation confirmation. They advised me prior to me contacting him that once they receive this, they would be able to cancel my reservation and waive the fee. When Jason FINALLY got back to our party, he sent a message in the portal stating they will be charging us 50% as a cancellation fee. Clearly this was a money grab from the very beginning, and that is why he was trying his best to convince my aunt to come to the hotel and not cancel. I presume this is why he also LIED and said *********** won’t let him cancel the reservation, when in fact that was false; as *********** was merely request a confirmation via email so they could go ahead and waive the cancellation fee. Completely turned off my the lack of communication and integrity from this hotel’s manager. This is already a sad time attending a funeral for a loved one, and with this being an introduction to the island— I can assure you I will spread to word to peers far and wide not to book with this hotel.

Located on a hilltop with spectacular views of Spring Bay. QUIET! Custom cooked breakfast included, varied excellent menus and bar service for lunch and dinner. Spring Hotel’s prices are lower than the accommodations closer to the beaches. The isolation is an asset not a burden because of the frequent and convenient shuttle rides (no charge) to local beaches and bustling downtown Port Elizabeth. Managers Jason and Glen take excellent care of their guests, carefully making certain that you have timely transport to and from the from the ferry terminal and local restaurants. The rest of the staff was friendly and efficient. We stayed in one of the Venue rooms which all have private balconies with drop dead views overlooking Spring Bay. The people we met everywhere on Bequia were among the friendliest we have met anywhere in our travels. Their Caribbean culture is alive and thriving, not an act for tourists. Add in great beaches and crystal clear warm waters for swimming and snorkeling and reasonable prices and you have a winning combination. It is probably what Hawaii was like 75 years ago. We will be back!