The Best Place to Stay in Barbados on a Budget: Dover Beach Hotel

Barbados is not the cheapest holiday destination. In fact, when we were searching for hotels we were shocked just how expensive they were. If you are looking for the best place to stay in Barbados on a budget, we’ve found just the right place!

We knew we wanted to be on the beach so we decided on the Dover Beach Hotel. This is not the cheapest option in Barbados (try Airbnb or vacation rentals for that) but we found it to be the perfect balance between location, price and amenities. Read on to see why the Dover Beach Hotel is the best affordable beach hotel to stay at in Barbados!

Location

Dover Beach Hotel is located on the South Coast of Barbados, perfectly situated near the well-known St. Lawrence Gap. The location was perfect for us as we enjoyed walking to the many restaurants along the Gap. It was also easy to get to the main road to catch the bus if we wanted to head into Bridgetown or beyond.

There was a convenience store called Dover Market a block away from the hotel if we wanted any snacks or food to prepare in the hotel. Lots of ATMs and little shops were nearby as well.

We loved that the hotel was right on the ocean and it had a large deck area with lounge chairs to sit out and enjoy the gorgeous ocean view. While the hotel does not have its own private stretch of sand you can enjoy the beautiful beaches to the left and right of the hotel.

The hotel’s ocean front deck is a great place to catch the sunset as well!

There was also a decent sized pool but we didn’t even end up using it as we preferred the beach.

One thing to note was while on the beach there were locals that would walk by trying to sell us “grass”, bracelets, massages, etc but they weren’t too pushy.

The Room

Our room was a Garden View room and located in the pink building in the back. We were in room 125 and it was much bigger than I expected. We didn’t mind not having the ocean view to save money. You are so close to the ocean anyway that you can easily walk a few steps and sit on the deck to enjoy the ocean view instead. Besides, we enjoyed the garden view and pretty flowers outside our room 🙂

As we walked into the room, there was a single bed in the living room area and a small flat screen TV. There was a nice big ceiling fan so we stayed cool the whole time. The pleasant surprise for us was there was a kitchen complete with stove, oven, toaster, fridge, kettle, plates, cutlery, etc!

The bedroom was separate and had strong air conditioning. It was very clean and comfortable. Well, the king bed was not the most comfortable we’ve ever slept on but good enough!

The room did have a safe but you had to pay to use it.

Looking for the Best Cheap Eats in Barbados? Check out our guide! Read now

Bathroom

The bathroom was pretty spacious but basic. There was a large shower but no tub. The only toiletries provided were containers on the wall of shampoo, body wash and hand soap. If you are picky, just pack your own! 🙂

The toilets also don’t flush very well but that seemed to be a common issue all around the island.

Experience

Upon arrival we were offered a welcome drink (Rum Punch, of course!) in the hotel lounge. We don’t drink alcohol so we went with just a regular fruit punch haha. The hotel staff were very friendly, especially the smiley security guard that would always make jokes when we saw him.

There was an on-site activities director in the lobby area named Mary. If you are not a big planner then you can just show up here and she can help you plan your activities and excursions around the island 🙂

Amenities

There was a small gym but we did not use it. There is also a small gift shop next to the front desk. Beach towels can be obtained from the front desk and you can trade them in for a clean one once a day (if you lose it, you are charged $25).