Blue Horizons Garden Resort

My husband and I went to two resort-style lodgings while we visiting the Grand Anse area of Grenada. This is the one that I'd likely return to again. It is a family-owned mid-tier resort that has just about everything you want. They are the first lodging establishment to achieve the local greening standards and, in particular, have limited plastic. We booked a one bedroom villa or suite that was home-sweet-home for almost a week. We did cook some breakfasts and liked the convenience of storing leftovers The festival grounds for main town activities are nearby and, as a foreigner, you are welcome to join, or simply hear the liveliness from the room. They also own a local upscale resort which is even more luxurious and right on the beach.

Positives: Grounds: Grounds are exquisite with lush tropical foliage. You could tell it was very active grounds as the tree frogs were vibrant at night and the Ameiva lizards and other little lizards dotted the landscape. And yet no creature made it into our room.

View: We stayed at the top. Most of your horizon is the lush palm trees and plants of the grounds but we were able to see Grand Anse. We had a spectacular view of the fireworks during the New Year.

Economics: They are a part of the local economy, engaging in EC, rather than presenting everything in U.S. dollars. Prices were very attune to local expectations and very reasonable.

Food: The restaurant La Belle Creole features many local dishes. I was especially in love with a wrap that was fish, lambi (conch), and shrimp. I enjoyed lunch more than dinner, because I thought it featured more Grenadian food like callaloo and pumpkin soup, more seafood. Loved the local and fresh juice options. We did not try the breakfast. Cocktails were solid and I think they had the best rum punch on the island.

AC and windows: Great AC and windows with netting (screens) which means you could choose fresh air or AC on any given day. I found that I preferred sleeping with windows at night.

TV: A nice TV with streaming options and some local channels. Be sure to log out of the TV when you leave.

Pool Area: Pool area is absolutely beautiful and also close to and a part of the main area for meals. Plenty of chairs.

Rooms and Cleanliness: Hotel was spotless with good toiletries. Mattress was firm and comfortable. Runs on 220V and requires an adapter for places that are 110 (like the U.S.). Great balcony for meals.

Staff: All of the staff on the grounds from gardeners to staff at the bar seemed genuinely happy and were willing to help in any way. Though we did not ask for much, everyone lent a greeting, asked us about our day, and welcomed us back. I also thought the staff went above and beyond when a mother and young girl were visiting and the girl was injured while out of sight of her mother.

Location: Amazing. An easy walk to the island's most frequented grocery store (IGA) and to main beach, including Umbrellas. We also had a fairly easy time arranging excursions and pick up from our hotel which is well known -- or walking down the beach to get to our snorkeling.

Noise: Is generally limited, however, there is a festival grounds for Grand Anse events.

Improvements: There are two small improvements to our experience. Kitchen: The kitchen was adequately stocked, but was not really suitable for robust self catering. For example there was only one pan that was truly suitable for sautéing food and I made a lot of hacks to cook breakfast. There were no paper goods, either, even paper towels, to help with clean up.. And there is not a microwave for reheating. I hope the hotel will consider these additional and a few more amenities over time.

Check-in/Check-Out: We arrived early, expecting that our room would not be ready and to take lunch by the pool area. I was scolded about being early, which felt unnecessary. Still, they allowed us to check out late, which was again above and beyond.

Similarly, when we were checking out, the front desk had not calculated what they'd already charged, so they expected me to figure that out and present a receipt (which they did not say at check in). I asked them to call a cab and that seemed like a chore. This part of our experience, felt different from the rest of the experiences at the hotel and matters because it is the first and last impression.

And we'd go back in a heartbeat.

A lovely warm, friendly, chilled hotel. The gardens are stunning, the staff are really friendly and nothing is too much trouble. We stayed in a one bed apartment with side sea view. The room was very spacious and clean and being high up gives lovely views across the gardens to the sea. Our balcony was very private and secluded. The rooms are not modern but they in my opinion are nice and serviceable for a relaxed Caribbean holiday. The kitchen has enough basic utensils to prepare and simple breakfast, lunch and tea/coffee. There is a cooker, toaster, large fridge/freezer and coffee maker. The local supermarket is a 5 minute walk down the road and Grand Anse beach is 5 min walk in the opposite direction.