A self catering holiday within a hotel environment has to be potentially the best of both worlds. The freedom of self catering, and the facilities of what will normally be an affordable hotel.

The Butterfly Beach Hotel is no exception to this rule, sitting in the Christ Church area of Barbados in a lovely oceanfront location with access to two white sand beaches. With 90+ rooms it isn’t too big so as to be impersonal, although only rated as two star it could be ideal as a decent quality affordable hotel.

The Butterfly Beach Hotel is what might best be called a mixed accommodation hotel with some Superior Rooms but no kitchenette, then the Superior Island View Studio, but with no balcony to sit on, with a kitchenette, called The French Balcony Rooms. Then there is the Superior Island View Studio as above but with a balcony or a terrace. The Superior Oceanview Studio as before, but with Oceanview obviously!

In addition there are one and two bedroom Island view apartments, Two Bedroom Oceanview Apartments, and a Penthouse Apartment, and the cost per room per night starts at about USD100 and rises to about USD300 depending on the time of year. All the rooms are air conditioned, with ceiling fans, and cable TV, and internet access. You will find the rooms are large, kept very clean, and generally offer good value for money, and the oceanview rooms do offer a great view of the sea.

There is a large swimming pool and there are beach towels provided at the front desk. There is a restaurant and beach bar, open all day offering buffet breakfast, a la carte lunch, and dinner, offering a good choice of Caribbean Cuisine and international options. The breakfasts and lunches get a very high satisfaction level from guests, and although the dinner menu is a little limited the quality is good, and the price very reasonable.

For those who prefer to use the Butterfly Beach Hotel for a self catering holiday the town of Oistins is close by where there is the famous fish fry on a Friday, and also eating out in St Lawrence Gap is great fun with good restaurants, and getting on a local bus to and from, is very much part of the fun. They come often, are cheap, almost always crowded but very good natured. Restaurants like Houdinis, and Bellini’s are well worth a visit, and many of the restaurants have lovely views of the bay and the beach. It is also worth going to Pisces, although it isn’t cheap, the food is fantastic, and also the Mexican restaurant Café Sol.

There is no doubt that the Butterfly Beach Hotel is a great place to be for a self catering holiday. The self catering accommodation, whilst perhaps a little dated is clean and comfortable, as long as you remember this isn’t a five star deluxe, is more than adequate. The food is good, the oceanfront position is perfect, as is the ease with which you can access restaurants and bars and entertainment. It is a more than affordable hotel, and will almost certainly give you a great holiday in Barbados.