Crane Beach, Barbados - WRECKED

Crane Beach, Barbados - WRECKED

What was one of the better beaches in the World has effectively and
practically been wrecked - not by Hurricanes but by the swamping of the
beach by sun-loungers apparently belonging to the nearby Crane Hotel,
along with broken glass, rubbish, metal beer bottle tops, and other
detritus presumably left by guests and not cleared up by the beach
staff.

A few weeks ago we ventured out to Crane Beach on the South Coast of
Barbados. Our guide book "Barbados Directions - Accurate, Reliable,
Informative" by Rough Guides (nominally dated: 2004) states "... it's
still a fetching place [the hotel] and worth a look even if you're not
staying (a fee of B$5 is charged for use of the facilities, though you
can put it towards any food or drink you have during your visit."

My travelling companion, in her 60s, is somewhat mobility impaired
(from a double knee replacement some weeks ago) and needs a stick to
help to walk. But having read about Crane Beach we decided to spend a
day there. We took a local bus from Bridgetown to the entrance gates of
the Crane Hotel, and then walked through the grounds to the lobby.
However when we enquired about getting onto the beach, we were rudely
told by Reception that it would cost us B$25 EACH just to pass through
the lobby and use the steps down to the beach. That is the Crane Hotel
now CHARGES to visit what is supposed to be a FREELY accessible PUBLIC
beach. We were then told that we could redeem this amount in the
Restaurant on the way back - if we wished to. When we complained that
the Guidebook only mentioned B$5 per visit to "use the facilities," the
attitude of the hotel staff was 'take it or leave it' - typical
arrogance for this kind of pretentious establishment, but not what we
expected to find in Barbados.

We struggled down the rickety steps to the beach. Incidentally the no.
of steps down are only 88 and not 200 as per the Guidebook. Anyone who
was more disabled wouldn't have had a chance of getting down there, so
despite charging for access, the hotel in its many years of stewardship
has done nothing to improve access for the physically disabled. However
when we arrived down there we found that sun-loungers and sunshades
occupied every foot of the beach. These stretched side-by-side from one
end of the beach to the other, leaving very little room for anything or
anyone else. The only piece of spare beach was in a small 'alcove'
underneath some coconut trees (with coconuts ready to drop), and
unfortunately also occupied by two scruffy-looking beach vendors.

We were also dismayed to see the rubbish littering the beach (and
amongst the palm trees at the rear); this being broken glass, discarded
beer bottles and plastic soft drink bottles, metal beer bottle tops and
other detritus. There were also at least two obligatory beach vendors
lazing around trying to con people into purchasing conch shells and
necklaces made out of coral etc. Don't the hotel management/owners
realise or care that 2 million conch shells are plundered from
Caribbean waters every year, and that around many Islands so many have
been taken that many local species are now extinct? Obviously not.

Thoroughly exhausted by the climb down my lady companion sat down on
one of the many (about 30) spare loungers to recover. She couldn't sit
on the sand itself due to her reduced mobility. The Guidebook stated
that the 'admission charge' included the use of all of the hotel
facilities. Right? Wrong!!

As we settled down one of the hotel's staff (a real jobsworth) started
shouting at us in the most disrespectful manner that my companion could
NOT use the sun-lounger unless we were guests of the hotel. We thought
that the use of the sun-loungers was included in the cover charge to
the beach - but apparently not. And instead of simply closing a blind
eye to her use of a lounger this idiot made a real issue of it, so much
so that I had to insist that he come with me to discuss his rudeness
with the hotel management.

Unfortunately the hotel management was equally adamant (and again
typically arrogant) in that we were not going to be able to use any of
the hotel's sun-loungers, stating that such use was NOT part of the
B25$ (each) deal to access the beach. The attitude was that if we
didn't like this arrangement then we could simply leave.

Meanwhile whilst I was upstairs debating the issue of having to pay to
access a public beach with the management, down on the beach another
member of the hotel staff was trying to physically intimidate my
companion from her sun-lounger. But she refused to budge until I
returned.

But when I got back to her she stated that she no longer wanted to stay
on the beach anyway and wanted to go back into town to find a
friendlier beach. I only found out that she'd been intimidated by this
other member of the hotel staff after we'd left. This was totally
unacceptable.

So we promptly left the beach, the hotel, and the grounds. The day
wasn't wasted because we went back to our favourite beach - and one
infinitely better than Crane - at Sandy Bay, near Worthing. Noticeably
there were many local families there, the environment was infinitely
happier and relaxed, and the sun-loungers were available to anyone and
everyone to use (for a small fee but one which went into the local
economy). And access to the beach was free - as it should have been at
Crane.

C.J.Brady

On 5/19/06 12:33 PM CJB wrote:
Crane Beach, Barbados - WRECKED

What was one of the better beaches in the World has effectively and
practically been wrecked - not by Hurricanes but by the swamping of the
beach by sun-loungers apparently belonging to the nearby Crane Hotel,
along with broken glass, rubbish, metal beer bottle tops, and other
detritus presumably left by guests and not cleared up by the beach
staff.

A few weeks ago we ventured out to Crane Beach on the South Coast of
Barbados. Our guide book "Barbados Directions - Accurate, Reliable,
Informative" by Rough Guides (nominally dated: 2004) states "... it's
still a fetching place [the hotel] and worth a look even if you're not
staying (a fee of B$5 is charged for use of the facilities, though you
can put it towards any food or drink you have during your visit."

My travelling companion, in her 60s, is somewhat mobility impaired
(from a double knee replacement some weeks ago) and needs a stick to
help to walk. But having read about Crane Beach we decided to spend a
day there. We took a local bus from Bridgetown to the entrance gates of
the Crane Hotel, and then walked through the grounds to the lobby.
However when we enquired about getting onto the beach, we were rudely
told by Reception that it would cost us B$25 EACH just to pass through
the lobby and use the steps down to the beach. That is the Crane Hotel
now CHARGES to visit what is supposed to be a FREELY accessible PUBLIC
beach. We were then told that we could redeem this amount in the
Restaurant on the way back - if we wished to. When we complained that
the Guidebook only mentioned B$5 per visit to "use the facilities," the
attitude of the hotel staff was 'take it or leave it' - typical
arrogance for this kind of pretentious establishment, but not what we
expected to find in Barbados.

We struggled down the rickety steps to the beach. Incidentally the no.
of steps down are only 88 and not 200 as per the Guidebook. Anyone who
was more disabled wouldn't have had a chance of getting down there, so
despite charging for access, the hotel in its many years of stewardship
has done nothing to improve access for the physically disabled. However
when we arrived down there we found that sun-loungers and sunshades
occupied every foot of the beach. These stretched side-by-side from one
end of the beach to the other, leaving very little room for anything or
anyone else. The only piece of spare beach was in a small 'alcove'
underneath some coconut trees (with coconuts ready to drop), and
unfortunately also occupied by two scruffy-looking beach vendors.

We were also dismayed to see the rubbish littering the beach (and
amongst the palm trees at the rear); this being broken glass, discarded
beer bottles and plastic soft drink bottles, metal beer bottle tops and
other detritus. There were also at least two obligatory beach vendors
lazing around trying to con people into purchasing conch shells and
necklaces made out of coral etc. Don't the hotel management/owners
realise or care that 2 million conch shells are plundered from
Caribbean waters every year, and that around many Islands so many have
been taken that many local species are now extinct? Obviously not.

Thoroughly exhausted by the climb down my lady companion sat down on
one of the many (about 30) spare loungers to recover. She couldn't sit
on the sand itself due to her reduced mobility. The Guidebook stated
that the 'admission charge' included the use of all of the hotel
facilities. Right? Wrong!!

As we settled down one of the hotel's staff (a real jobsworth) started
shouting at us in the most disrespectful manner that my companion could
NOT use the sun-lounger unless we were guests of the hotel. We thought
that the use of the sun-loungers was included in the cover charge to
the beach - but apparently not. And instead of simply closing a blind
eye to her use of a lounger this idiot made a real issue of it, so much
so that I had to insist that he come with me to discuss his rudeness
with the hotel management.

Unfortunately the hotel management was equally adamant (and again
typically arrogant) in that we were not going to be able to use any of
the hotel's sun-loungers, stating that such use was NOT part of the
B25$ (each) deal to access the beach. The attitude was that if we
didn't like this arrangement then we could simply leave.

Meanwhile whilst I was upstairs debating the issue of having to pay to
access a public beach with the management, down on the beach another
member of the hotel staff was trying to physically intimidate my
companion from her sun-lounger. But she refused to budge until I
returned.

But when I got back to her she stated that she no longer wanted to stay
on the beach anyway and wanted to go back into town to find a
friendlier beach. I only found out that she'd been intimidated by this
other member of the hotel staff after we'd left. This was totally
unacceptable.

So we promptly left the beach, the hotel, and the grounds. The day
wasn't wasted because we went back to our favourite beach - and one
infinitely better than Crane - at Sandy Bay, near Worthing. Noticeably
there were many local families there, the environment was infinitely
happier and relaxed, and the sun-loungers were available to anyone and
everyone to use (for a small fee but one which went into the local
economy). And access to the beach was free - as it should have been at
Crane.

C.J.Brady


Just goes to show that you can't always go by guide books that are more
than a year old. Sadly for you the 2004 guide book contained outdated
information about this spot. Thanks for the heads up.

--
________
To email me, Edit "blog" from my email address.
Brian M. Kochera
"Some mistakes are too much fun to only make once!"
View My Web Page: http://home.earthlink.net/~brian1951

Sorry to learn about your ordeal at Crane Beach. You should seek
redress through the Ministry of Tourism of Barbados. I believe there
is an office attached to the Barbados High Commission in London. Keep
in mind that all beaches in Barbados are public up to the high water
mark and have been so since the 1940s. The problems we are having with
beach access occur most frequently where resort development (mostly
foreign owned - The Crane is owned by Canadians) intentionally or
unintentionally has blocked traditional beach access points.
Government and local pressure groups are working to correct these
problems for the benefit of all - both locals and visitors.

__________________
www.mullinsbay.com

"KNRX" :

Sorry to learn about your ordeal at Crane Beach. You should seek
redress through the Ministry of Tourism of Barbados. I believe there
is an office attached to the Barbados High Commission in London. Keep
in mind that all beaches in Barbados are public up to the high water
mark and have been so since the 1940s. The problems we are having with
beach access occur most frequently where resort development (mostly
foreign owned - The Crane is owned by Canadians) intentionally or
unintentionally has blocked traditional beach access points.
Government and local pressure groups are working to correct these
problems for the benefit of all - both locals and visitors.

Interesting you said Canadians own the beach.

Here in Ontario, Canada my cottage/lake association was able to force a
right-of-way thru the property owned by a very rich family who had tried to
get thier land registered as a nature preserve to keep others out.

The dirt road running thru the property was close to a hundred years old and
what use to access a bay (public land) where cottagers kept thier boats to
access thier cottages that were near-by or on islands. When the family
bought about four hundred acres and built a cottage there they insisted that
it was thier land and no-one else could trespass (sp?). However, since this
road had been in use for decades before the courts ruled cottages could still
use it.

Note: Cottages only have the right to drive and maintain the road in it
present condition. They can not add any branches off the road, they can not
upgrade it without the lanowner's premission, they can not extend it to
access additional cottages that are not presently serviced by the road and
the bay.

Is Barbados a british colony? If so the same early right-of-way laws that
are in Canada's law books would apply there.

--
Cruising, building a Catamaran, Rebuilding Cabin, New Peroxide Still Design,
Writting SF, Programming FOSS - What happened to the time?

"Earl Colby Pottinger" wrote in message
.. .
"KNRX" :
benefit of all - both locals and visitors.

Interesting you said Canadians own the beach.


There is a little missunderstanding here. The Crane Beach is not owned by
canadians. The Crane Beach Hotel are owned by canadians. Located right over
the beach...
It is a sad thing that they charge money to go trough.
I remember visiting Sam Lords Castle in the old days, we had to pay just to
visit the property, to take a look at the hotel. Not good at all.

When that is said, I think it is not fair to complain to the hotel that the
price is different from what is said in a travel book. Prices changes for
all kinds of things. And what is said in the book about prices will sooner
or later be wrong.
Like in this case.
That you were met with a attitude towards this is not nice, but not
surprisingly either. That is some times the bajan way to be. Very nice
people, but just dont dear to complain about something.

Leif Arild
Norway

"Earl Colby Pottinger" wrote in message
.. .
"KNRX" :

Is Barbados a british colony? If so the same early right-of-way laws that
are in Canada's law books would apply there.


It used to be a british colony.

It was actually the portugese that were the first europeans to come to the
island. But they never settled there. They came in 1535 (if I remember
right), and it would take almost 100 years before the british came (in
1625) to the island.
They started their settlings in 1627, and it was a british colony until
30th novemnber 1966 when they became independent.
So, this year is 40 years of independence.

Yet, Britain still have their queens representative in the island.


Leif Arild
Norway

"Petal and Leif" :

There is a little missunderstanding here. The Crane Beach is not owned by
canadians. The Crane Beach Hotel are owned by canadians. Located right over

the beach...

I am aware of that. I am saying as Canadians they should already be aware of
laws governing Right-of-Way and that it tends to favour the general public
over the land owner if the regular use of the right-of-way can be shown to
have existed for a long period before the land owner tries to block it.

It is a sad thing that they charge money to go trough.
I remember visiting Sam Lords Castle in the old days, we had to pay just to

visit the property, to take a look at the hotel. Not good at all.

There is a diffirence if you are going from public property to private
property. But for public property to public property blocking/charging for
the right-of-way is a shakey position for the land owner to be in.

Basicly, I am talking about British laws that many of it's colonies still
follow after going independant.

Earl Colby Pottinger

--
Cruising, building a Catamaran, Rebuilding Cabin, New Peroxide Still Design,
Writting SF, Programming FOSS - What happened to the time?