Bitter End Yacht Club

Bitter End Yacht Club Basic Information

Highlight:

Luxury

Bitter End Yacht Club Details

Features:

Two on-site restaurants plus a pub, a poolside bar, and a bakery

Amenities:

Freshwater pool, outdoor movie theater showing two movies nightly, spa, shops

Cr. Cards Accepted:

Contact Information

Locatoin:

PO Box 46 Virgin Gorda, BVI

Reviews on Bitter End Yacht Club

tory lindgren

Last reviewed Feb 02, 2003

The Bitter End is a great chioce for active people and families with older children. The beachfront villas are charming and unique and have the most spectacular view in the Caribbean! Their porches and hammocks can't be beat. The daily excursions to other spots along Virgin Gorda's coast as well as neighboring islands were well planned and well worth the time. The twice daily local snorkel excursions are also great. The food is ample and occassionally excellent. Most of the time it's just good. It's a bustling place with lots of boats coming and going and plenty of things to do. Take the opportunity to use a Hobie Cat and sail around North Sound on your own--there are many beautiful beaches you can have all to yourself. Staff were mostly friendly and always helpful. We had great luck with housekeeping and restaurant wait staff. We also enjoyed the watersports crew. Families with small children may find it difficult to fully participate as there is no formal children's program. All in all, a truly great trip.

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Jory Christenson

Last reviewed Oct 30, 2000

My husband and I had a great stay at the Bitter End. The weather is beautiful, and even when there are thunderstorms, they last no more than 30 minutes and cool things down a bit.We stayed in a beach villa which was relatively close to everything, and since it was off-season it was still pretty quiet. I've heard that they aren't as attractive in the high-season due to higher traffic of boats on the north sound and people walking to and from their rooms. If you are going for the beach villa, try to get one as close as possible to the clubhouse... they stretch out pretty far down the property. But the suites are really perched up on the hills and can be really difficult to get to if you have to depend on the staff to take you up and down.The watersports staff was wonderful. They are really helpful and want to make sure you have a good time. The brochures seem to give the impression however that the selection of boats that you have access to as part of the all-inclusive package is much greater than it really is. And they have a rule that you can't take the boats out further than the immediate area, so plan on sticking around the resort unless you want to pay $275 for the day to take a yacht to one of the surrounding islands. They do provide a few day trips to the Baths on Virgin Gorda and another beach on Anagada. We had a really nice time on those trips, but would have liked to see St. Thomas or St. John while we were there.A week's stay was plenty. They try to mix up the menus a little bit but in the end, it's all really the same three meals a day.The housekeeping service seems really inconsistant. We were on a honeymoon package and heard that we were getting a bottle of champagne in our room along with the bottle of rum they promise in their sales pitch. Some couples we met got a welcome basket with cookies and other snacks, another couple got a bottle of rum and two cokes, and another got the bottle of champagne, the rum and the welcome basket. We only got a packet of coffee, which no one else seemed to get! If you call to request anything they always tell you that they are out or make you feel as though you are a burden to their Caribbean way of life. But this may have been the nature of the business in low season. There were lightbulbs out in the room, a few cockroaches here and there... which I suppose you have to get used to in the islands. The rooms are definitely rustic, but also part of the charm.All in all, I think it was a great value for an all inclusive. You really have to look at all of the fun you can have out on the water to really see it. I am not sure there are any other resorts that offer all the activities that The Bitter End does for such a low price.

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Roger Feeley

Last reviewed May 29, 2000

You can find the standard propaganda at beyc.com. I will try to give you things they don't say.The resort is great if you have the money. It's a bit pricy. It's spread across about 3/4 mile of shoreline so expect some walking. You can choose between air conditioned rooms and non-air conditioned villas. Take the villas. First, they are much closer to the water and the action. Second, the villas are not air conditioned because they are positioned to capture the trade winds that always blow. You won't get hot. The other rooms are on a protected side of the hill and you will be glad for the AC. Also, going in and out of the AC is hassle. There are insects on the AC side while the wind blows them away from the villas. The villas have large verandas with hammocks. One of my favorite parts of the day was to get back from the afternoon dive, shower and settle into the hammock to read or nap or just watch the sea before dinner. The AC rooms are far enough up the hill that you will appreciate the phones in the rooms.You can call and they will send a little cart and drive you down to the restaurant. No phones in the villas. Most of the villas are located up the hill and the stairways are long. If you have bad knees (as I do), ask for one closer to the beach. The rooms are very nice. I like the villas as they have a more rustic look. All rooms have a garden shower for two (or more, I suppose) and ample shelving for wet clothes and dive gear. The dive operation is very good. Kilbrides runs out of the resort and doesn't do much pickup work at other resorts. I have stayed there twice and we only made pickup runs on one trip. Both restaurants are top drawer. They have their own bakery on site so you don't get that soggy bread like at other places. People come from all over the BVI just for the food. All-inclusive here means three squares a day, but you won't go hungry. Lunch is a buffet. At breakfast, there is a buffet for continental stuff and you also order off a menu. Dinner is off the menu with a salad bar. They have four ways to get food. Two restaurants. You can have lunch by the pool. Or they will fix you a box lunch that you can take with you on a day trip. This is handy if you take out one of the big sailboats for the day. Like the rest of the carribean, ice water is hard to come by and they don't seem to understand it. Fortunately, they don't care if you just go get it for yourself. We rented all dive gear from Kilbrides and didn't have any trouble. I did see them replace a few o-rings. There is a nice pool at the south end (by the AC rooms).

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