Located on the south coast of Barbados about halfway between the airport and Bridgetown, in walking distance from a nightlife zone, this resort opened May 2008 on the premises of the former Casuarina Beach Resort.
A US$30 million expansion and refurbishment has added size and glitz while subtracting heart and soul from this wonderfully lush, 10-acre property fronting a wide and windy beach.
In early summer of 2008, the family-friendly, all-inclusive property opened four refurbished blocks of garden rooms and a new 100-room block along the beach with a second swimming pool. An additional garden block was nearing completion in early summer 2008.
Also still in progress at inspection were the final decorating touches. Arrivals enter a bare-walled,
courtyard lobby whose centerpiece is a large empty fountain. With an Internet room, bar-lounge and shops surrounding it, the lobby will eventually become a pleasant social passageway.
Fun, food and fitness reign here. Facilities include four bars, two lighted tennis courts, access to golf, watersports and a kids' club with age-grouped activities for children up into their teens. For babies, there is a nursery. For others, there is nightly entertainment. A small spa handles body and beauty. A fitness center is slated for August opening.
The three restaurants serve different menus (fish, Continental or Bajan) but look much the same: sophisticated and spare. With its marble tile floors, towering post-modern columns, and island bar with whirring blenders, the largest of them bears an unsettling resemblance to parts of the Atlanta airport, but without its attention to artwork. 
With six room categories and two very different environments to choose from—mature, shaded gardens or sunny beach—things are off to a good start. Well-proportioned air-conditioned rooms sport large balconies, chic quality furnishings, the full range of amenities (though sans fridge,) and coherent decor. All the joie de vivre, however, remains outdoors.
So monochramatic are the neutral colors that the rooms seem to have undergone lobotomies. Perhaps the arrival of bedspreads will change this. Baths are compact, with tub-shower combos, hair dryers, and granite vanities. The oceanfront block provides the best views, but rooms nearest the entertainment area can be noisy. Rooms are still being wired for Internet access.
There are no meeting rooms, and 
no pets are allowed. Parking is free. A complimentary, thrice-daily shuttle service takes guests to the other two Almond resorts on the west coast; shuttles go once a week to Bridgetown, and other transportation is readily available.
Early signs show that this unfinished Almond will follow the pattern of the others, providing moneyed masses with attractive surroundings, sizeable rooms and plentiful facilities in an effort to portray a level of luxury that it can't consistently maintain.
To its credit, however, this Almond is following its siblings on the path to green accreditation, guests praise the food, and playing children appear euphoric. Those wanting a less ambitious all-inclusive should consider Turtle Beach, not far away.
