Sandals Barbados
Lawrence Gap, St. Lawrence Gap 15020 Barbados
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4.5
#1 of 1 resort in St. Lawrence GapLocation
Cleanliness
Service
Value
Tropical serenity and nature-saturated indulgence collide at Sandals Barbados. Set on the sprawling Dover Beach in St. Lawrence Gap, this resort is distinctively chic. Arrive in style with complimentary airport transfers and dive into the inclusions, designed to enchant. Dining is an adventure of its own with 11 specialty restaurants with cuisines from around the world. Guests have access to 10 more restaurants plus the amenities at the nearby Sandals Royal Barbados. When the sun’s up, let your hair down and go from the glass edge pool to the whirlpools, making time for water sports in between. As you revel in the finest suites, some near blooming tropical gardens, make some time to explore the best of Barbados, including the historic capital city Bridgetown and Harrison’s Cave.
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Property amenities
Free parking
Free High Speed Internet (WiFi)
Fitness Centre with Gym / Workout Room
Pool
Free breakfast
Beach
Diving
Free airport transportation
Wifi
Sauna
Pool / beach towels
Pool with view
Adult pool
Outdoor pool
Private pool
Bar / lounge
Restaurant
Breakfast available
Breakfast buffet
Snack bar
Wine / champagne
Swimup bar
Poolside bar
Aerobics
Entertainment staff
Evening entertainment
Karaoke
Table tennis
Nightclub / DJ
Airport transportation
Shuttle bus service
Car hire
Business Centre with Internet Access
Meeting rooms
Spa
Couples massage
Facial treatments
Foot massage
Full body massage
Massage
Salon
Adults only
24-hour security
Baggage storage
Concierge
Gift shop
Sun loungers / beach chairs
Sun umbrellas
Butler service
24-hour front desk
Dry cleaning
Laundry service
Ironing service
Room features
Housekeeping
Private balcony
Room service
Safe
VIP room facilities
Iron
Laptop safe
Flatscreen TV
Wake-up service / alarm clock
Room types
Ocean view
Suites
Good to know
HOTEL CLASS
Star ratings are intended to indicate the general level of features, amenities, and services to expect. This property is classified according to Giata.
HOTEL STYLE
Lagoon View
Trendy
Location
Lawrence Gap, St. Lawrence Gap 15020 Barbados
Getting there
Somewhat walkable
Places to stay are graded on a 0-100 scale. The higher the grade, the easier it is for travellers to find restaurants and things to do within walking distance.
Grade: 77 out of 100
77
Grantley Adams Intl Airport
7.6 km•
See all flights
Rental Cars
17 Restaurants
within 0.5 kilometers
2 Attractions
within 0.5 kilometers
Reviews
4.5
6,060 reviews
Reviews summary
This summary was created by AI, based on recent reviews.
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Sandals Barbados seems to garner a tapestry of feedback. While the hotel's prime location is frequently commended by many guests, the value for money is a common concern, with reports of overpricing and subpar experiences. The atmosphere strikes a discordant note, oscillating between vibrant and lackluster, depending on the evening's entertainment. Amenities receive a mixed bag of reviews, from adulation for the pristine grounds to dissatisfaction with butler and lounge services.
Room experiences vary, with mentions of meticulous upkeep in some quarters, yet others note room service shortcomings. Service quality appears to be inconsistent, with some guests praising the staff's attentiveness, while others encounter delays and reservation issues. Despite these disparities, the cleanliness of the resort generally meets travelers' expectations.
Location
Ideal
Atmosphere
Lively
Rooms
Run-down
Value
Expensive
Cleanliness
Mixed
Service
Inconsistent
Amenities
Underwhelming
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Detailed Reviews
Hotel's Favourite
TL;DR Would and will recommend to both friends and family. Great holiday, good resort, with food and drink in abundance. Although true that the resort is not completely without fault, the negative reviews are excessive and grossly misrepresent, distort and overstate the reality.
Have rebooked to return in December.
———————————————————————
We’re nearing the end of our 14 day honeymoon at Sandals Barbados. Having wasted hours in the weeks preceding our holiday worrying about negative reviews, I hope that my own experience can assuage concerns that similarly minded holidaymakers may have. Equally, in writing this review, I hope to vindicate and endorse the excellent staff at this resort and dispel the false narrative regarding their attitude and behaviour.
For clarity, I’ll describe our background and holiday preferences, then discuss resort characteristics and positives. I will then specify challenges that we faced. I will endeavour to relate my experiences to the most commonly raised issues in other reviews.
BACKGROUND:
- Irish
- 30 F & 36 M
- Booked through travel agent (Trailfinders)
- Approx €900/night ($975/£770)
- Holiday preferences: Good food, plentiful alcohol, cleanliness, good nightlife/party energy.
- Internal biases:
> Husband; optimist, sees the bright-side in most situations.
> Me; pessimist. High expectations for food and cleanliness.
Sandals Barbados offer 3 room tiers.
I) Luxury: Basic in-room bar (beer, wine and juices/soft drinks). No room service.
II) Club: Concierge (useful for check-in, booking restaurants, random requests). Room service dining. In-room bar includes spirits.
III) Butler: Dedicated butler. Room service dining. ‘Finer’ spirits in in-room bar.
We booked a club-level swim-up suite although we spent 1 night in a butler suite (involuntarily!) as explained later.
AIRPORT TRANSFER
Easy to find sandals desk. 10 min wait as other passengers were slower to arrive (6 people in car). Comfortable and safe drive with driver pointing out some landmarks on the way. Water provided.
CHECK-IN
On arrival, luggage immediately taken to our room. Escorted to club lounge and given a welcome Mimosa. Check-in took approx. 5-10 minutes of us waiting with Mimosa in-hand.
Our check-in featured some issues which I will address later. Importantly, this was unrelated to the overall check-in procedure and as a ‘general’ check-in, the experience was comfortable and timely.
RESORT DESIGN
‘2-in-1 resort’: Effectively 1 giant resort. Transition between Royal and Barbados is indiscernible. Beautifully maintained landscaped grounds. Gorgeous for a stroll.
> Guest demographic: Most guests are 40+. Some younger couples in their late 20s-30s (approx 25% of guests).
ROOMS
See below.
RESTAURANTS/BARS
I) Restaurants, general: 21 restaurants, 14 of these being sit down dinner venues i.e., conventional restaurants and 1 ‘pub’ (serves food). 6 restaurants require reservations. For walk-in restaurants, 30-45 minutes is the usual wait. I will clarify that this is not some grim, line-waiting exercise. The ‘wait’ involves leaving your room number with the maître d’ and having a relaxing pre-dinner drink whilst chatting with your companion(s) at the designated waiting bar. As this is essentially what one would do at dinner, I cannot conceive how this could be considered a reason to castigate the service provision at this resort. The process is well managed.
1 or 2 restaurants may close on certain days of the week, we received a sheet of opening times for all restaurants at check-in. We didn’t eat at Neptunes, Schooners, Soy or Greenhouse.
The remaining restaurants are either coffee/snack places or casual lunch venues.
II) Restaurants, quick reviews
Breakfast
> Spices [buffet] (11 days): Plentiful choice. Wait time max 10 minutes but often no wait. Food always hot and well-restocked. Al Fresco
> Portofinos (1 day): A la carte, opted for buffet on remaining days as similar choice with less wait.
> American Tavern [buffet] (2 days): As spices just predominately indoor.
Lunch
> Dino’s Pizzeria: Gorgeous pizza and fries! Freshly made, piping hot. Usually 30 min wait once ordered. Order, go back to lounger, enjoy your holiday, return to collect.
> Spices/American Tavern: Not my type of food. Rice, chicken. Husband loved.
> Jerk Shack: Gorgeous. Spicy.
> Hotdog stand: Not officially a restaurant. Small stand doing hotdogs by the beach. Delicious.
Dinner
> Bombay Club (3 nights): Tasty. Food often lukewarm. Walk-in.
> Portofinos (2 nights): Tasty. A bit greasy on 2nd night. Walk-in.
> Le Parissiene: Tasty, well cooked.
> Butch’s Steak & Seafood: Fine. Overcooked steak, lukewarm. Fabulous dessert.
> Butch’s Chophouse: Delicious. Perfectly cooked steak. Piping hot.
> Kimono’s: Tasty. Fun to watch the chef. Nice opportunity to mix with guests.
> Chi: Tasty. A bit greasy.
> Room Service: 30 mins/. Nachos awful (sorry!). Burger and fries perfect.
=Snacks/Coffee=
> Sweet & Salty’s: Great donuts (if lucky- pretzels!). Fresh.
> Café De Paris: Nice ice-cream and crepes. Coffee is ok.
> Heart & Sol: Nice smoothies. Wait can be long (15 mins) in the morning.
III) Reservations: Reservations easy to arrange through concierge. Uncertain whether reservations would be difficult without the club level concierge. Reservations limited to 3 days ahead. Availability generally good for all restaurants, although for both Butch’s, being flexible with times (i.e. accept early/late dinner) may be required. Some reviewers felt this warranted a denunciation of the resort as a whole. For us, considering that we had nowhere else to be on holiday, this flexibility was a non-issue. We only had one 5.30pm dinner, every other dinner was ‘normal’ 7-8pm.
IV) Bars:
14 bars. Lots of choice. We didn’t have any specific liquor brands that we wanted so not a concern for us as we were comfortable accepting the closest variant. All cocktail requests indulged, spirit measures generous. Cocktails a little on the sweet side for ME but this is a personal preference that cannot be taken as a criticism of the resort.
Throughout the day, there is no wait time for ordering a drink. At night (10pm-12am), only the piano bar, Lover’s Lane and the Merry Monkey are open. The Piano Bar is busy during these hours and you can often wait 5-10 mins to order.
ACTIVITIES/ENTERTAINMENT
I) Games/sports: Great choice. See sandals page.
II) Entertainment:
> DJ at infinity pool from 11am. Can be heard on beach too.
> Usually a short quiz game at infinity pool around 12-1pm
> Piano/singer: 7-8pm.
> Nightly show: 9-10pm. Average performances but good vibes. Nice to be around when drinking. Carnival is a decent show.
> Normally piano sing-along 10pm-12am: Good vibes. Nice to be around when drinking. If there is no piano, there is a DJ at Lover’s Lane.
Most ‘partying’ is done by 12am when the piano finishes. Some guests move onto the Merry Monkey until 2am but the energy significantly drops after 12am.
Overall, the party feel is good considering the demographic. I assume that local noise management laws preclude any ‘club’ situations, the only openly dancing night was a silent disco (which was fun). My husband and I enjoy dancing and later party nights so inclusion of this element would have enhanced our holiday. However, by no means did its absence impact us- we still partied!
SERVICES
I) Fitness: 2 gyms, well equipped, clean. Fitness classes.
II) Excursions/Outside resort: Easy to book. HIGHLY recommend the private driven tour of the Island ($230 for 2 people for 3
Hours, including tip). Harrison’s cave also recommended.
POOLS/BEACH
I) Pools:
The infinity pool is the party pool. Drinking, music and socialising.
Remaining pools have a mixed feel or are quiet. Choice of pool depends on what energy you want- it is definitely possible to find a quieter spot if preferred.
All very clean and maintained. All 4.5 Ft deep.
II) Beach:
Gorgeous, very clean and water is warm. Party atmosphere here as very near infinity pool.
III) Loungers/towels:
Always some available all day across the resort, HOWEVER if you are particular, popular sun loungers (with parasols and/or side tables) at the beach or infinity pool will certainly be taken by 6.00-6.30am, but do not be misled into believing that this is the case resort wide. Under no circumstances do you HAVE to wake up to reserve ‘plain’ loungers, they are available as late as 9.30/10am (infinity pool - gone by 8am). Today we saw 4 empty loungers by a pool-bar pool (near American Tavern) at 10am and 6 parasol loungers at 1pm by the pool
at Heart & Sol.
Signposted sun lounger etiquette rules at the entrance of the pools are not strictly enforced, but if a lounger has been clearly unoccupied for 2 hours +, approach staff to request these loungers.
There is no limit on towels and they are always available somewhere in the resort (if a towel dispensary is empty another is no more than a 2 min walk away).
STAFF/SERVICE PROVISION
Several reviews have made reference to poor staff attitude and a slow, overly laid back service. This is an unfair representation of the dutiful, hard workers who have helped us throughout our stay. At worst, such negative depictions appear to stem from a delusional sense of personal entitlement and self-importance. They irresponsibly and maliciously undermine the characters and work ethic of the staff here through shameless projection of personal biases.
Fundamentally, comments such as these fail to understand the general Bajan disposition. It is certainly the case that some staff are (initially) more serious than one might find in countries where staff members rely heavily on gratuities as part of their wage. I will underscore that many staff are social butterflies from first meeting.
From what we saw, most complaints regarding server attitudes were the result of guest MIStreatment of staff and staff attempts to manage guest churlishness. The behaviour of some guests towards staff was uncomfortable to witness. It is no wonder that some staff may have become guarded with time. For example, in popular restaurants some guests audibly and aggressively chastised (stressed) staff for a wait (during which one is free to drink and chat!) that was consistently communicated to them.
Put simply, treat people with courtesy, respect and kindness and they in turn reciprocate. If not always immediate, the warm smiles and jokey personality of the lovely workers here are often just beneath the surface. The people here are wholeheartedly themselves and happy to help. It certainly wouldn’t kill some guests to smile and remember their manners. Guest eye rolling was prolific.
Staff members always say hello when walking through the resort too. I understand that this is an important quality some guests look for.
Finally, there is a resort wide WhatsApp service ‘Gina’. Response time varies from a few minutes to several hours but it is useful for non-time sensitive issues and staff will always respond.
VALUE FOR MONEY
Another frequently raised point in negative reviews is the feeling that Sandals Barbados is a ‘waste of money’ or overpriced.
It is undeniable that a stay at Sandals requires significant investment however, the service, food choices and options are very much appropriate relative to the fee. As an example of a similar party/food day in our own country:
Hotel stay/night: €400
Breakfast for 2 incl drinks: €40
Lunch for 2: €30
Snacks/coffee: €15
Dinner: €120
Drinks/cocktails: €250
Total: €855/$925/£730
At a room cost of €900/night (not even the basic room rate), Sandals compares very much to the ‘standard’. Moreover, the extent to which we ate and drunk to excess (we’re on holiday!) would likely bring the above estimate of a ‘typical night away at home’ far above Sandals’ fee.
To add further perspective, we recently visited Las Vegas (a paradigm of fee-per-item consumption i.e, the exact opposite of an all-inclusive) and, including accommodation (The Venetian), easily spent €1000+/day (excl gambling).
Sandals is appropriately priced. Loyalty awards for repeat guests make prices attractively competitive. We are paying to BE in Barbados. Yes Sandals requires money, but not enough to expect to be treated like a Kardashian. Want the celebrity treatment? Work harder, earn more and either stay at Sandy-Lane, charter a private yacht, or hire a fully staffed personal villa.
CONVERSATIONS WITH OTHER GUESTS
A final common anecdote amongst negative reviews is that ‘other couples on the resort felt the same’.
We were social on this trip. We spoke to guests of all ages and with different levels of Sandals allegiance. We gained an appreciation of experiences with butlers and saw the inside of the Rondoval suites (amazing!!).
We did meet two couples who did not like their experience here. Reasons included: having to walk to the bar for a drink, staff not memorising favourite drink, disappointment that the room was not a villa (even though a room and NOT a villa had been booked).
Overwhelmingly, couples we spoke to were effusive in their praise. Frequent comments included: best all-inclusive experience ever and extremely hard-working staff. Experiences regarding butlers were mixed- some couples would have preferred no butler and some heavily depended on theirs.
CHALLENGES
I have deliberately omitted discussion of rooms as we encountered some issues which are discussed below.
I will emphasise that the primary issues with the resort relate to a need for Sandals as a business entity to invest in room and engineering upgrades ASAP as most issues cannot be rectified by resort staff. I don’t feel that these issues ‘ruined’ our holiday as they were easy to ignore and we did not spend too much time in our rooms. Nevertheless, overtime, such issues are likely to become larger, less easy to ignore and, at worst, health hazards (e.g. AC units/mildew and Legionnaires disease or Asthma) and so, should be addressed urgently.
I) Room
We stayed in 3 different rooms -involuntarily. Although this has given us a better idea of general room quality (and spectrum of room types); we would have preferred 1 room!
> Room changes
Whilst being escorted to our room (after an otherwise uncomplicated check-in process) we were advised that we had received an automatic upgrade to a Royal Oceanfront 1-bedroom butler suite (no butler). Although we had booked a smaller Sandals Barbados room, a swim-up room was a key priority for us and we declined this upgrade. We booked our honeymoon 18 months ago and the swim-up room was our most unyielding non-negotiable.
We returned to the Club Lounge and following another 10 minute wait we were advised that it was not clear when our original assigned room would be available and that we HAD to take the Oceanfront room. Following a tense (on both ends) and unproductive discussion with staff, we were escorted to this incorrect room with me in tears (I have since apologised to our lovely Concierge Andrew as this was obviously uncomfortable). Our new room had nothing to welcome us as a honeymoon couple and while I wouldn’t demand this, I am sad to have lost that initial experience.
We spent our first night managing our disappointment and not enjoying the resort. It felt like we lost a day. My husband arranged for a room change (with additional pressure from our travel agent) to our original room choice for the following day and has been quick to vouch for the helpfulness of staff once tensions had settled. I will also add the caveat that resort staff were pleasant and accommodating in arranging rose petals and champagne in our room on another night. Nonetheless, I am heartbroken that our first memory of our honeymoon will always be negatively tainted by a stressful and disappointing first day. I am sure that some guests may have been happy with an upgrade to a bigger room but as our travel agent summarised- ‘an upgrade should always be a choice’.
With our second room change- correct room type, aircon leaking, 3x attempted repairs (quickly addressed when flagged). Mildew developed after 3-4 days.
Contacted staff who responded same-day. Room changed swiftly.
> Room descriptions
Rooms serviceable with main challenge consistently being air con and room air quality (point e below).
a) General points
- The 1 bedroom suites are comfortable, spacious.
- Swim-up club level rooms are nice.
Swim-up pool is quiet, private. Some foliage occasionally in pool but this is unavoidable and staff clean pool regularly.
b) Decor/structural/appliances (all rooms)
- Furniture is generally dated and well-worn.
- Squeaky beds.
- Thin walls, can hear staff/other guests really loudly so can occasionally disturb daytime naps.
- TV: Several U.S cable channels available. HBO included. No streaming platforms.
- Iron and hairdryer: Functional.
- Showers in all three rooms large, excellent water pressure and temperature control. Dual sinks. Clean with no evidence of mould in grout or elsewhere.
c) Bar:
- Similar bars in both butler and club. Only difference in ‘grade’ of liquor. Diet Coke, sprite. Juices and water.
- Tea & Coffee
d) Turndown/restock of bar
-Excellent twice daily service in 3rd room. 2nd room had inconsistent service.
e) Aircon/air quality: Barbados has high natural humidity which can negatively impact the service life and efficiency of air con units. Where ventilation has not been considered, indoor areas can become damp and a breeding ground for microorganisms. Unfortunately, this is an area in which Sandals (as a company) has undeniably fallen short.
Air con units in all 3 rooms leaked and the air within all 3 was often damp with moisture. Clothes and bed linen were also often damp as a result. Mildew and considerable mould developed in room 2 following leakage and consequently posed a potential health risk. Ultimately, the rooms are due a basic upgrade. Most simply, installation of an extractor fan and replacement of air con units.
I will highlight that the staff did their best to address and resolve issues. Engineers promptly attended to assess the units and when mould was identified we were immediately moved. At no stage did we feel our concerns were dismissed or ignored. The reality is that staff here are faced with the difficulty of attempting to rectify problems that cannot be managed at service level. The issues described above need to be evaluated and remedied by Sandals Board of Management.
CONCLUSION:
Sandals Barbados/Royal Barbados is a great all-inclusive resort. It is not perfect but at present, Sandals Barbados is appropriately priced relative to the service provided and the staff here are very hard-workers. Alcohol and food are plentiful and generally delicious.
I would most honestly rate this resort 4/5. I love it here but it is important that Sandals addresses the structural issues regarding air con/ventilation before the situation deteriorates to the extent that there is personal property damage or someone gets sick. This is something that they should bear in mind from both a litigation-risk perspective and a moral responsibility perspective. I have deliberately tagged the review as 5/5 as there have been several unreasonably marked 1/5 reviews.
All in, give Sandals Barbados a chance before you start panicking. It’s a great resort, generally well serviced and we loved it so much we’re coming back in December. Barbados is a beautiful, happy island with the warmest people and Sandals Barbados is a gorgeous spot from which to enjoy it.
Have rebooked to return in December.
———————————————————————
We’re nearing the end of our 14 day honeymoon at Sandals Barbados. Having wasted hours in the weeks preceding our holiday worrying about negative reviews, I hope that my own experience can assuage concerns that similarly minded holidaymakers may have. Equally, in writing this review, I hope to vindicate and endorse the excellent staff at this resort and dispel the false narrative regarding their attitude and behaviour.
For clarity, I’ll describe our background and holiday preferences, then discuss resort characteristics and positives. I will then specify challenges that we faced. I will endeavour to relate my experiences to the most commonly raised issues in other reviews.
BACKGROUND:
- Irish
- 30 F & 36 M
- Booked through travel agent (Trailfinders)
- Approx €900/night ($975/£770)
- Holiday preferences: Good food, plentiful alcohol, cleanliness, good nightlife/party energy.
- Internal biases:
> Husband; optimist, sees the bright-side in most situations.
> Me; pessimist. High expectations for food and cleanliness.
Sandals Barbados offer 3 room tiers.
I) Luxury: Basic in-room bar (beer, wine and juices/soft drinks). No room service.
II) Club: Concierge (useful for check-in, booking restaurants, random requests). Room service dining. In-room bar includes spirits.
III) Butler: Dedicated butler. Room service dining. ‘Finer’ spirits in in-room bar.
We booked a club-level swim-up suite although we spent 1 night in a butler suite (involuntarily!) as explained later.
AIRPORT TRANSFER
Easy to find sandals desk. 10 min wait as other passengers were slower to arrive (6 people in car). Comfortable and safe drive with driver pointing out some landmarks on the way. Water provided.
CHECK-IN
On arrival, luggage immediately taken to our room. Escorted to club lounge and given a welcome Mimosa. Check-in took approx. 5-10 minutes of us waiting with Mimosa in-hand.
Our check-in featured some issues which I will address later. Importantly, this was unrelated to the overall check-in procedure and as a ‘general’ check-in, the experience was comfortable and timely.
RESORT DESIGN
‘2-in-1 resort’: Effectively 1 giant resort. Transition between Royal and Barbados is indiscernible. Beautifully maintained landscaped grounds. Gorgeous for a stroll.
> Guest demographic: Most guests are 40+. Some younger couples in their late 20s-30s (approx 25% of guests).
ROOMS
See below.
RESTAURANTS/BARS
I) Restaurants, general: 21 restaurants, 14 of these being sit down dinner venues i.e., conventional restaurants and 1 ‘pub’ (serves food). 6 restaurants require reservations. For walk-in restaurants, 30-45 minutes is the usual wait. I will clarify that this is not some grim, line-waiting exercise. The ‘wait’ involves leaving your room number with the maître d’ and having a relaxing pre-dinner drink whilst chatting with your companion(s) at the designated waiting bar. As this is essentially what one would do at dinner, I cannot conceive how this could be considered a reason to castigate the service provision at this resort. The process is well managed.
1 or 2 restaurants may close on certain days of the week, we received a sheet of opening times for all restaurants at check-in. We didn’t eat at Neptunes, Schooners, Soy or Greenhouse.
The remaining restaurants are either coffee/snack places or casual lunch venues.
II) Restaurants, quick reviews
Breakfast
> Spices [buffet] (11 days): Plentiful choice. Wait time max 10 minutes but often no wait. Food always hot and well-restocked. Al Fresco
> Portofinos (1 day): A la carte, opted for buffet on remaining days as similar choice with less wait.
> American Tavern [buffet] (2 days): As spices just predominately indoor.
Lunch
> Dino’s Pizzeria: Gorgeous pizza and fries! Freshly made, piping hot. Usually 30 min wait once ordered. Order, go back to lounger, enjoy your holiday, return to collect.
> Spices/American Tavern: Not my type of food. Rice, chicken. Husband loved.
> Jerk Shack: Gorgeous. Spicy.
> Hotdog stand: Not officially a restaurant. Small stand doing hotdogs by the beach. Delicious.
Dinner
> Bombay Club (3 nights): Tasty. Food often lukewarm. Walk-in.
> Portofinos (2 nights): Tasty. A bit greasy on 2nd night. Walk-in.
> Le Parissiene: Tasty, well cooked.
> Butch’s Steak & Seafood: Fine. Overcooked steak, lukewarm. Fabulous dessert.
> Butch’s Chophouse: Delicious. Perfectly cooked steak. Piping hot.
> Kimono’s: Tasty. Fun to watch the chef. Nice opportunity to mix with guests.
> Chi: Tasty. A bit greasy.
> Room Service: 30 mins/. Nachos awful (sorry!). Burger and fries perfect.
=Snacks/Coffee=
> Sweet & Salty’s: Great donuts (if lucky- pretzels!). Fresh.
> Café De Paris: Nice ice-cream and crepes. Coffee is ok.
> Heart & Sol: Nice smoothies. Wait can be long (15 mins) in the morning.
III) Reservations: Reservations easy to arrange through concierge. Uncertain whether reservations would be difficult without the club level concierge. Reservations limited to 3 days ahead. Availability generally good for all restaurants, although for both Butch’s, being flexible with times (i.e. accept early/late dinner) may be required. Some reviewers felt this warranted a denunciation of the resort as a whole. For us, considering that we had nowhere else to be on holiday, this flexibility was a non-issue. We only had one 5.30pm dinner, every other dinner was ‘normal’ 7-8pm.
IV) Bars:
14 bars. Lots of choice. We didn’t have any specific liquor brands that we wanted so not a concern for us as we were comfortable accepting the closest variant. All cocktail requests indulged, spirit measures generous. Cocktails a little on the sweet side for ME but this is a personal preference that cannot be taken as a criticism of the resort.
Throughout the day, there is no wait time for ordering a drink. At night (10pm-12am), only the piano bar, Lover’s Lane and the Merry Monkey are open. The Piano Bar is busy during these hours and you can often wait 5-10 mins to order.
ACTIVITIES/ENTERTAINMENT
I) Games/sports: Great choice. See sandals page.
II) Entertainment:
> DJ at infinity pool from 11am. Can be heard on beach too.
> Usually a short quiz game at infinity pool around 12-1pm
> Piano/singer: 7-8pm.
> Nightly show: 9-10pm. Average performances but good vibes. Nice to be around when drinking. Carnival is a decent show.
> Normally piano sing-along 10pm-12am: Good vibes. Nice to be around when drinking. If there is no piano, there is a DJ at Lover’s Lane.
Most ‘partying’ is done by 12am when the piano finishes. Some guests move onto the Merry Monkey until 2am but the energy significantly drops after 12am.
Overall, the party feel is good considering the demographic. I assume that local noise management laws preclude any ‘club’ situations, the only openly dancing night was a silent disco (which was fun). My husband and I enjoy dancing and later party nights so inclusion of this element would have enhanced our holiday. However, by no means did its absence impact us- we still partied!
SERVICES
I) Fitness: 2 gyms, well equipped, clean. Fitness classes.
II) Excursions/Outside resort: Easy to book. HIGHLY recommend the private driven tour of the Island ($230 for 2 people for 3
Hours, including tip). Harrison’s cave also recommended.
POOLS/BEACH
I) Pools:
The infinity pool is the party pool. Drinking, music and socialising.
Remaining pools have a mixed feel or are quiet. Choice of pool depends on what energy you want- it is definitely possible to find a quieter spot if preferred.
All very clean and maintained. All 4.5 Ft deep.
II) Beach:
Gorgeous, very clean and water is warm. Party atmosphere here as very near infinity pool.
III) Loungers/towels:
Always some available all day across the resort, HOWEVER if you are particular, popular sun loungers (with parasols and/or side tables) at the beach or infinity pool will certainly be taken by 6.00-6.30am, but do not be misled into believing that this is the case resort wide. Under no circumstances do you HAVE to wake up to reserve ‘plain’ loungers, they are available as late as 9.30/10am (infinity pool - gone by 8am). Today we saw 4 empty loungers by a pool-bar pool (near American Tavern) at 10am and 6 parasol loungers at 1pm by the pool
at Heart & Sol.
Signposted sun lounger etiquette rules at the entrance of the pools are not strictly enforced, but if a lounger has been clearly unoccupied for 2 hours +, approach staff to request these loungers.
There is no limit on towels and they are always available somewhere in the resort (if a towel dispensary is empty another is no more than a 2 min walk away).
STAFF/SERVICE PROVISION
Several reviews have made reference to poor staff attitude and a slow, overly laid back service. This is an unfair representation of the dutiful, hard workers who have helped us throughout our stay. At worst, such negative depictions appear to stem from a delusional sense of personal entitlement and self-importance. They irresponsibly and maliciously undermine the characters and work ethic of the staff here through shameless projection of personal biases.
Fundamentally, comments such as these fail to understand the general Bajan disposition. It is certainly the case that some staff are (initially) more serious than one might find in countries where staff members rely heavily on gratuities as part of their wage. I will underscore that many staff are social butterflies from first meeting.
From what we saw, most complaints regarding server attitudes were the result of guest MIStreatment of staff and staff attempts to manage guest churlishness. The behaviour of some guests towards staff was uncomfortable to witness. It is no wonder that some staff may have become guarded with time. For example, in popular restaurants some guests audibly and aggressively chastised (stressed) staff for a wait (during which one is free to drink and chat!) that was consistently communicated to them.
Put simply, treat people with courtesy, respect and kindness and they in turn reciprocate. If not always immediate, the warm smiles and jokey personality of the lovely workers here are often just beneath the surface. The people here are wholeheartedly themselves and happy to help. It certainly wouldn’t kill some guests to smile and remember their manners. Guest eye rolling was prolific.
Staff members always say hello when walking through the resort too. I understand that this is an important quality some guests look for.
Finally, there is a resort wide WhatsApp service ‘Gina’. Response time varies from a few minutes to several hours but it is useful for non-time sensitive issues and staff will always respond.
VALUE FOR MONEY
Another frequently raised point in negative reviews is the feeling that Sandals Barbados is a ‘waste of money’ or overpriced.
It is undeniable that a stay at Sandals requires significant investment however, the service, food choices and options are very much appropriate relative to the fee. As an example of a similar party/food day in our own country:
Hotel stay/night: €400
Breakfast for 2 incl drinks: €40
Lunch for 2: €30
Snacks/coffee: €15
Dinner: €120
Drinks/cocktails: €250
Total: €855/$925/£730
At a room cost of €900/night (not even the basic room rate), Sandals compares very much to the ‘standard’. Moreover, the extent to which we ate and drunk to excess (we’re on holiday!) would likely bring the above estimate of a ‘typical night away at home’ far above Sandals’ fee.
To add further perspective, we recently visited Las Vegas (a paradigm of fee-per-item consumption i.e, the exact opposite of an all-inclusive) and, including accommodation (The Venetian), easily spent €1000+/day (excl gambling).
Sandals is appropriately priced. Loyalty awards for repeat guests make prices attractively competitive. We are paying to BE in Barbados. Yes Sandals requires money, but not enough to expect to be treated like a Kardashian. Want the celebrity treatment? Work harder, earn more and either stay at Sandy-Lane, charter a private yacht, or hire a fully staffed personal villa.
CONVERSATIONS WITH OTHER GUESTS
A final common anecdote amongst negative reviews is that ‘other couples on the resort felt the same’.
We were social on this trip. We spoke to guests of all ages and with different levels of Sandals allegiance. We gained an appreciation of experiences with butlers and saw the inside of the Rondoval suites (amazing!!).
We did meet two couples who did not like their experience here. Reasons included: having to walk to the bar for a drink, staff not memorising favourite drink, disappointment that the room was not a villa (even though a room and NOT a villa had been booked).
Overwhelmingly, couples we spoke to were effusive in their praise. Frequent comments included: best all-inclusive experience ever and extremely hard-working staff. Experiences regarding butlers were mixed- some couples would have preferred no butler and some heavily depended on theirs.
CHALLENGES
I have deliberately omitted discussion of rooms as we encountered some issues which are discussed below.
I will emphasise that the primary issues with the resort relate to a need for Sandals as a business entity to invest in room and engineering upgrades ASAP as most issues cannot be rectified by resort staff. I don’t feel that these issues ‘ruined’ our holiday as they were easy to ignore and we did not spend too much time in our rooms. Nevertheless, overtime, such issues are likely to become larger, less easy to ignore and, at worst, health hazards (e.g. AC units/mildew and Legionnaires disease or Asthma) and so, should be addressed urgently.
I) Room
We stayed in 3 different rooms -involuntarily. Although this has given us a better idea of general room quality (and spectrum of room types); we would have preferred 1 room!
> Room changes
Whilst being escorted to our room (after an otherwise uncomplicated check-in process) we were advised that we had received an automatic upgrade to a Royal Oceanfront 1-bedroom butler suite (no butler). Although we had booked a smaller Sandals Barbados room, a swim-up room was a key priority for us and we declined this upgrade. We booked our honeymoon 18 months ago and the swim-up room was our most unyielding non-negotiable.
We returned to the Club Lounge and following another 10 minute wait we were advised that it was not clear when our original assigned room would be available and that we HAD to take the Oceanfront room. Following a tense (on both ends) and unproductive discussion with staff, we were escorted to this incorrect room with me in tears (I have since apologised to our lovely Concierge Andrew as this was obviously uncomfortable). Our new room had nothing to welcome us as a honeymoon couple and while I wouldn’t demand this, I am sad to have lost that initial experience.
We spent our first night managing our disappointment and not enjoying the resort. It felt like we lost a day. My husband arranged for a room change (with additional pressure from our travel agent) to our original room choice for the following day and has been quick to vouch for the helpfulness of staff once tensions had settled. I will also add the caveat that resort staff were pleasant and accommodating in arranging rose petals and champagne in our room on another night. Nonetheless, I am heartbroken that our first memory of our honeymoon will always be negatively tainted by a stressful and disappointing first day. I am sure that some guests may have been happy with an upgrade to a bigger room but as our travel agent summarised- ‘an upgrade should always be a choice’.
With our second room change- correct room type, aircon leaking, 3x attempted repairs (quickly addressed when flagged). Mildew developed after 3-4 days.
Contacted staff who responded same-day. Room changed swiftly.
> Room descriptions
Rooms serviceable with main challenge consistently being air con and room air quality (point e below).
a) General points
- The 1 bedroom suites are comfortable, spacious.
- Swim-up club level rooms are nice.
Swim-up pool is quiet, private. Some foliage occasionally in pool but this is unavoidable and staff clean pool regularly.
b) Decor/structural/appliances (all rooms)
- Furniture is generally dated and well-worn.
- Squeaky beds.
- Thin walls, can hear staff/other guests really loudly so can occasionally disturb daytime naps.
- TV: Several U.S cable channels available. HBO included. No streaming platforms.
- Iron and hairdryer: Functional.
- Showers in all three rooms large, excellent water pressure and temperature control. Dual sinks. Clean with no evidence of mould in grout or elsewhere.
c) Bar:
- Similar bars in both butler and club. Only difference in ‘grade’ of liquor. Diet Coke, sprite. Juices and water.
- Tea & Coffee
d) Turndown/restock of bar
-Excellent twice daily service in 3rd room. 2nd room had inconsistent service.
e) Aircon/air quality: Barbados has high natural humidity which can negatively impact the service life and efficiency of air con units. Where ventilation has not been considered, indoor areas can become damp and a breeding ground for microorganisms. Unfortunately, this is an area in which Sandals (as a company) has undeniably fallen short.
Air con units in all 3 rooms leaked and the air within all 3 was often damp with moisture. Clothes and bed linen were also often damp as a result. Mildew and considerable mould developed in room 2 following leakage and consequently posed a potential health risk. Ultimately, the rooms are due a basic upgrade. Most simply, installation of an extractor fan and replacement of air con units.
I will highlight that the staff did their best to address and resolve issues. Engineers promptly attended to assess the units and when mould was identified we were immediately moved. At no stage did we feel our concerns were dismissed or ignored. The reality is that staff here are faced with the difficulty of attempting to rectify problems that cannot be managed at service level. The issues described above need to be evaluated and remedied by Sandals Board of Management.
CONCLUSION:
Sandals Barbados/Royal Barbados is a great all-inclusive resort. It is not perfect but at present, Sandals Barbados is appropriately priced relative to the service provided and the staff here are very hard-workers. Alcohol and food are plentiful and generally delicious.
I would most honestly rate this resort 4/5. I love it here but it is important that Sandals addresses the structural issues regarding air con/ventilation before the situation deteriorates to the extent that there is personal property damage or someone gets sick. This is something that they should bear in mind from both a litigation-risk perspective and a moral responsibility perspective. I have deliberately tagged the review as 5/5 as there have been several unreasonably marked 1/5 reviews.
All in, give Sandals Barbados a chance before you start panicking. It’s a great resort, generally well serviced and we loved it so much we’re coming back in December. Barbados is a beautiful, happy island with the warmest people and Sandals Barbados is a gorgeous spot from which to enjoy it.
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Date of stay: January 2024Trip type: Travelled as a couple
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Would probably give 4.5 stars if I could, it’s so close for me but there are a few things that could have been a little better. I will preface by saying these are definitely “first world problems” but for the price you pay to stay, these should be addressed.
First, the housekeeping and turndown service is inconsistent. We generally had housekeeping come everyday and I think they missed one day (they were probably running behind so when we went back to our room to get ready for the night, it was too late). For the second half of our stay we didn’t have wash cloth so at all and when we called they basically said they ran out. Turndown service only happened maybe 3-4 times out of the 7 nights we stayed and we generally stayed out rather late so I would have thought they’d come.
Second thing is, they have a bunch of beautiful stay cats. They should really turn them into resort cats - I have been to other sandals and they do this - but instead some of the staff actually told someone to not feed the little kitten that people had been leaving little bits of food for. As an animal lover I was not happy to hear that happened!
Of course, the service at bars and restaurants is top notch, the food and drinks are great. The fact that the Royal is right next door and you can move freely between the two is an added bonus. Overall we had a great time and will be back I’m sure.
First, the housekeeping and turndown service is inconsistent. We generally had housekeeping come everyday and I think they missed one day (they were probably running behind so when we went back to our room to get ready for the night, it was too late). For the second half of our stay we didn’t have wash cloth so at all and when we called they basically said they ran out. Turndown service only happened maybe 3-4 times out of the 7 nights we stayed and we generally stayed out rather late so I would have thought they’d come.
Second thing is, they have a bunch of beautiful stay cats. They should really turn them into resort cats - I have been to other sandals and they do this - but instead some of the staff actually told someone to not feed the little kitten that people had been leaving little bits of food for. As an animal lover I was not happy to hear that happened!
Of course, the service at bars and restaurants is top notch, the food and drinks are great. The fact that the Royal is right next door and you can move freely between the two is an added bonus. Overall we had a great time and will be back I’m sure.
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Review collected in partnership with this hotel
Date of stay: January 2020Trip type: Travelled as a couple
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
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We had a great time here. The food was better than at the four other sandals we have stayed at. This sandals was however different than the other sandals resorts in a very negative way. It was very butler oriented and the guests that had butlers were treated differently than the guests without. Our very first day we tried to get chairs at the entertainment pool at about 6:30 am and we found literally 90% of the chairs reserved for butler guests. We also struggled with making sensible time reservations for dinners as we were stuck with 8-8-8:30and one at 7. These reservations were made at club sandals on our first day we arrived. Way too late for eating dinner or the last 4 nights of our trip. The towel huts were also empty all the time. With this being said on our last day checking out an irate customer came into club sandals and asked why the butlers were walking around with stacks of towels for their customers and there were none to be had anywhere. After leaving club sandals and heading to lunch we noticed all the towel huts out and sure enough there was a butler walking around with a stack of at last 10 towels. I agree with the irate customer in demanding a manger and saying is our money not good enough that we can’t even get towels or in our case losing sleep everyday having to wake up early to see if I can get chairs by the pool we want to be at. Not exactly the way I want to spend a week off. I have no problems competing for chairs with the other customers but should not have to wake up early every day to beat the butlers for chairs. They should not be allowed to reserve chairs. We are self sufficient people who don’t need a butler. We had one once and they were useless to us. One other issue I have is paying for club level and having alcohol in the room that we did not select. On top of this every bottle there is opened with a pouring spout on it. Even though the bottles are filled to the top I have no peace of mind in taking a drink from a bottle that I did not break the seal on. These bottles should be capped without a broken seal and they should give you a list of alcohol to choose for your room. A simple bottle of unopened white rum would suffice. These are areas sandals need to improve on. This was our 5th trip to sandals in roughly our five years together with one more trip planned. I’m hoping our next trip to south coast goes better than this or we will be looking for other places than sandals to stay in the future.
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Date of stay: August 2021Trip type: Travelled as a couple
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
This is our fourth Sandals vacation, we have previously stayed at the Halcyon twice and Montego Bay once and have found that this resort does not meet our expectations. We are traveling with two other couples who have similar complaints. The resort is beautiful but don’t believe the online maps. They are not as they appear, the two resorts are really one big one and the beach area is much smaller than it appears online and trees cover most of the ocean view from the hotel. The rooms are beautiful but the mattresses are horrible, I think the floor would be just as comfortable. The swim up lagoon rooms are cool but are mostly in the shade with maybe an hour of direct sunlight on your patio. The service is where this resort really fails. There is no urgency, ever. Common area Bathrooms are consistently not stocked, out of toilet paper and soap and clogged toilets. The soda machine is always out of cups and if the ice cream machine is working you only get chocolate or vanilla at one time, they alternate the flavor and are usually out of cones or cups for that too and if you ask to restock they are rude to you. We were the first for dinner one night at the Merry Monkey and the Hostess was rude to us, she basically didn’t talk to us sat us down and slammed the menus down like we were bothering her. Good luck getting coffee or tea in the morning at Spices breakfast buffet, there was several mornings that we didn’t get it until we were almost finished our breakfast and one morning we didn’t get it at all. I could go on and on...we are not high maintenance travelers but for the money we paid we expected a higher level of service - disappointed in Barbados
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Date of stay: March 2020Trip type: Travelled as a couple
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Response from AvlonB, Online Review Coordinator at Sandals Barbados
Responded Mar 7, 2020
Hi Christine, thank you for writing your review on your Sandals Barbados experience. It is disheartening to read that your experience with us did not live up to your expectations. At Sandals Resorts, we pride ourselves on ensuring that all our guests get exceptional service while spending their vacation with us. We always aim to continuously recruit, train and re-train our team members to standards of service that will guarantee our client’s comfort, convenience and satisfaction and we apologize if this dedication to service was not made more evident during this most recent stay. Consideration will of course be given to your suggestions as we are always looking at ways to improve our ability to provide our valued guests with the ideal vacation experience. While disappointed, we would like nothing more than to welcome you back to any Sandals Resort for what we trust will be a vacation more in line with your expectations.
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This response is the subjective opinion of the management representative and not of Tripadvisor LLC.
We spent a week at Sandals Barbados from
8th September to the 15th.
We booked Sandals as it had a reputation of being an “elite” resort therefore we paid that bit extra for what we thought would be a trip of a lifetime.
Firstly I will start off with the positives:
On site COVID testing measures and controls were excellent. All staff and guests have to wear masks and there were ample sanitising stations.
The restaurants were good the best was Bombay Club we went there 3 times.
The sky bar and the two pools were our favourite.
The all inclusive drinks were good especially the cocktails.
The staff were well mannered and polite.
Negatives:
We were checked into Room 3202 on the first night the sliding bathroom door fell off from the track hurting my wife’s leg.
The maintenance team who we thought would repair the track just merely slotted the door back in its place and therefore the same thing happened again the very next day.
After complaining we were moved to Room 3103. This room smelt musty (all our cloths smelt the same afterwards).The shower didn’t work. The toilet flooded on the first night. Full marks to the maintenance lady who went the extra mile to fix these issues (although she couldn’t do anything about the musty smell).
The tap in the sink just delivered a trickle of water each time we used it.
Sun loungers are taken very early so the trick is to grab extra sun lounge towels for use the following day. Then to reserve a sun lounge you must get there as early as possible as most are reserved by 7.00am by the butlers for their clients. We were there every morning at 6.00am to reserve ours.
Room cleaning was adequate however I never saw the room vacuumed once throughout our stay. All they did when asked was mop the floor which merely spread the dirt on the floor.
Restaurants were good but to get a table you must arrive early to eat 6.00/6.30pm otherwise you could be waiting a couple of hours to get seated.
Some restaurants you need to book in advance (French, Steakhouse & Chinese) therefore you must book these on day 1 otherwise there is no guarantee you would get to experience them.
The swimming pools were cleaned mid morning therefore some were full of dirt first thing in the morning.
Pre Departure COVID testing station was very busy we were seen an hour later than our allocated appointment. If you had a butler they queue jumped ahead of other guests in the line which was very annoying.
In summary very dissatisfied with Sandals save you hard earned money to visit another destination instead. We will never use Sandals ever again.
8th September to the 15th.
We booked Sandals as it had a reputation of being an “elite” resort therefore we paid that bit extra for what we thought would be a trip of a lifetime.
Firstly I will start off with the positives:
On site COVID testing measures and controls were excellent. All staff and guests have to wear masks and there were ample sanitising stations.
The restaurants were good the best was Bombay Club we went there 3 times.
The sky bar and the two pools were our favourite.
The all inclusive drinks were good especially the cocktails.
The staff were well mannered and polite.
Negatives:
We were checked into Room 3202 on the first night the sliding bathroom door fell off from the track hurting my wife’s leg.
The maintenance team who we thought would repair the track just merely slotted the door back in its place and therefore the same thing happened again the very next day.
After complaining we were moved to Room 3103. This room smelt musty (all our cloths smelt the same afterwards).The shower didn’t work. The toilet flooded on the first night. Full marks to the maintenance lady who went the extra mile to fix these issues (although she couldn’t do anything about the musty smell).
The tap in the sink just delivered a trickle of water each time we used it.
Sun loungers are taken very early so the trick is to grab extra sun lounge towels for use the following day. Then to reserve a sun lounge you must get there as early as possible as most are reserved by 7.00am by the butlers for their clients. We were there every morning at 6.00am to reserve ours.
Room cleaning was adequate however I never saw the room vacuumed once throughout our stay. All they did when asked was mop the floor which merely spread the dirt on the floor.
Restaurants were good but to get a table you must arrive early to eat 6.00/6.30pm otherwise you could be waiting a couple of hours to get seated.
Some restaurants you need to book in advance (French, Steakhouse & Chinese) therefore you must book these on day 1 otherwise there is no guarantee you would get to experience them.
The swimming pools were cleaned mid morning therefore some were full of dirt first thing in the morning.
Pre Departure COVID testing station was very busy we were seen an hour later than our allocated appointment. If you had a butler they queue jumped ahead of other guests in the line which was very annoying.
In summary very dissatisfied with Sandals save you hard earned money to visit another destination instead. We will never use Sandals ever again.
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Date of stay: September 2021Trip type: Travelled as a couple
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Response from , Owner at Sandals Barbados
Responded Sep 21, 2021
Hello and thank you for taking the time to share your review of Sandals Barbados. We were delighted to have had you as a guest with us and while we are glad to note that you enjoyed your stay overall, it is disheartening if you felt like there were elements of your stay that did not meet expectations. In all that we do, we strive to provide first-class experiences to all of our guests and as such, we encourage guests to speak with the Resort Management team should they come across something that does not seem to meet standards. Please rest assured that once given the opportunity, our Resort Team is always willing to accommodate reasonable requests. We only hope that you would permit the more positive aspects of your experience to outweigh any dismay you may have felt as we would like nothing more than for another opportunity to surpass your expectations during your next trip.
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This response is the subjective opinion of the management representative and not of Tripadvisor LLC.
Just returned from a 10 day stay. Overall visit was fine. Staff is friendly, grounds are well kept, Most food places were good and now one can take advantage of amenities of Sandals Royal which is directly next door to Sandals St. Lawrence Gap. The room was very nice except there appeared to be an absence of washcloths. Many of those staying there had the same problem. Also, it was a hit or miss as far as getting coffee supplies for the room (coffee packs, creamers). Food was good but service was a bit slow. Each dinner took @1.5 hours, some even 2 hours (and we would often skip dessert). When we were here 3 years ago, most of the trees were the only shade available on the beach. However, they have added umbrellas and there were plenty available. Water on the beach had quite a bit of seaweed the first few days but towards the end of our stay, it disappeared from the water (there was a man who spent a lot of time raking it up from the waters edge - I thanked him). Overall food was good - the only place we really did not care for was the Jerk Shack on the Royal side. Butch's Chop House was very noisy and the steaks weren't that great. The steak at the Merry Monkey was terrific. Some of the negatives didn't really add up to us not booking for a trip again next year. Hopefully the little things will work their way out by then.
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Date of stay: February 2020
Rooms
Service
Sleep Quality
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Recently returned from Sandals Barbados and can only say how happy we were with the resort.
There are two hotels adjacent to each other and you basically walk between them without noticing and have the advantage of using the facilities of both to increase your choice of pools, food and all the other facilities.
We booked a Crystal Lagoon Club Level Luxury Honeymoon Suite with Balcony Tranquillity Soaking Tub in the Sandals Barbados side and totally recommend this area for a quieter break as the Royal Barbados side does seem to be a bit livelier. The swim up rooms all front the sweeping pool that wraps around the accommodation block with loungers arranged in small groups.
Only criticism was that there needs to be more cushions supplied to place on the loungers, there were not enough and the plastic loungers were uncomfortable without them. Towels were readily available and not rationed like some hotels.
Food in all the restaurants was excellent, drink choice extensive in all the bars and like everywhere in the resort the staff were excellent and attentive, I cannot understand which hotel some reviewers attended where they criticised the staff, they certainly didn’t go to Sandals !
There are two hotels adjacent to each other and you basically walk between them without noticing and have the advantage of using the facilities of both to increase your choice of pools, food and all the other facilities.
We booked a Crystal Lagoon Club Level Luxury Honeymoon Suite with Balcony Tranquillity Soaking Tub in the Sandals Barbados side and totally recommend this area for a quieter break as the Royal Barbados side does seem to be a bit livelier. The swim up rooms all front the sweeping pool that wraps around the accommodation block with loungers arranged in small groups.
Only criticism was that there needs to be more cushions supplied to place on the loungers, there were not enough and the plastic loungers were uncomfortable without them. Towels were readily available and not rationed like some hotels.
Food in all the restaurants was excellent, drink choice extensive in all the bars and like everywhere in the resort the staff were excellent and attentive, I cannot understand which hotel some reviewers attended where they criticised the staff, they certainly didn’t go to Sandals !
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Date of stay: February 2020
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Response from AvlonB, Online Review Coordinator at Sandals Barbados
Responded Apr 4, 2020
Hello and thank you for sharing your Sandals Barbados review with us! It was a pleasure to read your review as it seems we were able to meet all of your expectations for this trip. We are delighted to note that the hospitality of our staff was an outstanding aspect of your experience, as we love going above and beyond to ensure our guests have a fantastic time with us. We are also happy that you enjoyed our gourmet dining options along with your soaking tub and other amenities. Providing variety for our valued guests is among our goals and we love knowing when everyone is satisfied! We appreciate your review and are also looking forward to hosting you again soon!
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This response is the subjective opinion of the management representative and not of Tripadvisor LLC.
Let me start from the beginning: my husband and I visited Sandals Barbados for about a week from Nov 26, 2021 - Dec 3rd, 2021.
Rooms: When we arrived to our room, I asked for extra body soap and shampoo and I was told that we were allowed only one of each item daily. There were towel shortages on the beach and in the rooms. Room was outdated and dusty.
Restaurants: Second day of our trip, I was standing on line at 9am for 2.5hrs to make restaurant reservations for the whole trip, I was told that most of the restaurants were fully booked. When I was at Butcher's at 6pm, I have observed that the restaurant actually opened at 5.30pm and it was 7pm and at least 60 % of the tables were empty. It was so unfair and shame on them to turn people down when it was actually not fully booked at all. Food quality was overall terrible and tasteless. For breakfast, when I ordered avocado toast at Green House, I received a thin avocado spread on the bread, it was definitely not a real and fresh avocado. Coffee machines either missing milk or coffee cups. Staff constantly direct you to another coffee station and all you do is chasing things around.
They pretend to be cautions about COVID, however Donut shop didn't have napkins for a couple of days. Staff is telling you to sensitize your hands so often to a point it is so unnecessary , I started having irritation on my hands. Cocktails were too sweet "drink them if you want to get your diabetes on". We spent so much time waiting to have someone to take the order and serve food at the restaurants for breakfast, lunch and dinner. We spent at least 2 hour for each meal which felt like majority of our vacation was wasted on waiting. I have seen guests getting so upset and walking out of the restaurants.
Staff: Majority of the staff were unmotivated and unwelcoming. They have a few good ones trying to put effort for damage control. They started improving a little bit after December 1st just to impress the managers, because they were there to celebrate Sandals anniversary.
Spa: We have booked couple's massage for $475 and my massage therapist was terrible, she was just rubbing the massage oil on my skin. I get a better massage on a massage chair. In order to correct it, they offered me a complementary massage with a therapist who knew what she was doing.
Location of the property: Water was too choppy for swimming, it is great if you like wave pool experience or surfing. I was told that west ( Caribbean side) of the island has calmer water.
Avoid Barbados Sandals at all cost!
Rooms: When we arrived to our room, I asked for extra body soap and shampoo and I was told that we were allowed only one of each item daily. There were towel shortages on the beach and in the rooms. Room was outdated and dusty.
Restaurants: Second day of our trip, I was standing on line at 9am for 2.5hrs to make restaurant reservations for the whole trip, I was told that most of the restaurants were fully booked. When I was at Butcher's at 6pm, I have observed that the restaurant actually opened at 5.30pm and it was 7pm and at least 60 % of the tables were empty. It was so unfair and shame on them to turn people down when it was actually not fully booked at all. Food quality was overall terrible and tasteless. For breakfast, when I ordered avocado toast at Green House, I received a thin avocado spread on the bread, it was definitely not a real and fresh avocado. Coffee machines either missing milk or coffee cups. Staff constantly direct you to another coffee station and all you do is chasing things around.
They pretend to be cautions about COVID, however Donut shop didn't have napkins for a couple of days. Staff is telling you to sensitize your hands so often to a point it is so unnecessary , I started having irritation on my hands. Cocktails were too sweet "drink them if you want to get your diabetes on". We spent so much time waiting to have someone to take the order and serve food at the restaurants for breakfast, lunch and dinner. We spent at least 2 hour for each meal which felt like majority of our vacation was wasted on waiting. I have seen guests getting so upset and walking out of the restaurants.
Staff: Majority of the staff were unmotivated and unwelcoming. They have a few good ones trying to put effort for damage control. They started improving a little bit after December 1st just to impress the managers, because they were there to celebrate Sandals anniversary.
Spa: We have booked couple's massage for $475 and my massage therapist was terrible, she was just rubbing the massage oil on my skin. I get a better massage on a massage chair. In order to correct it, they offered me a complementary massage with a therapist who knew what she was doing.
Location of the property: Water was too choppy for swimming, it is great if you like wave pool experience or surfing. I was told that west ( Caribbean side) of the island has calmer water.
Avoid Barbados Sandals at all cost!
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Date of stay: November 2021
Location
Cleanliness
Service
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Response from Rondell O'Neale, Other at Sandals Barbados
Responded Dec 15, 2021
Hello and thank you for your review on Sandals Montego Bay. We wish to apologize for any inconveniences you may have experienced during your stay. Your willingness to share your thoughts is very much appreciated. We are committed to providing our guests with the highest quality services and facilities and we sincerely regret if you felt like we fell short of our goal in this instance. Although our resort team takes all steps to see that our guests are assisted should a concern arise during their stay, we will also be sharing your comments with Resort Management for further consideration as we are continuously making improvements to better our service for our guests. We only hope that you will allow us the opportunity to regain your trust on a future visit with us as we will do our very best to see that your next stay exceeds all expectations.
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This response is the subjective opinion of the management representative and not of Tripadvisor LLC.
It is difficult to know where to start. But here goes.
We booked a beachfront ocean view honeymoon suite only to find, after it taking 2 hours being left to sit outside in the heat to check in, that we had a pool view from which it was impossible to even see the beach! After a 3 hours arguing we gave up with a promise it would be sorted out on the Monday. We had arrived on the Saturday. On the Monday we were told that they could do nothing until the following Saturday (7 days into our 10 day stay) when they would move us to a different room. We reluctantly accepted this. The room we were eventually moved to was larger more modern and had a swim up facility so was much better. Unfortunately that is where it ended. The drinks cabinet was filled with 1 empty bottle the toiletries were only half there and there was no coffee. It is now the following day and we are still waiting for this to be rectified.
The service is appalling. The incidents of poor service are endless but here is a flavour. Breakfast starts with long queues to put your name down for a table, which then you have to wait 45mins for, following which it takes another 30-45mins to see any food. The same is true of most of the restaurants. Housekeeping is a joke. The promise of fully stocked bathroom supplies, fridge, bar, coffee in room is simply never lived up to. In 8 days we have not once had brought to our room by housekeeping the missing supplies, despite assurances that we would. The housekeeping telephone has been answered just once in 8 days, after trying for nearly and hour. Trying to get a bottle of water in the mornings is like asking for fairy dust. The beach bar is meant to open at 9am but rarely does. When the bars do open the wait for service is appalling. Queues everywhere for everything. No pool towels available most mornings unless you've kept the previous day's one, Insufficient parasols. There seems to be less than 50% of the staff needed for the occupancy, and most of them are poorly trained for service. Perhaps the housekeeping staff are re-utilised as waiting staff, explaining why both are so bad.
We booked a beachfront ocean view honeymoon suite only to find, after it taking 2 hours being left to sit outside in the heat to check in, that we had a pool view from which it was impossible to even see the beach! After a 3 hours arguing we gave up with a promise it would be sorted out on the Monday. We had arrived on the Saturday. On the Monday we were told that they could do nothing until the following Saturday (7 days into our 10 day stay) when they would move us to a different room. We reluctantly accepted this. The room we were eventually moved to was larger more modern and had a swim up facility so was much better. Unfortunately that is where it ended. The drinks cabinet was filled with 1 empty bottle the toiletries were only half there and there was no coffee. It is now the following day and we are still waiting for this to be rectified.
The service is appalling. The incidents of poor service are endless but here is a flavour. Breakfast starts with long queues to put your name down for a table, which then you have to wait 45mins for, following which it takes another 30-45mins to see any food. The same is true of most of the restaurants. Housekeeping is a joke. The promise of fully stocked bathroom supplies, fridge, bar, coffee in room is simply never lived up to. In 8 days we have not once had brought to our room by housekeeping the missing supplies, despite assurances that we would. The housekeeping telephone has been answered just once in 8 days, after trying for nearly and hour. Trying to get a bottle of water in the mornings is like asking for fairy dust. The beach bar is meant to open at 9am but rarely does. When the bars do open the wait for service is appalling. Queues everywhere for everything. No pool towels available most mornings unless you've kept the previous day's one, Insufficient parasols. There seems to be less than 50% of the staff needed for the occupancy, and most of them are poorly trained for service. Perhaps the housekeeping staff are re-utilised as waiting staff, explaining why both are so bad.
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Date of stay: October 2021
Location
Cleanliness
Service
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Response from Avion Peters, Owner at Sandals Barbados
Responded Oct 15, 2021
Hello and thank you for your review of Sandals Barbados. We wish to apologize for any inconveniences you may have experienced during your stay. Your willingness to share your thoughts is very much appreciated. Your comments regarding your accommodations have also been noted. We were surprised to read your displeasure as specific information regarding each room is available from our agents and online prior to arrival. I am glad to see that Resort Management did assist with the concerns about your room which were brought to their attention; however, we are saddened to note that it seems you continue to have an unsavory impression of our brand despite their speedy action and the goodwill gestures which they were happy to extend in consideration of your experience. Our staff goes through hours of rigorous training each year to ensure we are providing excellent guest experiences, and our service has been the highlight of many reviews on TripAdvisor. The majority of our guests have expressed how warm, accommodating, and detail-oriented our team members are; therefore, we are quite disappointed if your experience was not indicative of the norm. Additionally, it is also surprising to note your sentiments regarding the housekeeping service and room restock procedure as this is done daily. A team is dispatched every day to address the cleanliness of the room and during the course of the day an additional team is responsible for the restocking of in room amenities. We do apologize if this process was not as seamless as expected during your stay. We are respectful of the opinions you have expressed and recognize that one person’s specific experience can only be judged by that individual. However, we do request that guests on resort please notify us of anything that does not meet their standards via the Loop system, which is a direct line to resort management, as we are always willing to work with our guests to make sure you walk away feeling like your stay was money well spent. Our response to feedback continues to be in word and deed. We hope that in spite of the circumstances surrounding this stay, you would afford us an opportunity to demonstrate this during your next stay with us.
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This response is the subjective opinion of the management representative and not of Tripadvisor LLC.
This was our first visit to Barbados and what an amazing time we had. This is the 3rd sandals resort we have been too and this one is our favorite so far. The beach, water, food and people were wonderful! We were in a Penthouse Suite Club level room. We did not do the butler service this time but will probably do it on the next one we book. The room was beautiful with nice transitional furnishings. The balcony was large with the soaking tranquility tub, table and chairs to enjoy the view. We were first setup in Room1523 in the Beachfront Village. The room was perfectly fine but the view was obstructed by what appeared to be an over grown tree. If they would trim the tree down the people that have the suites in that ares would have an amazing view. We requested a change in rooms since my main reason for selecting this room was for the view and at the top level. So if you are looking for a view this room might not be the best one for you. We originally were told "no" to change rooms due to all the rooms being booked. It was quite disappointing and my husband decided to go down to the Club Lounge to inquire again to see if there was any other room even if we had to move to a different floor. They eventually found a room on the same floor just 8 suites down from our previous one. Room 1515. The view was perfect and just what we thought we were getting in the beginning. The bed was the only other complaint that we would say about the room. It was just ok not as comfortable as our previous stays with Sandals. you could tell it was somewhat old. There was plenty of storage space, drinks, etc... The bathroom was huge with a beautiful glass shower and rain shower head. It felt like a spa.
The food was good but not great! We really enjoyed Kimonos, Neptunes, and Portofino! The buffet restaurants were not that great. Most of the food was cold or warm. It was quite difficult to get reservations so we were not able to experience a few of the others. If you do not have a butler we found it hard to make your own reservations.This part was very disappointing especially when we would go to a restaurant and they would say we are fully booked but the restaurant was empty or with only a few couples! The bars/grills by the pools were good. All the drinks were amazing at least the ones we had, lol. Nothing watered down or weak. loved infinity pool!! The best part of this trip was the entertainment, the beach and Paris Cafe! Will Return!
The food was good but not great! We really enjoyed Kimonos, Neptunes, and Portofino! The buffet restaurants were not that great. Most of the food was cold or warm. It was quite difficult to get reservations so we were not able to experience a few of the others. If you do not have a butler we found it hard to make your own reservations.This part was very disappointing especially when we would go to a restaurant and they would say we are fully booked but the restaurant was empty or with only a few couples! The bars/grills by the pools were good. All the drinks were amazing at least the ones we had, lol. Nothing watered down or weak. loved infinity pool!! The best part of this trip was the entertainment, the beach and Paris Cafe! Will Return!
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Review collected in partnership with this hotel
Date of stay: December 2019Trip type: Travelled as a couple
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
There is only a short beach here so not very good if you enjoy talking long walks on the beach (5 min walk max is all that is possible) the beach is all sand and the staff work hard to get rid of the huge amount of seaweed but it’s everywhere and very smelly. If you are a beach person I wouldn’t recommend this hotel.
Thank you for your inquiry. Excursions to Harrison's Cave are available. For more information, please visit the Island Routes website.
Two pin. Have a wonderful trip!!!
some of the restaurants are ok with smart shorts most americans ignore the rules and wear shorts
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"Get towels for the next day as towels are not available on mornings. A small tip to the bartenders will ensure you get served with a smile! Ask what trips are free."Read full review
"Take your own towel for both the room and the pool, be prepared for really long waits for both food and drinks at pools and restaurants."Read full review
"Get a butler to make things easier. There's a nice quiet pool behind Hawksbill at the Greenhouse "Read full review
"A must - oistins fish fry Fridays - hire a car and explore the island Avoid - The boatyard - Savvy on the bay"Read full review
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PRICE RANGE
C$928 - C$1,201 (Based on Average Rates for a Standard Room)
LOCATION
CaribbeanBarbadosChrist Church ParishSt. Lawrence Gap
NUMBER OF ROOMS
280
Prices are the average nightly price provided by our partners and may not include all taxes and fees. Taxes and fees that are shown are estimates only. Please see our partners for more details.
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Frequently Asked Questions about Sandals Barbados
Which popular attractions are close to Sandals Barbados?
Nearby attractions include Dover Beach (0.6 km), St Lawrence Gap (1.0 km), and Flavours of Barbados (0.5 km).
What are some of the property amenities at Sandals Barbados?
Some of the more popular amenities offered include a swimup bar, free wifi, and free breakfast.
What food & drink options are available at Sandals Barbados?
Guests can enjoy a swimup bar, free breakfast, and an on-site restaurant during their stay.
What are some restaurants close to Sandals Barbados?
Conveniently located restaurants include Happy Days Cafe, My Friends Place, and Bliss Cafe.
Are there opportunities to exercise at Sandals Barbados?
Yes, guests have access to a pool, a fitness centre, and a sauna during their stay.
Does Sandals Barbados have an airport shuttle?
Yes, Sandals Barbados offers an airport shuttle for guests. We recommend calling ahead to confirm details.
Does Sandals Barbados have airport transportation?
Yes, Sandals Barbados offers airport transportation for guests. We recommend calling ahead to confirm details.
Are any cleaning services offered at Sandals Barbados?
Yes, dry cleaning and laundry service are offered to guests.
Does Sandals Barbados offer any business services?
Yes, guests have access to a business centre and meeting rooms during their stay.
Are there any historical sites close to Sandals Barbados?
Many travellers enjoy visiting George Washington House (5.1 km), Garrison Savannah - Barbados Turf Club (4.6 km), and Gun Hill Signal Station (7.8 km).