Sandals Barbados

My wife and I spent the week before Christmas 25 at Sandals Barbados. We have visited Sandal's resorts all over the Caribbean and have a good comparison basis to compare to this resort. Lets talk about the positives first. Like most Sandals resorts the resort itself and landscaping are beautiful. Sandals Barbados and Royal Barbados are connected to each other, and it took a bit to see the boundary, but it didn't matter as you have access to everything in both resorts. This made it quite big and there was a lot of walking. :) With only a week there we had no chance to try out all the restaurants and facilities. Loved when we arrived and departed when the staff came on the bus to sing a little song but were weirded out by the color tags when we arrived. It was confusing and since we did not do butler or club it seemed like a class system where those of us in the low class could not get off until everybody else did. Very weird vibe. A few of the unique things about this resort which was a bit quirky but cool was the 4 lane bowling alley although the scoring machines were broken but we just having fun anyway. The have the resident kitties which we love but also had chickens with chicks and some monkeys on the resort. Always love that. We booked a nice couples massage at the SPA. This SPA was a bit basic compared to others but the massage was pretty good so no complaints. The views from the sky bar are amazing during the day and the night. The beach is also very beautiful with fine sand. Didn't see any issues with drug sales on the beach and it felt safe with security roaming around. Ok now some negatives. A few items in the room were broken like the light behind the right mirror in the bathroom. The A/C seemed to have a mind of its own. No matter what temp you set it too if it was on it was full blast so we turned it off a lot. There were a few great exceptions and maybe it's a cultural thing but compared to other resorts most staff at the walk up and sit-down restaurants seemed to act like we were bothering them when seeking service. Service was slow and the staff was rude in many cases. Again there were some positive exceptions but generally it was not good and we spoke with other guests who agreed. This seems to be a common theme across many reviews as well. I know you can arrange a photoshoot but at other resorts there were always photographers roaming around to get those impromptu shots. Never saw that and we did not make sure of our free 5x7 photo since we never had any pictures taken. We scuba dive and this is one of the few resorts that does not having a dock at the resort itself so you have to take a 30-40 min bus ride each way to get to the boat. This really eats up more of your day. Because of this we are not sure if we would return to this particular resort if we plan on diving.

What a fantastic stay we had at Sandals Barbados! It’s been a wonderful, relaxing week and we are sad to go. This is our first trip back since we said our vows here in 2018. While much has changed during that time, the most important things have not. The beauty of the island, kindness of the people, our fantastic butlers, and many other staff who have been stellar during our visit. First, to our wonderful butler team Nicola, Denese, and Shanice - you ladies have been a pleasure to work with! You have met our needs during our stay and exceeded! Thank you so much for your hard work, thoroughness, and friendliness. We are truly appreciative! Avery, our waiter at Butch’s Seafood and Steakhouse - you made our night! Not once did we need to ask for anything during our wonderful dinner! And you were handling many tables other than us. So much personality and we had a wonderful night! Thank you! Cassandria in housekeeping - thank you so much for your hard work during our stay and in making sure all of our needs were met. Not once did we have to call because something needed to be replaced. Our room was meticulous and we are very appreciative! To a few of our Infinity Pool team - Mahalia, Shakeira, Annette, you ladies rock!! You kept the drinks and party mode flowing! Thank you for taking care of us!! Christopher at Kimonos - what a fun night!! Food was great and the entertainment was awesome! Thank you for making dinner our last night at the resort so much fun! Overall, it’s been a wonderful vacation! Our sincere thanks to all who made it happen!

We just came back from a 10 day trip to Sandals Barbados and it was fantastic. This is a well run Property. We have been to almost every island in a Caribbean over the last 25 years and this was by far our best overall experience. Dinner was fine dining with excellent service. Every staff member regardless of position was pleasant. This is our first trip using the Butler service, it was the best decision. Our stay was awesome and we booked next year's trip before we left.

We had a great time. Yes, there may be some rooms that could use a bit of updating, but we literally do nothing but sleep and shower in our rooms and those accommodations, for us, were sufficient. Everyone we came in contact with was friendly and helpful. I will say there was one bartender -in the evening- near the lounge that seemed to be having an off night, but that was the only occurrence I can speak about negatively. The food was amazing. Housekeeping went above and beyond. The beach and views are beautiful. And while our visit was to escape the holiday grief due to the death anniversary of our son, I experienced an abundance of peace and joy. Also, Heart and Sol and The Greenhouse are the best hidden gems. I may have ended up on a service road in search of them, 😆 but they were both well worth the adventure!

We returned yesterday from a fantastic honeymoon at Sandals royal Barbados. We were worried at first as some of the reviews were quite negative but now realise some people just have nothing better to do than complain! Here is the simple honest breakdown……||RESORT: AMAZING! Clean and beautiful.|FOOD: AMAZING! High quality and so much choice.|STAFF: AMAZING! So friendly and can’t do enough to help you!|ROOM: AMAZING! 9118 with the swim up pool was just heaven. Clean and fresh!! Flower petals in the shape of a heart on the bed and champagne was a lovely touch on arrival!!|ENTERTAINMENT/ACTIVITIES: AMAZING!! Snorkelling at Carlisle Bay and seeing the turtles and shipwrecks was fantastic!||The only negative was having to leave this beautiful resort on Wednesday!!!!!! WE WILL 100% RETURN!!!||Thank you everyone at S.R.B for making our holiday one we will never forget!!!

Had a very enjoyable stay with the 2 exceptions noted below regarding: Smoking/vaping being done in non designated smoking areas in view of staff without being confronted; and Butler reservations being made in No Reservations Required restaurants forcing long wait times for non-butlered guests. Also, a big shout out to Cheverina, a bartender encountered at several bars, who always had a smile and was by far the friendliest and best mixologist of any of the bartenders we've encountered not only at the Sandals Barbados & Royal Barbados but at any of the other Sandals resorts we've had the pleasure to stay multiple times (Ochi, Dunn's River, South Coast, Montego Bay, Royal Caribbean, and Curacao).

Sandals Barbados was amazing. Each and every person working at this resort was polite, friendly and fun. Always a greeting and a friendly smile shared. Bar tenders were friendly and fun... sang and danced. Everyone seemed to have a great time! The resort was clean, and the food was delicious. Housekeeping attentants were very friendly, and more than efficient! Pools were clean, cool and refeshing! Beach was clean, water was fresh, free of any debris and relaxing! Would definitely return!

Hotel Review: A Disappointing Stay An Honest Account of a Poor Experience Introduction During my recent travels, we unfortunately stayed at Barbados Sandals Hotel Room 2402 arrived midnight 23 November 2025 until 28 November 2025 that failed to meet even the most basic standards. From the moment we arrived until my departure, the experience was persistently disappointing and did little to make me feel welcome or comfortable to return to the hotel or even Barbados. Check-in Process The staff appeared uninterested , lacking any warmth or enthusiasm. This poor first impression set the tone for the remainder of my stay. However the porter who gave assistance with our luggage was lovely and very welcoming, this was a bonus at this point. Room Quality Upon entering our room, we where immediately disappointed by the lack of outdated furniture which had marks on the bed side tables. At least the bedding was clean. The bathroom conditions were even more concerning. The grouting around the bath looked like a 5 year had done it , all needed relacing , the enamel was starting to come off the bath, the taps where pitted with excess water , and a shower curtain that had looked like it had been thrown up. The table out side on the Virender had all ring marks on it, plug sockets outside where not sealed properly , then the bathroom door, not fixed probably, could not close the bathroom door at all. The overall state of the room left much to be desired and made it difficult to feel relaxed or at ease. Very Poor indeed Service and Staff Attitude Throughout our stay, the general attitude of the staff was unapproachable and indifferent felt like they did not want to be there. There was a noticeable absence of hospitality on 3 occasions trying to get a drink no one there, which only served to heighten our frustration and disappointment. Excellent service from the bell boy who was looking after our check out, luggage. Jason, we enjoyed the entertainment in the lobby bar provided by the two guys. Food and Dining Experience Our first morning buffet breakfast experience at Spices, was shared with numerous pigeons waiting to strike. The food offering average. However we found the Garden Room and welcomed the service from Suzanne and her team and one waitress in particular who we have forgotten your name sorry. Butch's on our last night turned up with cold chips, which they replaced with hot chips. The English manager in the monkey pub, was very welcoming and he along with Jesse, did there best to fight the fires, for which we thank them. Conclusion We did raise a complaint issue on our room, with several people. 2 representatives came to the room at our request where phots where taken, the result was offer of loyalty points and a late check out. The late check out was taken up, but no one knew we had a late check our resulting in being locked out of the room as well as calling some house keeping, the loyalty points was declined as this required the signing of a legal document. We where only there for a five night stay, Which at the time was it worth a room change….., but there was no offer room changed .Moreover the room did make a difference to our stay. We felt no direction for staff, no management seen in operation on the ground. This was our first visit to Sandals, and given our experience it would be hard to return. On speaking with other guests there seems to be divided opinions on the holiday experience at Sandals Barbados, ranging from disappointed, never returning to very happy.