Sugar Bay Barbados

Sugar Bay Barbados – 5 Stars! We celebrated our 23rd wedding anniversary at Sugar Bay Barbados, and it couldn’t have been more perfect! The front desk was amazing during our entire visit and LeAnne made sure we were taken care of when we first arrived. Nicole at the gift shop was so warm and helpful, Kimberly gave fantastic recommendations, and room service was prompt and excellent. The resort was spotless, the staff professional and kind, and the people so friendly. The beach was beautiful and relaxing, the food was delicious, and our date night at Sizzle was amazing. Thank you for making our anniversary truly memorable! Read less

I've only just come back to earth from this beautiful place. My husband and I returned to Barbados for our 25th anniversary, 2nd time to the Island, 1st time to Sugar Bay. Everything about the place was just amazing. From the moment we walked in, we felt at home. Greeted with a very strong rum punch and breath-taking views of the ocean. The rooms were spacious and immaculately clean, with plush beds, I've never slept so well away from home. The food was truly exceptional—some of the best we’ve ever experienced. First impressions to a usual all inclusive was not so much choice until you realised the standard and quality of food. As for drinks, fantastic standard and they will make any cocktail you desire. Don’t miss their daily special “mimosa” my favourite was cranberry and ginger. At least one visit to the Mongoose Pub is required (opens at 9pm till late), a clever idea keeping the evening buzz and laughter tucked away from the rooms. Staff were attentive, friendly, and made us feel truly welcome, we were greeted by name most morning. Location was perfect, so relaxing whether you decide to lie by the ocean or by the pool, plenty of beds & superb relaxing entertainment throughout the day and night. In summary, this is one of those rare gems where comfort, cuisine, and character come together so seamlessly. My mission is to get the pink bracelet and return for my 50th birthday in 2027! Things not to miss! Carlisle Bay - The Boat Yard Catamaran Trip - Cool Runnings Horses on Pebbles Beach Sunday Dinner on a Sunday Evening (at SB) Singers on the Sunday night (at SB) PS not many plugs in the room bring an adapter! Read less

Great hotel with boutique vibe. Check in was very welcoming with the rum-punch and fruit punch for the children. We booked a family ocean view suite which only had 1 bedroom but it was plenty big enough for myself, my husband and our 2 girls (10 and 4yo). The pool was small but not over crowded. We managed to get sunbeds even mid morning. The beach is nice to look at but the sand is rough and the sea isn't as crystal clear as the west coast so we popped round to Carlisle Bay which was beautiful (the boatyard is a great day out!). We went to Oistins on Friday which was crazy busy and a little overwhelming for the children so we grabbed something to eat, listened to a bit of the music, bought some pressies for friends back at home and left @ 8.30pm....before the party really started. We book a luxury catamaran trip with Silver Moon which was a huge highlight on the holiday and well worth it! The food at SB was unreal - the best buffet we've ever had. It even knocks the socks off the Jumeirah hotels we've stayed in in Dubai. Infact all the food was amazing and plentiful. A huge shout out to Justin in Reef who was super friendly and always made an effort to come over to see how our day had been every evening. A real credit to the team! As annual visitors to Dubai we were a little apprehensive about our trip to SB as we'd read reviews which said holidaymakers wouldn't receive the same level of luxury, which is true to a certain extent (no artificial bling!) BUT as a family, we would take the authentic, warm and friendliness of Barbados over any 5* hotel in Dubai! Read less

My wife and I traveled to Sugar Bay in Barbados with another couple the last week of July. This was our first time to this beautiful country. Barbados has wonderful people and everyone we encountered were overly friendly inside and outside the resort. We have been to 11 different all-inclusive resorts in 6 different countries. This is the smallest we've been to so far. The airport is fairly small. It took maybe an hour to get through immigration and customs. I will say we felt almost punished for completing the online immigration form. They had multiple immigration officers to screen passengers after they completed their form at a kiosk. Meanwhile we had our forms completed prior to arrival yet we were standing in a longer line with less agents assisting us through immigration. The ride to the resort is probably 20 minutes or so. It wasn't too bad after a long travel day. Check-in was smooth and fast. There is a $9 or so tax per day per person you have to pay the resort. The room key is a bracelet that I love because you don't have to keep up with a card or worry about deactivating it with your phone. The room We booked an oceanfront king. This was a very small room but adequate. I will say the ac could be better but we didn't mention ours didn't work well so I can't complain. There aren't washcloths here, so if you like using them, you should pack a couple. Our fridge had a bottled water or 2 but nothing else. Water is abundant around the resort but if you just like bottled you might struggle. Their tap water is drinkable. The rooms have US outlets so no need to bring adapters. Beach towels are in the room upon arrival. We swapped ours out daily before we went up to the room. Upon checkout, you apparently have to take towels to the desk or have towel cards from the watersports shack or you get charged $25 or so per towel that is missing. The grounds This resort is quite compact, but the grounds are well manicured and maintained. Lots of variety of plants. Wifi seems to be good everywhere on the property. If you're prone to mosquitoes and bug bites, take spray. I am but my wife isn't. Each night I'd apply bug spray and I'm not sure how much it helped. I still got quite a few bites. Even though she didn't apply spray she left with less bites. The restaurants They have 4 restaurants in total. Colin's bar that is open from 10-6 for drinks and noon to 4 for food. The Reef buffet which is open breakfast, lunch, & dinner everyday. Umi and Sizzle that are reservation only. You can book these right at check-in for best available time slots. The Reef buffet has themed nights so check what those are before making reservations at Umi or Sizzle. We ended up doing Umi on Wednesday and then the buffet was Asian on Thursday. It wasn't the best back to back we could've done. All the restaurants are open air so be prepared to sweat. I feel like most are OK like this but Sizzle is small and not on the water. This restaurant should have some window units installed. It was hot enough to where we re-showered when we got back to our room. Another note is they limit you to 1 starter, 1 entrees, and 1 side per person. Additional is a charge! Not that I need more, but I have NEVER been told I would be charged for additional items at any all-inclusive resorts we've ever visited in the past. They have a coffee bar, but also a for pay coffee shop on premises. It would be nice if the coffee shop was included. It wouldn't cost them much and would be a wonderful addition seems how most all-inclusive resorts now include a coffee shop. It could also give a different option for breakfast with pastries and small bites instead of a buffet. The Reef buffet The service here was wonderful. We ate here for breakfast daily. They had the basics such as an omelette station, scrambled eggs, baked beans (I appreciate this even though I'm American), an assortment of breads and croissants, cheeses, and waffles. The fruits were better than our other all-inclusive resorts. They typically had blackberries, raspberries, honeydew, and kiwi. We found this wonderful along with the typical watermelon, cantaloupe, and pineapple. We also had lunch here twice. It was decent. We definitely didn't leave hungry. Both lunches we had mashed potatoes, fried Bajan chicken, and an assortment or desserts. Dinner we visited 3 times, the first night here was Mexican themed. The pulled pork on nachos was delicious. They always had cheese and fruit trays that hit the spot. We all found good entree dishes to enjoy. I will say during the themed nights there wasn't much besides the theme. That being said, if you're traveling with picky kids or adults they might struggle. If would be nice to have something simple such as chicken or pizza to hold them over but there wasn't. The selection of ice cream each night is great. Ask your server. Typically they have pistachio, rum & raisins, cookies & cream, & strawberry cheesecake. The service at this restaurant was normally top-notch. It was difficult to empty a drink, water, or plate without a refill or empty plate removed. Wonderful. We met Nicholi here. What a great server. He knew the whole buffet menu and would make each a surprise cocktail. My wife put it best by stating he made the buffet feel like a nice sit down dinner. He's definitely a standout among a great staff. Colin's bar Located close to the beach and very laid back. We ate here most days for lunch seems how i could just be in my swim trunks with no shoes etc. The burgers and coleslaw were delicious. They also had decent fries. I had a ham and cheese wrap one day which was fair at best. No one tried the hotdogs but they were available. This spot also had a selection of ice cream too. Sizzle We ate here once. We were supposed to have another night but due to a natural gas leak somewhere on the island everyone had to eat at the buffet our last night. The night we did eat here, one had the NY strip and the others had the filet mignon. All cooked to desired temps and delicious. The lobster mac, baked potatoes, lava cake, apple crisp pie with ice cream all enjoyable. We liked this place for dinner the best besides the heat. It was hot. Umi Meh, the food was so, so. Our friend enjoyed the sticky ribs. I got the beef teriyaki that was soaked in soy sauce. The beef and veggies would shine alone without being drown in soy. My wife got the General Tsos that tasted nothing like it. I have no idea what it tasted like but it wasn't that. We have an Asian with us and she agreed! The sushi was good. We had the dynamite, crazy, & dragon roll. They were cut thick and a lot of pieces. I wish they would cut them thinner and not limit the starters to where everyone could try more. This isn't a difficult fix. My wife got the spring rolls and they were fair. The pools So the main pool has nice cushions on the loungers and it's a nice sized. You can't see the ocean laying here so that was a downfall. I also got blasted in the face with a dodgeball by a kid while I was enjoying a drink. The swim up bar where i was at is supposed to be adults only but it isn't enforced. I'm not sure why or how the kid hit the ball as hard as he did, but I'm glad it was me instead of an elderly person. It was hard enough to bend the nose pieces on my Ray Bans. That pool is too small for the amount of balls/toys allowed. After the first day, we decided to sit at the very small pool close to Colin's bar. It was very quiet and perfect for us. Closer to the beach too. These pools were cleaned daily by Cody. He was fantastic and a very hard worker. The beach Wonderful views and nice water. Sargassum wasn't as abundant here like others we have been to. The water colors were some of the best we've seen anywhere in the Caribbean. Watersports are free and our friends rode the high back kayak one day and said it was nice. They also have plastic tables there you can get to use by your beach loungers if you'd like. These are at the watersports hut. Bars Damien, Aykeem, and many others served up delicious cocktails and ice cold Banks beer each day. I love they have their own menu at each bar to choose from or they can create whatever you prefer. I will say we went to the Lazy Mongoose and it had a terrible smell. One pool table and a few broken darts and a limited drink selection. This just isn't even worth having to be honest. Evening entertainment Each night they had singers or performers of some sort near the main bar. This was enjoyable but don't expect over the top action filled shows. Very nice and we all enjoyed them. Excursions etc We did 2 excursions. One was free with the resort, which is the 'swim with horses'. We got up at 6 am and walked with a group down to the water probably a half mile away. This was a total money grab and I wouldn't recommend it unless you want to get a photo with a horse for $10 or be guided around on one for a few minutes to be charged $20-$30. I would recommend walking to the horse track. It's literally out the front of the resort and to the left. Really pretty in the morning when they're practicing. The other was the Ocean Lux two story pontoon. This was a fun time. 4 hours long. They allow you to snorkel if you'd like, jump off the pontoon, get on a large raft to just enjoy the water, or enjoy the ride. Oh did I mention they serve you lunch and all you can drink?!? Well, you get that too. It's a great time. I believe it was $125 per person and can be booked on here or on sites like Expedia. Overall, we enjoyed our stay here at Sugar Bay Barbados. I wouldn't steer anyone from booking a stay here but we wouldn't return. There are just too many places to see. If you do decide to go, please bring plenty of tip money. The service here deserves it. Read less