The Sands Barbados

Travelled April 24 – May 1, 2025 Loved Barbados! Hotel is in a great location to so many things. We travelled by city bus everywhere with ease. We were Grateful we were able to visit the sister hotels for eats and drinks and really had the best of all worlds because of this. Weather was perfect for 7 days, however sargassum was at The Sands with a vengeance the week we came. Beach was stacked Feet high with seaweed and resort did not clean up, stating they are waiting for gov’t to step in and clean up, very disappointing and The Sands should definitely rectify this when bombarded with seaweed. Beach is small, no long walks on this beach. Fresh Towels available no-issue daily. No complaints with food, ate at Noir 2x during our stay, nice change to the one and only restaurant on beach. Beautiful views, but the smell from the seaweed was enough to knock you over some days. For lunch there was options with a grill happening most days, burgers, fries, chicken, pita pizza etc and/or buffet / a la carte options alternating daily. If you’re a late night snacker, there is nothing here to eat at the resort all-inclusive after supper, so ensure you go and buy snacks at the grocery store next door or visit Little Ceasars Pizza across the road Or there are other restaurants in the area. Alcohol – There is only one bar on site. Bartenders in my opinion were run ragged. Its time to hire a dishwasher. As other reviews stated, cups stacked up along bar constantly and bar tender cannot keep up with serving and washing, nor should they. Drink options were good and tasty. NO champagne /cava available at the resort for mimosa’s )-; Heineken and Banks beer in bottles; and Banks on draft. Both white and red wine was Chilean and decent. Often but not always, there was drink beach/pool service. Rooms are odd – if you book a signature room you have 2 levels. Guest speculated this building was once condo units, hence the 2 floor levels. 1st floor is un air-conditioned kitchen/livingroom, and second floor is air conditioned bedroom/bathroom. No TV in bedroom. Only in livingroom which is too hot to sit in. We came for our 40th anniversary and Jackie in guest services was amazing! She is in the dictionary under “excellent customer service” Our room was surprisingly decorated, the dining room and sister resorts all seemed to know we were celebrating. Jackie you are a star!! All staff were wonderful, But Danny the bartender deserves special recognition as well. – That guy was relentless making excellent tasting drinks with no rest and a smile on his face! We also visited Champers on our anniversary, and it was a fabulous afternoon dining experience. If celebrating and wanting a special surrounding - highly recommend. Tips for Guests: • Bring a Yeti cup, particularly if visiting Island Inn hotel (sister hotel) as resort is across from Pebbles beach with no provisions included (no beach chairs, umbrellas or drinks), but you can fill up by walking back to Island Inn. Do go see the Race Horses bathe in the ocean early in the mornings at Pebble Beach and take advantage of having breakfast at Island Inn. (reservations with guest services needed) • Visit the Friday night Oistins Fish Fry Party. – We saw Tyson Fury (boxer) there the night we went! • Visit St. Lawrence Gap, what a great street of restaurants/bars – very cool ! You can watch any sporting event there. Its an 8 minute walk from The Sands. • Don’t be shy to ride the bus system, so easy to use and always someone to help you catch and get off where you want to go. Tips for Management - Put TV’s in Bedrooms in the two story units. Hire workers to clean up the seaweed, we realize its futile somedays, but clean it up as best you can as the smell is horrible to your paying guests if you want us to have a positive experience. Hire some dishwashers, stop making the bartenders wash glasses as they are trying to serve drinks. Brighten up the drab entryway with some colourful pictures of the island (I don’t want to call it a lobby, as it really isn’t a proper lobby. Again more of a condo lobby), and please replace the worn plastic couches! First impressions can mean a lot to guests (as I heard many complaining about the drab lobby). Thank you Sands for a great first time experience in Barbados. Your Country is Beautiful!!!!!!!! Read less

This was not our first time to Barbados but first time to the Sands Hotel. Check in was smooth, we requested a Paper check in not the QR code as we were more comfortable with that not a problem just say which you prefer and they will accommodate you. Staff were all plesent and helpful,security staff would always helpful too and we always felt safe. Sun Beds : there were plenty of them on the beach and there were always umbrellas in good supply too. If you preferred to sit round the pool then you would have to rise early as there were a fair few towels on beds around 6.30am !!!!!. Food: breakfast was in my opinion Good, lots of choice , but the one improvement could be a choice of milk I.e.( Oat. Almond Soya,) there was only ever ordinary cows milk . Lunch time was A la Carte but we preferred to have a snack from the bar or the barbecue most days.Evening meal I dident enjoy I found it difficult most nights to find something I liked ,especially as I have an allergy to fish but that's just me personally. Noir Resturant ,we went twice during our stay and really enjoyed the food ,atmosphere and the excellent service. Rooms: we had a Signature room which was a good size ,with good sized bedroom ,living Room, Kitchenette ,kettle ,but no cooking facilities., and large balcony. Room was cleaned to a high standard and towels replaced every other day , more if you required it. Courtesy room was free on day of departure with a half hour slot, book at reception. Entertainment we found it to be good but if you wanted to venture to the Gap it was about a ten minute walk but be careful alot of the pavements were broken and uneven . Would we return , Yes definitely, especially if there was a choice of occupancy I.e.( Half Board) as we do like to eat out during our stay. Read less

Absolutely loved our stay here. We went as two couples, and stayed all inclusive (AI). The food is top quality with plenty of choice for vegetarians. Sometimes it's served as buffet, other times it is from a set menu. Location is excellent. 10 minutes walk to St Lawrence Gap, 20 minutes taxi or bus into Bridgetown. Staff are friendly, and there is a lot of them! So always someone on hand if you have a question. Wifi signal is good, could even pick it up on the beach. The choice of drinks was excellent - best AI cocktails we have ever had, and we have stayed AL in a lot of other hotels (outside Barbados). Beds and umbrellas on the beach are free for hotel guests, and the seaweed was cleared by staff. Beautiful setting, brilliant staff, would highly recommend a stay at this hotel. Read less

Traveled to The Sands last week of April to celebrate my boyfriends birthday and we had a wonderful time. We were upgraded upon check-in to a penthouse room and the view was breath taking. This was my third time traveling to Barbados but first time in an All Inclusive. I found the location of this hotel perfect to be able to still use All Inclusive benefits but travel off the resort and explore the island. Walkable distance to The Gap and short ZR bus trips to Bridgetown, Carlisle Bay, Oistins, Miami Beach etc. The food was delicious and good variety. This is a smaller hotel which honestly appealed to us. There was sargassum present along the beach some of the week we traveled, this is mother nature and not predictable and did not spoil our trip. The people of Barbados are some of the nicest and friendliest people I have ever met. I would like to thank the staff for their hard work and for making our holiday a special one. Special thanks to Jacky and Ricardo at the front desk, Margaret and Christina at the beach front restaurant, Danni, Shamar and Antonio at the bar and the wonderful woman who manages THE NOIR a la carte restaurant who let us dine two evenings in a row. We will be back! Read less

We really enjoyed our stay at the Sands. The best part of the stay was the lazing in the sun, the sea, the pool and the staff. A place to relax and enjoy. We were in the Air Canada supersaver rooms, so no balconies, but all we used it for was to sleep and it was very basic. Nothing fancy but clean, places to put your clothes and a bathroom. We found the service great, everyone was friendly and we do believe you get back what you put out. We were helped on the check in and Chad took us to our room. He was always helpful, friendly and got us to participate in the fun. Loved Jackie and all in guest services, the bar staff, Steven (The BBCs were great), Jezreel, Antonio and all the others always great. Cyrilene and Margaret at the buffet, Davida and everyone else in Noir and On the Water, sorry I don't have all your names. And of course housekeeping who we did not meet, but always dealt with the room. This was the smallest all inclusive we have been to and we were not sure how it would be, but we had a great and different time to other places. Entertainment was a singer or two each evening, all good and some new how to join the crowd in. It was more of an intimate holiday and I wouldn't really change it as it wouldn't be the same. I would like to see more Barbadian food there, but I suppose you have to what the majority of people want to eat. Thanks to you all for a wonderful time. Read less