The Sands Barbados

Overall, I would recommend The Sands. Here is what I liked and didn’t like. Liked: Food: The food was very good, especially at Noir restaurant. The variety and quality were good. Some meals are a buffet, some you order from a menu. Service: The service from staff was very good. Room: The room was two storey, clean and very spacious. It had a kitchen area if needed. There is air conditioning only on the top floor in the bedroom so you need to keep the temperature set low to cool the lower level. The balcony/terrace was also very spacious. Entertainment: They had live singers every night. Even if you didn’t always like the music, I give them credit for providing it. There were families with kids and they provided numerous events for children throughout the easter holiday weekend. Location: The resort is right on the beach and close to St. Lawrence Gap. Didn’t Like: Checking-In. I have stayed at numerous hotels over many years and The Sands was by far the longest and cumbersome check-in process. You had to scan a bar code, enter a lot of information on your phone, and scan your passport. Why ask to enter your passport number if you are also scanning your passport – isn’t this redundant? After entering the information, you still need to meet with someone to complete the check-in. Lounge Chairs: The resort has a policy for using the lounge chairs on the beach and around the pool. Basically you are not allowed to “reserve” chairs but people were still taking a chair in the early morning, keeping their towel and items on the chair even if they weren’t using it. Staff do not enforce the policy unless you complain. This is not the resort’s fault, it’s selfish guests. It’s a common problem at these types of resorts. Room: Some things in the room were a bit worn and it could use some upgrading. Read less

Spent 26 nights at this hotel. Didnt plan to spend that long but got diagnosed with a DVT and was unable to fly home for 2 weeks. I would like to thank the management at the hotel for accomodating us at such short notice. Rebecca Cheeseman is an absolute star and sorted most of our problems out regarding accomodation and invoicing our travel insurance directly. We never got to thank her as she was off the day we left so THANK YOU Rebecca for everything. Another star is Steven the pool waiter. If I owned a company I would want Steven working for me, the guy never stops. When hes not serving orders he helping out behind the bar or collecting plates from customers in the restaurant. Give this guy a promotion or a pay rise Other staff worth mentioning are Junior and Cyrilene, good people who always had time to chat. I have to mention the daytime lady security guard who wears a blue shirt. She always asked me how I was coping with my condition whenever we met. The AI is different to other hotels, there is a buffet breakfast every day, then lunch and dinner is either buffet or 3 course set menu. I was a bit put off at first with the menu but it turned out to be better than the buffet. There is also a bar menu which serves burgers, hot dogs,fish cakes, chips during the day Our first room was on 2 levels overlooking the pool with the bedroom and bathroom upstairs and living area downstairs. There was only A/C in the bedroom which was great but noisy Our second room was single level, again with A/C only in the bedroom but it was a modern unit so was quieter Its a 10 minute walk to The Gap, there is a large supermarket (Masseys) again 10 minute walk away and Worthing Food Square is 2-3 minute walk away and definitely worth a visit if you want a change from the hotel food. There is a pizza shop directly opposite the hotel which we tried and was pleasantly surprised You can arrange to visit the sister hotel (Mango Bay) in Holetown but you have to arrange your transport there and back. We paid 100 BBD(£40 ish) for a taxi back. We planned on getting the bus to Mango Bay but as we were asking about bus times, a very nice lady taxi driver offered to take us as she had no more jobs and was driving home. We said we only had a small amount of cash but she said she would be glad of the company!It was like being on a guided journey as she pointed out landmarks and told us the history of the island. We gave her $10 as it was all we had I would definitely go back, its just plucking up the courage to fly long haul again. So it might be a while Read less

This review is a tad late, but we have just been reminiscing about our 2 week holiday at The Sands for my birthday.. We have visited Barbados on numerous occasions & have enjoyed them all.. However, The Sands holds a special place in our hearts & we have already booked to return in November. This hotel is a little gem.. The beach is beautiful. We stayed in a super saver room which was clean, tidy & has all you all you need. Food was great.. You’re right near The Gap with plenty of lovely restaurants.. Just a special mention for the wonderful Ricardo, Chad & Stephen.. These guys are a credit to your hotel.. Ricardo especially who gave us a great welcome & was always on hand to answer any questions we had.. We cannot wait to return x Read less

We just visited The Sands Barbados resort and have concluded our vacation that we booked through Air Canada Vacations and it is important to provide a detailed review as a seasoned traveller to the Carribean staying at all inclusive the amenities felt like a 3.5 star property my detailed review is as follows: CHECK IN- was a total gong show, into the tight small lobby area no smiles upon arrival, instead staff guiding you to a seat to fill out a online checkin process, via a QR code to scan! Never have I had to do this arriving at a resort, and then having to wait for the customer service rep to come back for you to waive them down to say “I’m finished” basically what next in the check in process, we then had another delay in check in as they were taking there slow sweet time this was a total turn off arriving at the property ROOM- we arrived to our room to find a queen bed and a single bed when we booked our reservation via air Canada we requested 2 single beds!. We asked the manager Renee if there was anything she could do for a different room as we had booked the Sands Signature Room Air Canada advertised and it didn’t meet the specs! The bathroom was the size of a closet you couldn’t fit in unless you shut the door!… Renee was no help to the situation of how we were hating our room, and how it wasn’t working for us, she brushed it off and only said we can maybe move on the Monday and have 3 nights in this other room after she shows it to us, we declined as we were not moving for just a couple of nights to receive the same size bathroom she also advised we would need to take up our concerns with AC just bad customer service CLEANING/TOWELS- room cleaning was good but the situation to get a good amount of towels is terrible we got one bath towel each and had no hand towels all week! Every other place has given me 2 bath towels per person!! They need to look at getting more towels and be consistent with what they are giving wash cloths were rare! MANAGEMENT- Management is not fully present on the resort talking to guests making sure they are taken care of. Rebecca smiles and seems pleasant , where Renee doesn’t and I feel she hides and doesn’t care about the guests she is not management material! And Coffy he didn’t say anything more to us when we first talked to him about addressing our room issues to be moved BAR STAFF & AREA- this area needs major improvements bar glasses are piling up all day and night on the edge of the bar!! There’s no bus staff to take them away and disinfect and clean them properly they were all being washed by hand in the tiny sink by the bar! I found this concerning! As I didn’t see any disinfectant they need an industrial strength machine that cleans glassware! the bar staff are not trained bartenders some don’t know there cocktails very well there’s no aperol or even Prosecco 1 kind of vodka option! The bar is not organized nicely bottles aren’t on display nice And the don’t consistently provide garnish! The drinks also lacked ice they were being cheap with ice and the plastic cups they use for beach and bar drinks aren’t big enough!!I feel the bartenders all needed to be trained and take a course This all needs to be looked at! As some didn’t know there drinks! COMMON OUTDOOR SEATING- the common area by the bar seating for entertainment and before dinner cocktails needs some attention there needs to be better rows of 2 seats in 1 row and then the larger tables at another! There was such a mix match and 2 people were sitting at a 4 person table! They need to get some better outdoor furniture! BEACH STAFF- the beach chair staff are disinterested and grumpy, Orion is one of them! Never smiled made eye contact or a good morning! Always looked like you were inconveniencing him for your beach chair in the morning! And I found for the remainder of the day they would go hide at the other end of the beach where it is public off the property to “hang out” so you couldn’t find them if you needed some thing FAMILY RESORT- if you are looking for this to be an almost kid free resort it is not it really caters to small children and families and children’s activities and the pool is very congested! NIGHT ENTERTAINMENT- they had singers at night some nights it would just be nice to hear music then live entertainment as some kept singing the same old songs and it was repetitive and too much Bob Marley!! And love songs!! I loved my trip to Barbados but I don’t think I’d return to this resort again unless something g majorly changed with the brand, offerings & management style where it’s about the guest experince hopefully mango bay group can review this Read less

Well, let’s start with the positives (there are not many). It is a great location and the beach is beautiful. I really wanted to like this resort but it was a nightmare from the beginning. Check-in was a grueling process where Sherman at the front desk and his immediate manager, Sherice, are very cold and try to nickel and dime you. We arrived at 1:30pm, they explained that check-in was at 4pm and we would be able to use the facilities sooner if we paid $150. We had two adults and two children and they charged us for four adults. It was by far the worst check-in experience and the manager, Sherice, proceeded to get into a verbal confrontation with us. The majority of the staff are not friendly. This does not feel like an all inclusive. The food is mediocre at best and very small portions. No top shelf liquor. Entertainment is poor, they do have some events for children but they neglect to tell you that you will incur a fee for participating. It also doesn’t feel safe. When we were there, a local homelesss man was able to walk right in past security. He wasn’t tackled until he made it to the pool where the children were playing. Do yourself and your family a favor, book Sugar Bay. Read less