The Sands Barbados

On arrival we were upgraded to the Penthouse. Amazing room! ,so much space , fabulous sea view,. Very comfortable but could have done with air con throughout rather than just the bedrooms. One day it wasn’t cleaned till 5 & another day we had to ask for towels numerous occasions & then ended up having to use bathrobes as the old towels had been taken , new ones not delivered & we had to go out. Staff were mixed, there were a few really happy members of staff but generally I have to say they made us feel like we were imposing & whenever we asked for anything in the main restaurant , it took an age & was received sometimes with an eye roll. Main Restaurant - breakfast we queued a few days just for a table (45 minutes one day!) whilst tables stayed empty & staff seemed to be doing everything they could not to seat people. I literally watched one member of staff walk back & forth one day putting one item on a table at a time. Lots of birds eating food off of the tables & flies around the fruit in the buffet. Buffet was extremely limited compared to all of the other all inclusive hotels I have tried before. Some days it was off a menu, other days buffet, buffet not always replenished even though over an hour left of lunch / dinner . Food that was there was generally tasty though. Noir - great service & food lovely , we did send one meal back but the issue was rectified quickly. Would definitely recommend you visit. I really enjoyed the different setting & the atmosphere in Noir. Location is great, on the beach , non motorised sports available but not ideal as sea not gentle enough for paddle boarding /kayaking . 5-10 minutes walk to St Lawrence Gap & short bus rides towards Carlisle Bay/Bridgetown & Oistins. Overall I would not visit again, prime location, fab rooms but the staff & choice of food really let this place down & put a cloud of disappointment over our visit. Read less

First time staying at the sands with our 2 children 14 & 11. We had a 2 bedroom garden apartment one double room with ensuite and two single beds and bathroom inbetween which was fantastic we had a pool view so it was great access for us and the kids when down at the pool. Room was clean and great space for what we needed. The children’s room had a tv which was a bonus so we were able to connect their ipad so they could watch youtube when chilling out. There was also a TV in the living area which was great. Food Breakfast was buffet and tea and coffee bought out to you. Some days there was pancakes, french toast, waffles these did change daily. Bacon beans cereals fruit croissants toast was also available Lunch and dinner would change between buffet and a la carte menu we found there was not alot our children would eat but the staff always gave us the option of the snack menu which would be burger and fries, hot dog, chicken wings. There is always a great range of desserts. The best day for us was Sunday when it was roast dinner buffet. The food we rate 8.5 out of 10 some days better than others but we never went hungry. Coffee and tea station was available from around 6:30am at the bar area. No bottles of water but they have a water refill at the bar but if you have visited Barbados before you know their water is great for drinking. Beach area is busy when the hotel is busy, the area by the rocks has a current that will drag you round to the other side. Great area for snorkelling! Some areas in the water does just drop so a warning for those with little children.We didn't experience any seaweed issues during our stay. Pool area, you are given a letter on arrival that informs you are not to reserve pool beds and any unoccupied beds after 30 mins towels will be removed. We use to sit outside our room with our coffee and from around 6am people would come out and reserve their beds and go off, we found if we didn't reserve a bed this early we struggled to get a bed in the morning due to people reserving 4/6 beds. When we did reserve a bed we were sitting on it all day and only moving food breakfast & lunch or if we went down to the beach. The pool staff would put the volleyball net across the pool for the kids which mine loved however there would be groups of adults that liked standing and talking (which they are allowed to do) and they wouldn't like it when the kids then played volleyball. They had singers that would perform during the day and evening. The staff are fantastic very polite and go above and beyond. The bar staff, waiting staff, pool/beach, cleaners and reception staff we had no faults or issues all very friendly and happy to help. We was able to have late check out so we stayed in our room till our pick up time as we had a 10pm flight we did have to pay for the extra hours but you do get to stay all inclusive till you leave. This is subject to room availability but they do have a room you can book to shower/change We did find there was more couples than families by the end of half term, you are able to visit the sister hotel at mango bay which you can arrange at reception. There is a good amount of shops/bars in the area. We used Marvin for a snorkel turtle tour and we can highly recommend him and the guys he recommended for a taxi. So overall we very much enjoyed our stay here and gutted it had to come to an end we are booking back for next year! Read less

Previously stayed at the sister hotel Mango Bay so thought we would try this one. Location is good, close to Bridgetown / Oistins / St Lawrence gap. Front of house were friendly and helpful. Room and housekeeping were good. Negatives: Beach deck chairs old and worn. No cushions and a shortage of umbrellas. Shortage of bar staff. Normally only one person serving both bar and dining guests. You could wait a long time if the person in front is ordering lots of cocktails. Dining staff hit and miss. sometimes happy other times grumpy. Tables took a long time to clean and turn around even though you booked a certain time, This often resulted in missing out on the tables by the waters edge even though we would have waited the extra time. Food average and repetitive. Ate from the snack bar most lunchtimes. Entertainment - Music mainly American / European. Would have liked to have heard Caribbean music / Steel drums as this would have been the perfect setting. Smoking area never cleaned. Guests were having to empty the ashtrays. No area to go when it rained other than back to your room as only the dining area had cover and this was in constant use either by diners or staff setting up tables. The hotel was only half full. I wouldn't like to be here when it is at full capacity. Read less

# The Sands Barbados – A Little Slice of Paradise… With a Few Cracks! We recently stayed at The Sands Barbados and, whilst there are certainly some lovely things about the hotel, there are also quite a few areas that need attention. Everything mentioned below has already been raised with the staff, so none of it should come as a surprise to management. This is an honest review based on our experience, with a little humour thrown in because, after all, we're supposed to be on holiday! ### Check-in – Bring a packed lunch! Check-in was painfully slow and rather an awkward process. If you don't have a phone, things get even more complicated. It took us around an hour to get checked in. Not quite the relaxing start to a Caribbean holiday we'd imagined. By the time we got to our room, we'd almost had a full working day! ### Check-out – 12 o'clock means 12 o'clock! Check-out is at 12 noon. If you fancy a shower before heading to the airport later in the day, you have two options: pay $100 to book a room or try your luck with a courtesy room, if one happens to be available. A little bit of flexibility here would go a long way, particularly when guests have late flights. ### Rooms – Lovely, but perhaps not if you're above reception! The rooms themselves are good, and we had no real complaints about the accommodation. However, if you're unlucky enough to have a room above reception, be prepared for an early start. Staff begin arriving around 5:45am and clearly enjoy a good catch-up. Unfortunately, the sound seems to travel rather well! We were also woken at around 5:45am by someone in the car park enthusiastically dismantling old wardrobes with a hammer. Nothing says Caribbean relaxation quite like an impromptu episode of DIY SOS before sunrise! ### The gardeners – Rise and shine! If you enjoy a lie-in, you might want to reconsider. The gardeners seem particularly enthusiastic about mowing and strimming from around 7am. Obviously, the grass doesn't cut itself, but perhaps it could occasionally wait until a more civilised hour? Between the gardeners, early-morning staff conversations and the occasional wardrobe demolition, sleeping in isn't necessarily part of the package. ### Breakfast – Queueing is apparently part of the experience Three days in a row we had to queue for over 45 minutes just to get a table for breakfast. The frustrating thing was that there were tables available. The problem seemed to be getting someone to allocate them. It's breakfast, not a table at Wimbledon. Surely there must be a better way of managing this? By the time you finally sit down, you could probably do with lunch! ### Lunch and dinner – Book a time, then queue anyway! You're asked to book a time for both lunch and dinner. Fair enough, you might think. That should make things run smoothly. Apparently not. Even after booking a time, you still have to queue when you arrive while the staff sort out your table. We're not quite sure what the point of booking is if you still have to wait around anyway. ### Food – Choose your battles! Let's just say that quite a few guests seem happy to eat out, which probably tells its own story. One piece of advice: make sure you book your one-night allowance at the Noir restaurant. It's definitely worth making the most of that option. ### The beach – One of the real positives The beach area is lovely. The sea is beautifully clear, although the tide and currents can be quite strong, so do take care. Bring your own snorkel and goggles if you fancy exploring underwater. The hotel doesn't provide any for guests to use, which is a shame when the water is so inviting. ### Smoking – Designated areas are apparently optional! There is a designated smoking area, which is fair enough. Unfortunately, some guests seem to interpret this as more of a friendly suggestion than an actual rule. We saw people smoking, including vaping, around the restaurant area and next to the bar. What was more disappointing was that staff didn't appear particularly bothered about enforcing the designated areas. What's the point of having rules if nobody is going to bother making sure they're followed? ### Rain – Every guest for themselves! If it rains, don't expect much shelter around the bar area. There are no proper covered areas, so everyone makes a dash for their rooms. Alternatively, if there are empty restaurant tables, guests sometimes head there for shelter. However, this doesn't seem to go down particularly well with staff because those tables are being kept ready for breakfast. So, when it rains, it's a case of finding somewhere to hide and hoping you don't get moved on! ### The bar – A little more attention wouldn't hurt The bar area is far too small for the number of guests. One of the things you'll regularly notice is glasses piling up, waiting to be washed. And when they are washed, they appear to be rinsed in a sink rather than properly washed. Not exactly reassuring when you're ordering a drink. Talking of drinks, the alcoholic selection is disappointing and, in our opinion, of a very low standard. We're also not convinced that the Absolut vodka and Tanqueray gin being served actually taste like the brands on the bottles. Perhaps it's just us, but neither seemed quite right. ### Sunbeds – Welcome to the 5:45am Olympics! Now, this is quite something. The sunbed wars start at around 5:45am. By 7:30am, you're probably going to struggle to find a bed. And even if you manage to secure one, there's a good chance you'll be missing an umbrella. There are apparently around 15–20 broken umbrellas stacked down the side of the restaurant, which doesn't exactly suggest that replacements are a priority. Quite simply, there aren't enough sunbeds for the number of guests staying at the hotel, and there certainly aren't enough usable umbrellas. Nobody should have to set an alarm for the crack of dawn just to secure somewhere to sit by the pool. I thought we came to Barbados to relax, not compete in the Caribbean Sunbed Championships! ### Activities – What's happening? Who knows! There doesn't appear to be a published list of activities, so it's difficult to know what's going on or whether anything is planned. A simple daily activities board would make a big difference. Guests shouldn't have to go hunting around to find out what's happening. ### Final thoughts The Sands Barbados has some lovely features. The beach is beautiful, the rooms are good and Barbados itself is a fantastic place to visit. However, the day-to-day running of the hotel lets the experience down in quite a few areas. Too much time is spent queueing, waiting, finding somewhere to sit, listening to early-morning noise and trying to work out how things are supposed to work. A lot of these issues aren't complicated or particularly expensive to fix. Better organisation at breakfast, more efficient check-in, proper glass washing, enforcing smoking areas, replacing broken umbrellas and providing a little more shelter would make a noticeable difference. We're not expecting five-star perfection, and we certainly don't expect the staff to perform miracles. But when you're paying for a holiday in Barbados, you do expect a reasonable level of organisation, comfort and service. **Would we return?** Barbados, absolutely. The Sands? We'd have to think about that one. And we did and it’s a resounding NO After all, a holiday should be about relaxing, not setting your alarm for 5:45am to beat the gardeners to a sunbed! 😂 Read less