The Sands Barbados All Inclusive

Stayed at The Sands for 12 nights in March. Arrival - Hotel entrance and lobby not as grand as many other hotels but it’s what’s behind that really matters. Was greeted with a rum punch and booked in with the lovely Emerson. Check in efficient and we were quickly shown to our room. We had requested a ground floor room which we got. Room - Our room was ample for what we needed. Always fresh towels and tea/coffee/biscuits replenished when requested. Bathroom a bit dated but okay. Patio doors out to gardens/pool. Awoke every morning around 3.25 by the resident cockerel! It became a bit of an early alarm clock 🤣. Bed comfortable and air conditioning very welcoming. There was a television, fridge (with a jug a water) ironing board/iron, wardrobe with a few hangers and a free safe. Pool/beach - We did not use the pool so cannot comment. Spent most of our days at the beach. Beach when we arrived early March was pristine, talc like sand and turquoise waters. The second week unfortunately had an influx of sargassum seaweed. Absolutely no fault of the hotel just an act of nature, unfortunately some guests seemed to give hotel management a hard time regarding this, really unfair!! Drinks service at the beach was great as were the beach boys. Yes it is a marathon at 7am to reserve your bed but hey if you can’t beat them, join them I say 🤣. Loved watching the staff interact with the guests playing cricket on the beach, great fun. We did also snorkel here, fish on the nearby reefs. Be careful of the strong currents when doing so. Water warm and beautifully clear. Restaurants/Food/Drinks - We were unsure of how the booking of slots would go before we went. It actually went really well. We mostly ate in On the Water. Food including breakfast, lunch and dinner was lovely, a la carte we loved. Food excellently presented and very tasty 👏. Portion sizes just right for me. Wine was good, better than expected, cocktails lovely. Service was excellent. Always seated promptly. Shout out to all the staff we interacted with but big shouts to Sanchez, lovely girl, follow your dreams😍👏 , Rhodesia, keep smiling 😍👏 and David on the barbecue👏 Thank you 🤩 🙏 We did eat at The Noir once during our stay, lovely food and again well presented and tasty. However we felt the food at-the main restaurant a la carte was just as good so cancelled our second booking. Staff/entertainment - All staff from cleaners, gardeners, security, bar, waitresses, beach, front of house, what a great bunch of people. So welcoming and friendly, nothing too much trouble. Well done all and thank you all. Entertainment was live music at lunch time and evenings, there was rum tasting, quizzes etc , something on everyday. We did the quiz a few times and was rubbish at the flags (swot up on American/Caribbean flags if from Europe) we got 5/30 🤣 but the music one we won jointly with 25/26 “The good, the bad and the sloth”. Great fun. You know who you are losing just that 1 point 🤣 Trips - We booked our trips through Emerson on reception. We did a private island tour, snorkelling with turtles ( although no turtles playing that day) saw stingrays etc and also did the safari tour ( bumpy, bumpy, safari) this was our favourite, great fun 🤩 There is a supermarket at the roadside of the hotel entrance however if you turn left around 20 metres down the road there is a far cheaper one for everyday essentials. All and all a great wee hotel, thank you all 🇧🇧 and to new friends Ross and Charlotte x Best Wishes Sharon, Andy & Ronnie 🦥 x

Great Little hotel which has been recently refreshed. You will read negative reviews, but I can only share my own experiences. I cannot imagine needing more food. I just got back 2kg heavier after a week. The portions are modest, but it is well presented fine dining, mostly a la carte, not your pile it high buffet. if you are morbidly obese and want to stay that way, there is the addition of the all day burger grill should you want 5+ meals a day. The food at the grill is also excellent as are the cocktails. Your all inclusive ticket includes one trip to Noir their rooftop restaurant, where there is a real focus on service. The rooms are spacious, clean and modern. This hotel is on the south of the island and there is a reef, so the water sports are limited to paddle boards and kayaks. You can do a day swap for free with mango bay, who have a collection of Hobycats, which the staff were happy to arrange. The reef provides good surf, but there is a seaweed problem during Neap tides, as the southerly wind blows it in and the tide is too weak to take it out again. Its also not that easy to walk along the beach as the front is obscured by rocks and properties to the shoreline. My experience of the staff, is all were helpful friendly and keen to do anything you asked. The entertainment was superb, some talented performers. We found plenty of sunbeds and the hotel operates a no-reserve policy, which they will enforce if you ask. There are bus stops going in both directions along the coast road and most charge $3.5BDS per trip.

Ignore any negative comments about the staff and hotel ! we have just spent a week at the Sands and the staff couldn’t do enough, they are helpful and always smiling. The food is great, yes it’s not your typical all inclusive buffet but that’s good, it’s quality over quantity, and the queues are not massive! yes you do need to reserve your sunbed early but everyone gets up early anyway. Be prepared to be woken by the cockerel ! Amazing trip and I would recommend it. Room was cleaned every day, we had to do some room swaps as my dad was put in a duplex, but it was sorted very quickly.

We recently spent a week at The Sands prior to a cruise. We arrived with a big party late on a Saturday afternoon. The reception area was packed and the check in process took for ever & didn't seem very organised. We were eventually taken to our room but unfortunately, it wasn't the sea view room we'd booked and had been expecting. We went straight back to reception where the person in charge said it wasn't their fault but they would aim to remedy the problem whilst we had dinner. Fortunately they did & we were taken to a ground floor one bedroom suite with covered terrace,just 20 steps from the beach.we were delighted. The rooms were fairly functional but comfortable & extremely clean. The beach is small & sun umbrellas overlapped each other & it was often hard to find a path to the sea. The sea was rough most days but calmest in the middle of the day. The long thin pool was hugely disappointing, I imagined doing laps in it but only the middle third was deep enough to swim in. The comfortable loungers were " reserved" with towels by 6.30am or even earlier with apparently no hotel policy for stopping this. The restaurant is beautifully placed by the sea but service was haphazard at times & there were often long queues although there appeared to be plenty of free tables. The food was pretty good, we could always find something tasty. We ate in the Noir restaurant one evening where the food was superbly presented & delicious, the service was excellent. I was pleased we were given a late checkout as we weren't due to leave til 4. It was annoying to be told the cases still had to be out by midday for pick up to the port - this was totally wrong, ot was 3pm, & unfortunately, as the same pick up happened every Saturday, I felt I'd been deliberately misinformed by the gaggle of receptionists whose chat I'd disturbed. In general though,the staff were very good , friendly & helpful. We loved Margaret & her pretty dresses, she always looked so smart. I wouldn't have chosen this hotel had it not been part of a package. It was good in parts but we definitely wouldn't go back.

We had a fantastic stay at The Sands. The hotel is beautiful and we were made to feel very welcome. Our room was very spacious and clean, and well equipped with everything you would need. The food was brilliant too in the restaurant. I am a fussy eater however i enjoyed every meal. The hotel staff are very helpful, and i will definitely be returning to The Sands if we were to visit Barbados again. A shout out too to Chad and Antonio, thanks for your help 😊