Sandy Lane

With the reputation of being the best hotel in Barbados, standards need to be high. They are. Service is excellent and consistently so, but very friendly, from Hakeem on the bar to Caron at the restaurant reception and Maxine serving, along with many many more. Room - clean and high quality and everything just works, which is all you want but can be hard to find. Food is superb - the only time I have ever said that about a hotel in the Caribbean - from breakfast to dinner. Grounds a bit limited in scale but that is simply the geography by the coast. Yes it is expensive, as any top quality hotel where there is a high overhead to produce an excellent offering without compromise. Read less

We have been fortunate enough to stay at Sandy Lane on several occasions, and can't wait for our next visit in April. Having noticed a couple of less than positive postings I wanted to set the record straight. Now of course it is very expensive, and you are paying a premium for exclusivity and elegance as well as quality. So when I read reports that complain about not being served with drinks while wearing shorts on the terrace at 7:30 in the evening, it just feels like people haven't got the point. There are thousand of hotels in the Caribbean where you can lounge around in your beachwear all evening if you want to. Sandy Lane is not one of them. And all the rooms have a beautiful balcony or terrace where you can enjoy your evening cocktails and wear very little at all if you wish to. But I don't pay a premium to be in a cocktail bar before dinner with people in their beachwear and shorts. There, that's got that off my chest ! The idea that maids entered the room when the Do Not Disturb signs were on (it has never happened to us over many visits) is as surprising to me as the idea that people still leave babies asleep and remotely monitored in a hotel where the rooms are no small distance from the bars and restaurants. Surely if you can afford to stay there, a few extra dollars for babysitting services would have prevented any such issue and made for much more relaxing evenings. And if the gentleman who compared the rooms to a "shoe box style Marriott room" could let me know which Marriott he stays at, that would be very helpful as I will certainly pay it a visit. We have received nothing but superb service every visit, from the greetings (always by a member of management) on arrival, to the first nights (always on the deck at Bajan Blue), to the beach service (impeccable) and the Monkey Bar (great staff). Of course the golf is incredible, great caddies and wonderful lunches with one of the best views on the planet. I forgot to take my golf clubs home once, and they shipped them to Florida for me, where I needed them a few months later. So I sat and thought about what we haven't liked, just to be fair. At busy times, the popular area of beach close to the Terrace, gets a little crowded. Some people seem to like that. You just ask to be set up towards one or other end of the beach, where it is much quieter, and it is done. That's it for negatives. Well the cost of course. We prioritise holidays, it's our thing, and we're lucky we can go there, but if you can afford it, and want to be part of the party, don't hesitate. You won't be disappointed if you understand what you are getting into. If you're after a different sort of thing, save your money. There's plenty to choose from in The Caribbean ! Read less