Wyndham Grand Barbados Sam Lords Castle All-inclusive Resort

When my best friend and I booked our island getaway (4/2/24 – 4/5/24) to Barbados at a recently opened resort, we assumed we would be in for a treat. We thought we would leave the resort and island feeling refreshed and restored. Turns out, we were wrong! Let’s start from the beginning… Upon arrival/check-in, my friend (who made the booking) had her information listed incorrectly on the reservation, from her address to the card on file, so she had to manually write out the correct information. While other folks who were checking in were asked if they wanted champagne or rum punch, we were just given the champagne, no choice. We brushed that off because we were just excited to be on vacation. Also while checking in, another member of the staff got a phone call from a guest about the water not working well in his room. She told him maintenance was looking into it. We’ll come back to that issue. The man who checked us in walked us and our luggage up to our room, and then came inside, which felt weird. He offered to walk us downstairs minutes before the lunch buffet closed. We politely declined. As we looked around, we noticed some crumbs on the table in our room, as well as a piece of a grape. Moments later a cleaning lady waltzed right in our room – no knocking! Then apologized after saying she thought we checked out already. Again, weird. Let’s talk water! My friend eventually got a WhatsApp message from the hotel that first night saying there was an issue with low water pressure on our floor and some others at the resort. My friend kept calling back for updates about the situation, as it wasn’t just low water pressure: we had no water at all. The front desk told her that night and in the morning that someone would call her back to let her know about accommodations (ya know, to shower, go to the bathroom, etc.) but said calls never came. When we got up the next morning, it still wasn’t resolved. The water was restored when we returned from the beach that afternoon, but my friend never got an update via WhatsApp, or any platform. Staff wasn’t helpful in that case, and in general, wasn’t friendly. More than half the time we felt like we were annoying them when we asked for food, drinks, or anything hotel guests ask hotel staff for. It shouldn’t be like that. Another unfortunate situation this trip was alarms going off in our building. The first happened our final night shortly before seven, just as we finished getting ready for our dinner reservation. The second went off around 2:45am. A cherry on the top of what was a very mediocre island getaway. When we checked out, we weren’t even asked “how was your stay?” – that is a literal first in my time staying somewhere. We talked to a fellow tourist at a souvenir shop in the airport (to no surprise the three staff talking in the store entrance did not greet us as we entered) about her experience at the Sandals resort on the other side of the island, and she also said staff was often not hospitable. My friend called Wyndham corporate when we returned stateside, and it was unhelpful. Told her something to the effect of each property is managed independently and that she would need to file her complaint with the same resort that did not care about us when we were there. Will not return to Barbados, and will not stay at a Wyndham resort again. Read less

We stayed a week and really enjoyed our stay. The room was a great size, clean and with excellent wi fi. The bathroom was spacious and the toiletries were Molton Brown, full size and included body lotion. The food at the buffet was plentiful, fresh and offered plenty of choice. Breakfast particularly was excellent, from omelettes and eggs to order, fresh fruit and help yourself mimosas. In the Buffet Area there is also a Coffee Counter offering barista style coffee, cakes and savoury snacks all day. The Castle View restaurant was excellent and food at the pool offered a good variety, including jerk chicken and burgers. The staff were really helpful in us trying to make the side salads a "main' by adding shrimp and chicken from other dishes! There were no queues at the bar and drinks, generally, were premium labels. Surprisingly for an All Inclusive the wine was great. There was a good selection of cocktails. All the staff we encountered were so friendly and keen to help. On a few days they bought round ice lollies and choc ices by the pool. The setting was lovely. The hotel offers a free shuttle bus to Oistins on a Friday, and had buses to other places too which was really handy. Reviews on Tripadvisor are mixed. The hotel is currently undergoing a soft opening, some staff are still learning the ropes and not all facilities are open yet eg the gym. From time to time there are sudden influxes of cruise ship guests staying one night which can lead to a bit of pressure. It just takes a bit of patience and courtesy from guests to get the best out of the stay. Read less

Like most people I have a mixed view on this hotel. We stayed 4 nights of a 10 day holiday for my husbands 60th and I’m so glad we were not stuck in this random grand hotel for the whole trip. It is so grand and we loved the history to the place which could be more of a feature. Access to a beach was so nice, really lovely pools, good entertainment, cocktails, omelettes were nice, bedrooms were spacious and well kitted out bathroom. However, we had so many issues which we had to complain about - late luggage arrival to our room, air conditioning not working properly, dirty rooms not made up twice, dirty cold sticky floors, food options were reasonable and they really do try on the entertainment side! Unfortunately we felt the staff were not attentive at all, the whole place had a laid back lazy attitude and it lacked a good housekeeping system. Up side my husband really enjoyed the meals at the gourmet restaurant. I want to give a thanks to Rahul who was so helpful and my men who looked after us at the Pool side - and Elroy, Russell on the beach was the best! and soon to be employed (I hope) Tremaine. I may be back to see how the improvements play out! Read less

This is a beautiful resort, I did not want to leave! I stayed in the zephyr suite and it was very nice, however, the website says that both balconies have ocean views, whereas only one balcony had this, and it was a partial ocean view. The website should be clearer, because I thought I was paying extra for that view. Additionally, the balcony floors and the furniture were not cleaned. I had to put down a towel to lay on the love seat outside, and use my outdoor slippers. I had issues with the air conditioner but I figured out that there are light switches to turn them on and off. I could’ve called the staff about it and I’m sure they would’ve taken care of it, but I’m not fussy like that. Other than that, the room was perfect. Very comfortable bed. I’m a terrible sleeper and I slept through the night each night. The spa tub was everything. I bathed in it every night. Some people complained that the toilet areas smell bad, which is true if you leave the door closed. Once you air it out, it’s perfectly fine. I loved the pool, and the beach. I walked down to the area where it was safe to swim and it was very nice. I loved the beach trees and the foliage and the nooks/caves to be explored! Management should ensure that day beds and lounge chairs are cleaned every night though, and have more staff working in the pool area so that drinks can come faster. There’s also no reason why a bar shouldn’t be set up on the beach. The castle was cool to look at, but the hotel should really do something with it. After all, it’s named after it! I wanted to look inside so bad. I suggest they reconstruct it with historical accuracy, to look like how it did when Sam Lord lived there, and make it like a museum. That would be awesome. I enjoyed the food, but menus at the non-buffet restaurants should have a few more options, and should have different options every few days. The sushi at the buffet was soooo delicious and fresh. I am very happy with the amount of healthy, fresh options available. Dinner at the Sam lord restaurant was delicious and the service was top notch. Julissa was my server both days I ate there and she was just so lovely and you could tell she had a lot of experience and exceptional training in hospitality. I notice that a lot of these reviews blame the staff for non-optimal service, however every single staff member I encountered was warm and welcoming. I did notice that some staff members were confused about what to do at certain points, or did not have adequate knowledge of, say, how to work the cooling system. It occurred twice at two different bars where I ordered a classic drink and they were missing an ingredient: rum bar was missing mint for mojitos, and pool bar was missing olives for martinis. Staff members were kind enough to go find the ingredients to make the drinks, but management is responsible for making sure that all kitchens and bars are fully stocked every day. This is a management issue, not the staff’s fault. The staff did the very best they could with the tools and information they had every time there was an issue. I felt very taken care of. Overall, it was a beautiful relaxing getaway. I would give 4.5 stars instead of 4 if I could! Read less