The Sands Barbados All Inclusive

Happy to say that solo travellers do stay at this hotel. Since I only saw 1 solo travel review on TA before staying at this hotel I wasn't sure what to expect. But I saw families, couples, friends and solo travellers of all ages. Pros: 1) Safe: my first priority is always safety as a female solo traveller. Not once did I feel unsafe at this hotel. 2) Plenty of umbrellas/shade. 3) Bus stop right outside hotel. Okay: 1) Food: was generally okay but the chicken/fish tended to be a little dry. Finally, I would like to highlight and thank the hotel for the room upgrade. I had booked a signature room but ended up receiving a duplex suite! I would recommend this hotel for it's relaxed vibe.

Sands is a great base to explore our new favourite Caribbean island Barbados. Our holiday was made even more enjoyable by the warmth and humour of the Bajian people looking after us. It’s difficult to single out individuals but there are some exceptional people who are a credit to the hotel. Firstly Seth and Ethan who on our first very sunny day found an extra umbrella for us! Tracia one of the excellent managers who was so kind bringing aloe Vera from her home to sooth my prickly heat . Michelle a reception security guard who is always chatty and informative. David hardworking at the the lively pool bar who is very efficient and friendly. ALL the waiting staff are great and incredibly hard working delivering mostly table service. Shamar is outstanding however , he is so professional and absolutely charming. We would like to give special recognition also to Janine,Samara Tiara and Jared who were especially attentive. Krystal always went the extra mile and wrote down some of her favourite destinations for us to visit on our taxi ride around the island . Thanks to her we had a memorable day out and affection for the island . The Sands hotel is lucky to have restaurant managers like Charelle and Monica as well as Cyrilania who are very proactive. The fine dining restaurant Noir is a treat , delicious food and first class drinks served by Dwanne , the maître d' whose name escapes me is excellent and Cassandra very pleasant. Finally It’s definitely worth a trip to the sister hotel at Mango Bay it’s just a bus ride away. You will be be greeted with a smile at lunch by Annette who has a great sense of humour.

First time visiting Barbados and we picked the right hotel,perfect location.We were greeted in reception with a rum cocktail and after a short sign in we were taken to our rooms which were very nice.We booked standard rooms but we had a side sea view,full kitchen and lounge dining area with the bedroom and bathroom upstairs.All the staff during our stay were amazing,very friendly and all wanted to make sure you had a nice time.Most days we went to the beach with staff setting up sun beds and parasols for you.We booked a island tour via reception with a guy called Antonio.5 hours showing us all the places of interest.This is a must if you want to see the island,He was brilliant and funny and told us all about the history and culture of the island.I would recommend this hotel to anyone that wants to visit Barbados.

OVERALL: 2.75/5 Hi all, before my trip, I was constantly checking reviews of this hotel so I feel like I need to add in a VERY honest review for The Sands. Husband and I have done all-inclusive all over the world and ave never had any issues. I think this hotel SHOULD NOT be considered all-inclusive. SO let's start here: Food- Breakfast wasn't as huge as the larger resorts but it worked. I would give it a solid 8/10. Lunch and Dinner disappointed- our first dinner was a-la-cart- and believe the reviews, the portions were TIINY for both the salad and mains. The next day, buffet lunch and dinner had different issues- you had the quantity for sure, but felt like cafeteria food. NOIR dinner was what we expected for our food- quality and service were great. Bar food was available until 4pm- and was decent. Food options in Barbados are MUCH better- even walking distance from the hotel. Overall, this was the poorest food quality I have had in over 20 years. Food courts and fast food options have never disappointed. Lunch and dinner I would put at a 4/10 Service- it was either a 10 /10 or a 4/10. Nobody was downright rude (mosty not), however it was either very good (dinner and bar) or just neutral (sometimes servers wouldn't even greet you). During breakfast or lunch, unfortunately to say, the female servers were clearly not happy to be there- and even had issues with each other- constantly talking about each other. At one point (day 1)I went to order my bar food and even had eyes rolled at me for ordering. In the evening, I could not tip the servers enough. The manager in the evening was especially was AMAZING. Again, any restaurant off the resort will provide you much better service Bar- though it was small- services was always perfect and cocktails are some of the best I have had. Probably made up for everything else Room- We were upgraded to a room which was beautiful- very big but very nice. Entertainment- meh. I think there are some fantastic entertainers on the island. These ones were okay. The vibe just wasn't there (maybe because of age of people staying here). NO entertainment through the day (unlike other all-inclusive). One night the entertainment started 40 mins late and only flagged because we asked- otherwise nobody was paying attention. Good thing is St. Lawrence gap is close- lots of entertainment there! Location- EXCELLENT Check in- our check in was just under 1 hour late (50 mins?). By the 3rd time checking with front desk, I was told it was because we got an upgrade? While it was appreciated, a little communication would have been helpful. At one point there was nobody at the desk and I expressed my concern to a bell boy about us being tired and got a VERY VERY rude comment back. He backtracked immediately so I didn't complain. It is clear this hotel wasn't meant to be an all-inclusive (huge kitchens in room). The restaurant could pass for breakfast or lunch but feels like a summer camp setup, the services is more m

Have just returned from 2 weeks at thus hotel as a party of 5 adults, one of them elderly and a vegan due to medical issues. We had booked 3 rooms and on arrival we had rooms in each of the blocks which was not ideal. Check-in just stated that nothing else was available and were fairly dismissive, although they did say to go back the following day to see what rooms were available. The rooms were nice, clean, and large but only had AC in the bedroom, which meant it was hard to be anywhere but the bedroom due to the heat and humidity. My room never got cleaned before 3 pm, and one day, they turned up at 7 pm to clean. One day, I was left without toilet paper and had to ask for the room to be swept after they had been in because they didn't seem to do it. The floors seemed to be missed on most days, and if there was a cup that was not in the sink, it was left where it was, and no new clean cup provided. I had to request that sheets were changed after the 1st week. They did provide tea and coffee and biscuits for the room, along with a fridge with a small freezer, hob, and kettle. However, there was no cutlery or crockery apart from 2 cups and 2 glasses. The pool was nice but needed cleaning more often than it was, but it was still usable. Unless you got up early each day, by 6.30 am, there was a limited chance of getting a sun bed by the pool as people came and put their towels down and disappeared for some hours. There are plenty of umbrellas, and staff will move them if required. There are plenty of sun beds on the beach and a very nice bay to swim in but can get a little rough at high tide. Also, there was sea**** on several days, which was eventually removed by the government agency. The food was nice and there was some variety for most of our party, however the vegan person in our party often ate out for dinner due to the lack of options at the hotel. We had several conversations regarding this, but no progress was made. The snack bar menu is available from 10 am until 4 pm each day, which was a problem when returning from a trip and dinner was not available until 7 pm. The food presentation was very good and some portions were a little small. The service was also slow with a 3 course meal taking up to 2.5 hours to get through. There were several drinks unavailable in the first week due to the bar not having the relevant stock, which was disappointing. Bar staff worked hard and did their best with what they had. Some of the managers here are very unprofessional and speak to staff in a derogatory and disrespectful manner, and I was absolutely horrified to learn that is the norm here. One of the managers stated that she was 'over us and no longer cared' when we changed the number of seats required for breakfast. They seemed to forget that we were paying guests, not just someone they had met outside. I'm not surprised that staff struggle to enjoy their jobs when they are treated so badly. Evening entertainment was mediocre at best with

Great hotel great food , the only downside I found was this guy Roger on the beach He claims to be a physiotherapist but is not listed on the Barbados register He claims to be the hotel physio and asks you to step onto the beach for a quick look, he then starts massaging and puts oil on your back and then demands cash of 250 dollars for that session and says he will return for three more He is aggressive and very in your face until you pay him, generally prays on older people

Had a great visit , I have no complaints , food and drinks were good, and the staff were awesome right from the front reception,to the bartenders , restaurant and security. We usually stay with our Bajan friends down the road from here but booked this on a whim and have no regrets. Would definitely come back !

First the positives, the location on the beach front is lovely, there are turtles in the bay and you can just go out and snorkel with them, the breakfast buffet is good and some of the staff went out of their way to be helpful, notably Cet (shorter for a name I cannot pronounce), he was one of the managers and was very friendly and helpful. Raquel in the restaurant was lovely too. Lots of nice staff but sorry can’t remember names. The rooms are kept clean every day. We had booked with Tui and had paid a considerable amount extra (£2000 difference) for a sea view 2 bedroom suite, however when shown to our room it was on the ground floor (labelled as an ocean front room) all we could see was trees not even a grimmer of sea in sight. The first manager I spoke to was very off and she said they were fully booked but come in 2 days and they ‘might’ be able to do something. She was not even apologetic, in fact told us this was an upgrade as sea views are usually only from the side of a balcony! This was not what I paid for but I accepted that this was a communication problem between Tui and the hotel so I spoke with the rep. She said she would talk with the hotel and get back to me. Got a text later that day with same outcome. So I said ok then we want the cost of sea view refunded! However, when Cet was on duty the next day everything changed. I presume pressure was brought to bear by Tui but nevertheless what a different attitude he offered to show me an alternative room and said the staff would move our things if we wanted to move. The new room was exactly what we had paid for a full sea view ( not side sea view or trees! ). So to sum up on this front some staff need to improve their customer service skills and take a leaf out of Cet’s book, especially Junior in the restaurant who looks elsewhere while talking to you and is quite rude! The main negative however is the quality of the food which I have seen mentioned as OTW and fantastic! This was certainly not the case when we were there in March-April 2024. If you don’t like swordfish or chicken then don’t go here. Fish of the day was nearly always swordfish and on the day they said it was kingfish it was almost certainly still swordfish again. On a day they had lamb stew we got excited but it was all huge pieces of bone, fat and gristle. The reason for 4 rating is the positives above and once the room issue was sorted it was only the food that impacted our stay. We had a car so went out to eat several times. Things to do - Animal flower caves at top of island, Oistings and a Silver moon catamaran boat trip for sunset and snorkelling over shipwrecks ( amazing)

average hotel beach with a lot of algae that is not cleaned average service tasty fish If it weren't for the huge amount of algae, the beach would be beautiful it's hard to understand why the beach isn't cleaned In general, I do not recommend the hotel