Sandals Royal Barbados All Inclusive - Couples Only

This was my favorite Sandals resort so far. The service was excellent (as always), the food was delicious (as always!), the white sand beach was amazing. Even though it's a public beach, it never seemed too crowded and felt private when you were in the water. The 2 artificial reefs/breakwater were relatively shallow and with a mask and snorkel I was able to see a lot of fish. There were usually pool towels to be found, which hasn't always been our experience! The bartenders were excellent. I had the best massage at Red Lane Spa, and didn't feel pressured to buy additional products. Our room was upgraded as the one we picked wasn't available; the room was AMAZING. Our butlers Princess, Shameka and Latrell were awesome, they made our dinner reservations and got us into the restaurants we picked. They were responsive but not intrusive. They kept our coolers stocked by the beach and had our favorite snacks waiting in our room in the afternoon. The New Years Eve party was great and had amazing fireworks over the beach. I felt very safe going on runs alone outside the resort into St. Lawrence Gap and along the road to Rockley Beach. Overall, just a fantastic island, resort and people. We definitely plan to go back!

We just got back from the most amazing holiday at Sandals Barbados, where we spent Christmas and New Year's in room 9130. I can't say enough about the scuba diving - it was absolutely incredible! The PADI dive crew (Ryan, Zane, Matthew, Robert, Michael, Nicky, Ken, Shaun, and Lissa) made every dive special. You guys seriously rock! Your fun energy and professionalism are a huge part of why we keep coming back. Our room was perfect - couldn't have asked for better. And the food? Wow! We were blown away by every meal. George at the bar deserves a special shoutout for keeping us happy with fantastic drinks throughout our stay. Big thanks to Adrian in booking who helped make everything so smooth. We had such an amazing time that we've already booked for next year! If you're thinking about staying at Sandals Barbados, just do it! Whether you're into diving like us or just want to relax in paradise, you won't regret it. The whole experience was just perfect - from the amazing staff to the beautiful resort itself. Can't wait to go back!

We booked a stay with 5 rooms for 10 guests for my husband and my 40th birthday celebration. When 3 of the 5 checked in, 2 at Royal and 1 at "regular" Sandals, we were told the room category we had booked was unavailable due to maintenance and were moved to "a lovely new building". This building was as far as one could get from all of the amenities at the resort, had no oceanview (which we had paid for), and backed up to homes directly on the opposite wall from the resort. There were multiple dogs barking at all hours. When they explained we would be moved to a different room category, we asked for spa credit for each room to have a couples' massage and a refund of our room cost difference. This was agreed to in writing by the hotel sales staff. Every morning we tried to go to the main pool, but every single seat was reserved. The signs indicate that any towel still on a chair at 7am would be removed. We went to the pool at 7 and 7:15 and did not have space to sit any of the 5 days. One evening we wanted to go off property. The hotel helped to book a shuttle service. The driver called someone to "meet us" when we arrived, who then sneakily introduced us to someone who charged my friends $50 to touch a monkey and did not tell them until afterwards. Then, our "hostess" shuttled us to a restaurant where there was no price on the menu for any of the food and struggled to tell us exactly how much our meal was going to cost. It was very clearly a setup that the driver was surely being paid a "finders fee" on. We booked our massages, had them, and told the spa staff that there should be a full credit on our account for the service. They did not see this credit and said the front desk would handle it. We immediately contacted our travel agent on our behalf and she began attempting to have any charges waived. The hotel was unresponsive and finally stated everything would need to be handled at check out. Well, our check out was at 5am, where I was given a bill of $244 for the massages. When I asked to speak to a manager I was told there was none on duty. Not only should we have not been charged $244 we should have also been refunded roughly $300 for the room discrepancy. It has been 7 weeks since returning and despite ongoing attempts there has been $0 refunded for our stay. In addition to ALL OF THIS, the staff at the property was roughly 10% kind, 90% bothered to help. This is NOT a 4 star resort.

Note: The first 2 days of this stay were a part of our free (prepaid) week. Although Sandals does commit to keeping you in the room category you normally book, be prepared to be in the most unfavourable room at that level. At Royal Barbados this meant we were in the St Lawrence building. More on that below if you’re interested. This is the largest Sandals property we have stayed in. Technically it is 2 properties however there is no real separation to differentiate between them and guests are free to access both. The property feels huge but there are very many small and intimate lounging and gathering areas so whether you want a lively party atmosphere, a quiet escape, or both, you can get what you want in one stay. TL/DR Pros - Loads of amenities, restaurants, bars, pools, and activities. Yes there are a couple of pools and beach locations where towels and chairs are hard to find. But only steps away there is more sand and another pool. - Lovers Lane. The bowling alley was a unique and fun way to spend time and the beer bar is a great place to hang out. - Piano bar! I love the piano bar and was so happy to find one here when so many of the Sandals locations don’t have them anymore. - Heart & Sol, Greenhouse. These restaurants offer fresh and healthy choices different than the standard Sandals restaurants. - Rooftop pool and bar. Amazing views while you swim, hot tub or enjoy a cocktail. - Swim-out room in the Loggerhead building was divine. Set back and enclosed by fencing and greenery so loads of privacy. - Staff. As always, Sandals staff are excellent. We never waited more than 10 minutes to get into a restaurant and bar service was quick and polite. Cons - Confusion at which resort you are on. The Sandals transfer took us to wrong lobby so checkin was complicated because apparently reservations on one side is not able to access the other. Staying at Royal we were only given a restaurant and event list for that property so although we could access both we didn’t have information for the other side. Also, calling the club lounge we were told we called the wrong one even though we simply pressed the Club button on the room phone. - Lack of communication. We intentionally booked to switch rooms halfway through our stay. Spent most of the swap day managing this and alternately trying to explain to housekeeping why we were still in the room and trying to get answers to where we were supposed to go and when. Takeaway: don’t change rooms if you don’t need to. - Buildings on the furthest edge of the property are directly next to residential homes. In our case our stay in the St Lawrence building resulted in being woken by the neighbours barking dogs. A definite drawback of placing a guest rooms in that location as opposed to a maintenance or storage facility. - The St Lawrence Building is under repair. It is not even shown on the online resort map (see photo). This is where we our free room was located. The rooms on either side were un

The property is beautiful! Large and spacious and easy access to the sister property next door. White Sand Beach was perfect. Weather was outstanding. Cool breeze kept it comfortable. Went on a snorkeling trip which was included and I highly recommend it. Quick and easy. Two shipwrecks just off the coast and the water was clear and the fish were plentiful! There were challenges with getting restuarant reservations. Locked out for most of the week even upon arrival. Evening entertainment was good - lots of fun. Day activities were a bit light and not as organized.

This resort is beautiful. It is hard to differentiate between the two Sandals resorts as you walk the grounds. The beach is simply awesome. The restaurants met my expectations, and staff were welcoming and helpful. The room temperature had a default setting at 72 degrees and that was too warm for us. Eventually this was rectified on our last night. The nightly entertainment wasn't great as compared to Antigua. That said, this is a top-notch resort with lots to do and see. This resort has a bowling alley which was unique and fun. We thoroughly enjoyed our Sandals vacation and would recommend this resort. It is a great environment to get away from timelines and daily chores and simply be thoroughly pampered. Great environment to reconnect and spend meaningful time with my spouse.