Sandy Lane Hotel

This is a review of the Monkey Club at which we dined last night. We have dined many times at the restaurant’s predecessor - L’Acajou which used to be excellent but had gradually deteriorated. Whilst both the setting and the decor are both excellent ( although you can’t see the sea anymore due to the massive canopy shades in Bajan Blue which completely block any view) the atmosphere and menu seem “confused”. It’s partly a nightclub vibe with a cool DJ but you are dining there with quite a few children because the menu is child-friendly, serving burgers and haddock goujons. I’m not quite sure what clientele the restaurant is trying to attract. I really don’t know why the hotel doesn’t just offer this sort of menu in Bajan Blue and have a more interesting menu in the Monkey Club. As noted above, the menu is very international and child-friendly. Burgers, fish and chips, assorted pasta dishes etc. There were also a number of bland international dishes - chicken Milanese ( with peppercorn sauce!), lamb ragu, various grills and salads. All very boring and no local flavours. The food was average bordering on poor. I had a foie gras terrine which was ok and my husband had a fig and Stilton tart which was so overheated that the cheese was almost liquid. The main courses were worse. I had lobster linguine. The pasta was so overcooked that it was almost “mushy” and my husband’s steak was ok but was served with what tasted like oven chips. The desserts were the worst part of the dinner- we both had the vanilla custard tart with a rhubarb sorbet and rhubarb crisp. Firstly it wasn’t a tart but rather it was a cheesecake with a biscuit crumb base. The rhubarb crisp was soggy and didn’t taste of rhubarb and the sorbet was so frozen you had to chip at it to get a mouthful. We took one mouthful of our dessert and sent it back. Service was average and there seemed to be a lack of communication between the team. 3 times they asked us what wine and water we wanted when we had already ordered. The waitress didn’t bring any bread until we asked but when she did bring it that too was poor - there was a selection of rolls to choose from. We opted for a baguette which was heavy and chewy. Certainly not a baguette and more resembled the type of bread served in BA Club World! All in all a really disappointing visit. I’m really surprised that a hotel of Sandy Lane’s standard can’t offer a decent fine dining experience in addition to its more casual offering that is served in Bajan Blue.

It was great until I got refused service for wearing shorts on a tropical island. Ever since then I’ve been realising just how awful this place is especially for its atrocious price. The service: horrible. The food: inedible. The views and ocean are the only reason to even step near this crime to accommodation. (Btw room cleaning staff are very rude)

We recently returned from a 6-night stay at Sandy Lane, our first venture to Barbados, and were thoroughly impressed with our time there. The resort itself has all the facilities you'd expect of a 5 star hotel, but is really set apart by its wonderful staff. The folks we interacted with were, without exception, great ambassadors of both the island and the resort. The spa and fitness facilities were on par with any such facilities we have encountered at other resorts and the food and beverage options were, although not inexpensive, well above par, even with an island full of above grade restaurants. I did my best to sample every gin on the island and my better half found the rum sours to be without comparison. Entertainment was available every evening and several times during the day, which really provided great opportunities for the guests to intermingle, including a crazy conga line late one evening in the Monkey Bar, a great stop for a last cocktail or two to top off the night. The rooms were large and well maintained, and close to the beach, so in the morning it was easy to roll out of bed and onto the beach, after an initial stop at the Baijan Blue to enjoy breakfast, which was spot on in quality and expansive in offerings. Service on the beach (as well as the one day we spent at the pool) was prompt and food and drinks were above expectations for even these more casual meals. We did not take advantage of any of the golf or tennis facilities, other than a stop at the country club for an afternoon glass of wine, but they looked pristine and should merit any visitor's attention. One opportunity which we'd heartily recommend was the Seaduced shared catamaran trip, not only did we enjoy swimming with the sea turtles, we loved the opportunity to spend the afternoon meeting new people and the 4 person crew were all both professional and friendly, and the food and drink were beyond what was expected based on prior boat trips in other venues. Shout outs to Tony, Josh, Destiny and Dante. Perhaps as curious to us as anything we encountered was the lack of American guests and the lengthy repeat stays from the guests that we spoke to, it not being unusual to find that people had made at least an annual trip to Sandy Lane for several decades. Think that the Irish and British have done a good job at keeping this jewel to themselves! Finally, its impossible to ignore that there is a monetary cost to such a great stay, but can say with some degree of confidence that every dollar was well spent and the final bill didn't subtract a bit from the great time that we had. Highly recommend a trip to Sandy Lane be added to your bucket list!

Room is fabulous . Staff can’t do enough for you. Beach is idyllic with comfortable beds. Tennis courts and padel courts are fantastic . Monkey Club food and service is superb. Breakfast setting is stunning . Spa is magnificent with great massages. Champers and bday cake was a very nice touch too. Room for improvement : Service at pool is sparse . Food quality and service at Bajan Blue at supper time . One of our favourite hotels in the world along with Belmond (ravello ) . It’s a must if one can. Thanks to Sandy Lane yet again (5th stay) for making our 60th bday trip so special .

5 stars all the way! We booked the restaurant and the ambiance and service was extremely good. The food was amazing, the best on the island. There was so much choice. We would definitely recommend, such a beautiful place. We will be back for sure!