Sandals Royal Barbados
Boarding the flight was easy, we were called in number order to maintain distance. Everyone wore masks unless eating or drinking and people kept to their seats during the flight. Time flew by (pardon the pun) and we were soon hitting the tarmac of Barbados and the warm sun was on our faces. A bit of a queue with having to check PCR tests and have temperatures taken and given forms to complete whilst in resort but it wasn’t too long before we were at Sandals (30 minutes car service). We arrived at the Royal by surprise as we were upgraded due to most parts of Sandals Barbados rooms not being open for use. We received a lovely welcome and were then taken into club lounge to cool down with a glass of fizz. Shamara showed us to our South Seas Club level room located near the club lounge. The room had been cleaned and sealed off to show no one had entered since the clean. Lovely bright rooms with massive shower and bathroom area and an outside tranquillity tub. We unpacked, freshened up and headed out for a cocktail at the sky lounge followed by dinner at the Indian Bombay Club restaurant, this was our first experience of an Indian at Sandals but very nice it was too, loved the butter chicken dish and poppadum’s and dips as a side.
We felt completely safe during our stay as the cleanliness was impeccable and staff wore masks throughout our stay. Every time you left an area it was thoroughly cleaned down, we were free to use all the facilities of the resort and once you had a 2nd Covid test either by the ministry (taxi ride at own cost) or a test in resort (at your own cost) you could then venture out of resort if negative. There was a bit of a mix up with resort tests at first due to a backlog but finally after a few days we could leave the resort and go scuba diving. Dive boat is approx. 1/2 hour from the hotel by van and then only 15 mins or so by boat to the various dive sites. We were gutted not to see Seahorses as everyone else seemed to but we were pleasantly surprised by the abundance of reef fish on our dives, on some it was like an aquarium and a lot more than I remember when we dived Barbados years ago.
All the bars & restaurants were open and you could use all the facilities in the resort and move around freely. You do not have to wear masks anywhere apart from in the resort shop but staff wore them always around resort.
Restaurants - Chi was a new concept to us too with a mix of Chinese, Thai and Vietnamese food, the Pad Thai was amazing but such a HUGE plate full I couldn’t eat it all, I also had the ribs as a starter which was a huge portion too (but lovely). Butch’s steakhouse is always our favourite as the steaks are to die for. I also love the shrimp cocktail and the soups. The Manager was amazing and so friendly and we received a great service from Latoyah. We ate here 3 times as we loved It so much as all the steaks were to die for. American Tavern was great for breakfast and we loved the bottomless Mimosa’s on Dean's birthday or on any other day to be fair but the full cooked breakfast was great too but there was lots of options to choose from. Deano’s Chilli Pizza was amazing for an alternative lunch time option and the Jerk shack is worth a try too (just be careful how hot you go). Our favourite lunch spot was Neptune's right on the beachfront, one of my favourite times of the day just watching the world go by with magnificent ocean views and a cocktail or glass of wine and the steak sandwich is delicious.
Loved both the pools for different reasons, there is a quiet one at the South Seas which when we just wanted to flop and laze it wasn’t far to walk from our room and it also had a pool bar where staff were so friendly and constantly on the ball with refreshing our drinks without even asking (that’s service for you) the infinity pool had a lively vibe and beautiful views of the ocean with a bar only a few steps out of the pool. Cocktails were all amazing, they sometimes had quizzes at South seas and games and DJ some afternoons at the infinity there are also many other pools.
There was nightly entertainment such as DJ, live bands, silent disco and various entertainment throughout the day with a daily activity poster put up every day but it was quieter than usual due to Covid.
Overall A fab holiday and I would highly recommend Sandals in Barbados, beautiful gardens, grounds and pools, very friendly staff, great food and cocktails with a great selection of top shelf spirits. Loved the Mimosa, Mudslide and Margherita but beware of having Gin & Tonic they were so strong. Great bonus at this resort is the sky bar with lovely views over the resort & island. The bowling alley was a bonus too and even better that I beat dean a few times. So, we had a few firsts at sandals with the sky bar, bowling alley, Indian & Chi restaurants and we would return to this resort again one day.
The resort was a lot quieter than usual but we got great service so it didn’t affect our holiday at all travelling during COVID times as it was so lovely to finally get away.
My top tips take your COVID test with the ministry rather than pay the expensive $150 in resort as it was no quicker. Take time to make friends with the staff. Try the fish & chips at the Merry Monkey and have a friendly chat with Jack the Manager. You must have a steak at Butches and try their wonderful Soups or Shrimp cocktail, I can’t choose as they are all nice. Ask for Latoyah and say Hi from me she is so friendly and happy all the time. Try out the bowling alley. Go diving as the facilities on board were great as always with Sandals and staff friendly too.
It was great to finally get to visit Sandals in Barbados and I would return one day in the future and despite COVID and it being quieter it was nice and relaxing and just what we needed after the stress of the past few months.