I'll start this review by saying that I've been to a couple of Sandals resorts and have become a fan of the brand. They do provide a high level of service and value but the Royal Barbados and Barbados resorts fall short of my prior experiences. First, the rooms are nice. We stayed in one of the lagoon rooms on the 2nd story. We had plenty of space (one of the largest rooms we've been in) and a nice balcony. The room was stocked daily with drinks and room service kept it very clean. We did have an overhead shower that was a bit clogged but I'm assuming this was never reported so it never got fixed. The room has two shower heads so this wasn't a big issue. The food at the resort was fantastic. From the wood oven pizza, seafood at Mariners, or a nice Italian dinner at Portofino, everything was prepared very well and you never left a place feeling hungry. In regards to service, this was a very mixed bag. If you were at Royal Barbados around the infinity pool, Akil was extremely helpful and happy to help anyway that he could. We also met Shane-Paul at the members dinner and he couldn't have been more pleasant to chat with. However we had many experiences that were the complete opposite. We didn't receive rude comments but rather we were ignored when trying to initiate a conversation or ask a question. It was a 60% positive/ 40% negative split on the service. One of the major complaints we had was in regards to Soy (sushi). We went around dinner time and had a slight wait which is not a problem given the size of the resort. We were sat down by the hostess then completely ignored. We waited ~5-8 minutes until we asked if we could have menus. From that point, we waited another 10 minutes in which we never received the menu or any further attention. At this point we left and went to another restaurant. Yes, I do acknowledge that that the resort is short staffed (many individuals heard this) and we experienced this at almost all the restaurants waiting for our food, but to be completely ignored is not acceptable. So prepare yourself to wait a bit at restaurants when you go to eat as it does take longer than normal to receive your food. Additionally be aware that this resort continues to have shortages. This is present at the bars and restaurants. There were multiple days when various liquors were available and the one evening for dinner the waitress started off saying 7 things weren't available on the menu. The resort itself was kept in fairly nice condition for a Sandals resort however there are areas where it clearly needs to be cleaned up. I've attached a picture next to the infinity pool where you can see how dirty the building is. If you are a Sandals select member, take advantage of the snorkel trip. You get to see two sites and most likely you'll be able to see sea turtles. People who are posting about the chairs around the pool have clearly not been to a Sandals resort or don't read the signs. All items are cleared around 7 AM and this is when the butlers reserve seats. If you show up around 7:10, you will find a seat and be able to reserve it. It's a busy resort, so don't expect to show up at the infinity pool at 11AM and find an open chair. With all the information I provided above, does this mean you will have a horrible time at this resort? Absolutely not. We enjoyed ourselves and had a nice relaxing vacation. However Sandals claims to be a 5 start resort and this resort is not close to that. It comes very short of the other Sandals resorts that we've experienced. My recommendation would be to try other Sandals resorts before you come here (if at all) as this could deter you from utilizing Sandals as this resort does not provide the same high level you expect.

The service here has been nothing short of terrible. For such a high priced resort, you would think that service would be impeccable. We have had to wait over 20 minutes at an empty bar to be even recognized by the bartenders. I simply called for a packet of mustard to our room, which took well over an hour to not even get here. The service is not worth the money that you pay, the food is not good, and the staff is terrible. I would not recommend coming to or staying at this resort.

Hubbie and I spent 3 nights for our 29th . I must say service and food impeccable. We want to say big thank you to the Sandals staff, especially our butlers Janelle and Pierre. Very attentive,professional and caring. They made our time there very special. The beach very clean, entertainment was very engaging and fun. The resort all together is definitely top class 5 star. I would visit again and I definitely recommend this resort!

Visited in December 2023, with a group of 30+ for a friends birthday. Beautiful room, grounds and beach. The events that were planned by my my friends wife were awesome. The meet and greet, the photo shoot, the beach games, golfing, rum tour and the Birthday party and the food that was served was spectacular. After that, all was down hill and fast. Room service-one night, order a salad and they forgot to bring the dressing. 2nd night they brought the dressing and no salad. Neither time did they return to correct the order. The BLT that was ordered came with Bacon Bits. Crumbled bacon, on slice. HORRIBLE! Only reason for ordering room service was that every restaurant was fully booked. (according to them). But i seen at least 10 I repeat 10 empty tables. Even after waiting for at least 30min, only 1 couple, 2 people came in and they still wouldn't seat us. On our last night we received a call asking if we needed our fridge restocked. Duh!, we've been here 6 days, leaving at 5am in the morning and you call us at 9pm. Never again, NEVER AGAIN. I won't go into how our refrigerator was leaking water and all the did was come in and pick up the towel that we placed over the puddle of water. NOPE, Never Again

Staying at Sandals in Barbados is getting 2 resorts for the price of one! I loved it! We had a swim up pool looking out to the infinity pool across the way. Every part of both resorts was breathtaking. The staff are slower because they are on island time and I understand that. We went with a group of 4 couples. The staff are nice and always greet you in passing. The island is stunning with so much to do…party all night or stay in your room. The ocean was right near our room. The food was good, my favorite was Chi Asian Fusion. The drinks were flowing and everyone seemed so happy and relaxed.I highly recommend this resort. The only reason I rated the room 4 stars is because of the humidity and damp smell. The locals said they’ve never had this much humidity before.

My husband and I just got back from here Staff are cold, rude and not very nice. They are very slow and trying to get any help is useless. The room decor was nice but the maid service was horrible. Our room was only cleaned twice in 5 days. Begged for towels and tissue repeatedly and it would take hours to receive. No type of entertainment on the resort. Checking in was a nightmare. Luggage was to be taken to our room and it wasn’t there when we finally got to the room. We waited about an our and then went back downstairs to check and as soon as the elevator opened on the first floor our luggage was sitting in the middle of the floor unattended. We were about to get our luggage when the guy walked up and we said this is our luggage why is it in the middle of the hallway. No explanation given. Resort is nice and food was good but slow in getting. Not worth money you pay. Purchaser beware!

A lovely resort with great amenities. The only downside for me was that the resort has way too much going on, and lacks the open spaces I have seen at other Sandals resorts, it feels a touch cramped. If you do go, be sure to find Kemalli down on the beach, and ask him to make you his signature Joy Boy Special cocktail. This young man can make a fantastic cocktail and that is fact. He is also an incredibly friendly and positive young man and a credit to the resort.

My husband and I went in October for our honeymoon and it was the best time. The service, hotel room, resort activities and off resort excursions were fantastic. We did the electric bike tour and catamaran with snorkeling excursions, and highly recommend both. Everyone was so friendly and ready to help. The 1 thing I do recomend is reserving your spots to dine as soon as you check in. We were able to get 2/3 places we wanted and we reserved the first night. We were okay with missing the 3rd as there are other great options and we didn't even have enough time to explore all the options. What a great reason to go back! :)

Unable to book any restaurants at a sensible time, balcony unusable due to stench of drains, broken lifts with door half open and no safety or signage, long waits for tables as half of them not being used, and no interest from staff despite several requests. This was our third sandals in 12 months ( previous two not much better). THERE IS NO CUSTOMER CARE. - pick a smaller hotel if you want quality service.

We loved our experience here! Sandals know how to do international travel correctly! There was pretty much always something fun to do, and the plant life on resort was AMAZING. Some advice would be to be intentional about when you eat and drink because things close slightly early or you may need a reservation.

Recently stayed in Swim up butler suite and it was amazing! All the staff are friendly and helpful. The food was amazing, car service was timely, excursions were great. I have zero complaints. Our butlers Nadia, Shaq, and Tre I highly recommend you request them. They had warm baths ready for us without asking, walked us to our reservations, brought us over several drinks to our swim up making things so simple and relaxing for us. Having a butler made a huge difference to our stay in addition to the swim up pool having the personal space was nice. I would go back for sure!

Great resort. Lots of food choices. A nice bowling alley. Nice pools and hot tubs, an excellent spa. There isn't a need for Butler Elite but if you do, ask for the lady Butlers.

Great hotel, fabulous staff, the food is amazing. My room was beautiful and the view was unreal. The service is wonderful and there is plenty of selection from pools to restaurants. One of the best vacations I have had and I can’t wait to go back. Special thanks to Lache, Alysia, Florian and Mr. Lucky.

Our trip was okay, but it's hard not to compare to other Sandals experiences. We had previously traveled to Sandals Halcyon which was thankfully our first and best Sandals experience. When we arrived at Royal Barbados we were told to sit in the lobby and wait for our butler which meant sitting in 90 weather waiting for someone to show up and walk you around the resort. In St. Lucia we were taken into an air-conditioned lounge, given a drink, and were even sang a welcome song! Our butlers in Barbados were awful until after I spoke up about our disappointment. Waking up on our first full day we were out of water and called the butler and asked if we could get more. It took OVER 3 hours to get any waters. If they were out or something they could have informed us. We are very understanding people and would have accepted it and went to a restaurant to get water. The gym was also out of water and towels, so we had to call the butler again and ask him to bring us waters to the gym. The communication between butlers didn't exist. The morning butler told us our dinner was at 6pm so we called the night butler and told her we were waiting on her. After a while we went to the restaurant waited longer and decided to tell them we were there for our reservation. If you have experienced the "butler experience" at Sandals, you know they can just walk you in sit you down and get your meals started. The nighttime butler showed up after we sat down and received drinks from the restaurant staff. We finally met our third butler on day 3 and I kindly shared our feelings about our experience up to that point. From there our butler experience improved and we even had a 4th butler which was not typical. While in Barbados the employees acted as if you were inconveniencing them by existing. It was rather irritating knowing that you paid so much for the experience and then feeling as if you are not wanted there. Our best bartender ended up getting tipped more than the butlers because she was so kind and on top of everything. Always willing to help when something was needed. Our last day we checked out and headed to Neptunes for a final lunch as our bus to the airport left at 12pm. We got there right around 11am when it was supposed to open and sat with 3 other couples waiting to get lunch. We were all finally seated around 11:15am. We ordered food and waited. It was a fish sandwich and a panini. The other 3 couples had their food and even left before receiving our food. At 11:45am I got up and told her we didn't have time to wait any longer because we had to make it to the bus. We waited just a few more minutes and she handed us the food in the paper they put in baskets so we could take it with us. Let me tell you ... the food was AMAZING! That is one thing they definitely got right at Sandals Barbados/Royal Barbados. All the food was amazing. The most fun we had was bowling at Lover's Lane. 10/10 recommend. Take socks and go bowling!!! The evening entertainment was terrible. Last negative we experienced was leaving the resort. A bus showed up for us to get on and head to the airport. They let us all board the bus then told us due to an environmental initiative they were unable to turn the bus on for air conditioning until all the luggage was loaded. Mind you they loaded it in a different vehicle, not even the bus we were on!! We were all so hot, sweating, and struggling to breath. They should not have let us get on the bus until the luggage was loaded into the other vehicle. Long story short. 1. service was terrible 2. food was phenomenal

Had an amazing experience here. The property is beautiful and well-maintained. Our room was clean, modern and the a/c worked well. Our butler team was phenomenal, thank you Donald, Daquan & Shaakira for making our trip so personable and wonderful. They went above and beyond for us. They were pleasant, professional and punctual. All of the staff at sandals Barbados were outstanding. The spa staff was also outstanding. The food is delicious, with a few misses here and there. The beach is beautiful, sugar white sands and clear turquoise waters. I don’t understand all of the negative reviews. Will defiantly be coming back here

This is what a resort should be. The rooms were elegant and very romantic. The pool and beach were wonderful. The staff were super friendly and didn’t seem to know the concept of “can’t be done”. I felt like I was being catered to at every turn but in the nicest way. Great people. The food was beyond delicious. Large variety of restaurants each serving 5-star meals. Wish I could have stayed for a year.

Sandals Royal Barbados. This was our least favorite Sandals resort. We arrived late due to flights, went to Jerk Shack upon arriving and felt like we were interrupting staff time. Asked for napkins told they were locked up and we should go wash our hands in restroom. Beach towels were scarce. Worst thing to go to beach or pool and not have anything to dry off. Asked at Neptune for lunch if my bottom was wet. Uh yes! They still sat us down with wet bottom. Seemed as though the towels were only replenished once a day. And if you are an afternoon beach goer like us, you were unlucky. Pretty much all food service slow and/or unfriendly especially Infinity Pool Bar, felt like I was invisible. Great staff interaction in all other less busy areas of resort. We were told the 2 restaurants we wanted were all booked up with no availability by Concierge. Asked if we could have reserved before arrival to resort and told no. We did not do full week which made it difficult. Told there are other places to eat. It was my hubby birthday and I wasn't going for anything less especially since we paid $$$$. Had to ask for manager and he made it possible. Rooms very nice.

We went to Sandals Royal Barbados for our honeymoon and had an incredible experience. The resort is close to the airport and the shuttle was very easy. Once we arrived we were able to check in with the concierge and make our dinner reservations for the week. We thought the food was excellent and there were so many different dining options. The staff were all friendly and polite. We also booked a couples massage at the spa and the experience was fantastic and relaxing. We were so happy with our first Sandals trip.

Melissa, Rachael, and Nicola were absolutely amazing!!!! Our ride got in late due to the car issues that were out of the drivers control, but as soon as we got here, Melissa greeted us with a smile and a literal song. She quickly got us settled and to our first meal with no trouble. From then on, everything was perfect. Rachael was prompt getting us to meals and anything we requested and Nicola was like a mama bear looking out for us the whole time making sure we were taken care of. We would highly recommend this whole team. They were all great and made this like home. We stayed in one of the Rondovals and we had high expectations which were surpassed! If we weren’t at the beach, we were on our private patio taking a dip in our pool which was 4-1/2’ at its deepest. For food, we didn’t have a bad meal but our favorites were Bombay and Butchs. We were also here for Independence Day and the curry goat at the resort celebration was awesome!! Would love to come back!!!

Sandals Royal Barbados was luxury! ALL the staff we met was exceptional , friendly and delivered great service from start to finish. The rooms were immaculate and housekeeping was impeccable. Food was amazing from breakfast, lunch to dinner . The facilities at sandals were impressive, with huge luxury pools. Infinity pool has amazing views and entertainment aswell as quiet pools if you fancy. I booked my next stay on the last day, and cant wait to return which I have been counting down the days. Hopefully , I will see familiar faces from all the lovely staff we met last year.

Spent over 10 days (Jan 8-Jan 19 2024) at Sandals Royal Barbados, room 10204, we are frequent Sandals customers (Emerald), this was our first time in Barbados. Food- outstanding! I'm a vegetarian (and will not eat Hungry Planet meat substitute). We found the meals, from buffets to restaurants, hot, fresh and ability to customize any dish with many delicious soups, salads and sides. Plan for 90 minutes at a sit down, order the signature cocktail relax and enjoy! We made reservations early Tuesday morning for all available, then early on Thursday for the other two (Greenhouse and Butch's seafood) we enjoyed all of the restaurants at least once. I'd often order 2 appetizers (soup and salad), main dish and, of course, dessert. Barbados has the best food compared to other Sandals. Grounds- beautiful, lush, well maintained, only saw 2 cats (yay) some Sandals seem to have an abundance of cats. Pools- so many options! If you can't get a place at your favorite, try another one, found a small pool by our rooms, several by the Red Lane, the Oasis and the Rooftop. All were lovely. Beach- amazing soft sand, warm turquoise waters. Chairs with umbrellas are snatched up early, but we'd split our day morning at a pool, after lunch at the beach, umbrella spots would be open later in the day. Service- friendly staff, many smiles, hellos and good days from most. The coffee cafe and sweet/saltys were a bit abrupt ('broken' crepe machine and no mustard sauce). Kelly freshened/cleaned our room daily, fridge restocked and turn down service each night. David was our server at the Oasis bar, quick with drinks and remembers your order. Aleya at the rooftop pool was fun, quick and even got us lunch! Ann Marie was so sweet and attentive at Heart/Sol and The Greenhouse restaurants. Overall- with 2 entwined resorts, there are a lot of options. Fresh vegetables, fruits and I especially enjoyed the additions of Greenhouse for breakfast/dinner and Heart/Sol for juices and lunch. Glad there was NA Heineken and always an option for virgin cocktails for non drinkers. We arrived at 11 pm on Monday and it was a bit disorganized at the airport (waiting an hour for 'other' guests who obviously were not on our flight), some restrooms near the pools/beach were not always fresh. Resort shop had limited sunscreen options. Husband enjoyed a fantastic 90 minute massage at the Red Lane. Unfortunately, there is limited flight availability from Omaha, ended up with 6+ hour layover in Miami both ways, not due to weather. Some guests, who did have weather delays, mentioned that Sandals was very helpful in rearranging their accommodations.