TripAdvisor Traveler Rating

A great place to visit but not the best place in Caribbean . You can have a better sea or better entertainment and fun and activities in Cancun city , or Havana is a probably better fun city with similar beaches. People are a bit aggressive like Jamaica but don't get me wrong not rude at all.

This hotel is all a bit tired and needs a rethink. If you are looking for a luxurious Barbados experience you will be disappointed. Sugar Bay’s staff are friendly but they are masking a hotel that is not up to it anymore. Our welcome drink had a dead wasp in it, the hanging rail in the room collapsed, food is repetitive and the all inclusive drinks aren’t very drinkable. The pool is dirty and not big enough to cater for the number of people staying there. Positioned nicely on the south west corner surrounded by nice beaches, it seems to be unlucky to be very prone to seaweed that the beach staff don’t clear away for days, so it makes the whole beach area look tired. As a result we chose to go out for days at other beaches and dinners at additional expense and in the end we found another hotel up the west coast and checked out 2 days early to enjoy what Barbados really does have to offer but is lacking in Sugar Bay. We told the hotel staff about our poor experience and we were checking out 2 days before we did - no offer of compensation - not even an apology…which tells you everything you need to know about the hotel.

This was our 4th visit to Sugar Bay, once again we had a fabulous time. The hotel beach and staff are great however we would usually give five stars but this year it’s a four from us! On check in we were given room 201 - having stayed a few times before we knew this was sub standard for a signature room (very small, no storage and having to boil the kettle on our bed side table was not ideal!) After complaining we were moved from our second night and room 342 was amazing! I am very surprised though that our initial room would have been issued to any guests, but particularly those who have stayed three times before. Moving on to the food, this was great, the new buffet lay out worked well and there was always a fantastic variety. We also went to UMI which was delicious. We did feel that the service in the restaurants both at lunch and dinner had declined. It was often very slow and took a while for drinks/tables to be cleared etc. We aren’t people that rush on holiday at all and have fond memories of great service in a relaxed manner on our previous visits however this time it did feel like a hassle to sometimes get a drink or service. The service at the bar was great , but we were very disappointed with the wine selection which has changed from our previous visits (despite the hotel becoming more expensive) previously Pinot Grigio white and blush were available, however now it is only Tempranillo which, in our opinion was not drinkable. Having said that the sparkling wine, beer and cocktails were lovely. We were very happy to buy decent rose when in UMI and would suggest perhaps offering customers the opportunity to upgrade to better wines should they wish. Overall our holiday was lovely however I’m not sure if we would return due to the points above, we will however continue with our yearly visits to the Island as it’s simply beautiful!

Day 2 of a 16 day stay and disappointed so far. The setting, sea and beach is good. However there are many poor experiences. The internet is advertised as fast, but is only running at 3 MB. The answer from reception is that it is fast when there are few quests, but it slows down a lot when there are lots of guests. The room smells of damp and there are very few sockets compared to the multiple gadgets that people use today. I found two additional sockets behind the bed and plugged in laptop and other chargers, but this required moving the bed away from the wall. However the cleaners pushed the bed back into position and damaged one of the chargers. The shower and bathroom area in our room is very small.

While the staff is incredible at the Sugar Bay Resort, the hotel itself is average and needs a lot of improvement in a variety of areas. I’ve been to many all inclusive resorts and this one was a bit disappointing. - There’s only one very small buffet and two restaurants on site. Thankfully the food was pretty good. - They limit you to one restaurant reservation during your stay and most days were already reserved. We were there for a 5 days and could only try the Asian restaurant. The restaurant also only allowed one appetizer, one entree and one dessert per person, which is not necessarily all inclusive. The food at the Umi restaurant was really great though. - The pool was dirty every day. The water was murky and very warm (the one time I got in). The surrounding area was also full of sand and never cleaned. The pool desperately needs to be cleaned and I’m shocked people were in it. The beach water was clearer than the pool! - The common area floors were rarely cleaned. There was sand and water everywhere, every single day. It became a hazard where we slipped often. - The rooms need a major renovation. Very old facilities with cracked paint, mildew smelling AC, stained floors, etc. Double rooms only have twin size beds. Cups/plates outside of rooms were never picked up and would accumulate bugs daily. - The beach was beautiful but had an overwhelming amount of seaweed on the sand that was never cleaned. However, the water was crystal clear and shallow. I will say the food was delicious and the staff was absolutely amazing. The hotel is very small but good for families for a short stay. But if you’ve done all inclusive resorts in the past this may not meet your expectations.