TripAdvisor Traveler Rating

I visited Sandals Royal Barbados with my husband for our honeymoon, the last two weeks of November. When we arrived at the airport, we were easily able to find the sandals desk for transport, we had to wait quite a while for the coach to turn up and our cases were left behind at the airport to be brought on the next coach, although slightly worried our cases did turn up safe and sound. The transfer from the airport was about 15-20 minutes and we had a lovely commentary about the island from our driver. When we arrived, we were directed to the Club Lounge with a hot towel and shortly followed by a mimosa. We were given a small orientation about the resort and taken to our rooms, it was absolutely pouring it down, but we were supplied with umbrellas to get to our room somewhat dry! The room we had was a South Seas Crystal Lagoon Club Level Suite with balcony and Tranquillity Soaking Tub. The room was stunning. It was large with a king size bed, sofa, large bathroom with shower and the balcony was a great size. The bathtub on the balcony was huge, and we each used it on several occasions, there are curtains you can pull for privacy. The minibar was stocked daily with coke, diet coke, sprite, fruit juice, white and red wine and champagne. There were also basic spirits too which were fine. On the days we had our do not disturb sign on we got a call about 5:30pm everyday asking if we needed anything for our fridge, which was a nice touch. Housekeeping did a good job and realised that we didn’t want our room doing everyday so put in extra towels for us, the housekeeper when I ran into her was also very lovely. We spent every day by the pool near the Sports Bar, this pool often had a bit of music but was never too rowdy and the bartenders Oshin, Deshane and Hidie were our favourites here. Deshane and Oshin made my husband random drinks they would just put together and he always loved them! The mudslide was my favourite cocktail and a must try! I always got a sun lounger here with a parasol if I was down for 7am, I never really struggled but it would’ve been more difficult if I left it any later, they did fill up quickly. It was frustrating when we were sat next to butler reserved sun loungers all day and no one turned up, but I do believe the resort has put a policy in place to stop this now. We found all the food to be lovely here, and often found something we likes, since we were here for so long, we tried most of the restaurants. Breakfast For breakfast we mostly went to the American Tavern. We usually went for about 8ish and never had to wait for a table, food was always hot and there was a chef doing omelettes, fried eggs and poached eggs too. We also tried the French restaurant once, we had to wait a while to be seated and our food took a long time to arrive after ordering, there were also small birds everywhere often landing on glassware or silverware, it was also essentially a bit conservatory with no air con so it was incredibly hot too so that’s why we only did this once. We also did room service once for breakfast. The menu wasn’t that extensive, but it was okay, the food took about 45 minutes to arrive after ordering but it did come hot and they called us when it was being sent up so we knew it was on the way. Lunch There were lots of great lunch options to choose from. Neptunes - Nice but sometimes a bit of a wait, but staff were nice and the food was delicious and not too long waiting for food every time we came. The Mariner/Dinos – This was on Barbados side, and we really like the mariner, the food was delicious and extras/changes to food was no issue at all, it’s just a bit confusing about how to order. We did the Mariner on a few occasions. Dinos pizza was underwhelming though, the pizzas were small and they tasted really flour-y. Spices Buffet – We only did this once, it was okay if you just wanted a little bit, much of the food was on the colder side and not that much selection even though it was a buffet. Butches Hot Dogs – This was near American Tavern/Chi restaurant and was great If you just wanted a small lunch, we had these most days and we wanted something small as we’d often have a big breakfast. Jerk Shack – This again was okay. We sat down the first time we went, and it took ages for our food to arrive, I think they forgot about us, but they food was nice, especially the chicken. We took it away the second time to eat by the pool and it was much faster! Dinner American Tavern – This was a themed buffet; we only did this once on our first night was we were well fed on our flight and only wanted something small. It was underwhelming but we didn’t feel the need to go again Neptunes – This was nice, but we waited 40 minutes to be seated, but the restaurant was short staffed, so this was okay. The meatballs to start was nice and I can recommend the crispy chicken main too. Chi – The only a la carte restaurant we didn’t enjoy. The menu was confusing and the plates were small and not a lot of choice really. I wouldn’t recommend this restaurant at all. Bombay – Our favourite. We went twice and saved it for the final night at the resort, the lamb chops, butter chicken and butter naans were beautiful and we just enjoyed the whole experience. Butches (Royal side) – another favourite. My steak was probably one of the best I have ever had, and we both really enjoyed the food, I can highly recommend the truffle fries as a side! The only let down here is that our server was a little rude and not very attentive, she forgot to give us a second set of cutlery for our mains. The Deputy Manager Darren on the other hand who was the host that night was wonderful, and remembered us when he worked at other restaurants, the guy was probably a standout staff member for us. Butches (Barbados Side) – This was nice, and the steaks again were lovely. My starter of mushroom soup was underwhelming but my husband really loved the crab cake starter. The Oreo cheesecake and the carrot cake were probably the best desserts we had for our visit. Soy – As someone who went into this restaurant not liking sushi and coming out with a full belly I was very surprised. I enjoyed this restaurant so much we did it twice. The crispy chicken and the spring roll starters are not to be missed, and for main you can order as many rolls as you wish. My husband ordered lots of different sushi as he loves it and I (as a non-sushi fan) had the Crispy Philly Rolls. Would absolutely recommend this. Danelle was a standout waitress for us here! Kimonos – The food here was good, and it was nice to get a variety (veg, steak, seafood etc.) but the real reason to go to this restaurant is the experience. Chris our Teppanyaki chef was funny, charismatic and out on an excellent host and made the experience very enjoyable. If you’ve never done a proper Teppanyaki experience before I would absolutely book into this restaurant. Merry Monkey – This “English pub” was okay, we had a meal here as we could get in within half an hour. The poutine husband had was nice and he enjoyed it, the mozzarella sticks were mid. My steak and fries were cooked nicely but my husbands “pie” was meat with a small triangle of puff pastry on the top. Portofino’s – Another one we liked and did this twice. We both had the meatball starter which was our favourite. Out of the dishes we had my husband’s favourite was the veal and I really enjoyed the mushroom linguine. Other stuff - We drank at the sports bar many times and it had a good variety of sport on from football to American football to F1. It was always quite busy but never had to wait too long for a drink. We also used the pool table a lot here! - The sky bar was nice but often got busy, especially with over noisy Americans. It’s best to come here for an early drink ad watch the sunset and then going off to dinner - The Wi-Fi was great and very rarely dropped. We managed to stream two football games on our iPad with 0 issues! - There’s a great offering of alcohol here including many well-known liquor brands, however it was disappointing that there was no Rose wine at all as part of the all-inclusive. - We booked a tour through the resort to Harrison’s Cave (100% recommend by the way) but we were delayed over 20 minutes because 2 people decided coffee and doughnuts were more important than being on time. They should’ve given them 10 minutes and then left without them. It meant we had less time at the attraction and there wasn’t a lot to begin with. - Do the included snorkel trip and book is as soon as you arrive. Sandals staff were great and Carlise Bay was beautiful, we even saw a turtle which made our holiday and our guide made sure to point him out so everyone could see. - Be polite to the staff. Yes, they’re doing their job but a please and thank you costs absolutely nothing. I was shocked at how many people didn’t say use common politeness when ordering drinks or food.

My husband and I joined friends for a 6 night trip to Sandals Royal Barbados to celebrate her 60th birthday and my husband’s retirement! What a fabulous trip! The weather was amazing. The resort was all inclusive and we opted for the butler service! Jabari, Moesha, and Stephen were our top notch butlers! Very attentive and helpful! I highly recommend going for the Butler service! We enjoyed ourselves immensely! The Bajan people are so incredibly friendly!

After five Butler-level stays at Sandals Royal Barbados, this most recent trip was by far the most disappointing—and enough to make us cancel the reservation we already had booked for next year. The Butler experience has been stripped down to the point where it no longer feels premium. Butlers are no longer allowed to reserve chairs for guests or make changes to dinner reservations, which were core benefits that justified the higher cost. Instead of enhancing the elevated tier, the resort appears more focused on making things “equal” for non-butler guests, even if it means downgrading the service loyal guests are paying extra for. The restaurants have also declined. Menus have been changed across multiple venues, and The Jerk Shack—once a true highlight—now serves jerk chicken so watered down it tastes like bland BBQ. There’s nothing authentic or memorable about it anymore. We brought all these concerns to the General Manager, Bruno. While he listened, I left the conversation feeling far from hopeful. His responses felt more like excuses and justifications based on online complaints than any real intention to fix the issues. It didn’t give me a shred of confidence that anything would change. To make matters worse, the entire resort was extremely quiet—borderline boring. The lack of entertainment and energy made it feel more like a retirement community than a Caribbean vacation. After five visits and years of loyalty, this trip made it clear that Sandals Royal Barbados has lost the charm, exclusivity, and service that once made it worth returning to. With the decline in food quality, the restrictions on butler service, and the absence of atmosphere, we sadly won’t be coming back.

After visiting Sandals Royal Barbados, every year (to celebrate our anniversary) for the last 5 years, we’ve always looked forward to returning because of the exceptional butler service and the lively, welcoming atmosphere. Unfortunately, after our December 2025 trip, we’ve made the difficult decision to change our future reservations from Barbados to Grenada (after other guests suggesting and praising this location) There have been far too many negative changes. It feels as though management has devalued the butler service and restricted what the butlers can and cannot do. When guests pay for butler-level service, there should be clear perks, priority, and elevated benefits—not limitations. For example, butlers should absolutely be able to reserve chairs at the pool and ensure priority with restaurant reservations. That is part of the premium experience we paid for and previously enjoyed. On vacation, we should not have to wake up at the crack of dawn to fight for a pool chair, especially because someone who chose not to pay for a premium service complained about the very benefits that premium guests did pay for. It’s simple: if you pay for an upgraded experience, you should receive upgraded amenities—just like how someone flying first class receives services an economy passenger wouldn’t expect. We want to emphasize that this is not a reflection on the butlers themselves. We’ve had amazing butlers every visit—including Jabari, Shae, Shontelle, Shamara, Rasheid, Moesha, Stephen, Benita, Donald and Romero —and we truly appreciate their hard work, professionalism, and dedication. But with the new policies restricting what they’re allowed to provide, even their best efforts aren’t enough to make the stay feel the way it used to. As the saying goes, “If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it.” It wasn’t broken before, but now it is. What was once a fun, lively, vacation atmosphere now feels more like a RETIREMENT RESORT, and that’s simply not the experience we’ve come to love or expect.

Overall we had a pleasant time at Sandals Royal Barbados. We paid for private transfer and butler service on an ocean view room. The transfer went very well and the drivers were great. Upon arrival to Sandals there was a lot of waiting (45 minutes+) for our butler to take us to our room. We found out the butler was never informed we were there, so the initial reception was rather unpleasant. The butler made things as pleasant as possible from that point forward, until the phone system stopped working five days into the vacation. Then it was difficult to get the butler service we received the first four days. Without the phones, departing was even worse than the reception. Nobody picked up our bags for hours, which made the departure process cumbersome. The bag pickup was the Sandals process (same thing happened in St. Lucia) , so bringing our bags to or from the rooms was not an option. Now, all that said, the resort was beautiful and very accommodating. The pools and restaurants were all very nice. Our room was outstanding and absolutely lovely. Overall, we had a very nice vacation!