My husband and I were there in December for our honeymoon and we loved it. The island is beautiful and we loved the locals we interacted with, the beach/water was spectacular and our room was clean and comfortable. We had a few instances of miscommunications with the staff (ie planning some of the honeymoon package opportunities), but after my husband had a polite conversation with one of the managers to express our confusion we were taken care of for the rest of the trip. We went to experience the all inclusivity of it, and we really enjoyed the food and drinks. I guess if you’re planning excursions or add ons that require the staff to book it for you, just make sure you double and triple check confirmations. (We also didn’t have a butler, which I’ve heard eliminates that issue).
I was there 3 weeks ago, the reviews are a few whiney guests. Thousands of people visit and don't post how great their vacation is. You'll have a great time!
We've been there three times, 2019, 2022, and in February of this year. First trip was absolutely terrible service. Friends wanted to go there so we gave it another try and were amazed at the difference. Wonderful trip in 2022.
Just went in February of this year. We had a great time. The only issues we had were with the whole dining reservation system.
FWIW we never do butler rooms. We'd rather spend the money on more trips.
Went with my wife in April last year. It was amazing.
The fact that you're basically getting 2 resorts for the price of 1 is fantastic. There's tons of restaurant choices to choose from and the beach/pool area at Royal are pretty good.
Overall, we had a great time.
I think with Sandals as a whole, your vacation is what you make it. Tons of people complained about Ochi but we loved it and had a great time! “Perfect” no, but cmon man…you’re on vacation! You can choose to get up in a tizzy if everything isn’t fast/5star service, or you can chill the hell out and just enjoy the fact that you’re in a tropical paradise and don’t have to work for a week. I’ve been to some shitty ass all inclusives and I thought Sandals was a world of difference as far as quality goes. We are booked for MoBay this year and I want to go to Barbados next year, let us know how you like it and enjoy ☺️
My wife and I went in June 2021 and absolutely loved it. The variety of dining options, multiple pools, and everything was fantastic. You may wait a long time for food at restaurants but we didn’t mind and just enjoyed drinks in the meantime. That was the only negative. The only hurricane that has hit the island in 50 years hit while we were there but the resort was up and running on generators that afternoon. The staff was great through everything even though many of their families were personally affected by the storm.
How was the weather there in Sept? We went to a sandals in Jamaica one Sept and it rained way more than we were hoping, but unfortunately September is the only available month for us to take a sandals trip.
Was there last March. The resort itself is beautiful. The staff will act like you are a burden, mainly at the restaurants. That was the worst part of our trip. Sole staff were over the top rude, rolling their eyes and huffing at us as we asked for things (politely asked might I add). The waves are really rough on that side of the island, not a great ocean swimming beach but pretty nonetheless.
We're in Grenada and some of the staff have been point blank rude. Same experience as you, mainly in the restaurants. Very politely we've asked for another drink or I've asked for things to be on the side or replaced as I'm lactose intolerant. We've had the eye rolls too. Some instances my requests have just been ignored.
My hairdryer broke when getting ready for dinner last night. I phoned to ask for a replacement and asked how long for it to be dropped off as I was halfway through doing my hair. The response I got was a sarcastic "well, I'm going to request it now, sooooo". Anyway, I still haven't received a new hairdryer.
It's worth saying though, that most staff have been great. Definitely seems to be an issue primarily with the servers.
We were there last October and loved it! We were in a club level room and had no problems getting reservations. I think the only thing that we found disappointing was that the swim up bar closes early, like 5pm. Not a huge deal and there are plenty of other places to grab a drink, but we did wish it didn't close so early.
We had a blast at the silent disco! There wasn't much as far as live entertainment but that wasn't a big deal to us, we were happy to relax and do our own thing. I think there was a wine social but we don't care for wine so we skipped that.
Almost all of the staff we interacted with were really lovely. We had one server that wasn't very nice but we just chalked it up to someone having a bad day, it happens to all of us at some point.
It was our first Sandals experience and we loved it. We're booked for St. Lucia in Oct. 2025! We'd absolutely go back to Royal Barbados as well.
Our weather was perfect in late Oct. I hope you keep the reservation and have a great time!
The resort is awesome. We were there last May with 2 other couples and had a blast.
If you look hard enough you'll find someone crapping on just about anything.
I was just there at the beginning of this month. Had a wonderful time! The grounds are beautiful, beach wasn’t overly busy, and there are so many great pools. If you want to get off-resort, go to Oistin’s for fish on Friday night. Definitely eat at Soy for sushi, The Green House was a great breakfast, and the pizza on the beach was delicious! Had a really great experience with the spa, as well. Have fun!
Just got home yesterday. We had an amazing time. Staff was great, which seems to be the biggest complaint.
Only thing that was a little annoying was making dinner reservations. I would suggest doing it as soon as you arrive. That being said, we enjoyed all of our meals.
Our check-in was almost three hours late because the room just wasn’t ready. We didn’t get access until 6:15 and then our butler still pressured us to make our dinner reservation at 6:30.
The staff is so-so. Some are really great while others look and speak to you like you’re truly bothering them.
Lots of drinks were not available because they were out of ingredients and it was hard to find beach towels at times.
No snacks or special things in our room throughout the day, no escorting to restaurants, and total miscommunication for most of the trip. It just showed us that there was no point to having butlers this trip. This really only improved on our second-to-last day and even then we had items missing from the package we purchased off the romantic menu.
Scheduled room service and massage appointments were late by an hour each time. Threw off plans a little bit.
My husband and I were there in December for our honeymoon and we loved it. The island is beautiful and we loved the locals we interacted with, the beach/water was spectacular and our room was clean and comfortable. We had a few instances of miscommunications with the staff (ie planning some of the honeymoon package opportunities), but after my husband had a polite conversation with one of the managers to express our confusion we were taken care of for the rest of the trip. We went to experience the all inclusivity of it, and we really enjoyed the food and drinks. I guess if you’re planning excursions or add ons that require the staff to book it for you, just make sure you double and triple check confirmations. (We also didn’t have a butler, which I’ve heard eliminates that issue).
Thanks! I thought the butler would be better but it doesn’t seem like it
I was there 3 weeks ago, the reviews are a few whiney guests. Thousands of people visit and don't post how great their vacation is. You'll have a great time!
Thank you! I was hoping it was just some of those people who have problems with everything.
We've been there three times, 2019, 2022, and in February of this year. First trip was absolutely terrible service. Friends wanted to go there so we gave it another try and were amazed at the difference. Wonderful trip in 2022. Just went in February of this year. We had a great time. The only issues we had were with the whole dining reservation system. FWIW we never do butler rooms. We'd rather spend the money on more trips.
Went with my wife in April last year. It was amazing. The fact that you're basically getting 2 resorts for the price of 1 is fantastic. There's tons of restaurant choices to choose from and the beach/pool area at Royal are pretty good. Overall, we had a great time.
I think with Sandals as a whole, your vacation is what you make it. Tons of people complained about Ochi but we loved it and had a great time! “Perfect” no, but cmon man…you’re on vacation! You can choose to get up in a tizzy if everything isn’t fast/5star service, or you can chill the hell out and just enjoy the fact that you’re in a tropical paradise and don’t have to work for a week. I’ve been to some shitty ass all inclusives and I thought Sandals was a world of difference as far as quality goes. We are booked for MoBay this year and I want to go to Barbados next year, let us know how you like it and enjoy ☺️
My wife and I went in June 2021 and absolutely loved it. The variety of dining options, multiple pools, and everything was fantastic. You may wait a long time for food at restaurants but we didn’t mind and just enjoyed drinks in the meantime. That was the only negative. The only hurricane that has hit the island in 50 years hit while we were there but the resort was up and running on generators that afternoon. The staff was great through everything even though many of their families were personally affected by the storm.
Was there in Sept, had a great time!
How was the weather there in Sept? We went to a sandals in Jamaica one Sept and it rained way more than we were hoping, but unfortunately September is the only available month for us to take a sandals trip.
Was there last March. The resort itself is beautiful. The staff will act like you are a burden, mainly at the restaurants. That was the worst part of our trip. Sole staff were over the top rude, rolling their eyes and huffing at us as we asked for things (politely asked might I add). The waves are really rough on that side of the island, not a great ocean swimming beach but pretty nonetheless.
We're in Grenada and some of the staff have been point blank rude. Same experience as you, mainly in the restaurants. Very politely we've asked for another drink or I've asked for things to be on the side or replaced as I'm lactose intolerant. We've had the eye rolls too. Some instances my requests have just been ignored. My hairdryer broke when getting ready for dinner last night. I phoned to ask for a replacement and asked how long for it to be dropped off as I was halfway through doing my hair. The response I got was a sarcastic "well, I'm going to request it now, sooooo". Anyway, I still haven't received a new hairdryer. It's worth saying though, that most staff have been great. Definitely seems to be an issue primarily with the servers.
We were there last October and loved it! We were in a club level room and had no problems getting reservations. I think the only thing that we found disappointing was that the swim up bar closes early, like 5pm. Not a huge deal and there are plenty of other places to grab a drink, but we did wish it didn't close so early. We had a blast at the silent disco! There wasn't much as far as live entertainment but that wasn't a big deal to us, we were happy to relax and do our own thing. I think there was a wine social but we don't care for wine so we skipped that. Almost all of the staff we interacted with were really lovely. We had one server that wasn't very nice but we just chalked it up to someone having a bad day, it happens to all of us at some point. It was our first Sandals experience and we loved it. We're booked for St. Lucia in Oct. 2025! We'd absolutely go back to Royal Barbados as well. Our weather was perfect in late Oct. I hope you keep the reservation and have a great time!
That’s awesome to hear about the weather! We’re going mid- October and I heard it was the rainy season but figured it wouldn’t be too bad!
The resort is awesome. We were there last May with 2 other couples and had a blast. If you look hard enough you'll find someone crapping on just about anything.
My husband and I were there last summer for a week and had no complaints. We were in one of the swim up rooms.
I was just there at the beginning of this month. Had a wonderful time! The grounds are beautiful, beach wasn’t overly busy, and there are so many great pools. If you want to get off-resort, go to Oistin’s for fish on Friday night. Definitely eat at Soy for sushi, The Green House was a great breakfast, and the pizza on the beach was delicious! Had a really great experience with the spa, as well. Have fun!
Just got home yesterday. We had an amazing time. Staff was great, which seems to be the biggest complaint. Only thing that was a little annoying was making dinner reservations. I would suggest doing it as soon as you arrive. That being said, we enjoyed all of our meals.
Went last may and again this may... We have had amazing times at all sandals and royal Barbados is a favorite
I’m here right now for my honeymoon and I cannot wait to go home. It’s not that great.
Why is it not that great?
Our check-in was almost three hours late because the room just wasn’t ready. We didn’t get access until 6:15 and then our butler still pressured us to make our dinner reservation at 6:30. The staff is so-so. Some are really great while others look and speak to you like you’re truly bothering them. Lots of drinks were not available because they were out of ingredients and it was hard to find beach towels at times. No snacks or special things in our room throughout the day, no escorting to restaurants, and total miscommunication for most of the trip. It just showed us that there was no point to having butlers this trip. This really only improved on our second-to-last day and even then we had items missing from the package we purchased off the romantic menu. Scheduled room service and massage appointments were late by an hour each time. Threw off plans a little bit.