The Sandpiper

This is a wonderful hotel. There are many many pluses and just a couple of things to be aware of that we didn't know from reading previous reviews. The hotel is fabulous. It is laid out between the main road and the sea. It is a stunning place - very green, tranquil, well kept. There are plenty of staff and almost all of them are fabulous. Particular call-out to the manager who is a wonderful warm genuine guy - think his name is Ken - who gave us a guided tour and chatted to us whenever he saw us, and the lady at reception whose name I have forgotten, though all of them at reception are wonderful. Would like to thank them for making us feel so welcome. The beach here is fabulous. Very sandy, beautiful sea line curving away in either direction, clear blue water. Bobbing about in the water was one of the highlights. There are also two pools - a smaller one and a longer one. Plenty of loungers, though you may struggle to get one in the shade at peak times. T there are a few people who claim them for the day but never seem to be there like there always is everywhere you go but overall there is plenty of space either by the pools or by the sea. The biggest asset of the hotel is that it is genuinely warm. Everyone is friendly. They go out of their way to make you comfortable. For example , on our last day they offered us a room to shower in etc before our late flight even though we had checked out. This wouldn't even occur to most hotels. Holetown is 5 mins walk either along the main road or the beach. We weren't sure at first but then we really warmed to it. It is quite small. Very roughly, it is split between a quite a nice modern mall, which is more interesting than it sounds with some nice shops and restaurants, a couple of side streets again with shops and restaurants, and a sprinkling of wonderful colourful mews type houses /shops. It is all very laid back. You may see mongooses, cockrals and even monkeys loitering about. We loved the laid back feeling. Many of the reviews mention restaurants like The Tides and Lone Star and the hotel's restaurant. They can be quite similar - white table cloth, slightly formal. The Tides is a very good restaurant. The best places we went to though were probably the French restaurant Derriere (bit more energy, younger crowd, excellent food, great cocktails) and Life is Sweet during the day (lovely big tea-pots and sweet puddings). One the things we weren't aware of is that the hotel and Barbados as a whole generally attracts the older demographic - which is absolutely fine, just need to be aware that many places including the hotel are designed to meet their needs. The average age is probably around 65-70 - we felt towards the younger end at mid 50s. They are all wonderful people - every guest at the hotel and every person in general we met was warm and friendly. But it does mean you get a lot of restaurants like The Tides - great food but a little old school maybe - and the bar at the hotel closes early

We are fairly frequent travellers, and are privileged to have stayed in many beautiful locations and hotels over the years. We booked one of the treetop suites (Whimbrel) at The Sandpiper, and it did not disappoint in any way. When booking one of these suites on a half board basis, there was an offer which upgraded you to full board - and in my view this really was excellent value for money. It also included fast track through the airport and private transfer to the hotel - a really seamless process. The hotel has a "boutique style" vibe, and although full it never seemed over crowded or too busy at any point. What makes this hotel outstanding is by far the staff - from Ken the general manager, Ricardo the concierge, to Harold at Harold's bar...and all the other staff we met, we were always greeted with a smile, and everyone went out their way to ensure we had everything we needed. Unfortunately we needed a doctor to attend shortly into our holiday, and the hotel were so efficient in organising that, and quickly. It just took all the stress out of the situation. Our room had everything you could possibly need, and the bed was huge and so comfortable. The outside space was really the icing on the cake though - a large corner wrap around balcony, complete with fully stocked wet bar, your own sun loungers and good sized plunge pool. We tended to do our sunbathing there most of the time, as you had the sun all day long - and could go in the little pool to cool off. My only negative point, if I had to be picky, is that it is quite a big step into the pool and out of it - and as I'm only 5 foot tall then I struggled with that. There are stairs and a handrail - it's just after that, stepping into and then further down into the pool is a challenge. I had to make sure my husband was around so that he could help hoist me in and out! ;) The weekly BBQ and buffet nights had plentiful food of high quality (the other 5 nights being a la carte). I'm not a big fan of self service, just my personal choice - so I think next time I would dine at their sister hotel Coral Reef Club on those nights. But as a pair of self-confessed "foodies" (I hate that term!), we are really fussy about the quality and selection of food on offer - and Sandpiper ticked all the boxes. Although we tended to sunbathe on our balcony, there did always seem to be sun loungers available on the beach. Around the pool area seemed more in demand, and we did see some people putting towels/hat/book out early in the morning to reserve their spot - which I don't think should be permitted. But it didn't impact us in any way as we didn't sunbathe there anyway...and it may not be like that all the time - just the week we were there! So all in all, a fantastic week - totally exceeded our already high expectations, and we can't wait to go back!

The Sandpiper is in a very pretty spot; it has a beautiful beach and thoughtfully landscaped gardens which create privacy around the rooms some of which might otherwise feel a little overlooked. Our suite was very generous in size, well equipped and kept in very good order by housekeeping. The bed was very comfortable dressed with good quality linens. Breakfasts and the evening meals we had at the hotel were generally excellent and the option for ‘in room’ dining at no extra charge was a great facility. The wait staff brought table cloths, flatware and little jars of condiments which was a lovely touch. The vast majority of the staff were friendly and very professional. At times, the service in the main restaurant could feel a little perfunctory and there was a slight sense of ‘a ‘pecking order’ from some of the restaurant employees, with returning guests seeming to receive a different calibre of service to first time visitors. However, we only experienced this with a very few staff members. So overall, we were very happy with the service. The beach and pool staff were universally friendly and helpful….even to the extent of raking the beach to find lost door keys at one point! Housekeeping was also excellent. In terms of slight hiccups: the tea making facilities I’d requested didn’t include teabags or milk. A trip to reception the next day solved that issue. However, the TV I had asked for never actually worked (despite a visit from maintenance). This wasn’t a huge issue as we had a laptop with us. More irritatingly, I was woken up at 4am one morning to find the HVAC unit over the bed leaking onto the floor, table and my phone. The unit was fixed later on but an apology would have been appreciated. The biggest issue was with the hotel’s billing system. The bill we received turned out to be over by around $BDS 900 because of mistakes made when calculating costs for meals which were actually included in our partial half board rate. Despite the involvement of a supervisor, it took around 20 minutes of standing around in reception to resolve the issue. Again, I appreciate that mistakes can happen but there was zero apology. If we hadn’t checked the bill closely, those charges would have stood. Overall, I would come back to the hotel but there are a few areas in which improvements could be made.

This is my second time at this resort and it is even better than I remember. The staff are friendly and exceed expectations of them, nothing is too much trouble. The rooms are lovely and everything is within easy reach, the restaurant, bar, pool and beach. I would say this is one of the best hotels I have stayed in and will be booking for next year. Thank you to everyone for making this stay a wonderful experience.

Pleasant Stay We had a very pleasant stay at The Sandpiper. The staff were very friendly and helpful. Our room was in need of a little refresh and update.

Intimate and Chic We had an excellent 3 night stay at this lovely small chic boutique hotel. The cuisine and staff service were top class. The setting and location is lovely. We would very much like to return in future.