The Sandpiper

One of the loveliest hotels I’ve stayed in, understated luxury, no glitz or fuss. Incredible levels of service from all the staff who are friendly rather than stuffy. Several of the staff have been here for 35+ years. Excellent light lunches at Harold’s with daily specials and the main lunch menu is also available in the evening, which we appreciated particularly on the day we arrived. Superb fine dining restaurant, we had our best meals of the holiday here. Plenty of places to lie in the sun either by the beach or around the pools, although could perhaps do with more shaded areas in the afternoon. Extremely comfortable sun loungers. Live music on several nights which was very good when we heard it, finishes by 22:00 but could do with starting a bit later as it’s very close to the restaurant and bar and rather kills the conversation. Easily walkable to Holetown. Children are now accommodated all year round but apparently they try to limit numbers of very young ones, it wasn’t a problem when we were there. Seemed slightly odd to have White Company toiletries in the bathrooms, would have been nice to have a local brand such as those in the public areas (St Lucy Botanicals, I think?) Will definitely return.

A friendly boutique hotel easy to get to from the Airport on the west coast. Lovely beach with fantastic snorkelling off the beach. Two swimming pools and delicious cocktails. Two restaurants, one smarter with live entertainment and one on the beach more bistro style.

Booked The Sandpiper for 8 nights in January 2025 for a winter getaway. Barbados absolutely surpassed all my expectations and this amazing place was absolutely a major contributing factor to that feeling! What a place. A little slice of heaven. From the moment we were accompanied to our room by the General Manager Ken, I knew we were in for a special time. It is the first time I have ever stayed anywhere (and I have stayed at a lot of top venues around the world) where I have been walked around the resort and to the room by the GM. Our room was absolutely beautiful. A suite overlooking the most tranquil and beautiful beach along the west coast of Barbados. The location is paramount to what makes this hotel so great. However, and this is key for me, there is one absolute key ingredient to what makes The Sandpiper simply one of the most amazing places I have ever stayed. It is all about the staff! It would seem like they have found all the most amazing people on this planet and plonked them in to The Sandpiper as a team. The gardeners, the cleaners, security, reception, bar teams, restaurant staff, management, everyone, absolutely everyone at this resort was incredible. No one would walk past you without a greeting, no one would walk past you without a smile. In a world where hospitality struggle to recruit and keep good people, The Sandpiper is the complete opposite. Everyone we spoke to had been working at the hotel for many many years. From 3 years up to about 40 years. So many staff have worked here for years and that showed from the level of commitment us as guests received from the staff. These people believe in customer excellence, they care about hotel guests having the most memorable experience, and that, that is absolutely priceless. Wherever you were, at breakfast, lunch, dinner, at the bar there was always someone waiting to assist you. I never had to fill up my water glass or wine glass myself. The staff are absolutely on it and absolutely incredible. The best I’ve experienced. It is no wonder that so many of the guests we spoke to had been on their 3rd 4th or 10th return visit to The Sandpiper. The hotel is the perfect size to not be overwhelming and maintain that personal touch. We simply loved everything about Barbados and the Sandpiper and if we return to Barbados which is absolutely certain I would not even think about booking anywhere else. Nothing to fault here, it’s a 10/10 all the way. I joked to the GM that his job was made easy by the loyalty and commitment of his team and he agreed. So The Sandpiper management team, kudos to you guys, however you maintain this loyalty, whatever it is that keeps your team so focused on service delivery, keep doing it, as you guys have created a little slice of heaven on this beautiful island.

This was our third visit to Sandpiper and it just gets better.This hotel is a hidden gem 5 minutes walk from the hustle and bustle of Holetown .From the minute you arrive until the minute you sadly leave nothing is too much trouble for the amazing staff and management. Our room a garden bungalow was absolutely perfect …beautiful sea view right on the deck .We were fortunate enough to spend Christmas Day here with a fabulous buffet lunch and drinks beforehand.As a couple we have travelled extensively to all 7 continents and we can honestly say that Sandpiper is without doubt one of our top three hotels . All the staff are fantastic and nothing is a problem for them….The only problem we had was having to leave !!! Thanks so much to each and every one of you for a wonderful holiday….we will be back .

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!