Guest reviews Sugar Bay Barbados

by Sam M

Paradise at Sugar Bay

This was our first time in Barbados and it certainly didn’t disappoint. Sugar Bay optimised the Bajan welcome and staff couldn’t do more to make us feel more at home. Upon arrival, we were greeted with a fiery rum punch, which quickly became a drink of choice for many as well as some lovely welcoming staff. After being taken to our ground floor accommodation surrounded by a beautiful tropical garden, gently lit by festoon lighting, we quickly went to explore the facilities. Crystal clear turquoise sea gently lapped the soft pink sand that led directly to the hotels bar and restaurant. We couldn’t believe how idyllic this setting was. Either side of the bar and main restaurant was a moderate sized pool with swim up bar and the warm sea. The hotel has a main buffet restaurant that acts as the main breakfast, lunch and dinner facility. This is a hive of activity all throughout the day and night with an excellent selection of food that changes from one day to the next. There are also other restaurants and food outlets throughout the complex that complement each other. The staff are what what make Sugar Bay so special though. By the end of day one, the staff know your name, by day two they know how you take your coffee or what your favourite drink is and by your final day you feel as though you are saying goodbye to close family and friends. I cannot praise the staff enough. You made our stay so special. The whole island of Barbados, like many countries, has been ravaged by Covid and it’s going to take time to get back on its feet. Tourism is the lead industry and it’s clear to see why. Such an amazing, friendly, polite and accommodating culture against a backdrop of pure paradise. We will be back soon!!!

by eclark16 Egham, United Kingdom

First time in Barbados & not disappointed!

We stayed at the Sugarbay Hotel in June for a very delayed honeymoon and fair to say we were not disappointed! Location - great location, around a 20 minute drive from the airport. Right on the beach front and around a ten minute walk to the Garrison, Pebbles beach and in the boardwalk into Hastings. Around a 15 minute drive into Bridgetown, so very ideally placed! Room - ocean front room with lovely views of the beach from our own balcony. Room a little small but did have a huge very comfortable bed and plenty of clothes storage space. Bathroom was good with a rain head shower, only thing I would say is that there needed to be a bigger shower tray as the bathroom did get very wet when you showered. Also, the bathroom had a glass partition so if staying with a friend that might have got a little awkward but didn’t bother us too much. Room came with a big flat screen tv with different American channels and coffee and tea making facilities however, the coffee was not replenished on a couple of occasions. Food & drink - Reef the buffet restaurant did not do a huge variety of dishes, however, what they did do they did very very well and we would go as far to say it was the best buffet hotel food we’ve ever had. Collins was great for lunch, however, did get a little repetitive and by our final day we were a little bit fooded out/wanting a bit more variety. Drinks were ample and very strong so no complaints here! Bar staff very friendly and worked hard. Restaurant staff again friendly but we did find the busier the hotel got the level of attentiveness did dip quite considerably, one night we had finished our meal by the time our drinks arrived, although the staff were working incredibly hard! We ate at both Sizzle and Umi and I have to say in both the food was incredible as was the service, faultless and 100% worth booking both! Special shout out to Joan, Davino and Aqueel who really looked after us. Hotel - very nicely decorated and the staff tried hard to keep communal areas clean, I saw the same cleaner on multiple occasions mopping the floor, I didn’t catch her name but she was lovely and said good morning to me every day. Only thing I would mention is that there were quite a few birds lingering, I know the staff couldn’t do anything about this but they were cheeky at times nicking left overs etc. this didn’t bother us as we didn’t leave our tables or drinks unattended but just something to watch out for! Beach was clean and we saw the water sports team on multiple occasions cleaning away sea weed and offering to pop up umbrellas. Plenty of sun beds, hammocks and day beds on the beach so we never struggled to find anywhere to sit. Space by the pool was limited, it was incredibly hard to get a sun bed due to people reserving them with towels. This was a little frustrating at times as we kept an eye on the beds and most of the time no-one came back to sit on them, I think the hotel needs to clamp down on this a little more. Swim up bar was good especially when manned by Davino who always spotted your empty glass and re-filled and even made my husband one of his special cocktails which was delicious! Entertainment - the water sports team were great, there was a member of the team, we didn’t catch his name but he had a leg brace on, who always involved my husband in the beach cricket and always remembered us and said hi. Evening entertainment was a bit hit and miss, some evenings it was great, the Calipso band, dancers and fire eater were a highlight, but some evenings we found ourselves heading to bed early as we were not enjoying the entertainment. We also think it may help the hotel if perhaps there are some day activities go on and/or have a timetable of when things will be happening so people know and can join. It would have been nice to perhaps have a beach volleyball competition or a quiz. Things to do - we would highly recommend a trip to Oistins for fish Friday, the atmosphere was incredible and the food was delicious. Try Chillin and Grilling, the staff were lovely and we had a great meal there. We would also suggest getting up early and taking a walk down to Pebbles beach to see the race horses have their daily dip in the sea, an incredible sight which happens most mornings between 06:00 - 07:00. A trip to the Mount Gay distillery is a must! We did the short $20 history and tasting tour and it was excellent, cocktails after were good too. The hotel is also ideally placed and within walking distance of the historic Garrison and the Barbados Museum and George Washingtons house which we did in a morning and were very interesting. We did not struggle to get taxis as the hotel called them for us and we found them reasonably priced, however, if you want to get a taxi to Oistins for fish Friday we would highly recommend booking in advance as everyone is trying to get to the same place at the same time and it can be a little chaotic! Being our first ever trip to the Caribbean we really enjoyed our time in Barbados and at Sugarbay. We highly recommend you visit! Thank you Sugarbay for a great stay and honeymoon, we will be back.

by jagpc1404

Brilliant staff and a great hotel

First impressions of the hotel were great and the staff were fantastic right from the cleaners to the front of house all very polite and always saying hello. The food was good and the only complaint would be that it could be kept warmer on the buffet. The pool area was great plenty of sun beds and very clean. Beach was clean and again plenty of sun beds. Just be warned if you wish to change money at the hotel they charge a fairly hefty 10 % which I thought was a lot plus the bank charge. Other than that the hotel was very clean and tidy and like I said the staff are fantastic.

by OnAir27967621887

Horrible service

This hotel has a wonderful location but staying at this hotel was such a bad experience. 1. Checking in- check in is at 4pm and we took the only flight to Barbados which lands in the island around 9am. We got the hotel at 10:30am and was told no accommodations can be made for us and we will have to wait until 4pm before we got any room and there was nothing we can do. We however saw multiple persons checking in before us who arrived after. 2. Room- the room was not like was pictured and during the turn downs and cleaning of the rooms, they did not refill our coffee or toilet paper or napkins. 3. Wildlife on the premises- the staff took forever to clean the tables which attracted flocks of birds upon your table. At one point we had to call waiters or clean it ourselves even through they were right there. 4. Service- this was probably the worst service we received at any hotel I’ve ever stayed in. While I understand this is an all inclusive, at dinner I chose to have more than one appetizer instead of having an appetizer and a main. I was questioned by the waitress why I’m ordering so much and whether or not I can eat all of it. And she needs to see me eat all of it when she brings it. This was unnecessary and rude. With a table of 7 persons I understand items may take longer to come to us. However we stayed at dinner for 2 and a half hours to then receive our appetizers. And whenever we asked the manager his response was always that he was checking on it. The staff was always rude or ignoring our group, even when we were in front of the bar and it was empty , we always had to wait. We also heard the persons at the front desk talking about the guests in a negative way because they requested room service. We couldn’t get food at certain times since restaurants were closed. If you had to order room service you had to pay for both the service and the food. Very very disappointed and will not be visiting again.

by e1234287 London, United Kingdom

Lovely stay!

Spent a week at sugar bay. Very happy with our stay. The staff go above and beyond for you and always with a smile, never been to a hotel where all staff are so amazing, especially the girls in the restaurant and Tyresse is a special editorial to the hotel. The only down wall would be we only managed to spend one day around the pool due to there never being enough sun loungers and them all being taken by 6.30am! (The one day we did we got up as early as that but then realised we are on holiday and a lay in is essential!) can’t fault the beach though. Would recommend this hotel to anyone but would advise if you are doing longer than a week I feel the food can get boring as it’s very much the same most days, however would still return.