PARADISE AT YOUR SERVICE
Stylish stay
Ialways imagined that a Sandals resort would be full of young honeymooners, drawing love hearts in the sand as the sun goes down. True, all guests are adult couples, but my trip to the newly opened Sandals Royal Barbados in Christ Church showed me how wrong I was.
Situated on the bay of St Lawrence Gap, the new jewel in the Sandals crown is all about delicious food, pristine gardens, golden sands and ocean views. My partner, Ian, and I fitted right in with the clientele, made up of friendly American and British couples – many, like us, in their 50s, all enjoying the chat around the glass-fronted infinity pool and inviting bars. Some were proud to be on their 10th or more Sandals holiday.
The army of staff provides Club Class service for every one of the 222 suites, although there are room levels and prices to suit every purse. We went for the lower-budget room (a Junior Palm Suite), but we still had a king-size bed, spacious sitting area, large walk-in closet and tranquillity soaking tub for two on the balcony. Pay a little extra and you even get your own personal butler.
The resort has seven restaurants (17 if you count the original sister Sandals resort that’s connected by a walkway) serving a range of cuisines from around the globe, including French, American, Caribbean and Asian. The all-inclusive offer comes with five-star gourmet dining, with premiumbrand beers, wines, spirits and cocktails – far better than we had previously experienced at other all-inclusive resorts. There are lots of active pursuits along with the services on offer. You can go bowling, have a haircut, shop and enjoy treatments in the huge spa (not all-inclusive, but with treatments around the same price as the UK). Beyond the resort, we visited the capital Bridgetown and Oistin’s Friday Night Fish Fry, where locals gather for barbecue chicken and fish dishes, but we were drawn back to the resort as the opportunity to spend our last evening at its French gourmet La Parisienne restaurant was too much to resist.
Fine weather guaranteed, fabulous food and wonderful accommodation made our week at Sandals hugely enjoyable – and without a single beachdrawn love heart in sight.