I’m so excited to finally be giving my honest review of our Honeymoon at Sandals Barbados! I’ve received messages from a few people asking if it was really worth it and spoiler alert…. the answer is 100% YES!!
I think it’s important to note that Sandals Barbados was not our first choice for our honeymoon. We originally wanted to go to Europe, however after doing some research we decided to save that for another time, and boy am I happy we did! With all the wedding planning, I could not have imagined planning a Europe trip which would’ve required SO MUCH RESEARCH. We decided that after the wedding stresses were over, we just wanted to sit on a beach and do NOTHING. We ended up booking Sandals Barbados in April of 2018 (6 months before the wedding.) We had both been to Barbados before and loved it, so we were excited to go back! Plus, it’s not in the hurricane belt so that made me less nervous going in October.
Now, onto the #1 question I’ve gotten and the #1 worry I myself had before booking at a Sandals Resort… Is it really worth the hype? So I already answered this above, but 100% yes it was! I’m sure you’ve seen their somewhat over the top commercials on tv and thought to yourself…. going to a Sandals for your honeymoon… how typical. I had these exact same thoughts and was worried we were going to be spending all this money on a cheesy vacation that we would regret. However that couldn’t have been further from the truth. We LOVED our stay at Sandals and keep saying we need to go back like ASAP!!
Getting to Sandals Barbados
To get to Sandals Barbados, we flew on JetBlue out of JFK. We are non-stop flight kinda people and lucky for us, Walt has family in New Jersey, about an hour away from JFK, so we drove up the night before and stayed at their house. We parked at the Smart Park which was super easy and they provided a shuttle to and from the airport. Not going to lie, flying in/out of JFK was the easiest thing ever! Like way easier than flying out of our home airport, BWI. We breezed through security and were left with several hours before our flight, which was at 8am.
This was also our first time flying JetBlue (we are loyal Southwest fans) but shhhh we LOVED JetBlue. Each seat had a screen with new movies to watch for free and they give you UNLIMITED snacks! The flight to Barbados is five hours from JFK. We arrived in Barbados and once we cleared customs and retrieved our bags, we were greeted by a Sandals representative who directed us to our taxi (transportation to/from Sandals Resorts is included), which we shared with another couple also going to Sandals Barbados. It was a short 10 minute ride to the resort.
Our Room: Crystal Lagoon Luxury Honeymoon Room with Balcony Tranquility Soaking Tub
As I mentioned earlier, we didn’t book at Sandals Barbados until about six months before our honeymoon and hint hint…. people book these trips sometimes years in advance, so the options were somewhat limited when it came to our room. First off let me mention that Sandals actually has TWO resorts in Barbados; Sandals Barbados (where we stayed) & Sandals Royal Barbados. Sandals Royal Barbados is brand new and therefore more expensive. I was at first worried about staying at the “older” resort but was quickly reassured when we got to the resort and were given a tour and they said “ok are you ready to walk over to the other resort?” and NO JOKE we literally took two steps and we were there! The two resorts are basically one big one and you would never know you were crossing over into the other, unless someone told you. You have full access to both resorts, no matter which one you stay at, so for us saving some $$$ and staying at the “older” resort but getting to use all the “new” resort amenities was such a deal!
Our room was really nice and was actually right near the lobby, but it was never very loud. We had a king bed, mini fridge (which was included) and a balcony with a tub (I’m terrified of baths…btw, so I did not use the tub.) I’m a firm believer in not needing a super fancy room because you’re hardly ever in it!
The Beach & Pool
As total beach people, the beach is VERY important to us! If I’m going to pay all this money to fly somewhere tropical I don’t want to just sit at the pool, I want to enjoy the beautiful beach and Barbados’ beach did not disappoint! I was actually pretty nervous before we got there because of the current seaweed problem in the Caribbean. I had read online that Sandals was actually shuttling people to a different beach because their beach had such bad seaweed. Luckily, we didn’t have any issues and were able to enjoy Sandals’ beach every day! I think it’s important to mention that we did not have a butler and we had no issues getting chairs on the beach.
If you’re more of a pool person, don’t worry! Apparently there are over 30 pools between the two resorts, so there’s plenty to choose from. We mostly hung out at the glass front infinity pool on the royal side. Since this was the main pool, chairs were sometimes hard to find if you didn’t get to the pool early in the day. The royal side also has a rooftop infinity pool, which provides amazing views while you swim.
Food & Drinks
If you know me, you know I love food! I was going into this vacation trying not to get my hopes up about having great food because it was an all-inclusive and most all-inclusive’s food is just blah. Not great… not bad, just blah. Well, Sandals is the exception to this! The food was amazing! Some nights we actually ate two dinners, because we wanted to try everything and it was just that good! Between the two resorts there are 27 restaurants to choose from… yes you read that correctly 27 restaurants!!! A few of the restaurants do require a reservation so be sure to make your reservations as soon as you get to the resort. I’m highlighting a few below that we ate at during our stay.
Butch’s Chophouse – The steakhouse. This one is located on the Barbados resort side. There is also a Butch’s on the Royal side, but we were told the Barbados one is better. A reservation is required for this restaurant and they do have a fancier dress code.
Kimonos – The Hibachi restaurant. This is your typical Hibachi, where you sit at a table with other people and they cook your food in front of you. You get to pick your appetizer and then they provide you with a variety of meats throughout the dinner. A reservation is required for this restaurant.
Soy – The sushi restaurant. This was hands down my favorite restaurant. I could’ve eaten here every night – and I think we almost did! I’m a big sushi lover, so being able to order unlimited rolls was quite dangerous. My favorite roll was the crispy philly.
La Parisienne – The French restaurant. They serve both breakfast and dinner here but we only ever had breakfast. It’s a sit down meal instead of the normal breakfast buffet, which was good to change things up. The view from this restaurant is incredible and the perfect way to start or end your day!
Jerk Shack – This was our first meal at the resort. Upon arrival, our room wasn’t ready yet so they had us choose a place for lunch while we waited. You eat at picnic tables outside and have a choice of pork, chicken, sausage or fish for your meal.
Sweet & Salty’s Gourmet Donuts & Coffee – Ok guys, this one I’m a little upset we missed. Royal Barbados now has a donut shop, which opened after we had already left. I told Walt that’s just another reason we have to go back!
I also wanted to mention that we got a free candlelight dinner on the beach when booking the trip. While I can see where some people think it’s the most romantic thing ever… it just really wasn’t for us and I wouldn’t do it again. However, this may have been due to the massive amount of sushi I ate beforehand (dinner wasn’t until 8:30, and your girl’s gotta eat) that I was so uncomfortably full, eating a 5-course meal was not ideal. The food was delicious and they give you a menu when you book the dinner ahead of time to select your courses, but to us it wouldn’t be worth the $$$.
Silver Moon Excursion
If you’re ever in Barbados, you MUST do the Silver Moon excursion. It’s not through Sandals so you have to book it on your own. This was my fourth time doing this excursion and it’s still my favorite. They offer a variety of options and have three different boats. The one we did was called the Premium XL 12 Passenger Lunch Cruise. Each excursion is a 5-hour long catamaran cruise with two snorkeling stops including one with sea turtles. After snorkeling and swimming, lunch is provided on the boat and they make the BEST pina coladas. It makes for the most relaxing day ever and I 100% recommend it.
Red Lane Spa
We also received a spa credit when booking this trip and as two people who’ve never had massages before.. we thought hey, why not!? IMPORTANT: Apparently you’re supposed to drink A LOT of water before/after a massage due to all the toxins being released in your body, but as a first timer I had no clue. The actual massages were great. We ended up doing a 60 min couples massage. Fast forward a few hours and all of a sudden I wasn’t feeling too well at lunch. I can’t even explain the feeling, but all of a sudden everything was going dark and next thing I knew I was “coming back to” and noticed my drink was spilled… not realizing I was the one who spilled it with my face. YUP, you read that correctly, I passed out at lunch and my face landed in my plate… how embarrassing!!! I had never passed out before so I had no clue what was going on, and everyone around us definitely thought I was drunk… LOL. Walt quickly got boxes for our food and back to the room we went. I was able to sleep it off and was fine the rest of the day/trip but that definitely was an interesting part of our honeymoon! So my advice to anyone thinking of getting a massage, do it….. but drink LOTS OF WATER!
Would we go to a Sandals Resort again?
To summarize, we absolutely LOVED our honeymoon at Sandals Barbados and would recommend it to anyone looking for a relaxing vacation. We were there for 6 days, and we wish we would’ve booked it for longer, as we were totally not ready to leave! We would LOVE to visit another Sandals resort in the future. If you’ve been to a Sandals resort before, leave a comment below which one is your favorite!!
What I’m Packing for St. Thomas
Sandals Grande Antigua Travel Review
What I Wore in Miami
Vegas Travel Guide
