Sugar Bay Barbados

Wow, where do I start. My wife and I, along with 2 girls, 16 and 18, have just got back and we’ll be going back for sure. The whole experience was amazing from Day 1. The front desk service, concierge and the all the restaurant and bar staff are amazing. It goes without saying the scenery is beautiful but the way you are able to just relax and enjoy the surroundings was just what we all needed, and nothing is too much if you ask with smile. The only problem is how we work off the excess calories because the food was delicious…Sugar Bay, a real gem Read less

What a fabulous stay! Where do I start? This is our 5th trip to Barbados but our first to Sugar Bay...and we cannot wait to re-visit next year! The staff are fabulous, so welcoming and in my view, a vital part to the success of any business. Akiel for his enthusiasm for his job; Kimberley for her gorgeous smile and welcome every morning; Ramario, Lashonda, Cherise to name just a few. Big shout out to Lucas for looking after us on the beach and Pedro for his never ending smile and welcome! Super comfy beds and pillows, and great selection of food and drink. Nothing too much trouble for the staff. Highly recommend! Read less

We are just back from a fabulous family holiday in Sugar Bay. It’s our first long haul holiday with our children aged 9 and 6 and we all had the most amazing time. From the moment we arrived the team have made it probably our best holiday for years by being so welcoming! At the restaurant a massive shout out to Akiel, Nickoli and Romario for their never ending smiles, advice and amazing service. Also included in the restaurants praise are both Samantha’s (M and E) who were also outstanding in both service and friendliness. The reef restaurant serves the buffet selection which is different most nights and has the most delicious cakes. The selection could be slightly better with more fruit and dried fruit but we found something delicious everyday. Collins bar was a godsend when we were wet and needed a quick lunch meal. The al a cartes were both worth a visit. At Umi we had a lovely pad Thai and the steak at sizzle was delicious. As others have said both could do with some air conditioning just to make it a more pleasant experience but the staff and food was delicious. At the main bar, they quickly got to know your preferences and by the end Antonio was preparing my nightly tipple as he saw me approaching. They are always willing to adapt a cocktail and it was a gorgeous spot to sit watching the sun go down. Our kids absolutely loved the kids club, the youngest was asking to go daily and loved spending time with Keisha; even our usually reluctant eldest enjoyed his time there. The watersports team accommodated and encouraged the boys to take part in cricket and various other activities and shout out to Antonio who played ping pong daily with both the boys and my husband. The room we had (oceanfront family room) was spacious and the view couldn’t be beaten. The room was somewhat dated but always impeccably clean and well serviced. We were Expecting that with the Bajan style, if you want deluxe ultra 5* a par with Dubai then this probably isn’t the place for you. It’s a family style charm can’t be beaten in our eyes. We mainly sat on the beach which had plenty of sun loungers (be early down if you want the ones on the waters edge) but the days when we went to the pool we had a couple of loungers next to each other without needing to be down too early. The hotel provided inflatables so the kids had plenty to play with without needing to bring ours out. In short, we had the best time and hope to return for our pink bands in the not too distant future. Thank you to everyone there that made it such a pleasure. Enjoy your christmases. Read less

14 night stay, Wedding and Reception- amazing staff! A group of us stayed here for 14 nights in October (in school term) with our wedding and reception on site.For the ease of those reading this review, I will review in two parts- Part 1. Our stay at the hotel. Part 2. The wedding and reception. Part 1 Our stay, Being that this was after all, going to be our wedding venue and guests were going to stay here and we hadn’t been here beforehand, there was some trepidation that the hotel would live up to our expectations. We shouldn’t have worried. The Hotel- The hotel is small (boutique) but well laid out, where you don’t feel on top of each other. The decor is simple, yet elegant, with splashes of character and this reflected in the whole hotel. It was well looked after, clean and well maintained. The beach was also well maintained and we had no issues with seaweed on our stay. The protected lagoon and shallow bay meant it was never too rough for a swim. It also never felt too crowded either by the beach or swimming pool and we alway got a sun-lounger. For night entertainment it was mostly singers doing covers but they were very good. They did other things during the day too, such as afternoon tea. Small but serviceable gym with two treadmills and a couple of machines. Our room was a family suite. It was spacious and clean and the beds were super comfy. Plenty of TV channels although the sound was a bit distorted on one of the TVs (TV in lounge and one in bedroom). Air con worked perfectly fine in our room, no issues. We could hear the nightly singers from our room but this finished at 10pm. Housekeeping was daily. Food and drinks were great, with lots of variety and all very tasty. The burgers at Collins Bar are probably some of the tastiest burgers I have had! We also had no issue booking the two speciality restaurants, Reef and Umi, with Reef being our preferred of the two. The starters for Umi were better than the main ones. Do try one of the drinks in Blush Cafe, they are yummy. Staff attentiveness- This has to be the hotel’s strongest point was the staff- they were wonderful! The staff were warm, friendly and attentive but not in an overly way that seems false and forced (a bug bear of any Brit)- the exchanges felt natural. Orders and meals were served promptly. But it was going above and beyond that impressed us. One of our party’s luggage hadn’t arrived and they were without fresh clothing. The next day, she went out, came back to a clean room, and the hotel had gifted her a t-shirt. When my wife asked if they had any soursop and they didn't, the next day one of the chefs at breakfast bought some for her to have. It is the little details that absolutely made our stay. I tried to get to know all the names of the staff as they were amazing, I can’t praise them, enough. In all the hotels we’ve been to, this has been by far the best for staff attentiveness. Part 2. The Wedding. There were 50 guests in total for our wedding and reception, lasting from 3pm-10pm. First of all Janelle, our wedding coordinator, was (and is) amazing! Prior to our stay, we had an exchange over Zoom, where she addressed all our wishes for the event and addressed our worries too. Then on the day, she sprung into action! Needless to say Janelle was warm and friendly and easy to communicate with. Janelle and Sugar Bay made sure the day went smoothly. I don't think it interfered with the guests. The decor was beautiful and Janelle was able to meet any personal touches we had. We had a singer and DJ and Sugar Bay was able to accommodate this. The transition from ceremony to reception was seamless. And the place where we had the wedding (cordoned off for us for the ceremony), with the arch and the overhanging palm tree- so picture-esque! Again it's the custom service- it rained briefly at our reception (10 minutes max) and as everyone is running to the bar for shelter, who do I see in the rain- Janelle, turning over seat cushions to ensure when we return our seats our dry! Bless you, Janelle! And so we got married and got merry! Conclusion- Out of 50 guests, about half stayed at the hotel and absolutely loved it. My wife and I had THE BEST time and we were absolutely gutted to leave. We noticed that repeat guests have got different colour bands (with gold band being the highest prestige). After our wonderful stay, I can tell you our goal will be to get one of those bands. Read less