Barbados all inclusive resorts alternatives to Sandals

[hayleybeach]

I've got a big birthday coming up in January and am researching resorts in the Caribbean (must be all inclusive) for myself and DH.
I've found a cheap direct flight to Barbados so that's the destination.
I've obviously looked at all the Sandals resorts, but am thinking there must be other alternative resorts on a par with Sandals in terms of facilities, food, accommodation etc.
Anyone recommend any other similar to Sandals all inclusive resorts in Barbados?

it depends on your budget really - there are loads of AI hotels on Barbados.

Also, do you want South or West coast? The former is much more lively - but the sea tends to be a bit rougher. The West coast (also known as the Platinum coast, as it's so expensive!) is a bit more sedate, and the sea is a lot calmer.

Why would you go AI in Barbados? It’s easy to get around on buses/driving yourself, supermarkets are cheap and easy, and there are loads of amazing restaurants. Seems a shame to travel all that way, to a beautiful, diverse place, to only stay in one place and never leave!

Just because you're in an AI resort doesn't mean you never leave it though!

Sandy Lane

Did Crystal Cove in 2023, was lovely.

Club Barbados on the West coast, fab!

Thanks for the recommendations so far! Will take a look at those. West coast at an AI resort for 5 days or so.

Club Barbados you can walk to Sandy Lane, take afternoon tea. Or you can walk to chattel village, then on to Holetown.

What do you want to do when you're there @hayleybeach? How lively a place do you want to be in? Do you want adults only or is a family hotel/resort important?

It’s a shame to go AI in Barbados as others have said. You need to post your budget so you can get some more help. Also consider posting on the Barbados TA forum. Lots of help on there.

Aim of holiday is rest and relaxation celebrating my big birthday so beach, pool, restaurant, spa! Kids all grown up so just me and DH.

I don't mid paying Sandals prices but surprisingly the reviews are so mixed so looking elsewhere at a similar price point. Oftentimes you're just paying for the name.

Club Barbados looks nice - small and intimate.
I've read that water taxis take you from Crystal Cove to the other Elegant hotels. Don't suppose you can use their bars and restaurants too?

I’ve heard very good things about O2 beach club!

Ignore the silly comments like “why would you go all inclusive?”, obviously it’s perfectly possible to enjoy all inclusive breakfast/drinks/some meals and still go out and sample some of the local restaurants, contrary to popular belief on mumsnet you’re not confined to the resort!

And, frankly, if it's R&R you're after (and you're only there for 5 days) then absolutely go for AI.

We go to Barbados a lot - it's our favourite place - and we've done both AI and self-catering. They fulfil different needs.

RIU hotels are awesome.

Sugar Bay near Bridgetown. Been a couple of times and it was excellent.

Sorry to hijack but how did you find the food/drinks options at Sugar Bay and was it easy to get to other places to eat? We’re thinking of going with a toddler but was a bit concerned about what seems to be a small choice of restaurants.

If we didn’t have a kid we’d be going to O2 beach club, I agree OP I have heard not great things about sandals Barbados.

@YaWeeFurryBastard the buffet is of a great standard and varies daily. The lunch place is also good, then you can obviously do the steakhouse & Asian once a week. Very easy to get around from there using the local buses. Eg Champers just down the road, and also easy to get to St Lawrence Gap.

Disclaimer: we didn't travel with kids and our last visit was in 2019.

Ive stayed in Club Barbados and would never go back there at the prices they charged!
For meals, breakfast is a bog standard buffet. Lunch is again a buffet with limited choice. Dinner is a set menu with a very limited choice. DH is vegetarian and he ended up having to ask for an omelette every night as the choice for him was rubbish. Small portions, ok food but just not worth the AI cost. The restaurant is open sided so you’re bombarded with birds at every meal time. Its the only time ive come home from a holiday and lost weight 😂
Water sports were included but again had poor facilities and miserable staff. The hotel doesn’t have a beach as the sea comes right up to the decking so you're on a thin layer of sand laid on concrete. It’s a good spot for walking up the beach to Holetown where there are some nice bars, but very pricey!
The icing on the cake was the morning we went down for breakfast and the gardener was lifting a manhole at the bottom of the staircase. He poured some solution into the opening and literally hundreds of cockroaches swarmed out 🤢. I screamed pathetically, he laughed and said he has to do that every morning.
Entertainment was the same every evening - a duo who performed different genres so we had an Abba night, Beatles night, Reggae night etc. At night, you can’t really walk to anywhere as the roads are unlit and theres not always pavements, so it’s quite unsafe.
I loved the island, loved the reggae buses, loved the people (mostly) but hated the hotel!

We did Turtle Beach which is next door to Sandals. We had a great time slobbing out, just what we needed.

If you are staying on site, I'd look at cheaper options like Jamaica, Mexico or DR. I have done them all. The TRS hotels are really good. We did El Dorado Royal recently in Mexico, and that was good too. I've done Sandals in Jamaica, and it was not as polished as TRS. TRS Turquesa in DR was fab.

Do you want all the watersports/yoga etc that Sandals offers? If not, look elsewhere.

We took my preschooler to Turtle Beach about a decade ago. Crystal Cove was the smarter (adults only) resort nearby.

From memory you could get the hotel to book restaurants in sister properties.

Do hire a car and explore the island.

BTW early December tends to be a lot cheaper than January (and it tends to be less popular with N Americans).

Thank you all for your comments and recommendations. You've been amazing! This has been so helpful. I've made notes on everything and am avidly researching.
I hadn't thought about DR (I found cheap flights from my home airport to Barbados so thought that was the obvious option!)
I might expand my search area as a result of this thread. Birthday mid January so have to kind of go then... Thanks again x

Just be warned that the DR/Mexico/Jamaica are pretty rough outside the resort areas so you likely won’t be eating outside the hotel or wandering around unsupervised. They have some beautiful scenery so not a bad holiday if you want to fly and flop/be focused on the all inclusive side. Barbados is a lot more upmarket and safer.

@Soontobe60

I'm surprised to read your view on CB - it's 5 years since I've been and it must have gone downhill since then. We used to swim off the hotel but obviously that's different now.

Exactly. You wouldn't want to go to any of these if you can afford to go to Barbados.
@yeshimabet there isn't an AI option for Sandy Lane.

O2 beach club is similar to Sandals.