Sugar Bay Barbados

This is the third time that we have been here, the last time was in 2019.Since then, there have been a couple of changes like remodelling the buffet area at Reef and moving and enlarging the bar area. The stay did not start well though. As returning customers you would think though that you would get a decent room without having to complain. The first room which we were taken to when we arrived was near the laundry room and all you could hear was a very annoying humming noise which I would assume was from there which did not stop till about 12pm but restarted at 6am. I did complain when we were shown the room but there were no other rooms available in the hotel that evening when I checked with reception, so we had to stay in there that evening. The next day we were shown a room in the main block which was quiet and was much better. The same thing happened the second time that we stayed at this hotel too in that we had to change rooms. The room that we finally got on the second day was quiet, clean, had nice décor, a comfortable bed and the bathroom was good. The restaurants on the site are good, but I can only echo other people’s comments on here about Sizzles the steak house, which is the problem about the lack of air con here. Now bearing in mind that the hotel had been refurbished since we were last here in 2019, you would have thought that this restaurant would have been fitted with air con by now. The food and drink in Sizzles are good, the waiting staff are friendly, but you are really pleased to finish so you can go off and cool down a bit. The other speciality restaurant is Umi which is by far the best restaurant on the complex. Their sushi is excellent as was the miso soup, beef teriyaki and tempura prawns. The sweets were good too, especially the green tea ice cream and the banana spring rolls. Reef is the al carte buffet restaurant where you have breakfast, lunch, and evening meals when you are not at either of the two specialty restaurants (note you can only go to them once or twice during you stay depending on how long you are staying at the hotel). The food is good but if you are staying there for more than 10 days it does get a bit samey even though they have a themed nights like Asian, Caribbean. Note their Asian night is the best on Thursday. I would ask though what has happened to the sweets in the buffet restaurant. When I was there in 2019, they were all delicious and it was hard to choose which ones to have this time no, so much so that of an evening I stuck to cheese or ice cream. The hotel really does need to hire another sous chef. The final restaurant area is Colins the beach bar area which does good burgers etc cooked from scratch and makes a pleasant change from the lunch time buffet. There is also a small coffee lounge area at the hotel which is ok. The bar now, this is one of the refurbished areas and it is a vast improvement on the old bar area, and you can now sit and watch the sun go down on the sofa area on the beach. However, there is inconsistency on the way the bar tenders make cocktails. I noticed this as they had one of my favourite cocktails there a Mai Tai. One chap made it how it should be made but with the others it came up different variations in colour/taste and one guy used vodka instead of rum and tried to fob me off that they all made it that way at the bar. After that I stuck to pina coladas or white wine if the guy who made them properly was not there. There is also a small pub which isn't in the main area which during all three of our stays never has anyone there apart from the barman and is not advertised well so people don’t know it’s there. They could do things in there like a quiz night every other night etc. Also, on the last day this time I found out that there was also an arcades room on the site, which once again is not advertised anywhere. There is entertainment at the hotel of an evening, mostly singers who are a bit hit and miss. The best ones were a trio of ladies called Virgo. Caribbean night was the best nights entertainment, but it could have done without the annoying DJ guy afterwards. The pool area and the beach loungers now this is the thing that really annoys me there. They let people reserve the loungers with towels books etc. On the two occasions when we could sit near the pool and I might add without reserving the loungers, there were about 9 loungers that had towels/books on and the people who had reserved them didn’t show up for over 5 hours which was just before we were going off for a walk and taking our stuff back upstairs. Now there is even a sign up near the pool which says we prefer people on the seats rather than being reserved with books etc. Surely the items could be moved after an hour so that others can sit there. Note regarding beach towels, these are available from the sports hut on the beach but they don’t seem to have nearly enough at the resort so they are not always available. If your towel is clean and just a little damp take it back to your room and dry them on the rails on the patio then replace them when you spot some being delivered. Don't end up like us with no towels till the afternoon. Finally, what makes this hotel is the good service that you receive from the staff that work there. There are some truly standout ones though like the wonderful Kay from Umi, Ariel the standout waiter in Reef (and on the whole complex), the cheeky Tiana on the front desk and the sports guys on the beach who go out of their way to try and find you somewhere to sit on the beach and get you a parasol and always with a big smile on their faces. Read less

What a wonderful hotel! You could not fault any of the staff they went out of their way to give us a great holiday. I do not drink alcohol and they sourced non alcoholic beer for me. The beach is kept lovely and clean, plenty of Sun beds available and the beach/water sport team were great fun and helpful. Good choice of food. Our room was great. I can’t fault anything about this hotel. I will definitely return. Read less

Second time at Sugar Bay and think it was even better than the first. The hotel is fabulous and the staff are all outstanding. We stayed in room 134 and was superb recently renovated and absolutely no issues at all. As soon as we arrived we were offered a nice cold drink and swiftly shown to our room. We stayed for 11 nights and could book 3 visits to the speciality restaurants “Sumi” and “Sizzle both were excellent - you could pay a small charge to upgrade your meal. The entertainment was very good - starting 7.30 until 10pm. The “Reef” buffet restaurant was excellent both at lunch time and evening meal. The lazy mongoose pub opened at around 9pm and there’s a pool table, dart board and a large TV - you do need to get in early if you want a seat though. The Beach bar was also very good and the staff worked tirelessly to provide a very good service. We both had a massage and these were very good. Colin’s bar and restaurant was also great for lunch and a nice cold beer. The pool is not very deep and not really big enough for dedicated swimmers wanting to do lengths - however very nice for a cooling dip and the sun loungers are very comfy and relaxing. There is also large library by the concierge desk. Afternoon tea and sandwiches were available at 3pm at the “Driftwood Cafe”. There is a fridge in the room but you only get 2 bottles of water - water can be collected at reception. Don’t hesitate to book this hotel you won’t be disappointed. Already looking to book for next year. Read less