The grand dame of Barbados’ luxury hotel scene is next in our profiling of the world’s hottest hotels: IAB Travel welcomes you to Sandy Lane.
OVER 50 YEARS OF HISTORY
Often referred to as the Caribbean’s ‘most glamorous resort’, Sandy Lane Resort Barbados has been sweeping lucky guests of their feet since 1961. Once a grand sugar plantation, the resort started life as the only truly elegant hotel in the island chain before many new hotels sprung up, hoping to imitate her success. Few managed, and despite a three-year closure and a total rebuild, the new Sandy Lane managed to retain all of her original ambience, preserving her charm and adding a host of extraordinary features, such as an underground engineering plant to accommodate all of the behind-the-scenes services and two golf courses designed by golfing Hall of Fame architect, Tom Fazio.
COLONIAL COOL
Sandy Lane’s warm Barbadian hospitality is beautifully mirrored in its quaintly colonial surroundings. Hallways and foyers lined in marble provide a shamelessly flashy introduction, with highlights of coral rock adding a splash of colour. Rooms are plantation style, with marble bathrooms and gently whirring ceiling fans – not detracted from by the vast array of gadgetry that controls everything from the curtains to messages to housekeeping. With nine different room types, Infinity and Beyond Travel can help you decide on the perfect accommodation to suit your tastes. The 47,000 square-foot spa is a gloriously ostentatious affair, the marble reception area accessed by a dizzyingly symmetrical double staircase with Romanesque swags. Each of the treatments is fabulously appointed in granite and cherry woods, and outside there’s a tranquil private landscaped garden with hydrotherapy pools and gently tinkling fountains.
GOLD STANDARD SERVICE
If there’s one thing you can count on for authenticity its Sandy Lane Barbados’ impeccable service, unchanged since it opened in the golden age of travel. Many of the staff have been with Sandy Lane for years, and know all the ins and outs of the property and their island. Exceptionally well trained but refreshingly human, you’ll not want for anything – the staff are genuinely committed to ensuring you’re having the time of your life.
TEEING OFF
Sandy Lane’s trio of greens offers some of the best golfing in the world; as golf courses go, these are definitely up there with the most spectacular situations on the planet. Set on the coast and planted with lush flowers and verdant trees, the golf courses have the perfect backdrop for a round with family or friends. There are three courses to choose from, depending on your preference and ability. The showpiece course is the world-renowned Green Monkey, designed by golfing architect Tom Fazio, carved from an old stone quarry. This course is exclusive to Sandy Lane: 72 par, 7,343 yards long, with a jaw-dropping setting with exposed rock faces that provide a dramatic contrast to the immaculate, rolling fairways. Fazio also designed the resort’s Country Club golf course, set around five lakes with precision-cut fairways, offering a challenging 72-par, 7,060-yard journey with beautiful views of the Caribbean Sea. As the setting for the 2006 World Golf Championships-Barbados World Cup, you can try your luck around a top-class course. The resort’s last course is the famous Old Nine, constructed in 1961 with a gently meandering course through the Sandy Lane estate. At 3,345 yards long at par 36, the Old Nine is shorter yet technically challenging with small greens and tight fairways. On site you’ll also find a pro shop and the Country Club Restaurant, for the ultimate convenience. If you’re looking for amazing golf in Barbados, you’ve found it here at Sandy Lane golf – just ask your concierge at Infinity & Beyond Travel to arrange your tee time.
TRULY TRADITIONAL
Pampering is the order of the day at Sandy Lane. Comfortably cossetting, lavish luxury: the hotel is a study in opulence of the highest order. If you like your bathrooms marble, swimming pools multi-terraced and lined with loungers as wide as queen-size beds, with the opportunity to spot stars of the stage and screen on your winter break, Sandy Lane Barbados is the place for you. Its elegant colonial style is as traditional and unchanging as they come, perhaps why so many fans have returned year after year to relax on its spotless crescent of golden sand. Traditions are there for a reason, after all. Service has been refined over its 50-year reign as the island’s most gracious residence, though one of the finest examples of Sandy Lane’s unwavering commitment to tradition is its exquisite daily afternoon tea. Served from 3pm until 5pm on the spacious lower terrace under the shade of lofty mahogany trees, enjoy a selection of speciality loose leaf teas, homemade scones and tiny pastries. The spread includes the daintiest finger sandwiches, famous coconut cake and a glass of Laurent Perrier Brut, if you feel like indulging.
WE LIKE:
• It’s a true golfing great
• Impeccable service
• The daily English afternoon tea
• Beach beautiful
• The 7,500 square-foot swimming pool
To read more about Sandy Lane take a look at the hotel page
