Sandy Lane Resort, Barbados

When visiting the island of Barbados there is only one place to stay if you are looking to be pampered and enjoy the best of the best and that is Sandy Lane. There are few places in the world, where the word luxurious is the most appropriate adjective for every single thing you experience here.  It is no surprise after visiting that it is one of the world’s best resorts. Located on the western coast of the island, known as the Platinum Coast, Sandy Lane sits on 1,000 feet of white sand. The resort boasts 112 opulent rooms and suites with hi-tech amenities, decadent interior designs, marble floors and a private veranda to enjoy the ocean views. Each room offers touch screen controls at your bedside to adjust the air conditioning, change the TV channel, open the curtains and of course adjust the lighting to set the mood. The entertainment center includes a 42-inch plasma screen TV and is just what you’d expect from a sophisticated resort.  Did we mention you can find heated mirrors and multi-spray showers in the over-sized bathroom?

The visitor experience is over the top perfection, with superb customer service from the extremely warm, friendly and helpful staff, which ensured that our stay was an absolute pleasure from start to finish.  It is obvious staff members are treated well here and not only love their jobs but also respect their team leaders. From the moment we arrived we were treated like royalty. Even the kids at Sandy Lane are catered for to keep them entertained while parents sit back and relax.

There are four restaurants, seven bars, nine floodlit tennis courts, dedicated clubs for both kids and teens and three world championship golf courses; even better all courses have been approved by Tiger Woods himself. The resort is famous for its three golf courses, two of which are open to the public; The Old Nine and The Country Club while the Green Monkey course (Tiger’s favorite) is exclusively for use by resort guests. We golfed the challenging 72 par, 7,060-yard Country Club course which was designed by Tom Fazio; the same designer of our favorite local Pelican Hill course in Newport Beach.

The magnificent 47,000 square foot spa on property provides a range of treatments and is second to none.  The treatment list is pretty extensive and highlights traditional cultural therapies from around the world. There are 14 personalized VIP suites, relaxation and meditation rooms, a panoramic sauna, a 2,500-square-foot gym and a 7,500-square-foot free-form swimming pool. There is also a Chakra therapy room, a Hydrotherapy room and Jet Blitz room. The spa has recently introduced a teen spa menu for guests from 9 to 16 years old that offers manicures, pedicures, facials and massages.  We suggest an aromatherapy massage which was wonderful and left us in a state of tranquility for the rest of the day.