Sandridge is one of the nicest hotels I have ever been to and I am well travelled from 3 star to 5 star.

We booked with Virgin and started off in the Sandy Bay Beach Hotel on the South Coast and this hotel has to be the worst place on earth but we spoke to the very helpful Virgin Rep there and she moved us to Sandridge on the West Coast with very little fuss.

The food at Sandridge is fabulous and the a la carte nights in the main restaurants are 5 star, we are not as keen on buffetts generally but the food was very varied and if we didn't want it then we could book into Chatell Bar for a la carte which was gorgeous.

The staff are all great, Geoff the manager is a great guy and the guests and staff love him, he is so helpful and full of facinating stories. Martin the watersports guy is very entertaining and anything to do with the Sea he will help you with from Kayaking to feeding turtles. Overall the staff at Sandridge are excellent and very helpful.

The hotel has trips planned out for every day of the week and if you go to this hotel you must do the BBQ day (usually on Fridays). They have a powerboat ride to the north of the Island, boat racing, it really is a great day out.

Our room was on the lower floor overlooking the gardens and its was great, we did back on to the building site but I can honestly say that we never really noticed them and it did not affect our holiday at all.

The pool was great and there was always sunbeds available any time of day on the beach or by the pool. No-one was rushing to get their towels on before breakfast..!

This hotel is definitely NOT a Butlins type place there are guests from all walks of life and it seems (from our stay) that the friendliest people chose to stay here. If you would like a grand, no feeling, 5 star, snobby hotel then I suggest you choose another hotel and pay more!

We've just returned from a chilled weeks holiday at the Sandridge.

I wasn't expecting too much, based on the earlier reviews and as we managed to secure a cheap deal (£1,200 for two people for a week all inclusive including flights!) so we were really just hoping for a bit of relaxation and winter sun.

The Sandridge exceeded my expectations. We had a pleasant welcome (rum punch and a cool towel) with our luggage delivered to our room. Having been pre warned about the building works, we paid extra for a studio room which overlooks the gardens (and is on the other side of the hotel). I am so glad we did - if we hadn't I believe this review would have read very differently having seen the "standard" rooms. They are small and face right into the building site - not very pleasant. Our room was fine - yes perhaps it could have done with a refit (the aircon only worked occasionally, a door handle came off and the fridge did not work) - but it was a good size, was clean and the bed was comfy.

The building works didn't really bother us at all. The new flats being built are a bit of an eyesore from the beach, and when on the beach you could hear occasional bursts of drilling, but that was about the worst of it. We preferred to stay on the grass in front of the hotel on the edge of the beach (that is if we were up early enough to secure a sunlounger) where you could not hear the noise. You also avoid the beach hawkers, who didn't really cause us a problem, as we just said a firm No straight away which did the trick.

The pool is very small (actually that goes for most of the facilities) and if the hotel is full I imagine it would feel very overcrowded. We took advantage of the complementary glass bottom boat trips to swim with the turtles, with the infamous Martin - he was great. He could probably do with a new boat though!

I was very impressed with most of the staff, especially Geoff the Manager. There was an earthquake while we stayed there, and despite this no doubt being alarming for the hotel staff, I thought they took control of the situation really well.

The real plus point of the Sandridge is the food - great choice, stunning presentation and some of the a la carte dishes were out of this world. The only downside was having to watch some really obese people overload on the buffet, (clearly not the hotel's fault and I have nothing against overweight people, but this was to the point of being obscene). One night the staff arranged for just my husband and I to eat in the Chattel restuarant courtyard surrounded by lanterns - really romantic and we weren't on honeymoon (although we could have been it was that special)!

So I would recommend the Sandridge as a great value relaxing holiday destination - just make sure you avoid the building works

We have just come back after staying 10 days at Sandridge. We were delayed at Gatwick and instead of arriving in daylight arrived in the dark. When we first saw our room ( a studio not on the building side of the hotel) we both looked at each other and thought oh no! However, in the day light it did not look so bad, a little tired but clean. The food at this hotel is very good and my husband who is very critical thoroughly enjoyed the a la Carte evenings at the Chattel restaurant. The staff are very helpful and friendly and the hotel has a very nice relaxed atmosphere. The pool is very small and in the afternoons has a nice film of greasy sun cream showing! Hence I never swam in it and kept to the sea which on a calm day was lovely for swimming.

We took the ttip to the Grenadines which was fabulous. We went with Chantours who were very efficient except for Chantelle the lady that met us at the airport to get us checked in. She did not smile gave us our immigration forms to fill out etc. and when we told her she had not given us one she snapped and said that she had when in fact she then realised she had not. It became stressful and this was down to her unhelpfulness. After that we boarded a little 8 seater plane and took the 55 minute flight to Union Island where we were met by an extended golf buggy and taken to our catamaran. There were only 7 of us to begin with and then we picked up 2 couples from an island who joined us for the rest of the trip. It really was breathtaking, we sailed around Tobago Keys and several other islands stopping for snorkelling on the way. Before we went my husband was moaning about the cost of the trip (£240 each for the day) but he had to admit at the end of the day what a fabulous day it was and well worth the money!

We found a lovely local taxi driver called Murray, who sits at the Holetown taxi rank. My husband asked him if he did Island tours and 'yes' he did. For 170 Bajan dollars he took us and another couple out for 5 hours and gave us a real insight to the island and the history. We passed his number to other people in the hotel who also booked him.

I could go on forever! What I will sum up with is the Sandridge is in need of a lick of paint but the food and staff more than make up for that. It is a lovely friendly hotel which alot of other hotels I have stayed in that are 5 star lack.

Barbados is great - it was our first trip and we decided we would definately go back.

Having read most of the reviews on Sandridge we arrived fearing the worse.........but we need'nt of worried, yes our room faced the building works but this did n't worry us. If you stay around the poolside there is no noise from the site or take a beach to the north of the hotel, we only used the room to sleep in and shower before dinner.

We enjoyed the best ever food for an all inc and cannot praise both Greig and Donovan for the varied courses and tasty menus they provided. book to dine in the Chattel as much as poss. The bar staff are masters of their art and if there is a cocktail not listed they will try to make it for you ( try the mudslide) and yes, their rum punch is the best in Barbados, be warned.

All ammenities on site are more than adequate and they provide a number of trips and excursions mostly free or at small cost. Swimming with the turtles is a must as is the trip to feed the fish.

The star of the holiday was difinately MARTIN who goes out of his way to make you happy and is BARBADOS himself !.. an absolute diamond.

To Geoff the GM, please pass on our thanks to all your staff, you have a great team and lets hope they will still be with you at the Sugar Cane.