Stayed for 2 weeks, rooms are in bad condition, even after paying for an upgrade, the oven wouldnt open the toaster and remote didnt work, the window locks were about to drop off, its in need of major modernising, very very basic. i also had £60 stolen by a cleaner from my bag. The swimming area is nice and beach but rooms definately let it down, i would never stop there again.

After missing our flight in st. lucia we had to catch a connecting flight in barbados. I contacted our family to book a place for myself, husband and 2 teens as we had no internet acess available. They went through expedia and found the silver sands which according to their website looked half decent for an overnite stay. The grounds leading up to the hotel were deceiving as it looked half decent, however when taken to our rooms( had to book 2 as they would not allow 4 people per room) we were shocked at the state of the rooms. Water stains on lamps and walls ...old wooden sliding patio door that fell off hinges and a rock hard bed with 2 small pillows. An tired old kitchen and bathroom that you would not want to spend any time in. We arrived around 5:00pm and had dinner there..nothing to write about. After dinner I decided to take a swim and found it unusual that no one was in it as it was so hot. An employee informed me that it was closed at 7:00pm (this was 7:15 pm).Surprising as we are talking extremly hot weather. Cannot relax by pool or bar as drug dealers constantly bothering you.I normally would never complain about places but felt compelled to do so in this case as website very decieving. The frontdesk "told me what do expect for those prices" It;s a good thing we only were staying 1 nite . Very disappointing

I booked the resort for a 2 week self catering stay (via my travel agent) after my first choice hotel was not available so had not done any prior research. After reading some of the reviews and relevant horror stories on Trip Advisor I was so concerned about the accommodation that I tried to change to another hotel without success so had to stick with Silver Sands. My son and I flew in to Barbados on 27th June and on arrival took a taxi ($30 Bajan - about £9) to the resort. I will admit that before we arrived I was quite anxious about what would be waiting for us but what can I say.....the reception staff were very helpful and friendly and the reception area was clean, airy and welcoming. I upgraded to a garden view 1 bedroomed apartment without any problem and yes, a prepaid 'card' is used within the complex to purchase items at the bar, restaurants and supermarket but this is not a hardship, and on the positive side money does not have to be carried around whilst you are using the premises. Our room was across the complex (about 2 minutes walk from the reception and pool/beach area) on the third floor so we had to walk up quite a lot of steps as there were no lifts but our guide carried one of our cases for us which was a big help. The apartment was large and airy, however If you are looking for first class accommodation then this is not the resort for you. The living room/kitchen/breakfast bar area was basic with satellite TV provided (no remote control, but that was not a problem as we both had the use of our legs......) There was ample cupboard space for clothing and the bedroom had cold air conditioning which was a little noisy at first but soon forgotten about. The apartment was clean with an excellent shower that almost took skin off it was so powerful. There was a fridge/freezer in the kitchen as well as a full sized oven. The apartment was cleaned everyday and fresh towels provided on a daily basis. There was also always plenty of hot water. The view from the apartment was lovely overlooking the well maintained gardens from the balcony which was accessed via patio doors and we were regularly visited by quite tame birds wanting food which was very novel. The beach was about 100 yards away from the apartment and it was great to hear the waves crashing on the shore, unfortunately the sea was quite rough, although excellent for windsurfing or body boarding. There was a calmer beach a bit further round the corner of the headland (approx 10 mins walk) and we found a lovely little beach just entering Oistins on the sea road which was used by locals as well as tourists, although sunbeds were not available. The pool area at the resort was very clean and we did not have a problem obtaining sun beds no matter what time of day we used the pool area (which led down onto the beach via a few steps). There were two restaurants on the complex both near the pool, however I cannot comment on the quality of the food at the resort as we ate out at St Lawrence Gap or Oistins during our stay. The fried fish and accompanying rice salad at Oistins was delicious and comes highly recommended. We hired a small car during our stay and toured all round the island visiting all the featured tourist attractions. I booked a couple of others via the Barbados tourist web site and can recommend the Zip Line tour (not for the fainthearted). We also booked the 'Virgins Ahoy' catamaran trip via our Virgin Rep which was absolutely brilliant and well worth the money. Swimming and snorkelling amid the turtles and along the reef was fantastic, the catamaran crew were really friendly and we had a lovely day out. In all we had a really good holiday. It did rain on occasions but when the sun came out it was very very hot. As I have previously mentioned the resort was not for those who expected luxury accommodation or 5 star service but for a basic holiday base Silver Sands ticks all the boxes. I will definately stay there again. The only moan I have is that the resort is a little bit isolated so it is a good idea to hire a car unless the local bus service is used.

We booked our stay very last minute through Virgin and paid less than you'd pay for the airfare for a week RO.

I have to admit though i generally don't take much notice of reviews anymore as it seems that in todays age everyone has something to moan about and 9 times out of 10 its not really worth moaning about!!!

This hotel is pretty basic yes but its not expensive so if you want the ritz i suggest you pay for it. The staff are friendly the surroundings are pleasant and compared to other resorts on the island it has alot of greenery, gardens are one thing that other hotels seem to lack alot of.

I noticed that if theres a space to fit a hotel in no matter how small it may be the bajans will do it! Some hotels you could lean out from the balcony and touch the other next door. This won't be a problem at Silver Sands space is on its side.

The food was good and we had no problem with it the barmen were fab and very friendly. Everything is paid for on a top up card which i preferred as no need to carry cash around!

There is a childrens play area and tennis courts a grocery store and a salon..... sorry if i've forgotten anything!!

Accomodation: This is the bit where you have to have an open mind and sorry if i sound rude but not be stuck up (i can't think of a better way to put it sorry!). The accomodation is basic ( there is a new block which people recommended sorry i don't remember the name but its the most expensive & not expensive if you compare to other hotels if u catch my drift!). I have to say though it did the job for us it was clean and fresh i had no complaints. If you are expecting luxury and want to stay in your room for a week then maybe it won't be for you however i was there to experience Barbados and nothing less and i got a good nights sleep in a clean room with aircon and i couldn't have gotten any closer to the sea - the view from our room was fabulous. There was also a little kitchenette area if we felt the need to cook. I would recommend a safe if your a bit worried about your belongings but we left our things in the room without using a safe and had no problems i just locked things in our suitcases they were fine.

Trips:

We took the free bus to Bridgetown well worth a visit but i'd say don't use the cashpoints there - street seelers hangout by them and if your not very good at standing your ground ... like my other half you will go home with 4 necklaces you really don't want but couldn't say no to when the seller shows you the picture of his 5 children .... which probably weren't his at all!!! Bridgetown is fab for shopping i'd recommend you pick up all your souvenirs here and have lunch if you get time on the other side of the harbour.

Bajan Roots and Rthyms - a Fabulous show with dinner and drinks to boot. The food was buffet style my other half being a vege didn't have any probs either. The drinks came in thick and fast as soon as your glass was half empty another was on the table waiting for you and it was all included in the price. The show was fab and everyone was up dancing at the end, unfortunately you are not permitted to take photos but i guess thats how they make their money as a professional is there for you to purchase pics.

Virgins Ahoy- (Tiami Cruise) Our trip was called Virgins Ahoy as was only for Virgin customers but fear not theres a trip identical run by the same company just mention tiami to your tour rep or reception and they can book you onto it. It is worth every minute too! I hadn't been snorkelling for 3 years so was a little nervous as the water looked pretty deep ( i think it was i forgot my lenses!!) but the guys from Tiama were very helpful and talked all the newbies to snorkelling through the rules. Tip - if you are short sighted you are not permitted to wear your glasses under your eye mask so if you have contact lenses i'd suggest you wear them!!! I'm very shortsighted so i got a little shock when the turtles got close as i couldn't really see them coming!!! The boat was loaded with free flowing drinks ( you are not allowed to drink before hitting the water though) and the barbeque and salad buffet was fab.We stopped at a shipwreck which was interesting and the guys swam everyone round it. The boat stopped at the Sandy Lane hotel (looks fab!!) so most of us swam ashore and had a peek from the sand!! One of the best days we had in Barbados a must do!!!

The last thing we did was hire a jimny - we originally booked one of those little mini mokes but changed our minds and i'm glad we did because the terrain ( if you intend on exploring) is definately more jimny friendly. We only hired this for 2 days but we should have had it for the week as the island is so easy to get around and i was comfortable driving (other half forgot his license!) especially once i got used to the use of the horn!! Everyone says thank you with a toot of the horn! I'd recommend a visit to as many beaches as you can find on all of the coasts and although we missed it bathsheba came highly recommended by many people we spoke to.

It may be south of the island but the gap and oistins are not far away and the cab drivers are very friendly and not expensive at all.

Oh and one last thing...... make sure that you visit the Sticky Wicket - Ricky is a lovely chap i can highly recommend him and his wifes home cooking! Gigis also came recommended but we ran out of time .... apparently the chef is from a rather large hotel up the west coast and one of the best!

The bottom line ....... if you go on holiday to camp out in your room and enjoy complaining about your pillows or a drippy tap don't stay here! If you are open minded and just want to experience culture and have somewhere to sleep you've come to the right place!!!

It had the desired effect on my other half because he got down on one knee and proposed!!!

Happy holidays!! x