Wyndham Grand Barbados Sam Lords Castle All Inclusive Resort

Customer Ratings & Reviews

TripAdvisor Traveler Rating

519 reviews

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  Not quite 4 stars

  Upon arrival we were very impressed with the property and grounds of the resort. The check in process was relatively smooth, but we knew of others who experienced significant delays in getting their room. Rooms are modern and spacious, with nice marble finishes. However, cleaning standards are sub par. Floors were dirty, faucets and mirror in bathroom weren't shining. Service was good in some areas, and average in others. Overall, a pleasant brief stay prior to a cruise. If this had been our final destination, I would have been somewhat disappointed.

  Dec 02, 2025
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  Will definitely be coming back!!

  This hotel is stunning! Beautiful views, amazing staff, 3 different pools and the rooms are perfect! Me and my friend got a king suite and the room comes with a butler, which was fantastic!! Our butlers name was Kwamé and he went above and beyond for us! He made our vacation even better!! The pools are made for everyone. An adults only, that is quiet and relaxing. The lantern pool is the main pool, with music, and events. And the last pool, is the family pool with a swim up bar. Lastly the bars and food there were delicious and drinks were made perfect! Highly recommend this hotel for your vacation! Also the all inclusive is the best!!

  Dec 01, 2025
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  Exhilarating

  The perfect getaway. The room was very modern and well stocked with a great view of the pool and the once occupied Sam Lords Castle. Great experience. Food also on point.

  Dec 01, 2025
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  Wonderful resort

  Had such a great time at this hotel! So many options for food, depending on your mood. We had a suite which came with a butler. Kwamé was amazing and helped us with anything we needed. The beach is there but usually has a red flag due to the rough water but so many pool options to make up for it. Will definitely be visiting again in the future!

  Dec 01, 2025
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  Wyndham “Twilight Zone” Not-so-Grand Hotel

  This was my third stay at the Wyndham “Grand” and for two years, it has gotten no better. As a frequent traveler and a frequent visitor to the Caribbean region, I can confidently say that this hotel has so much potential, yet makes no progress. Why is it a “Twilight Zone” Hotel? First, the hotel itself. It was apparently hastily built by a Chinese firm (which in and of itself is not bad), but the hotel is quickly showing its age. Wood-look decorative elements are falling apart. Marble used throughout is scarred and pitted, far too early. It rained during my visit (again) and the rainwater has nowhere to go – there is no channeling toward drains, no slope to foster runoff, so it site in place until employees come with wet mops to spread it around. There is clearly a “slip and fall” hazard throughout the hotel, even in areas not exposed directly to the rain, where the tile is ridiculously slippery nearly all the time. In my room, a standard room, there were 22 – yes TWENTY TWO wall switches to control as many lights, plus the fan. None are labeled, many are awkwardly placed, and it’s an exercise in futility to find the correct switch to turn a single light on or off. The drapes hung in my room were missing the wands, so each time I tried to open or close them I had to literally drag them along the track, and fear that I’m damaging them each time. In my bathroom, every mirror, piece of glass, and countertop was smeared, not cleaned, probably due to an incorrect cleaner being used. It never looked clean. Second, the service. There was two types of employees here – those who seem to genuinely want to provide service, and those who would just as soon look right through you and ignore you to the best of their ability. At the front desk (which is another awkwardly-designed area, with no flow to speed the process), service was slow, slow, slow, and staff were just as happy to chat with their colleagues or lingering guests as they were to move on to assist others. In the Mediterranean Market (which has many of its own issues), staff were disorganized and slow to seat guests, and servers have clearly not been schooled in how to efficiently serve guests. Servers approach a table and take one drink order only to quickly walk away and then return many minutes later, to then take the next drink order from the same table. They scurry around, refusing to make eye contact with guests. Guests are made to feel that we are more of an imposition than “guests” of the hotel. I did not dine at the upscale restaurant this visit, but colleagues told me stories of two-hour waits for their dinner to be served. There was one Mediterranean Market employee who really stood out – Janica. Her service, attentiveness, and attitude were a breath of fresh air and were very much appreciated. Third, the restaurant design. What’s billed as the “Mediterranean Market” is anything but. Brightly lit (like a 7-11) and overly noisy (there are no soft surfaces to baffle noise), it feels more like a truck stop restaurant than a food & beverage outlet at a “Grand” all-inclusive hotel. Ultimately, it is just not an enjoyable or attractive dining option. Fourth, the food. I honestly don’t know where to start. Food at the Mediterranean Market was some of the worst I’ve experienced in the Caribbean – again, it’s more like a roadside truck stop than an all-inclusive resort level of quality. Overcooked everything, dripping in sauce. Awkwardly placed around the edges of the room, in banquet-style chaffing dishes where the lids regularly fall off and loudly drop to the floor. I question the sushi that is in place as the restaurant opens and sits on trays, unrefrigerated, for hours until closing time – I didn’t dare try it. The only “fresh” food options are a minimal salad bar, the morning omelet station (where inefficiency reigns, with a cook taking and processing one order at a time) and freshly baked pizzas, that are actually tasty. No meat carving stations, little variety from day to day. Fifth, the lobby bar. A truly Twilight-zone room sits just off the main entrance, with seating for about 30 people (for a 400+ room resort), where beer cans and bottled water are self-serve. No table service, so everyone has to go to the bar to get a drink. One bartender, taking one drink order at a time, so a 20-minute wait is the minimum when you visit. No food options other than packaged crackers or nuts. As with the other areas of the hotel, no sense of hospitality or desire to provide prompt service. Fifth, the association – or not – with Sam Lord’s Castle. The partially destroyed Sam Lord’s Castle, a slice of Bajan history, sits at one end of the resort. For the years I’ve been coming here, it has been surrounded by fencing and weeds, with no interpretative signage and no indication that the resort plans to do anything with it. It’s a shame that a resort that leverages “Sam Lord’s Castle” in its name just lets it sit and rot away. They have added one mural in the lobby area to acknowledge the site but miss the boat in not having a larger display in the lobby, or at least at the castle itself, to provide more context around it. I’m not a hotel owner or manager, but can offer up suggestions to move this hotel away from “Twilight Zone” status: Service: • Help employees understand that they work in the field of hospitality, and help them understand what guests to a “Grand” all-inclusive resort expect. • Coach employees on effective guest engagement, whether through eye contact, personal greeting, a smile, or even asking “how is your stay.” During my five days at the hotel this time, only three employees engaged me in this way. Most completely avoided eye contact and said nothing. • Redesign the front desk area so that it’s more welcoming, more efficient. Hotel: • Coat all flooring with a nonslip element! Even when the floors look dry, no matter what type of shoes you’re wearing, they are extremely slippery. Posting “Caution, slippery when wet” signage does not absolve the hotel from liability. I’m not sure if the tiles are naturally slippery, or if a greasy cleaner is being used throughout. • Deep clean the guestrooms, including the marble, glass, and other surfaces. Use the right products so as to not further tarnish or damage them. Restaurants: • Renovate the so-called “Mediterranean Market.” Provide gentler lighting, add sound baffling, add permanent buffet lines. Add elements to suggest that it’s actually “Mediterranean” and not an I-95 truck stop. • Improve food quality and offerings! Visit other resorts in the Caribbean and beyond to experience how they’re doing it, what foods (especially fresh foods) they’re serving. Add experiential offerings like meat carving stations, fresh pasta stations, live sushi making, etc. • Cultivate efficiency – at the hostess station, assign two staff, not just one. Have one welcome and note the room numbers of guests, while the other does nothing but seat guests. Too often, the hostess stand is vacant for 5-10 minutes at a time, doing nothing but infuriating guests who are waiting for a table. I never intended this post to be so long, but honestly, the hotel has so much potential and lives up to very little of it. With so many all-inclusive options in the Caribbean and beyond, it needs to reset and focus on becoming a more memorable, guest-friendly resort.

  Dec 01, 2025