Review: Wyndham Grand Barbados Sam Lords Castle All Inclusive Resort (Long Bay, Barbados)

Opened to the public in late 2023, the Wyndham Grand Barbados Sam Lords Castle All Inclusive Resort (what a mouthful), is an upscale all-inclusive and is supposed to be one of Wyndham’s top properties.

Booking

I booked the “Deluxe King Resort View”, paying US $421 for one night with all taxes included, and stayed at the end of June 2026. This is the most basic room, with more expensive options giving you a better view on the ocean, addition space, rooms and so on.

Being an all-inclusive, all food and drinks (including alcohol), and those in the mini fridge were covered under this booking. There are of course extra charges for things like using the spa, room service, and so on.

Location

The resort is located on the Barbados’s east coast in Long Bay, and is about a 15-to-20 minute drive from the airport depending on traffic, and a 35-to-40 minute drive to the capital, Bridgetown.

As the resort is further away from where most of the tourist action is, you’ll definitely need a car to get around the island. The hotel does organize shuttles to the city, but it’s still good to keep your options open. I guess being an all-inclusive, they want to keep you at the resort as long as possible anyway. There are reliable public transport options, but bus times are a somewhat few and far apart, with the bus stop being about a 10 minute walk from the resort.

Fun Facts

Hotel fun facts isn’t usually something I cover in reviews, but there is a little bit of history behind how this resort came to be. For starters, the Wyndham Grand actually sits on the site next to the historic Sam Lord’s Castle.

Sam Lord’s Castle was built in 1820 by Samuel Hall Lord, a wealthy Barbadian landowner. It’s claimed that Lord would hang lanterns in coconut trees to trick passing sailors into believing they were approaching Bridgetown. Ships would instead unintentionally strike the offshore reefs, allowing Lord to plunder their cargo.

The grand Georgian mansion was reportedly inspired by Windsor Castle and filled with European artwork, furniture and elaborate painted ceilings. It remained a private estate after Lord’s death in 1844, before Bajan hotelier Victor Marson acquired and converted it into a hotel in 1942. The property later became a prominent place to stay, and operated under the Marriott name starting in the late 1970s.

Unfortunately, the hotel saw fewer and fewer guests, eventually leading to its closure in the 2005. Insurance firm CLICO Barbados purchased the property in 2007 with plans for redevelopment, but the company’s own financial problems prevented the project from proceeding. The bad luck did not stop because in October 2010, a major fire gutted building, destroying everything except the coral-stone exterior walls.

The Barbados government later acquired the estate and entered into a venture with Wyndham Hotels to turn the site into a large resort, with construction beginning in 2017. After several delays, the newly built 422-room Wyndham Grand Barbados Sam Lord’s Castle All-Inclusive Resort began welcoming guests in October 2023. Comprising of five main guest blocks, the new resort has 422 rooms and suites, and dwarfs the smaller Sam Lord’s Castle which has had its exteriors restored somewhat and turned into a historical landmark.

Check In

As this was a sprawling property, I first had to make it past the security checkpoint before getting to the front desk. For some reason, it took them more than 20 minutes to verify that I was a guest, and I was not allowed to proceed until they confirmed I was indeed a guest. I suspect this may be due to the fact that I showed up at 2 p.m. with check in starting at 4 p.m.

Nonetheless, once everything checked out, I was escorted to the check in area. Even though the hotel website does mention that a deposit for incidentals may be taken, I did not have to pay anything extra as I was staying one night. The full bill was settled in a matter of minutes, and I was given my RFID wristband. I was so happy to hear that my room was already available as it was an extremely hot day and I needed to cool down quickly.

Deluxe King Resort View Room

Even though I booked a resort view room, I think luck favored me as my room (4007) was actually ocean facing, with very few obstructions in the way. Even though shrubs and small coconut trees blocked the view, it’s definitely better than the rooms facing with pool side.

Unlike my stay at Royalton and Indigo, no one took me down to my room, but the front desk did give good directions, and provided a paper map to help navigate the property. Given its sheer size, it takes a bit to get your bearings sorted.

On entry, there is a corridor, with the bathroom area and storage to your left, and the bed and desk area at the end. The bed is configured so that it faces the ocean view, allowing you to easily see outside. Just behind it is your work desk and coffee/tea area with a few storage drawers and the mini-fridge below.

The room generally is more minimalist, using a combination of light, earthy colors throughout.

Each side of the bed has reading spot lights, with the left side (if looking from the foot of the bed) having a lamp, telephone, alarm clock, 110v AC power outlets and some of the room’s light switches. The right side also has a lamp that hangs from the ceiling, breaking the uniformity.

At the foot of the bed is a single chair and stand, another lamp, and of course, the great view outside. Just to the right is the wall-mounted TV, which can be pulled out and angled for a better view if you’re in bed. The TV itself is a bit dated, and doesn’t have streaming apps, but they do have a good variety of cable channels, and information about the hotel itself. 

Working our way back, there is a small counter top area below the TV to rest items, along with a luggage rack and bin.

As mentioned above, there is both a work desk area and coffee station behind the bed. They’ve included a Nespresso machine with regular coffee and decaf pods, along with milk, various tea bags and sugar. There are also clear glass cups with spoons, and a kettle to boil water for tea. Just to the left is an ice bucket and two taller drinking glasses.

The minifridge has a combination of juices, soft drinks and water. Surprisingly, no beers or other alcohol were included. On a side note, the room attendants did pass regularly to ensure guests had enough drink stocks.

In the corridor are two storage closets with extra bedding, pillows, lots of hangers, an iron and ironing board, robes, safe and umbrella.

The bathroom area has a soaking tub, a his and hers vanity area, along with your regular shower and toilet area. The bathroom can be accessed from both the corridor and bedroom side via sliding wood doors.

There are all the typical soap/shampoo/conditioner essentials in both the shower and sink area. Below the vanity area are extra towels, toilet paper and a hair dryer. I like that the mirrors are well lit, both at the front and top.

Stepping outside onto the patio area, there are two chairs and a table with a great view of the ocean and surrounding scenery.

Here’s the one thing I didn’t like. Even though the entire room was spotless, there was a pretty strong musty smell, and I suspect it might have been air condition related. I’ve seen one or two reviews noting a similar issue, so I’m not sure if it’s a common problem. The issue was reported but given that I was just there for one night, I didn’t bother to change rooms.

Putting the smell aside, I really liked the simplicity of this room, and it’s great that even an entry level room has a soaking tub in the bathroom area compared to others which typically only include those in higher tier rooms.

Food and Drinks

There are six restaurant concepts and four bars serving a variety of meal types and drinks. In this review, I try three of the restaurants.

I started with the Sam Lord’s Grill Restaurant and Bar, which is located near the family pool to the north east of the resort. They serve a limited choice of American-style meals including burgers, friend chicken, tacos, soups and desserts. I’ve got to take away points for service as no one attended to me to be seated, and even when I finally found a table and ordered, the food took over 30 minutes to get to me, with just a handful of patrons at the restaurant.

I had a beef burger with various cheeses, and even though it tasted pretty decent, I can’t say it was anything special, tasting very overprocessed and commercial in nature. Even though the food was ok, the service is really where they fell short in my opinion.

For dinner, I was able to get a last-minute reservation at the Tattva Indian Cuisine restaurant. I wasn’t able to get any interior photos as it was very busy that night, and I’d end up having the blur most of the photo.

Starting off, I had the Blazing Kebabs, a combo of Tandoori lamb chops, fish and cafreal murgh tikka. Usually, most people don’t do lamb well, but this serving was extremely tender and flavorful.

For the main I had the butter chicken with rice and naan. Again, another great dish.

Finally, I wrapped up the evening with a slice of moist cheese cake.

Customer service was also on point, and the head chef even took the time to check on all his guests.

Overall, Tattva hit the mark dead on in all areas, so it’s definitely recommended on my list. On a side note, dinner reservations should be made early in the day as slots tend to get booked quickly. I originally wanted to check out the Castle View Restaurant opposite Sam Lord’s Castle, but all the spots were taken well before 5 p.m.

Unfortunately, my breakfast experience the next morning was nowhere near as great. The Mediterranean Market serves breakfast, lunch and dinner buffet style. The whole experience seemed very hectic, and once again, no one sat me down, so I had to grab a plate and find an empty table.

The food options weren’t the best either. There were the usuals like breads, pancakes, eggs, fruits, and some local foods, but choices were extremely limited.

As for the taste, everything was bland. I think the only thing that was good were the eggs, but I was able to get that made on spot how I liked it. Everything else was mediocre at best.

Service was almost non-existent as I had to beg for a coffee and water. Definitely another let down.

Pool

There are six pools across the resort, with three of them split between the five room complexes. Some are busier than others, with the main lagoon/family pool also having a nearby swim-up bar. Children also have their own pool, separate from the larger and deeper family pool. There is also a relaxation pool at the spa area located next to the car park.

Beach

The Wyndham Grand Barbados sits near the beachfront, with the beach being just a short walk along a track near the Sam Lord’s Castle itself. Unfortunately, being Atlantic-facing, the beach isn’t recommended for bathing as waters are usually very rough due to the strong winds and ocean currents.

With my visit being around the mid-year mark, that also meant that sargassum accumulation was in full effect. As you can see from the photo, it isn’t pretty along the shoreline. If you want to swim, ideally you should visit the western ends of Barbados, as beaches on that side are much calmer and barely suffer from the effects of sargassum.

Spa and Gym

The resort has a standalone spa called the Island Essence Spa, offering the full range of treatments including massages, hydrotherapy sessions, manicures, pedicures, saunas, steam rooms and so on.

There is also a 24-hour gym next door, and guests can also take part in group classes such as yoga, HIIT, beach bootcamp, and also book personal training sessions. While the gym and some of the spa facilities are free to use, if you book individual or group sessions with either, it will come at an additional charge.

Service

Service was honestly hit and miss depending on what aspect you looked at. The check in and check out process was basically flawless (besides waiting at the guard booth), and wait staff at Tattva were very attentive. I also commend the cleaning staff as they also made it round of service to ensure everything was to my liking, and offered restocking of the mini fridge.

However, as detailed above, service at the Mediterranean Market (for breakfast) and the grill was very slow. However, all staff members were very cordial and courteous. I can’t speak so much for the grill, but the breakfast situation looked to be more a case of them simply not having enough servers to attend to all guests efficiently.

Conclusion

As an upscale hotel (not so much in the true luxury category), I can see how this hotel is more geared towards offering a generic all-inclusive product as a one-size-fits-all rather than something more personalized. Even though the property itself is massive, featuring modern and minimalist designs, they do fall short in some customer service areas.

For instance, the musty smell in my room should have been something that could have been dealt with prior to my arrival. I’d assume whoever last cleaned would have smelt the room? Then there was the hit and miss customer service at some of the restaurants. It’s these little logistical issues that really make the difference between a great and average experience.

Not having access to a safe beach was a bit of a letdown, even though the view was great otherwise. I will say going into this, I did know that the beach wasn’t the best for swimming, but most of the third-party travel sites and agencies don’t note this, and could give the wrong impression to would-be guests.

With that in mind, would I stay here again? For the right price, I could see myself giving this property a second change, but given that it’s away from all the action along the southwest coast, I might take a pass for something a bit more centrally located if it were on the pricier side. I am a very tolerant person to certain things, and I know the issues mentioned could be a dealbreaker for some.

However, if you don’t mind staying at the resort for most of the time, it’s actually pretty decent, and caters to people of all ages. If they put more effort into customer service, and improve their breakfast, this would make for a great stay.

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