We stayed at the Golden Sands for 3 weeks at the end of July 2005 and loved it. We're going back in July 2006! I'm writing this review because I disagree so strongly with the negative reviews given to the Hotel. We are used to self-catering and this fitted the bill just right.

When going to Barbados you don't expect the standards of London, New York or Paris you go to relax - chill out on this beautiful island with it's beautiful people!

So what about the hotel. Firstly we found the staff extremely friendly, they couldn't ddo enough for you. The hotel isn't the most modern in the world but we found it very compfortable. We liked the location. Yes it's on the road but we didn't find it too much of a problem. Iit isn't a five lane highway - just the local road. The beach opposite is small but feels like your own private beach. You can easily walk from cove to cove.

The rooms were nicely furnished though the kitchen equipment was a bit dated. However it all worked and anything that didn't was replaced. The bathroom was failry basic and no there wasn't hot water always but for what our package holiday from the uk cost we were very happy. Let's face it - in Barbados you're going to spend most of your time on the beach or travelling around the island not sitting in your hotel room watching tv!.

One great thing about having drinks in the room was the ice arrangements. Ice buckets in the room which you filled up at the ice machine at the bar for free. Our young daughter loved her evening ritual of filling the ice bucket!!!

A great value for money hotel.

I had the unfortunate displeasure of staying at this crappy hotel over New Years Eve. My one piece of advice for anyone contemplating booking this hotel, is "Run. Run far away!"
This hotel is sub par by many standards. I had to stay there as it seemed that I had no pace to stay over the New Years period. As I was in barbados the week before, I checked out the hotel, and immediately was disappointed by the location (on the street, not in a nice area), the general outdoor upkeep, as well as by my limited view of the hotel facilities. I immediately called to cancel my reservation, but was told of some 3 day minimum charge on my credit card, and that essentially I was locked in! You need to call 14 days in advance to cancel. Some in our party did, but were refunded only half the deposit amount (1.5 days). I could stay at much higher star hotels (this one should be 0.5 stars), for roughly the same price.
When I arrived, the room was old and dingy, and smelled kind of musty. There was air conditioning only in 1 room, so the rest if the unit was sweatlering hot. There were 4 of us in our party, and the 2 who stayed in the rest of the unit sweated like crazy. The TV does not work. Despite complaints, they went on to tell me of the 6 channels they get. I counted 3 that came in, sort of (poorly/no volume/limited picture quality). The TV even died several times.
I tried to shower several times, only to find no water, and was forced to have a cold shower on 3 seperate occasions! The kitchen was sub-par, with no microwave or toaster oven, and only after complaining did I get a microwave. Other than toilet paper, they supply a "kitchen rag" to clean up! Disgusting!
When I complained, they proceeded to tell me that there was AC! They felt that there was no problem, and that they would not let me leave! They feel that they don't misrepresent themselves on the internet!
Lastly, when I asked around, this hotel is used essentiallt as a dorm when visiting junior/high school student athletes come into town. You can just guess at the general upkeep of the place!!!
0.5 stars!
Horrible hotel!
Find somewhere else, even if you're on a budget/have no other options!

We were clearly told at check in that we did NOT need to give any advance whatsoever if we wanted to check out earlier than initially stated. Since we were very disappointed in general with the hotel, we checked out early, after only one night stay. So, they blatantly lied and tried to charge us a penalty equivalent to three nights stay for leaving early! We had been assured several times that we could check out whenever we wanted, with out giving any notice! Luckly, since we had been wary of the front desks clerks promises, we had scribbled out the terms on a blank piece of paper and made her intial it. If you plan on staying here, I would advise you to do the same: write out the price you were quoted as well as other specifics, such as the possibility of an early check out date.
We were very unhappy with our room ; the T.V did not work (even though we specifically confirmed the night before that we wanted cable TV); plus, only the tiny bedroom of our apartment had AC, (which meant the rest of the apartment was sweltering hot) and the pool was not very clean. Also, the location was very remote and isolated, far from anything of interest.
I would not reccomend this hotel, even if you are given a very low rate. For a cheap room, try the Palm Garden Hotel in Worthing instead (435-6406 - Its a much better location) Or for a bit classier, try the Dover Beach Hotel.

Let me start out by saying those who review this hotel prior to myself are probably reviewing it as compared to other one-star hotels, in which case it is above average. However, when compared to the rest of the options out there, this hotel does not cut it.

First of all, I will be honest and tell you that I did not plan on staying and the Golden Sands, it was more of an unfortunate stopping off point. My first concern upon arrival was that the hotel was partly residential (their sign reads "Golden Sands Apartment Hotel"). This means some people live there and all rooms have kitchenettes. Hey, if that's what you're going for that's great, but I don't care for it. Additionally, the hotel is used by certain airlines as their "airline hotel" so when you have a flight delay, as I did, it is where they put you up. This should give you some idea as to the quality of the hotel. Airport/airline hotels are never anything to write home about.

My room was very poorly lit and had an ajoining door to my neighbor. Although the door was locked, I managed to pop it open while trying to figure out how secure it was. Needless-to-say this prompted me to fashion a makeshift door stop so it didn't open again. After dealing with the door debacle, I moved on to the bedroom area. My king bed turned out to be 2 twin beds, of different heights, pushed together to appear as a king. As a result of this arrangement, I spent the evening sleeping 5 inches below my boyfriend as opposed to next to him.

The bathroom also left a lot to be desired. It was quite run down and poorly ventilated so the room remained damp no matter how long you left the door open after a shower. During my stay I tried to request extra towels but ran into my next problem - the phone. When I went to call the front desk I discovered the phone line had been ripped from the wall - so much for my towels!

Despite everything, I don't want it to seem like the hotel is all doom and gloom. The staff members, with the exception of one woman, were very nice. They tried very hard to make our stay enjoyable since they were aware of our travel problems. The man who worked at the bar, his name escapes me right now, was very helpful. He was wonderful to talk to and helped my boyfriend and I find some local nightlife to help us pass the time.

All in all, I could not wait to leave the Golden Sands Hotel but I appreciated the efforts of the staff members who tried to make my stay more comfortable.