Sandals Royal Barbados

Barbados

Last week we escaped the cold temperatures with a trip to the all-inclusive Sandals Royal Barbados. This was the second time we have stayed at a Sandals, but our first time visiting Barbados. We had a direct flight from Charlotte to Christ Church, Barbados, and were blessed that no one occupied the seat between us. Entering the country was quite easy, and we had a short 15 minute drive on the Sandals bus to our resort.

The Barbados property actually contains two Sandals resorts side by side, giving us access to 21 dining options and multiple bars and swimming pools. We stayed on the Royal side, which is newer, and had an end room on the top floor (5th) of building 7. This afforded us a partial ocean view, which was great to enjoy from the large balcony. Our location also enabled us to listen to the live music each evening from the privacy of our balcony if we so desired.

Some of the online reviews of the resort were fairly negative, but I tried to keep an open mind going into the trip. I'm glad I did, because one thing I have learned is that people like to complain. We found the staff to be almost overwhelmingly helpful and friendly, most of the food was very good, the drinks were tasty and for the most part not watered down, and housekeeping took great care of our room.

Was service sometimes slow? Yes, but you are on island time so just accept it. Our one try at room service was dismal. The food took over two hours to get to us (we were told 40 minutes), my sandwich was nearly inedible due to being soggy and they forgot to include a spoon for my soup. But that was just one meal, so no big deal. The food at the specialty restaurants exceeded our expectations, and we particularly enjoyed our experience at the Japanese restaurant.

Kimonos

We took advantage of the snorkeling trip offered by Sandals. Unfortunately the boat was not located at the resort, and it took way longer to get to the boat and back than the actual time we spent snorkeling. That is one area I might mark them down a little. At other resorts we have typically been taken to a couple different areas to snorkel. In this case they took us to one, and it was fairly crowded with other excursion boats. Nevertheless, it was cool to see the sunken ship, the fish, and especially the sea turtle!

snorkeling

We hired a private driver to give us a tour of the island. Barbados is only 166 square miles, but the road system and traffic make it impossible to get anywhere fast. So in our four hours we traveled from our location in the south up the west coast to the north coast and back. We saw a little bit of Christ Church, then visited St. Nicholas Abbey and its rum distillery. The tour of the house and the rum operations was very interesting.

St. Nicholas Abbey

Overall we had a wonderful time in Barbados. We met some nice people from Great Britain, Canada and the United States, enjoyed the resort grounds with its wildlife, beautiful sunrises and sunsets, and made some great memories.

Sandals sunset

On Island Time

Folly Field Beach

Last week I drove to Hilton Head Island to meet up with a good friend from St. Louis. Diane has a timeshare on the island, and invited me to join her. When I picked the week I wanted to come, I did not realize that it was going to be Easter week. Hoo boy, was the area ever crowded! Traffic was heavy on my drive down and very stop and go once I got close to Hilton Head.

While the weather could have been better, there were still plenty of activities to keep us busy. With all my skin cancer, I'm not one to sit out on the beach anyway. Though I do like to walk it in the morning and evening to catch the sunrise/sunset colors on the water.

Folly Field Beach sunrises

A weird occurrence that I have seen every time I have come to this area is the abundance of jellyfish on the beach. Since they are not really fish, it is more appropriate to call them jellies. Usually I have just seen one jelly here and one jelly there, but this time there was a large grouping of them on the beach by our condo. I guess that jellies travel in "blooms", and they can be washed up on shore together. I wondered what happened to them once they are on the beach, and then in the morning I saw seagulls eating them. Turtles also like to consume jellies. The circle of life...

Folly Field Beach jellies

It was wonderful to get away for a week and spend time with Diane as I only get to see her every couple of years or so. It was a rejuvenating time for both of us.

Mini Vacay

Folly Field Beach sunrise

Last week we took off for a mini vacation. First we drove to Hilton Head for a few days, staying in a friend's timeshare unit. We were there at this time last year, before Covid-19 brought all travel to a halt. It is always great to be at the beach, and to be out in nature enjoying the wildlife. Unfortunately, just like last year, the no-see-ums bit the heck out of me. It's not too fun to have to wear long sleeves and pants to walk on the beach, but that's what I had to do. They still got my faces, scalp and hands though.

From Hilton Head we made our way towards Charleston, stopping to visit the Charleston Tea Plantation. This is the only tea plantation in North America, and since I love tea I was eager to see it. While they are not running their trolley tours due to Covid, we still were able to watch some videos on how the tea is grown and harvested, and to sample some tea.

Charleston Tea Plantation

A short distance from Charleston is the Isle of Palms, where we spent another two days visiting old friends from St. Louis. We have all been vaccinated, so we felt safe staying with them. They showed us around the island that they now pretty much call home, and took us on a tour of Charleston as well. What struck me in Charleston was the number of people who did not wear masks, despite posted signs stating that it was required in the city. It's a sad commentary on the people of the United States, I believe. If you don't want to wear a mask, stay home. It is no surprise to me that our Covid numbers are on the rise again in this country.

face mask required

At any rate, it was nice to get away for a short time and visit with friends. It felt a little like getting back to normal.