Sandy Lane is a luxury five-star beachfront resort close to

Holetown Holetown (UN/LOCODE: BB HLT) is a small city located in the Caribbean island nation of Barbados. Holetown is located in the parish of Saint James on the sheltered west coast of the island. History In 1625, Holetown (formerly as St. James Town ...

and Paynes Bay on the island of

Barbados Barbados, officially the Republic of Barbados, is an island country in the Atlantic Ocean. It is part of the Lesser Antilles of the West Indies and the easternmost island of the Caribbean region. It lies on the boundary of the South American ...

. Sandy Lane was opened in 1961 by Ronald Tree, a former British politician, as a luxury hotel and golf course on what had been a sugar plantation. In 1998, the hotel was put up for sale by

Granada plc Granada plc (previously called Granada Ltd., Granada Group plc, and Granada Media plc) was a British conglomerate best known as the parent from 1954 to 2004 of the Manchester-based Granada Television. The company agreed a corporate takeover of ...

, and five Irish businessmen, including J. P. McManus,

Dermot Desmond Dermot Desmond (born 14 August 1950) is an Irish businessman and financier. He is estimated to be worth €2.04 billion and is ranked by the '' Sunday Independent'' as the ninth-richest person in Ireland. Early life and education Desmond was ...

and

John Magnier John Magnier (born 10 February 1948) is an Irish business magnate. He is a leading thoroughbred stud owner and has extensive business interests outside the horse-breeding industry. Magnier was a senator in the upper house of the Oireachtas, ...

, bought it. The original resort was then demolished in a three-year, $450 million upgrade and renovation.

Features

The resort features 113 guestrooms and suites as well as a five-bedroom villa, a

Spa A spa is a location where mineral-rich spring water (sometimes seawater) is used to give medicinal baths. Spa health treatments are known as balneotherapy. The belief in the curative powers of mineral waters and hot springs goes back to pre ...

, four restaurants, seven bars and three golf courses. Sandy Lane is known as one of the Caribbean's most stylish and family-friendly hotels, as well as being a haven of the rich and famous. Past guests said to have stayed at the Sandy Lane hotel include

Maria Callas Maria Callas (born Maria Anna Cecilia Sophia Kalogeropoulos; December 2, 1923 – September 16, 1977) was an American-born Greek soprano and one of the most renowned and influential opera singers of the 20th century. Many critics praised ...

Simon Cowell Simon Phillip Cowell (; born 7 October 1959) is an English television personality and businessman. He has judged on the British television talent competition shows ''Pop Idol'' (2001–2003), ''The X Factor (British TV series), The X Factor UK ...

, Andrea Corr (co-owner Dermot Desmond's daughter-in-law),

T. S. Eliot Thomas Stearns Eliot (26 September 18884 January 1965) was a poet, essayist and playwright.Bush, Ronald. "T. S. Eliot's Life and Career", in John A Garraty and Mark C. Carnes (eds), ''American National Biography''. New York: Oxford University ...

Jacqueline Kennedy Jacqueline Lee Kennedy Onassis ( ; July 28, 1929 – May 19, 1994) was an American writer, book editor, and socialite who served as the first lady of the United States from 1961 to 1963, as the wife of President John F. Kennedy. A popular f ...

Aristotle Onassis Aristotle Socrates Onassis (, ; , ; 20 January 1906 – 15 March 1975) was a Greek and Argentine business magnate. He amassed the world's largest privately-owned shipping fleet and was one of the world's richest and most famous men. He was marri ...

Sidney Poitier Sidney Poitier ( ; February 20, 1927 – January 6, 2022) was a Bahamian-American actor, film director, activist, and diplomat. In 1964, he was the first black actor and first Bahamian to win the Academy Award for Best Actor. Among his ot ...

and

Robin Van Persie Robin van Persie (; born 6 August 1983) is a Dutch football coach and former professional association football, footballer who is the head coach of Eredivisie club Feyenoord. He is regarded as one of the best strikers of his generation and was ...

. On 5 October 2004, professional golfer

Tiger Woods Eldrick Tont "Tiger" Woods (born December 30, 1975) is an American professional golfer. He is tied for first in List of golfers with most PGA Tour wins, PGA Tour wins, ranks second in List of men's major championships winning golfers, men's m ...

married his Swedish fiancée

Elin Nordegren Elin Maria Pernilla Nordegren (; born 1 January 1980) is a Swedish former model and nanny. She was married to professional golfer Tiger Woods from 2004 until their divorce in 2010. Early life and education Nordegren was born in Stockholm. Her ...

at the resort. It was reported that Woods booked out the entire hotel for his guests, who included

Charles Barkley Charles Wade Barkley (born February 20, 1963) is an American former professional basketball player who is a television analyst on NBA on TNT, TNT and CBS Sports. Nicknamed "Sir Charles", "the Bread Truck", and "the Round Mound of Rebound", ...

and

Michael Jordan Michael Jeffrey Jordan (born February 17, 1963), also known by his initials MJ, is an American businessman and former professional basketball player, who is currently a minority owner of the Charlotte Hornets of the National Basketball Ass ...

. The owners of the hotel, who include Woods' close friend J.P. McManus, reportedly threw the wedding at the hotel as a gift for the couple. It was the first and only American wedding to be held in Barbados in the 21st century with Tiger Woods being the final American to get married in Barbados, it was also the second famous celebrity wedding to be held in Barbados for the year 2004 after

Alison Hinds Alison Amanda Hinds (born June 1 1970) is a British-born Bajan soca singer based in Barbados. She is often referred to as the Bajan " Queen of Soca" as a result of her impact on the genre. Biography Alison Hinds was born on 1 June 1970 in Lo ...

' wedding which was held on 26 February of the same year. On 11 November 2011,

NBC The National Broadcasting Company (NBC) is an American commercial broadcast television and radio network serving as the flagship property of the NBC Entertainment division of NBCUniversal, a subsidiary of Comcast. It is one of NBCUniversal's ...

's ''

Today Today (archaically to-day) may refer to: * The current day and calendar date ** Today is between and , subject to the local time zone * Now, the time that is perceived directly, present * The current, present era Arts, entertainment and m ...

'' filmed the day five segment of '' Where in the World Is Matt Lauer?'' pool-side and on the beach of the resort hotel.

Golf

Since the hotel first opened, the Sandy Lane Resort has been known for its golf courses. The first, ''The Old Nine'', is a nine-hole course and was built along with the hotel in 1961. The other two, ''The Green Monkey'' and ''The Country Club'', are both 18-hole championship courses and were designed by the well-known golf course designer

Tom Fazio Thomas Fazio (born February 10, 1945) is an American golf course architect. Fazio graduated in 1962 from Lansdale Catholic High School and was inducted into its hall of fame in 2007. He began his career in golf course design with his family's f ...

. The ''Green Monkey'' has been reported as being the most expensive golf course ever built. In 2006 ''The Country Club'' hosted the World Golf Championships World Cup, which was won by Germany.

Awards

*"Barbados' Leading Golf Resort" - 2004, 2005, 2006, 2008 - by the World Travel Awards *"Barbados' Leading Hotel" - 2007 - by the World Travel Awards *"Barbados' Leading Resort" - 2004, 2005, 2006, 2008, 2009, 2010, 2013 - by the World Travel Awards *"Barbados' Leading Spa Resort" - 2007, 2011, 2012 - by the World Travel Awards *"Caribbean's Leading Golf Resort" - 2002, 2003, 2004 - by the World Travel Awards *"Caribbean's Leading Resort" - 2005 - by the World Travel Awards * Named one of the top 50 hotels in the world 2023 * Conde Nast Readers choice award 2023

References

External links

* *
Sandy Lane at Seasons in Style
Trip Advisor {{The Leading Hotels of the World, Central America and the Caribbean Resorts in Barbados Golf clubs and courses in Barbados Saint James, Barbados 1961 establishments in Barbados Hotel buildings completed in 1961