This just in: Sandy beaches, blue skies and gallons of rum punch make for the perfect holiday. Who knew? On a recent trip to Barbados, Sarah Gill learned the value of real, true, bone-deep rest. Here’s what she learned and where to stay.
Being in Barbados feels like a dream being realised, a myth made true. You look at pictures, and you think that the postcard perfection couldn’t really be quite so literal in real life. But it can — it is! All that and then some.
Pure white sand below my feet, sun kissing my skin and rum punch blurring out any pre-existing stresses in life, I melted into the magic of the island startlingly fast. Music from a steel pan floats by on the breeze, somewhere close by a barbeque is being fired up and my eyes are closed, my back’s to the sun, and I’ve just bought factor 100 suncream from the hotel gift shop, so I think I’ll hang on here for a while longer.
Over breakfast, lunch and dinner, wandering the streets, stopping by Rihanna’s childhood home for a quick snap, on a boat tour, an off-roading van voyage or walking tour, Bajan charm abounds. The locals love their home, the novelty of sunshine hasn’t worn off and despite the fact that I have quite literally never been so intoxicatingly warm in all my life (deodorant and SPF are an Irish girl’s best friend in Barbados), life is very, very good.
Your mind works differently when you’re on a holiday, but clocking out and surrendering your soul to island time is a whole other story. Letting yourself be languorous, like a cat stretching out in a patch of sunshine, bringing your book but never reading a single page, downloading podcasts that will ultimately go unlistened to — this is actually very important work. Your brain needs to be soft and smooth and washed clean of all real world annoyances from time to time. They’ll all still be there when you get back, ready and waiting to dampen your meticulously crafted brand-new post-holiday glow when you get back. Trust me.
The whole island of Barbados is 430 km². It’s split up into 11 different parishes, but it would take you a grand total of three hours to drive around its entirety. There are plenty of hiking trails that will bring you along beaches, up hills and through lush botanical gardens should you take the fancy. There are plenty of celebrity-owned beachfront mansions to admire and a whole lot of Bajan vernaculars to pick up along the way, so make sure you carve out time to explore amidst all the relaxation.
I was lucky enough to stay in two different all-inclusion resorts during my time in Barbados, and visit a third urban hotel for a tour, lunch and an all-important rum punch making cocktail class. If you’re planning a trip, I could not recommend these locations enough.
Sea Breeze Beach House
Whether it’s for a family holiday, a couple’s getaway or a solo excursion, Sea Breeze is a genuine haven of laid-back luxury. The hotel is perched right on the shores of Barbados’ free-spirited South Coast, so when you open your curtains and let in the morning air, you’re met with the sound of the Caribbean Sea’s waves and that turquoise water will give you all the motivation you need to start the day.
On site you’ll find six different restaurants, five bars and a list a mile long of amenities, activities and watersports to keep you occupied. There are three different pools, a gorgeous spa, a 24-hour gym, and 122 rooms and suites just steps from the beach. The dining options range from casual snacks and light bites to enjoy between sunbathing sessions, and more a la carte options for eveningtime dining. There’s also a games room, lounge area for teenagers, a kids’ club, an on-site boutique filled with Bajan-made souvenirs and mementoes, and lots of ‘how to’ classes.
The rooms themselves are gorgeously comfortable, with The White Company soaps and shampoos, plush bathrobes and slippers, and a well-stocked mini bar. I enjoyed a full-body massage at the Drift Spa the morning after arrival, which I could not recommend more to help you recover from the 12+ hours of travelling.
O2 Beach Club & Spa
This five-star award-winning resort is all about luxury, so much so that it essentially redefines what an all-inclusive stay means. Also fringed by 1,000 feet of powder-white beach and glistening turquoise waters, O2 Beach Club veers towards a more modern, contemporary design that makes you feel like a true VIP.
Sitting where the Caribbean Sea and Atlantic Ocean meet, it’s opulence with a beautifully tropical heart — it retains its charm within its suave countenance. My room had a balcony that opened up right onto one of their three pools, for the love of God! The Acqua Spa was a stand-out experience of my stay at O2. Located on the eighth floor, the full-service spa is the highest on the island with unrivalled breathtaking panoramic views of the sparkling Caribbean Sea through floor-to-ceiling windows. It was a massage like no other, and one I’ve been dreaming about since.
They’ve also got a full range of activities and classes rotating daily, including their ‘O2 Lime’ experience, which invites guests to mingle over a curated selection of food and drinks. There’s a swim-up bar, whirlpool tubs and a stunning boutique. The dining options here deserve honourable mention. They’ve got four imaginative restaurants plus a coffee lounge, but it’s the resort’s ninth-floor Oro Restaurant that really made a lasting impression. Offering an a la carte menu of modern European-meets-Caribbean fusion with stunning 260-degree views, the menu was vast and devastatingly delicious.
The Rockley
This urban hotel is all about celebrating what makes Barbados’ South Coast such a special place. Putting local art and Bajan culture front and centre, The Rockley is located right in the heart of the area, just opposite the boardwalk, with restaurants, nightlife, shops and beaches dotted all around. The boutique hotel is quite literally filled to the brim with locally inspired decor, so you’re absolutely guaranteed to leave with some new vocabulary.
The Restaurant at The Rockley has everything from light bites and sharing plates to leisurely dining experiences featuring the best of modern Bajan and Caribbean flavours that you can eat inside or al fresco. The Macaroni Pie—which I consumed more portions of than I’m willing to admit over the course of my time in Barbados—is the ultimate local comfort food. You cannot leave the island without trying it.
Sarah Gill was a guest of Sea Breeze and O2 Beach Club.