# Barbados - Sandy Acres



## pvbenny1 (Apr 3, 2007)

Anyone stay at this Timeshare? Pros/cons


----------



## tashamen (Apr 3, 2007)

If you mean Sand Acres, we stayed there about two years ago, and I wrote a review - I think it's the last review here, which you have access to as a member.

While we loved the resort, we hated the food on Barbados and will never go back to that island.  The resort itself was perfect for us - but we like smaller quieter places rather than big ones.  The Bougainvillea Beach is literally next door and their facilities are also available to exchangers.


----------



## scotlass (Apr 3, 2007)

There are smaller and quieter places on Barbados as well.  I wouldn't give up on the entire island based on one timeshare.  We really like it there.


----------



## CatLovers (Apr 4, 2007)

*Nice place (several years ago)*

We stayed at Sand Acres several years ago and wrote a review that you can get to in the Resort Review section.  Keep in mind that our review is now dated.  We had a studio that was very comfortable for two, on the ground floor and opened right out into the pool area (it was screened by bushes though).  We had full access to the facilities at Bougainvillea next door.  Loved the island, and particularly loved the location of Sand Acres.  It's on the south side of the island and much more laid back than the swanky upscale west end.  You're close to the small fishing village of Oistins (accessible by the many Z-buses on the main road).  If you need more info, check out our review or e-mail me.


----------



## tashamen (Apr 4, 2007)

scotlass said:


> There are smaller and quieter places on Barbados as well.  I wouldn't give up on the entire island based on one timeshare.  We really like it there.



We didn't give up on the island because of the timeshare - we loved the timeshare - it was small and quiet.  We just didn't like the food - everywhere we tried on the island.  So now we go back to islands we know have good food - mainly the French islands.  If we absolutely had to go back to Barbados, we would go back to Sand Acres - just wanted to clarify that.  The resort was lovely.


----------



## CatLovers (Apr 4, 2007)

tashamen said:


> We didn't give up on the island because of the timeshare - we loved the timeshare - it was small and quiet.  We just didn't like the food - everywhere we tried on the island.  So now we go back to islands we know have good food - mainly the French islands.  If we absolutely had to go back to Barbados, we would go back to Sand Acres - just wanted to clarify that.  The resort was lovely.




If you ever decide to give Barbados another chance, be sure to post on the board and get dining recommendations.  We found lots of good places to eat (don't recall it being an issue at all), but we tend to go to casual and locally-owned/frequented establishments, so that could be the difference.  Sounds like you've got other islands higher on your list though, so it may not matter .  Just thought I'd post because I wouldn't want others to make their decisions based solely on your experience  .


----------



## tashamen (Apr 5, 2007)

CatLovers said:


> If you ever decide to give Barbados another chance, be sure to post on the board and get dining recommendations.  We found lots of good places to eat (don't recall it being an issue at all), but we tend to go to casual and locally-owned/frequented establishments, so that could be the difference.  Sounds like you've got other islands higher on your list though, so it may not matter .  Just thought I'd post because I wouldn't want others to make their decisions based solely on your experience  .



I agree - everyone should make their own decisions, and I'm not trying to keep anyone from going to Barbados!  We also go to local places everywhere, but I guess did not find the right ones there.


----------



## riverside (Apr 9, 2007)

We just got back from Barbados 2 days ago.  We loved the dining there.  We only ate in the St. Lawerence Gap area though. We ate both fancy and casual. We stopped in to look at the Bouganvillea/Sand Acres resorts and just walked around.  Beautiful resorts.  We stayed at the Divi Southwinds which we loved but would definitely take a trade to Sand Acres.


----------



## Parkplace (Jul 31, 2007)

We have a week banked with SFX and are hoping to trade into Barbados.

We know nothing about this island.  Is Bridgetown the largest city?  Is that the city the airport is in?  Are all of the timeshares within easy driving distance of the airport?

I will put the Sand on our list of requests.


----------



## Anne S (Jul 31, 2007)

Parkplace said:


> We have a week banked with SFX and are hoping to trade into Barbados.
> 
> We know nothing about this island.  Is Bridgetown the largest city?  Is that the city the airport is in?  Are all of the timeshares within easy driving distance of the airport?
> 
> I will put the Sand on our list of requests.



Bridgetown is the capital of Barbados and the largest city, but the airport is not in Bridgetown. All the timeshares are within easy driving distance to the airport. (Barbados is not a very large island.) We stayed at the Sand Acres and loved it. We also stayed at South Beach Resort which I did not care for all that much--the location was much too urban for my taste, but if you don't want to rent a car you might prefer it, because there is a beach across the street, the bus stops outside the resort, many restaurants and shops within walking distance, including the supermarket. 

We have been to twenty Caribbean islands and Barbados is one of our favorites. We had no problems with the food or restaurants in Barbados, but then we don't consider ourselves foodies, preferring to do our cooking in the condo.


----------



## Parkplace (Jul 31, 2007)

Anne:

Thank you, your comments are extremely helpful.  What other resorts did you stay at that you liked particularly?  Are they difficult to trade into?  We only have 4 months now to find a trade.

We are interested in ones with beachfront.

I am very excited about this!


----------



## Anne S (Jul 31, 2007)

Parkplace said:


> Anne:
> 
> Thank you, your comments are extremely helpful.  What other resorts did you stay at that you liked particularly?  Are they difficult to trade into?  We only have 4 months now to find a trade.
> 
> ...



We liked Sand Acres and its sister resort, Bougainvillea Beach resort. Both have their own little beach, and you can use the facilities of either. I would do my lap swimming in the Sand Acres rectangular pool and the move over to  the fun Bougainvillea pool with its swim-up bar. My husband loved the state-of-the-art gym at the Bougainvillea. Another resort in the same area is the Divi Southwinds. It is not directly on the beach, but the beach is a short walk away. Another resort is the Crane, somwhat isolated on the west coast. 

As far as how difficult they are to trade into, it all depends on what you are using for the trade. But I suspect that four months doesn't give you much lead time. Good luck!


----------



## Bootser (Aug 3, 2007)

So, is there much of a problem to trade into Sandy Acres. What would be the top choices on the island to trade into both in terms of quality and availabiltiy. I would not be able to go this year, but If I went it would probably be in the Nov - Dec time period.


----------



## upupandawaay (Jan 9, 2009)

Bootser said:


> So, is there much of a problem to trade into Sandy Acres. What would be the top choices on the island to trade into both in terms of quality and availabiltiy. I would not be able to go this year, but If I went it would probably be in the Nov - Dec time period.



I guess the fact that you received no reply means that it is virtually impossible to trade into Sand Acres?

I have the same question....


----------



## Corinne (Jan 22, 2009)

*We loved Sand Acres!*

We traded our 1 BR  Blue Whale (So. Cal) summer week for a 1 BR Christmas week (2008) at Sand Acres.  We got the exchange over a year in advance, maybe 15-18 months.  I got it doing an online search, middle of the night thing.  So yes, with enough persistence and the right trading power, it can be done.  

We loved Barbados.  It has got to be the friendliest island in the Caribbean.   Clean, safe, good roads, nice shopping, lots of different beaches to try, good diving and in our experience, great food.  The airport is modern and easy to navigate and Immigration was fast despite a huge line.  

We especially enjoyed Sand Acres.  I liked that it was a smaller resort - quieter and only a few steps to get to the beach, which was gorgeous.  The water was clear and beautiful.  I also loved that they did not nickel-and-dime you.  The beach chairs, umbrellas, boogie boards were all free.   There were sea kayaks, too, though I'm not sure if they were free.  Windsurfing and jetskiing were available on site as well.   Hammocks hung throughout the resort and the breeze was heavenly.  

The housecleaning staff was exceptional.  The onsite restaurants were the only disappointment, but there are many good-to-great restaurants only 10 minutes away.  Pisces in St. Lawrence Gap was terrific.   The resort had a variety of entertainment throughout the week, including a scavenger hunt with prizes for the kids on Christmas morning, a local choir singing carols and a fashion show.

The unit itself was nice - spacious, well equipped and decorated and clean.  The two minor complaints I had were low water pressure in the shower (we were on the top floor, room 3335) and a hard mattress. Neither issue deterred us from enjoying ourselves tremendously. The sofa bed which my daughter used was actually quite comfortable.  The kitchen was well stocked and there was a gas grill onsite which we used for steaks one night.  Our unit's balcony was the icing on the cake.  It was quite big - enough for four good sized chairs (nicely padded resin wicker, not the cheap molded plastic stuff), two small matching tables and a drying rack for suits and towels.  The view of the beach from there was awesome.  

I could go on, but suffice it to say we had a great time and would go back in a heartbeat.  We discovered that many of the units at Sand Acres and are sold as part of vacation packages (primarily from the UK I believe) such as those offered by Virgin Atlantic.  It's not clear to me how many are actually exchanged as timeshares.    Perhaps we just got exceedingly lucky in getting this exchange, but I am exceedingly glad we did. 

-Corinne


----------

