Located on the island’s southeast side, Sam Lord’s Castle, a Wyndham Grand Resort is set to shake up Barbados’ meeting and events industry when it opens on September 30, 2023. During the 41st Caribbean Travel Marketplace, which took place in Bridgetown, Barbados in May, Meeting Spotlight had the opportunity to take a hardhat tour of the upcoming property, which will offer 422 rooms, 10 food and beverage concepts and 12,000 square feet of meeting space.
Here's what you need to know:
Among the 422 rooms will be five room categories spread across five towers. These towers will typically separate guests based on the reason of their visit, including a section for families, adults only and meeting and event attendees. The top accommodations will be the four 1,200-square-foot Presidential Suites, followed by the 11 One-Bedroom Suites and 19 Executive Suites. All rooms start at 650 square feet, with 70 offering connections to adjacent rooms.
In rooms, guests can expect 55-inch 4K TVs, wireless Bluetooth speakers, a Keurig coffee maker, a workspace and charging station and more. Each room also offers a large terrace furnished with a small table and chairs.
Good to know for meeting- and event-planners: Sam Lord’s Castle, a Wyndham Grand Resort will be the largest single resort on the island (only trailing the neighboring Sandals Barbados and Sandals Royal Barbados, which offer a combined 600-plus rooms), as well as the resort that offers the most banquet space on the island. The resort can accommodate up to 1,100 guests for meetings/events in the main conference room with theater-style seating. For banquets, it can host 700 people and with a classroom setup, it can host 600. This room can be divided into five smaller rooms if need be. There are also two classroom-style executive meeting rooms that can accommodate 50 people and two boardrooms that can host 15 people each.
Among the dining venues will be a mercado-style all-day restaurant named The Food Hall next to the two-tiered infinity pool. There will also be the Lantern Bar & Restaurant, Castle View Restaurant (offering views of the resort’s eponymous castle), BBQ Pavilion, a tiki hut-styled beach bar and grill with Bajan cuisine, and more.
The 13,000-square-foot spa will have seven treatment rooms, a yoga center, fitness center, juice bar, tennis courts and a pool. Beyond this one, there are three additional pools, one of which will be family friendly. Guests can also enjoy a slew of watersports, ranging from jet skiing and sailing to kayaking, wakeboarding and more.
Good to know: Sustainable practices in place at Sam Lord’s Castle include a wastewater treatment plant, a chef’s garden, no single-use plastics, low-emissivity glass and sustainably sourced wood.
Construction for the property started six years ago, but the COVID-19 pandemic derailed plans, setting the debut back about two years. Reservations for individual stays are not yet open but groups looking to book in 2024 or later can begin making arrangements. Rates are all-inclusive with everything but spa treatments incorporated into the stay.
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