Sandy Lane (resort)


Sandy Lane is a luxury five-star beachfront resort close to Holetown and Paynes Bay on the island of Barbados. Sandy Lane was opened in 1933 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, and five Irish businessmen, including J. P. McManus, Dermot Desmond and John Magnier, bought it. The original resort was then demolished in a three-year, $450 million upgrade and renovation.

Features

The resort features 112 guestrooms and suites as well as a five-bedroom villa, a Spa, four restaurants, seven bars and three golf courses. The reef just off the coast from the hotel, Little Sandy Lane, contains Barracuda, Lobster and several other species of small fish.
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, Andrea Corr, T. S. Eliot, Queen Elizabeth II, Elton John, Rihanna, Jacqueline Kennedy, Aristotle Onassis, Oprah Winfrey, Michael Winner, Simon Cowell, Robin Van Persie and Sidney Poitier
On 5 October 2004, professional golfer Tiger Woods married his Swedish fiancée Elin Nordegren at the resort. It was reported that Woods booked out the entire hotel for his guests, who included Oprah Winfrey, Bill Gates and Michael Jordan. 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.
On 11 November 2011, NBC's Today 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. 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. 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