Sandy Lane (resort)

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Sandy Lane is a luxury five star beach-front resort situated close to Holetown and Paynes Bay, in Saint James on the island of Barbados. Sandy Lane was first opened in 1933 after Ronald Tree, a former British politician, had an idea to build a luxury hotel and golf course on what was an old sugar plantation named 'Sandy Lane'. In 1998, after the hotel had been put up for sale by Granada plc, a group of five Irish businessmen including J. P. McManus, Dermot Desmond and John Magnier, bought it. The original resort was then demolished and for three years underwent a $450 million upgrade and renovation.

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Features

The resort features 112 guestrooms and suites as well as a five-bedroom villa, a 47,000 sq ft (4,400 m²) 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 (co-owner Dermot Desmond's daughter-in-law), 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.

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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

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References

src: www.telegraph.co.uk

External links

• Official website
• Sandy Lane at Seasons in Style
• Sandy Lane on Google+
• Sandy Lane on Facebook
• Sandy Lane Hotel, Trip Advisor

Source of the article : Wikipedia