We stayed at the Sandcastle the week of August 7th. We stayed in the 2 room suite on the 9th floor. It includes two bathrooms which was really nice. The hotel is a bit dated, but for the price it was worth it.

The staff was friendly, the room was clean. We slept quietly every night. My only complaint about the housekeeping is that they did not replenish the in-room coffee maker every day. Since I look forward to my morning coffee, this was a biggie for me.

The hotel is at an excellent location. The only downside to the hotel is that the elevators are slow and you'll find yourself spending a lot of time waiting for them or riding on them. Also, the hotel hallways and elevator are not air-conditioned. It was pretty stifling outside of our room.

To sum it up, we did enjoy our stay and we would stay a the Sandcastle again.

We enjoyed Virginia Beach. We ate at the Seaside Galley restaurant in the Sandcastle on our first day and we enjoyed it. We also ate at Fishbones next to the Sandcastle. Good food and service.

We had a bad experience at Giovanni's at 20th and Atlantic. The hostesses were annoyed with us from the moment we walked in (they remided me of those girls from the "Simple Life"). We were with my wife's sisters family which made it a total of 8. Even though the restaurant wasn't busy, and there were tables available on the first floor, they wanted us to go to the second floor which would require us to carry the kids strollers up two flights of stairs. When we asked for a first floor table, the hostess rolled her eyes and pointed at a corner and told us to fit where we could. We ended up a two different tables. They refused to let us have 2 checks (even though we had to use two tables) and there is a mandatory 18.5% tip for all patrons (not just parties of 8+). The food was okay, but we will never go there again. They were rude and unwelcoming.

My wife and I stayed at the Sandcastle Oceanfront Resort Hotel from Wednesday, July 12 to Sunday, July 16. We were told on the phone that we could not stay on Saturday night without also staying on Sunday night. I found this very strange, so instead I booked it online at the hotel's website where there was no such limitation.

Upon arriving at the hotel, we were given a 3rd floor room. When we got into the room, we noticed that it was not facing the ocean and had 2 full size beds, so I immediately called the front desk and told them that we had booked a non-smoking oceanfront room with 2 queen beds. They were very responsive and apologetic and sent up an employee to show us two other oceanfront rooms with king beds, one on the 9th floor and one on the 6th floor. We decided against the 9th floor room as it smelled smokey and felt too lonely. The 6th floor room seemed much more pleasant and inviting, and the view was absolutely breathtaking.

Aside:
Since my wife and I are expecting our first child in Sept/October of this year, we decided to celebrate our last vacation as a "free" couple at Virginia Beach. We came here together about 6 years ago and stayed at the Tropicana Hotel a few blocks down the road (17th street - It was a dump, and even though it has been remodeled since then, we were told it was still a dump). But, we loved how clean and inviting Virginia Beach is to family-oriented people. We will definitely be bringing our children to this beach in the future (probably back to the Sandcastle).

Back to the hotel:
The included continental breakfast was one of the best parts about this hotel. The buffet included sara lee prodcuts such as powdered and cinnamon doughnuts, pastries, 4 kinds of cereal, milk, juices, coffee, tee, bagels, muffins, and fresh fruit. I thoroughly enjoyed being able to fill my tummy without spending excess time or money finding a place for breakfast. The buffet was open from 7 to 10 and we showed up bright and early at 7 and usually had the whole room to ourselves!

There are two shops in the back of the hotel which were very convenient and also offered bike rentals. One of the shops was like a convience store and we were pleased to find ketchup there for a reasonable price (for our leftover french fries!).

Our private balcony was very pleasant, although it was often wet due to the frequent afternoon thunderstorms during our stay. We found the beach to be a bit crowded (especially if you wanted to go body boarding), except during the morning. Our best time on the beach was from 7:30 am to about 11:30 am. It sometimes felt like we owned the whole beachfront in the morning! (Early birding is great!).

Bathroom: I have read about the reviews stating that the bathrooms are small. While this is true, my wife and I found little to complain about since we are both relatively small people. However, the showerhead was way too low and I repeatedly "bonked" my head on it when trying to wash my hair (I'm only 5' 6" tall). Otherwise, we enjoyed the newly remodeled bathrooms with a beautiful granite top counter.

Nighttime: We were especially thankful that the hotel was very quiet at night. My wife (who is 7 months pregnant) slept well in our room and the mattress was supportive and comfortable. Also, the window had both a thin blind and a thick curtain, which allowed us to decide how we wanted to wake up in the morning. There was also a free newspaper at the front door every morning.

Amenities: The room included a nice sized micro-fridge, microwave, safe, TV, DVD player, and a hairdryer, all in good working order. There was also a nice sized square table which we ate lunch at and played cards and dominoes on.

The pool at the sandcastle was very small, and we decided not to get in. One recommendation would be to build a larger pool (maybe outside) and a couple hottubs.

Conclusion:
If you're looking for a family-friendly, reasonably priced, well located (14th St. on the boardwalk), well kept modest hotel then the Sandcastle Oceanfront Resort Hotel is absolutely worth looking into. We were not dissapointed and will likely be returning for a future visit (don't forget to ask for a 10% return visit coupon card upon checkout!).

This hotel was a good deal for the money. We didn't encounter the staff much because we were too busy on the beach, etc. Room was kept very clean. Two drawbacks: AC was kind of slow at cooling down room but felt good after running all day and the beds are pretty firm....we suggest bringing your own pillow to this one. However we were so tired at the end of the day we didn't much care. Great view of the oceanfront. Parking was a snap. Hotel has great location. There is a safe fee but in return we did use it and it was worth the charge to know your valuables were safe in your room while you enjoyed the ocean. We ate at the Bombay Beach Grille which is a little off the beaten path but had a coupon for kids to eat free which helped the bill. Also ate at Ellingtons. Both good food and value. We did not eat at the hotel restaurant simply because we are not seafood buffet people so I can't comment on the food. Overall it is an older hotel but rooms are very clean and have a great view. We recommend for a nice family vacation at a fair price.

My family stayed at the Sandcastle May 25th-30th 2005. The staff was very friendly when we checked in and the check in process was very quick. The rooms were very clean. There is a mini mart on the 1st floor of the hotel which was very convenient, espically if you want to rent the bikes to ride on the boardwalk. We ate at both hotel restaurants. The Seaside restaurant in the back of the hotel was very economical for lunch. The restaurant that is connected to the front of the hotel was a little pricey, but the food was pretty good. The only down fall we had with this hotel was no outdoor pool. We did use the indoor pool, and it was very clean and well kept. The hotel is in a great location and we had a great view!