The Sanderling

The resort was a nice environment, really nothing fancy but adequate. The first thing I saw when I went to the main level was the view, which was very nice, however the windows were so dirty, we had to go outside to enjoy the view.

I go to the Sanderling every year or two on the way to a longer trip or on the backside for convenience. I wish I could say the renovations made it better but it just seems to be stuck in mud with things basically the same. The whole place could use a deep cleaning; I sat next to a window at the breakfast restaurant that clearly hadn't been cleaned in many months- or years. Understanding that immigration policy is killing service at tourist sites, the newest crew seems very disengaged and more interested in chatting with each other than actually serving. Poor training and general lack of knowledge of what a $600 a night room is supposed to bring. Nothing is broken just not impressive. The beach is still clean and beautiful but the extra special sauce seems long gone. No one seems to care that much anymore. Particularly the basic service staff. Sad but true. Probably our last time. On the other hand, had a fantastic experience at the their renewed fine dining place across the street. Completely memorable. The Paper Canoe across the street also continues to deliver. Worth it. Hmmm.....

While my room has been redecorated and looks beautiful, the place is kind of a mess. It’s so poorly maintained. The pool is full of sand, the ice machine is broken, the new trim details are falling off the walls in the lobby, I haven’t seen one clean door or window yet, and the cushions on the sun beds are flat and gross from sunblock and god knows what. But the real kicker is the spiders. If you hate spiders, stay away. There are spider webs all over the interior and exterior of this place. My windows are aren’t just dirty, they’re covered in spider webs and eggs sacks. I’m talking the whole window track is full of spider egg sacks. The little porch is also covered in spider webs and bug droppings. I left an extra nice note (and tip) asking the staff to clean the windows. Took the tip and left the crud. So that’s the level of detail you can expect for your $600+ a night.

New owners and it has never been better. Much more attention to the details both in rooms and the grounds. Staff, both housekeeping and restaurant / bar staff were great.

First, I want to start this review by saying that the GM, Firas, finally credited us for part of our stay but I think that other guests thinking about staying at this resort still need to hear about our experience. We booked a 2-bedroom ocean view suite and the pictures online of those suites are beautiful! However, those are not the actual rooms (or at least what we were given) and I had several staff members confirm that with me in conversations. In fact, the manager from our first night’s stay and the GM told me we were the fifth family this had happened too and they were actually told not to sell the suites since they were advertised online incorrectly. The rooms are actually adjoining rooms (one room had been remodeled, the other did not appear to be except for the bathroom). I know this because upon check in we were given one room number, 327. However, 327 does not exist. I had to go back to the front desk to get keys for 326 and 328. The remodeled room had windows with painters tape and an ac unit that was not working but we were told by the hotel electrician that came to the room "well that's the AC for this side of the hotel". The room was not clean (awful smell!) and at the end of the day, it was not the suite advertised on the website. After speaking with the manager on site (the GM was not on property at the time), she told the us the only thing should could do was move us to a house on property. Of course, to you reading this and what we actually thought as well at first, would be considered an upgrade. However, part of the excitement about staying on property was access to the lobby, the robes, newly decorated rooms, and the ocean view that we paid for. We were two moms with 4 kids who were not prepared for a beach house stay (meaning groceries, bottled water, etc). We were moved to the Swan House to find the kitchen drawers and sink full of ants as well as spider webs inside the house, on the door handles, no trashbags, dirty socks in the room, and the house clearly had not been rented in a while or cleaned. With four small children, we had to get them to bed so the next day I found the GM of the resort who told me that he was new to the property and that is was our choice to stay there and we could leave at any time. Another employee told us that "this place is not a prison". I'm not sure where two mothers and four kids would have gone during peak beach season. Overall, how this resort portrays itself online is not the experience we had and I spoke with a few other families who had issues with their rooms/experience as well. We saved for this vacation, an end of summer back to school celebration for our children and we were incredibly let down and I hope that you will think twice before booking with The Sanderling.