More about Atlantic Sands Oceanfront Hotel
Worst hotel I have EVER stayed in...Atlantic Sands
by TripAdvisor Member pjo3o
I contacted this hotel to reserve a room for the Memorial Day weekend. We arrived on Friday night 05/25/2007. The young lady and other staff members at the desk were very pleasant and very helpful. We were so tired from the 5 hour drive that we merely dropped our luggage in the room and went to grab a quick bite of dinner, then back to the room. So, it wasn't until the next morning that I realized that this room was so disgusting!!! There was mold in the refrigerator, crumbs in and fingerprints(black) on the microwave. There was dried up conditioner left in the rear corner of the bathtub. Hair and several weeks worth of dust on the toilet base, chair rail moulding and A/C/Heat unit vents. There was a toenail clipping between beds, and crumbs all over. I pushed the beds away from night table area to see fake fingernail tips under the bed, as well as more crumbs a pencil, etc. There was a straw wrapper and cigarette wrapper next to A/C. The windows were FILTHY. The track for the sliding glass door had never been cleaned. TV had something splattered on the screen and sticky finger residue on the top. When I asked for the manager, I was initially told there would be no manager there because of the holiday. Are you kidding...Memorial Day weekend?? Then, I asked for the owners name...neither of the folks at the front desk knew that information. I asked to be contacted by the general manager, and I wrote a letter to outline the problems with the room. We ate breakfast in the restaurant there, and that only added fuel to the fire. The food was not tasty, there was one server, with a guy who appeared to be helping on his day off...the waitress was literally running from one table to the nest and to the kitchen, trying to take care of the customers. We were served food with no silverware to eat it with, no butter or syrup for pancakes and no coffee refills. I had to go ask for the check and when I got it, it was for food we had not ordered.
After breakfast, I went to the front desk, and was there in time to see the "general manager" arriving. The young lady at the desk told her that I was there because of a problem with the room. The woman came over to me and asked what the problem was. I stated that this was the worst hotel room I had ever stayed in. She replied, "really?" in a very sharp tone. As I described some of the problems to her, she seemed unsurprised and even said something to the girl at the desk. The manager stated she would speak to the housekeeper and get back to me. I have a long history in customer service, If addressed with a similar problem, I would have immediately contacted the housekeeper to go investigate the problems, and come up with a solution, and in the meantime, I would have asked the customer if they would like to switch rooms, or if I could buy their breakfast...something! This lady did little more than make me feel guilty for complaining. She was rude and told me I was being impatient and not allowing her the time to go and look into the problem. This was now an hour after my first conversation with her. She and the housekeeper came to the door, and I showed them around the room. I asked the manager how she was going to handle the problem. She again said I wasn't being patient, she talked over me, and for the second time, walked away from me. In my letter, I requested that we be reimbursed for one if not all three nights that we had prepaid for. Before walking out of our room, she asked if we would be staying or checking out. My husband said we would be checking out. She said, "perfect." When we asked about a refund, she stated that our complaint did not justify a refund, and she left.
I have reported this hotel to the BBB, the Chamber of Commerce, the visitors center, AAA, etc. When I contacted the Atlantic Sands this morning, I asked for the owners name, and was told that information could not be shared.
We ended up staying at the Comfort Inn and Suites, which was FANTASTIC!
Photos are available - please email me.
I would only stay again in case of emergency or no alternative.
by TripAdvisor Member BistroBabe59
Well, this was a last minute trip for a two night getaway before doing Williamsburg, Va w/ a nine year old. I didn't really care where we were staying as long as it was a smoking room and oceanfront. We stayed here because both options were available last minute. No problems with booking and we were charged 149 per night. I didn't think this was bad considering it is the beginning of summer. I must have called ten hotels but everything was booked. Upon arrival I remembered staying here before, so I asked it this hotel had changed names in the last four years and they said it was formerly a Best Western Hotel. I remembered the same drab lobby, the scary elevators and the musty smell of the hot hallways. We were on the 8th floor, the view was great! The room could have been cleaner, the bathroom was clean and we had enough towels etc. The AC was loud but I was happy that it was working very well. We had arrived between 7-8 pm so we were looking for food and a good nights sleep for an adventurous next day. We ordered in, Pizza from North End (Fabulous) and started getting ready for bed. That night was comical. My husband & I had a difficult night keeping the fitted sheet on the bed. In the am I noticed the reason why was because a double sized matress pad was put on a king bed. Interesting enough, the fitted sheet didn't stay on at all but we didn't complain because our big problem was with the bugs. In the am I noticed little bugs, walking on the walls, by the door, by the patio door, just on this one wall. I don't want to say they were roaches because they were so small and black brown, we really couldn't tell what they were. The bathroom wall needed repair it had a whole in it, the carpet coming out of the bathroom had black stains on it, there was NO HBO as we were told, and when my husband spoke with someone about the bug problem, a man came up to the room with a can of spray, we were still in the room so he didn't use the spray and said he would be back later when we were not there. He never came back, we asked him to check on changing our room but never heard back. The pool was nice a clean. The restaurant was terrible. We never made a fuss at the front desk, we stayed, we payed and just will not return. We had stayed there about four years ago in the winter time and it was drab then but very clean. It did have great water pressure for the 8th floor but the bugs and the bedding kinda made my mind up for a never again thing unless it is an emergency.
Great Location!
by TripAdvisor Member derekjeter99
My family and I stayed at this hotel over the 4th of Jult holiday, which is the high season. When we arrived we were greeted in a friendly manner and check in took less than 5 minutes. Our room was on the 7th floor, which offered excellent views of the beach. The hotel was clean, staff was very friendly (one staff member even offered to take my bag when my 2 year old was cyring for me to carry her, while on another occasion a housekeeping staff gave me extra towels because my daughter had an accident and we were both in need of cleaning). This hotel is a great deal for families with children. If you want to stay away from the craziness of the mid boardwalk this is the place to stay in Virginia. It seems that from 20th street to about 31st street is the busiest. However, the ends of the boardwalk are not crazy at all. In facr, we woke up late (after 9 am) and even at 10 am we were able to get a great location on the beach. The benefits of staying here for families is the fact that you can quickly take your tired kids back to the room for a nap if need be and then go back on the beach in no time at all.
We also ate at the restaurant below and had good service. The food was resonably priced (at all costs avoid some of the restaurants in Virginia Beach-especially Old Country Pancake House-we paid over $45 for 2 adults, 2 children and a 2 year old just to eat breakfast). Go elsewhere or just stay at hotel restaurant (Casper's)-you'll pay less.
Awesome ocean view!
by TripAdvisor Member nilmon
My husband and I stayed four nights. We had a terrific time as there is plenty to do around the immediate area within walking distance. The room rate was very reasonable for being right on the boardwalk. The room was comfortable and the oceanview was awesome. The beach is lovely. Complimentary parking is around the corner. Service was good; staff was friendly and attentive. Evening entertainment on a daily basis was enjoyable. Only drawbacks were the following: small ants in room, sliding door to balcony was not easy to open, window was dirty, a/c was extremely loud and elevator service was very slow. All in all since we were basically looking for a hotel right on the beach, this was a smart choice.
Hated it
by TripAdvisor Member kiapoo9902
We stayed here over the July 20th weekend, after going to our rooms after check in, our kids entered the room first, and ran out and said something was wrong with the bed, when we walked into our rooms, the covers on the beds were pulled back and one of the beds was covered in blood, it was gross. House keeping cleaned the room, but must've forgotten about the beds. The front desk apologized and moved us right away to another room, and that one was better, but one of the pillows cases had blood stains on it. The guy at the front desk was very awsome, I think his name was Kevin, the restaurant was wonderful, but the maids housekeeping dept needs to be fired. Will not be returning to this hotel ever again, and anyone who is smart will not either.
Bit pricey for accomodations- needs work
by TripAdvisor Member jlhzr
We stayed for 2 nights. The rooms were ok, but under the beds had not been vacuumed for a long, long time!! It was pretty gross. The pool was pretty small, but clean. Security was not a strong point - the rooms are located on an interior corridor, but there's a door by the pool that used to be a card access entrance - but the locks have been removed, so anyone can walk in and go right up to the elevator. There is a restaurant on the premises - the food for lunch was pretty good, but a bit pricey about $9 per person. And dinner items were $20+. Staff seemed friendly enough. It was ok in general - not sure I'd pick it over another. No continental breakfast provided. View and balcony were nice. We paid $179 + tax per night - if the pool was bigger and the room cleaner and the security tighter - it would have been better.
Even with advance notice they couldn't pull it off
by TripAdvisor Member Bawrence
I gave them every opportunity to get a glowing review and they dropped the ball in spectacular fashion. I'd emailed them twice (when I made the reservation and the day before arrival) informing them that I planned to write a review and providing a short list of things that would insure it was a positive one. Based on our experience I doubt either email was read. The room was a room, and the AC *was* loud as previously reported, but these were not a problem as we were there for the sand and water anyway. The minifridge wasn't cool in the refrigerator part and had a lot of frost in the 'freezer'. Internet access was intermittent but mostly on so I'll give them that one, but our request for a room nearest the boardwalk got us a lovely view of the roof of the kitchen. Valet parking is available, and guests are only permitted to park on premesis long enough to check-in. For that facility valet parking seemed overly pretentious. Try the Newcastle, you'll like it much better.
Dirty and bedbugs
by TripAdvisor Member HappyMDCamper
I'm not a clean freak and I saw reviews saying it was not a clean place but seriously folks, its not worth the filth.
The carpets were absolutely disgusting, stained the walls had stains, the drapes partially falling off, the popcorn ceiling was loose in areas but the mattress was so old the material was threadbare. How do I know about the mattress?
Because after our ac broke and the bathtub would not drain, we were put in a room that had BEDBUGS. Do not assume this is a small problem, if you bring them home with you, plan to throw out your own mattress and boxsprings and hope you can get rid of them.
Hey, things happen but the lack of cleanliness is the main reason. I wonder how many visitors brought these nasty creatures home with them? There were actually dried blood spots on the mattress, the mattress covers from previous visitors.
I spoke to the room cleaning folks and showed them the bugs I collected - not one recognized them which means the problem persists.
So, do your homework and read about bedbugs (don't ever put your stuff on the floor in hotel rooms, always use tables or suitcase stands) and check the mattresses before you sleep for brown/red spots. Yuk.
Our beach vacation was ruined as there wasn't another hotel room for miles, we had to move inland.
Life it too short to spend the night in filth, no matter what the discount may be.
By the way, the staff was lovely about it all - its the owner that needs to step it up!!!
