had to select one star in order to submit this review. Otherwise it would be zero. This is the worst motel I have ever stayed. It is old, dirty, in disrepair and there is nothing "resorty" about it. The rooms are dirty, daisy and old. Our bathroom had concrete patches exposed on the floor. There was not a tub drain hardware piece, only a hold straight in the tub to the pipe. The curtains were dirty. The dresser drawers were so bad we Couldn't unpack. We had no AC for 3 days. The management discounted us but we had two rooms and only received $300 total off our 2 room 3 night bill. The food is terrible and the outdoor bar is so dirty I went to order a drink and I left. The restaurant food is terrible as well. This place needs to be torn down. It is so bad and not comfortable either.

This is an interesting write. This is a 4 star hotel in a 1 or 2 star setting. First, the really great news. The staff is extremely nice and accommodating. The foyer appears new and the pool area is large and expansive with a nice adjaent bar and a fun place for drinks, dining and meeting guests. The restaurant looks new and serves both a high quality breakfast buffet and a sit down dinner. I enjoyed a fabulous salmon there.

Unfortunately it stops there. I would love to tell you the rest is just as great, but it's not. The hotel is relic from an era gone by. It's older than I am and I'm 63, with only facelifts and renovations of the forementioned areas. Ocean salts and father time have taken it's toll on this structure and it sorely shows. Hallways are rotted and creepy and the toilets and bath areas are extremely outdated. Looking up at the structure while laying at the pool will take your mind on a time warp that will bring memories of black & white TV's and Leave it to Beaver. While some may find that historic and nice, most will not. It's time has come and gone. It's located on a premier beach with the Ritz Carlton on one side and new housing developments on the other. It's crying out "tear me down and replace me with an extremely modern hotel". Given it's location, I'm sure there are plans in the works for that in the not to distant future. Wrapping this up I can say that we enjoyed our stay there but we will not be going back.

I can’t say enough to ignore the bad reviews about this hotel. It feels like people reviewing are doing the classic, paying for a 3* but shocked it’s not offering 5* amenities. If you want a 5* hotel, you have to pay for it.

The reality is, the hotel is in an AMAZING location when visiting Sarasota. It’s a walk or short drive from St Armand’s Circle while being placed right on Lido Beach. Less than 20 seconds from the pool.

The pool is huge and always quiet, car parking is free with no annoying fees.

The restaurant is nice and the bar is always fun to meet new people.

You get free coffee, tea and water in your room. Tommy Bahama soaps.

Are the rooms a bit dated? For sure but it’s always clean and with friendly staff. It’s an old school Florida hotel, I personally think it’s quite cool to experience it over the standard white boring modern hotels.

I’ve stayed at the Sandcastle probably over five times in the last 8 years or so (back in February yay) and personally never had an issue with it. Once our shower wasn’t working well and they changed our room immediately and we saw someone working on the room the next day.

Just wanted to put my two cents in after seeing the bad reviews! Love it here and can’t wait to come back next month :-)