Hello, fellow travelers! If you are new here, Welcome. I am always eager to showcase the best, newest and greatest while traveling. While it’s easy to glorify that picturesque hotel with the gorgeous 180-degree views of the beach & mile long extravagant breakfast spreads. What happens when every trip is not like that?
Against my better judgement and advice the family and I wanted to take a quick trip to the beach just to relax and unwind for a bit. I am a planner and when I say this was a last minute decision it was literally a “Let’s go to the beach” statement and in less than 3 hours we were in the car and on our way. We quickly decided on Myrtle since we had been there a few times before (Once with the girls on a girl’s getaway & twice with my family on a family vacation) plus we knew the drive was pretty quick. We hadn’t been in the last five years, but we knew they had plenty of family oriented activities, in addition to many budget-friendly hotel options with oceanfront views.
Just like most travel planning, majority of a travel budget goes to travel and lodging. We knew that we weren’t going to be staying long so I decided to opt for a “Cheaper Option“. My #1 Tip for Traveling on a Budget is to Read Reviews. Well let me tell you I glanced at the reviews but the price tag reeled me in. Why didn’t I listen to my own advice?
When planning a hotel stay based vacation, my go to site is Orbitz. I have been booking hotels with them for the last ten years. Orbitz is a great travel booking site that offers many pictures and honest reviews of hundreds of hotels and lodging rentals.
When looking at the listing on Orbitz the pictures of the hotel looked fairly well. The amenities were a plus with the lazy river, Jacuzzi’s and heated pool, not to mention the full on ocean views. The price of the hotel, at the time, was only $55 a night…to good to be true, right? Right! I glance over the reviews and they are a little lack luster with majority of the reviews saying the same thing. Cleanliness is a no, Customer Service is eh, Property Conditions a means for pause.
Once again I choose cheap over peace of mind. We arrive at the Sandcastle Oceanfront Resort South Beach location. Family in tow we are ready to check in and head straight to the beach. Customer service was just like I said earlier, eh. Nothing but here is your room key and your parking pass. I couldn’t be mad at it.
Not sure what your remedy is but before we bring all of our items into a room, I like to check the room and spray all surfaces with a disinfectant. (I did this even before Covid). When we go in the room, you can instantly see that the room needs to be renovated. Everything looks outdated and worn.
The room itself looks as if it had been cleaned in 2 seconds. I called for someone to come and clean but no one showed up. I am so glad I travel with heavy duty cleaners (when traveling by car). The bathroom was so dirty and disgusting. The tub had black markings in it that I initially thought were permanent markings…until I cleaned it with bleach and realized that it had not been cleaned at all.
I can honestly say that it wasn’t all bad because the full ocean views were absolutely as pictured. If I could stay outside the entire time I would have.
For additional proof, it’s clear to conclude that I left this hotel a bad review on Orbitz.com and will not be using this hotel for any future stays.
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