Sandbar Beachfront Hostel — Hotel in San Pedro Town

Awful experience, read below 😡😡😡 Where do I begin. . . I strongly advise you read this before staying here! We booked a private room at the Sandbar because of it's close proximity to the beach and all amenities. We changed the date of our booking over 3 weeks before arriving. On arrival we were informed that they wondered where we were and that they were expecting us from the previous night which was a little strange. We were then told that they had charged our card twice where we would of course have to cover fees and exchange costs. They promised to refund the second charge, this meant due to the fees with our bank we lost money in the process. We entered the room and we were led all the way to the back to a pretty dingey room. We were so happy to be in Belize and just wanted to enjoy our stay so we didn't even mention the uncomfortable bed or the obvious lack of any refurbishment made in the last 30 years. We took a shower and the water was salty, so much so that we left the shower feeling like we'd taken a dip in the sea, we hoped this was temporary and just an island thing. After talking to other people on the island in similar prices resorts, we discovered this was only applicable to Sandbar. When we returned from a full day diving the blue hole and tried again, it was the same. The front desk provided us a garafon of water to clean our gear. The next day, unusually strange, the water was not as salty. Ambergris Caye, the diving and the island itself is amazing so all the little things that would have normally niggled at us, we let it go and just tried to enjoy our stay. So here comes the real blow. . .Our last day in Belize we decided to visit Caye Caulker, upon returning, we find a scribbled note next to the door asking to come to reception before entering the room. I immediately thought we had been robbed so did open the door only to discover they had removed all our belongings and other people were in our room. Understandably furious, we went to the front desk. They were unapologetic and defensive. They informed us that they had double booked the room and the couple had refused to accept this other room. I went to 'our room' where we found our belongings in black bin liners. They had changed us from a double room with private bathroom to an unused 4 bed bunk room with shared bathroom. After a lot of distress they decided to book us a room in another hotel. The whole time they kept blaming BOOKING for the whole fiasco but they way THEY handled it was all on them. Only until the end did they apologise for what they had done. Of course, we were understandably upset but it was like they were blaming us. Normal procedure would be to put the other guests in another hotel until the room was available rather than move guests that were already there!  I searched through all of mine and my partner's belongings and my perfume was missing (I have yet to work out if there is anything else missing) obviously due to all of our things being unceremoniously dumped. We have yet to hear what they propose to do about this as it was clearly their fault. I was disgusted, hurt and obviously distressed. The lack of respect for paying guests and the violation of our rights and our property was totally unacceptable. The owner Hailey should seriously consider her role in a customer service industry with her inability to acknowledge their wrongdoing. To think that just by finding us alternate accomodation would resolve the problem and not reimbursing us for the fact that property is missing is disgraceful. I myself, could not even find the words to talk to her constructively as I was so disgusted and started to panic due to my disorder. We've travelled the globe and have never been treated so badly in any customer service situation. Do not stay here, what happened to us wasn't the first time and I'm pretty sure it won't be the last! There are other, clean, professional options and around the same price. Don't make the same...

Sandbar is the best. We stayed here on a week long trip to San Pedro and it was fantastic. Super clean for a “party hostel” and everyone is really kind and familiar, which made me feel really comfortable and safe. I was here with another female friend for a day before other people joined us, and we felt very safe staying in the dorms and traveling to and from the hostel. When my boyfriend joined us the owner of the hostel was so accommodating and we were able to book a few extra days last minute. The hostel is right on the beach and is walking distance from literally anything you want to do, snorkeling and diving tours take off from all the docks near the hostel, and you can rent golf carts at a discount right behind it. Walking around the town of San Pedro is easy when you’re staying at Sandbar and the staff are more than willing to give you recommendations for different types of food, activities and shopping. You’re near the bank and the grocery store, so if you don’t want to eat at the hostel every night (the food is AMAZING) you can buy groceries or fresh fish and fruit and use the nearby community kitchen to chef something up. The pool area is so chill and I never had trouble finding a spot despite the hostel being full of people while we were there. I can’t say enough good things! I’ll definitely be visiting Sandbar again next time I’m in Belize. If you’re at the bar, ask for Soto! He’s super friendly and can help you find whatever you need whether it’s a brunch recommendation or the nearest ATM. The dorms are clean and pretty spacious for having 10-12 to a room, and while obviously it isn’t totally silent at night, I was easily able to get to sleep and wasn’t woken up super early in the morning. The private rooms are also super nice, and the private balcony with a hammock is a really nice touch especially for catching the sunrise in...

This hostel spoiled me and may have ruined by take on hostels. I enjoy hostels but in my limited experience, Sandbar is the best experience I've had yet in any hostel.

Beds were comfortable, private (privacy curtains, lockbox), with great AC, and having complementary towels for use was such a nice touch.

Bathrooms were clean and water was very warm and lots of availability to use bathroom space (for men at least but I expect women would be the same).

At first, I wondered if the bar on ground level would cause concern (noise while sleeping) but I honestly couldn't hear anything from the bar in the evening from my pod and didn't even use ear plugs (I was also on one of the closest pods adjacent to the bar as well).

On the topic of the bar, the staff was extremely friendly and fun and make some amazing drinks to boot.

I loved joking with the servers when ordering a heart breaker:

"Who hurt you?" they joked "Does it matter," I responded, "this drink, and you fix my heart."

We all laughed and their heart breaker was honestly the best heart breaker I've ever had (and sneaky strong- they will warn you, but BE CAREFUL!)

Happy hour was generous and staff was super helpful with recommendations on Belize as a whole and especially on the Cayes.

Prices were super competitive and location was as good as it gets. They have their own pier to use and I loved watching the sunrise from their pier or winding the night down with a beer and a cohiba. Photos don't do it justice.

I want all hostels to be like Sandbar, and that's...