Atlantic Sands Hotel & Conference Center — Hotel in Rehoboth Beach

Our experience here (weekend after Labor Day) was hit or miss. We booked an ocean front 2 queen bed room. First things first, be warned. These are NOT queen size beds. These are full size beds being sold on the website as queens. If you are a couple, plan to sleep alone in your own bed. Bed comfort is subjective but the mattresses are pretty hard. You're in luck if hard tiny beds are your thing. We made it work but what was advertised is not what they're selling.

When we got into the room it smelled like smoke. I immediately went back to reception to request a move to another room. We were told they were fully booked so nothing else was available. They did send housekeeping up to 'treat' the room. Treat meant they spray some stuff around that covers the smoke but makes it smell kinda like teenage boy doused in Axe body spray. When we returned, we opened up the balcony door and turned on the bathroom fan to aired it out a bit. Pretty soon it just smelled like smoke again. It is what it is. We made it work.

The location is what keeps this place going. Right on the boardwalk, close to everything. You won't be disappointed with the location.

Another thing to know is that an ocean front room doesn't mean you have an unobstructed view of the ocean. We were in a corner 'ocean front' room that overlooked the pool. Since we were on a corner, the view straight ahead and to the right was the ocean but the hotel blocks the view to the left. I'll post a pic on this so you know what you are getting into. The awkward thing about being in a corner room is if you stand on your balcony, you can see right into the room on the other corner. We were very aware that if we could see everything in their room that they could see everything in ours too.

Let's talk about Covid protocols, masks and cleaning. The room itself felt and looked clean. A little beach worn but nothing unexpected. Generally a nice room. However, since this was our 1st hotel stay out of quarantine, we decided to come prepared to reclean all of the touch surfaces with a Covid murdering cleaner. Folks moving around in the hallways and elevator wore masks. There's a sign that says no more than 4 people in the elevator at a time in the main lobby but nothing in the garage where folks are also coming in. There definitely needs to be a sign there too because a party of 5 people tried to get on with us. We explained, we all made nice, we worked it out, they took another.

One of the things that was most concerning for me was that we never actually saw staff anywhere out in the common areas cleaning high touch surfaces. I honestly don't think the door handle that leads to the outside next to the pool got any attention the entire time we were there. That thing is a petri dish.

We sat on the balcony the morning after our 1st night and watched staff open the pool for the day. Both staff members wore 'chin guards' and barely went through the motions cleaning. The 2 guys were talking and we watched one of them wipe down the same chair 3 times then skip the next 4. Not even kidding. Seeing his careless approach to cleaning made us glad we had recleaned all of the touch surfaces in our room.

I was pleasantly surprised, however, to see probably 95% of the people adhering to the mask requirements on the boardwalk and shops. Masks were also worn inside the hotel. In general, Rehoboth felt safe(ish) in that if you mask, keep hand sanitizer at the ready and wash your hands frequently, you should get out unscathed.

Overall it was actually a decent stay. I'm not sure if I'd go back but it's not a hard no. There are better hotels at the same price point but this is also a 3 star hotel so the hotel itself meets that even though it charges more like a 4. As long as you know what you are in for you'll have a good time. You can't be that close to the ocean and have a bad...

I do not even know where to begin with this place. When we got there, the roads were blocked off because of a gas leak (at the hotel). I called the desk to see what we should do and the gentleman starting arguing with me, telling me that he could see spots for me to park even after I repeatedly told him the streets were blocked. When we finally got there, we were told that the gas leak did not affect our side of the hotel, but when we got up to the room we had no heat and no hot water. The same brainiac at the desk then informed me that he did not know they had shut the gas off to whole hotel. Then we had to wait while they replaced a piece of gas pipe, even though there had been another incident just two days before and they already knew they had these issues but tried to ride it out. This same genius told me he would call me personally when we would have heat and hot water, but left without doing so or informing his relief. They only way we knew we could take a shower or turn the heat on was because I called the front desk and the overnight shift informed me the gas had been turned back on for a while.

When we checked in, we asked for some water for the room and were told they did not provide that and I would have to use the vending machine across from room 116. This was the same genius with all of the aforementioned bad information. When we checked out, I enquired what the service fee was for. ($39 per night) One of the things was refreshments in the lobby. I said, “what refreshments?” and was told that they have water. I told them what we were told at check-in and got a “We’re very sorry about that”. The service fee is also for the pool…which is covered now because it’s cold…which is why we were mad about the heat. You see where I’m going here? The paint is literally peeling off the walls, the carpets throughout are threadbare, torn, and stained. The bathtub wouldn’t drain. The elevators are ancient death traps. And who the hell stuffs a salad with vinaigrette into an omelette?

The GM (Ian) loves to tell people with complaints about how they are planning some renovations down the road. Even assuming the management team here has shown themselves to be trustworthy (they have not), how the hell does that help anybody getting the shaft now? I would be disappointed in this place if it were a $100 a night beach shack. But spending over $1100 here for three (3) nights off season is infuriating. They did tell me they were knocking $120 off my bill but 1. that is not even close to what needs to come off it and 2. they did not actually do it.

Do not stay here under any circumstance. Stay ANYWHERE else. There is a Hampton Inn a mile or two up the road, stay there and drive to the beach. This place is a disaster, a train wreck, a falling apart ripoff. But it is right on the beach, I’ll give it that. But actually staying there will absolutely ruin your family vacation....

It's truly a shame this place is not better. It's location is perfect!

I read some reviews before booking and just assumed the negative reviews were some over hype. I always assumed that I just wanted a bed with clean linens and could tolerate any other issues.

Upon first walking into the room it was a tad disappointing that aspects were clearly run down. These things were clearly not recent issues, but issues that have been building for awhile. Carpet with holes in it, furniture missing veneer, wallpaper peeling, stains around the toilet and sink, sloppy repairs when completed. However, the linens looked and felt clean.

We arrived on a Friday afternoon. When we woke up Saturday and attempted to shower we couldn't. The shower knob was broken and simply spun in circles and produced only cold water. There was no sweet spot to get hot water. We figured we'd bathe in the tub and let the front desk know. On our way out Saturday we stopped by the front desk to make them aware. We went out for the day. We returned to the room Saturday evening to get cleaned up before heading out and noticed the shower was still broken. We stopped by the front desk and told another employee that we had reported our shower was not working that morning, hours have now passed, and it is still not repaired. This employee apologized and assured us it would be taken care of. We returned late Saturday night and went to bed. When we woke up Sunday morning we realized... they have never fixed the shower. It truly did not appear that anyone ever entered the room.

When we checked out there was an older man (Roland) sitting at the front desk, along with the woman we reported the issue to Saturday morning. Roland asked if we were checking out and how our stay was. My partner told him "Not good. We haven't had a hot shower during our entire stay." Roland's immediate response was "Did you bother to tell anyone?" We told him that we did report it Saturday morning and again Saturday evening. Roland then asked what we were told when we reported it. At this point I realized the woman who we spoke to Saturday morning was not going to chime in on her own and I informed Roland that it was her who we spoke to Saturday morning. Roland paused and then said "I really wish I could say what I am thinking" after a pause he told us "Please don't give up on us." At that point we asked "so, that's that? nothing? No compensation for the fact your hotel could not provide a hot shower?" Roland just stared at us. Silent. We left.

I have never been one to expect something for free. I would never expect our entire stay to be compensated, but one of the two nights seems the least they could do. These rooms were not cheap.

We will...