Drifting Sands Oceanfront Hotel — Hotel in Ship Bottom

6/2020 My family stayed in an efficiency room here for 3 nights, after going back and forth about renting a house. The pictures showed a bright, clean room, and the ratings were not terrible, so we went with it. Upon arrival, we encountered the most friendly staff in the office, which made us even more excited to get to our room! The room included beach passes, chairs and towels (a great bonus). We knew our room was in a separate building that overlooked the parking lot because that was explained when we reserved it. However, we had no idea that we would encounter such gross conditions when we walked in to the room. Our room was supposed to have a kitchette (full sized fridge, stove, appliances, etc), main room with 2 double beds, separate room with king bed, and bathroom. Upon opening the door to the room, which opened to the kitchenette, we smelled the most fowl fragrance--mildew! As we walked around the room, we were not impressed. The pictures were falsified, for sure. As a matter of fact, we compared the pictures on the website to our rental and found that we were staying in the exact room advertised, however, the dolled up pictures were not what we experienced at all. I wish I took pictures when we entered! The blue pillow shams and elegant bed decor were absent upon our arrival. We found dust accumulated in most flat areas, as well as overall maintenance neglect in other areas. The bathroom offered a rusted baseboard heater and the unit air conditioners flashed "clean filter". Some sheets and towels were marked with the same mysterious yellowish stains. The ironing board had been left outside on the balcony for God knows how long. Electrical outlets were at a minimum and extension cords were being used to accommodate lighting and cable. Paint was peeling away from doors/door frames and spotty on the walls, and it wasn't until the end of our stay that my husband shook the blanket of our bed (after having slept under it for 3 nights), to be sure we hadn't left anything behind, that he saw a puff of dust burst from the covering. Appliances, like toaster and coffee pot were supplied, but dirty. An iron and hairdryer were left laying in the closet shelf. This same closet offered 1 hanger, plus another 2 in the King room where there was a metal rod jutting from the wall. There were no folding racks for luggage to sit on to keep our personal items off the floor. We noticed that other rooms in the efficiency building were in better condition, when the ground floor doors happened to be open to peek in as we passed by. They had hardwood floors, compared to the old dingy carpeting in ours, and bright white furniture, instead of our brown and worn dressers. It seemed likely that these rooms had been renovated, but we did not know the actual conditions of them. Another notable mention is that the cleaning staff were high school age. I add this, not as a knock to them personally, but as an important factor to consider when thinking about how relevant cleanliness is to this age group. Is this the age group we are trusting to clean thoroughly between guests? Additionally, we also noticed that some of these teen staffers were also staying in one of the rooms below us (one of the newer, nicer ones that I explained). We didn't complain about the room at the time of our visit, because we just wanted to enjoy the short time we had to spend there. While the hotel is seated in a most convenient area when it comes to getting to the beach or anywhere else on the island, the location was no exchange for the unfavorable accomodations. The advertising is false, at very least, when it comes to the pictures of these rooms. If you are looking to stay in an efficiency here, I would highly recommend asking to stay on the ground floor, where the rooms seem to be more cared for and might offer a more pleasant stay, although I cannot be certain of it. But, although the room was a giant disappointment for the money spent, the staff in the main office...

I’ve been coming to the island for over 50 years, have stayed in many different places. Drifting Sands is by far the WORST. I don’t mind dated, I don’t mind the salt air mustiness of island life. BUT … I very much minded the dirty stinky elevator, the overpowering bleach puddles in the corridors (which I almost slipped and fell in) to the bad stink in the room itself. I felt ill after being in the room for just one hour and decided I’d rather go home than sleep there and get sicker. I asked for a PARTIAL refund if I left right away, never even having used the room. Management said ‘nope, too bad, you’re here for one night’. I was moved to a different room which was mildly better and tried to make the best of it - only to have the balcony screen door fall off while trying to open it, nothing but harsh LED lighting to add to my headache, a dirty, grimy feel on everything - the remote so sticky gross I washed it with soap and water, a filthy sofa, sheets of questionable cleanliness - they were sandy in between - and not from me, I showered just before getting in. The heater smelled like something was burning when running and there's only unsecured Wi-Fi. I considered a hot bath until I saw how dirty the jets were. I could have stayed home and had a nice meal for a quarter of the cost of this lousy place - which off season, empty in October was $240 / night. LBI used to be a great getaway but this dated place is not nostalgic, it’s just extortion of ocean front location. To make it worse, one cannot take a stroll anywhere as the never ending causeway construction has the roads torn up and trashed at the circle where the hotel is. That is no fault of the hotels but did add to the general sense seediness of this place. The front desk person told me that nothing could be done because it’s corporate (she did try to help with the different room and a complimentary cup of tea). I wish I’d read the numerous bad reviews warning people to not stay here beforehand. When I got the ‘sorry, too bad, it’s not mold it’s just chemicals for mold and bleach’ reply from management, I asked who corporate was. Blue Water Inc - and they do not have great reviews either. Seems to me like LBI is now a victim of its own success as the once-good places don’t feel the need to make an effort anymore. They gouge all summer long and to hell with off season guests. I do not mind paying a good dollar when a place is nice and I can enjoy myself. But that means something much better than a bygone, run down, shoddy rip off which is potentially harmful to health.

EDIT & UPDATE IN RESPONSE TO REPLY: If in fact management felt sorry that I was so unhappy they / you could have done the right thing and courtesy of refunding half my money and I'd have just gone home. But you insisted on keeping every cent, no matter how dissatisfied your customer was - I guess being one of the few customers you do have pays the price for your slower day? The construction was the least of my concerns and I said that was no fault of the hotels. I only mentioned it for people wondering about walkability. But the chemicals, mold, broken door, dirty tub, filthy elevator, dirty sheets, dirty remote were of big concern and ARE within your control. I was willing split the difference and pay $140 for the hour I was in the room discovering how poor and unhealthy the place is. I've worked in hospitality and I have family members who own a number of hotels. NEVER would we insist on keeping money from a guest who was so dissatisfied and getting physically sick from poor conditions. But then again, we also wouldn't have such a neglected establishment. Greed and shoddiness were the issue, not the road construction. You could have remedied it with a partial refund (I didn't even ask for full refund because I know housekeeping still had to go in for the short time I was there) but you CHOSE not to. Which Indicates zero regret or care for customer...

‪@dslbihotel is under new management and they are dishonest. I see from other posts we are not alone. We stayed here two years ago to celebrate my parents’ 60th anniversary and though the rooms are not fantastic, we were so happy to be able to hear the ocean from our rooms. We had opted for the lower level due to my dad’s limited ability to walk, so we could not see the ocean behind the dunes, but we knew that when we made the booking. This year we booked ocean view rooms and were in a different building that faces the parking lot. All I can hear is the air conditioner fro the next unit and what appears to be roller derby practice in the room above me. I purposely called after making the reservation because it was different from the first year when you could specifically pick the beach front building. I was assured I would have an ocean view. I even explained that I have a disability and that I needed to be close to the beach entrance. I told them where we were the first time and said I would like to be at the same end of the building, just up on the higher floor so I could see the ocean. I also asked if I could book a second room for my parents and cancel a day or two ahead as they are elderly and even though the website said you could, they said I could not because they were under new management and the rules changed. You can change the date of your reservation but you cannot cancel. When we got here, I relayed all this. They told me that the person on the phone was wrong, that reservations can be cancelled. If I had not traveled over 7 hours to be here, I would have walked out. They kept telling me about the new management as an excuse for why I did not have an ocean view room for the expensive price they charge, which I did not mind paying if I had an ocean view. I will never stay here again and I feel they should return my money because this is NOT the vacation I planned. With my disability, I do not get to do as much as other people so this is really, really upsetting. Also, I RARELY write...