The Ocean Sands Resort — Hotel in Virginia Beach

When we finally checked into our room I was SHOCKED to find out it was RIGHT ON the Beach and "boardwalk"! The room was light and airy, the vibe was that of immediate relaxation! It was more of an actual one-bedroom condominium (because that's EXACTLY what it is...more on that later) and it was right on the beach, so you could always hear the waves crashing and smell the unmistakable scent of the salty ocean waters (as opposed to freshwater beaches on rivers, lakes, and bays). So it was really romantic and we slept with the balcony door open most of our time here and it was such a needed rest and relaxation for these two workaholics! The unit had a full kitchen, complete with silverware, cookware, and a full-sized refrigerator, stove and microwave and separate dining area. Fully furnished, tastefully decorated, was clean and given an extremely generous amount of linen & towels. We were informed that even though WE were guests, their property mainly functioned as a timeshare lease. As such we didn't have housekeeping and had to clean our own rooms (including taking out any garbage at check-out), had to come downstairs and pickup linens like towels and sheets for ourselves, which some reviewers were upset with this arrangement. Personally one of my MAIN concerns while traveling and staying at ANY hotel, is keeping housekeeping and maintenance workers OUT of my room and will usually put "Do Not Disturb" sign on outside door handle until I am ready for their services. I also try to be in the room with both departments while they are servicing the room. There have been so many negative reviews about this place that made me anxious about being a guest (reports of pests, outdated decor and poor customer service etc, etc). Gratefully, their complaints and grievances were NOT a part of our experience. And a lot of the circumstances contributing to the root cause of these grievances, are no longer relevant because the current owners bought the property in a very bad state (not their fault) but they are remodeling extensively not just this location but another affiliated vacation rental a few blocks away. I am sure serious issues raised in the past about such as pest control have been attended to. The building in general, and our unit in particular, was clean, tidy and void of any type of insect. As far as the criticism of how "outdated" the rooms were, is yet another example of a manufactured mountain that shouldn't exist because the issue is a complete molehill. The furniture and decor is not outdated, but is tastefully simple and not "trendy". Unless you go out of your way searching for these very minor imperfections, that are almost completely unnoticeable to anyone who is not a neurotic without a life. W/the extensive remodeling progress this will also be addressed soon. Resort has indoor pool, hot tub, gym, sauna. We were offered a whole week free @ any of their locations throughout the U.S. in exchange for listening to a timeshare presentation. I know, very annoying and we went in there already knowing we wouldn't ever buy a timeshare. But a virtually free vacation was worth a mere 45 minutes w/ a person I'm sure we will never run into again for the rest of our lives. We booked the unit for three nights, but inconvenient circumstances made it impossible to check into on our room until the following day. They were very gracious and empathetic and allowed us to stay an extra night to make up for our missed night. They didn't have to do that since it was too late for us to change the reservation and they were already paid. So thankful. You can tell this company appreciates their customers! There is an indoor/outdoor oceanfront bar downstairs for drinks in the evening. Didn't check it out myself, but walked past many times and everyone seemed to be enjoying themselves. What a fantastic time we had —and for an INCREDIBLE value as well. Around $200 per night for what amounted to a condo right on the beach. We could walk from our resort to many desirable locations, and activities both on the beach and downtown...

I ain’t going to lie, these reviews made me very nervous about our upcoming vacation. 8/8 - 8/15 I was scared of the bed and a dirty floor.

However, I was pleasantly surprised. Not luxurious accommodations but enough for a decent stay. We stayed/ parked on the 4th floor. ( washer/ dryer on the 4th floor: free. Bring soap! ) Yes, the interior of the building needed updating. Some hallways looked better than others. But our room was very clean and nice to live in for the week. We had absolutely no problems with the bed. Some nights I was so exhausted that I fell right to sleep, never having any issues. The bed was comfortable. Working tv, with dresser, ironing board and iron, broom and dustpan, few hangers. Air conditioning was cold. Everything about the bedroom was absolutely fine. Like most reviews said, we had the balcony with ocean views. Two chairs and a table. The balcony floor was a bit dirty. It definitely needed to be power washed. I’m obsessed with cleaning so I poured pitchers of water and bleach ( bought it) on it and then lightly scrubbed it down with the broom they gave us- but I’m sure you don’t need to do that. No noise inside from the boardwalk areas.

Dear hotel: power wash all the balconies. They need it.

The kitchen was lovely too. Working tv, plenty of light, table with 4 chairs and a pull out couch. ( we never used the pull out couch) Kitchen cabinets: setting for 4./ glasses and mugs. A drinking pitcher, coffee pot, ice bucket, and some other dishes. 3 sets of pot sizes. And an electric skillet which I loved but no actual pan- which I didn’t understand if you have a stove top. The oven was built into the microwave which I never saw before! Silverware for 4 and a few utensils. ( see pictures attached) I expected this so I brought some spices, foil, plastic wrap, utensils, and some other kitchen items from home. Made cooking much easier. I like to be prepared! The bathroom was very clean. No issues. Your basics and essentials. The water is very hot! Our bathtub was a jacuzzi tub but the jets looked dirty/moldy. Again, I tried bleaching them and running the water with the jets to loosen the scum and lots came off but it really needs a scrubbing brush to get it all out. We never used the tub.Just showered. Bathroom worked for us.

When we needed clean towels, we took them downstairs to the linen exchange. No big deal to us. There’s garbage shoots near the elevators. Elevator always worked. No maid service, I was the maid. But I’m always cleaning so no big deal. We didn’t use the pool very much but the water was warm. Bathrooms, sauna, lounge area with vending machines- outdoor balcony all in pool area. The pool closed at 11 which sucked for us. And my only gripe: they closed the pool all damn day bec of one thunderstorm even when it was over and gone because of “lightning.” I can understand WHEN it’s storming out but this was a few hours later. Apparently you will get randomly struck with lightning without a storm present. We actually had downtime to use the pool and couldn’t. We even WALKED to the sister hotel and they said the same thing. THERE WAS NO LIGHTNING OR EVEN A STORM! Just a drizzle of rain. We literally walked in it. So frustrating. Parking was never an issue either.

Overall, our vacation at the resort was fine. We didn’t experience what some of the reviews said. I’m giving it 4 stars because of the dirt on the balcony floors/ windows and the dirt in the...

The best part of this hotel is hands down the location. Despite all of the negative things I'm about to list, I have to tell you that we still had a really nice trip thanks to the great location and endless options for adventures in an easy walking distance. I wouldn't return, but yes it is possible to stay here and have fun. Anyway, on to the review...

We were super excited for our nice stay at the beach in a 3-star hotel! But we felt kind of disappointed as soon as we arrived.

I was expecting some marvelous lobby with marble walls and 20 foot ceilings at this 3-star hotel, but we were instead greeted by what looked like a dumpy doctor's office waiting room to check in. This is closer to motel vibes. Ok, maybe our room will be better, right?

Eh... not really. Super outdated and ugly decor. Pillows that feel like they're just filled with a few hundred cotton balls. A sagging mattress that slowly folds your body into a banana. Soap pumps in the bathroom that remind you of what you'll find in the gas station you stopped at on your way to the hotel. A toilet seat that won't stay up because there's a uselessly narrow shelf mounted above it because of sloppy contractor work. Ancient curtains that have threadbare holes throughout, allowing the light to shine through. Not to mention the curtain was cut wrong around the A/C having a several square foot gap that we had to MacGuyver a way to pull it over.

No toiletries were provided, we had to go ask for them and they seemed very stingy about it. Like, why?

And elsewhere in the hotel besides our room? Well the hotel's restaurant had the whole building smelling like a bacon-fire for an entire day. Wonder what happened there.

One time coming to the room, we saw a monster sized roach casually crawling around in the hallway. The next time we passed by, he was clearly thoroughly pulverized under someone's shoe, but not cleaned up. At least we were having a much better stay than he was.

Then one night, the hotel alarm went off around 2:30 AM blaring with speech telling us to leave the building. We then understood it to be a false alarm and went back to sleep. Finally snoozing again, and it goes off a second time like an hour later! Ugh.

And during this stay, I was getting repeated calls and messages from some sales person who I realize now was probably trying to sell us a timeshare. Yeah uh... no thanks. It would take a virtuoso salesman to even get me to come back for a single stay. My girlfriend talked to him the first time, but he kept calling back and I just ignored it. Kind of annoying when you're trying to enjoy a vacation.

The game room is small with 3 arcades and a foosball table. The arcades were actually good classics though. SF2, Pacman, and I think Cruisin USA? You could have a bit of fun in there.

Anyway, I think that just about covers it. So note that it's a 3-star hotel which sounds kind of fancy, but that's more just about the amenities than the quality of the hotel itself. Like yeah, you can actually get a massage here... but do you even want...