Sandcastle Inn & Motel

We booked two rooms for September 28 in January. When Sun Stays contacted us in April to say they’d bought the property and needed payment, we found the payment option had somehow been missed through Expedia. We paid for both rooms on May 1, and the charges show on my card. But when we arrived late on September 28, we had to call Sun Stays for room codes, and they had no reservation for us. Their representative kept putting us on hold to investigate. We waited in the dark, cold parking lot for an hour with no answer, then asked them to cancel and spent another hour driving around Orchard Beach looking for two rooms. By October 20, we still had no refund. We couldn’t reach anyone who worked for Sun Stays, despite leaving messages with their answering service and getting no return calls. I wish I could say this was a nice little place, but since it was sold to a management company, customer service has disappeared. I’ve kept trying to call and can’t find Sun Stays on Google to review, so I’m leaving this on a property they manage. On October 1 they also tried charging my card again. The expiration date was entered incorrectly on their end, so the payment was declined. My credit card company says they’ll step in and mark the charge as fraud if I can’t get a refund. Bad service, Sun Stays. Or is this a scam? It’s impossible to speak with anyone who actually works there.

I’d avoid this place, especially if you’re booking through a third party. We booked and paid in February for a March trip, got a confirmation email, and were told only that check-in had to be before 6 p.m. When we arrived at 4, we found five small units attached to a house and no front office. Each unit had a lockbox for the key, but we hadn’t been given a unit number or code. We called around ten times and left several messages, but got no answer. After about 45 minutes standing in the cold, wind, and rain, we left and found a hotel in Biddeford at 11 p.m. It was Wednesday; by Friday, Sand Castle Inn still hadn’t responded. Thankfully, Capital One refunded us. Sand Castle doesn’t seem to return calls, and the rates aren’t worth beginning a vacation with this much stress. Don’t risk it, stay elsewhere. EDITED TO ADD: The owner replied to this Google review within an hour, but never returned our calls. We still haven’t heard from them except for that review response. STAY FAR, FAR AWAY.

We had a lovely warm weekend getaway in November. The Sandcastle Inn and Motel was cute and well stocked, and we enjoyed relaxing outside on the bench and picnic table. It was an easy walk from there to the beach and plenty of restaurants. We hope to come back soon.

The owners were nice and accommodating, and the rooms were clean, though the bathroom could’ve been a bit cleaner. The place could use some updates, starting with new mattresses. Still, at 80 bucks, I can’t complain too much. I’d stay again.