Sandcastle Hotel at the Soggy Dollar

Hi everyone. I read your posts a while back about the rule changes for people staying at the Sandcastle Hotel at Soggy Dollar. I was wondering if any of you who were staying there or visiting, had returned from your trips and was wondering how it went. I'm especially curious about the new "no alcohol policy" that a few people had mentioned in the Soggy Dollar Bar thread. We are headed to the Sandcastle Hotel in a little less than a month and are planning to bring alcohol just like we have every year in the past. Was just wondering if anyone had any insight. Also, did anyone run into or notice any problems with the new management? Thanks!

We just returned from a cat charter, staying 2 of our nights in White Bay. I spoke with one of the bartenders about this new policy, because when we've done a land based vacation there we've stayed at The Sandcastle and always brought our own booze ( the bars close too early for us ) . Their comment was ,it was not a problem with the people who bring a little bit....it was those that would bring cases and cases of beer and wine. It was a pain in the butt for housekeeping.

We hung out at Ivans last week. Not sure why anyone would want to endure the SG crowds sans Mic.

We recently returned from Sandcastle too. We loved it! We knew that the beach would be crowded in the day so we kept our expectations at a reasonable level. Our experience was even better than expected! In the mornings and evenings White Bay is just glorious! It's incredible to have that stretch of paradise to yourself in the still of the morning and wonder of the evening. During the day, we really got a kick out of people watching. Only on one day did we encounter a boat that blasted obnoxious music for a couple of hours. Unfortunately, the passengers on that boat were actually more rude and annoying than the stereo. We just wandered down the beach that afternoon. Ivan's, One Love and Coco Loco are all just a hop, skip and a jump away.

As for alcohol in the room, we tried to honour their regulations as we didn't want to rock the boat. We had a few cans of beer left from our stay on Anegada and put then in the fridge one day. No problem-o. We met other Sandcastle guests who said they brought wine for the room with no issues. As others have mentioned, it seems that the policy is in place to prevent people from bringing large quantities/cases of beer.

Management was always friendly and helpful. No issues there. Although there did seem to be a manager on the property who never said a word to anyone but oh well. Perhaps that manager was more admin focused. Even in paradise, someone has to take care of the books! There were plenty of other incredible staff to chat with and we always got assistance when we needed it. We'd met Mic briefly in March and looked forward to getting to know him. Others said his presence is terribly missed, especially his laugh. Understandable. We "newbies" thought the bar staff was great and efficient. Shaneek is a gem and Jason is doing a fine job.

And... The cottages have been renovated and look better than on the website. Furnishings are now a little more "Pottery Barn" and less Ikea. LOL The only issue with the room is that the mosquitos were feisty in the outdoor shower. I was fine but my husband got eaten alive. Small price to pay for a slice of paradise! Maybe they could get some netting for the showers? Other than that the only thing missing from the room, in my humble opinion, is a coffee maker. No biggie, though. Coffee was usually ready by 8am but we tended to wake up early on this trip thanks to early nights and the island's rooster wake up calls. Haha!

I'll be posting a trip report soon with more details. Let's just put it this way, I loved the place so much I cried when we left! We hope to go back next year. We're just waiting for our lousy Canadian dollar to bounce back so we're not paying an extra 30% on the US dollar!

Happy travels to you! I hope you enjoy your stay as much as we did!

*EDIT* I posted this and then re-read your initial post. I see you've been to Sandcastle before so you likely are aware of the shower mosquitos, renos, etc. Hopefully my long-winded post will help those who haven't been to Sandcastle! <img src="http://www.traveltalkonline.com/forums/images/graemlins/Wink.gif" alt="" />

[color:"blue"][/color]I just received an updated confirmation from Sandcastle for our stay in March. It says in part:

[color:"blue"]Effective October 15, 2015, No large quantities of alcoholic beverages purchased off property, for PROVISIONING PURPOSES (i.e. cases of beer, liquor and wine) will be permitted in the guest rooms/cottages. If you’re interested in purchasing beer/liquor from Sandcastle Hotel to be kept in your room please contact us prior to your arrival.
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It sounds to me like reasonable amounts for self-consumption will not cause a problem.

I'm sorry..but I would be FURIOUS if a hotel that I was paying a good amount of $$ to stay in started bs like that..I find it outragious..you mean they arent making enough from the hundreds of STT and STJ daytrippers???? Come on..hopefully the place opening next door will not be so dumb..much as I hate the way White Bay is becoming..what do they do if you leave a cooler of beer in your room?? Seriously folks..rent a private villa , or room in one for less $$, and do as you please........

Agreed. This is ridiculous. Go up the hill behind Sandcastle to Greg's villas-Perfect Pinepple. Great rooms. Cheaper. Full fridges with plenty of room for your own liquor and beer. And fantastic views!!!

Apples and oranges ???? Can anyone imagine the day when a charter company says.... no cases of beer, wine or liquor are to be brought aboard for personal consumption ? And we reserve the right to have a chase boat out for maintenance on our boats inspect for compliance anytime after you leave the base ?

+1 for the Pefect Pinepple. We had our fridge packed with beer for an entire week. We would run up to the room during the day to restock our cooler for the beach.

Cannot recommend White Bay Villas enough...we had an amazing stay there....

+1 for the Perfect Pineapple too ... reasonable prices, clean place to stay, great view, great hosts .. and they will even stock your liquor for you !!!

Can't say enough good things about Greg and Hilda. Wonderful people.

Happy Holidays everyone.
I very rarely post these days but on this one I do have a comment. Many years ago my wife and I worked at Sandcastle and there were occasionally guests who took the party vibe too much to heart. One group in particular comes to mind. They had a beachfront cabin and stocked a huge amount of booze, and then turned their area into an allnight, allday party venue for their friends who were staying on boats. 50 people carrying on at full volume until 1 with no end in sight. After the first allnighter of their scheduled three night stay they were asked to leave which led to some difficult discussions.
The people who run the hotel have a right to a few ground rules and they may well have a very good reason for this one. It sounds like they are reasonable about it but the rule has to be announced so that they can exercise their discretion as they see fit. Its hard to balance the hardcore party daytime rep with the mellow and more formal evening vibe.

what about the the other hoards of guests spending money. This is a terrible idea and a marketing nightmare. One isolated incident does not make a complete policy change. We always travel with our Kettle One. We were at an AI in Negril and they had the upside down bottles in the room. I asked our Bellman if he could exchange our Smirnoffs for a Kettle. He said he would see what he could do. Half hour later he comes back with the Vodka. He literally pours the Smirnoff down the sink, and fills up the Smirnoff bottle with Kettle and put it back in the rack, how cool was that

Sorry, ONE incident from several years ago does not require a change of policy. And I frankly have not heard of many, if any, resorts in the Caribbean who say that you can't have your own liquor/beer/etc in your room. This is a stupid move by them.

we've stayed at Sandcastle numerous times. As an early riser(love watching sunrises on White Bay) I always went to the kitchen and started the first pot of coffee for all the guests. Hopefully they still allow that.