previously been our favorite place to stay. the pool, the view, the homey feel.. saw it now had unique rooms to choose from. after looking to book a place for months, we found an opening here. after paying, we get the long email about the new changes. basically treat the property as a campsite as you need to bring all your supplies from home.
upon arrival, the room had super cute decor. but our room wasnt clean- frosting on kitchen chairs, dust on chairs, window sills, and bathroom cabinet. crumbs on chairs, counters and couch. hair balls (human and pet) on the couch in excess of what was comfortable. windows clearly not wiped down. there was no phone in the room and i had no cell service. the rugs in the bathroom were slippery on the tile floor. as well as when the floor was wet its a slip hazard. a roku tv remote that didnt work.
after the first night, the pool (which already had shortened hours)/ hot tub, ice machine and pop/snack machines were ALL OUT OF ORDER. homeless people were digging in the trash cans. glass was broke in the parking lot. kids stomping above us all night and day, dogs barking at 3am, no where to park except up by subway (as some people had multiple vehicles)! and still preforming renovations to other rooms.
i brought these issues up with the main desk, the man (dan) was trying to be helpful, the woman manager however was just plain rude ! she was cocky and had a huge ego! she claims "im just straight forward and thats why i dont run front desk." and told me i was "free to leave if i didnt like my experience but since it was after 4pm i wouldnt be refunded my 2nd night." they offered to refund 1 night out of 3. the head cleaner, brandy, came to clean my room. she was super kind and understanding. explained some of the miscommunication issues about starter packs of essentials.
we got excuses about how this is an old building, sounds travels. pool is closed due to bad water lines from lack of maintenence from previous owners. and them being hit during renovations the day prior. parking was an unforseen issue when the place was built. staff is expected to clean rooms fast so occupants can check in at 11am but all the papers/ online say no check in til 4pm. sunday/monday are super busy cleaning days. ect.
we decided to leave after our second night due to no resolve to any issues except cleanliness, and feeling it wasnt worth our time to stay here. we cleaned the room and left it better than we found it. i told Dan at 10:20am we were leaving that day. he told me he had to make sure it was ok for me to leave. (excuse me but i dont need permission to leave a situation that isnt good for us.) i reconfirmed again at 10:27am to let him know we were gone and out of the room before 11am. (even though the previous day i was told i had til 4pm)
this was the most disappointing stay weve had at D sands. the view and pool were the main things we wanted, and the main factors when choosing a hotel for our family, as well as being comfortable there. it saddens me to think i tried to have a good experience, to finally get out of town after 2 years in covid chaos, saving the money to go and it was a disaster. a 1 night refund doesnt make up for all this.
i believe the website should be updated to state exactly what each room has (ex.no phones), and what will be provided (1 bag of coffee, 1 shampoo /conditioner, no matter the number of guests in the room), that way its no surprise when you get there.