Terrible stay at a “luxury resort” that doesn’t come close to delivering. Too many problems to list here. Given that this was the most expensive hotel we’ve ever stayed at, it’s hard not to feel like we got scammed somewhere along the way. Three restaurants, one of which is actually good but wildly, overly expensive and hard to get into and not a realistic option for most of your trip. The others have excruciatingly slow and awkward service, and one only serves lunch. The dinner place was out of three things I tried to order, and charged $50 for four (4) overcooked scallops. No shop for snacks, no room service. Bottom line, expect to dine slowly and expensively on their schedule, and/or leave the resort constantly for food. Spa books up weeks in advance apparently, so by the time we checked in I couldn’t use it. Three pools: one adults only, one is indoors, leaving just one for the majority of summer guests. No kiddie pool for the littles. Meaning when our teenager wanted to swim, we had to get in a pool crowded with yelling toddlers. Staff sets up some chairs and umbrellas on the beach in the morning, once they’re all taken, you’ll need to carry your own out there. Towels were inconsistently available. Virtually no staff in the area to assist with anything. The activities booth is run by a guy from Kitty Hawk Kites who will sign you up for everything from parasailing to nature tours. He helped us tremendously. It’s telling that the only person who went out of his way to help us this week doesn’t even work for the Sanderling. Our room, a corner junior suite, was a fourth floor walkup with odd layout. Microwave/coffee pot on a console table, clear across the room from a minifridge that froze our food. Lots of maintenance issues: the rod to close the curtain was missing, the balcony door didn’t close and lock properly, they didn’t even set the time on the microwave. And a shower that was badly broken for our first two days. Front desk told us they would knock $150 off our stay. That would be insufficient to compensate for two days of stress and icy showers and time spent dealing with it, BUT when we got our bill we noticed they didn’t even actually give us the refund! Cleanliness was poor. We cleaned someone else’s spill out of our minifridge, there were scuffs and dirty spots on the walls, stained carpet, a squished bug streaked on the ceiling, and one of the bedside drawers had a bunch of chip crumbs. Housekeeping makes one attempt per day. If you happen to need privacy when they come, your room’s just not getting cleaned today. We found ourselves leaving the room when we didn’t want to, in hopes that housekeeping would come. Just like food, we had to plan around the Sanderling’s schedule. Also, bugs. I’ve never stayed in any hotel or rental home, anywhere, including OBX, with even a fraction of how many bugs were in this room. We ignored the ants, spiders, beetles. But I draw the line at the big, fast creepy crawly that skittered across the carpet one evening when we turned off the light. Management claims it’s a water bug, but we (and some of the staff) swear it was a cockroach. I spent the next two nights freaking out about that, couldn’t check out soon enough. Everything at the Sanderling is pretty on the surface, but slow, awkward, broken, and dirty directly underneath. Hospitality is all but nonexistent. Nearly all common area chairs, and many tables, have stains, crumbs, and/or tears. Cleanliness and maintenance are not priorities. Amenities are limited and service is slow and awkward if you can even get it. Promised a refund but didn’t deliver. If this were a cheap hotel I’d maybe give it two or three stars. For a luxury resort around $700/night plus resort fee, highway robbery, negative stars.…
This response is the subjective opinion of the management representative and not of Tripadvisor LLC.