Sandcastle Resort at Lido Beach

Sarasota, Gulf Coast Beaches

Restaurant
Standard Room
Gulf Front Double Room
Courtyard View Room
Restaurant
Standard Room
Gulf Front Double Room
Courtyard View Room

The hotel

The sand is beautifully bright and sugary soft on this 600ft stretch of private beach and you can hire watercraft to drift along on the waves. This really is a must-see paradise, and right on the doorstep it only makes this pleasant and inviting hotel even more appealing. There are lots of dry land activities too, including bicycle hire. Alongside the attractive pool area is the pool bar where it is customary to gather at sunset. Later you can enjoy a meal in the Candlelight restaurant or perhaps stroll over to St Armand's Circle and sample one of the bistros there. The hotel puts on seasonal live entertainment and the staff are friendly and helpful.

Amenities

  • Bar
  • Swimming Pool
  • Families
  • Free Parking
  • Room Service
  • Safety Deposit Box
  • Wheelchair access
  • Laundry Service
  • Internet Access
  • Car Included
  • Beachfront location
  • Volley Ball

Where is it

On Lido Beach in the charming resort community of Sarasota, which offers a wealth of cultural activities and attractions.

Hotel information

179 rooms on up to 4 floors in 7 buildings with 2 lifts. All with air-conditioning, TV, complimentary WiFi, coffee maker, fridge, safe, iron and board, and hairdryer. Standard Rooms with 1 king-size bed or 2 double beds, sleeping maximum 4 adults or 2 adults and 2 children.

Courtyard/Poolside Rooms sleep maximum 4 adults or 2 adults and 2 children.

Gulf Front Rooms sleep maximum 4 adults or 2 adults and 2 children.

Free self-parking. 3 minute drive or 20 minute walk to St Armand's Circle.

Candlelight Restaurant and Lounge (open for breakfast, lunch and dinner). Sandcastle Pool Bar (open for drinks and snacks). Lounge bar with seasonal live entertainment.

2 heated swimming pools, shuffleboard, sailboats*, kayaks* and water cycles*, table tennis, beach volleyball, giant chess and bicycle hire*, 600ft private beach, golf* and tennis* nearby.

Room service*. Coin laundry*. Gift shop. Complimentary WiFi throughout the hotel.

This hotel has a resort fee of $12.50 plus tax per room, per day (payable locally, subject to change).

Resort fee includes use of the following amenities - WiFi - Access to fitness centre - Use of beach chairs (two per room) - Beach towels - Beach games - Use of pool deck - Resort bicycle hire (max 3 hours per person, per day) - Bottled water in guest room (2 per day) - In-room coffee - Use of lobby business kiosk - Unlimited local and toll free phone calls - Daily newspaper - Use of coin operated laundry - Self-parking - Shuttle to St. Armands Circle daily (8:30am-10:00pm). Resort fee, tax and inclusions are subject to change - please see hotel check-in for current inclusions available to you upon arrival.

Wheelchair accessible rooms available on request. Please note that these rooms are subject to availability and may be restricted to specific room categories and bedding arrangements. Rooms and facilities vary between hotels so please check at the time of booking. For more information and contact details please check out our Special Assistance page

*Denotes local charge.

Rating summary

  • Location Image of the Tripadvisor rating
  • Sleep Quality Image of the Tripadvisor rating
  • Rooms Image of the Tripadvisor rating
  • Service Image of the Tripadvisor rating
  • Value Image of the Tripadvisor rating
  • Cleanliness Image of the Tripadvisor rating

Traveller rating

  • Excellent (432)
  • Very good (631)
  • Average (360)
  • Poor (158)
  • Terrible (123)
Image of the Tripadvisor rating Bed Bugs

Dec 28, 2020 JoshMWalz

My fiancé and I had unfortunately dealt with a bed bug infestation at home in April of 2020, so we’ve been overly cautious in our hotel stays since then and always check for bedbugs. We had checked in for the night at Sandcastle Resort for a 2 night stay and we checked for bed bugs as we usually do and found a nymph almost immediately with very… Read more
My fiancé and I had unfortunately dealt with a bed bug infestation at home in April of 2020, so we’ve been overly cautious in our hotel stays since then and always check for bedbugs. We had checked in for the night at Sandcastle Resort for a 2 night stay and we checked for bed bugs as we usually do and found a nymph almost immediately with very little effort and immediately called the front desk. They promptly sent someone to the room to inspect, and they didn’t really look other than a literal 2 second glance under the top cover with a flashlight—telling us “I don’t see anything.” So we peeled back the covers and showed him the dead bed bug (I squished it when I saw it) that we had found and he told us we could get a new room, which is more than fair enough. We ultimately decided to stay elsewhere because the rooms themselves were rather gross and run down. But the only reason I leave this 2 star review is because the front desk insisted that there were no bed bugs and no problem, and that I do have an issue with. If there’s bed bugs I would hope the hotel would take it seriously, because take it from me, bed bugs are the absolute worst thing ever to deal with, but Sandcastle Resort unfortunately didn’t take the situation or our concerns seriously. I only write this review to hopefully warn future vacationers that there may be bed bugs in their room, because their actions have shown me that I cannot be confident that they have dealt with the situation. Read less
Image of the Tripadvisor rating Throwback to times before

Dec 6, 2020 misterscrubs Hollywood, Florida

Once a time ago in 1953 The Sandcastle Hotel in Sarasota was born. My Girlfriend and I went to The Sandcastle and it brought you back to the charm of the 1950’s. Yes the hotel needs major renovations but the people who work there; sincerely take pride in their job and show it. At the Front Desk was Kathy and Mary who were so pleasant and… Read more
Once a time ago in 1953 The Sandcastle Hotel in Sarasota was born. My Girlfriend and I went to The Sandcastle and it brought you back to the charm of the 1950’s. Yes the hotel needs major renovations but the people who work there; sincerely take pride in their job and show it. At the Front Desk was Kathy and Mary who were so pleasant and accommodating to say the least. We only stayed one night for a business and pleasure getaway but it’s an experience. The maintenance man Michael was very friendly and even helped my GF find the elevator and escorted her to our room. It a rare commodity to have hotel staff that were so genuine and friendly. The rooms were simple, beds comfortable and in the bathroom tubes from Tommy Bahamas of shampoo, body cream, conditioner. The pools were my favorite; one junior Olympic size pool that was clean and warm and another smaller pool that was warmer. The resort fee includes: Beach chairs and umbrellas and towels for your stay. We did not go to the beach due to; poor weather. There was a cooler with unlimited bottles of water. We did not know Leona Helmsley actually owned the hotel at one time and had 4 rooms converted into a townhouse with upstairs and downstairs. When she died, she gave her dog; the Hotel. Yes, her dog! The restaurant was open for breakfast and pool bar had sandwiches that were great. All the staff wore masks and if you did not have one; they had one to give you. Overall it was a throwback to times before and it was fun. Read less
Image of the Tripadvisor rating Beachfront But...

Nov 8, 2020 lisalV4804UT Delray Beach, Florida

I'll start with the good. Yes, it is right on the beachfront and with excellent views. The staff was amazing and accommodating. Very friendly and helpful. The coffee shop served excellent and large portion breakfast. Also friendly. They had 2 swimming pools but the beach is a must. Not crowded during our visit. The bad: Very old and rundown. We… Read more
I'll start with the good. Yes, it is right on the beachfront and with excellent views. The staff was amazing and accommodating. Very friendly and helpful. The coffee shop served excellent and large portion breakfast. Also friendly. They had 2 swimming pools but the beach is a must. Not crowded during our visit. The bad: Very old and rundown. We felt comfortable with their Covid practices so decided it was easier to stay than to find another hotel. Housekeeping services being withheld but very easy to request fresh towels etc. The beachfront room that we had smelled slightly mildew, peeling paint on walls, sugar ants here and there, no lights on walkway to room and more. Definitely not a high end resort but definitely on the beach. We were told that the hotel will be razed and replaced with probably another high rise, looks like every other hotel. Sad since this hotel really had the beachy Florida feel. Management apologized for our inconvenience and did make a fair adjustment to our bill. Proceed at your own risk. Read less
Image of the Tripadvisor rating Absolutely Unbelievable

Sep 20, 2020 ronh624 Bethel Park, Pennsylvania

My wife and I checked into this place on Sunday the 13th of September. We got into our room, We know its older, as we have stayed here before. Definitely needs updating, but it has gone from needing updating to needing demolished! We got into the room and went out to dinner, getting back around 10pm. The room felt warm and we wondered if the ac… Read more
My wife and I checked into this place on Sunday the 13th of September. We got into our room, We know its older, as we have stayed here before. Definitely needs updating, but it has gone from needing updating to needing demolished! We got into the room and went out to dinner, getting back around 10pm. The room felt warm and we wondered if the ac was working, after around 1 hour of it not cooling off we realized there was a definite problem. We put up with just the just the blower fan for the night, and the next morning I went to the front desk. The woman there was VERY NICE she moved us right away to a "better room" . After getting into the new room we went to the beach, which they never told us was being dredged and had a HUGE pipe running from siesta to the end of lido beach . Now onto the room it was cool enough so the a c did work but, Paint peeling off the doors , MOLD on the pillow, Fixtures were disgusting, A C Vent mold also and the ceiling was blistered and damp the parking garage on the second floor where we parked NO LGHTS and garbage at the entrance laying around everywhere. When coming back one night around 10 there were 2 racoons rummaging thru the piles of junk on the first floor of the garage. I feel bad for the front desk personne this place should be closed and rebuilt. I understand that this is supposed to happen at some point in the fluture. The thing is they are milking it till the end and just making people mad by staying open with this terrible building Read less
Image of the Tripadvisor rating One night stay

Sep 13, 2020 isabellalZ7437MY

My family and I stayed for one night. Is a very old hotel, humid rooms,carpets in hallways (crazy to be beach front) I was disappointed because pictures in website show a very different thing. They really need update it.