The White Sands Oceanfront Resort & Spa

So me and my family have stayed at the White Sands Hotel now for many years! After Sandy, I was so sad to see so much of the hotel destroyed and was worried it would never be the same again. I have to say… I loved it even more this time than I ever have! They have done such an excellent job of improving it and making it even better than before… so I think they deserve an honest review to let other families know what a fun vacation this is! Such a great place to make long lasting memories for your children!
So I decided last min. I wanted to bring my husband away for Father’s Day weekend (when I saw how nice the weather was going to be) I quickly called in hopes that they had an available room. The lady that answered the phone was so accommodating that I literally screamed from excitement… She was so sweet cause she knew how excited I was! My husband was so happy to be going away for a nice relaxing weekend of beautiful weather, fishing, beach day and boardwalk fun… what father wouldn’t love that!
Upon arrival… we got there early so we could start to use the 2 newly renovated beautiful pools and the clean private beach area… boy was I pleasantly surprised our room was all ready for us… this usually never happens with the hotels I visit! Our room was just perfect… clean and welcoming… felt so nice to be there! I have a disability and it’s hard for me to walk far, so this is one reason I love staying here! We parked right in front of our room, the pools are literally steps away, the beach and restaurants are right there… all easily accessible for me to enjoy!
While relaxing on the beach, a waitress came around and offered to get us something from their yummy ice cream shop… wow this was new to me! I never had this offered to me before but definitely a big big plus! We all ordered the best frozen drinks and Italian ices… such a nice treat!
While laying there I decided to take my husband to dinner (not just Boardwalk food) for Father’s Day… and again last min. I called the front desk and they were able to accommodate us at the hotels restaurant Arugula! Let me tell you… this was by far one of the best Italian meals I have ever had! My husband who was born and raised in Italy loved it so much he asked to speak to the chef to thank him for such a great meal! I highly without a doubt, recommend you do dinner there! Can’t wait to go back very soon!
We then walked around the main hotel, just to check out their indoor amenities… there is a nice indoor pool, hot tub and gym… it looked very inviting… glad to know they are there for a rainy day!
Next morning we grabbed some breakfast on the patio over looking the ocean… morning sun, blue skies, ocean view, enjoying my family with a delicious stack of pancakes… will in no doubt… make u one happy person guaranteed!
After our delish breakfast… we had to of course go to the pool one last time so my 5 year old could finish playing with all the kids she met from the day before. She had a blast! My husband and I met so many families and everyone was so nice and friendly… definitely hard to leave!
So all in all I can not say enough great things about our weekend getaway and how The White Sands makes your trip so enjoyable! I am already planning my trip back very soon… but this time I am going to stay longer so I can experience everything the White Sands has to offer! I can’t imagine what anyone could possibly say negative about this place… as you can see… it’s definitely one of my favorites!

Just came home from spending Memorial Day weekend. We were very satisfied with our stay. We were in building 400 which was located right next to the pool and beach.
Also, it was very close to the boardwalk. We’d definitely come back.

The positives were that the room was clean and the morning coffee was good. The indoor pool appeared to be well maintained and the location, relative to other attractions, was good. Unfortunately, the rest was disappointing for such a pricey room. The check in staff bordered on rude and disengaged. They seemed genuinely interested in their personal issues. There was no offered mention of beach access, pool location and whether there was any sort of breakfast would be available… wifi was advertised in our room by the half hour. Not surprisingly, the ocean view was of buildings with a hint of shore off to the right a little bit. That’s what the website code OV at the main hotel building translated to. Point Pleasant is a lovely community and deserves a more concerted effort from this business.

sucks!!! Would never come here again if I had the option to take away the one star I would!!! you can keep your overpriced scanky jersey resort appalling!!! Service food people resort everything completely overpriced!!! Unorganized and a mess!!! Couldn’t even check into my room on too and had to wait and forgot to call me to tell me my room was ready… really this even prime season!!! Would never recommend it to anyone and never come back!!!

Check in took 45 min even though I had booked my room online… we Didn’t have heat. No internet. Broken TV. Keys didn’t work. Hot water takes about 5 min to come up. Filthy, sticky floors in the rooms… Staff entering our room unannounced… The list goes on. JUST DONT. Here for my best friends wedding and I’m appalled.

It is a shabby, beach town motel, and you should not expect anything more. (Do not let the words ‘resort & spa’ fool you! It is nothing of the sort!) Thankfully, it was cleaner than expected; however, it appeared as though they were undergoing a renovation, but there were no signs posted anywhere to confirm this belief. The whole property is very outdated and, quite frankly, very overpriced. For what they charge people during the off-​season (let alone during the peak season!), this place should be much nicer.
The continental breakfast was a joke. It looked as though they forgot they had guests and ran out to the store quickly to put something on the table. The staff, while not necessarily rude, were far from pleasant or friendly. Also, the beds were rather uncomfortable, although to be fair, I had been on my feet all day and was in some pain.
The only reason I gave two stars is because it was cleaner than I expected. Overall, it is a lot of money for a lot of nothing.

If you’re thinking about visiting this «hotel,» then please seriously reconsider that thought. If you do happen to succumb to their very convincing website, then, trust me, you will live to regret that decision. I would have given this hotel zero stars but, unfortunately, that option isn’t available on Unilocal.
First off, my girlfriend and I visited this hotel two days before we were planning on staying there. At our request, we were taken to see our room beforehand. As soon as the door was opened, we realized we were being shown a room that was completely disheveled. We were instantaneously stricken with astonishment because the bed wasn’t made, discarded food was strewn around the small garbage pail and the toilet contained excrement.
We were subsequently directed to the room located right next to that room. We liked the clean room and requested that that particular room be reserved for us in two days.
When we arrived at check-​in at 8:00 in the evening, we were provided with the room key and walked over to our «reserved» room. To our unfathomable dismay, as soon as we opened the door, it was quite clarion that housekeeping had not visited that room. There was unflushed urine in the toilet bowl, multiple beer cans scattered around the room and the two beds were not made at all.
Upon walking back over to the lobby, we were met with apathy and an utter disregard for courtesy. We were treated as if we were bothering them. Additionally, there was no accountability on their part. The two women reacted with no empathy whatsoever.
My girlfriend and I were tired after a long drive from New York City so we took the next available room they had. By the time we were completely situated in our alternate room, it was close to 11:00 pm.
At exactly 8:00 the next morning, we were abruptly awakened by an incessant banging on our door. As I stumbled to open the door I was met with by a young man from housekeeping who demanded on knowing why we were in that room. He barked how no one was supposed to be there. I calmly explained to him about the previous day’s snafu and he quickly apologized and left. By that time, we were completely awake and couldn’t go back to sleep.
I called the front desk to complain about the unscheduled wake up and encountered another apathetic employee. She completely repudiated my concerns and gave me the telephone number of the front desk manager, Christopher Iafelice. I called him and left a very detailed message. I provided my cell phone number and waited for a call back.
We checked out and by the next day, when I had not received a call back, I left a second well articulated voicemail for him. He still had not responded. By the third day, I called the hotel and was provided with the general manager’s/partial owner’s contact information. Her name is Christina Ranuro.
To make a long story short, she NEVER contacted me, despite me leaving her a plethora of voicemail messages. I gave her ample time to respond, 30 days, before I decided to write this Unilocal review.
The bottom line is this, when the customer comes first, the customer will last. Because the White Sands has clearly demonstrated how meaningless its customers are, we will be spending our hard earned money at a future establishment that truly appreciates its customers and adequately addresses any concerns derived thereof.
I’m not surprised why this hotel has such horrible customer reviews. They’ve truly earned that onerous honor.

I made my reservation in early July for a wedding this past weekend. We booked early so that we could be in the main building with the bridal party. The reservation was set and the room was immediately charged for in July. Two weeks ago we were informed to avoid any issues upon check-​in to add an authorized user since I was staying with a bridesmaid and would not have time to check-​in. I sent in my driver license and provided all the requested information and was told that everything was set, or so we thought.
When we arrived, despite having the confirmation email and providing the credit card that was charged for the room, I was told I could not check in because I was not an authorized user. When I informed them that I had provided everything over a week in advance, they went into the back and could not find the paperwork, so it was therefore my fault. When I insisted that I could not get my girlfriend to come back because she was taking pictures with the bridal party at the reception hall, the employee went back to look for my paperwork. At the same time, another couple from the bridal party was experiencing a similar issue. Thus, «because it is so hectic with 3 wedding parties going on» as the employee stated, they will allow me to check into the room, but my girlfriend would have to return at some point to sign the authorization. At this point, it seemed everything should go smoothly, but that was not the case.
I went to check into my room to drop off our luggage that I had just hauled in curing a windy/​rainy coastal storm, only to walk into a room that was already occupied with other peoples luggage. I immediately removed myself from the room and returned to the front desk. I spoke with another front desk employee who yelled at her fellow coworker stating that she should have never given me that room as it was known to be an occupied room. She attempted to check me in to a new room only to once again question who I was to be checking into that room. I explained the situation and she finally allowed me to check in.
I was then told I would be staying in their motel premises located across the street. I advised that them we had booked early so that we could secure our room in the main building and that is what we paid for. The employee stated that we were never booked for this room and should have never been promised that. Disappointed, frustrated, and pressed for time, I joined the other upset bridal party members trekking across the street in the wind and rain to the motel.
The room was as expected for a motel, just a little nicer than most with hardwood floors, fresh paint, no odd odors, and a small bathroom.
For my experience with this hotel, the issues ended here. However, I cannot say the same for other bridal party members who experienced additional issues with checking in, a «misplaced» valeted vehicle, heat not working, sewage odors, and a room given away.
Not sure how this establishment can call themselves a wedding venue when they clearly cannot handle it. I would certainly never recommend this place as a hotel to stay at for your wedding needs. However, maybe this place is good for beach-​goers as there is easy access to the beach and it is just a block away from the boardwalk.

I’m giving this place 2 stars solely based on its location to the beach and Jenkinsons Boardwalk. Other than that it would receive 0 stars from me…
Don’t let the beautiful website fool you, the rooms shown are across the street in their banquet hall «higher end» section. But nobody tells you that. Our room was across the street in a filthy building with many issues.
1) When we opened up the pull out couch for our children to sleep in there was a stuffed animal in the sheets leading us to believe nothing was cleaned before we got here.
2) Poop stains on the carpet in the bathroom… Enough said!
NEVER AGAIN

In town for a wedding and I was sold that it was a resort. However, this is not a resort… More like a short stay motel. No amenities, no staff. The pool did have chlorine in it, so I guess that was a perk.

I would give this zero stars if I could…
I was looking for a nice, family-​friendly hotel in Point Pleasant as my sister was visiting from Florida with two children, ages 4 and 6 years old and I thought they would love the Jersey shore and boardwalk. My sister chose White Sands after reading that they were located on the beach and family friendly. We could not be more disappointed in the service, the way we were treated, and they are Hardly family friendly. To begin with my sister called to book two adjoining rooms and was told that she would not receive the same rate as online and too book online. She booked online and called back to confirm that she was getting exactly what she booked and was told she was. She needed two separate rooms, one for her husband to work in and one for her and the kids. I called two days before we were leaving to ensure this was the case. Being in the marketing business, there is often a disconnect between online and human interaction, esp in small businesses. I was assured we had exactly what we asked for. We arrived and not only did we have two rooms in two separate buildings, not adjoining, but not even in the same building. The White Sands has 3 buildings — and they put my brother in law in building one and my sister and the kids in building three. These buildings are separated by a huge parking lot making it completely impossible for the kids to walk to see their father without an adult. My sister spent over an hour at check in and no one was willing to help her. After begrudgingly checking in as there would be no way to find an alternate hotel on a Wednesday afternoon at the height of the summer — we got ready to meet our cousins for dinner. We were thinking that maybe they could use a parking pass that came with the room. I went to the front office to speak with Chris (I will call him the manager although he hardly fits the bill) and he assured me that our parking passes, our beach passes, everything we needed was in the envelope we received when we arrived. I walked back to the room — mind you, the office is about a full block or two depending which building you are in, and across the street and relayed the message to my sister who told me she didn’t receive anything.
So not only were they completely unhelpful at check-​in, she was not even given the welcome package and the things promised. I went back to speak with Chris and told him how unfair I thought this was — my sister paid over $ 1000 for two rooms for two nights and I thought we could get some sort of compensation. No, no and no. Chris only offer to me was a free night in the future. I am sure my sister will never be back, but if this was all he could do, I accepted thinking I would use it or give it to someone as a gift. My brother in law went to the office to complain as well and Chris gave him a booklet of passes for the boardwalk. That was nice, but I have to say that I wanted to book them in two different hotels and each hotel offered FREE Beach passes, free boardwalk booklets, Free WIFI (Did i mention that the White Sands charges you over $ 6 a day for WIFI???) in this day and age, I have never heard of such a thing. Not only that, but because Chris gave him the free boardwalk book, he rescinded his offer of a free night stay at the hotel. There is way more that went on in between, but I don’t have the time to type it all, nor do you want to read it. I will say that I asked to speak to the owner, Christina Ranuro when we left to let her know how extremely disappointed we were and she basically did not give a hoot. She told me she did everything in her power to make it up to my brother in law (two free drinks and a free book of passes) and that she can’t afford to do anything else. Chris joined us in our talk and he was arrogant and rude. When I asked about the rescinding of the gratis night, Chris told me he gave my brother in law a choice, a free book of rides or a free night — this was a blatant lie and completely not the case. I am in the customer service business and while the customer is not always right — I am still of the mind of being polite to people and doing your best — it’s called Return on Relationship, not Return on Investment which is all Christina seemed to care about. Lastly, there was black mold in our shower and the pool area was always dirty and out of towels. Do yourself a favor and stay anywhere else.

Seems to get worse each year.
First visited in 2006 and loved the place. The last three visits have been excuse filled for poor accommodations.
Poor checkin procedures while you wait for your 3pm room and the promised call never comes for me and a few others. We ask why and they say they never call. So they lied to all 3 of us? Not good.
Last year broken phones and no wifi. Does not matter this, year since front desk does not answer the phones even while I watch the empty lobby check in desk.
Even little stuff like their soap shampoo dispensers they mounted in the shower are bone dry empty. And appear to have been that way for awhile.
I book a midpriced room for August room in June and and get the most cramped room since 2006. So much for loyalty and very advanced booking. it’s like they don’t care.
And again like last August they claim their staff has quit early again… and are under staffed again. … duh hire more or pay more since you know they leave early.
One excuse after another. It happens. but not year after year…
A disappointment. not sure about this place next year.

I understand that when you go down the shore, you basically take what you can get. I really do understand that, so I didn’t go into the drive down the shore for MDW with the highest of expectations. To me, the word «resort «should probably be stricken from the title and replaced with «motel,» because that’s what it is.
You’ll get one parking pass for the duration of your stay, which is great if you’re a couple enjoying the beach for the weekend, but not so great if you come with a group.
If you don’t stay in the main hotel (where check-​in is), it’s a little confusing trying to find your actual building, and then parking close by. There are a few separate buildings that make up the hotel, so make sure you know where you’re going so you aren’t driving around on the hunt.
The room itself was so so. Tile floor, which looked clean, but the problem with tile in a hotel is that it tracks dirt and just always feels dirty. It’s also cold and unwelcoming. The bed was nice and very comfortable, which was a big plus, though the bedding on it was a 90’s looking brightly colored comforter, that I guess was supposed to look beachy, but just looked kind of sad.
The bathroom left so much to desire — the shower had horrible water pressure, and it was just old. Plus, the mat inside the bathtub just skeeved me.
They do clean the place — apparently it is actually a requirement that you have your room cleaned each day, and they seem to take it very seriously.
Overall, this is not my kind of place. I may just be a snob to Jersey shore motels, but to me a resort and spa is completely misleading for what you get at The White Sands.

Let me first say that I am not a fussy person who needs much, but I do like a clean room. I’m writing this review of the White Sands «Resort» in Point Pleasant, NJ as I am driving quickly away from the place at 10:30 at night. We did not even stay in our beachside room for one night before we demanded our money back and split. I have never, NEVER seen such a disgusting room in my 40 years.
We walked in to see about 5 flies circling our room and as we approached the window to try to let them out we noticed that our feet were sticking to the bloated linoleum floor. Upon further inspection, we found that the baseboards and lower cabinetry are all rotted and split, clearly from sitting under water during the Hurricane Sandy disaster. A vain attempt at disguising this was made with a thick coat of paint slapped over the wood, but LITERALLY there were corners of the baseboards that had rotted away leaving large black holes where God-​knows-​what was living.
We asked the front desk clerk to send someone to tend to the dilapidated toilet that would not flush and also to have housekeeping clean the floor. We were told that someone would be right by but that clearly did not happen. My mother-​in-​law ended up wiping down the floor with a hotel towel, only to produce a brown-​gray mess that would make you keep your shoes on even in bed. Our disgust with this hotel culminated in my husband sitting back in the bed to try to sleep when he was bit by a bug that came up from the sheets.
We immediately packed our bags at 10:30pm and threw our 5 and 3-​year-​old into the car and left right away. It took proof of the disgusting «floor mop» towel as well as the squashed bug to incline the manager to refund the $ 430/​night rate we paid. The staff acted horrified by what we reported, but I cannot believe it. This place looks like it was devastated by the hurricanes, but the owner pocketed the insurance money and left the rooms in despair. If New Jersey wants tourists to come back to the Shore, they need to shut down sh*t holes like this one.

My husband and I stayed here last year in August. I was about 4 months pregnant at the time. The trip was booked last minute as we had to cancel our trip to Aruba as I wasn’t able to fly.
When I booked the room I thought my room was on the side of the hotel that was closer to the ocean. I felt the rooms are very overpriced. The hotel is clean and nice, but the rates should be much lower. I had an enjoyable trip but just wish I had a better understanding of what I had booked beforehand. The rooms and amenities were also somewhat outdated.

Looking back on our stay here three words come to mind… Dirty, dated, and overpriced. The bathroom consists of a small old shower stall, a worm out vanity with plastic top, dirty floors, and a surprising number of different peoples hairs on the walls (not sure how that is even possible).
Our room was to be a two room suite and cost $ 650 a night. It is so small that we could not walk without tripping over something. The curtains are stained and appear to be from the early 1980s. Closets don’t even have doors.
The food is poor, long wait and tasted like it came from a can.
They required we pay half of our bill when booking the room and the other half at check in and now I understand why… People would just turn around and stay somewhere else.

It was barely average for the price. Not a «resort» like the name says — it’s your typically jersey shore motel. Old look and feel rooms, never a real fresh smell to the room, Little tiny bathroom, maybe 19 inch TV and shower/​sink need a major facelift. The good — a few feet from the beach, friendly staff around the pool area and family type place (not a hangout or loud drunk teenagers hanging out). I’d have to really really thing about going back.

I understand that this is a motel at the beach but I wasn’t too impressed:
1. My dad drove separately and he got there about an hour before us. They wouldn’t let him check in since my mom made the reservations and it was on my mom’s credit card, even though he has the same last name and was willing to show i.d.
2. You only get 1 parking pass per room, if you have more than one car, that second car needs to find street parking somewhere.
3. The front desk didn’t explain some of the amenities of the motel, for example, we had no idea that the Firefly Lounge offered quick breakfast foods for guests.
4. We stayed upstairs in the 300 building and it smelled like mold. Once the air went on, the smell wasn’t as bad. If you do stay in the 300 building, ask for the first floor as that has been redone.
5. The bathrooms are super small. The sink is in the room with the toilet and shower together obviously behind a door.
6. They charge $ 7.00 for Wi-​Fi, after we paid, we couldn’t even get a signal in our room. I ended up going to another family members room in order to get a signal. In today’s day and age, Wi-​Fi should be complimentary.
7. The wait staff at the Firefly was super nice and very customer service orientated.
8. The pools at the motel are very nice and clean.
9. The cleaning crews did bring extra towels when we asked for them.
10. The facility did seem to take very good care of the property and tried their best to maintain it as best as possible.

We stayed here in June which is sort of off season in Point Pleasant. It was not the resort type experience I was hoping for. We stayed in the Hotel with a balcony with an ocean View. The view was there but mostly obstructed by houses and power lines. Read the room descriptions very carefully. The room itself was fine. Everything seemed updated. The bathroom area is really small but functional. One of the outdoor pools was actually empty (like no water in it) so the other outdoor pool was very crowded. The Firefly Oceanside is supposed to be open for breakfast but the one time we tried to go, the door was locked even though the open banner was waving in the breeze. The Firefly lounge was nice. The indoor pool/​whirlpool were good too. This was reasonably priced but Resort might be a slight over statement.

I have never been more disappointed in a weekend stay than I was when I stayed here. We stayed in the MOTEL part, which, from what I can tell, isn’t a whole lot worse than the HOTEL area.
I was utterly disgusted. The bed was rock hard –must have been the same, cheap mattress for the past decade. Bed linens, as well. If you are even the least bit particular about your bed linens, you will prefer to sleep fully clothed, wrapped in your own sweatshirts for warmth. They are cheap and scratchy and this place should be ashamed at their appearance.
Nothing has been updated for at least a decade –the TV, bathroom floor, tub/​shower, furniture, lighting, AC/​heating unit. And be prepared to wait at least 12 minutes before the shower is warm. And never get too comfortable –it has a mind of its own and will turn deathly cold to scalding hot in a flash! The faucet is more like a nasty garden hose than a shower.
Prices are exorbitant, considering all I have mentioned above. Supply & demand, apparently.