Sandcastle resorts st Croix. Perfect.

[cementhands]

We recently sailed to st Croix and found this wonderful place. Sandcastle resort. Facing land from the ship it’s to the right. $12 for 2 gets you a round trip ride to the front door. Greeted by the owner and a rum punch. For $10 each you get a chair and umbrella. Use of pool and spotless bathrooms. Snorkeling from shore to left facing ocean decent. A great way to spend the day. Buckets of beer. Restaurant on site.

A nice quiet beach day. Walkable beach. Only an occasional pedlar of goods. 

We will return. 

The owners could not have been nicer. This is a great way for them to survive and wonderful for cruise passengers to enjoy a nice resort without breaking the bank. 

[PollyNJ]

Thank- you so much for posting this report and pictures   We are planning on visiting when we cruise this next November.

Edited February 23, 2019 by PollyNJ

[psantho]

Good to hear they are still accepting cruise guests; I heard they were under construction, and wasn't sure if we would be able to visit them in April.  Thanks for the information!

[cool snoopy]

Thanks for the information and pictures of SandCastle. Will be there in 8 days on the Granduer😎

[OCruisers]

Thanks for the pictures!  

Happy to see Sand Castle beach getting back to being as pretty as it once was.  

[Irish13]

On 2/17/2019 at 10:00 AM, cementhands said:

We recently sailed to st Croix and found this wonderful place. Sandcastle resort. Facing land from the ship it’s to the right. $12 for 2 gets you a round trip ride to the front door. Greeted by the owner and a rum punch. For $10 each you get a chair and umbrella. Use of pool and spotless bathrooms. Snorkeling from shore to left facing ocean decent. A great way to spend the day. Buckets of beer. Restaurant on site.

A nice quiet beach day. Walkable beach. Only an occasional pedlar of goods. 

We will return. 

The owners could not have been nicer. This is a great way for them to survive and wonderful for cruise passengers to enjoy a nice resort without breaking the bank. 

Do you have the information to make reservations 

[cementhands]

On 7/13/2019 at 8:32 PM, Irish13 said:

Do you have the information to make reservations 

Sorry I don’t. We just showed up early. We were the only ship in port. Maybe an Internet search would help you.

[beachcruiser2]

We are interested in the Sand Castle as well.  I got the impression from someone else that  the chair/umbrella was $25 per person.  Is the charge $20 or  $25 for 2 chairs and an umbrella?  Can you use the beach if you don't want a chair and umbrella but an hour stop to take a dip?

[rjm376]

I have the same question is the cost 25 for 2 chairs umbrella and rum drinks. 

[drake2014]

All beaches on St. Croix are public so technically you can access any beach without paying anything. The day pass at Sandcastle (and any other place on STX that offers the same thing) is to give you access to their amenities so that you enjoy your day more. In the case of Sandcastle you are paying for access to a beautiful pool and deck, outdoor shower, beach chairs, umbrellas, towels, a lovely restaurant and bar, and a couple of included drinks.

If that doesn't sound like it's worth $25 to you I welcome you to make your own choices.

[mamaday]

Is the $25 per person?  Or for two?  Thanks 

[TomAndJane]

According to this link it is $25 per person.  Not such a great deal as it first appeared.

 

http://sandcastleonthebeach.com/offers/#beachclub

 

[clskinsfan]

It is 20% off August through December if you are cruising then.

[DaMom]

I wrote to them on the 2nd and haven't heard back...is that normal and I should be patient? We arrive on St. Croix in April...

[drake2014]

We're not big on keeping up with communication here (as evidenced by my own occasional disappearances lol). Honestly, you may not hear back at all, you can always just pay at the counter when you get there. No biggie either way.

Cheers.

[dudiert]

It looks like Sand Castle is $40 a person now and includes one drink. 

https://sandcastleonthebeach.com/stay/beach-passes/

[sbcs5390]

On 12/7/2021 at 9:31 PM, dudiert said:

It looks like Sand Castle is $40 a person now and includes one drink. 

https://sandcastleonthebeach.com/stay/beach-passes/

Has anyone been there lately? Going in February and trying to decide going there vs. just walking over to  the beach right next to the port. Don't want to do ship tours and only have 90 minutes on the sand. 

[GotMINI]

For Sand Castle resort - does anyone know what cost would be for 3 people?   I'd assume/hope it would be $60, however they make a point of stating $40/2 and didn't know if we'd have to pay $80...   

 

[Choozin Croozin]

On 2/20/2022 at 2:08 PM, GotMINI said:

For Sand Castle resort - does anyone know what cost would be for 3 people?   I'd assume/hope it would be $60, however they make a point of stating $40/2 and didn't know if we'd have to pay $80...   

 

I'm reading it as $40/person.  So $120 for 3 people. 

[Wrunkles]

On 2/6/2022 at 7:21 PM, sbcs5390 said:

Has anyone been there lately? Going in February and trying to decide going there vs. just walking over to  the beach right next to the port. Don't want to do ship tours and only have 90 minutes on the sand. 

Did you end up visiting there in February?  

[sbcs5390]

6 hours ago, Wrunkles said:

Did you end up visiting there in February?  

I was on a B2B so ended up doing Frederiksted Beach by the port twice and then Sandcastles the last time. I had run into a couple on one of the earlier cruises who said they had a really nice time there so decided to try it on my third port call. I will say that the staff who are at the restaurant and around the pool were very nice. The woman at the front desk was not at all friendly and I definitely got the "milk the cruise ship passengers for all they're worth" vibe. She didn't explain all the facilities. After paying my $40, she radioed to a beach attendant that I was coming. I had just sort of assumed there were towels for borrowing down at the beach as that should be part of a beach/pool club experience and the website said they were available for loan - I think in exchange for a $5 deposit. The attendant said "oh you were supposed to get your towel from the front desk" so I headed back up there with my $5 and my ID was in my wallet in my beach bag on my chair. When I got there, she said that she also needed my ID. I didn't really think borrowing a towel should require the same level of security as boarding a flight, but I went back down to the beach where the beach attendant asked where my towel was. I said "well, I didn't know I needed ID to borrow a towel..." and made my way back up to the front desk. I really wished I'd brought towels from the ship but figured it wasn't necessary. It wasn't THAT far of a walk, but it was far enough to be inconvenient to do three times on vacation when I think her first or second question to me should have been "Would you like a towel or did you bring one?".

 

I was surprised when I left to head back to ship and turned in my towel, and was given back my ID, to then ask for my $5 deposit back and be told "Oh, that was a rental. We changed that with COVID". Those towels must be incredibly profitable for them. The website has since been updated, I see, to reflect "Towels are available to rent for $5 and your ship ID as security."

 

One of the very friendly women at the pool area (who it seems had worked there for a long time and was incredibly helpful/engaging) explained to me that the owners were away, so perhaps that (or added stress) impacted the woman at the front desk's attitude. The restauraunt/grill staff were also super friendly. I do think umbrellas are extra, but am not sure as I was not interested in one. 

 

I encountered another guest who explained they often try to stay there when on St. Croix, and if they can't, they do the day pass, coming over from their VRBO. "On days when ships aren't here, it's only $15" she explained. 

 

I walked both ways to and from Sandcastles - but a woman from my ship who had broken her foot aboard actually came back to let me know (incredibly kindly) there were no taxis to return and asked if I wanted to come with them as a member of the staff was going to drive them back to the ship. This was a very nice gesture, given her situation, but I was happy walking back and forth under my own power and timeframe so continued to enjoy the pool. 

 

And, yes, I was alone but remember it being $40/day. I think I got one drink ticket. By comparison, in Antigua I did a lovely ship's tour to a beach club and there was a plated three course lunch and several drinks and felt like although I paid a lot more, I got a lot more. The cost at Sandcastles has increased significantly, and I understand that things are rough for all of the tourism industry, but I felt like they were taking advantage of the ship passengers to catch up. Most of the staff are very friendly and perhaps I just caught the front desk person on a bad day (there was also a man around there at times who was more friendly) but the good news is your interaction with her is fairly limited to the transactional parts. I would definitely consider staying at Sandcastles if I were on land at SXC and would probably be about 50/50 on my next port visit. 

Edited August 28, 2022 by sbcs5390

[Wrunkles]

Thank you so much!  That was very helpful.  We just like to relax at a beach on our own.   Last time we were there we ended up going to Rainbow Beach.  That cost $40 for 2 chairs and an umbrella.  It was ok but would like to research some other things to do there.  

There seem to be alot of beautiful beaches but not sure of transportation.  When we were there it seemed the taxis all wanted larger groups.  There aren't too many excursions offered.  

[Choozin Croozin]

On 8/31/2022 at 8:59 AM, Wrunkles said:

Thank you so much!  That was very helpful.  We just like to relax at a beach on our own.   Last time we were there we ended up going to Rainbow Beach.  That cost $40 for 2 chairs and an umbrella.  It was ok but would like to research some other things to do there.  

There seem to be alot of beautiful beaches but not sure of transportation.  When we were there it seemed the taxis all wanted larger groups.  There aren't too many excursions offered.  

Yes, St Croix is a tough island to get any information on and to find things to do. I was so excited about going here and now...

[Denise and Paul]

I saw on their website it had jumped from $20 to $40 per person since my last visit before covid.  Wasn't sure if it was worth $80 per couple in our group.  Now that I know for sure that is the rate, I may look for something else.  The property was not in that great of shape, and the bathroom was dark, dank, and not that clean.  Food was good, but you couldn't even use the pool.  For that much money, I hope we can do better.  Looking for suggestions.

[sbcs5390]

On 1/12/2023 at 1:31 PM, Denise and Paul said:

I saw on their website it had jumped from $20 to $40 per person since my last visit before covid.  Wasn't sure if it was worth $80 per couple in our group.  Now that I know for sure that is the rate, I may look for something else.  The property was not in that great of shape, and the bathroom was dark, dank, and not that clean.  Food was good, but you couldn't even use the pool.  For that much money, I hope we can do better.  Looking for suggestions.

For what it is worth, the pool was definitely included in the $40 and the website now makes clear both pools are included with the pass. What did you end up doing during your visit?