Sandpearl Resort

We are here now and are very pleased with this hotel . When we arrived we were greeted and they unpacked our car for us. We had a friendly lady greet us and hold the door to welcome us to the hotel. Manny was the best , he took our luggage to the room, told us many tips , places to visit and where everything was in the hotel . He even figured out how to say our difficult to pronounce last night and greeted us by name again the next morning. We are here celebrating our Anniversary and our daughter passing her boards so this is a special trip for us and are very pleased with everything. We had a few minor issues with linens and they were immediately taken care of . The gulf front view is absolutely gorgeous and sitting on our balcony with rocking chairs having coffee in the am was so relaxing . The hotel has a keurig in the room and supplies two large complimentary bottles of water each day The pool was clean , and there is plenty of chairs on the beach and at the pools, umbrellas do have a fee which was a bummer for the price we paid. Definitely glad we tried this hotel , don’t let the bad reviews by a few keep you from here . Highly recommend and will be back ! Read less

Almost went with a 3/5…but the staff was attentive to every issue and resolved them quickly. And we had issues this time making for a markedly different experience vs our first visit in 2024. Starting with that this resort does well - kids. This is why we came back. They have all kinds of options for lawn games, pool toys, a fire pit for smores, beach pales and toys, a play room…nightly movies as well. They really do the kids friendly thing well. Valet and Bell service were great - very personable guys and informative with recommendations. Rooms still nice and decent sized. Really like that there is virtually no carpet, given this is a beach resort it makes sense. Bathrooms large. Resort grounds are clean and the pool is well maintained. Front desk is friendly, as were the Caretta staff. Where we had trouble this yr: starting with arrival. We arrived early - 3 hours before check in. I let them know this the night before. I had hope the room would be ready early, but didn’t expect it. And it wasn’t. Issue was that when we asked for a changing room, there was none. Only the lobby bathrooms. For a family of 4, this made things difficult. Many resorts we go to have changing rooms with couches and chairs for this very reason. I assumed Opal would as well - my mistake. It also took 3 hours for our room to be ready. Arrived at 1 , check-in is at 4. Room was ready at 4. I understand checkin time. But they knew we were there early; they knew we were set to arrive early. With an 11am checkout time, why does it take 5 hours to get a room turned over for guests who you know are already on the grounds and using the resort? It was not a good way to start. Room was good, except tv remote did not work. They serviced it quickly. Pool was good. Pool service was mediocre however. Attendants sometimes seemed to just focus on one side of pool, and all were disinterested to varying degrees. Food was pretty good poolside. Activity desk was great. Fire pit was nice but pls consider stopping with whatever is being out on the wood to start the fire. Smells like kerosene and it blows up to the ocean front rooms with black smoke. Whatever it is it isn’t natural and the kids are roasting marshmallows in that stuff. It doesn’t cost much to buy natural fire starters. Early mornings they have a marketplace coffee bar. At least one morning it was still closed nearly 30 min after it was supposed to be open. Device was good once opened. Early morning lobby restrooms were not good: both filthy and/or out of TP all together. Housekeeping: turn down service is helpful. However when they do clean, they don’t vacuum floors. So if you have sand on your floor, which you do because you’re on the beach, that sand stays on your floor until you leave. I’m sure we could have requested it cleaned, I’m just noting it’s not done. Wasn’t done during last years visit either so it seems to be policy. Also not all toiletries were restocked during cleanings. They drop off chocolate during turn down and take dirty towels, which is really helpful. Island grill food is ok. Something’s good others like grilled fish are bad. Caretta deserts were great. Food was decent. Service was mediocre…clear plates pls and come back more than once every 15 min. Last but not least they replaced their Nespresso machines with basic keurigs. Nicer hotels have them, so I’m sure this was cost saving. But the nespresso machines were far better and in my opinion better than the Starbucks coffee that the coffee bar sells. Disappointing. So overall a great resort for families but with many more slip ups this year vs last. I recommend it for families, but I doubt we will return after this visit. It was just a pretty marked different vs our first stay. Read less