Cedar Sands Motel

My wife and I stayed here last weekend. We stayed here for a total of 2 hours before we left and found another hotel. The outside looked decent so I figured the «newly remoldeled» rooms wouldn’t be that bad, I mean it was only $ 80 so I wasn’t expecting much.
However, this room just felt and looked dirty. My wife or I didnt even want to take our shoes off in the room. The mirror had a huge stain down the middle, the shower head was green, the coffee pot looked like it was never cleaned. Also, there was only one elecrltrical outlet in the whole room. It was a nightmare. When we told the manager that we were leaving and couldn’t stay, he told us that since we used a credit card he couldn’t refund our money. The guy did offer me one night free for the next time, but I probably won’t ever use it.
I will never return to this place. The sand didn’t even bother us, it was just flat out filthy. Looked like the place hasn’t been cleaned in years.

Jerks! Luckily our reservation was just next door at the very nice newly remodeled Ocean Village hotel and it blew our socks off. Although I did not stay inside I can attest for the Attitude of the staff/​owners. Like I mentioned previously, our hotel was literally just next door. We arrived in surf side a little early found the hotel and decided to look around. Just near the beachfront there was a paved parking lot that said «Hotel Parking Only». We went ahead and parked there, feeling confident we were in the right spot due to the location of the lot to the hotel as well as the signage. Shortly after walking away, we (my wife, kids and I) were encountered by a shouting belligerent middle aged man, who was threatening to tow my Vehicle. I calmly explained to the gentleman that we had reservations at the hotel, in which he replied «not my hotel». We kindly decided to leave while the belgerant man continued shouting his profanity.

We’ve stayed at this motel twice & both times have been happy with not only the service, but the condition of the rooms. Knowing that most beach front motels/​hotels or rooms anywhere near the beach are usually pricey & booked, it was nice to find this hidden gem with some availability! The rooms were very clean, spacious & provided many more amenities than the typical room in the area. There are plenty of sleeping areas also if coming with a larger group. Our first visit in July of 2011 consisted of myself, my husband & 5 kids total… and all of us slept comfortably in the suite that had 2 double beds & a pullout couch bed. Our second visit was just my husband & myself in October 2011 & again had plenty of room. The single rooms are much smaller than the suites– but it depends on your personal needs. The sand can be a little overwhelming on the ground floor to keep up with, but considering the parking lot is right on the beach– I can forgive that. Our second stay we stayed upstairs & unfortunately did have an issue with a mustiness in our room– but it was determined that our AC unit was at fault. The manager was very quick to remedy the situation, and when he couldn’t replace the unit, upgraded us to a suite & no extra fee for the inconvenience. The beach outfront can get crowded at times considering it’s public, but the views are amazing & the sands were kept clean. There are BBQ pits for the guests to use, beach toys for the kids & a fire pit & sandy relaxing area out front of the hotel for guests to utilize as to keep any commotion away from the guests who are resting. We also appreciated the 10pm curfew… adults are allowed to visit QUIETLY out of the room, but it’s asked that kids & any people making noise retire to their rooms for the respect of other guests. We had no problem with our TV service, the water was nice & hot, and the close Bucees gas station right down the road provided everything we needed to stock the fridge. :) Overall we have been very happy both times with our visit to Cedar Sands, and plan to stay again in the future. The price makes this little gem worth it, and although the place isn’t the Ritz Carlton, it’s a nice place for a nice price in a very nice location!

Let me start this review by saying I wish I could give 2 and a half stars. This place is not bad. Not by a long shot. But it’s not nice either.
The rate is great. You can’t argue with a beachfront hotel at under 100 bucks a night. However, you are getting what you pay for.
We had a regular room. It was tiny. But, since we weren’t there long, that was fine. The place was clean, except for the ever present sand on the tile floor. I wish they had put little mats next to the bed to let you clean your feet off before getting in. We had to use one of the hand towels for that job. The room looked tired. Not dirty, not vandalized, just tired. The missing picture over the bed was obvious. The rust spots on the fridge and bathtub made me sad. The water damage on the ceiling in the bathroom was just kind of a bummer. The A/​C worked great. That was a blessing in the 100+ weather.
Now, the water in this area is rather corrosive. I have had friends living in the area tell me that you can’t keep your fixtures looking good because of it. Seems there is sulfur in the stuff. Ick. It is smelly. Not the hotel’s fault that the water is bad, but the corrosion on the fixtures continues the sad feeling.
So, all in all, if you really are only planning on sleeping in the room and otherwise staying out in the beaches and fishing spots, go for it. If you’re looking for something nice that you might want to spend time in with your honey, maybe you should keep looking.

I know it’s unnecessary, but I’m just going to second Lisa C.‘s review of the place. It wasn’t horrible, it was just run down. I think if I were staying more than a night the sand would get on my nerves (but what the heck can you do about sand when you’re parking lot is literally the beach?), and so would the smell (and taste) of the water.
For $ 80.00 a night, I want a little more. This place was worth about $ 50 – 60.00 per night… (though really, I want to say $ 49.95 — but I’m TRYING to be generous because I really WANT to like Cedar Sands).
The proprietor was nice enough and apologetic for an incident the night we stayed involving a rude (probably drunk) guest and the Surfside Police Dept. (We missed this entirely, didn’t even know it went down, but it was nice that he was concerned).
This is one of those places to go if you’re a total beach bum (as much as a I love the beach, I’m not) who is only interested in surfing, surf fishing, and being as close to beach as humanly possible without having to rent an entire beach house.
I don’t think we’ll go back. I think we’ll look for other options. But if push came to shove, I would stay here again if I had no better choice. Especially if the rates were more in line with the property.