Castle in the Sand/Grand Hotel

Has anyone had the opportunity to stay at either of these hotels and what was your opinion.We know the Grand is located directly on the Boardwalk which is wonderful for access.How far away is Castles from the Boardwalk and activities.We are looking for CLEANLINESS and some great POOLS on the BEACH.We are also open to any other suggestions.

MikeyV.

Castle in the Sand/Grand Hotel

hey mikeyv, have you read the reviews for each of these hotels on this website? Seems the Grand rates 3 stars, where the Castle rates 4 stars... Seems the Grand is #27 on the popularity index and the Castle is #8... Friends of ours stayed at the Castle and absolutley loved it... We stayed next door to the Grand several times. It is on the boardwalk but away from the rides/amusements. It is a big building... The Grand is up in the 20%26#39;s so it%26#39;s over 20 blocks from the rides... Castles is at 37th street so it is over 30 blocks from the rides... It depends how important ';close proximity'; is to you... We are staying across the street from the Castle this August, and our friends are staying in a 2 room suite in the Castle hotel itself... Good luck!!

Castle in the Sand/Grand Hotel

I would suggest the Castle in the Sand if you don%26#39;t mind being away from the boardwalk. It is a nice, family owned and operated hotel that has been well maintained over the years and consists of several buildings. The rooms are clean, comfortable, and affordable. The hotel has a large outdoor pool and is about 10 streets from the north end of the boardwalk. Feel free to visit http://www.castleinthesand.com for more information, including rates and room descriptions.

The Grand is located on the boardwalk but the hotel isn%26#39;t anything special. The balconies aren%26#39;t very private (the hotel%26#39;s shape doesn%26#39;t help) and the outdoor pool overlooks the street and adjacent parking garage. The hotel took a very long time to build (5-6 years) due to financial problems and it seems like the builders just rushed to get the hotel done once construction resumed in 2000 and didn%26#39;t really care if they were doing a good job or not. One reviewer mentions that the carpet is poorly installed and I have been in the hotel myself and found the indoor pool area to be poorly maintained. In all honesty, if everything had gone as planned with construction, this might be the nicest hotel on the boardwalk in Ocean City. Unfortunately, the only thing really grand about this hotel is its location and the retail shops on the lower level that are accessible from the boardwalk. The Holiday Inn %26amp; Suites and Hilton are much nicer hotels if you can afford to stay there during the summer months.

I stayed at Castles - loved it - For direct boardwalk, look at Tidelands Caribbean - that was a beautiful hotel - OK pool, but everything else was great.