I’m writing this so others can be aware of the business practices we experienced with the Ocean Sands Beach Boutique Inn, 3465 Coastal Hwy, St Augustine FL 32084. Our experiences began in October 2024, when my family and I had booked a reservation for the holiday weekend 11-14 October 2024. On 9 October 2024, prior to our stay, Hurricane Milton came ashore near Siesta Key, FL. Much of the Central Florida area had mandatory evacuation orders. With the uncertainty of the weather conditions due to the hurricane potentially tracking toward Orlando, we decided to cancel our reservations. On the morning of 9 October 2024, I called “DJ” to inform him of the change. According to the invoice I had received for our stay, if you cancel after 1800 local time two days prior to arrival we would be charged one night’s stay as a cancellation fee. I figured, given the hurricane, this wouldn’t be an issue. I was wrong. DJ informed me that the hotel does not reimburse pre-paid rooms and only offered credit for a future stay, if it occurred within a year of the cancellation date. I should have gone with my gut that something didn’t seem right given the circumstances but was too busy with hurricane preparations to argue the point. Of note, I didn’t find out until much later that the City of St Augustine was under a mandatory evacuation beginning on 9 October 2024 which lasted until the afternoon of 10 October 2024. This was never mentioned by DJ or the Ocean Sands hotel personnel during the multiple conversations we had with all on 9 October 2024 prior to our cancellation. Also of note, the original reservation was advertised as a discount if reserved via the internet and paid in full. The total I paid was $930.99, which included room rates ($252.41 for 11 October 2024, $266.85 for 12 October 2024, and $165.74 for 13 October 2024), a service and parking fee of $167.22, and both state and local taxes.
Fast forward to 20 July 2025. I called DJ to rebook our last summer weekend and use the hotel credit. He told me that since it was Labor Day holiday weekend our rooms would cost more than the credit I had. It was during this conversation that I was informed our credit was not for the full $930.99 because I was charged a cancellation fee, despite the fact that I had to cancel due to a natural disaster. During the conversation, DJ told me I would be charged an additional fee for the increase in room rates for the three nights. I agreed to pay, with the understanding that hotels often change their room rates depending on the days of the week or even holidays. My credit card was charged $537.99. On 20 July 2025, DJ sent me an invoice for the increase which showed the rate increase per day ($89.00 for 29 August 2025, $73.49 for 30 August 2025, and $50.07 for 31 August 2025). The invoice said the rates excluded taxes and also did not include an additional service fee of $69.99 per night.
On 29 August 2025, we checked into the hotel without issue. The gentleman at the front desk was accommodating and check-in went smoothly. On 30 August 2025, my family and I went sightseeing in St. Augustine. Typically, on the first day of any stay we leave the “Do Not Disturb” sign on the door. For us, there is no need for the room to be serviced after only one day. Hindsight being what it is, we already paid for this service so we should have let them. That afternoon, when we returned to our room, we noticed a large wall painting had fallen. It landed on the air conditioning unit. We attempted to rehang it on the wall, but the screws were too shallow and were afraid it may cause damage to the painting should it fall again. My husband went to the front desk to inform them of the situation and spoke with a separate gentleman there. He assured my husband that he would make a note to provide to the day team and they would fix the issue. He asked if we had room to store the painting on the floor of the room, which we did. The gentleman said the hotel was having work done and that the vibrations likely knocked down the painting. That night I placed the large painting in front of our sliding glass door. The next morning, we removed the “Do not disturb” sign. During breakfast, my husband informed a lady at the front desk of what had happened the night prior, and that the gentleman advised he would make a note for the day team. The front desk lady said she would ensure the information was provided to the housekeeping crew. We departed the hotel for additional sight seeing around St. Augustine and returned later that night. When we came back, the painting was still on the floor in the room. Our room had been partially serviced because our beds were made, trash cans emptied, and we had a few extra towels. We were almost out of toilet paper and not given a new roll. Plus, we were not given a bathmat and had to use one of our fresh towels for a bathmat.
On 1 September 2024, the weather was stormy, so we decided to leave that morning. My husband rehung the painting on the screws that were in the wall so it would not be damaged as we repacked our suitcases. At checkout, we spoke with Ms. Beverly and advised her of the situation. She was cordial and claimed she had been off the week prior and this was her first day back. She said the issues, while small, should not have happened. She printed our hotel receipt and asked if we would mind leaving a review.
When we returned home, I couldn’t help but think something was off with the whole experience. I reviewed all the documents I had, from the original receipt, to the text DJ sent with the increased room rates, and the receipt provided on checkout.
For those keeping a tally, I was charged $1,468.98 (including taxes and multiple service fees) for a three night stay. I called DJ on Monday to tell him that we were charged twice for parking and service fees. He said we weren’t, and that when I spoke with him last October, he sent me a statement via “text or email” explaining how those fees were deducted from my credit. He also told me he charged us a cancellation fee which lowered our previously paid credit. After reviewing call logs, and the hotel policy on the initial invoice, I should have never been charged a fee as the cancellation occurred before 48 hours of our check-in date and time.
I also searched through the texts and emails I received from DJ and Ocean Sands Inn. I couldn’t find any statements explaining our hotel credit or the deductions. I reviewed the receipt provided on checkout and noticed the service fee was indeed $69.99 per day, but I was also charged $19.99 per day to park two vehicles. We only traveled with one. I messaged DJ asking for a copy of the statement he claimed to have sent via text or email, twice, but have yet to receive a reply.
I have to say I am not impressed with the quality of service provided by this hotel, what appears to be multiple hidden fees, and the unwillingness of the management to work with customers. This hotel has received many positive reviews, but most of the negative reviews echo a similar experience to what we had. Parking fees are waived if you give the hotel a positive online review.
We will not be staying at this hotel again and I will not recommend it to anyone. Looking back at the entire experience, beginning last October, I feel like we were scammed and not treated well. I have never heard of a hotel not providing a refund for a cancellation, only offering in-house credit, and charging a cancellation fee during a natural disaster. Paying a service and parking fee for nights we did not stay seems unreasonable. For the nights we stayed, a service fee of $69.99 per night should have at least covered housekeeping rehanging or removing the large painting that was sitting in our room and restocking our toiletries. I understand hotels can change room rates as they see fit, within reason. Even with access to the ocean, it cost us approximately $489.66 per night to stay here. A quick internet search for surrounding hotels yielded nightly room rates of around $100-$200, with similar accommodation. The breakfasts were average at best. I watched a guest who had rented an umbrella bring it back from the beach because it was broken. He said to us, “If you get an umbrella make sure you don’t get a broken one.” Then, I watched him dig through the multiple umbrellas leaning against the side of the hotel trying to search for a working one. Two positives: 1. Beverly was very nice at checkout. Thank you for letting us depart on a somewhat happy note. 2. Hotel does provide beach access as advertised, after crossing the street. We were warned by the front desk gentlemen on the first night to watch for cars and to not get hit while crossing.
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