Name: Sandcastle Hotel on the Beach
Address: 100 Stimson Avenue, Downtown Pismo Beach, Pismo Beach, California, United States of America, Pismo Beach, San Luis Obispo County, US
Price range: US$191–US$427 per night
Rating: 8.55

What guests think

At Sandcastle Hotel on the Beach, travellers consistently praise the unbeatable beachfront location and ocean views, plus easy walks to the pier, shops, and dining, while many also highlight friendly, accommodating staff.

Rooms and buildings vary: several guests found them clean and comfortable with great balconies, but recurring feedback notes thin walls, noise, dated finishes, stained carpets, and occasional maintenance issues. Facilities are beach-focused with oceanfront decks and fire pits, plus loaner bikes and beach chairs, but there’s no pool or hot tub and the on-site cafe/bar has limited hours and menus. Expect added costs such as paid parking and some extras, but a stay that’s all about the beach and views.

Facilities

Cleanliness

Rooms

Service

Location

Dining

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AI-generated summary based on recent guest reviews

Facilities

Beach-focused amenities include oceanfront decks with fire pits plus loaner bikes and beach chairs. Downsides mentioned repeatedly are no pool or hot tub, paid on-site parking, and an on-site cafe/bar with limited hours and options.

Related guest reviews

10

Michael

26 Dec 2024

·

Wonderful property. Immaculate room and settings. Bistro and bar a huge plus! 3 fire pits overlooking beach! Outstanding staff!

10

Karen

25 Aug 2025

·

Stayed 4 nights

Great place right on the beach. Easy access to local shops and dining. You can check out bikes and they provide helmets and a lock. They also provide beach chairs. Everyone was very friendly and helpful. Definitely coming back.

10

Torella

27 Aug 2025

·

Stayed 1 night

I didn't like that their was no restaurant, weight room, or swimming pool. Other than that the hotel was really nice.

10

Erica

11 Jul 2025

·

Stayed 1 night

The room was clean. Great view of the ocean. The amenities that are available like beach towels, bicycles to ride around, and other things was a nice touch.

10

Francis

19 Dec 2024

·

Stayed 2 nights

Ocean front unit and food bar downstairs with oceanfront seating. Bikes. Beach.

8

Janet

20 Jun 2025

·

Stayed 2 nights

This hotel has a great location right on the beach with a lovely deck area with firepits as well as a rooftop deck with a couple of lounge chairs and a seating area. However the hotel didn't seem worthy of the high nightly room charge. We had a standard room with no ocean view. The room was quite large but rather ordinary given the cost. They do serve food but there is no wait staff. You order at the counter. All in all, a nice stay but we had higher expectations.

10

Emigdia

17 Aug 2024

·

Stayed 1 night

Very nice. Clean, cozy, right on the beach and very close to pier. Everyone was so nice. The only bummer was the close the decks and turn off the fire pits early. Especially on a Friday night. It wouldve been nice to chill outside later on a beautiful night.

10

Starr

29 Apr 2024

·

Stayed 1 night

Extra amenities including beach towels, beach chairs, bike rentals, s’more kit, patio with fire pit.

10

Candace

15 Jul 2025

·

Stayed 4 nights

Great place right on the beach with food, drinks, outdoor seating, fireplaces :)

6

Stephen

2 Aug 2025

·

Stayed 4 nights

It was just ok, considering that it was on the beach I was expecting more. No pool, jacuzzi or restaurant.

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Cleanliness

Many guests found rooms and grounds clean, but feedback is inconsistent. Recurrent issues include stained carpets, mildew/mold or hair in bathrooms, bad odors, and occasional grime or clogged fixtures.

Related guest reviews

4

Herman

23 Nov 2025

·

Stayed 7 nights

With such a breathtaking view, this hotel should take more pride in their property. We felt catfished. It was not maintained at all. Mildew in bathrooms. Carpets were dirty. Patio had spider webs!! I felt dirty and we had a full week stay. Super disappointed!!!

8

Rafael

10 Aug 2025

·

Stayed 1 night

There was hair on the bathroom wall from the previous occupants. Looks like the cleaning person forgot to look all around the bathroom. It was long dark hair.., grossed me out.

6

Allison

14 Aug 2024

·

Stayed 1 night

The room was smaller than the rest on our floor and there was stains of liquid all over the walls, drains were slow in shower and sink, and the carpet was gross... stained and sticky. More attention should be put into the room cleanliness.

6

Kayla

8 Aug 2025

·

Stayed 2 nights

Walls were super thin (I feel like you can hear everything going on in the next room), the first room we got smelt really bad and there was still dirt and dusk here and there, luckily the front desk was able to check us into another room on the second level and it was ok, I feel like for what I paid for it wasn’t the best.

10

Mike

14 Oct 2025

·

Stayed 2 nights

Cozy little hotel with great views. Friendly staff and very clean.

10

Ahmed

27 Nov 2025

·

Stayed 1 night

It was very clean. Friendly staff. We reserved an ocean front and the sunset/sunrise view was an unforgettable experience

6

Gladdys

6 Oct 2024

·

Stayed 1 night

Shower was dirty there was hair on the wall

6

Dianne

17 Aug 2025

·

Stayed 1 night

Great location but very overpriced compared to other properties. At almost $500 a night, $5 for a bottle of water to make terrible coffee in the room was a bit much. No complimentary breakfast or water, no complimentary coffee in the lobby and the fire pits/couches outside were dirty. We checked in later about 8:30 pm and grabbed a bottle of wine to unwind and enjoy the ocean breeze. The “snack counter/bar” was closing at 9:00 so we rushed to get a bottle. Go up to the 3rd floor deck, which supposedly closed at 10:00 and they started turning off fire pits at 9:30 on a Saturday night mind you. They booted us about 10 minutes before 10:00. . . on a Saturday night. Nice property, but there’s too many good places in the area for the same or less money. Our sink was also clogged and the ceiling over the shower was dirty.

2

Julia

24 Jul 2024

·

Stayed 1 night

Do not be fooled by the photos. This was hands down the worst hotel of our 3 week roadtrip, and probably one of the grossest hotel rooms I’ve ever stayed in. I could almost let it slide it if it were a cheap motel charging $100/night, but we paid over $800 for a superior, oceanfront room (room 110). It was oceanfront and view was great. And that was the only pro of our visit. Our door didn’t close all the way, so you had to dead bolt it to close it. The carpet was so dirty, the bottoms of our daughter’s feet looked like she had been running through charcoal. Not exaggerating. The bathroom sink drain had brown gunk all around it. It wasn’t permanent staining, I used a qtip to clean it. There was mold growing in the shower, chipping paint, outlets were dirty and grimy. Our top/flat sheet was put on backwards so the tag was at our face, not our feet. This doesn’t even cover all of it. We did tell the front desk staff about our issues at checkout. The hostess seemed sympathetic and wrote everything down. She also gave us a little money back. Hopefully they’ll remedy some of it for future guests as I’ve seen another person on here post about this particular room as well.

8

joey

6 Jun 2024

·

Stayed 3 nights

King bed room with partial ocean view. Just as described. A nice peaceful view of little beach houses and the ocean to my right. A nice modern take on the balcony. The room has nice modern touches: modern bathroom with backlit mirror and frameless glass shower doors, a unique comfortable chaise lounger, small 2 person table and a beverage station with ice bucket mini fridge and coffee maker. Certain aspects dropped my score. Mildew was building near the edges of the glass shower doors, as is common with these modern setups. Outlets in bathroom weren’t working. Mini fridge barely kept anything cold. These aren’t deal breakers, but I wld expect more for this price point. Pismo beach pier was a dozen steps away, makes this one of few hotels with a great location.

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Rooms

Views and balconies are a highlight, and some rooms feel spacious and comfortable. Others report thin walls and noise (especially first floor), small or dated rooms in a separate building, soft or uneven beds, A/C issues, and limited in-room amenities like no microwave.

Related guest reviews

10

Richard

29 Jul 2025

·

Stayed 2 nights

Great view of the beach from our room. Free internet access, parking located on premises.

2

Deanna

28 Jul 2025

·

Stayed 2 nights

The walls were super thin. Heard every foot step and heard everyone

6

Marcus

24 Mar 2025

·

Stayed 2 nights

Location was great. Hotel is just a bit older and doors are very loud. I could also hear everyone’s footsteps above, beside, and below me.

6

Brenda

31 Mar 2025

·

Stayed 1 night

The gotel was nice but the room and the ocean view waa not worth the money. I wouldnt recommend the bottom floor to anyone. It was noisy and people were juat blocking your view.

4

paula

9 Jun 2024

·

Stayed 4 nights

Location was great, but i wouldn't recommend or return. I felt it was overpriced. We booked a deluxe room but it had no microwave or refrigerator. We had to pay an extra $15 for a refrigerator even though we were already paying over $400 per night. Plus they charged $25 to park in the property parking lot. Since there was a parking fee, i expected it to be a private or shared parking lot, but no they were just being greedy. Also the bed was very soft. There were 3 of us in the room and no one liked the bed.

6

Ryan

30 Jun 2025

·

Stayed 2 nights

We stayed in a non-view room in the secondary building, which I would not recommend. If you book, ask for room in main building and pay for view. The secondary building feels very dark and our room was very tired, even though it had been renovated. And our air conditioner stopped working. Also, the blankets were those mustard, yellow blanket that reminded me of staying in motels when I was a child.

8

Alexander

29 Aug 2024

·

Stayed 2 nights

The bathroom was in bad condition

8

Kelly

23 Mar 2025

·

Stayed 2 nights

The beds and pillows were soooo comfy! The partial view in the picture was not exactly what we had in mind when we booked the room and the bathrooms were not as clean as we would’ve liked, but besides that the location is amazing and everything was really easy to walk to.

8

Denise

22 Aug 2025

·

Stayed 2 nights

The hotel was great! Free rental of bikes and chairs. Clean room and comfortable. At first we couldn’t get the thermostat lower than 78. It took us a day to get it to go below that. Clean room. But being on the first floor it was noisy. Loud neighbors w/kids. They should all somehow be put together. Then a loud walker on top of us (sounded like a dinosaur above us) don’t get much sleep.

8

Dominice

10 Sept 2025

·

Stayed 1 night

The bed was so uncomfortable to sleep in. I literally sunk in . Its time to get new mattresses.

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Service

Staff are frequently described as friendly, helpful, and accommodating, with occasional upgrades and quick assistance. A few guests noted slow or late check-in, billing mistakes, loud housekeeping early, or unhelpful responses.

Related guest reviews

6

Viviana

26 Jul 2025

·

Stayed 1 night

the only thing I liked about this property was that it was beachfront. front staff double charged me for a pet fee and if it wasn’t for me double checking each charge, it would’ve stayed like that. property was noisy especially with connection doors. the toilet stopped working and had to wait over 2 hours to get it fixed. will not be staying at this property again

2

Sarah

19 Sept 2025

·

Stayed 2 nights

So disappointed in this stay, we booked a king size room and we were given a double bed. The staff didn’t seem concerned about rectifying this and at 8 months pregnant a full size bed for a couple is not ok or comfortable. The noise level was absurd. The staff was incredibly loud starting at 6:30 in the morning; speaking, shouting, and laughing right outside of our room with zero consideration. We are leaving more tired and extremely unrested when this was supposed to be our prebaby getaway. Wishing we had spent the little extra money to stay at the vespera hotel across the way.

8

Kari

21 Aug 2025

·

Stayed 2 nights

Room was not ready until 5:30pm. Arrived at 4pm, check in time.

10

Nadia

13 Apr 2025

·

Stayed 1 night

Staff was very friendly and accommodating, let me check in early, room was nice and very clean, perfect location right on the beach

10

Arcelia

26 Aug 2025

·

Stayed 2 nights

Friendly staff

10

Arturo

22 Aug 2025

·

Stayed 1 night

Great job by staff and front desk

10

Celeste

21 Jun 2025

·

Stayed 1 night

I love how amazing and nice staff members where, overall great experience will definitely be booking at this place again thank you for the wonderful stay!

10

Manuel

22 Nov 2025

·

Stayed 2 nights

The stay was amazing, room was upgraded free of charge to a full beach front view. The staff was friendly and very accommodating.

6

Debora

14 Jul 2025

·

Stayed 2 nights

The staff at Sand castle were very helpful and kind. I don’t believe I would book this hotel again because it was very noisy most of the night. Then early in the morning the maids would start working and talking loudly right outside our door. All of their rolling bins full of dirty laundry stayed in the hall by our room all the time.

10

Brian

9 Jun 2025

·

Stayed 2 nights

The location, amenities, and cleanliness of the hotel were perfect. Cool vibe, comfort, and awesome patios with fireplaces facing the beach. But the staff were even better. Welcoming and professional from Hello. Jason especially. We arrived early arriving so left our bags with them and roamed town for a nice lunch. When we checked in later, they had already delivered our bags to the room! How often does that happen? Needless to say we’ll be back for sure.

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Location

Outstanding beachfront setting steps from the pier, boardwalk, shops, and restaurants; very walkable.

Related guest reviews

10

House Of

30 Apr 2025

·

Stayed 3 nights

Amazing hotel location. On the beach. Walk to the pier, local restaurants, a ton of stuf within a couple blocks. Oyster loft restaurant has the best food ive ever had.

10

Michele

9 Oct 2025

·

Stayed 1 night

Just an amazing place. Perfect location right on the beach. Cannot wait to come back k

10

Lorena

8 Nov 2024

·

Stayed 1 night

Perfect location. Lots of shops and restaurants around. Right in the beach.

10

Seta

30 Aug 2025

·

Stayed 2 nights

This property is right near Pismo Beach town, and it was only a four minute walk.

10

Pamela

9 Feb 2025

·

Stayed 1 night

It was great! We were able to walk to everything and right on the beach. It was quiet but nice

10

Madeline

23 Jan 2025

·

Stayed 1 night

It’s a great place to stay near the pier in Pismo

8

Marco

7 Oct 2024

·

Stayed 3 nights

shopping strores and beach close, nice view from the hotel decks

10

kyle

18 Apr 2025

·

Stayed 1 night

We love The Sandcastle. Good price and less than a 5min walk to the strip/pier. Steps away from the beach.

8

Kerry

30 Nov 2025

·

Stayed 1 night

location; location; location!

10

Deborah

29 May 2025

·

Stayed 1 night

Beautiful beachfront hotel. Friendly staff. Easy walking to local shopping and dining.

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Dining

The Deck cafe/bar offers convenient coffee, drinks, and light bites with great views, but guests often cite limited menu and hours, variable quality, and no included breakfast or full restaurant service.

Related guest reviews

4

Nicole

14 Jun 2025

·

Stayed 2 nights

I was appalled with how dirty the property was. The dining area and outside seating glass was filthy and I was there for 3 days and 2 nights never saw anyone clean. The plants are all dead outside. That’s Ghetto. There was no pool or jacuzzi or gym! The place said they had a restaurant/BISTRO…it was a cafe counter to order coffee/a drink/or a skillet with scrambled eggs. It was so over priced to stay at this place considering all of this. I had to go get a resort pass for my entire family to use THEIR Pool Jacuzzi and Restaurant bistro for the Bonvoy next door and stayed over there my entire stay because I was embarrassed that I brought my family all the way from Pasadena to Pismo to stay at a run down hotel. Those resort passes were 220 dollars A DAY for four people. The only thing good about the Sandcastle was the staff at the cafe. Shane who was at the counter and Mau who was cooking, they were friendly and very cordial. AT LEAST GET A JACUZZI.

8

Jerry

7 Jun 2025

·

Stayed 2 nights

Setting was amazing, the patio area with wind shield and firepits (some don't work) a great place for coffee or a glass of (overpriced) wine. The Deck (restaurant) food is mediocre, and is understaffed, and they don't allow outside food on the patio area. Coffee in room and restaurant was really bad.

10

Kate

8 Aug 2025

·

Stayed 1 night

On the beach! Cafe food offerings could be expanded.

10

Josette

26 Oct 2024

·

Stayed 3 nights

It was great. The little cafe on property was convenient with great staff. I didn’t mind paying the $25 to park per day.

4

Andrea

20 Aug 2025

·

Stayed 1 night

Odd. It’s my summary word. People in Pismo, odd. Low quality food served at seemingly high quality beach front hotel-odd. Restaurant says open til 9 but won’t serve anything but alcohol at 8:10-odd. Gorgeous exterior with $40/night parking but noise inside like a motel 6-odd

10

Torella

27 Aug 2025

·

Stayed 1 night

I didn't like that their was no restaurant, weight room, or swimming pool. Other than that the hotel was really nice.

10

Luis

20 Aug 2025

·

Stayed 3 nights

Sandcastle is a great beachfront hotel with unbeatable views. Our room was spacious with a quarter view of the beach within seconds of the boardwalk! Our pup loved it and didn't want to go back home. The Deck dining has great coffee and top tier ocean/beach view. Great stay, recommended.Thank you.

8

Janet

20 Jun 2025

·

Stayed 2 nights

This hotel has a great location right on the beach with a lovely deck area with firepits as well as a rooftop deck with a couple of lounge chairs and a seating area. However the hotel didn't seem worthy of the high nightly room charge. We had a standard room with no ocean view. The room was quite large but rather ordinary given the cost. They do serve food but there is no wait staff. You order at the counter. All in all, a nice stay but we had higher expectations.

8

Marie

12 Aug 2025

·

Stayed 2 nights

Breakfast would have been better using real eggs. Other than that everything was good.

6

michele marie

22 Aug 2025

·

Stayed 3 nights

I didnt like the fact that the bartender at the hotel gave us a watered down bloody mary, and I did not like having a room without a balcony. The front desk was nice and held our luggage for a few hour's free of charge while waiting for our flight.

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AI-generated summary based on recent guest reviews

Month	Average price
January	US$172
February	US$180
March	US$211
April	US$231
May	US$264
June	US$306
July	US$351
August	US$280
September	US$219
October	US$206
November	US$200
December	US$187

Su	Mo	Tu	We	Th	Fr	Sa
		1	2	3	4	5
6	7	8	9	10	11	12
13	14	15 $312	16 $233	17 $238	18 $309	19 $386
20 $203	21 $206	22 $206	23 $233	24 $229	25 $356	26 $427
27 $210	28 $207	29 $207	30 $214

Su	Mo	Tu	We	Th	Fr	Sa
				1 $213	2 $401	3 $363
4 $205	5 $205	6 $224	7 $221	8 $221	9 $325	10 $366
11 $220	12 $218	13 $218	14 $220	15 $218	16 $328	17 $388
18 $191	19 $207	20 $205	21 $216	22 $205	23 $304	24 $345
25 $216	26 $213	27 $216	28 $222	29 $213	30 $267	31 $285

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Monthly average prices

About this property

Location

Room options

Room, Multiple Beds, Accessible, Terrace

Room, Multiple Beds (Pierside King Rooms)

Room, Multiple Beds, Accessible, Beach View

Room, 2 Queen Beds (Pierside 2 Queen Rooms)

Room, 2 Queen Beds, Beachfront

Classic Room, 2 Queen Beds

Suite, 1 King Bed with Sofa Bed (Boardwalk King Suite)

Room, 2 Queen Beds, Terrace

Room, Multiple Beds, Beachfront

Suite, Multiple Beds (Pierside King Suite)

Classic Room, Multiple Beds

Classic Suite, 1 King Bed with Sofa Bed

Room, Multiple Beds, Terrace

Guest reviews

Fabulous

Who stays here?

What guests think

Property policies

Check-in instructions

Good to know

Optional extras

FAQs about Sandcastle Hotel on the Beach

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Prices for upcoming dates