Absolutely terrible experience -- DO NOT rent from Sandcastle Realty. After years of wonderful vacations in Bethany Beach, our family's trust in this company has been completely shattered. We've rented from Sandcastle for many years, always taking pride in leaving every home spotless and following every checkout instruction. Yet in recent years, we've faced repeated problems getting our security deposits back -- endless delays, vague accusations, and outright lies about the condition of the properties. This past summer was the final straw. After a storm from Hurricane Erin, we reached out several times to have the pool cleaned. We were ignored for most of the week, leaving the pool filthy and unusable for our kids. Still, we cleaned the house thoroughly before leaving -- wiped surfaces, swept floors, scrubbed bathrooms, and made sure everything was in better shape than when we arrived. We even took photos and video as proof. Months later, we were told we wouldn't be getting our security deposit back because the house was supposedly left a "mess." That claim is completely false -- and honestly insulting. Our family includes members with health conditions that made us extra careful about cleanliness. The whole experience has felt dishonest and exploitative. After decades of happy memories in Bethany Beach, it's heartbreaking that Sandcastle Realty has made it stressful to come here. Based on how they've handled our last few rentals, it feels like the owner, Doug, is running a scam -- taking people's deposits under false pretenses and violating Delaware law. To anyone thinking of renting from this company: beware. The home might look lovely online, but the peace of mind and trust that make a vacation special are long gone. What a sad way to end so many years of family tradition. read more

We have rented from Sandcastle Realty for many years and unfortunately experienced unethical business practices our last couple rentals. Despite taking pride in how we leave the properties in accordance with the check-out instructions and leaving it in immaculate condition we have experienced difficulty getting our security deposit back the last few years. Too many delays and lies on why the security deposit was not refunded has resulted in our conclusion that the owner Doug is running a scam operation taking tenants security deposit based on false allegations and in violation of Delaware law. To those reading this review and considering renting a house from this business ... BEWARE! The security deposit you pay is most likely to become a donation to Doug unless you want to retain an attorney and file suit to get it back. read more

We love Sandcastle Realty and have used them for over two decades. We love the beach rental process which is easy and we had no troubles and a lovely vacation this year. Elaine MacKinnon helped me with the contract and was very professional and easy to work with. She knows South Bethany well and that's the area we really like so we will keep coming back! read more

I came back to the site to see if any changes happened or any upgrades for this place. I came here at the height of Covid to get away from Bew York with my family and was extremely disappointed at what I experience, The place is beautiful outside and great buildings structure but inside the owner has not invested a dime, everything is old and out dated, carpet and TV, and flies everywhere, he has the next door neighbor cleaning the place for convince for help. I personally think if the owner upgraded the house he would make a killing but he is just taking the money and letting everyone find out on their own. I can't believe after 5 plus years they still haven't renovated this place, which leads me to say that he or she is selfish and really doesn't care about the people who rent this establishment. God bless him but if he would invest he would make a killing because the place is a hidden gem, get rid of the neighbors who half cleans and invest into some professional cleaning , but first redo the entire inside and put up modem TV and technology with new bedding and carpet. read more

Anyone checking reviews of Sandcastle Realty should note that they are not responsive to problems, only responding to positive statements. We have rented homes for 25 years, including one from Sandcastle 23 years ago, and they have been amazing, beyond our expectations, spotless. This year we paid more than we have ever paid to rent R8 from Sandcastle and it was a nightmare. 1. In the days of Covid I expected a clean house. The furniture was filthy and stained. Out of respect for the homeowners I always cover their furniture with sheets to protect it. This time I used the sheets to protect us from the furniture. The floors were not clean, areas under furniture hadn't been cleaned in months, air vents were covered with black dirt, the bedspread wet and stained, and there were ants in the kitchen. 2. Although listed among the amenities, there was no internet, no cable for the main tv, and the DVD player had no cable. Sandcastle was closed on Sunday so we bought a hdmi cable to watch a dvd. On Monday Sandcastle's maintenance manager worked with my husband for hours to hook up a workable system (she was good). 3. Sandcastle's website posts pictures that were taken many years ago. The sand barriers are higher so the view is not what was shown. I carefully checked surrounding homes to make sure there was no construction. There were two existing houses in their photos. When we arrived both homes had been demolished and one rebuilt, the other was an empty lot with construction equipment. Pile driving began 10 ft from our rental. The noise was unbearable and the house shook all over. It was uninhabitable and we were forced to leave. Sandcastle hasn't responded to any efforts to contact them. They hide behind their lease agreement and don't take any responsibility for the quality, cleanliness, or current status of the homes they rent. This home should have never been available to rent. read more

This place lied to us. this past summer , our family all pitched in. We paid 10K for a beach front. We learned 2 weeks prior that the were doing some beach replenishment. We called and asked about this 5 times. Every time they assured us it was not going to be where we were. Guess what? 5 day out of 7 we had MAJOR trucks, noise ,and beach area was closed off. Had to walk 2 blocks and still listen to beep beep beep the whole time.Though the entire night as well! We called, went in and they did nothing and did not give a damn!! Thanks Doug you are not a good guy.... read more

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**BEWARE** do not rent from this horrible slum lord. The house we are currently in should be condemned. There is black mold and mildew all over the screened in porch. The washer does not work. The oven only partially works. The dishwasher runs for 4 hours and barely cleans. Everyone is allergic to this dump. My 86 year old grandmother has a lung condition and cannot stop coughing and using her inhaler in this house. The house clearly hasn't been cleaned all summer, the toilet was dirty, floors covered in sand and dirt and dust on every surface. We've had to cover all of the couches because they are covered in pet hair and filthy. Honestly every place to sit in this house are covered in a layer of scum. There's no place to store anything because every closet, cabinet, and many of the dresser drawers are filled with the owners tacky decor. Truly, the owner should be fined for the interior design decisions they've made for this house. And sandcastle realty is not doing anything about it. The owner, Doug, is completely flippant when we've tried to voice our concerns. They do not care about anyone or anything but money. This house is described as "lovely" which is absolutely false advertising. Even the fake plastic plants are dying in this sad sad house. read more

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I cannot speak for Sandcastle's rental side however I learned of the dismal treatment of friends of mine who had entered into contract in the sale of their house. Charlie Bittle and Doug Appling were a disgrace in the name of customer service. Simple things like placing their house on Zillow, placing signs higher than 1 ft off the ground, etc that make it pleasing for potential customers. When they did not deliver, they were rude and did not allow them out of the contract. I have been coming down here since the 70's and have had a house here since 2000. I have a wide range of friendships across this town and I will be sharing this with my neighbors and anyone I run into that are thinking about selling. It is called "Customer Service"....! read more

Unprofessional, unresponsive, no integrity. No landlord or renter should ever work with Sandcastle.

I rented a vacation home from Sandcastle Realty, March 30-April 6th. The renting process was easy. Everything after that was not good. I was advised my keys and welcome bag would be left in a lockbox as I wasn't going to be there before they closed. There would be a # posted if I needed assistance. Went to lock box - no keys. Called the number posted numerous times - no response. Called the agency number left multiple messages No response. About 1 1/2 hours later (I had already reserved a hotel room and driven to it) I get a call back - a new phone system had been installed and she wasn't getting messages. I questioned about the phone number posted on the lock box 1 she didn't even know her # was posted 2 the last digit of the number was incorrect. Ok - I get things can happen so I cancel the hotel and drive back to pick up the keys and drive to the house. Saying that the place was not prepared for guests to stay at is an understatement. The refrigerator was dirty. The coffee maker was filthy. The bed mattress did not have a cover on it and there's a huge stain. There are items in drawers, garbage on the floor, and a dead bug on the mattress. The worst thing was the toilet. I sent photos of all things I mentioned to the owner and the realtor I dealt with. The owner called me two days and asked how I wanted the issue resolved. I told him I would discuss with my travel party and let him know. I emailed him on April 4th telling him what I thought was fair and asked what his thought were. It is now more than a month later and not only has there been no response, I haven't received my security deposit refund and I know for a fact that place was left in pristine condition. I would not recommend this realtor to anyone based on the lack of caring and total disregard for the condition of the rental. read more

PHENOMENAL SERVICE.... great team of people and very knowledgeable about the homes available in the South Bethany Beach and Fenwick Island area. Bottom line... I would rather use a small local business that knows what they are doing verses using an online booker like AIRBNB or VIMO, because if something breaks or goes awry, one phone call and its fixed as opposed to calling the owner and trying them to get it fixed in a timely manner. So big kudos to Doug and his super great team at Sandcastle Reality !!!!...... (and I booked again with them for next year) read more

DO NOT RENT FROM THIS COMPANY. The property was extremely dirty and covered with mold. Many appliances were broken. There was trash in every closet. The real estate company were unhelpful and rude. My family has been renting from them for over 10 years and will never go back after this horrible experience. read more

Great property management firm. Sandcastle does a masterful job with our Bethany Beach seasonal rental property.

Would have been zero stars if possible. Worst experience in nearly 40 years of going to Bethany. Beware of website pictures. The place they rented to me looked freshly renovated online. Today it's several years older than the pictures imply. When I walked in it smelled very dirty, flys all over the place, ants on the kitchen table and floor, water leaking onto the tile floor outside the bedroom all week from a dysfunctional air conditioner and little assistance from the Sandcastle Office. A weak effort was made on Monday but the main AC issue and leak remained all week. Then Doug has the nerve to attack me for suggesting I deserved some form of refund. He is not reasonable in anyway shape or form. He couldn't focus on the issues important to me. When we spoke he took the conversation off on irrelevant tangents that ended up like an argument between a husband and wife. He made up times and dates of when we reported issues to his advantage. Will never use them again as long as he is associated with Sandcastle. Long and Foster is much more professional. read more

Have used Sandcastle Realty for about 10 years and have always been pleased with their service. Most recently, the rental property that we had rented with Sandcastle was repossessed by the bank and Doug Appling worked extremely hard to accommodate us with a house that was as close as we had rented. Since we needed one that would house 10 adults and was oceanfront, this was a tall order. After some lengthy work, he finally was able to work with another rental agency to get the house for us. Thanks Sandcastle Realty for handling a situation that was not in your control but worked hard to satisfy your client. read more

We've been renting from Sandcastle Realty for at least a dozen years. Always thorough and professional, and promptly address any concerns we've had (which have been few). Very comfortable with these folks. read more

The employees are always so friendly and helpful. I have been renting for multiple years with Sand Castle and they always are prepared at check-in with our packet of information. No issues at all. One improvement would be the website. It needs to show availability so you can narrow your search before you call. read more

Great location, plenty of room for a big family group. Right on the beach, alongside the beach path. Downside: Cleaners were late, and agent failed to call when they finished, so we lost several hours of vacation time. Had to call cleaners back because first pass was inadequate. Propane tank on the grill was empty, so we had to replace it. Agent reimbursed at checkout. Need more silverware for large groups. Also, a suggestion: put waterproof bed pads on bunk beds. Had to replace pee-stained mattress. read more

Doug and his team have been sending us to the best rental property's along the Eastern Coast. I would highly recommend Sandcastle Realty for any/all your rental needs! read more

We are having a terrible experience with Sandcastle Realty. Upon checkin, our house was filthy. Our agent, who gladly took our rental money, responded that I should have called the office for cleaners to come. This is customer service when you gave them thousands of dollars for a week? Should have been spotless before we arrived. Unsatisfactory and just plain terrible. Rent vacation homes elsewhere. I'm so sorry we booked with them. read more

Sandcastle Realty has managed our beach property since 1995. The staff has always filled our house during the season with careful and respectful renters who always speak highly of their interactions with Sandcastle. We also appreciate the efficiency and quality of the cleaning and maintenance services. When emergency situations have occurred, Sandcastle staff has responded immediately to both renters and us by promptly assessing the situation onsite and hiring the appropriate professionals needed to resolve any problems. They have also helped us navigate the insurance maze when needed. Doug Appling and his knowledgeable and friendly staff are readily available to assist us throughout the year. We highly recommend Sandcastle Realty for your beach rental needs. read more

Great selection of properties and friendly staff. So accommodating with letting us see the place and giving us extra details (they even contacted the owners for our beach wedding permit) Check in was a breeze. We look forward to using them again! read more

Wonderful experience using Sandcastle. We went in an off season time and it didn't matter. We were treated so graciously. Our unit was so clean and beautiful. Loved the service and will definitely use them again. read more

We have rented through Doug at Sandcastle Realty for over 30 years. Our experiences have been great! A professional office and lovely employees. We appreciate their service! read more

Doug was so helpful to our family!! We rented a home on the ocean for dec 25 thru Jan 1 our family was coming in from everywhere and we were not happy with the home because I have vertigo really bad and as soon as I got in the house I could feel it swaying so could 3 other family members. So we called the emergency number because they were closed for the holiday season but Doug called us right back and worked with me ( and he really had his work cut out for him haha) to find a beautiful home big enough for our whole family. We so appreciate everything he did for us and we had the best family Christmas ever thanks to his kindness!!! We will definitely use them for all our vacation from this point on!!!! read more

We enjoyed our week at South Bethany Beach in house rented through Sandcastle Realty

Unfortunately I had to give 1 star but not deserved. This real estate company is just renting poor properties that are not represented accurately on their website. We rented 400 North Ocean Drive in South Bethany Beach for a week. The property looked great as it should have for 9000$ for the week. When we arrived it was truly filthy. I don't think the cleaning people clean at all. There was caked on sand and dust everywhere. The vents had mold and dust in them you could visibly see. The furniture was in unacceptable condition for that price. The leather couch in den was all ripped up. There were broken chairs and debris under the deck. It needed to be repainted... There were scuff marks all over. The carpets were horribly stained. Each shower fixture in each of the bathrooms had black caked on mold. The hot tub was filled with sand. There was a cheap disgusting grill which you could not cook on.. ( they did replace it) It was disgusting. Once you get there, there is not much that can be done. We called sandcastle and they did send someone to re-clean the showers. At this point we stayed but were so disappointed for that kind of money. Thank God it was an ocean view home and weather was good. We were able to be out of the house as much as possible. This home commands 123.000$ in rental fees and shame on realty company and owners for not putting just a bit back in the house to make it a more respectable rental. That is pure greed. We had 3 other families staying in other homes from same realty... 1 had no air conditioning and finally Sand Castle said there was nothing else they could do for them. One of them had ants all over the house. All 3 where as filthy as ours. First I say shame on this realty company for not making sure their properties are worthy of being rented and deserving of the prices being asked. Second, I say shame on the actual property owners for assuming the realty company is making sure these rentals are clean. read more

My in-laws found this company online to book a vacation for the entire family. After reviewing deceiving pictures they have on their website they decided to book with them. Upon arrival everyone noticed it was hot on the main level. We later learned the air conditioner for that floor had been broken for more than 3 weeks! Not a good thing when you have a family member that suffers from COPD. Also found were broken window cranks making it impossible to open a window. The kitchen had missing lights in the ceiling, broken draws, broken glass on the cooktop and less than adequate kitchenware. The bedspreads had to be washed before using them due to the smell. Furniture in the living room was filthy and broken. Outside the shower was rusty dirty and had black mold on the ledge you could smell coming in the front door. Unfortunately everything was dated dirty and disgusting. Oh I forgot to mention the price...over 10,000!!! The company sent someone to fix the AC on the 5th day. When my sister in law and I dropped off the key we decided it was time to complain again. That's when we met the extremely rude, unprofessional, confrontational Doug. When we expressed our concerns he became extremely nasty. This was the absolute worst customer service I have ever experienced! I wound NOT recommend this realty company to anyone who's looking to stay in Bethany Beach! read more

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This is the second year I've rented with sandcastle and it will be my last. Not only was my call to report unsafe and unsanitary conditions in the home unresolved, it was completely disregarded. Homes are filthy and unsafe and sandcastle couldn't care less. read more

We have been using Sandcastle Realty for 15 years. This year, we booked our beach house and due to a mistake by the owners, our week was made unavailable. It was late in the booking season when this occurred BUT... before telling us about this problem, our agent, Doug Appling, had a solution. He automatically rebooked our family in another (much nicer) house and offered to pay the difference. He also had a second (again nicer) option and gave our family the final decision. We barely had time to worry about losing our rental because the back-up plan was such a pleasant surprise. Thanks Doug and Sandcastle Realty! read more

If anyone is planning to travel to the beaches of Delaware or MD, do not use Sand Castle Realty. They provide VERY poor customer service. Not only did they rent us a house with an air conditioning unit broken for two weeks prior to us coming down but they also didn't bother to inform me about it ( not even when I picked up the key ) in case I needed to try and make other arrangements. The place was old, dated and dirty. Many things broken. When I called about problems, I got nothing but a run around. It took me calling everyday before they finally fixed the air on Thursday. Still trying to get some compensation and again, nothing but excuses. Doug, the broker at the location fought with us as if he had done it many times before. He was rude, adversarial, disrespectful, and incompetent. I really do not recommend using this agency to rent a vacation home unless you want to be dissatisfied, frustrated, and angry. read more

Unfortunately I have to echo the response from Lee (dated 7/17/14) I planned for 7 months a family trip for my large family (my husband, myself, our five children, and two guest children, and my Mom and Dad). The rental process was frustrating. I sent my final payment, not receiving any confirmation back that payment was received, by email or mail (and it was a very large payment to say the least!). I waited until the week before leaving for a 'welcome' letter or receipt, or any information pertaining to the check in process, where to go, etc. Nothing. When we arrived, I was very disappointed to the point of tears. We are not a wealthy family, and researched very carefully neighboring rental agencies, all of the properties that SandCastle offers, and chose based on our needs. We ended up spending over $8000 on a beach front rental that was in poor repair. When we arrived, there were two horribly filthy, ripped up armchairs in two of the bedrooms, the hot tub was drained and broken, the carpet was horribly stained, the couches and living room chairs were stained and smelled, there were bare mattresses in the bedrooms, the pillows were yellowed and stained, and I had to wash blankets for my childrens beds. There was garbage under the beds when we checked in, including dishes, tissues. There was a hole in the floor in front of the fridge under the linoleum, and the recessed lighting kept 'kicking off' when it became too hot (about 15 minutes) and the wall switch was hot. In my son's room there was a broken poker table up against the wall, along with the ripped chair. We called immediately, and asked for some assistance, and I wrote my concerns. We were assured that someone would be out to help. That was on check in on Saturday evening. No call, no one came. On Sunday morning, a VERY nice maintenance gentleman arrived, and tried to help us with our concerns. He was professional, kind, and very personable (stellar job!). When I spoke to the rental office over the next two days, I requested that I please have a rental agent come out so that we could walk through together. Doug finally showed up in the middle of the week, rude, and intimidating to my elderly mom. I calmly walked through with Doug, who proceeded for inform me that while I paid $8000 for the rental, the other units on the ocean front were more expensive (about $2000-$3000) more per week, and that I should have expected a more dated unit. This said in front of my children, and my family, as if we DESERVED TO HAVE a poorly repaired, filthy, experience for the family because we didn't rent higher end! Let me say that we are basic people...we run a farm and a business. We work, we raise our children, and we are middle class. We are not wealthy, but we respect those we rent from. We don't let our children trash the rentals we use, and we clean up after ourselves. "Dated" we expected...older unit, we expected...not perfect, we expected, and older furniture, we expected. Not a problem at all. CLEAN is what we expected, with what was advertised working in the unit. We didn't have television in the master all week (the DISH didn't work!) and the DVD player/VCR were missing from the kids rooms. So we had multiple tvs, and only three worked. My daughters TV cable was cut! Not ONE TIME did I ever hear back from our Rental Agent, Michelle. We were dropped once they had our money, which it took me a year to save, and with difficulty at that! That was all the vacation money we had, and it was a horrible experience in terms of the rental. We can say that we left it in much better shape than we found it...we folded blankets in the closets, cleaned the dishes, and cleaned the kitchen. The maintenance gentleman, switched out the lightbulbs which threatened to burn the place down, fixing the dimmer problem. The hot tub was eventually fixed, and we did get some new pillows brought to us. Point one, the rental agents should take a lesson from the maintenance man, as he should be running the agency! Point two, do not trust this agency with your money! I always try to be kind, and never write these reviews, but at this point, having some home yesterday, I am still close to tears over the way we were treated, because we do not treat others this way, and I teach my children the same. Basically they should take a look inside, and if they would not want THEIR family to deal with this, why would they treat their customers this way? It's so sad.... read more