Name: The Sands Apartments
Address: The Strand; 141-145, Onetangi, Onetangi, Onetangi, 1081, New Zealand
Rating: 8

Elevator/lift

Smoke-free property

Heating

Garden

All Spaces Non-Smoking (public and private)

Outdoor furniture

General

Non-smoking rooms

Family room

Rooms

Free Wi-Fi

Internet

Car rental

Transfer

Barbecue grill(s)

Picnic area

Recreation

Offsite parking reservations required

Parking

Next to the beach

Pool and beach

Family/Kid Friendly

Kids

Pets Not Allowed

Pets

Location

At the apartment

Onetangi Beach

Parnell Rose Gardens

Auckland War Memorial Museum

Auckland Domain

University of Auckland

Auckland Ferry Terminal

Albert Park

St. Paul's Church

Auckland Art Gallery

Voyager Maritime Museum

New Zealand National Maritime Museum

Auckland Civic Theatre

SKYCITY Auckland Convention Centre

Sky Tower

Aotea Square

Aotea Centre

Myers Park

Auckland Fish Market

Victoria Park

Western Park

Auckland Airport

The Sands Apartments

Onetangi

We spent 3 days at Sands apartment 9 and absolutely loved it.
Excellent communication with booking and arrival instructions, the apartment was very comfortable and cosy with gorgeous views.
We enjoyed beach walks and the best fish and chips on Onetangi Road.
Great bus service every 30 minutes, the Ostend Saturday markets were well worth the trip. 
We felt relaxed and refreshed after our very relaxing 3 days.

Beautiful View

The seal on the shower was defective resulting in an overflow on to the carpet
Management took an extra $250 without consultation from my credit card to clean a small area of carpet less than a metre.
The shower door was so dirty that it was not immediately obvious that the door was leaking.

Location excellent but expensive considering  Entire apartment very dated and in need of a deep clean

Definitely would not stay there again - dreadful management 

Faulty shower resulted in $250 extra charge 

We had the exact same experience as per a previous review by Kat C. 

We come to Waiheke every year over Xmas and New Years and have yet to try the Sands so I booked for 7 nights for the next Xmas/New Year period and received the booking confirmation as expected. We then received a cancellation request from the owner via the third party booking system with no explanation but the email clearly stated that if we wished to keep our booking then no action needed to be taken and the booking would be honoured. Out of respect to the venue, I emailed them directly to find out why they tried to cancel my booking and was curtly told that the price that I had been quoted for our stay was too low and they could/would not honour it.

When I did not cancel my booking with the third party site (as we did not wish to cancel our trip) the owners then tried a new approach of trying to cancel the booking by stating that we had provided them with debit card details rather than credit card details and we “only had 24 hours to provide them with correct card details otherwise the booking would be cancelled”. This then started a little game of me providing my CREDIT CARD details on three separate occasions, with the owners promptly rejecting each attempt for the same false reason. 

At no point did the owners do me the courtesy of quoting the price they would be comfortable taking for that period and it’s safe to say the whole experience has left a really bad taste in my mouth and I will never attempt to stay there again. 

Conversely, we ended up booking the Onetangi Beach Apartments for around the same price as the original price I tried to book for the Sands. The location of the Onetangi Beach Apartments is much better and their customer service has already proven to be exceptional, so I actually feel very fortunate as reading some of the other reviews of the Sands, I think we’ve had a really lucky escape. 

If you’re looking for lovely, chilled holiday with people that want your business then would not recommend the Sands.

Dodgy owners

I had booked in to stay for 5 night with my partner and 2 year old. I was sent a cancellation request with no communication given by the owners and the email said if I do not want to cancel I can ignore the email. I was then sent another email saying that they had tried to charge my credit card when the booking stated there was no prepayment and I was able to pay on sight at the time of my stay. I then emailed the owner to ask what was happening and they stated they had not charged enough for the time of my stay (over NY) and needed to put the prices up. I repeatedly asked how they could request it be cancelled because they hadn’t put the prices up from their normal prices. They also tried to blame the website instead of their own oversight in management of the prices they charge and tried to offer me an increased price of $100 per night to stay at the place I had already booked. The owners then cancelled by booking. 

Would not recommend, dodgy owners and did not honour the booking when we live out of town and have to make arrangements to visit the island

After travelling from Auckland to Waiheke Island by the sealink car ferry we drove across the Island to Onetangi beach and The Sands Apartments.We received an extremely warm welcome from the owner who showed us to our apartment on the top floor.The striking feature was a huge folding window that looked straight out to a fabulous ocean view extending to Coramandal peninsula.
The apartment had everything needed including a free bottle of wine to welcome us
A really comfortable bed and very high quality furniture and fittings. A new washing machine and clothes drier fitted in as well as stove, microwave and lovely open plan living room etc, Free WiFi and TV in Lounge and bedroom.
I recommend The Sands for comfort and location and would definately stay again.


The Sands Waiheke.

Couldn’t have been a better location. Although things in general were good they could have provided more toilet rolls and at least one tea towel. The sofa in our apartment could have done with a good clean as well.

Great location

We have stayed at the Sands probably 4-5 times now, you can’t beat the location on Onetangi beach as it is just beautiful. Facilities are also great for self catering families. There were a few things that needed maintenance - the heated towel rail was off the wall, hand towel rail also and one of the bathroom taps fell off. Reception were very helpful in gettting things fixed but for the price the rooms need a bit more attention. We had a great stay though and will  be back.

Stunning location and great facilities for families, bit of TLC needed

Average Hotel and lazy & dodgy owners.
Stayed here over early January of this year, the room itself had no milk in the fridge yet they supply "Tea & coffee making facilities" we question the owner and he says that he went up to get toilet paper but didn't get any milk. No apology or any resolution provided. The owner is barely there and the reception closes at random points during the day, in case of an emergency the owner wouldn't be on site and  anywhere to be seen which is a mild concern for the guests safety. They call themselves the "sands" a beachfront hotel which you would associate with the beach, yet they have no where to hang swimwear when it is wet, so therefore using common sense most people would hang wet swimwear over the ledge of the window to let it dry. Because of us doing that we ended up coming back from our holiday to a over $200 fine. The owner had said to us that it was all because of a  stain on the window from the togs/swimwear drying. Now I don't know if he knows how to put two and two together; togs,drying...the hotel provided no where to hang your swimwear when you get back from the beach. Also this beachfront hotel called "The Sands" has a rule to have no sand in the rooms yet most people staying are going to the beach where of course there will be sand, what a shocker! There is no consideration for the practical side of this "beach front" hotel and no consideration for the guests experience. The owner takes advantage of the guests payments  and steals money for the most unreasonable situations  without the authority, explanation and permission from the guests. The owner had however said they will get in contact with us if they couldn't get the stain out and then they will proceed to charge us, no form of contact and here we are with a charge that we were not told about. This owner is sneaky to think that they can put charges on guests accounts well after they've checked out and not let them know about it. If they thought about the kind of location they are in they would have known that people are going to go swimming. It's really not that difficult to understand. A real shame about the lazy standard for one of Waiheke's top spots. Thiefs,dodgy and arrogant. Don't EVER stay here unless you want to drink coffee without milk and come home to a large fine on your bank statement.

Dodgy Owners

We thoroughly enjoyed our stay. The view from the open lounge windows and main bedroom was breathtaking. As two couples I appreciated the ensuite bathrooms for each bed room. Plenty of luxurious towels and beach towels were available from reception. Loved the recliner lounge chairs too. We cooked a few meals and found what we needed in the kitchen. There was also a washing machine, dryer and air dryer which proved handy. There are bbqs available on site but we didn't use these. In literally a few steps you were standing on the beach. A little bit of luxury in paradise. 

Spectacular views from your luxurious room

On arrival, the manager did not even get up from his chair to greet us. The room was not ready which was not a problem at all, however we returned at the allotted time to find no one  to check us in, a child seated at the desk said his Dad would be back soon. 30 minutes later he arrived. 
An ideal location, facing the beach at the end of a quiet road.The accommodation is spacious and well appointed for self catering. House keeping could be more attentive to cleaning details, bugs in light fittings etc. I did expect self catering but not self cleaning. For that rate I do not expect to carry my garbage to a central bin area overflowing with garbage. Bales of linen left in the passage is also not very appealing.
Disappointing was management's inability and unwillingness to control noise after midnight. In fact, they contributed to the noise. The worst part of the stay was the use of foul profanity in reference to paying Guests. Don't they realise that it is these Guests that pay their salary? An apology and discount was offered the next day. Unprofessional management does not encourage returning Guests.

The Sands Apartments

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