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WOW!!
Hands down the e-mail of the month goes to all of you out there in cyber space
who have been trying to contact the
Sandpiper Beach Inn. Here are just a few examples:
“Trying to contact the
Sandpiper Beach Inn. I have been unable to bring up their web site. Loved
staying there. Have they changed ownership? How can I get in touch with them?”
“I was trying to find the
website for the Sandpiper Inn; however, I receive messages that it cannot be
found. I also notice that it is not listed in your Hotel listings. I have not
been to Cape May for a year...has something happened to this hotel?”
“My husband and I have
vacationed at Cape May at the Sandpiper Beach Inn for the last 10 years. We
understand the Sandpiper has been sold. This was the best hotel in Cape May
and my husband and I are heartbroken that it was sold. Do you know what will
happen to the property?”
Well, friends, here’s the
scoop.
With the promise of Spring
comes the inevitable change which takes hold in Cape May.
Businesses close, others reopen in their place. Houses are renovated. B&Bs
change hands. And sometimes, your favorite hotel undergoes a dramatic change.
Such is the case with the Sandpiper Beach Inn at Beach and Grant avenues.
Built in the early 80s,
the 65-room, adults-only oceanfront hotel owned by Ruth and Bob Escher, was sold
in January of this year to Cape Advisors, Inc. owned in part by the Bashaw
family of Congress Hall,
Star Inn, and
Virginia Hotel
fame.
The bad news is that the
Sandpiper will not be open for business this year, according to Curtis Bashaw.
 The good news is that
renovations are currently underway.
“We’re redesigning now,”
said Bashaw, “to upgrade the décor and the amenities. We’re putting in new
bathrooms and upgrading the kitchenettes. The goal is to bring the Sandpiper up
to the same standard that we provide in our other properties the Star Inn, the
Virginia Hotel,
and Congress Hall.
The new owners are
shooting for a grand opening in early 2006.Unlike the old Sandpiper, the newly
improved Sandpiper will be open year-round and will welcome families with
children.
When asked if the rumors
are true that the Sandpiper will operate as a condo-hotel
 when it reopens,
Bashaw said emphatically, “Maybe. We would have to start the application process
for that distinction. We have had inquiries from lots of long time guests asking
if they can take a more active part in the process.”
The idea of a condo-hotel, said Bashaw, is a
“national trend.”
Other resorts like Disney World are stepping
into the venture. A recent article in the Orlando Business Journal says,
Orlando
“may be on the verge of another wave of hotel growth, spurred by a concept
relatively new in hotel development here -- the condominium hotel.”
A condo-hotel or "condotel" sells individual rooms to be either rented as a
regular hotel room or used by the owners themselves. Some restrict the number of
days the owner can occupy the room, thus maintaining an ambiance of a hotel
rather than a condominium.
Concurring with the hotel philosophy of
management, Bashaw said, “We like the idea of pursuing a transient business
rather than a more passive business where people spend a few days out of the
year at the property and the rest of the time the property is vacant.”
For all the Sandpiper’s loyal customers who
have written CapeMay.com inquiring about its status and lamenting its loss,
Bashaw has these words of solace, “We intend to run (the Sandpiper) pretty much
as it was and it will pretty much function as it has.”
He emphasized the Bashaw family’s desire to
bring the same standards of excellence to the Sandpiper as they have brought to
Cape May in the past.
If, however, you are looking for an
"alternative" choice of hotels and one which shares the philosophy of the old
Sandpiper, the owner of the
Sea Crest Inn on Beach
Ave and Broadway invites you to give them a try. To that end, they are offering
a 10% discount to former Sandpiper guests during the off season and mid-week.
Do you have a question about Cape May? Email us at
info@capemay.com
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