Drifting Sands Motel

Because LBI isn’t a hotel heavy area, this place is really the most reasonable alternative to a house/​apartment rental, especially in the off season. It’s not the nicest hotel I’ve stayed in, I’m not gonna lie, but considering all factors about the area, general hotel availability, and convenience, this place is honestly great for what it is.
We stayed here in late September, early October, just when the off season begins, so the price for a top floor, ocean view was fair. The rooms aren’t as updated as I would have preferred, but they’re clean. The beds are moderately comfortable, but I’d bring my own pillows next time. The location is pretty ideal too, it’s at the center of the island, so it’s nearby most attractions, like the lighthouse and good restaurants. And of course it’s a big perk to have the beach right there.
The staff is great, very friendly and helpful, and offer a free bagel breakfast spread each morning. I’ll definitely return when we want to visit during the off season, or don’t have a summer house/​apartment rental to go to. Totally worth it.

Found a room here when all the other places were out. They had a special running for a ridiculously low price for LBI half a block from the beach so we weren’t sure what to expect. We were surprised to find the rooms really clean an modern. They looked like they were renovated in the last couple years. Only drawback here is the beaches were recently dredged.

I was very impressed! The staff was friendly, the room was very clean (contrary to what other reviewers claim), and the ocean view was lovely! Perhaps a little on the pricey side, but what do you expect for a place right on the beach? Which, by the way, was clean and uncrowded.
If I ever come back to long beach, I’ll likely hit up Drifting Sands again!

Good clean average motel on the ocean. Stayed for 3 nights during the week with the special buy 2 nights get the 3^rd free! Great deal! The only negative is that the beach is very wide and it’s a long walk back and forth to the motel and may be an issue for some guests with all their beach paraphernalia. My suggestion is to build a waking path down the steep dunes to mid beach. Not sure I’d stay again. I’d look for easier accessibility to the ocean especially with a family with kids before booking this motel again.

This place is a dump! Don’t stay here!!! We came here and were assured an early check in for a wedding block by the managers. Despite showing up early, we were only allowed into our smelly room 1 hour before the wedding was to start as we watched other guests check in and people check out late!!! WTF? Stay away!!!

My boyfriend took me here for my birthday weekend, and I am truly really pleased with our stay. All of the staff was extremely polite and friendly. Our room was clean, well maintained, and had a beautiful view. We went in the off season, so prices were a lot cheaper. But we can’t wait to go back this summer. Long beach island is a beautiful place to go and relax, and the Drifting Sands made our visit that much more special.

We heard of this motel though my eyebrow waxer. She says she comes down to LBI every summer and stays here. She told us what building and what floor to request. This was our first time staying in LBI, and it was on the off season (still summer but in September). There were a lot of people staying there that weekend there as there was a lot of wedding parties for weddings there. We stayed in the oceanfront building on the second floor. The room was clean and had a sink, a fridge, a microwave, and a standard coffee maker. The bathroom was a decent size as well for a motel room. The décor was light and airy and not dated at all. The only thing was our air conditioning unit was very noisy But it had a balcony looking right onto the beach. The office of the motel was very friendly, and even had bagels in the morning. There is free wifi which is also nice. You have an assigned parking spot in their parking lot and beach access right there. They also have beach chairs and umbrellas you can rent for the day. It is in a great location as it is just blocks away from getting off of the bridge onto the island. We would walk to wawa in the morning and get our coffee and breakfast sandwiches. We will definitely recommend this place to anyone looking to stay somewhere in LBI.

Excellent. Would highly recommend this hotel. The Oceanside rooms were just as good for beach view, ocean front rooms best. But my side room was still great!!! Extremely clean, courteous & professional staff. Great quiet rooms, assigned parking very helpful. Will plan to always return !!! Only thing to make this hotel better would be to add a pool for those really hot, still air days, but there is a huge «pool» out front. (Ocean). Highly recommend this place !

We just got back from a 3-​night stay at the Drifting Sands and had such a wonderful experience! First, unless you are willing to spend a ton of money renting a house directly on the beach, you will never get as close as this hotel is to the ocean. We stayed in the ocean front building and it was incredible to be able to walk out the door and onto the beach in a couple of steps! We absolutely loved waking up to a gorgeous view of the ocean and sound of the waves… talk about instant good mood! The rooms were CLEAN, the furniture was light and beachy, the bathroom was immaculate and the beds seemed to be brand new and were extremely comfy. With 3 little kids, having a fridge, wet bar and microwave was a gigantic plus (coffee pot, iron, hairdryer, etc. too). We slept like babies each night because the hotel was so quiet. The office staff was extremely friendly and incredibly helpful if we needed guidance. My kids loved their morning walk to get bagels in the lobby. The cleaning crew came quickly after we left for the beach in the am and was really thorough. The beach in Ship Bottom is so lengthy, that even in the height of the summer season, we never felt like anyone was sitting on top of each other. My kids did not want to leave! We will definitely make it back to the Drifting Sands again and again and again!

I stayed here over memorial weekend with my 2 kids and mom. Although our room smelled a little muddy and was ocean front, I expected it and brought my Febreeze and it was. The sheets and towels were clean, a short walk on their boardwalk to the beach and centrally located on the island. Wonderful time!

Stay away!!!
Believe the previous reviewers who
state the truth of this motel!!!
–DIRTY ROOMS
–OVERPRICED
–USED WRINKLED SHEETS
–BROKEN FURNITURE
Incredibly rude owner!
Sad and bad experience!
Plenty of nice, well-​priced motels in Harvey Cedars and beyond!
Do not stay here.

I was extremely pleased with the drifting sands hotel. We were having a suprise party for my dad on the island and we had a lot of guest coming from out of town. My step mother who lives on the island talk to the owners and blocked rooms for myself and all of our guest, we booked 10 rooms. No one had any complaints about the rooms being dirty, we all were very happy with the rooms and the service we received while booking and checking in. I will defiantly be returning to the drifting sands.

This dump never did the right thing or tried to make amends for their unprofessionalism and terrible customer service. Luckily I have Amex and they know better so I got a refund. Would never stay or recommend this place. Anyone who has given positive reviews either works there or has extremely low standards.

Terrible experience staying at the Drifting Sands. This place is a dirty, smelly dump with incompetent management and staff.
Ill keep it short and stick with the worst offense — level of cleanliness. The rooms are disgusting. We found a lot of sand in our bed on the first night (and we had not been to the beach yet –EW!) and the odor is something I will not soon forget. I wore flip flops in the shower it looked so dirty and foul.
SO overpriced for how gross this place is, especially the beachfront rooms. Stay anywhere else. It’s a cute town with friendly people but this «motel» will ruin your trip!

I stayed at the ocean breeze building would come here as a kid with my parents in the 80s still pretty much the same but a good place at a decent price

Stayed in the Ocean front building, third floor suite. Staff was very pleasant and helpful. View from room was excellent! Jacuzzi in separate room with shower (very spacious) Stayed peak season so rates were higher but par for the area (for ocean front). Room and furnishings were clean bathrooms immaculate. Will be coming back often.

Had cable, working AC, Hot Shower, okay beds for a motel it was really good no rats or roachs they did have a very strict no smoking policy but this was great for a night stay the room was 110 for a two bed room for the night.

NOTE: I stayed at Drifting Sands in the off-​season, so this place could be very different in the summer months!
I decided for my girlfriend’s birthday to take her for a small get-​away down in LBI to relax and hopefully enjoy a romantic evening together. Mission accomplished. Since it was March I don’t think Drifting Sands had much business going on so I was able to book a room on a Thursday morning and drive down that night. There didn’t seem to be anyone else staying there, so the front desk had my key ready for me as soon as we arrived (very friendly). I got the 2^nd floor suite in the Oceanfront Building. The only thing that made this room different from the others and give it the «suite» designation was that it had a walk-​up jacuzzi in a larger bathroom, separate from the powder room that was attached to the actual room. The room itself was quite spacious, had a wet-​bar, mini-​fridge, couch, table with chairs, king-​sized bed, and like I mentioned the jacuzzi and shower in the separate bathroom.
We really enjoyed ourselves with the beach view (I’d never waken up to the first thing I see in the morning being the ocean). The jacuzzi was great (also with a beach view) and so was the balcony off of the bedroom. I highly recommend the suite for an off-​season stay… again I would assume this place gets fully booked in the summer months and could be a completely different world. But all in all we had a very nice evening at the Drifting Sands!

Love the ocean front suite. Great spa tub overlooking the ocean. Great windows in bathroom over the tub. My favorite winter getaway!!! The room is quaint & clean.