I stayed in Sandy Beach from 5th...
I stayed in Sandy Beach from 5th Aug'09 - 9th Aug'09. The resort is about 20 mins by cab from DaNang Airport. The cab fare cost US$7-8 (Go by meter). Sandy Beach is located in a quiet & undisturbed beach area, where you are guaranteed to have peace & space to swim/walk on the beach. Room was clean, big & neatly maintained. 2 thumbs up for housekeeping =) Facilities wise, there are 2 swimming pools & a jacuzzi but unfortunately they seem to close early! I wanted to swim at 8pm and was told I could not even though it states that pool closes at 10pm. The hotel restaurant is a bit pricey, expect to pay about US$4 for salad & US$10 onwards for main course. Food choice is limited since there is only 1 restaurant but you can always eat in Da Nang city or in Hoi An (10-15 mins away by shuttle bus).
ONE IMPT THING - the free hotel shuttle to Hoi An is completely painful with timing. The return shuttle to hotel is at 5pm, and we were 2 mins late & we saw the bus turn the corner abt 500m away. This means they leave b4 5pm so take note of this! If you happen to miss the bus, don't panic, just have a nice + cheap dinner in Hoi An & get a taxi back it's even cheaper than eating at hotel anyway!
Front desk service is not great & they don't seem to be able to understand much English. Staff are not friendly & they don't seem to be happy to assist you if you want to visit other areas. They insist on you taking the hotel tours which are 2x-3x more than if u just book a taxi the whole day! They are also reluctant to help you if u want to book their hotel car the whole day! There is one staff though, I believe his name is Mr Duang (or David as we call him) who is by far the most outstanding staff there! He knows his stuff, is friendly, helpful & able to articulate well!! Sure wish others would learn from him!
All in all, Sandy Beach has good location and scenery (beach is spectacular) and is reasonably priced. Beds are hard but heck room is clean so that's a fair trade ;) Breakfast is not too bad, a good mix of chinese & western food. It's too bad the staff's attitude could not be better!