Sandcastle Motel undergoing $5 million renovation

The Sandcastle Motel in downtown Rehoboth Beach was sold late last year for $13.2 million to Harvey Hannah, based in Newport. The 40-year-old structure is now undergoing a $5 million renovation.

It’s uncertain what the hotel will look like specifically, but according to plans submitted to the city, it’s getting a major facelift from the top to the bottom. According to a scope-of-work document received by the city Dec. 7, the building’s lobby and restaurant space are going to be gutted, then have new finishes and new equipment installed as part of a new floor plan.

The address of the building is 123 Second St., but it’s a corner lot, and it appears the new owners are going to be taking advantage of the property’s Rehoboth Avenue-facing side. The plans call for Second Street entrances to be removed, and the doors, awnings and windows facing Rehoboth Avenue will be reorganized. They also include moving the lobby and main entrance from Second Street to face Rehoboth Avenue, with a restaurant on the east side of the building and a lobby on the west side.

The guest rooms are also being redone. About the only thing the document calls for keeping in the guest rooms is the existing sanitary infrastructure.

In addition to unknowns about the new look, there is no news on how the property will be rebranded, but probably not with the same motif – submitted paperwork has castle-related parapets and other details being removed. New owner Harvey Hannah just opened the Hyatt House Lewes/Rehoboth Beach on Route 1 near Lewes. The company also built Hyatt Place in Dewey Beach and announced it was also bringing Hyatt-branded hotels to Kent Narrows, Md.

Representatives from Harvey Hannah could not be reached for comment.