Guest Report

[Mia and Alex]

We are a family of four, two thirty something parents with two small boys. One of the reasons we decided to contact Sandcastles in Castara was because other families reported that they had had a great stay there and that it is run by a family with small kids themselves.
We were not disappointed! We spent three weeks plus in the large apartment atop the house and enjoyed having a large central space partially open to a big starry or sunny sky, a gorgeous sea view, flanked by two bedrooms that practically separate kids and parents, each side with its own spacious bathroom, fronted by a well equipped kitchen at the entrance. The apartment feels safe to stay in, has sufficient space outside for play and a shady refuge when the midday sun gets too hot.
A big plus was the hosts' willingness to support our stay in ways like giving us good contacts to do exploration tours, car rental connections or take us on a half-day trip to Scarborough market and Pennysavers. It was most welcome and helpful of Adam to take us on a walk though the village and beach area on the first day to point out where one can shop for what. To have a knowledgable and generous host that can explain, suggest and advice readily available allowed us to quickly familiarize ourselves with the area and to understand what this cozy little village is all about.
The location is a bit up the hill, about 500m up a hill along the road to the west, so if pushing a push-cart to the beach or for shopping, be prepared to get some leg-excercise while you're at it. On the other hand, it was great to be able to regularly enjoy fresh and delightful dishes served by the hosts right on the balcony at sunset after a day of Castara beach exploration.
Adam and his family have a couple of friendly pets, a female dog that is friendly and a chicken that laid us one beautiful egg each day. Close to the house there is a little kiosk from which you can buy water and some basic supplies, this is practical since this means that you need to carry less things up the hill. We decided not to have a car during the majority of our stay, this worked fine for us, but if you would like to rent a car there is space for parking in front of the house.
We can warmly recommend Sandcastles apartments and restaurant for anyone that is looking for a genuine Castara vacation. We only found a telephone number to contact Sandcastles on the mytobago site but he set up his facebook info-page (search for sandcastles guest house) while we were there to make it easier to get in touch.