We stayed here for 5 nights during late March. In some ways, I really hate to post this, because I don't want to let the word out as the hotel really is a gem. In sum, it is a true beach vacation hotel without the airs and costs of a "resort" hotel. The weather was just so-so during our week (though we still made it on to the beach or pool every day we were there), but we would return in a heartbeat.

LOCATION

The hotel sits directly on Navarre Beach. Navarre is a beachfront town between Pensacola and Destin. There is a thin strip of barrier island that sits about 1/2 a mile off the mainland, and that is where the hotel is. That barrier island has a single road (one lane each way) called Gulf Blvd. As far as I can tell from the web, the hotel sits on the spot where a former Holiday Inn was that was destroyed by a hurricane some years ago (and that was the filming location for Jaws 2!). I believe the hotel opened in 2017.

Navarre is not yet overrun by hotels and is mostly about 5-6 high rise condos (on the oceanside where the bridge crosses over from the mainland), townhome-style condos (on the soundside near the bridge) and vacation-type home (all along Gulf Blvd west of the SHS until you hit the Gulf Islands national seashore). It is also not a beach "boardwalk" type of place; in fact there is no boardwalk running along the beach, though it does have a long pier that juts out into the gulf. In the immediate vicinity, there is little in the way of restaurants, and almost nothing in the way amusement parks and the like, even within a few miles.

What Navarre does have is a beautiful stretch of beach, and the hotel, with its really nice pool and lazy river, is a perfect complement.

PARKING/ENTRACE

The hotel has free self-parking in a large lot out front. There is ample parking space and all spots are short walks to the front door. Also very nice was the fact that the hotel has probably 10 luggage carts for guests to use. Everyone is coming and going with a substantial amount of luggage, gear, drinks, etc., and it was really nice not to have to worry that the hotel would run out of luggage carts to haul your stuff to and from your room (mind you, this is not a FS hotel so there are no doormen or bellboys). I never saw a time during our entire stay there when several luggage carts were not free to be used.

The hotel, undoubtedly because of hurricane building requirements, actually starts on the first floor above ground level (the elevator is available at the parking/ground level, but the main lobby of the hotel, including check-in, breakfast, bar, pool, lazy river, conference area, hotel gift shop, etc.) are all at floor 1. The nice thing is that the same elevators can also take you up to your room (there are six floors in total above the ground level). It is not one of those hotels where you need to switch elevator banks to get to your floor.

ROOMS

The hotel is situated parallel to the beach, so half the rooms directly face the beach, while the other half do not see the beach at all, and directly face the mainland (and the sound between the barrier island and the mainland). We were upgraded from a non-beachfront side room to a beachfront side room. All the beachfront side rooms have balconies. Only about a third of the non-beachfront side rooms have balconies. Having spent the week with a balcony, I would definitely choose to have a balcony room, since it is a perfect place to hang out in the evening after a day at the beach/pool (obviously), but also a great place to hang your swimsuits and beach toys to let them air and dry out! The balcony has two chairs and a little table, and there is a solid, opaque wall between you and the neighboring balconies, so there is privacy.

The room is amazingly well designed in my opinion. There are outlets galore for charging devices (including USB ports so you don't necessarily have to bring the plugs, only the cords)...on each bedside, as well as outlets built into each of the two dressers. There is a bedroom "half" of the suite and a living room "half" of the suite, and they are separated by the bathroom and closet, connected by a small short "hallway". While not 100% private (there is no "door" that closes between them), the bedroom is pretty private from the living area. The bed was amazingly comfortable....really much more comfortable than any other hotel I've stayed in in recent memory (probably largely due to the fact that the hotel is still pretty new). There is a dresser that has four small drawers (2x2), and underneath the dresser is a perfectly designed slide-under tabletop that can be slid out and used as a desk or eating area. Above the dresser is a large flat screen TV.

On the living area side of the room is the same dresser. Instead of the desk, there is a solid bench that can be used for seating or to put things on. The sofa has 3 thirds to it. THe left two thirds can be pulled out into a twin-size sofa bed. The right third of it is a chaise lounge. That part could be used as a sleeping spot for a small child if that is necessary.

In the center of the room (between the bed and living sections) is the bathroom. It is not overly fancy, but is modern and very well-designed. There is a single sink with a good amount of counter space. The shower is over-sized (probably 5 feet square-ish), with a rain-shower-like shower head up top, and a separate shower wand if needed. There are ample hooks for hanging towels and clothes; four by my memory. Just outside the bathroom is a small "closet" with a small hanging rack above some additional drawers. Next to that is the area with a mini fridge, microwave, coffee maker, and space to store your food and drinks. On the wall nearby is a hanging rack.

The floor is a faux plank wood laminate flooring (undoubtedly easier for cleaning), though a nice touch is that selected small areas (such as just next to each bedside) are small areas of carpeting, which makes it easier on your feet.

BEACH/POOL

From the first floor (i.e., the main floor of the hotel), you can access first the hotel pool area (with a large outdoor swimming pool, single hottub, decent-sized lazy river, and small indoor pool). There are ample beach chairs and reclining chairs around the pool area. The single hot tub is a medium-sized circle; on cold-ish days, like when we were there, it unfortunately fills up quickly. The outdoor pool is a really good size, much bigger than most pools in hotels these days. The shallow end has a "beach" side (ie., sloped so you can wade in rather than having to jump in). Ther lazy river is about the same size of the pool...it is nowhere near the size of the lazy river at resorts like the JW Desert Springs or Starr Pass, but it is of sufficient size that my kids enjoyed plenty of time there without complaint. There are hotel-supplied tubes to ride around in. There is also an outdoor, pool-side shower for rinsing. Immediately next to the lazy river are the doors to go into the indoor pool. The indoor pool is very small, even smaller than your typical FFI/SHS indoor pools. The outdoor pool closes at 10pm at night.

THe first day we arrived, there were plenty of hotel-provided pool towels poolside. Unfortunately, that was the last day they provided pool towels in that manner! The next day (and much to our confusion!), there were no more towels. In any case, it seems that, because of the costs of processing (and perhaps losing) unlimited towels for guests, the hotel has gone to a towel card system (much like some other resorts), in which each room is alloted 4 towels which you request at the front desk. Once the system worked out some kinks that first day, it was fine.

To get from the pool are to the beach, you take set of stairs down (about 12-15 steps) and then walk about 75 feet on the wooden beach walkway out to the beach. If need be, you can also take a ramp instead of the stairs out to the walkway (the ramp also surrounds a hotel private sand play area). At the bottom of the stairs is a shower and faucet for post-beach rinsing off before returning to the hotel.

On the beach, you can order drinks from the hotel bar (via text or something), and they will deliver them to you on the beach. There is also a beach chair/umbrella service (unaffiliated with the hotel). I believe the rate was $33/day for the umbrella/two chairs (we had brought our own chairs/umbrella). There is about 40-50 feet of beach "depth" and the beautiful sandy beach goes as far east and west as you can see. There are no lifeguard stations at the part of the beach where the hotel is; those can be found about 1/3 mile east, where the main pier is.

BREAKFAST

Needless to say, near everyone at this hotel is coming for a multi-day vacation and typically with families...i.e., I'd hazard to guess that there are 3-5 people per room (and that there are very few single or possibly even couples in rooms). Thus, there are a LOT of people at the hotel. I've been at some RI/FFI/SHS hotels where the breakfast staff is overwhelmed and cannot keep pace with resupplying the food and other provisions. What was amazingly impressive was that, despite the volume of people getting breakfast (and there were significant lines every morning we were there), the food was continually and quickly restocked. You had to be a little patient while in line, but the food was always there. The food was on the very good side for a RI/SHS/FFI-type breakfast, though it was standard breakfasts like at these chains. Cereals, breads, mini-muffins/etc., oatmeal, eggs, 2 types of sausages (turkey patties and pork links), waffle makers, etc. The eggs were from powder and barely passable, but nonetheless I was impressed overall with the capabilities and services during the breakfast time. It could have been a total disaster but it was actually pretty nice each day. There is a lot of seating area, but given the volumes of people, at peak times it could be difficult to get a spot.

OTHER FOOD
There is very very little in the way of nearby restaurants. There is a restaurant attached to the hotel (Beach Bar and Grille). We ate there on our last night and were very pleasantly surprised. Mind you, the menu is VERY LIMITED...something like 5 choices for entrees. But the food was very good. Other than that, there might be two other restuarants on the barrier island side of things (neither of which we tried). If you cross the bridge back to Navarre proper, there are many more choices. We had sushi at the Slippery Mermaid, which was surprisingly good. We also very much enjoyed our fried seafood at Scooter's Fish House. There is your standard fast food (Burger King and others nearby), and our favorite Culver's. Importantly, there is a super Walmart about few miles away where you can stock up on everything.

MISC

The hotel provides 250 points per night you do not use housekeeping, subject to certain requirements/limits (you either call them to let them know or hang a provided hang-tag on your door). Aside from one surly front desk agent, the staff was excellent, friendly, and helpful.


Negatives:
-the hotel could have used a third elevator bank, but it is not the end of the world.
-it would have been nice to have 2 rather than only one hot tubs at the pool area.