Here now. Yes, the Oceanfront Pool View is the new name for the Spa Studio rooms. Third time at this hotel, and as a Platinum Elite booking on points, it’s the room that we’ve been upgraded to each time. Slightly deceptive to call them oceanfront- yes, they’re parallel to the coastline but behind the pool, whereas the true oceanfront rooms only have the beach in front of them.

We were initially on the second floor, and I asked to be moved up to a higher floor, which was accommodated on my second night. Figured out that while all spa studio (I mean, oceanfront pool view) rooms have the fridge, only some have a microwave and small 2-burner stovetop. If you need the microwave, you might want to ask in advance.

I think it’s been open for a few weeks now. A staff member lets you in the gated door and asks for your name and room number. It consists of 3 small water slides, the two bigger ones are maybe 12 feet tall, and a large bucket that fills and dumps on kids below (similar to that I’ve seen at a Great Wolf Lodge). Definitely geared toward younger kids, but my 10-year-old also had a lot of fun on it. There’s not much seating for parents, oddly. It does close at 4pm every day.

Don’t know if it’s just me or because it’s my third time back, but not as impressed as I have been in the past with the hotel. Morning coffee and evening social hour have cut back on the options, they’ve seemingly removed a good number of chairs at the pool and beach, and staff interactions have only been ok. Secret password at check-in got us a can of rose; last time we received a Seafire-branded tote bag. The spa credit is no more (I guess that’s just an IHG issue). Informed them of our anniversary in advance, and they had chocolate covered strawberries in our room, which was a nice (and complimentary) gesture, but the strawberries were nowhere near ripe. Did Sunday brunch with alcohol incl. at Ave, with an extra cost increase due to being Father’s Day, and we were charged additional for still and sparkling water. Maybe I shouldn’t have assumed that everything was included at that price, but our server didn’t say anything either.