Gulf Coast/FL Panhandle Properties
 

My wife is wanting to do a beach vacation in the Gulf Coast/FL Panhandle area and we are traveling with 2 kids and looking for some beach time. Any properties/recommendations in the area? Thanks in advance

I have not been here yet, but I've got an award res for my family later this year here.

You've also asked this question in the Hilton and Starwood forums; please note that "cross-posting" is not allowed.

If you need general advice, not specific to Marriott (or Hilton or Starwood), you can post in the Florida Travel Forum.

http://flyertalk.com/forum/forumdisplay.php?f=451

If you are looking for any hotel recommendations for the panhandle, then you might get better results posting the Florida travel forum. If you are looking for info on Marriott properties, then this is the place.

Marriott doesn't have too many "resort" properties in the Gulf Coast/Panhandle area. And unfortunately, the two "resorts" that Marriott has in that area, the Bay Point Resort in the Panama City area, and the Grand Hotel near Mobile, are not on the Beach. They are more "golfing" resorts rather than beach resorts.

Marriott has opened some lower end properties along the Gulf Coast, Courtyards and RIs, but I haven't stayed at any of them yet. There is a fairly new Courtyard and RI in the Destin area (actually in Sandestin and you may get some access to the Sandestin amenities.) But again, I do believe that both of those properties are not directly on the beach. There are also some properties in the Pensacola area, but none are on the beach and are the lower end properties as well.

Check out Destin, FL - there's a RI & a CY right next door to each other there & they usually have good availability on points. If you stay there, you have full access to the Sandestin Resort & it's facilities & the beaches.

www.marriott.com/vpsri
www.marriott.com/vpscy

Try searching on FT for Destin - I believe I did a review of them a while back when I was there.

Bump for updates.

We are going to do the Panhandle tour this spring and was looking to stay at Marriotts when possible.

Has anything changed since the last post, April '07?

Unfortunately, Marriott has only one hotel directly on the beach anywhere along the panhandle of Florida. And that would be the Springhill Suites Pensacola Beach. It is a nice enough hotel, but I would not classify it as a "resort" except that it is on the beach.

Also, the Bay Point Resort in Panama City Beach is no longer affilianted with Marriott. I don't think the hotel owners wanted to spend the money required to keep it up to Marriott standards. So it has moved on. With that said, Marriott still runs the Marriott's Legends Edge at Bay Point which is right next to the Bay Point hotel. But it is an MVCI property, not a hotel and it is NOT directly on the beach either.

This is one of the reasons I really try hard to "diversify" my points/programs. Marriott has some very nice resorts in some very nice locations. They just don't have much in this area though. So I tend to use either Priority Club or Starwood every year when we come down.

I wind up in the Panhandle once a quarter, and have stayed at the Pensacola SHS the last few times. It is a pretty standard SHS - as the other poster noted it's not a resort - but it's very well run and clean. The breakfast area is quite large and includes some food not usually found at a SHS breakfast. It's got a good size pool, although it's not huge. They always upgrade me to an oceanfront room. Last time, the room had a separate bedroom area and a smaller bed between the bedroom area and the living area, which has a sofa bed. It also had a balcony directly on the beach. Five people could easily sleep in the room comfortably.

The beach behind the hotel is pretty awesome in terms of family style Panhandle beach. If you're looking for that type of experience, this hotel is perfect. If you're looking for massages, spa treatments and gourmet meals, stay elsewhere.

Because of the location and the fact it attracts people who might not be used to staying in a hotel, you will be asked to sign some oddly specific disclosures at check-in. The first time it made me wonder what to expect in the hotel, but despite this strangeness, it's a pretty standard SHS.

If you do stay there, a couple notes... You have to pay to enter Pensacola Beach. If you want to save a couple bucks, stop at the grocery store and get what you want before driving over the bridge, or you'll wind up paying the toll twice. Also, the bridge is a speed trap. It's short, so sticking to the speed limit won't really add time to your trip, but going a few mph over the limit will slow you down the thirty minutes it takes to get the ticket, and be very expensive. Finally, if you turn right leaving the hotel parking lot and drive a few miles, you wind up in miles of unpopulated, undeveloped beach.

When we are traveling to Destin each year, even though it is longer than staying on I-10 (or even going Hwy 98) we will quite often drive over that stretch. The beach views between Pensacola Beach to Navarre Beach is great. You will have to go slow through it but the views are very nice (and for us worth the extra time and toll.)

And since the beach area there is sooo nice, we quite often will even stop and spend a couple of nights there before moving on to Destin. Marriott has the SHS there, Hilton has a Hampton Inn there. IHG has a couple of hotels there (HI Resort and HIX). I wouldn't consider any of them to be true "resorts" but they all tend to be nice enough and right on some of the nicest soft, white beaches in the country. So there are a number of different options should someone want to stay there using points.

Per the web, the Coutyard Sandestin has been upgraded/renovated but nothing on the Residence Inn Sandestin.

Anyone care to offer their comparison/recommendation of the two?

Thanks

I stayed prior to the renovation, and it was pretty swank back then. It's a well run property. I seem to remember there were carts that could transport you around the property, to whatever vacation/shopping/dining things there, but since I was there for work both times, I didn't pay close attention. It's not really in the middle of anything, so you have to travel to get to activities. It's pretty much just an above average CY on the side of the main road running through the Panhandle.

The property is not located on the beach. Even though it's closer to where I need to be, and it's a nicer hotel, I still prefer the SHS because it's on the beach. In fact, last month my customer was probably a mile down the road from the CY, but I drove the extra hour in the morning so I could enjoy the beach the day before.

If you want to be on the beach your only option is the SHS. Nice hotel, clean, decent breakfast and the usual great panhandle beach.
If you dont care about being ON the beach but want to be in the area with access to the Sandestin Hilton resort and the Baytown area, stay at the Courtyard. I was there this week and the staff is great.

We care about being on the beach but we'll be using a couple of free night 1-5 certs. so it's Sandestin Courtyard for us, this trip.

Anyone stayed at the FI in Destin? It looks like a new property - still not on the beach but maybe closer than the CY/RI?

Gulf Coast
 

Having grown up in this area, there are many pros and cons to all the beaches from Destin, Fl to Panama City Beach, FL. My favorite is still 30A for a number of reasons. Even though it's probably the wealthiest area there, they don't act like it!! There is beach access every quarter mile or so with facilities and High rises are not allowed in the zoning. If you enjoy biking or running there is a path that goes the whole stretch of 30A and it's roughly 10 miles. In Destin and Panama city you have to be a glorified member or owner of the condo to really get out to the beach. There is a Crab Trap restaurant beach access in Destin and the BAck Porch, but who wants to go to a restaurant just to go to the beach. Sorry but I don't want to smell nasty burgers while I'm trying to tan and enjoy myself with the family.

Cheers