Nicest hotel in Destin and in Fort Walton

[Almost Heaven WV girl]

Although our original reservations were for the Sheraton, I took Beachmouse's advice and switched to the new Holiday Inn. It is really nice! Beautiful facility and lazy river and the service was great. Super friendly staff. The only area that needs improvement is the food. We bought the breakfast coupons because they were such a great deal. An extra $6 per day lets two adults eat at their breakfast buffet that normally costs $12 per person. The first day, we weren't impressed with the breakfast but thought maybe it was just a bad day, but the next day it was no better. So, we ate elsewhere for the remaining mornings and since breakfast wasn't good, decided not to bother having dinner there.

Upon checkout, the manager happened to be at the front desk. A super nice guy named Keith. He asked about our stay and I was honest with him. Told him everything was fabulous except the food wasn't up to par for such a nice place. He thanked me for the constructive criticism and said that he really appreciated it as the hotel has only been open 4 months and he wants to know how he can make it better. He said that he himself had noticed that the breakfast needed some work and this gave him another opportunity to talk to his kitchen staff. I told him that we used 2 of the coupons but not the ones for the other 3 days. Though I did not ask for reimbursement, he instead just offered to do so. But instead of just reimbursing me for those 3 days (3 x 6 = $18), he went way beyond that and knocked $20 per day off of our bill. What a nice guy and what good customer relations.

We would definitely stay there again.

One evening, we thought we might eat dinner next door at the Sheraton. Walked in the restaurant and we both immediately noticed a musty smell. Not a good thing. Confirmed that our decision to stay at the Holiday Inn instead was the right choice.

In case somebody else may read this thread at some other time, I will also add that a really fun place to eat that is near the hotel is at a place called Floyd's Shrimp House. It is right down the street on the same side as the hotel, right beside the Boardwalk's Crap Trap restaurant. Really good food, good lively music, beachfront outdoor tables (as well as indoor seating), a dance floor, bar, etc. Really fun place.

[beachmouse]

Glad you had a good trip!

The Holiday Inn was built on land leased from the Air Force and as part of the lease terms, the festive 'beach ball' on the roof conceals a tracking array that the Air Force uses to help monitor exercises in the Gulf.

[Almost Heaven WV girl]

Interesting. We noticed that beach ball. My SO went to the Air Force armament museum while we were there and really enjoyed that. He will be very interested in the story about the beach ball. Very cool.

[m1a1mg]

Originally Posted by Almost Heaven WV girl

It is right down the street on the same side as the hotel, right beside the Boardwalk's Crap Trap restaurant.

Although the bolded part was probably a typo, I agree completely. ;-)

Next time you come through, try 30A. This time of year it would probably be cheaper to stay in a nightly condo. The food, although much pricier, tends to be way better. Also way fewer people.

[Almost Heaven WV girl]

OOPS! Of course I didn't mean Crap Trap! Crab Trap! Crab Trap! (LOL!)

Unfortunately, I can't go back and edit it but perhaps a moderator will see this and edit it for me. (Last paragraph of post #11.)

[slduvall]

Ha I agree too! There are much better places to the east!