Fairfield by Marriott Inn & Suites Pensacola Beach — Attraction in Santa Rosa Island

We only had a very short stay but this hotel worked out to be totally perfect for what our group needed- grandmother (me), adult daughter and her three children ages 11, 7 and 4 from out of state ( I live only an hour away in Mobile but they live 4 1/2 hours from P'cola).|The front desk staff was excellent!!! From the very beginning when I called to alter the reservation I had made online, I had such friendly and helpful assistance from Hannah and then on a subsequent call when I spoke with a very nice young man named Steven. Hannah even told me that she would not be working when we were there so she was sorry not to meet us. The very personable Steven met us on arrival at check-in along with cheerful, sweet young ladies named Jamie and Tara- I am not sure when I have been so impressed with such kind, professional, hospitable staff at an American hotel - it has been ages. Tara even gave the children a very, very nice surprise treat the next day and Jamie gave them stickers- we were overwhelmed with kindness and hospitality. Everyone we met at the hotel from the bartenders to the young lady who blew up our innertubes in the hotel's storage room to the maintenance worker in the pool area went above and beyond. Kudos to the management, too, for putting together a stellar team.|So- more: The lobby was spacious with nice seating areas, the small convenience area well stocked, nice amount of seating indoors and out for the breakfast area and 3 elevators- plenty of luggage carts- a few of those things are not as available or well designed in other hotels. The parking was easy and right by the building too which was very helpful.| The room was clean and comfortable - the rollaway bed I had requested was already in the room along with linens. The bathroom was clean and well supplied with towels and shampoo, soap, etc. dispensers. The beachfront patio had an A+ view with two chairs and a small end table between them. The beds were comfy.| The pools, hot tubs, lazy river were a huge hit with the kids and the beach was wonderful at that area. There were plentiful loungers, umbrellas, tables and chairs around the pool so no one was doing the "chair grab" at dawn like in some less well supplied places we have encountered. Innertubes were provided but we brought additional ones just in case and to have smaller ones for the younger kids.|The food and the service at the adjacent Fish Heads grill was good and it was so nice to not have to get back in the car with reluctant kids to go out to eat at another location. The shrimp appetizer and appetizer grouper fingers were especially tasty. You cannot beat the view from that (raised) gulf-front porch. We had dinner there and lunch the next day as well. |The complimentary breakfast was very good for the adults but not quite as kid-friendly as it might have been- we had some delicious spinach and swiss cheese individual size quiches, mini croissants with ham, egg and cheese, patty pork sausages- they also had bagels and English muffins you could toast yourself, instant oatmeal, yogurt and juices. Our kids were wishing they had bacon, bread for plain toast, pancakes, waffles or muffins. The cereal was raisin bran or corn flakes- not really what most children would eat- they had whole oranges and bananas. The little ones who are a bit picky only ate yogurt and juice. They would have eaten strawberries, blueberries, cut melon, bacon, scrambled eggs or bisquits or that type of thing that some hotels have when they have buffets. All in all it worked out fine and it was included with the room.|I was very impressed with the friendliness, service, and cleanliness of this place- the location was great. If we had been there longer we would have easily walked across the street to a couple of nearby spots like Red Fish, Blue Fish, the Native Cafe or the Paradise Grill. We had lunch on our way in at Flounder's which is very close as well and has a kids playground.|I definitely recommend the Fairfield Inn and Suites and we will most certainly be back!! |Thanks again to all who made our stay...

We stayed 6 nights and first started out in the bay side as no balcony rooms were available. The beds were amazing, in fact my husband says he wants one because he’s never had a better nights sleep. The room was great size, there was just a small dresser and a closet so we didn’t take much out of our suitcase. We switched to a balcony room mid week and it was much smaller. Luckily it was just my husband and myself or I probably would have felt claustrophobic with more people. I was very surprised there was not an in room safe as one could have been easily placed in the closet. I was told there was “safe deposit boxes” in the lobby, but never used them as I thought that was awkward and shouldn’t have to be inconvenienced by waiting for a lobby employee to assist. One thing that could be vastly be improved on was that there was one single hook in the bathroom. For a location on the beach with a so many pools, you know there are going to be wet towels and bathing suits and there was absolutely nowhere to hang them. The shower curtain rod was so high, you couldn’t even use that.

The food on the first day was not very good (husband said the eggs tasted like powdered eggs) and we were a little upset thinking that was what the whole week was going to be like, but as the week progressed, the food did also. I was a little upset that they only offered waffles on the weekend and there were never any sort of pastries, just bagels and English muffins. I did see biscuits once, but they were gone so fast, I never got one.

The pool was awesome, we spent almost all our time there. Would have been cool if there was a little more waterfall coming from the rocks. The music from the speakers was pretty lame, a couple days it was just elevator music. There would be a DJ a couple days which was awesome, but no one ever turned the speaker music off, so you still heard the elevator music. The poolside bar food was awesome, a bit pricey, but they did make food by the pool a couple days but it was just as expensive as the restaurant. I’m sorry, 14$ for a hot dog and a bag of chips is embarrassing. I know it’s a hotel, and not a resort, but the holiday inn which is connected at least had happy hour. Plenty of chairs, we had brought our own floats, but it seemed there was always enough provided, and people did leave some behind occasionally.

The beach was nice, everything is so close. If you want to get a good spot, you need to set up super early as there’s a company that sets up chairs and they put them in really close together, even making it hard to walk through. There was a box by the boardwalk from the pool area, a “borrow” bin where items that had been bought could be left for future vacationers. We flew there, so we utilized some of the boogie boards chairs etc.

All in all the area was great, staff was very nice, rooms clean, golf carts to drive you around, food selection was nice. We did not have a car and had to DoorDash some ear drops as there is no drug store on the island, but they arrived quickly. I can see why this is becoming such a popular...

The hotel was fabulous! The staff was tremendous Kimberly was amazing at breakfast and catered to us so nicely. Anything we requested she aimed to fulfill. We had the best room in the hotel and the only one like it and it was spacious with a double balcony so we carried our breakfast back to our room and ate on the large table on our balcony overlooking the ocean. In the evening they have happy hour and complimentary popcorn and cookies which is fun for all the pools and hot tubs. You have access to like 4 pools and 3 hot tubs and the ocean. They have a restaurant outside in the middle of all that too. Next time we will try it. The highlight of the whole stay was their chief engineer David I don’t have words for the amazing customer service and experience he works so hard to create for you. When we go back it will be just to say hello to him. The only thing I would recommend to this hotel is to get rid of the carpet. It is already sticky and grimy and is not going to last much longer at all. They seriously need to rip it out now and replace with the fake hardwood plank tile and just use a rug under the coffee table and beds. In fact do it now in this room that we stayed in to elevate it correctly and put a keurig and some board games on all that wasted countertop space for the guests to use in all that space and balcony. Make it fun and special in that room and you will really see a difference in the guest experience in the room itself. Would really like to see this hotel rise they have the staff and potential but they need to do just a little better with some simple touches. We usually stay at the Marriott 3 doors down and their rooms are already so nice and elegant. The rooms in this Fairfield is missing a touch of elegance, romance and family appeal. The rooms are bland is my point and if guests want to enjoy the ocean from the view in their rooms you’ve got to design a little better and utilize the spaces better. Oh last thing the breakfast has a lot of cage free egg options scrambled, microwaved quiche options and hard boiled eggs. The waffles were sweet and good with the strawberry compote. Think about a hot fresh pot of grits with butter and cheese on the side and of course biscuits and gravy and fresh fruit. These few things would make this hotel the only choice on the Pensacola coast without a doubt you would be full every week including the off seasons. I loved the quiet peaceful slow action around the hotel the week/weekend we spent there and if you don’t take any of my suggestions and implement them then we will continue to enjoy your slow off season. We had beautiful 75 degree weather the whole time and perhaps the quiet atmosphere contributed to our wonderful stay. All in all thanks for a...