Pelican Beach Resort Condos — Hotel in Destin

I do not want to give the specific unit 302 that we stayed in a bad review because we had a great experience in that room. However, as far as our stay over all…the main issue we had was the very strict and over board rules with the beach. I did read the rules from the beginning and were aware that we could not place umbrellas in front of the rental set ups. However, we did not realize that there would be zero options to set by the water or even close to the water and we did not realize that our only option would be at the very back of all the rentals where you can’t even see the water. It’s outrageous how many rentals they set up right on top of each other. I can understand a few but it was crazy how many there were and most were not even occupied. Our nine-year-old couldn’t even swim in the ocean and be watched properly. Me and my mother in law and husband took our very small body beach chairs down to the water and set in them at the base of the water so we could watch him play and we were asked to move to the back. How is this set up supposed to work for a family to be able to watch their children in the water? I was allowed to set my body in the water but not my tiny beach chair that does not block anyone’s view at all? I can understand not being allowed to set up an umbrella etc but this is absurd. My 65 year old mother in law could not set on the ground she needs something to rest her back on so she was not able to set there and watch her grandson play. We had to split up and she had to go to the back of the rentals and set in her chair while I stood/sat at the water without my chair. I think the resort needs to only offer a few rentals not as many as they do so that other families can set somewhere on the beach near the water and their kids can be in view. For this reason we will not be back here and we will warn our other friends and family of this. I know it’s not the specific units rule but the resort as a whole needs to rethink...

My family stayed in a one-bedroom unit. I will share my feedback which might help others in choosing where they want to stay for their vacation.

The best thing about staying here was the immediate access to the beach, hands down. The property was overall clean (although it wasn't peak summertime with tons of people just yet) and the management was great with communicating all the necessary information before and during our stay.

There were some cons, however. The biggest issue for me was the smell in the unit. Although smoking is prohibited, it smelled like old smoke stench in our unit as soon as we walked in. It never went away, and it unfortunately got on all of our clothes that we had to wash everything (even unworn clothes) when we returned home. I am sensitive to smell, so that was a critical flaw for me. Our bathroom shower curtains had some black mold spots, too, which we didn't appreciate.

Lastly, this was our first time staying at a condo rather than a hotel. I personally did not enjoy that we each couldn't have extra towels unless we laundered the towels ourselves. The toilet paper ran out, too, and we had to buy our own on day 3 or 4. The place also seemed more dated than the photos online.

Overall, a great place for some others, but for the reasons I mentioned I don't think we will be returning here...

The resort was very clean and our view was amazing. We stayed in condo 1010. I am sure it would have been much better if it had not been for Ida rolling throough. We had 1 day of nice weather in which we got to enjoy the pool, which by the way is probably the cleanest pool I have ever been in. We also enjoyed the tiki bar on that nice day. The drinks were good and the staff friendly. I wish I could have gotten the gentleman s name at the guard shack that was there everyday from the 28th through the 2nd, he was very friendly. The only issue was the older gentleman at the guard shack in the evening was not very friendly. I pulled in after crossing the road and dodging a pool of water and he came out of the shack in a hurry with an attitude that we needed to obey the speed limit, which is understandable, but theres no need to react the way he did, and I informed him that we just had to cut across traffic, and he turned around and walked back inside. Other than that instance, we had a great time there and will probably select the resort again on...