SunDestin Beach Resort by Scenic Stays — Hotel in Destin

I will give my honest opinion while trying not to slam them too bad.

When you go on vacation and pay good money to go on vacation, there's a level of expectation that you have. Well Sundestin Resort honestly did not come close to my expectation of a "beach resort." The facility itself is old and looks that way. It's in definite need of updating.

We stayed the week of September 13th, 2020. During that week, Hurricane Sally decided to make an appearance. Fully knowing the storm was on its way, we still decided to go being as we could not get a refund. We were determined to make the best of what was to come.

No mask policy at all. Most guests did not wear a mask in the public areas.

Starting with check-in, the building had a unique smell. Musty and old. The gentleman at the front desk was nice and pleasant. He was very helpful and courteous. He told us the staff had a mask policy but not the guest. *Note: he did wear a mask all week. Checked in and went up to our floor on the the 18th floor. Unit 1812 to be exact. A corner unit with a great view. Immediately upon packing our bags, we noticed a nice sized hole in the wall that should've been noticed by the cleaning crew or whoever conducts regular inspections of the unit. The chair that was in front of the hole was positioned as if it was concealing the hole. Speaking of the chair, it also had a hole/burn on it. See pictures that I've attached! I went to the front desk and made them aware so that I would accrue any damage fee on my credit card. The lady at the front desk (who was not wearing a mask nor did she at anytime during the week) proceeds to tell me that it was ok and I will not be charged. I requested it in writing which seemed to anger her. I was not relying on her word alone. It took about an hour but eventually, I got an email from Sundestin saying I was not responsible for the damage. Our first night we also found out just how hard the bed was in the main bedroom. I wouldn't call it "firm" at all. It was more like sleeping on plywood and you could feel the springs in the mattress. The owner should definitely consider upgrading the bed in the main bedroom. The 2 twin sized mattresses in the second bedroom were nice though but what adult sleeps on a twin sized bed?

Day 2 and the Hurricane moves in. Although its completely no fault of Sundestin, we lost electricity briefly. I'd say for about 30 minutes or so. When the power came back on, the A/C unit decided to quit. I called the front desk and they had someone come take a look at it immediately. Although the maintenance staff couldn't fix it, they did respond very quickly to address it. We were without A/C for a day and half before they could properly get it to work. You can imagine how hot it got in our room being on the very top floor without A/C. 81 degrees to be exact but we opened the doors which provided some relief.

The storm passed after about 2 days and we were finally able to hit the beach. It was nice and relaxing. A bit over crowded due to the 2 other resorts on both sides being private so everyone from the Sundestin was squeezed into a small area. You can imagine that after being cooped up for 2-3 during the storm, everyone was ready for some sun!

Here's a list of other things that I documented. Some may be minor to you but this is what I noted: -1 cooking skillet in the kitchen (multiple pots though) Have you ever cooked scrambled eggs in a pot? I did! -The main entry door sticks and was hard to open and close -Main bedroom could use a ceiling fan as it got hot even when the A/C was working -Dead batteries in the TV remote. I had to go to Walmart to buy my own. I was nice enough to leave them for the next person. -Ceiling fan in the main living area only had 1 speed. Low! Probably needs to be replaced -water leaked inside during the storm. This is when I discovered the moldy curtains (see pics)

Based on my stay at Sundestin, I would NOT...

SunDestin Resort A fabulous place to stay! Beautiful resort on the beach. The pictures you see of the room are accurate. Easy check-in and check-out with a friendly, knowledgeable, and helpful staff. I think the front desk is managed 24 hours a day. Our condo #1111 looked out onto the beach with a balcony including a high table and four chairs. Also on the balcony attached to the wall was a hanger for drying swimsuits and towels as there is a rule for not hanging wet towels and swimsuits over the balcony railing. Our unit was neat and clean with a full kitchen, a full bathroom, and an additional half bath with sink and toilet. The kitchen is small, but has everything needed to make a meal including a microwave and dishwasher. Supplies provided were a roll of paper towels, dish soap, a dish sponge/scrubbie, dishwasher detergent, and two dish towels. Our refrigerator was roomy and the freezer had a working ice maker that put out an amazing amount of ice. Our unit had a broom and dustpan as well as a little vacuum. There were also some beach supplies in a storage closet. Provided was a plastic laundry basket and another wire basket for storage needs. Supplies for the bedroom and bathroom included several bath towels, hand towels, washcloths, and the usual toiletries. The bed was comfortable with four pillows provided. Additional pillows and a blanket were provided in the closet. The bedroom closet is not overly large, but did have many hangers. There is a night side chest on each side of the bed as well as a chest of drawers. We did not use it, but I think the couch may have been a foldout bed with linens provided. On each floor is a laundry room. We paid $2.50 for each machine. There is a change machine in the lobby, but it was broken the days we were there and the front desk does not make change. If you plan to be there for a few days it would be wise to bring a roll of quarters. One package of laundry detergent was provided but no dryer sheets were provided. There is a TV in the sitting area and in the bedroom. Included is a DVD player in the sitting room only. Cable TV is provided with several channels. It was quiet in the evening and at night, but we were there in mid-September which may be part of the off season. On the 11th floor there was not a lot of noise to be heard from the pools below. The resort does have a convenience store and a small cafe for fruity drinks, burgers, pizza and other food and drinks. A nice surprise was a DVD rental kiosk. Upon check-in, you receive a card to use at the kiosk to check out and return current and older movies at no cost. There are outdoor and indoor pools along with a hot tub and slash pad. You can rent umbrellas and chairs, but that has to be done at the rental shack on the deck near the pools. This company is separate from SunDestin. You can rent for a half or full day. They also have options to rent ahead for multiple days. The price is reasonable. Get there early on the weekends. The shack opens at 9:00. On weekends, the crew sets up three rows of chairs and umbrellas to allow for many to enjoy the beach. They do not rent beach towels so bring your own. The beach is beautiful with white sands and stretches out a long way in both directions. Each resort has their own section of the beach so only those staying at the SunDestin will be in that section. Based on other reviews and the front desk workers, choose units that are managed by Scenic Stays management company. According to the front desk workers, Scenic Stays does a good job of maintaining the condo units for cleanliness, supplies, and repairs. The SunDestin is for families and a relaxing place to stay and enjoy the beautiful beaches. Destin is a busy beach town for families and couples to enjoy good restaurants and other...

DO NOT STAY HERE!!! Let me tell you the experience we had. My wife and I booked a room for our vacation, first time getting away from the kids. We booked over a month out. We live in Arkansas, drove 12 hours in one day to get to Destin. When we arrive in the lobby with our things ready to get to our room and decompress from the drive…we’re told at the front desk, “oh there was a problem with y’all’s unit, give us a minute to figure out other arrangements”. First of all, how long have you had to give us a heads up and make these arrangements if you knew there was an issue. We’re finally given a six floor room for one night when we reserved a ground level for certain reasons. The code to the unit they gave us did not work. My wife and I were provided three separate codes, when down to the front desk three times to tell them “hey it’s not working”. Finally the manager walks up with us and gives us his code which we had to use the entire time we’re there. So now we’re finally in a room after our long exhausting drive, got our stuff all unpacked and we’re ready to enjoy some beach. They had told us they were going to “fix” our unit on the ground floor and would let us know when it was available. So now we’d have to pack our things back up and make sure we’re available at their convenience to move our things while trying to enjoy our vacation? No thanks, we asked if we could just stay in the current room they put us in due to the inconvenience we’d rather not move again. “Oh I’m sorry the room you’re in is booked up I’m afraid”. LOL. Fine, whatever, obviously customer service is lacking big time here. We get notified while on the beach around 1pm the next day that our room is now ready and to head to the front desk to get our room code. The new front desk person I guess is not in the know of all the issues we’re having, they said, “oh just use the code we gave you for the room you were just in, it should work”. WRONG again. So we continued using the managers code. Now, we’re in the “original” room we booked. Nope, this is not the room we booked but we’re now on the first floor, let’s unpack our things again and get back to the beach. Later while in the room I hear dripping on the other side of the shower, behind the wall. I look up and see a giant water spot on the ceiling, there was an old one in a different corner above the sink, this one was fresh though so we called maintenance. Apparently the pipes were so old they eroded and leaked so the people above us taking showers had to stop before the water burst through our ceiling. So we’re in our room after the beach let’s relax and watch TV while we get ready to go out to eat right? Wrong, both TV’s in our unit our ancient early 2000 televisions and weren’t working, had to call maintenance again. My wife and I visited for two days, which didn’t feel like a vacation with all of these problems and inconveniences they caused us. It was much more stressful than anything. OH, let me remind you all you have to pay 55 dollars for chairs and umbrellas for first row reservations one day in advance, or 50 dollars I think for second row…insane. As if 1,400 for terrible rooms isn’t enough. All this to say, we were refunded 200 dollars. In my opinion they didn’t do enough. You couldn’t pay me to stay...