Mainsail Beach Inn — Hotel in Holmes Beach

We planned a family vacation at the beginning of the year for 7/11-7/18. We have stayed at this beachfront property 6 times previously, and used to believe their property was worth the 15 hour drive. Over the course of time it seems that there has been a decline in customer service, upkeep, and cleaning. This year we experienced assigned parking spaces. We were disappointed to discover that our spot was the farthest away, yet a reserved spot next to the door was for vendors. These vendors did not spend the $4k that we did yet our parking was less desirable. After we booked in January for our July vacation week, Mainsail began advertising 15% discounts for summertime stays, yet never offered/applied this promo discount to our stay in July. The staff is slow to respond to inquiries and do not stay on the property during the posted times at the front desk. There used to be an ice machine located by the pool that was a great benefit to guests, but we discovered it to have been removed. This year the Corp of Engineers had planned a beach restoration project, that had apparently been scheduled and postponed a few times. Point being, that Mainsail had knowledge of the pending project, yet gave no advance notice to their guests, so that guests could make informed decisions concerning their stay/reservations. Our notice of the beach restoration disruption was via an email after our arrival. The restoration work caused excessive undesirable discolored murky water Sunday through Tuesday although the beach was still accessible. During wed through sat the beach was completely inaccessible. Mainsail proudly markets their property as Beachfront and touts the access, chairs, paddle boards, kayaks that are available for use by guests. We paid for these attributes yet did not receive the benefit during most of our stay. Our complaints both verbally and via emails were answered with "its out of our control". We requested some type of refund, but Mainsail would only offer a discount on a future stay. Mainsail actually suggested that the beach work was temporary and would be beneficial for the future of the island and beach; but neglected to acknowledge that the benefits were being gained on the financial backs of the guests staying at the property the week work was being completed. A beach restoration project as large as we encountered doesn't just happen, it is planned. Mainsail was negligent in providing advance notice to this pending project and very dismissive concerning their responsibility to keep loyal repeat...

After some initial scheduling snafus, we were able to book a three night stay at Mainsail mid-October. This place is a true condominium-style stay, not a hotel. There is no 24 hour staffed front desk, there’s no food on premise, and, while beach chairs are supplied, you bring them back and forth. These are not negatives, just things to note. The building is three floors, all accessible by either the central stairway or elevator.

Our room was lovely. We stayed in Unit 5. It’s a two bedroom suite (1 king & 1 queen) with direct ocean views. The kitchens and bathrooms were fully stocked and everything was clean. There were books and board games available to guests just outside of our room in the common area. The property is clean and relatively quiet. It is walking distance to a trolley stop and there are tons of great places to shop and eat within 5-10 minutes.

Overall, our stay was wonderful. We stocked our fridge at the local Publix on our way in and enjoyed dinner out at some of the local eateries. The only negative is that you can hear everything going on in the room/rooms above you. If you’re a light sleeper, take this into account when booking. I would definitely stay here again, but I would make sure that we were located on the third floor. Other than that, wonderful place to stay on...

Mainsail Beach Inn is absolutely the best place to stay on the beach, we stayed in unit 2 for 3 weeks it was a 2bd 2ba 1st floor and incredible views of the beach and unmatched sunsets, all of it was very very clean, bathrooms, bedrooms, all of it perfect, kitchen well stocked. but quite honestly what makes this venue the best is the people working there ,they do absolutely everything they can to make your stay the best ever, Matthew the mgr. consistently went out of his way everyday for the smallest things, it just didn't matter what , both him and Roda always asking is there anything we need, without the both of them it would still be a nice venue but they take it to a whole other level .and because almost all the other rentals are rented from an off-site owner or a off--site rental company they can't and don't offer the very at home personal touch that Matthew and Roda give everyday you are there.|Thank you All for our perfect stay at Mainsail Beach Inn|Matt and Connie...