Sun Outdoors Islamorada — Hotel in Islamorada

If I could give Sun Outdoors Islamorada zero stars, I absolutely would we were treated differently — and unfairly — as a Hispanic family. READ THIS REVIEW IF YOU HAVE A BOAT

I’ve stayed at other Sun Outdoors locations and have always had wonderful experiences but this location was a complete disaster, especially during a holiday weekend we planned months in advance.

🛑 Booking & False Promises I booked three campsites and a boat slip six months in advance for July 4th weekend. I paid an additional lock fee to secure my preferred spots and called the office to confirm that my 24-ft boat would fit in the slip. I spoke with Erica, who assured me the boat would fit and said she placed me at slip 23 for easy in-and-out access.

On check-in day, everything started going downhill:

The property isn’t gated, so there’s no control over who comes in.

Erica was visibly irritated that I booked three sites under my name. I explained they were for my family, but she still told me not to do that again.

She emphasized about wearing a bracelet, parking on other RV sites and trash disposal multiple times — which I later realized may have been a stereotype-driven assumption.

Most importantly, she changed my assigned boat slip to #34 and casually mentioned, “We don’t have a boat ramp or trailer storage on-site.”

This was NEVER mentioned during booking or over the phone. When I asked for assistance or suggestions, I was given a list of nearby ramps — but by then, everything was fully booked due to the holiday weekend.

Also, the sites with "pergolas" are a scam. The pergola has no roof which is pointless! ZERO SHADE!

⚓ Boat Slip Nightmare After five hours of calling around and figuring out a place to launch and store the trailer, we returned only to find that my boat didn’t even fit in slip 34. Slip 23 (which I had been promised) was occupied by a smaller boat.

I went back to the office to speak with Don, who was completely unhelpful. His responses:

“You probably didn’t pay the lock fee.” (I did.)

“We don’t have another slip to move you to.”

We pointed out multiple empty slips, or suggested the smaller boat be moved to slip 34. We told Don to look the boat dock is blocked off if we leave our boat on slip 34. Don refused, saying, “I don’t need to look” and dismissively told us to come back tomorrow.

After persistent pressure, he finally moved us to slip 16 — but only temporarily. This lack of preparation and support was infuriating.

🚫 More Disappointment The next morning — July 4th — we couldn’t even take the boat out because we were blocked in. When we went back to the office, Erica once again shrugged it off, now telling us:

The maximum boat size is 21 ft

You don’t get a slip assignment until check-in

I reminded her that I had called months prior, and she was the one who told me about slip 23. She blamed "staff turnover" and said that employee “didn’t know what they were doing” — but it was clearly her.

Her only offer? A 1-day refund on the boat slip — which missed the point entirely. We didn’t come here to not use our boat.

Later that day, Don was seen moving another (white) guest with a similar issue into a better slip, and the boat in slip 23 also belonged to a white guest whose sticker read slip 35, not 23. This confirmed what we suspected: we were treated differently — and unfairly — as a Hispanic family.

🧼 Facilities & Safety The comfort station was dirty, with hair in every shower. It was disgusting.

The on-site “beach” was unusable, filled with seaweed.

The pool was overcrowded, likely because the park is not gated, so anyone can walk in — and many weren’t even wearing the required bracelets.

❗ Final Thoughts: This location was poorly managed, disorganized, and completely disrespectful. What should have been a relaxing family trip turned into a frustrating, disappointing experience.

Sun Outdoors Islamorada is not worth your time, money, or peace of mind — especially if you expect honesty, professionalism, and...

If I could give Sun Outdoors Islamorada zero stars, I absolutely would. READ THIS REVIEW IF YOU HAVE A BOAT|I’ve stayed at other Sun Outdoors locations and have always had wonderful experiences but this location was a complete disaster, especially during a holiday weekend we planned months in advance.|🛑 Booking & False Promises|I booked three campsites and a boat slip six months in advance for July 4th weekend. I paid an additional lock fee to secure my preferred spots and called the office to confirm that my 24-ft boat would fit in the slip. I spoke with Erica, who assured me the boat would fit and said she placed me at slip 23 for easy in-and-out access.|On check-in day, everything started going downhill:|The property isn’t gated, so there’s no control over who comes in.|Erica was visibly irritated that I booked three sites under my name. I explained they were for my family, but she still told me not to do that again.|She emphasized about wearing a bracelet, parking on other RV sites and trash disposal multiple times — which I later realized may have been a stereotype-driven assumption.|Most importantly, she changed my assigned boat slip to #34 and casually mentioned, “We don’t have a boat ramp or trailer storage on-site.”|This was NEVER mentioned during booking or over the phone. When I asked for assistance or suggestions, I was given a list of nearby ramps — but by then, everything was fully booked due to the holiday weekend.|⚓ Boat Slip Nightmare|After five hours of calling around and figuring out a place to launch and store the trailer, we returned only to find that my boat didn’t even fit in slip 34. Slip 23 (which I had been promised) was occupied by a smaller boat.|I went back to the office to speak with Don, who was completely unhelpful. His responses:|“You probably didn’t pay the lock fee.” (I did.)|“We don’t have another slip to move you to.”|We pointed out multiple empty slips, or suggested the smaller boat be moved to slip 34. We told Don to look the boat dock is blocked off if we leave our boat on slip 34. Don refused, saying, “I don’t need to look” and dismissively told us to come back tomorrow.|After persistent pressure, he finally moved us to slip 16 — but only temporarily. This lack of preparation and support was infuriating.|🚫 More Disappointment|The next morning — July 4th — we couldn’t even take the boat out because we were blocked in. When we went back to the office, Erica once again shrugged it off, now telling us:|The maximum boat size is 21 ft|You don’t get a slip assignment until check-in|I reminded her that I had called months prior, and she was the one who told me about slip 23. She blamed "staff turnover" and said that employee “didn’t know what they were doing” — but it was clearly her.|Her only offer? A 1-day refund on the boat slip — which missed the point entirely. We didn’t come here to not use our boat.|Later that day, Don was seen moving another (white) guest with a similar issue into a better slip, and the boat in slip 23 also belonged to a white guest whose sticker read slip 35, not 23. This confirmed what we suspected: we were treated differently — and unfairly — as a Hispanic family.|🧼 Facilities & Safety|The comfort station was dirty, with hair in every shower. It was disgusting.|The on-site “beach” was unusable, filled with seaweed.|The pool was overcrowded, likely because the park is not gated, so anyone can walk in — and many weren’t even wearing the required bracelets.|❗ Final Thoughts:|This location was poorly managed, disorganized, and completely disrespectful. What should have been a relaxing family trip turned into a frustrating, disappointing experience.|Sun Outdoors Islamorada is not worth your time, money, or peace of mind — especially if you expect honesty, professionalism, and...

Sun Outdoors Islamorada|I stayed at Sun Outdoors Islamorada (brand new park) 4/2 thru 4/9/2023. When I originally booked back in November it was for a pull thru site, approximately 2 weeks before my arrival I checked my reservation confirmation, (which I had saved into a folder), to find that my reservation had been changed and was now paying $600 more for a Back In Elite site that included a Purgola. After 3 phone conversations, they honored my original cost. Upon arrival on April 2nd they had me on a back in site (C6) that would be impossible for me to back in my 37ft 5 Wheel, which I attempted after waiting 20 minutes for a car to be moved. Finally they moved me to the next site over (C8), finally after another 20 minutes of jocking past cars parked to the right in front on the office and the construction fencing to the left, I was finally able to get backed in, not perfect, but I had enough (Management radioed the gentleman (Gary who was assisting me to get backwd in)to come up to the office to grab a beer on them LOL. The sites in row C are straight back in sites, not angled and very tight. I must say that some of the Pull Thru Sites were very nice.||My first hour and half kinda of set the tone. Maybe shame on me for not going up and speaking to Becky ( Resort manager), I just let it go, I was there and set up. Even though I could not open the door to my outdoor kitchen completely because it hit on a palm tree.||Found out after arrival that the on site Cafe and the Beer Cart where not open but coming soon. ( they finally updated the web page). Enough rambling.||If you are looking for an area to swim in or snorkel in the Atlantic from the resort, there isn't one. But, they do have a pretty nice little white sandy area with beach chairs to look out over the Atlantic. Because of the Seaweed that is constantly washing in, then decaying, pretty nasty smell. Alot of trash washing up on shore that does not seem to be cleaned up.||The pool area is very nice, with a Tiki Hut off to the side where they had live entertainment twice while I was there.||If you have a dog, the only have a small grassy area in the park that call the dog area, no dog park. So if you want to walk them in the park it will only be on the road. I walked my dog just outside the wall of the resort, mostly all grass.||The WIFI was decent, I was able to stream movies, when the resort is completely open and full, that may be another story. The resort did not have cable, not sure if they plan on it. You cannot get any over the air channels.||There is still alot of construction going on and looks will be for the near future. If you are booked now, please don't be surprised, hopefully they have or will discount your price, because right now it will not be worth it. Thankfully I had booked it during a Black Friday deal.||I am sure when it is complete it will be nice, but I don't feel it will ever...