Bayside at Sandestin — Hotel in Miramar Beach

We arrived early before our checkin at four…told we would get a text because housekeeping was cleaning the room and we would receive a text BUT no text as promised! We call and was told housekeeping had us in queue and it should be soon…didn’t happen and we call again this time housekeeping had no linen for our room and we call again and while on hold at dinner we get the text after 7p! We weren’t the only ones. The same night we discovered we had no working TV… batteries were disgusting and corroded; the next day we see a worker and asked for a new remote or batteries…we received two mix matched batteries from housekeeping (hey they tried to help) …we called the front desk about the TV no response, we text no response! We finally get through later on Saturday and was sent a real maintenance man to help only to be told it was beyond his control but it will be escalated and prob get to us by Monday (hmmm … that’s when we checkout!) so we take a look at the error message and came to the conclusion the cable or maintenance upkeep was not maintained (“Sorry, we’ve detected an interruption in your service. Check for loose connections from the wall to the mini box to make sure they are secure. If the problem persists, please contact Cox Customer Support … to RESTORE service…). So NO TV for us!! The beds were soft and incredibly painful for our backs not to mention extremely loud when you move! No blankets provided on the beds just a thin cover over the sheets. Water pressure was decent! Oh that city view was of the parking lot and part of the golf course! Directions to amenities…umm that was a scavenger hunt…better signs was all that was needed! The signs to the pool was was to the ballrooms…The furniture was old and distressed or stressed with water damage and in need of refinishing or replacement! The carpet looked new…Old ac unit in the room means loud on and off noise but at least it wasn’t leaking onto the patio. …when we arrived there were survey cards but in one day they were gone! I wonder what happened there! The mini fridge was full of ice and needed to be defrosted…We were in a good location within minutes from the beaches which were gorgeous and the main reason we were there after being locked up from COVID and plenty of shopping. However no masks were needed in Florida except at the Dooney and Bourke outlet 👍🏾. Friendly people all around which helped with the cons...

DON'T WASTE YOUR MONEY ** It's a resort in name only! The cost didn't match the experience. I flew all the way from Boston to Atlanta then drove 6 hours to the Sandestin. It was my family reunion, we had many rooms rented here and This place was disgusting!!!! I had a suite and the money was taken from my account before the actual stay. The pictures I've added don't do the filth any justice. The toilet had not been cleaned for at least the last three or four stays, the back of the toilet wasn't even dusted. There was soap scum all over the tub and the shower curtain was hanging off the hooks(simple) and had mold on the bottom. The mirrors were full of handprints, dust was all over the lamps and tables, HAIR was in the sheets when I pulled the cover back. Also in the sofa bed was full of sand so we weren't able to use. There were pills on the floor in the room. ALL TOTALLY DISGUSTING!! I had to take a shower in my brand new sandals (ruining them) because logically if the toilet was dirty there's no way that anyone bent down to clean the bathtub. After seeing hair in the sheets I had to sit up all night in the chair to sleep because apparently the bedding wasn't changed. I called the front desk and spoke to a lady who said she'd put in a work order for the morning and she would inform the manager. I asked what should I do for tonight, she said she didn't know what to tell me.I advised her that I would be checking out in the morning. The next morning a young lady named Kesha came to clean and I showed her everything that was wrong. She in turn called the manager who had no knowledge of anything and told the young lady to do a deep cleaning (which should've taken place prior to our stay). Well Kesha asked if she could clean with bleach and I approved. She got inside of the tub and started scrubbing and as she was cleaning I had to leave. When I returned, the room was spotless, smelled fresh and had new bedding. I later heard a knock on the door and to my surprise it was Kesha. She said she was off and getting ready to leave but wanted to know if everything in the room was ok. I can't believe that a service worker did more for my family than anyone else in the whole hotel. The manager never followed up or cared as far as I'm concerned. So thanks to Kesha I ended up staying. I really hope she's commended...

This review is not meant to be a comparison...

This is the first time staying at a "Sandestin Golf and Beach Resort" other than the Hilton Sandestin, and I am thoroughly disappointed.

Let me start with the minor issue.

I checked in around 2:30 PM, knowing that my room wouldn't be ready until 4 PM. At 6:14 PM, my room was finally ready. While this is an inconvience, it's not the best way to start a vacation at a supposed 5* resort (First impressions and all). The hotel was nice, and offered an apology and a coupon for either a free round for the dunes, for the family or $25 coupon for drinks at the marina.

Now, onto the major issue with this debacle.

Upon going into our room, the beds were made, but the floor was dirty, and there was still trash in the room. Upon going into the bathroom, there was still hair on the floor from the previous occupants. This is and was highly unacceptable. I called the manager and filed a complaint, which they did call back and clean the room (I will say that the floor smelled proper and the bathroom was much cleaner). But the trash still remained.

Some of you are probably wondering why I am giving a 2* review, when they did address most of the problems. Here's the reason.

When you're going on vacation to a resort you expect a few things: a clean room, on time check in, and NOT to have to call the front desk (except for the occasional maintenance issue etc). This experience has made me never want to stay at the Sandestin Golf and Beach Resort.

I'm sure some will say well the "xyz at the Sandestin is much better". If it has the same name, it should have the same level of quality. It shouldn't differ from one part of the resort to the other.

If you are contemplating staying here, be warned that you may experience the same...