Palm Beach Shores Resort and Vacation Villas — Hotel in Palm Beach Shores

Firstly, I'd like to start off by saying I am 21 years of age. I have been coming here all my life at least once every two years, sometimes twice in one year. Here are thinks I like about Palm Beach Shores. I like how close the beach is. the pool area and water features are beautiful. The views are pretty nice for the most part (my most recent room's balcony faces towards the nearby bridge, perfect for watching the sunset). The staff as far as I have seen has been friendly and the housekeeping staff is extremely diligent as well as friendly. There's almost always live music in the pool area and while sometimes it's good and sometimes it's not I imagine it always sounds great when you've had a few drinks at the tiki bar. I'd also like to add that the lobby is pretty inviting, I don't spend much time there but it's actually a nice spot.

Now, for the things I don't like. Firstly, I'd like to say that this is the whole reason I decided to write a review. I wish it were under better circumstances, normally reviews are only made if no one has anything nice to say, but that is why I decided to start with the pros. So to start, I'd like to say that the wifi service provided by Palm Beach Shores Resort is frankly abysmal. Any other hotel I've been to has had a passable wifi connection. I am typing this, sitting on the green sofa that can be found in many of the rooms here at the resort, opting to stay connected to my mobile service instead of using the wifi here because I am not exaggerating when I say this: I do not believe I would have been able to load this page to see the reviews otherwise. Most nights when I just want to relax and watch some youtube videos, they will take over ten minutes to load. Now, I realize I may not be the main demographic, believe me, I've been down to the pool more times than I can count, seeing men and women drink the day away and enjoy the sun and sand at the beach not even 100' away. I do come here to enjoy the beach as well, but obviously it's not possible to do so at night, or on rainy days, or in situations like the one I experienced on this trip, when there were jellyfish in the water and I didn't swim out of fear of getting stung. I know the Resort cannot control these things but I believe they can control how strong their wifi is. That is my biggest issue with the Resort, but it's not the last. However, these other issues do not bother me as much I will just choose to speak on them for the sake of the review. I understand better than anyone that this place is old, and naturally some things will change and some things will start to fall apart. But the rooms need a little bit of TLC. I noticed that my room this trip does not have the usual bench at the dinner table that used to be the standard, and that is appreciated so that sharing a bench is no longer required, but there are some other new pieces of furniture that are not so hot, mainly the dresser in the living room. The top drawer completely fell out as soon as I opened it to start putting my clothes away. At first it gave me a chuckle, but I started to notice just how many things are broken in this room that I assume has been updated. The lock for the balcony sliding door does not work, the smoke detector is coming straight out of the wall, the little string... thing in the bathtub is also busted, one of the sinks in the bathroom is super backed up and takes forever to drain, and every now and then the toilet will make the weirdest noise, almost like an elephant's trumpet. The toilet noise in particular is something I've noticed for years in multiple different rooms. I don't think a major remodel is necessary just some maintenance and maybe a plumber if one has not yet been called. This the last of my complaints, I had some closing statements but I'm about to reach the character limit for the reviews so I'll just leave this here. I have to say that in terms of vacation village resorts this one is falling a bit behind the others, but is still...

Do Not Stay Here – Worst Resort Experience We've Ever Had We were counting down the days to this vacation—something we’d planned for over a year to finally spend meaningful time with our parents, whom we rarely get to see. We booked adjoining ocean-view rooms to make this trip truly special. Sadly, this resort turned it into a complete disaster. From the moment we arrived, the experience was frustrating. The front desk staff was shockingly rude and dismissive, with Nico being one of the worst customer service experiences we’ve ever encountered. He was cold, unhelpful, and completely lacking in basic decency, let alone professionalism. He didn’t listen, didn’t care, and made an already stressful situation so much worse. The biggest and most disturbing issue was our room (540). As soon as we walked in, we were hit with a strong, nauseating urine smell—so intense that it burned our eyes and made it impossible to sleep. We immediately reported it. Maintenance came to "clean" the carpet multiple times, but the smell kept coming back within minutes. By night two, the carpet was soaked, which made the stench even worse. It was clear this wasn’t a surface problem—it was structural, possibly from a plumbing issue, and absolutely disgusting. We spent five days begging for help, only to be offered unacceptable alternatives: adjoining rooms facing a parking lot or splitting our group entirely, with one room moved across the resort to a noisy, ground-level poolside unit. Neither was remotely close to what we had carefully planned and booked a year in advance. On the final night, in desperation for sleep and relief from the odor, we moved just one of the rooms. It was far from ideal, but we couldn’t take another night in that nightmare of a room. And just when we thought it couldn't get worse—as we were checking out, someone else was checking into Room 540. Nothing had been fixed. The resort clearly ignored our repeated concerns and left the next guests to suffer the same way we did. Beyond the horrendous smell and poor service, the resort itself is completely run-down. Furniture is chipped, rugs and mattresses are stained, the pull-out couches are unusable, and we constantly needed maintenance. Lights were out, the showerhead had to be replaced, and even the dishwasher wasn’t properly secured. This place is not a “Gold Crown” resort—it’s barely functioning. The only positives were the poolside bar staff—especially Lisa, who was fantastic—and a few others like Christina at the towel hut and Nancy, the aerobics instructor. They were the only people who made us feel like guests and not a burden. The Motown singers at the restaurant and Darrell the musician by the pool were also a fun touch in an otherwise exhausting stay. Unfortunately, none of that could make up for the stress, sleepless nights, and total lack of care we received. Add to that the daily charges for parking and beach chairs, and this resort feels more like a rip-off than a vacation destination. This was the worst resort experience we’ve ever had, and it turned what should’ve been a joyful family trip into something we needed to recover from. We expected far better from an RCI listing. Please save your money, your points, and your time—do...

Be aware the wifi is spotty and low quality. We had to book another hotel after checking in —-inconsistent, low speed Internet that keeps dropping ... Trying to do a mobile hotspot was unsuccessful after repeated attempts. A call to the front desk confirmed that it was as good as they could offer. We work online- even one zoom call would have been impossible. This was a major deal breaker for us and we wouldn’t have booked this hotel knowing what we know now.

Be aware that this property does not have any in-room heating. The day that we checked in, Florida was having a cool stretch. Our room was 56°. While there is a heat option on the thermostat, it only blows cold air. A call to the front desk confirmed that they do not offer any in room heat. Not as big of a deal when the weather is warm but I’d never want to stay here when it’s cold.

Be aware that a number of guests smoke (in the designated areas). Smokers were frequently lighting up on their balconies, just outside the pool area, and on the beach. They do not allow smoking inside the resort building itself- but even with our patio door closed we were getting smoke inside our room from our neighbors on their balcony having a smoke.Be mindful of this if you have sensitivities to smoke.

Be aware that most rooms have, at best, a pocket view of the ocean. There are approximately 12 rooms at the end corners that have a direct ocean view. There are about a dozen rooms that face out towards the ocean but unless you get a high enough floor, you mostly have a view of the pool and the foliage between the hotel in the ocean. (Above floor 3) Rooms on either side of the pool have an ocean view if you hang over your balcony. The parking lot or the cityscape rooms do not have an ocean view. Try your best to get a good room or you’ll be looking at cars...

We booked this hotel through RCI. We tried to confirm what kind of view we would we would be getting several months in advance, a month advance, several weeks in advance, a week in advance, several days before, and the day before.Each time they would not tell us what kind of you or what floor or any information about where we would be staying. This is really frustrating since we had allocated a significant number of points and time during our vacation for this hotel. So be sure to check on this if it matters to you.

All in all—- This wasn’t a good match for us. The room was... tired. Large stains on the carpet. Oddly large bathroom with a tiny shower. Our room was overdue for an update.... You could hear loud people in the pool, in the halls, next door....

Good stuff: the staff at the resort were very pleasant. The beach is quite close. Parking was plentiful (you pay either way but if you don’t want to deal with valet, you can ask to self park). Room had a lot of space and places for storage and for your luggage. Room had a lot of the basics that would make a stay pleasant (cups, plates, toaster, etc). Valet and luggage assistance was friendly and helpful- but note you have to use the valet if you want to use the luggage carts.

A lot of people were here having a great time so clearly this is a place that some people like— it just lacked the amenities we were...