Embassy Suites by Hilton Panama City Beach Resort — Hotel in Panama City Beach

I recently used the ResortPass app to visit Embassy Suites by Hilton Panama City Beach Resort, and unfortunately, my experience was far from satisfactory.First, there was a significant issue with valet parking. I wasn't provided a code for the gate, making it impossible to enter. This set a frustrating tone for the day. When I arrived at the check-in desk, the staff was unhelpful and rude. Despite my guests arriving with proper identification and the booking details 30 minutes prior to me, they were not allowed to access any amenities while waiting. This was embarrassing since I had invited them for a daycation and followed all the provided instructions.The check-in attendant was particularly unpleasant. When I inquired about the fitness room, she curtly informed me it wasn't included with our pass and repeatedly emphasized that it was a third-party booking, offering no assistance.Additionally, the policy on reserving lounge chairs was not enforced equally. Despite being told that towels couldn't be used to hold chairs, many regular guests seemed to have reserved spots for hours. This made it difficult for us to find seating, even though we arrived early, shortly after opening.Another major disappointment was the lack of shade. The promotional pictures suggested ample umbrellas, but this was not the case. There were only about six pool-provided umbrellas, leaving many guests, including us, without adequate shade. We were not informed beforehand that bringing our own umbrella was necessary. For anyone thinking they can have shade or cover, good luck—only a dozen people at the pool had that.To add to this, we encountered inconsistent pricing at the bar. I ordered a Bahama Mama for $11.99, but my guest was charged $19.99 for the exact same drink. There were no differences in the order, making it feel like shady and unfair pricing practices.Furthermore, the wait times for even basic amenities like ice water were excessive. There was only one person attending to a crowded pool area, and guests were charged for basic necessities like water. This was particularly frustrating given the policy against bringing in outside food and drinks, leaving families with children in a difficult position. Expect to wait forever for service, and be aware that you will be charged even for water.Access to the beach was also inconvenient. We had to park far away by Dave & Buster's, making it a hassle to go back and forth, especially with all our gear. This added another layer of frustration and inconvenience to our day.Overall, the experience was disappointing due to poor customer service, inadequate amenities, misleading information, inconsistent pricing, long wait times for basic services, and inconvenient beach access. Our day was pretty much ruined, and I am requesting a complete refund for this experience as it did not meet expectations and caused significant inconvenience and embarrassment. I would advise others, especially parents with young children, to consider these issues before planning a visit.I hope that ResortPass and Embassy Suites by Hilton Panama City Beach Resort take these concerns seriously and improve their service to prevent future guests from having a similar experience. I will update you once I hear back from either resort pass or the Hotel.Update: I wanted to share a quick update on my recent experience using ResortPass at Embassy Suites by Hilton Panama City Beach Resort. Within just a few hours of my complaint, ResortPass's corporate office responded and issued a full refund, even on a Sunday. They also provided additional offer codes based on my loyalty, showcasing their excellent customer service.I'm still waiting for a response from the hotel, but ResortPass has proven their commitment to customer satisfaction. Despite the issues at the property, I highly recommend ResortPass. This experience, though initially frustrating, was handled professionally by ResortPass, reaffirming my trust in their service. As a regular user and frequent traveler, I hope to hear back from Hilton soon and see improvements...

We enjoyed our one night stop here, during the drive home after a weeks vacation. Each staff member we encountered was extremely pleasant, helpful and professional.

This is a new hotel, built within the last 5 years. It is currently surrounded by new-ish feeling shops and restaurants, all within walking distance and just across the street from the beach and pier. The entire area is extremely pedestrian friendly and there are multiple crosswalks available and so crossing the streets was not an issue at any point. We never felt that we missed the ‘on the beach’ feel.

Our room was a King 1br suite that had a living area with a separate TV and convertible sofa and 4-chair dining table. This worked well as we were traveling with our teenage son and so he could have his own area without us needing to book a separate room.

We were on the 5th floor and had a balcony that overlooked the gulf and the pool. This was a nice feature we enjoyed both in the evening and morning. Our bathroom had a large walk-in shower and everything was clean. The kitchen area I believe had its own sink as well. This is always nice, especially when staying more than a single night.

One issue is more of a construction thing - that is the wall separating the living and bedroom areas was quite thin - there is really no privacy - for instance it would have been difficult for each room to watch their own TV without headphones. With that, the bathroom had two doors - a traditional closing door leading to the living area, and a second door leading to the bedroom area. The bedroom to bathroom door was the barn door style and offered very little privacy since it was not a full closing style door.

The location was great - we spent the evening at a nearby restaurant and checked out the beach, then the next morning walking the shops after we took advantage of the free bike rentals and explored for about an hour. We had plenty to do without needing our vehicle to do it.

Breakfast was decent, just be aware that it can be difficult to get access to everything (e.g. fruit, potatoes, bacon) perhaps unless you arrive within the first hour of it being available. We popped down at 9:30 on a Sunday and did wait around for about 10-15 minutes for some potatoes and bacon to be replenished. The fruit was never replenished before they closed things down at 10. DEFINITELY leverage the option to order your eggs in advance. There was a QR code near the elevators that we used to place our orders for omelets and eggs. This saved us a good bit of time waiting in the omelet line and they eventually appeared at the end of the queue without issue.

They do offer a couple of carafes of coffee in the morning near the elevators. Basic caffeinated with a container of half and half as well as sugar, pink and yellow packets (no green). We did have to ask the gentleman attending the nearby pay-to-order coffee bar where we could find hot water for tea. He was kind and shuffled off behind the bar area to happily provide a cup with the hot water for tea (I always travel with my own tea and sweetener). We were glad for his accommodating our request, but it would have been nice for tea to be offered at the free coffee stand.

A very family friendly environment. Lots of kiddos, etc. enjoying the pool. There is a small gym tucked away down one of the corridors. Nothing fancy but it is there.

The issue others talked about regarding carpeting definitely is a 1st floor problem only and very clearly stems from it being the same floor where people are walking in/out from the pool (some dripping wet). This is not a cleanliness thing, just maybe more of a poor design thing (carpet on the first floor). None of the other floors have that issue.

As for parking, they do indeed offer a self parking option, however it will still cost you around $22/night. I’m not sure how much valet is. We still thought all in all, the total cost of our stay, even with the parking fee, was...

First and foremost, this review is primarily aimed towards the property management and whoever is in charge of event planning/coordinating/organization.

We checked in on Thursday afternoon. We had a family member having a wedding at this location on Saturday. We stayed until our reserved checkout time on Monday the 7th.

At first glance, this resort is fantastic. The service staff are so so nice and friendly, the pool is great and all the common areas are very inviting and clean.

The breakfast is also so so fantastic, BUT the space and organization of the breakfast buffet space is terrible. The space is too narrow to accommodate so many people trying to get food. Also, why are there cups for all the drink stations located in only one corner of the entire breakfast area?

Just assume if you go for breakfast on a weekend, you’ll be in line for a bit just trying to wait or fight your way through to get what you want 🥲

One of my biggest complaints is accessibility. Whoever designed this building, just didn’t think ahead for putting entrances/exits in good places. We had to walk so far every day several times just to go back and forth from our room to the valet area. We learned we could cut through the pool area, but after dark the doors all lock, so you can’t even access the hotel from doors except the main lobby door and one set of double doors by the AC unit at the back of the building. The closest door to use was “temporarily closed”.

I understand the need to keep the doorways locked down, there has been crime nearby and in order to keep people from accessing hotel facilities and parking lots they have to be very careful with doorways, but if that is the case, HIRE SECURITY. PAY SOMEONE TO STAND AT THOSE DOORWAYS AFTER DARK. Why are we paying SO MUCH and all these “resort fees” to use the resort, but we don’t even have good resort accessibility? We’re paying resort fees, so the resort should be paying a security company or extra staff to keep the doors checked.

The hotel is super pet friendly. How are you going to be so pet friendly, but not make it easy for pet owners to find pet relief areas? No wonder the hotel smells musty in some areas 😭 I carried my small dog put for potty time because I knew she wouldn’t hold it all the way to the only potty area I could actually access using my room key. I once got off our elevator on the 2nd floor and nearly stepped in a huge puddle of dog pee (trust me, it was clearly dog pee) and all I could think was that someone was going to slip in or step in that and just 🤢 I can imagine lots of dogs are going pee on the carpeted hallways when going outside for potty times.

How the heck are you organizing a whole wedding at your venue and you don’t accommodate the family when the AC goes out? It’s FLORIDA. It’s a HILTON resort. You have contracts with HVAC companies, you have things you can do to get that resolved. Why did people have to complain about the heat in the event room before staff brought out fans?? People were literally carrying around big fans just trying to cool everyone off. It was a wedding. People were drinking, dancing, and eating. The hotel is lucky no one had a medical emergency.

I have so many other complaints. Hilton needs to refund the family for that wedding. Things went mysteriously missing (the bride’s bouquet and a full champagne bottle that had a specific logo on it and had been signed by the weddings guests for the bride and groom!!!!).

Edit To Add: It still shouldn't have taken complaints from guests before staff even attempted to rectify the situation with fans. If the AC is out, you communicate that with the planner and family and make a plan around what is available. Staff didn't bring out fans until we had already been in the event hall for over an hour (almost 2+) and we were already...