Holiday Inn Resort Pensacola Beach Gulf Front by IHG — Hotel in Santa Rosa Island

It’s bitter sweet to leave this review. I came here last year and liked it so much I came back. This will be our last visit. The staff is great, very kind. However the hotel is a complete hot mess. We don’t travel light, we have a special needs child. The luggage cart is loaded and taken to the room by staff only. For me that’s a pain. They placed things on top of things that were fragile and we had to replace some items. I wanted to take my time and stack things they wanted to rush. We get to the room (we got a suite, washer dryer and full kitchen) we had two locked doors inside the unit. Sometimes rooms adjoin so I thought nothing of it. Until the second day of our stay we realized the locked room couldn’t have been another room we were an end unit. So we used a knife to pick the lock it was our second bathroom😳. So for almost two days we 5 shared one bathroom. I used the dishwasher, it flooded our kitchen. I mentioned that it was badly leaking they said someone would check it and no one came. So we used all our towels each time to soak up the water. The icemaker in our refrigerator was also broken. The cutting board was split in two and when we went to make pasta we realized the room doesn’t have a can opener. It also lacked oven mitts, and a kitchen towel. We just stayed at a Hilton 2 last night. It didn’t have a stove but it had a refrigerator and dishwasher yet it came with a can opener, a kitchen towel and oven mitts 🤔sorry I digress. We went to the beach, beautiful beach, they have chairs and umbrellas for $50 a chair per day. The hotel offers three pools two outdoor one tiny 11 person one inside. The outdoor one matched the temperature of the ocean (around 60 degrees) the hot tub was where EVERYONE was hanging out. Until the staff kicked out all the young ones do some old guy could have it kid free. The pool inside was the only one warm enough to enjoy, unless you get locked inside the area, like I did. You need a key to get in but once in you need a key to open it from the outside to get out😳. But there was another door to the gym I could open… except it wouldn’t open😡 I tried the emergency phone and it wasn’t connected 😔😡 so I was stuck until someone let me out. We had enough went to shower for dinner… zero water pressure, just a drip. Showering was impossible. In the morning the water worked perfectly but the tub didn’t drain so we took a shower bath😣. The elevator and hall door were right next to our bedroom so all night you would hear the super incredibly SQUEAKY door and the slam, then the shaky elevator… we were placed on the 14th floor and just when I thought we saw all the issues we were packed for the indoor pool went to get on the elevator and realized it was no longer working. Down 14 flights of stairs we went with a special needs child. Got to the indoor pool and saw the sign on the door that the pool was closed for maintenance. Tied to order drinks at the outdoor pool bar, need ID 🤣😂 ok sorry I don’t swim with my ID nor do I look questionable for 21. So since I’m not walking 14 flights of stairs to get my ID they lost that sale. Went to the beach because we weren’t going back up 14 flights of stairs with three kids. Got completely fried. Went to a late lunch. Came back around eight and thank god the elevator was back in business. I didn’t want to deal with the luggage destroyer so we made four trips to bring everything back to the car. Checked out and noticed that we were charged someone’s breakfast and they so generously left a nice tip as well charged to our room🫤. They rectified that situation as well. So long story short: hotel employees nice Hotel SUCKS (especially for $600 a night) Beach was BEAUTIFUL! Will never go back 😔 Hilton…...

Short review: Expensive but worth it. Super clean and excellent staff and awesome views. 100% recommended the Holiday Inn Resort for summer 2025

SIDE NOTE: Have you read some of the online reviews for OTHER local hotels here on Pensacola Beach? The score seems good but when you look at the actual written reviews, they are terrifying. Especially the most recent ones from summer 2025. I saw more than one say “run“ in the review. Because of this, finding a hotel for a few days for a vacation trip became a bit of a nightmare as the hotel sounded good, but then somebody would point out in the review that looks are deceiving, the pictures are fake or out of date. The AC doesn’t work. Staff is horrible. There’s mold everywhere, etc. I would normally prefer to have a much more inexpensive priced hotel but with those reviews, there was no way I was going to take a risk like that having never been here before. That brings me to the Holiday Inn resort at Pensacola Beach.

This place not only had good reviews, but has lived up to each and every one of them. From the moment we walked in hotel we have been impressed with the cleanliness and the staff. We were able to check in a little bit earlier, which was wonderful after a long drive. We were met with smiles and hellos , explanations of what to do, what to see, and where to eat. Our room was immaculate with extremely comfortable beds wonderful pillows, and a lot of actual room to move around. Our room had two queen beds and if you’ve been in a lot of hotels, then you know that those beds take up the space, but there is plenty of walking space around both beds. I’m not crashing into walls like normal. The room came with a refrigerator and a microwave. The floors in the carpet are all clean. I don’t feel like I’m walking on sand and if you read other reviews for other hotels, that’s one of the big complaints. The bathroom the spotless and felt fresh. Our room came with a balcony And we had a corner room so we could see around to the bay side and the beach side. ( if that thing matter to you then ask for room 927 and maybe any “x27” room will do). Access to the beach is super simple, right out the poolside doors and down a boardwalk. They have pools outside and one small one inside. Breakfast options are great and if you drink then you have plenty of choices here on site.

Bottom Line: this place made me feel like I not only made a good choice about where to stay but actually the best choice. I really don’t understand all the bad reviews for other places but they did direct me to here and I thankful to those that left reviews for me to read prior to my trip here to Pensacola Beach. Spend the extra amount for the room, you won’t regret it.

Thank you to the staff for all of their kindness. Thank you to Hilton for caring enough about their brand name to provide a clean, comfortable, and welcoming experience. (No this was not a feee stay for a good review. - just an honest review for a company that tries to be good at...

This hotel is a great option for a family vacation. The beach front access makes this hotel ideal for some R&R. There are so many things that make this a fantastic option for a family get away. The best part was how excited my kids were to play in the lazy river and all of the activities they offered for the kids on the daily basis. They provide a schedule with everything happening that day. My 7 year old daughter loved the mermaids and she got to get treasure from the friendly pirates. The bubbles in the pool was a great touch. The poolside kids movie makes taking a dip in the beautifully lit and glowing pool relaxing and fun. The tiki bar staff was super friendly and the drinks were perfect. They have ping pong, connect four, tons of lounge chairs, and some tables. They offer towels for the pool and have a shop inside with things like ice cream, sunblock, and boba. There was even fresh made popcorn one evening. Another perk was the hotel guest get a wrist band that allow entry to 3 other hotels pools in the same vicinity, all walking distance. The beach is a short walk from the pool deck, and there are umbrellas and beach chairs available for rent through a third party. Grab your cooler, sunblock, and towels and enjoy the beautiful white sand beach and clear water!

The hotels breakfast was also delicious. They offer a buffet or menu items that can paid for using your breakfast vouchers (purchased at the time of booking). I had an omelette (off the menu) and it was very tasty and delicious. The coffee was great, the servers were nice and friendly. The kids ate free, and there are kid friendly options like cereal, oatmeal, yogurt, pastries, French toast sticks, scrambled eggs, and fruit. The location of the hotel is fantastic, near the boardwalk, shops, restaurants, and fun activities. Everything is walking distance.

The rooms were perfect, a great size and offered 2 comfortable queen size beds with optional bunk beds (at an extra cost of course). The restroom and shower had dove shampoo, conditioner, body wash, had soap and lotion, not the small travel sizes, the bigger bottles mounted to the wall. There are lots for drawers and a good size closet, with an iron, ironing board, and a safe. The room also has a small fridge with a small freezer at top. There’s a microwave and coffee maker. They have ice makers and washer and dryers on the 5th floor.

Our room had the pool and ocean view, and they were gorgeous both during the day and night. The balcony makes enjoying the views from the room easy. Overall, this hotel was a fantastic for our family vacation. Both kids and parents alike were happy and enjoying the hotel with all it has to offer in amenities and location. I highly recommend it, especially for children, they will absolutely love it and will talk about it for...