SpringHill Suites by Marriott Pensacola Beach — Hotel in Santa Rosa Island

As a Marriott Bonvoy Titanium FOR LIFE member, I have stayed 1700+ nights in Marriott hotels. somewhat qualified to review Marriott properties.

This property is a very nice property but it comes at a resort price, whether cash or miles. I suppose it earns the price and is competitive with other properties nearby. it is generally very clean. breakfast staff and housekeeping staff are very friendly and helpful.

front desk staff, well, that is a different matter. I stayed once in 5/23 and returned 8/23 to stay longer. both times, despite checking in online in advance, my room was not ready for a 3pm check-in, and I was told to come back at 4pm. so much for that benefit. second time, after being told room would be ready at 3pm, it was ready shortly after 3pm. Neither time was my elite status acknowledged, despite that being a requirement by Marriott. neither time was there an upgrade available, despite seeing ocean front rooms vacant from our West facing room. all of which diminish the loyalty and benefits of the Marriott program.

this time though, twice we had issues with front desk staff. issue one: someone stole our do not disturb sign. so, on our way out, I stopped at front desk and said 'hi, I'm in room 508. when I checked in, I said I didn't want housekeeping during my stay, but I'd like to put the do not disturb sign on my door. unfortunately, someone has taken it. can you make sure housekeeping doesn't clean my room, as my family is heading out for the day?' front desk: "yes, just put your do not disturb sign on.' me [again]: "yes, about that, someone took it" them "ok, what room are you in?" me [again] "508". them: 'ok, here's a sign, put it on your door". me [again] " I'm leaving for the day, I am not going back to the 5th floor to put a sign on my door".

not sure why she chose not to listen to anything I said. incredibly poor service. she appeared annoyed that I would even request no service.

fast forward, 2am. my daughter had an accident and we needed to change sheets on the fold out bed. I go downstairs and request new sheets. I am handed a blanket and what appears to be a flat sheet. I ask for a fitted sheet, and am told 'yeah, it's in there they are folded together". I go back to my room , and,surprise, no fitted sheet. I go back downstairs and explain that ,no, there was no fitted sheet. she returns and says 'i don't have any, but here's a queen set". ok, no big deal, but when I asked the first time, you could have checked when I inquired instead of insisting it was in there.

next day, go to leave, again, someone again stole out do not disturb sign. so, go get another one from front desk. sigh. not sure why there are no do not disturb signs or why people insist on taking them.

so, the hotel is comfortable and clean, but service is definitely lacking and in general, I'd say its a bit overpriced.

this will be my last stay at this property,...

This was the most I have ever splurged on a hotel. So I had my expectations high and I was a little disappointed. The main reason I chose this hotel vs. others on the beach was they had a larger room with a pull out couch. We had three adults and each wanted our own bed. If you are doing the same-do not bother!! When I say I have never laid on something so horrible as the pull out "mattress", I do not exaggerate. It was like laying on springs with a sheet over them, and it slouched in the middle. I lasted about 10 minutes. In the morning we learned our tub did not drain. When I informed the front desk, I also asked for a new mattress. She was not sure they had any spares. But, the tub was fixed immediately! So that was great, but we ended up having to share beds the remainder of the stay. I was also disappointed with the breakfast. You can make your own waffles, but the rest of the food is microwavable sandwiches, oatmeal, cold cereal or yogurt with toppings. One morning they had biscuits and gravy, but they were placed in single serve to-go container, so were cold. If you are only staying one night, this would be a good breakfast-but it got old really fast. For the price, I expected more. The private access to the beach is awesome!! BUT if you want an chair and umbrella, they use a third party to rent those at $60 a day. Again, for the room price I would think that would be included. There are three very well maintained pools, one is a wading pool for kids with bucket drop and fountain. There is an outside bar on the deck above the pool too that was super convenient AND they made milkshakes for the kids. There was only one bartender who worked her tail off....so you will have to wait a bit for your drinks. They also had nachos/hotdogs etc which was nice to tie you over and you were able to charge everything to your room. If you need to use a car share ride (uber, lyft) don't bother....unless you have an hour to wait. Thankfully the front desk gave us a name of a gentleman who lives next door and provides a shuttle service. Super great guy and very convenient. There was also inconvenience of having to go to the front desk every time we needed something like more towels. And finally they charged me double. When I called about it, the person at the front desk argued with me but eventually gave me to a manger who did fix it and refund me with no apologies and didn't ask how our stay was. When I pay this much for a hotel room, I expect more than the average. It was nice, but not...

We opted for the family suite with gulf view to accommodate our family; however, this room seems to have an unusual layout with lots of room in the main suite, but a tiny living room area. There was no kitchenette/table for a family to eat, and the refrigerator in the room was so small, it will not be sufficient for most families at all. This suite offers a sofa bed; however, it was so uncomfortable and LOUD to sleep on, I wouldn't even consider it a sleeping option. The bunk beds are situated right by the bathroom, and the main suite has no door or curtain for privacy, even though there was ample room for this to have been added. In our bathroom, there was no light over the shower - but there is a higher placed circular window in the shower itself - this made showering after sunset a little challenging due to low light. There was an outdoor balcony (two chairs and a side table) with the family suite; however, one of the chairs was torn through on the side. The balcony railings also sit at about eye height when you are sitting down - which was sort of a nuisance when trying to enjoy the view. Glass railings would have been a much better choice. With all of the said though, the view was amazing and the main suite had tons of windows so that you wake up with an awesome view of the ocean. The breakfast was just okay in our opinion as they did offer most of what you might expect (waffles, muffins, cereal, etc.); however, we stayed 3 days and there was never an option of potatoes (hashbrowns or sliced), never any bacon, never any biscuits, etc. For the beach, be prepared and bring your own chairs/umbrellas or be prepared to pay for the ones offered by the beach service on the beach itself. There is a nice pool area, as well as a nice area to spray sand off when you return from the beach. Our children were excited to use the volleyball net which we saw on the Google Earth pictures; however, when we arrived, there was no volleyball net - only weathered posts where one used to be. As for dining options in the area, we found most places close fairly early - so if you stay until sunset at the beach, be prepared to travel somewhere for a meal. Overall, I would say that this hotel could use an upgrade (it was clean though) and some attention to detail on the small things (balcony railings/height-visibility, outdoor chair quality, volleyball net, breakfast options) which would improve someone's...