The Breakers of Fort Walton Beach — Hotel in Santa Rosa Island

FUTURE RENTERS BE WARNED

During my recent stay at The Breakers in Fort Walton Beach, I encountered several issues that negatively impacted my overall experience. This was my second visit, and I had previously not experienced any problems.

Specifically, the internet service was inoperable for over one day, resulting in a lack of television access. Despite multiple attempts to contact the front desk, my calls were not returned.

Furthermore, during the afternoon, the front door unexpectedly opened, and an individual entered the unit without prior notification. They claimed to be there for a toilet repair, although we had not requested such service. When questioned about the lack of notification, the individual asserted that they had knocked and rung the doorbell, which is inaccurate, as we were both present in the unit. We even verified that the door bell rings and there was no attempt he entered without notification which made us feel very violated.

Following this incident, I contacted the front desk to inquire about the situation. A staff member stated that a maintenance call had been placed, but the individual must have entered the wrong unit. When I questioned the lack of notification, they appeared unconcerned. I explained the potential danger of such an intrusion if we had been armed. How would they feel if they were in a rented condo and someone breached the front door without notification? They would too feel violated and unsafe.

Subsequently, I received a phone call from Arthur Charles Carlton III, who identified himself as the VP of the Board. However, he was dismissive of my concerns and repeatedly interrupted me, refusing to listen to my account of the events. He insisted that maintenance personnel would never fail to knock or ring the doorbell. He then informed me that I was permanently banned from The Breakers in Fort Walton Beach. I later learned that my sister, who was also staying with me, had inquired at the front desk about her toilet, but I was unaware of this. This still does not excuse maintenance personnel entering without knocking or ringing the doorbell.

Based on this experience, I find the management's response to be entirely unacceptable and highly unprofessional. I am extremely disappointed with the manner in which my concerns were handled and feel that the condo owners are inadequately represented. The condo was very nice however, I wouldn't return because of feeling unsafe, violated...

Absolutely horrible customer service and hospitality. We tried to cancel our reservations due to a lack of timing to when family would be there and we were told no, that we didnt purchase insurance, Ok. Our farm was hit pretty badly with many structures being destroyed and huge trees down everywhere and still without power, having to keep up with livestock. My wife is a CNO and was being called off to other locations to work for disaster response teams. 2nd time we tried to cancel our reservations due to emergent situations, THEY TOLD US NO that we could just not come and forfeit our money. She sent them a nasty email back and then they responded that they could change our dates if she proved all paperwork itinerary of where she was going to work disaster response. They also told us that we would have had to purchase insurance to even cancel, which insurance is not offered when you initially book online. This is a horrible company and a disgusting way to be treated at a bad time in our state. I am a farmer and my Wife is a nurse at a major hospital here in North Florida so we do work hard for what we have as most middle class do. Please do not give this place any business when you seen how they treat hard working people. Just disgusting behavior!

Update. Well look at you, using our full names in a false response, OH NO.... Dont worry, everyone we know is being told about your business as well. So this is their BS response..... This just speaks for itself how bad this place is. That timeline is not correct and my Wife had to go off on you when you told her that we could not get a refund due to her having to leave for Asheville NC, then getting cancelled for the second hurricane. Nice try but those snotty emails you responded with were far from professional and courteous as you make it sound. I already had enough damage on my farm to work on from the previous hurricane besides taking a vacation at THE BREAKERS. Your insurance is BS and you know it! You can't even purchase the insurance when you book. You have to know prior to booking where to go to even get to the insurance. I hope you get what you deserve with your lousy customer service in how you treat people during hard times....

Overall, our experiences have been good over several stays. The rooms are generally in good shape and the kitchens stocked appropriately. This time, the dishwasher was not properly installed so it tipped outward when the top rack was pulled out. It worked but it was inconvenient to keep it from tipping out of the enclosure.

The beach chairs and umbrellas were acceptable though we had to walk to the very ends of the row to get one - not because the others were full but because the middle section was full of reserved chairs that were hardly ever occupied.

My daughter came recently and she and her husband were told by the beach attendant that they were not on the list and could not use their own beach chairs and that they could “purchase” usage directly with him. They checked with the front desk and were told that was not the policy and that they would look into the issue. They were on the list the rest of the week but who knows how many people paid for chairs and umbrellas that they already paid for.

The biggest complaint which has come up every time we have been here (at least 3 times) is that there is always someone near us smoking which causes us to have to go in and not enjoy the balcony. We have called the office every time and are always told it would be addressed but it is not. This time has been the worst with someone smoking cigars. It feels like the front desk is obligated to tell us that they are going to address the problem but they don’t seem to since the smoking continues.

I can’t say that any of the other resorts are any better at enforcing smoking policies but we will definitely be trying out other places since The Breakers does not seem to be doing...