The Pensacola Beach Resort — Hotel in Santa Rosa Island

We’re local to the area but my son has always asked to stay here so I booked a staycation through Expedia while we were having some work done on the house. Was a little bewildered by the 4:00pm check in but when we arrived the front desk clerk informed me our room was not ready yet.. I asked about possibly upgrading our room for an additional charge but he quickly shut me down saying they can’t make any changes on a third party booking. That’s fine I guess but he was pretty curt about it. He was bubbly and polite to the couple in front of us and even my son commented that he wasn’t as friendly to us. We tried the pool but it apparently closes whenever there’s rain/lightning in the forecast which is understandable but disappointing to not have that option when you’re trying to kill time. We ended up leaving to go to a restaurant offsite. Clerk didn’t really offer instruction about parking but there’s a two level garage and small outside lot, no passes. Shortly after 5:00 they texted and said our rooms ready and we returned and picked up our keys. Clerk was more polite and apologetic this time and offered me a couple passes for free margaritas. Our room was cute and seemed to be recently renovated. Even though we were on the bay side the view is stunning so I’m glad we didn’t upgrade. TV small and older/not smart. I’m not a TV person but it was surprising given the level of finish out in the other areas and I imagine disappointing to some. Bathroom was spacious and finished out with nice beachy colors and a large walk in shower. There were no wash cloths or beach towels. Not sure if that’s typical or if just got overlooked but I found myself wishing I had brought our own. Also no toothbrush holder or any exhaust fan. Hard to believe that’s code within such a small space and humidity. Could get a little awkward when you or your roomie needs to go #2.. Son was anxious to get in vacation mode & weather cleared so we headed to the pool. I stopped by the bar to redeem one of the margarita coupons. Bartended said I could only get the plain well margarita. I guess it’s expected maybe but really when your hotel is called Margaritaville and you give a customer a complimentary margarita as a show of good will, why cheap out? The pool is nice and has a beautiful view of the gulf. Towel rack was empty aside from a couple wet filthy used towels. Guess the pool attendant left after the earlier rain. I left my son in the pool and went back up to ask the front desk for towels. Clerk said they were doing laundry and they’d bring some out in a few so I returned and joined my son for a swim. Sadly no towels ever came. Pool is heated and feels great when you’re in the water but the outside air was in the 60’s and unpleasant to drip dry. I got as dry as I could waiting in the cool air before leaving my son alone again and making the long wet walk of shame through the lobby back up to our room to retrieve 2 of 3 bath of our towels and bringing back down to my son. My free margarita gave me terrible heart burn and I ended up dumping it and tossing the other coupon. Bed is very high/tall. Definitely a consideration for some. Bedding consists of a thin woven cotton blanket and two top sheets. Ended up asking for extras but still chilly. Noticed large moldy spot on ceiling coming from bathroom above and reported to front desk. Offered a 20% off discount for a “future stay.” I asked about adding an additional night but rate tripled for Friday. Beach was lovely by all the nice chairs and umbrellas are for additional rent so glad we brought our own. Final morning had a good breakfast at Lola’s but got a little awkward when a couple ladies came in and sat next to me and bartender told them Restaurant isn’t open to those in the hotel. He was pretty short and I think one lady that had been there before was embarrassed, I felt...

I am a Pensacola native and have been staying at Margaritaville since the day they opened. Our family would stay here 2-3 times a year and would dine in Frank and Lola's multiple times a week. This hotel has always been very special to us. We stayed here for the first time since 2019, this week. The hotel changed many of its policies since the beginning of COVID, which is understandable, however, we chose to not come and stay during this time period seeing as we knew the experience would not be the same. My family, (my parents, myself, and my son) checked in on Tuesday of this week. My parents were the guests at the hotel and my son and I were coming to enjoy the pool & restaurant with them with the potential of staying the night if we chose to do so (we live 30 minutes away). When it came time to check in, the front desk staff let us know that my mom and dad could come into the hotel, however, my son and I were not allowed to enter the hotel seeing as we did not have our own room - even though my parents put our name on their room. My mom and dad had already paid and said that they wanted a refund seeing as they booked this trip for all of us. The front desk girl argued with them saying that she didn't believe there was potential that my son and I could actually be staying seeing as they were getting a king-sized bed - keep in mind, the hotel isn't even at 50% capacity this week. Finally, after 15 minutes of arguing, the manager gave permission for us to come in, however, we had to park across the street even though the WHOLE parking lot was pretty much completely empty. Once we entered the hotel, we decided to have lunch at Frank and Lola's - this has always been one of our favorite restaurants in Pensacola. I will spare every tiny detail, however, I will say that this whole experience was absolutely horrible. The quality of the food has hit rock bottom, it was the equivalent of cafeteria food and was inedible to be quite honest. We very kindly asked our server what happened to all of our favorite menu items (Fried Green Tomatoes, PoBoy's, Ahi Tuna Salad, Etc.) and his response was "please, please, please go leave a yelp review. The whole staff at the hotel is hurting financially because they are running this place into the ground. Please go leave a review, and help us out. They have removed all of the fresh ingredients, the owner is doing what she has to, to get by but she doesn't care what anyone says." There was nobody eating in the restaurant, people by the pool were literally Door Dashing food, my heart was breaking for the waitstaff who couldn't make a dime because nobody wanted to eat there. It was so hard to experience this seeing as we have always had such wonderful memories here. After lunch, we went up to our hotel room. These rooms have always been the NICEST on the beach, however, they have gone downhill - fast. The room no longer had the "spa" smell it used to. Our shower was filled with mold in every nook of the grout, the balcony had mold and mildew all over and needed to be pressure washed desperately, not to mention there were weeds growing everywhere (and we were on the second floor) - it was bizarre.

This hotel used to be a fabulous escape, one we looked forward to at all moments. We used to spend thousands of dollars here every year and have made many milestone memories at Margaritaville. It's heartbreaking to sit and write this review because I know that Pensacola Beach truly lost something so special. I am hoping they can fix all of these issues. We will no doubt choose the Hilton or Springhill Suites moving forward. Save your money, don't come to this...

The good: The room was beautiful, although oddly designed, lots of wasted space. The gulf view was fantastic. It’s right on the water. Also the resort’s beach is private, and it was much less crowded than those of the properties on either side of us.

Mixed feelings: The pool. It gets really crowded. The bar is great, when it’s open. One day we went to the pool and the bar was closed. You’re not supposed to take any outside food or drinks, so it would be nice to know ahead of time if the bar is closed. But you do have a nice view of the ocean. I have no opinion on the restaurant, because the one time we wanted to eat there, it was closed.

The bad: Housekeeping. I’m not knocking the workers, because whenever I saw them, they were always working hard. I’d guess this is a management issue. Our room was cleaned once during the week we were there. I did get tired of having sand on the floor and in the sheets 😐 Also, be warned. The beds, while beautiful, are really high! If you have any mobility issues whatsoever, you may have a hard time getting in the bed. The parking deck is tricky. I don’t have a particularly large car, but it was difficult for me to navigate. The spaces are narrow and very close together.

The ugly: The “service.” After driving for hours, we were naturally tired when we arrived. We took a lot of clothes because there’s no laundry on the facility. Surprisingly, despite the price of the “resort,” there is no one to help with your luggage. We were completely on our own. The staff was pleasant, but could do so much more. For example, you take the elevator to go down to the pool, the beach, the parking deck. You’d think that in the elevator, there would be some kind of directions on which floor to take to reach what spot you’re looking for. Since there is not, it would have been helpful if it had been explained at check in. Of course, we figured it out, but don’t you want guests to feel welcome, to feel “at home,” instead of confused?

Also, they claim no deposit, but upon check-in, they charged my card a deposit of almost $500. Of course I had the money, but the information on the website is inaccurate. When we checked out, I was told I’d get a statement/receipt by email. I never did. The charge was about what I thought it would be, but I did want to get the receipt, so I attempted to contact them. The computerized phone offers like 5 options. I chose customer service first. It rang a few times, then a computer voice told me no one was available and hung up on me. I tried the option to reach a manager. The voice said the voicemail was full and hung up on me. After several tries with the same results, I sent an email. That was two weeks ago, and I still have not received a reply.

Would I go back? Maybe. I go to the gulf for the beach experience, and that part was excellent. It would take so little to improve the overall guest experience. But I’m sure somewhere on Pensacola Beach, there is a hotel that’s has both the beach experience AND the service, especially for the price.

UPDATE: Over two months have passed, and no one has ever emailed me back or returned my call. I seriously doubt I’d go back to this hotel because of the complete lack of...