My family and I travelled from Ontario to Cocoa Beach for our spring break. This was our first visit to Cocoa Beach. We chose Discovery Beach Resort based on reviews and location. We have seen most of Florida and I have to say that Cocoa Beach was one of our favourite destinations.
As for the resort...

Check in: Went smoothly. I had pre-requested a room higher than 2nd floor (since everyone had tipped us off on the view) and we were given the 3rd floor. So, I guess they fulfilled my request, but barely. It would have been nice to have a room on one of the higher up floors. Upon check-in, you are given a check-list of the items found in your unit. They ask that you check to be sure everything is accounted for when you get to your room. This is a somewhat lengthly task since the room is fully equiped with everything from kleenex to a potato masher.... Front desk staff were all friendly with the exception of one lady.

The room: As mentioned, it is fully equiped with everything you could possibly need. Washer/dryer with one sample sized box of Tide. Sample sized bottle of Palmolive dishsoap and packages of dishwashing powder for the dishwasher. All utensils, cutlery, and dishes. Pots/pans and baking sheets. Pool towels. There aren't any samples of shampoo or conditioner and only a couple of small bars of soap. You will need to bring your own. We had to ask for more bar soap. We had a 2 bdrm unit. The master has a television and an ensuite bath with stand-up shower. Our bed was quite comfortable. The 2nd room had 2 twin beds and a closet. Much smaller but adequate for my 2 kids (there isn't a tv in this room). The main bathroom has a tub/shower. As mentioned, the rooms are all direct ocean front with fabulous views (if you're higher than the 2nd floor). Great balcony. You won't get your room cleaned but once a week (wednesday). And since we checked out on a thursday, we didn't get our room serviced. She did knock on our door wednesday morning, asking if we needed anything. But since we were leaving the following day, it wasn't neccessary. There has been some mention of noise... Yes, you will hear chairs scraping across the floor above you. And you'll hear the toilets flushing and showers running from other units. It wasn't really that bad though. The only real gripe I had was that the showers couldn't seem to regulate temperature. Every shower we took jumped from hot to cold to hot to cold....

The Resort: A great, warm pool. There weren't a lot of kids at the resort while we were there. Mostly retirees, so the pool wasn't overun with screaming children. There are enough poolside lounge chairs but few umbrellas. And, although there are signs stating that reserving chairs with towels is NOT allowed, people do it anyways. We had one incident where an old couple left to go someplace and came back accusing us of moving her towel off HER chair... Meanwhile there wasn't a towel there when we sat down. Beware the sun loving retirees! LOL... The onsite restaurant/bar is great. We thouroughly enjoyed our meals and the prices were reasonable. Great staff too. There is an onsite workout room, computer/printer, games room, sauna, hot-tub, makeshift theatre, and activities desk. Outdoor basketball nets and tennis courts. The games room is dated and some of the games were out of order. All games are at least .50cents. My kids loved the air hockey table (we spent a small fortune on that game). The hot tub is hot, as it should be. The theatre plays movies around the clock. You simply just walk in and sit down. Kind of a neat idea for rainy days. Maureen, from the activities desk, was great. She was more than helpful and super friendly. Ample covered parking.

Beach: Typical for the Atlantic Coast, I would say. The sand is not raked so expect dried seaweed and washed up garbage. Not overly busy. The water was unusually warm for this time of year (mid March). My daughter found lots of simple shells. There are quite a few sufers at the pier. There was a guy renting lounge chairs/ unbrellas and boogie boards. $30.00 for 2 chairs, umbrella and 2 boogie boards for the day.

The area: I won't go into detail, since this isn't the place to write it. But, you won't be disappointed. We were able to walk to a grocery store as well as restaurants, the pier (which has some good eats), a Dunkin' Donuts. Within a short drive, you can be at the Cape which offers awesome food and views. We did mini-putt and go-carting, wildlife tours and zoos. Ron Jon's surf shop is only a couple minute drive. Not a lot of great shopping in Cocoa Beach but you don't have to drive far to find some.

Overall, the resort met our needs. It was clean and (mostly) quiet. But quite dated and definitely in need of a facelift. But they are trying. The Tiki Bar is nearly complete and will be a welcome addition to the resort. The staff do their best to make your stay a good one. I would definitely return to Cocoa Beach and would likely stay at Discovery Beach Resort again.