My wife and I just returned from our 3 night/4 day stay at the Plaza Ocean Club in Daytona Beach, Florida (4/26 - 4/29). Our flight from Newark to Daytona was very smooth. We picked up our Budget rental car and headed towards the hotel which was literally only 15 minutes away. We arrived at the hotel at 11:00 am which is much earlier than check-in time (4:00pm). Check-in was not too bad. There were a few people ahead of us waiting to be checked-out so we ended up just waiting 15 minutes to finally get to the front desk. Even though we arrived really early, we were hoping that we would wait just a short while for our room to be ready. That didn't turn out in our favor, but that was to be expected since we were very early. Staff at the front desk seemed very nice and friendly. They allowed us to check-in but our room would not be ready for several hours so they told us to check with the front desk at 2:00. My wife and I were in Florida for our one year wedding anniversary so I made sure to remind the lady at the desk (forgot her name but she is from Connecticut) that we reserved an ocean-front room and to please try to accommodate that for us. We decided to take a walk along A1A while we waited for our room and to kill some time. We went back to the hotel at 2:00pm, room still not ready but was so at 3:00pm. Got our 'card' room keys and entered into room 301 which is an ocean-front room on the 3rd floor south side of the hotel - you can also see the pool area. What a view of the ocean!
Ok, here are our impressions of the hotel and Daytona overall:
Hotel lobby:
Nothing special - much smaller than what is depicted online…of course. But who cares, it’s a hotel lobby and it seemed clean.
Hotel elevators:
Most of the reviews that we read before we booked talked about the long wait time for the elevator. Yes, there are only two elevators in the hotel but we never experienced the long wait times that some reviews stated. This was most likely due to the fact that we were in Daytona during a not-so-crowded time. As far as the elevators themselves go, they seemed outdated, not so clean and small. But they operated fairly quickly. You can always use the stairwells if you're on a lower floor. Speaking of the stairwells; not so clean and don't smell very pleasant.
Hotel hallways:
The hallways had dark blue carpeted décor - seemed a bit outdated and could use a fresh look. A bit musty as well.
Room:
The ocean-front room was a nice size, the décor was better than that of the hallways and seemed clean but still a liitle outdated. The bed was ok, pretty comfortable king size. Bed sheets were clean and the pillows were ok but pretty much on the not-so-fluffy side…needed two to sleep on. Furniture looked ok and the TV was large enough (I think it was a 36 inch). Room also had a pull out couch, a coffee table, a nice table stand with a big mirror and two nice chairs with cushion. Room also had a small kicthenette with small refrigerator, microwave and door leading to the balcony. Air conditioner worked great and was not noisy. The ocean-front balcony was really nice (highly recommended). The grey painted balcony floor was peeling and could have been cleaner. The balcony has two green plastic chairs and one small green plastic table. The balcony chairs were very small so the first night we were there we took out the two nice cushioned chairs from the room and put them out on the balcony – Ahh! much better now. Kicked back, wine/beer in hand and enjoyed the view of the beach and the sound of the ocean. The bathroom was on the small side - nothing special, has a toilet and tub with shower curtain. Tub had mildew around the drain and in some corners - not very clean. Only one light in the bathroom and too dark in my opinion. Water pressure in the shower was good, a bit too good - ouch sunburn. Sink, counter and mirror is just outside the bathroom in a rather small hallway. Room also has a hair dryer, iron and ironing board - we brought our own Rowenta travel iron (highly recommended) so we can't comment on the room supplied iron. Room also has a safe.
Parking:
When we arrived at the hotel there were many parking spaces. Although by the time 2:00 rolled around the parking lot was completely full as more people were checking in until 4:00pm. The next morning we drove down A1A to a mini mall where they have a Publix and many little stores. We stocked up on some wine, beer and soft drink…and some late night snack items. By the time we got back to the hotel, less than an hour later, all the spots were taken and we had to park across the street in an unattended lot. We didn’t mind parking there so much but keep in mind that the hotel charges $5.00 a day for parking. We thought that was ridiculous especially when the lot was full and needed to park across the street. This was just one time. There is no traffic signal near the hotel on A1A so beware of crossing the street to and from the lot across the street. They also charge you $1.50 a day for the room safe….another bright idea. I’m surprised they didn’t charge us for extra toilet paper.
Pool:
The pool and pool area was nice. Also had a little kiddy pool for the kids to play in. No diving board or slide so the pool area was nice and relaxing. They advertise that the pool is heated but it was on the cold side pretty much the entire time. Not too bad but on the chilly side. We didn’t mind it at all since the pool area has sun the entire day. Had pavers all around with a few palm trees and a walk up bar (really just an open large window looking accessing the restaurant the bar; worked for me) where you can help yourself to drinks while at the pool. Music played all day long with a good mix of different types of music…nothing obnoxious.
Beach:
Walk just a few steps down from the pool area and you’re on the beach. The water was nice, a bit chilly this time of the year, and the waves were calm so you can walk out pretty far. Water was really clean. A couple of things that might bother some people are the cars driving and parked on the beach. The Plaza Ocean Resort and Spa (their sister hotel) is right next door just steps away so if you don’t like the car traffic on the beach you can walk right next door where there is a no driving zone. We did that the last two days and it was much quieter. The beach itself was the flat hard-packed sand type. So laying out isn’t the most comfortable experience. We’re used to nice white sandy beaches (I guess we got so used to Aruba). Not bad though, we still enjoyed the beach very much. There are many things to do on the beach like rent a bike, jet ski, parasail and so on.
Places we went to in Daytona:
Daytona Speedway - We drove to the Daytona Speedway and did the tour. Cost $25.00 per person and we thought it was pretty cool. You get to explore the entire facility, watch an Imax film about Nascar (about an hour long) and most of it was in 3D. Then a tour guide takes you around the actual track. Pretty cool, my wife and I enjoyed it.
Ocean Walk - Ocean Walk is down A1A south of the Plaza Ocean Club about 10 minutes walking distance. Bubba Gump’s and Mai Tai Bar are located there which are very good. Great place to hang out, have a drink or just walk around at night or during the day. They also have shops there as well.
Cow Licks - Cow Licks ice cream is also on A1A south but several miles south of the hotel. You have to try this place, best ice cream I have ever had with many selections.
Oyster Bar and Grill - The Oyster Bar and Grill is just a couple of blocks from the hotel. We heard about their famous chicken wings and figured we give them a try. Boy, were they right. They were absolutely delicious. Nice place to shoot the breeze, have a drink and watch some sports on the many TV’s they have. Very friendly staff and a pleasure to serve you.
Hyde Park Steakhouse – Hyde Park steakhouse is located in the Hilton Hotel right next to Ocean Walk. Basically similar to Ruth Chris steak house if you’ve ever been to one. I had the New York Strip steak topped with mushrooms and garlic. My wife had the Soy Chilly Salmon. Both were delicious. We also had a side of garlic mashed potato’s and cream spinach….mmmmm. Bottle of wine of course.
Main Street Pier – Located a couple of miles south of the hotel. Okay place to have lunch and a drink. Food and service nothing special, but ok.
IHOP – right down the road from the hotel – A1A south and walking distance. Food was good, typical IHOP. Warning – watch out for the time share hounds on your way out from IHOP. We were able to sneak passed them as they were hunting down another poor couple. LOL.
That’s about it. We didn’t go to all the places we wanted to go to that we heard about, but we did the things we wanted to do for the amount of time we stayed in Daytona (3 days).
Overall Impressions:
The hotel could definitely use a make over; Seems like it’s stuck in the 1980’s. Not the cleanest but not too bad; Friendly staff; Pool very nice. I would give the hotel 3 stars at best. Beach was very nice and water was clean. Would we recommend the Plaza Ocean Club? Probably…if you don’t mind the kind of out-dated décor, not the cleanest accomodations and limited parking. For $129.00 per night it wasn’t bad; you get what you pay for I guess. There are probably better places to stay at like the Hilton....lobby was nice. After 3 days in Daytona, we spent the rest of our Florida trip (next 4 days) visiting Siesta Key and Nokomis Beach, located on the Gulf side of Florida, which were both beautiful.
Fees: $1.50 per day for the room safe. $5.00 per day for parking. No beach towels.
Tips: Rent a car if you like to venture away from the hotel and like to do your own thing. Visit Cow Licks and the Oyster Bar and Grill. Visit the Ponce Inlet light house…we didn’t get a chance to visit but I heard it’s a nice day visit. If you’re into Nascar, do the Daytona Speedway tour. Stock up on drinks and late night snacks to save some money. Watch out for the time-share people outside IHOP…just say ‘no thank you’ and they’ll eventually leave you alone. Also, we noticed a couple of homeless looking characters near the vacinity of the hotel along A1A. They didn’t bother anyone, just something you may notice.
