Long has gone the day of Daytona, when it was filled with happy smiling beach goers as was in the 80's. We arrived in Daytona, the area was dingy, gloomy and run down. Bars on windows, store fronts closed, and the lingering of a town that has been used, abused and left to to its own demise. With that we pulled into the Islander.. the staff was pleasant and helpful, had extra rooms and upgraded us to ocean front for a mere $20 per night extra charge. The hotel is run down, giving the feel of a 1970's bowling alley that has not been touched, but somehow still stands and functions. The room was clean, but old and neglected from the hands of time, contemporary decoration, furniture and upkeep. It lacked a fresh coat of paint, a carpet that I would consider walking on without my shoes, the walls needed spackle, the balcony was unsteady. We left that bags on the baggage cart and within 5 minutes brought them down to the lobby, cancelled our reservation and went to Orlando, for our vacation instead. This place could be suitable for an 18 year old spring breaker, but should be avoided by families wishing to make memories that they'll long cherish....

The rate we paid for this hotel was low, which made me a bit nervous. However, the pool was fantastic, the beach access perfect, the room was clean, and the staff was friendly. The Islander is ideal for a budget-friendly venue.

My husband and I traveled to the Daytona Beach area in early November for a trade show at the Ocean Walk Convention Center, but thought it would be nice to stay away from Downtown. Due to budget constraints, I had extensively researched TripAdvisor and settled on the Islander Beach Resort in New Smyrna Beach, a 20 minute drive south of Daytona Beach.

Somehow, we ended up booking a room at the wrong hotel, the similarly-named Islander, which is actually in Daytona Beach Shores about 3 miles south of the Convention Center on busy Atlantic Street. The area has quite a mix of old and shabby, medium grade, and brand new condos, and there is still a lot of construction and repair work going on due to hurricane damage.

The Islander is your basic brown box hotel. It's not outwardly unattractive, just really plain. It is on the beach and has a decent-sized outdoor pool and jacuzzi. (The indoor pool is small and does not look very clean.) The condo/hotel next door suffered extensive storm damage and has been abandoned; on the other side is an empty lot. It doesn't feel in any way like a "resort."

As we entered the lobby, we were greeted warmly and directed to the elevators down the hall. My heart sank as the elevator doors closed around us--the elevator was quite beat-up and extremely dirty. As we exited onto 3rd floor, we entered a dimly lit and depressing hallway more reminiscent of a college dorm than a resort hotel. Room numbers were crudely written in Black Marker. My hsuband said, "Well, it's always an adventure!"

Our room was long and narrow, with a kitchenette, dirty windows, plastic chairs in the room, and a "partial" view of the beach. In reality we only overlooked the rusted, litter-strewn roof of the gift shop, complete with cigarette butts and someone's underwear (!)

Because the hotel staff was kind, we were moved to an ocean front room on the 10th floor, which had a better feel to it. It still wasn't very clean, especially the bathroom, and there was paint overspray on the windows. The bathroom was tiny--so small, in fact, that my husband (6 feet tall and 190 lbs) was unable to comfortably close the door!.

Determined to make the best of things, we could at least sit on the small balcony and see and hear the ocean. In fact, we left the balcony door open all night to catch the ocean breezes and hear the waves--and there were no bugs!

The hotel offers continental breakfast each morning in a room overlooking the beach, but everything they served was extremely low-budget, including the watered-down orange juice. We chose to breakfast elsewhere.

On our last night in town we drove to New Smyrna Beach for dinner and located the "real"Islander Beach Resort, which is in a more upscale area and looked like a fun place to stay.

Pros: Affordable. Close to downtown Daytona, the beach and the Halifax River. Very pleasant staff. Cons: Shabby and not very clean. Decor and furnishings need upgrading.

Would we stay here again? Not likely!

After reading other reviews AFTER I booked the hotel, I was nervous. I hav been in some bad hotel/motels along the Florida coast. Going in, I new it was not the Hilton. It was a beach side motel/hotel. Usually you can expect an older establishment, older/cheap floors, furniture and less than spa resort accomodations.

The beach location was about 4 or 5 miles South of the main pier area of Daytona, so, if you want to be there, this is a far ride. As far as the beach.... EXCELLENT location. Not too many people (on a weekend even) and the dolphins were literally playing in the surf.

We stayed in a corner unit. Very nice, private balcony with a great oceanside views/frontage. The ceiling had been reworked (not well), newer paint (not well), new bathroom (except tub) fixtures, new iron, new ironing board, new window (or so it looks) and a newer TV (well, at least it had AV jacks for your kids Playstations or DVD players). The carpet is older and no good pad, the bed was lumpy (clean sheets though), door to balcony needed work (but worked), front door was old (but worked). The AC was ice cold. We had to turn the unit off. Too cold. It was as all the beachside motel/hotels I have been in South Florida. Not a nasty place, just not 5 stars.

The indoor pool was not working (and why would you want to swim indoors during August anyways?) and is small. Neither hot tub area was working either. Again, not sure I want to get HOTTER in Florida during August. :) The front area had a ceiling leak - pretty serious leak actually, but they were working on it - and several other areas too. The hotels around the area are being worked on from the past Hurricane damages, so stay focused on the beach views. The outdoor pool was working and looked great. Again, I went for the beach, not the pool.

The staff was nice. the service was decent. As written before, the continental breakfast is not really something you need to wake up for. Prepackaged dansish, muffins, OJ and coffee that even McDonald's would have not served (It was not that IT was bad, just no creamer or milk). Of course, Denny's is across the street. Keep that in mind. Go get your free "snack" breakfast, then go get something real to eat.

For the price, the view and the beach is spectacular. If you are not familiar with typical beach side motels and Holiday Inn is more of your style, you may want to pass. IF, however, you know what I mean by Beachside Motel, then this place is every bit as good as you might find in the area.