Our family enjoyed a lovely 4 night stay at the Lago Mar early this October. We contacted the hotel directly in order to receive the best rate, and utilized our AAA discount. We arrived late (around 11:30pm) and were graciously welcomed by the front desk staff. Our Poolview Suite was located in the older section, on the 5th floor, and had an awesome view of the pool, as well as the beach. My husband and I enjoyed the king size bedroom, while our two boys slept comfortably on the twin pull out beds. For us, the concept of the twin beds worked well - less fighting over covers in the middle of the night!!
We used the small kitchen quite a bit. It was very basic - a very small 4 burner electric stove, small oven, sink, and refrigerator, but served our needs just fine. The pots and pans were extremely limited, but we improvised. Great for our tacos, mac and cheese, breakfasts and sandwiches, but I certainly wouldn't want to make a full dinner for guests. There was a very nice Publix grocery within about 4 miles, so shopping was easy.
The lagoon pool was fabulous. The depth ranged from about 3 1/2 to 4 1/2 feet, and was safe and fun for our 6 year old and 11 year old to play with limitted supervision. Contrary to some reviews, we saw the staff cleaning the pool each morning we were there, and spraying down the edges of the pool with some sort of bleach/disinfectant to battle any mold growth that is bound to happen in such a humid environment. The landscaping aound the pool and beach walkway was beautiful - we certainly loved the palm trees and flowers throughout the grounds.
I still contend that October is the very best month to travel to Florida. The weather was gorgeous - very warm, but not overwhelming, it is low season, and rates are competitive, and very very little crowd. The pool and beach seldom had more than a dozen people around, and we had our pick of pool and beach chairs. Oh - and the beach chairs and cabanas were free for us while we were there. It was obvious that these are normally rented out, but I'm guessing the slim crowds made it not worth the effort.
The hotel itself is very very nice, not exactly 'The Ritz' luxurious, but absolutely comfortable and cozy and certainly someplace I absolutely look forward to going to again.