I had to dig to get as good as we got with Destin West for the area. For a resort area Fort Walton Beach and Destin are geared towards snow-bird type apartment living and not necessarily island style beach resorts. That being said I found what I still believe to be the only resort with awesome pools. The lazy pool is not heated so only the very young braved it but it was still a riot to watch the intertubes go round and round. The center pool, 2 other small pools, plus the 2 hot tubs on the bayside, and one on the gulf-side of the property were heated. The suite was lovely and the facilities are new and completely updated. The place was a ghost town and I was told it is moderately busy for snow-bird season, from Spring Break through August it is non-stop in the area, and then Sept-Jan it is slow. It is as close to Destin without being there as you can get. Destin is where the action and during high season I imagine the main drag Rt 98 is a disaster because it was busy right then. The bad info, they say they have Wi-Fi but they dont, you have to hack into another hotels connection or an owner's encrypted connection. That is really bad and unforgiveable. The other issue was the no dog rule. That does not apply to owners so there were as many dogs as people there. If you dont like dogs you might not like that and we were just angry that it was another exception to their stated rules. The folks at the desk were nice but not informative if you are used to concierge like services. We paid $430 for 4 nights and that was a great low season price. The only other place I would consider that seemed new and was less expensive is the Holiday Inn Destin which ranks high for the kids during high season. If I went to Destin again I would have a hard time choosing between the pools and the Wi Fi. If you dont care about that and being away from Destin, then do not stay anywhere else

I just got back from Destin West for our first Anniversary!

The staff for this Resort were extremely helpful in finding a unit, resturants, daytime and night activites, and theatres! They even set up a teetime for me at one of the golf courses. They were the most plesant people to speak with on the phone and in person.

The Bayside is now complete! The only construction remaining was work on the new office building. That looks like it will be done very shortly! The Lazy River is incredible, with a pool and innertubes available.

The gulfside was unbelieveable. The pool over there is HUGE!! The staff said there will be atleast 2 heated pools on the property starting this fall. I guess it's more of a seasonal thing, which makes sense.

Oh! The walkway above hwy 98 is up! It won't be available for a few more weeks, but it's in place! The traffic was light and I honestly believe this is the best time of the year to come.

I recommend Destin West to everyone from newlyweds to families and older folks!

Our family of 5 including 2 teens and a 9 year old stayed at Destin West July 30-Aug3 2006. We booked a 1 bedroom bay front room overlooking the lazy river. The condo was very nicely decorated our master had a super comfortable queen bed. There was bunk beds and a bathroom which was nice as they were set back and not in the hallway as so many of the other condos we have stayed in are located. My son slept on the fold out sofa in the living room. This is a fairly large complex but it didn't seem overly crowded maybe it was due to the fact it was later in the summer. The lazy river is awesome it has a nice flow to it. It is also heated so you can enjoy it year round. At night it is all lite up and the landscaping is beautiful with lots of palm trees and flowers. My 9 year old couldn't get enought of the pool adjacent to the river which had a large waterfall that she could jump through. Cool. There are also 2 small pools there as well. When you cross the street for access to the beach there is another large pool for you to enjoy as well. There was plenty of parking the the garage. We rented a pontoon boat from Bay side water sport for a full day. The cost was $275.00 and well worth it as that included fuel as well. The day we had it scheduled for was looking kinda cloudy so we asked to reschedule for the following day and they were very easy to work with. They also offer jet ski rentals and parasailing. We boated out to a sand bar and anchored and swam for a while. Bring floats or noodles annd don't forget your snorkel. There was even an ice cream boat if you get hungry. There is plenty to do and great places to eat so you will have a great time. We will definetly be back.