Can't wait to go back. We have been either cruising or going to central Florida for several years. We wanted a shorter drive from the midwest and being a pretty loyal SPG person we decided on this property. When you read through the so-so reviews here and then when you get here you realize either the expectations were too high or they have a hard time enjoying themselves. When you drive through Fort Walton Beach and Destin you will realize that this is a very nice property and the staff here are extremely helpful and polite. The manager walks the grounds and you will see him regularly and he will stop to talk.

The Rooms: We had a corner suite on the 3rd floor East Tower. The only negative, and it is a minor one, is the view of the fence next door from the Gulfarium (if it's a big enough deal to you, ask for the West Tower). The balcony is huge. There is a mid-size fridge and a microwave. There is a good size entry way, big enough for two cribs (we used two cribs). For some reason you can't get a King Bed, but the two queens were fine. The little family room was perfect for us. There were two 42" LG LCD's and we brought a DVD player and a tablet to hook up with no problem. The view is amazing. Really, in terms of niceness, we have only seen nicer beaches in the Caribbean. The Gulf beaches from Clearwater on south just aren't the same. The bathroom is standard. There is a pull out couch also. The rooms were clean and had been recently renovated.

We ate the breakfast buffet a few different days and it was good. There is an omelet station and a good variety of things on the buffet.

The pools were warm and clean.

The area of beach was beautiful. We snorkeled off the beach and saw several large fish. When the water is calm you can walk out for quite a ways and there is a sand spit that you can walk out also. We saw people every night out catching crabs.

If you like to snorkel we did find a couple places too. It's no Caribbean snorkeling but the water is much clearer than anywhere else I've been in Florida (never been to Key Largo).

Across the street from the Hotel is part of the National Seashore. It's in the bay. If you have small children the water is very shallow. We waded out catching hermit crabs (and putting them back) and a school of small stingrays swam by us, very cool.

I actually know how many days until we come back.