From the moment that we arrived at the hotel , the staff was extremely unprofessional . Any questions that were asked to front desk staff were met with absent looks and little to no response . At the tiki bar , bouncers and staff were too busy flirting with local females that appeared to be underage , to keep the place from feeling unsafe . All amenities were crowded and poorly maintained . The beach was regularly littered with beer cans , bottles and other "unmentioned" disgusting items through most of the late evening until around noon each day . Children's playground was inaccessible to my child because grown , drunk men were constantly on the swings and slides ! SHAME ON THIS PLACE AND THEIR STAFF !!! Forget about wave runners , sailboats , etc. , no way I'd pay to rent those things when the evening before , local kids "pretend" ride on them .
In summary , the inmates are running the asylum .

If you are a partier, then this is your place!
There are lots of drugs and other things going on here. The rooms were old and nasty. It is a place to lay your head and party. Do not bring kids...

We have stayed at Sandpiper Beacon several times in the last 20 years. We were worried about the reviews about the hotel, but I'm glad we ignored them. The kids wanted to stay there for the memories...and now we have a grandchild too. Our kids are 12, 17, and 20 now.. and we do not want to stay anywhere else. We just got back from our vacation a couple of weeks ago( June, 22-27 2008) and we had a blast. There are not many hotels that allow you to bring small dogs, a {pom and Chihuahua} and they loved the 13 hour trip there and the hotel. I love the fact that the place is hopping all night long.(Our sleep was never disturbed) After shopping, being on the beach, Shell Island, and running all day its nice to swim in the pool late at night , We like to go out on the beach and walk at night, we never felt threatened or at risk. The hotel I think is one of the few places that have a Tiki bar and playground and games like shuffle board. One night the bar had a fire dancer and hula dancers. There is everything rentable on the beach like para sailing and jet sking. The gift shop is my favorite place to shop. There is a indoor pool and lazy river. There is a pool, and baby pool out front that closes earlier than the one in the back. In back there is a pool that stays open all night long and hot tub. The bar is in the back but it doesn't stay open all night. Our room over looked the pool in the back, and we had a great ocean view. Alot of nights we would go and sit on the balcony till two or 3'oclock in the morning and watch the people swim or on the beach, you really could'nt hear them over the air conditioner. The only problem we had was the bathtub didn't drain fast enough...We didn't say anything because it wasn't a big deal, but the maid noticed it and had someone fix it. The maids do come everyday, but we prefer just to change out the towels and trash, because of the dogs. One thing we notice about Panama City is that the area is changing, There are huge hotels going in, There is a mall that was built down the road that has all the big name stores and is surrounded by and old town effect.Our room was clean, it had 2 bedrooms and a kitchen. There were no bugs in the hotel room. (Florida does have big roaches called Palmeto bugs and are present in the finest hotels) but they were outside. One last thing, the hotel is just a few mintutes from the larger grocery stores and gift shops...The dollar stores are the best.....There is something for everybody there.

I had read the bad reviews of this resort but wanted to see for myself if it was really that bad. I put down the $380.00 deposit they requested and set out for Panama City Beach. When we arrived I requested to see the rooms before I paid any more money. I was shown 3 different rooms and I wouldn't stay in any of them. I promptly asked for my deposit to be refunded. I wish I had thought to take pictures to show. This place was the dump everyone describes.