I need something WAY offsite.....Daytona Beach

[MaMudduck]

I have a couple of days before checking into CBR and I wanted want to take DD to the ocean.
I haven't been to Daytona in 20+ yrs so I have no idea which hotels there are any good?
Any ideas? Thanks


Wendy

 

[Seahunt]

Well, I live in Daytona Beach (Shores), and there are thousands of hotels but the Palm Plaza: http://www.palmplaza.com/main.asp has been rated #1 for the last 3 years. It's also in the Shores/oceanfront (south), and the same people run the Beach Haven next door(smaller, totally non-smoking hotel). It's close to Dunlawton Ave, which is the last causeway to the mainland - also closer to Ponce Inlet and the lighthouse: http://www.ponceinlet.org/ than the hotels in Daytona Beach. There's a nice minature golf course across the street beside a Burger King, or walk to the Japanese Steakhouse or you can drive or walk across the bridge to Aunt Catfish on the River:
http://yp.bellsouth.com/sites/auntcatfishesontheriver/
or Sweetwaters: http://www.sweetwatersrest.com/
or the Pizza Hut, or take a nice drive further south to the outdoor deck historical fun place the North Turn: http://www.racingsnorthturn.com/ or go down to the Inlet Harbor http://www.inletharbor.com/
Wow - LOTS to do down at the south end! You really should plan on seeing Daytona USA back out at the Speedway (close to I-95) http://daytonausa.com and if you're here on Fri-Sat-Sun, the Flea Market is great for those Fla souvenirs! http://www.daytonafleamarket.com/
Also check out http://echotourism.com for more info on things to do, and accomodations. If you have a question about another hotel, post again and I'll tell you my honest opinion about it, but I'd stick to the Shores or north to Ormond Beach instead of downtown! JMHO!

 

[c88fly]

Hey Seahunt,
We have reservations at the Beach Haven hotel for 5 nights starting June 30th. Everything is so expensive for that week, so I mainly went with budget over nicer. We just can't pay $200 per nite after spending 10 days at Disney.

Do you know anything about this hotel? I found it in the Daytona Guide that was sent to me. Is it clean, oceanfront, etc.?

My only concern is I made reservations back in February & called last month to add another day & the lady I made reservations with was gone & I was told she & her husband took off with everything & the place was a mess. They even had fish in their swimming pool! But she told me everything had been taken care of & assured me it was in great shape now.

I decided to go ahead & stay since we are only paying $66.50 per night for the room & it has a full kitchen. Can't beat the price for the Pepsi 400 race.

Any comments on it?

Thanks,
Lori

 

[Seahunt]

Hi Lori - Yikes! Fish in the swimming pool! Give me the address of your hotel and when I'm out tomorrow I'll drive by it and give you my opinion - I can't believe it could be the one I'm thinking of, the Beach Haven I'm thinking of looks nice! I know the rates on everything climb for events - most of the rest of the time there are some great rates to be had. I'll have to look in the Sunday paper tomorrow and see if there are any deals listed locally for your dates. Mindy B.

 

[c88fly]

Mindy,
When you get a chance to drive by, that would be great. I got my confirmation out (which they did not have a record of since the couple left no information about the rooms) & this is the address:
Beach Haven Inn
2115 South Atlantic Avenue
Daytona Beach Shores, FL 32118

Thanks goodness I kept the fax from them I had received. Otherwise, I might have been out of my deposit.

If you see any others for that week, please let em know.

Also, what is the difference between staying in Daytona Beach or Daytona Beach Shores?

Is this one close to the pier so we can see the fireworks on July 4th?

Thanks SO much for your help & if you would rather email me, it Lmoore88@aol.com

Thanks again!!

 

[Seahunt]

Ohhh OK, different hotel than the one beside the Palm Plaza. I can kind of picture it now, and I'll look tomorrow and email you at your regular email address.

Fireworks from the pier can be seen all the way up and down the beach (most people shoot off their own on the beach also!), and the track will have their big display too (after the race).

I like the Shores (south) and Ormond (north) better than downtown just because the city had let the downtown areas slide - however, they are now on a big development kick and have built some new multi-million dollar projects (Adams Mark addition, Ocean Walk Village and shops, etc.) and are going to tackle the Boardwalk next and bring it back up to promenance again. Lots of construction down there now!

Let you know tomorrow what I think! Mindy

 

[MaMudduck]

Mindy- thanks for the great link.
But please post your finds about the Beach Haven Inn, so I can get your opinions too.
When you say "downtown" are you talking not on the beach but more towords THE speedway?
We most definately want something on the beach.
I loved the look of the Palm Plaza
BTW- what's the drive time to WDW?

 

[Seahunt]

Sorry to be so confusing about the "downtown" - talking about where the city center i.e. where the convention center is. Just a little north of where International Speedway (92) connects with A1A. Along the beachfront, where Main St. crosses ( Main Street is where the bikers congregate during Bike Week, and the Main St Pier is beside the Boardwalk). Ormond Beach is up a little further north, the Shores further south, and either is less congested IMHO.

Most of the hotels are on the sections of beach you can still drive on (still is most of the beach) but some hotels both center,north and south are on "no-drive" portions of the beach that have been closed to driving for turtle conservation efforts, if that is important to you. Also, the section of the beach directly in front of the Boardwalk/Adams Mark/Oceanwalk Village has been closed to cars based on the new developers wishes (!!), so cars entering the beach from Main Street have to turn right and all seem to park right there to go to the pier/Boardwalk - another reason I wouldn't like to stay in those particular hotels! Very congested in that spot if the beach is busy. Much less both north and south. Kids usually love it when their parents rent a golf cart or ATV and tool up and down the beach - well, actually you putt down the beach because of the speed limit. If you have a lot of beach equipment (chairs,etc.) it's nice to park on the beach and not have to carry everything. Rentals of EVERYTHING are available however! Lots of food vendors available too, and some is surprisingly good! There's even a ice cream truck that makes rounds, ding-dinging down the beach!

The Palm Plaza is nice, and about a year ago I saw a news show (might have been 20/20) that was about hotel room safety, and lack of it. To my surprise the Palm Plaza was featured as one of the safest hotels in the country! (One of the worst was one in Georgia that a woman had been raped in where the guy had let himself in with a key he had kept from a stay in the same room a year before.)

I also told the other poster the Days Inn South Tropical Seas had some nice specials on the internet, so you might want to check them out too. Unfortunately, her dates started out good then around the NASCAR race went way up there. Are your dates for the race also? If you're not coming during a special event, you should be able to get a great rate because everyone is bargaining for business other times.

I'll look at that Beach Haven Inn (not the Beach Haven beside the Palm Plaza) tomorrow and let you know also. I think it's a small,older place on the beach - across or close is a Winn Dixie, IHOP, a small gokart place, Baskins Robbins, Christmas Hut and mini golf. I'll see if there are any fish left in the pool lol!

You might also want to check:
http://www.sunviking.com/
http://www.acapulcoinn.com/
http://www.daytonashoreline.com/
(The Shoreline/Cabana are little Key West/old Florida style, not for everybody, but people seem to love it and rate it highly)
http://www.perrysoceanedge.com/
http://www.golfdaytonabeach.com/bahama-pop.htm?tid=cm
http://www.sunglowpier.com/
This is a fishing pier/restaurant in the Shores

Forgot to list drive times - we have made it to WDW in 45 minutes when there was no traffic, but I would count on 1-1.5 hr (or more if there's a wreck on I4!) Really depends on drive conditions that day lol!

 

[c88fly]

Thanks, Mindy, for all of the great info on Daytona Beach. It was really nice of you to take the time.

Hope I get a good report on the Beach Haven Inn!! LOL

Lori

 

[bartleby1]

Thanks so much for posting your info about daytona beach shore, Seahunt! I wish I had seen this post earlier, lol! I have been debating and researching hotels for a few weeks and finally decided on (and booked) the Palm Plaza this morning. I'm sooo glad to hear a good report on it because I couldn't find many reviews online. You've made me feel sooo much better about our reservation!

Debbie

 

[Seahunt]

I'm going to stop in the Palm Plaza the next time I drive by and check it out and will let you know if I notice any problems. It is always winning "Best of Daytona" from the visitors bureau so I hope it is great! When you live down here, you don't actually stay in the hotels so you can can only go by the word of mouth, press reports and what the property looks like. The Palm Plaza is pretty and in a quiet location, and everyone I've ever talked to that was staying there was happy. Another hotel kept very clean is the Sun Viking. It has a 60 foot waterslide on the outdoor pool, plus has an indoor atrium pool.

Unfortunately this morning I visited the other hotel for the other poster on the board who already has a booking for July and thought it was VERY bad, so I took some photos and emailed to her....now she has to decide what to do about her reservation. I hate to ruin someone's vacation plans, but forewarning is way better than expecting something decent, I guess.

On the other hand, I remember last year looking at an Econolodge in Ormond Beach for someone else from this board and sending a photo - looked kind of "iffy" to me, but OK to her, and she said later that they had a wonderful time, so C'est la vie!

 

[bartleby1]

Thanks, Seahunt! If you get a chance to drive by, please let me know what you think! It is very nice of you to take the time to post any info you have. It is sooo hard to just blindly pick a hotel. Brochures and internet pictures can make just about any hotel seem great.

 

[Eno]

I've stayed at many different daytona beach hotels and the best by far is the Palm Plaza. I think all of the rooms are ocean front and we always get a room with a fridge, stove, micro wave and
small table with about 4 chairs around it. They used to have free coffee and donuts for breakfast - not sure if they still do. They have a web site with the rates and everything posted. Its a very clean, quiet hotel. You really have to watch Daytona as many kids ( 18 - 20 something) go there and I have stayed in hotels where you did not get any sleep. This hotel has a family policy - I believe either families or you must be over 25. Perry's is also the same - family oriented and used to have free homemade donuts for breakfast. Also has 2 outdoor and 1 indoor pool. My preference is still the Palm plaza has a nice pool and a hot tub.

 

[bartleby1]

Thanks Eno for the wonderful review! I'm so glad that I chose this hotel. I had it narrowed down to the Acapulco, the Bahama Breeze or the Palm Plaza. The Bahama Breeze didn't have a kiddie pool (I have a one year old and a 3 year old) and the Acapulco looked very nice but didn't have a continental breakfast, so I chose the Palm Plaza. Perrys seemed to have mixed reviews. Some people complained of old run-down rooms, while others said their rooms were fine. It sounded like a hit or miss type thing. The indoor pool was a nice option at Perrys though, in case of a rainy week.

Thanks again for the info

Debbie

 

[MaMudduck]

When are you going?

I'm not going until Oct. so please let me know how you like it there, and of couse which hotel you decide on.

Wendy

 

[bartleby1]

Wendy - We've booked the Palm Plaza for 4 nights in mid-July. I believe we got a rate of $124 per night. I don't usually spend that much on our hotels, but I saved a TON through priceline for our hotels in Orlando so we can splurge a little on this one. I'll try to remember to post when we get back. PLEASE pm or email me if I forget!

Debbie
rewardqueen@yahoo.com