NICE Hotel/Resort on the Beach

[MFLetou]

After spending more than a few hours doing some research, I'm turning to my DIS friends for help. Usually, when we "do" Disney, it is straight down and back. This time, we have a couple of extra days, and so we had the thought that perhaps we could go to the beach.

So I set about investigating and discovered the usual subjects--Cocoa Beach and Melbourne. However, I have been quite underwhelmed with the various hotels available at these locations. They just don't seem all that "nice." Even the Hilton's and Doubletree's at these locations seem less than stellar--outdated, etc. I know I'm not going to get a deluxe Disney resort away from Disney, but I'd like something at least somewhat consistent with the quality of the experience.

I will say that we thought that the Kennedy Space Center might be fun for our little boy--but, I'm open to Gulf coast suggestions. The traveling party consists of 4 adults, 1 3.5 year old and 1 16 month old.

I'm looking for advice--I'd like a place that is on the beach, and "nice." Does anyone have recommendations?

 

[Pineapple Whip]

FL beach hotels are mostly... well they're mostly crappy.

I would check RCI.com and contact resorts in the area you're interested in to see if they have available nightly rentals. These are usually timeshares which are kept better than your standard hotels. Keep an eye on the reviews as well.

 

[Pineapple Whip]

http://www.8664myvacation.com/resorts/rcb/index.html

This is one example. You need to check the RCI page to find something that looks nice, get the address / contact information for the resort, CONTACT THEM DIRECTLY to see if they can book you directly, or if you have to go through their 3rd party.

Sometimes the 3rd party is cheaper, sometimes the front desk has a better offer.

 

[MFLetou]

Thanks, good advice.

The more I'm digging, the more it looks to me that the way to go might be the Gulf coast--particularly Clearwater Beach area. It looks like there are some very nice properties over there. Whether I can afford them is a different story, but you have to start somewhere.

I would have to figure out a way to not get killed on a rental (minivan) with a pickup @ MCO and a dropoff at TPA. There's actually a flight that works great for me out of TPA.