The view from our Seagrove Beach, Florida condo. HUGE balcony!

Some friends and I spent three days in Seagrove Beach, Florida last week, and it was a glorious trip. The sands were so white and soft, the water was calm and clean and our condo was stunning! We stayed on the 11th floor (can you say view?) of BeachCrest, a mid-rise condominium just steps from the beach. We stayed in unit 1101, if you’re curious – and I have to reiterate that the view from the 11th floor is beyond beautiful. Here’s a short list of what we loved about this place:

*Very close to the beach – 5 minutes from door to sand. You could easily hear the ocean with the doors cracked open – loved that. Seagrove, Seaside, Rosemary Beach and all the other little beach towns in this area aren’t like some other places in Florida where “beachfront” means seeing cars and the ocean in the distance. Here, beachfront means ON the beach!

*Two complimentary chairs and a big beach umbrella were provided every day for us. All we had to do was ask Darryl, who manages that portion of the beach. Darryl was really amazing — he even set    aside chairs for us every morning in the first row so that we had unobstructed views of the ocean. He cut us a good deal on a kayak rental too. Thanks, Darryl!

View into the living room and dining room area

*The pool. Perfect temperature and it was a lovely way to end out the day.

*The condo was a 2 bed, 2 bath, and it was quite large! The best part was the HUGE balcony — it spanned the entire width of the condo, so it must have been at least 25 feet long. And it connected to both the main living space and one of the bedrooms with no wall in between, so it was just one, large space. Awesome spot to enjoy sunsets from.

The kitchen! Lots of good meals were whipped up here as well as lunchtime margaritas

*Having a kitchen while on a vacation is the way to go! Doing a little grocery shopping up front saves a ton of money on meals, and it’s fun to cook together.

*BeachCrest is about 2 minutes from Seaside. (That being said, all the towns are super close together)

One of the bedrooms

The only problem we had was getting our cell phones to have reception all the way on the 11th floor, and we still have no idea why. Wi-Fi worked on our laptops, but nothing would work on our phones. Oh well! Who really wants to be checking email that frequently when you’re on vacation, anyway?

I would absolutely stay at BeachCrest on my next trip to Seagrove/Seaside. Part of me would love to stay in one of the cute beach cottages, too, but they don’t have all the amenities that this place did, such as a concierge service, pool and chair and umbrella service. The individual units here feel very beachy with all of their cute decorations, but if you’re looking for lodging that’s really beachy in and of itself, I’d stay in one of the smaller beach houses/cottages. We loved this place though!

BeachCrest from the beach -- see, almost on the sand!

Now, one final word — tragically, we had to stay during the last few days of high season (low season literally started on the day we checked out). What did that cost us? For three nights, the total came to about $645, or $215/person. Not cheap, but the view was amazing and we had a great time. If, however, we had booked one week later, the price would have gone down to about $525 for everything. Maybe not a huge deal, but the difference in the smaller beach cottages/houses is usually greater.

Photos: Jenny Bengen-Albert

Most guests at the Phoenix All Suites West Hotel in Gulf Shores, Alabama would be surprised to learn that this Gulf-front hotel is actually a high rise condo development where each unit is individually owned. When not in use by owners, the condos are offered for rental by an on-site management company.

Living room and fully equipped kitchen

The approximate 640-square foot units are one-bedroom suites featuring a king size bed in a separate bedroom, a sleeper sofa in the living room, and a set of bunk beds for young children in the entry foyer. Additionally, the each of the units have a fully equipped kitchen and one and one half baths, making them more like a home away from home than a hotel room. Located in the center of the beachfront community of Gulf Shores, Alabama, each suite also features a balcony that offers sweeping views of the Gulf of Mexico. Other amenities include free covered parking, a large outdoor pool, and an on-site laundry room. Read More »

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Aerial view of the Colony Beach and Tennis Resort

Each of the units were originally sold as fractional ownership, with owners buying a 1/12 share that allowed them to use the units for 30 days each year. Time not used by owners was placed in a pool and rented to the general public by the resort management company, which was paid a management fee by the condominium association. Over the years, the management company spent millions of dollars to maintain and restore the facilities of the resort. In better times, the firm apparently Read More »