Tracy F.
Yelp
We were so excited to see that Beachside Hotel and Suites had been "updated" when we arrived in Cocoa Beach for our two day trip to visit my mother-in-law... We were already booked to stay at the Sheraton next-door, which is outdated and worn. So, when we noticed that the Beachside Hotel and Suites had been updated to a retro/boutique hotel, we quickly looked to see if we could book it for our second night . We were pleasantly surprised that we could book it for the same price with more amenities (free beach chairs, better pool, and an actual outdoor area). This was a perfect opportunity to check out BHS for future visits and for my sister-in-law's family when they visit. We loved how they have leaned in to the retro/boutique hotel, vibe. (Be sure to read the review in it's entirety or you will think it is completely positive). Upon arrival, you are greeted with the cute retro sign at the entry and the lobby is bright and cheerful. The staff was plentyfyl, welcoming, and ever present throughout the property. The pool is not huge, but has a fun little lazy river going through it with lots of big yellow tubes for floating , there is a ton of lounge chairs with bright yellow umbrellas and it is extremely well maintained. The towels are thin and dinky (barely larger than a hand towel). Our entire visit, we saw staff scurrying around and picking up and keeping the property tidy and well-maintained. HOWEVER , the updates in the physical room are "lipstick on a pig. ". The furniture and lighting in the room is cute and retro and they've added convenient hooks and benches. The laminate flooring is so much better than gross old carpet at the Sheraton. But, the creature comforts of a good bed and nice bathroom with nice bathroom towels is where they have not updated and therefore I don't know that we'd ever stay at BHS again or recommend it to someone we know. The bathroom (at least in our room) has not been touched as part of the update and it was disgusting. Extremely old tile covered with mold, old dirt and a smell I couldn't identify, made me only want to get in and out of the bathroom as quickly as possible. In addition, there was remnants of the previous guest left in the shower.
In addition, the mattress was squeaky and uncomfortable. (Everytime one of us moved, the other person would wake up), so it appears new mattresses were also not part of the update, nor the bedding and pillows which were old and dingy (with the acception of the top coverlet that you see in the website pictures (I always look for crisp bedding when judging a place online), so they fooled me with the pics online. In addition, when I initially folded back the covers, there was a huge brown hair. Thankfully, we had two beds, so chose to sleep in the second bed. The outside is well maintained and a fun vibe and the atmosphere feels like an inexpensive resort. We enjoyed a few hours by the pool in the late afternoon and after dinner we drank wine while sitting in colorful Adirondack chairs in the faux beach area and then this morning sat outside to drink our coffee, so there were parts of our stay (outside of the room) that were very pleasant. We did not visit their beach access but apparently chairs and umbrellas are complimentary which is a huge perk. In addition, there was a a movie screen at the pool and they played an evening movie for families, there were lots of fun games on a turfed area, they had a fun little beach bar by the pool and lots of seating throughout the property. They are clearly trying to turn around an old, previously completely outdated property, but based on what we experienced in our physical room, they have fallen short in some of the most important areas.
All of the positives make it extremely disappointing that the negatives are such important things, because we really, really wanted to like it and based on what was online, were convinced we would. I'm really hoping that there is a plan to "finish" the update and they haven't stopped short of clean bathrooms and comfortable beds. The