My wife and I were invited to our daughter's in-laws' house for Thanksgiving and we needed a room to stay at nearby. The place we normally stay at had raised their rates sky high so based on the reviews here at TripAdvisor, and other sites, we booked two nights at the OceanFront Inn and Suites through Expedia.
Our prime criteria for an overnight stay is clean. The room doesn't have to be fancy or have a great deal of amenities, but it needs to be clean. We were given room 206 which is listed as "City View". What that actually means is that it is not "Ocean View". This old motel sits sideways to the beach, with most of the rooms facing each other. On one side it has eight ocean view rooms with four over four. If you want an ocean view room, request one of the second floor rooms as the lower ones open directly onto a terrace and the view is partially blocked. There are two ocean view rooms on the other side of the property but without balconies.
Our room was a good size for an old property and I have to say right here, it was very clean. The motel was totally redone about two years ago and they did a very nice job. We got a room with two double beds. I did my typical inspection and there were no bed bugs. The mattresses were comfy and just firm enough but not rock hard. The room remodel was really well done and you feel like you are in a new property. The floors were nice looking large tile which makes sense with beach sand. The bathroom was spacious enough for one person at a time. For some reason we got the handicap room so there was no tub, only a low edged shower with all the handgrips. That was fine for us.
Because this is a vintage motel, there was no way to expand the room size during the remodel. So for more than four people, you will feel pinched compared to the newer large hotel rooms. But we had plenty of room for the two of us. Here are more details about the room and property.
The large picture window is tinted nicely so it won't heat the room up in the summer and also makes it very hard for people outside to look in during the day. We liked this a lot which made it so we didn't have to keep the room darkening curtain closed all the time. That curtain does darken the room a lot at night, but because of the outside sconces, the space around the curtain does let in a lot of light. Being an older property, the window has a deep ledge so I was able to push the heavy curtain in and weigh it down with shoes and this made the room very dark. If you plan on sleeping in, this will be a must as the sun fills the room with light very early on.
Our room came with an iron, ironing board, a somewhat loud air conditioner with limited adjustable vents, a small open coat rack, a small very worn table with two chairs, a coffee maker, large mini fridge, microwave oven, and an armoire with drawers which also houses the flat screen television. One of our complaints is that the cable service only has a dozen or so channels and half of those were very grainy. This needs to be fixed and the number of channels expanded. We also found the WiFi intermittent and would drop our phones connections on occasion.
The property is directly on the beach which is very wide at Ormond. During the summer, this is where you want to be. And Ormond is far enough away from Daytona to keep noise and beach traffic down as you can drive directly on the beach here for a fee. The motel has ample outdoor tables and chairs, some with tropical style sun shades and a large, well maintained swimming pool. Parking is free but limited to one vehicle per room.
This motel has a minimal continental breakfast which consists of muffins and coffee and no place to eat them so you'll have to take everything back to your room or eat around the pool. There is an IHOP just north which was also recently redone and we ate there and was very good.
The young lady that checked us in was extremely nice and helpful. We also met the manager who was also extremely nice and helpful when we needed some more coffee for the brewer in the room. And our housekeeper was very sweet and got us extra towels when asked and also talked with us when we saw her later. Our impression with the friendliness of the staff is very favorable.
Over all, we were very pleased with this mom and pop style older but nicely remodeled property. The rooms were nicely redone and very clean and had the amenities we were looking for. The room price was comparable to others nearby though I think they are all too high. The location is great, close enough to Daytona but not in the middle of all the party goers. You're right on the wide, clean beach and if you aren't an ocean swimmer, this property has a nice and well maintained pool. Be advised, this is not a resort or four star hotel. But if you are just looking for a clean place to sleep while spending most of your time exploring or sunbathing on the beach, consider trying the OceanFront Inns and Suites of Ormond Beach. read more