I'll start my review by noting that this property has been recently remodeled and rebranded as voco St Augustine - an IHG hotel. Parking is free & very plentiful with covered parking on the entire ground floor and two open lots across the narrow alley behind the building. One level up, via stairs or elevator, is the front desk with lobby, hotel bar & pool. Though all of these public areas are fairly small, this hotel doesn't have a lot of rooms so everyone has room to spread out comfortably.
Before I get into my review, I'll cut to the point & tell you that this is overall a great hotel. Just across the Bridge of Lions from the historic district, the location is perfect if you have a car so you can drive into town or head to the beach. The room appointments are nice and new, with a good layout. Plus the room rates are incredibly reasonable!
Because I ended up booking the day of our arrival (Friday), and knew we'd be checking in late that night, I called ahead to make sure my room wouldn't be given away. Eric answered the phone & was incredibly helpful. He advised that checking in at midnight would not be a problem (reflected on the website by a no-show fee of one night), and parking should also not be an issue because they were not fully booked at that moment.
When we checked in that night, hubs asked for a room with "a view", and David gave us room overlooking the pool which was perfect. And quiet! The beds & pillows were so comfortable, and the room seemed very clean. The mini fridge was great because I never finish my meals and I ended up with a ton of leftovers that weekend. The lamps with USB ports & electrical outlets, as well as the charging hub on the nightstand, were awesome, and I loved the rain shower head! I did notice that our room had no microwave but we had no need for one. That said, I would have appreciated instructions on how to use the coffee maker.
One of my favorite little things about this hotel was the scent. It was amazing! As soon as we entered the elevator area in the parking garage, I could smell whatever that scent was. Every single time, too. Maybe it was eucalyptus, but with a twist?
I appreciated that the lobby bar was never really closed (as far as I saw). Though we arrived really late on Friday night (around midnight), we were able to unwind with a beer on the patio by the pool before turning in (and didn't have to drive or walk elsewhere). Also, our encounters with housekeeping were very pleasant; we didn't really need service during our stay aside from a couple of fresh towels & a couple of rolls of toilet paper.
On Sunday, the 2nd floor ice maker was out of ice most of the day, but I simply went down to the lobby level for ice. Inconvenient, yes, but certainly not a big deal. My only *complaint* was that I'd originally been looking for a property that was pet-friendly (which voco is), but by the time hubs & I decided when we could drive over from Tampa, my son in Jacksonville (with his dog) didn't think he'd be able to stay with us any nights. Then, the day after we checked in, my son decided that he could stay one night, however our room was not a pet-friendly room. I understood that we'd have to pay a pet fee but maybe if we'd known at check in that not every room was pet-friendly, we would have requested one of those instead of a room overlooking the pool. I'll add that this was NOT an issue... my son's drive to visit us was less than 40 minutes so he was still able to visit us every day of our stay. We don't usually travel with our dogs so I didn't know to confirm that our room was dog-friendly, though the property definitely is.
This property is such a hidden gem! I have already recommended voco to friends looking for affordable luxe lodging in St Augustine for the holiday season. And I will definitely stay here again. read more