What a dream! Beach, pools, walkable activities and restaurants, and an easy drive from our home. WIN!

We loved our stay at The Island at Ft. Walton Beach. They’ve recently done $15 million in renovations and it shows. From the rooms to the lobby, pools, restaurants everything is beautiful and updated. Our favorite stop: 600 feel of private beach access.

Our trip was November 9-11th and the weather was PERFECT! I won’t lie, the bar being right on the beach was very nice. You can bring your own chairs and umbrellas or they provide a rental service that ends early November.

We immediately checked out our room and put on our suits to enjoy the last hours of sunshine on the beach. Our room was STUNNING! Great ocean front view, two bathrooms and a sitting room. Plenty of space to spread out. Your key is on a wristband, which was lovely. No trying to figure out where to put your key when you’re at the beach.

When we tired of the sand, we checked out the pools! One is heated. It was lovely. The other has a grotto with a swim up bar and our day was MADE. Everything we encountered was family friendly and the girls loved every moment.

We rinsed off and made it to dinner. Food was fabulous and so fresh. The waiter said they serve fish caught there daily right there in the gulf. You could tell!

Day 2 we got ready, ventured to a coffee shop then checked out the Gulfarium. It’s walking distance from The Island. They have sealion shows, dolphin shows, penguins, sharks, and the girls’ personal favorite – a petting area for starfish.

We drove to Destin to visit one of our favorite tourist restaurants – The Back Porch. We go there every visit. Then back to the hotel and back on the beach! For dinner, we walked on the beach to a Mexican restaurant next door. We love a good walkable destination!

Other fun, walkable attractions: Adventure Zone Park, pontoon boat rentals etc. When we arrived, we got a list of activities at the resort. Misty the mermaid meets and greets guest on Saturdays and Sundays at the Grotto pool in summer months, there’s free yoga, live sunset music, during the fall they show football games with food specials, and other fun activities.

We were very sad to leave on Wednesday morning, but I think we will be picking sand out of our belongings for months to come. We highly recommend visiting The Island at Fort Walton Beach! Get 20% off your stay with code: SOCI using this link.

CHEERS!