Beachside Hotel & Suites Cocoa Beach - Port Canaveral

The room had a nice layout, with a separate living area that could be closed off from the bedroom. We also liked the views and the location near restaurants and convenience stores. Jennifer, who was at the front desk on day shift, was pleasant and helpful. We had no hot water in the shower the first morning. Jennifer said they’d look into it while we were out. When we came back, Lu was working and spoke snarkily, saying the temperature dials worked in reverse, as if we should have known. I’d tried the dials several ways that morning without getting hot water. That evening, turning up the cold dial did finally get it hot. We also asked to check out at noon instead of 11 the next day. Lu said no, but Jennifer was fine with it when we asked her later that night. Before the trip, we’d booked a cruise ship shuttle through a company the hotel recommended. There was apparently a mix-up and it didn’t pick us up. We’d signed up for an early boarding time, luckily, and although the shuttle was over an hour late, it got us to the ship in time for disembarkment. The heated lazy river wasn’t very warm either, though it was February and unusually chilly for Florida.

We got a refund and left after finding a cockroach on the AC unit at 9:45 pm. I showed Lou a photo at the front desk and asked if we could leave and get our money back. She said it was up to me. When I asked where else we might find a room, it was about 10 pm. Back in the room, we were trying to pack quickly while our four-year-old slept and my partner loaded the car. A very kind security officer told us Lou would call the police if we weren’t out by 10:30, giving us ten minutes. That was probably within half an hour of my refund request, but nobody had told me how long we had to leave. I was trying to let my child sleep. We’d made a last-minute decision to come to Cocoa Beach for a launch and called the hotel. They kindly had a room available: room 406, a suite for one night, for $308. The room smelled awful, like chemicals or cat pee. It was generally dirty, the couch had stains and looked gross, and the AC unit appeared rusty inside. We’d started coughing and our eyes were burning, but figured we could manage one night. When I asked about another room around 8 pm, they had no more suites. The pool looked neat, but wasn’t worth the price. Everyone seemed lovely and welcoming at first. I can’t comment on breakfast since we were there only about three hours from check-in to leaving. The elevator sign said Quality Inn and Suites, and the place felt more like a motel than a hotel. Maybe other rooms are lovely, given all the positive reviews, but I didn’t take more photos than this. Stay at your own risk. Nobody apologized for the room. When I showed the roach photo, the reply was, “It’s been cold. They come up through the drains.” I know roaches happen in Florida, but if this keeps happening, what is the business doing to address it?

The room was excellent, and we managed to make it into a two-bedroom setup. The sofa bed was SUPER uncomfortable, but it beat listening to my cousin snore all night. I’m not taking stars off for that since the two regular beds were perfectly comfortable. We had a wonderful one-night stay before our cruise and would consider staying here longer next time. We couldn’t use the outdoor amenities because it was too cold.

The room was spacious and had a kitchenette, and check-in was quick and easy. Customer service was excellent. We’d driven down to rest before boarding our cruise in the morning, but the poolside TV was LOUD as heck. It got cold after 8, and nearly everyone watching the Super Bowl had gone inside, but it was still blasting. We had to turn up our room TV just to hear it. There was also a family above us whose kid kept stomping around and moving furniture, with way too much energy. If we’d known, we would’ve asked for a fifth-floor room or one on the side. Ugh.