Wyndham Garden Fort Walton Beach Destin

We won't stay here again. For the cost and the service, I think we can do much better elsewhere. The hotel is dated, the elevators are extremely slow, and the food was pricey and meh. Its location was good, close to the Ft. Walton Boardwalk, some good restaurants, and the Gulfarium. Stewby's on Santa Rosa Blvd had great food and good value, though the wait was long because it was always busy. I booked a king room with a kitchenette and gulf view, but got a partial view and a room that was extremely cold. Maintenance said guests couldn't control the temperature in rooms in two of the four hotel buildings and offered a space heater. Really? After arguing with the front desk, we were moved to another building and a room with two queens, no kitchenette, temperature control, and a full gulf view. The room was clean, and the maintenance staff were friendly. The view and beach access were excellent. Parking cost $10.00 a day, which is ridiculous. We also had to provide a $100 deposit despite already paying for the room in advance. At checkout, I asked the front desk to remove the charge and was told the reversal would take days. Again, really? A few days into our stay, a professional looking drone came by our fifth floor balcony in the morning, went up and down the floors, then moved to the next row of rooms. I told the front desk because it was alarming that someone was clearly doing this. They didn't seem to care, and as far as I know they never looked into it. It wasn't like the hobby drones we also saw people flying on the beach. I still don't know who was behind it.

The beach was dirty and smelled awful, so it wasn't worth any charge. Our room looked much worse than the photos, with visible wear, a run down feel, and cheap fixes. The only elevator was filthy and old, moved painfully slowly, and rattled terribly. Housekeeping skipped our room for three days, and we had to keep asking them to clean it. At the front desk, the staff were rude and disheveled, and seemed unable to handle the computers. They messed up our reservation and tried to charge us twice, including a hidden parking fee. Hidden costs, poor maintenance, and unprofessional service made this one of my worst hotel stays.

All the staff were so kind, always smiling, laughing, and happy. They cleaned our room every day, which we appreciated with all that sand. The bed was decently comfortable, and the TV was small, but we only used it at night to unwind. There's a little restaurant and bar on the grounds, plus a small breakfast shop. We loved our stay! It was easy to walk to a few places. Tom Thumb convenience store is about ten minutes away, and Stewby's, with amazing seafood, is around a fifteen minute walk. You can also walk a mile and a half down the beach toward the pier for more options. They have a great happy hour with $5 margaritas. We stayed at the island hotel last time, which had more places within walking distance. Chairs and an umbrella are available to rent, and we splurged on them for our last day.

The hotel shop was really affordable, and the beach is right in the middle of okaloosa, so you can walk along it to get where you need to go. Housekeeping may have been a little understaffed, since our paid early check-in wasn't available. They kept our bags and said we could use the facilities, though, and the fee was refunded automatically without us needing to ask.