Ocean Reef by Royal American Beach Getaways

We visited in the off season and stayed in an Airbnb. It was just the low-key, on-the-water place we wanted, without the giant resort feel. The pool and hot tub were fantastic. We had a great time and would stay again.

I wanted to share an update for anyone who has seen the negative reviews about our building. We’ve spent 1.4 million modernizing the elevators, and once the work is done they’ll be great for owners and guests. There’s also brand new gym equipment on the property, with more improvements to come. Sorry if you had a bad experience. I hope you’ll give ocean reef another chance!

We stayed Sunday, 5/25/2025 through Saturday 5/31/2025. The condo was very nice, but the elevator situation felt dangerous. Their operating certificate had expired in August 2024, and three elevators served 23 floors, including five parking levels and an office on floor 6, with nine units on each residential floor. That’s 161 units. The left elevator was out all week. The middle one got stuck 4-5 times when overloaded, and firefighters came each time to get people out. At times, only one elevator worked. A maintenance employee had its key turned to override mode, so pressing the down button on any floor wouldn’t automatically bring it there. Elderly people, disabled people, and disabled children were left unable to leave their floors unless someone carried them down the stairs. The elevators were rated for 2,500 lbs./1,200 kg / 12 people, if I recall correctly. Staff put up signs limiting rides to six adults, but people kept overloading them and firefighters kept returning to rescue them. The maintenance workers were nice, but were put in the position of defending the building’s owners. The building is owned by the HOA, while individuals or small companies own the units. I spoke with a woman HOA manager who had been working there for just three days. She knew the elevators needed work, which made me think the previous HOA employee had only recently quit. The elevators need a major overhaul or replacement, and ideally two more should be added, for five in total. The manager said people stuck on a high floor maybe shouldn’t have chosen one, especially if they were in a wheelchair. Other guests told us the elevators had supposedly been awful for years. On our last day, another guest said the middle elevator had been overloaded and dropped 20 feet before its emergency brakes engaged. I can’t verify that, but after everything else, I can’t see how it wasn’t true. If you care about your safety or your loved ones’ safety, I wouldn’t recommend staying here. To the HOA, building owner, or whoever is responsible: please repair the elevators and put guest safety first.

I’m an owner, and I strongly advise against staying here unless you’re ready to use the stairs in this 23-story building. It’s a fantastic place, but the elevators have had problems for years and the association boards have been slow to replace them. There will be times when none of the elevators work. Consider yourself warned.