Jacksonville Beach Hotels: Oceanfront Lodging at its Best
Travelers to Jacksonville Florida have many options for lodging
in the area. If you are traveling to Jacksonville on business or
pleasure and need a place to stay, don't overlook the
Jacksonville Beach hotels. Located about a half hour from
downtown Jacksonville, Jacksonville Beach has more hotels than
any of the other local beaches, and most of them are oceanfront
- serving up our beautiful wide sandy beaches as your playground
away from home. All of the Jax Beach hotels are within walking
distance, or a short $5 cab drive from some of the best
restaurants and nightlife Jacksonville has to offer.
>From Beach Blvd. north to 16th Ave, 1st Street is the place to
be for hotels, dining and dancing, shopping, and just hanging
out in general. For the traveler, Jacksonville Beach hotels
include such well knowns as Quality Suites, Best Western, the
Comfort Inn, Holiday Inn, and the Fairfield by Marriot. For the
adventurous, a vanishing breed of mom and pop hotels still
exist, for now, on the strip. Paradise Alley and the Surfside
Inn offer somewhat cheaper lodging than the big boys, and also
seem to have less of a corporate feel.
Join me as we review the Jacksonville Beach hotels one by one,
and you'll see the variety of lodging possibilities the
Jacksonville hotel scene has to offer. Jax Beach: oceanfront
lodging at it's best!
With 143 rooms, the Holiday Inn Sunspree Resort at Jax Beach is
one of the larger hotels in the area. Recognizable by the huge
whale and tropical sunset murals facing 1st Street, the Sunspree
is a full service family resort, with the "Windows on the Ocean"
restaurant offering oceanfront dining for breakfast and dinner.
There is the "Marketessant" in the lobby that offers snacks and
souvenirs, and the Reef Lounge is a favorite of locals to come
in and shoot some pool. The large swimming pool is just in front
of the lounge, and a few steps down and you're on the beach! As
a Sunspree resort, during the summer months there is an
activities program for the kids. This Jacksonville Beach hotel
landmark is at the top of our tour, located between 15th and
16th Avenues North.
Just behind the Holiday Inn, and owned by the same Shaner Hotel
Group, is the Marriott Fairfield Inn & Suites. Not being on the
ocean, the Fairfield caters to the traveling business person.
Equipped with high speed internet access in the rooms and lobby,
there are also several Jacuzzi Suites available to help you
relax after a hard days work. A swimming pool and hot tub
outside, the Fairfield and Holiday Inn encourage their guests to
share their amenities.
Next door is the Comfort Inn, best known for its huge faux rock
waterfall swimming pool. Plenty of fun for the kids, the Comfort
Inn Oceanfront also caters to adults, with the famous Kokomo's
lounge, for shooting pool and weekly Karaoke. Out of towners can
really get to know the locals here. The Tiki Bar and deck,
between Kokomo's and the sand dunes, is a great place to hang
out in the sun with your favorite cold beverage. Summer weekends
commence with live local bands outside, accompanied by plenty of
dancing beach goers on the deck.
Continuing south down 1st Street we come to a pink one story
"motel" type building called Paradise Alley, on 8th Ave N. A mom
& pop establishment, the Paradise is owned by a lady that
refuses to sell out. The rooms are theme based, and are
decorated with a nautical flair. Dinner and lunch is served on
the outside deck on 1st Street, a popular hang out in the summer
offering live music and over 100 domestic and imported beers.
Paradise Alley's southern neighbor used to be the popular
watering hole First Street Grill, but will soon be another
towering oceanfront condominium.
Another place that you can't miss is the elegant Casa Marina. A
great place to get married, the Casa is right behind the dunes
at 6th Ave., and is the north end beginning of the boardwalk Old
world charm, elegance, and romanticism sum up this Spanish
looking castle like structure. Dining at the Casa includes an
inside formal dining room, and an oceanfront courtyard and
veranda, serving a "new beach cuisine" for lunch and dinner, and
a killer Sunday Brunch (in season). The Casa's newest addition
is the Penthouse Lounge and Restaurant. Sitting on top of the
north wing with an outdoors covered deck, the Penthouse has some
excellent views of the Atlantic Ocean and the boardwalk, and is
becoming a favorite happy hour destination. Even if you don't
stay at the Casa Marina, you gotta check it out!
If you want to be where the action is, the Best Western is smack
dab in the middle of it. One of the smaller hotels in Jax Beach,
its oceanfront rooms all have balconies right above the
Boardwalk. A great ocean view and a great place for people
watching! Being in the middle of the Strip, you can park your
car inside their ground floor garage and walk to all the great
restaurants, clubs, and shops that JB has to offer. High speed
Internet access, an outdoor swimming pool, and whirlpool tub
rooms are also available.
Located oceanfront on the southern end of the Seawalk Pavilion,
the Quality Suites is the newest hotel in Jacksonville Beach.
Their pool is on the south side nestled between the hotel and
the lifeguard station (no drowning here), and across the street
is the ever popular Sneakers Sports Bar. All of the 72 rooms are
2 room suites with oceanfront balconies, and some of them are
whirlpool suites. High speed Internet and a business center make
this upscale Jacksonville hotel a favorite of corporate
travelers.
For business or pleasure, if you're looking for some great
Jacksonville hotels, Jacksonville Beach is the place to be.
Conveniently located, Jacksonville Beach hotels will make your
stay in Jacksonville fun and memorable. Find out why Jax Beach
is oceanfront lodging at it's best!