I’ve just finished up a 10 day trip with our three kids (and without my husband) to visit family and relax in Florida.
To break up time with my parents in Orlando and time with my brother and his family in Jacksonville, I took the kids to a luxury beach hotel near Jacksonville. It was the perfect dose of luxury, beach and ‘us time’ between our two family visits.
We stayed at One Ocean, an uber-cool-feeling hotel.
I was looking for a comfortable hotel right on the beach with a pool, where we would get a little pampering without feeling like we were in the way with kids.
Ocean One delivered.
Check out the gorgeous lobby:
There is even a mini-art gallery off to one side with photographs appreciated by all four of us.:
Although the hotel was so beautiful, it still had a very welcoming and friendly feel and not once did I second guess my hotel choice.
When we went to our room, though, I was surprised by the lack of a view of the beach. I was under the impression that I had booked an ocean view room, but we had to lean back and stand on one side of the window to see it. The very polite bellman explained that they do have ocean front rooms, but there would be an up-charge for switching.
I contacted the front desk and decided to go ahead and spring for a balcony ocean front room and I am so glad I did. It cost us an extra $30 a night, and we really did enjoy the view.
While we were waiting for confirmation on our move, Curt, our personal docent, came by to show us the snacks and drinks which had already been placed in the room for us. He suggested we relax while the details of our move were sorted, so the kids celebrated our arrival with the Snickers bar, Sprite and waters left for us.
Once we moved down the hall, Curt explained that he was there to help in any way. He was happy to steam or iron clothes, shine shoes, bring coffee or tea or help with anything else. (The hotel doesn’t place irons or coffee makers in the room, as they want the guests to be pampered while visiting.)
Curt also came back with a extra snacks and drinks to be sure we had all we would want. He even asked what types of juices the kids might like.
It wasn’t long before we were in our bathing suits and out the door, exploring the ocean.
After digging in the sand and jumping over waves for awhile we made our way to the pool and splashed around there for a bit.
At dinnertime, we took Curt’s advice and hit a local restaurant nearby.
Overall it was a great stay.
Here are my lowlights and highlights of Ocean One:
Ocean One Lowlights:
Tiny bathroom.The bathroom didn’t have space to hang our bathing suits. Most beach hotels offer extra hooks or a string drying line but this one did not. (I did like the shower and its ledge, however. It made it easy to shave my legs. There was only a shower, though, no bathtub, which was fine with us, but might have been inconvenient with a baby.
Not enough towels. Although there were four of us, there were only three bath towels in our bathroom. On our second day we were only given two. I was surprised this detail was overlooked and we weren’t stocked with 4 clean bath towels each day.
Not enough toiletries. Again housekeeping didn’t take into account that there were four of us in the room and did not leave enough toiletries. They were quick to bring more when I requested them, though.
Ocean One Highlights:
Gorgeous and interesting decor. The kids even commented on the artwork and architecture.
Location. The hotel is right on the beach and within easy walking distance to restaurants and shops.
Pool. The pool isn’t huge, but it serves it purpose well and the lounge chairs around it are very comfortable. Plus, the pool is shaded the second half of the day which keeps the deck area from getting too hot in the summer.
Kid-friendly food. They offer all the typical kid-friendly food. Unfortunately you have to ask for it, but I’ll take that over not having the option any day! Plus, the prices for the food were quite reasonable for a hotel.
Azurea resturant. Azurea is a fine dining restaurant, so we opted to give it a try during lunch when it would be more casual. The food was fantastic and I was VERY pleasantly surprised by the prices. Plus it just feels cool in there.
Complimentary DVD players and a use of DVDs. Need I say more? And we ordered warm chocolate chip cookies and milk from room service while we watched the movies. Aaaaah.
Snacks and drinks. The resort fee covers more than enough snacks and drinks in the room which we took to the beach and enjoyed in our room. Perfect!
Staff. Every employee I came into contact with was friendly and accommodating. Even with three young children, I never felt like we were in anyone’s way or were a nuisance. Instead I felt welcomed.
Great overall feel without any stuffiness.
All in all our stay at Ocean One exceeded my expectations. This kids had a blast and I felt relaxed the whole time. The staff was nice, the hotel was beautiful and we enjoyed it all. I would definitely stay there again.
I am glad I decided to splurge on a luxury hotel, and I was pleasantly surprised as to how much ‘extra’ I got from the hotel in terms of service and extras. The hotel definitely had a more expensive feel to it than what I was paying.
Have you ever stayed at Ocean One or another luxury beach resort near Jacksonville? What do you look for in a beach resort stay?
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