Stay Report: Hilton Pensacola Beach (Florida - April 2015)

Stay Report: Hilton Pensacola Beach
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A couple of years ago I had vacationed in Destin, Florida and really enjoyed my time at the Hilton Resort there; so when I was looking to spend time in Pensacola, I decided to stay at the Hilton Pensacola Beach hotel.  Overall, the hotel is decent but this is definitely not a resort hotel – the hotel grounds are small, it feels compact, none of the pools go deeper than 4ft, and there is no private beach access.   

The hotel itself is a decent Hilton property and is located on the beach.  From the street, you drive down a long driveway to the entrance of the hotel, passing the parking garage which is before the hotel (so as to not block the beach access).  There are two parts to the hotel – the main part of the hotel which has a couple of floors and a connected tower which is larger.  The lobby is located in the main part of the hotel, and in the lobby the check-in desks were on the right with a sitting lounge in the middle and the beach in front of you.  There were a lot of check-in desks to the check-in was quick but not friendly – in fact the staff at the hotel were efficient but were not friendly at all.  After check-in, I received my key and went to my room.

The main part of the hotel has rooms either facing the parking lot or the beach, while the tower had generally more suites with balconies that either had direct beach views or partial beach views.  I had a standard room in the main part of the hotel and my view was of the parking lot.  The rooms were nice updated and decent Hilton rooms.  As you entered the room, on left was the bathroom while on the right was the closet.  The closet contained places for storage as well as a safe, an iron, and ironing board.  The bathroom contained the standard facilities of a sink, a toilet, and a tub along with toiletries.   Further into the room, against the left wall were two double beds with a nightstand in the middle.  The beds were comfortable, spacious, and provided a good night’s sleep.  There was a chair next to the bed, which partially looked out to the window.  Across from the beds was a chest with drawers on the bottom and a TV on top, as well as a desk.  Overall, the rooms were nice and a decent size that easily fit 4 people but these are rooms that you could find at any Hilton hotel; there was nothing special about it.

The facilities at the hotel for the guests are pools, a fitness center, meeting rooms, parking, wifi, and beach access.  The hotel offers 3 pools - 2 outdoor and one indoor; the pools are relatively small and none go deeper than 4-5 feet.  The fitness center is a decent size and has enough equipment for a decent workout.  The parking garage also provided enough spaces that there was never trouble in finding a space.  The wifi was complimentary and had good speeds for emailing and surfing the web.  What most guests go far, however, is the beach access.  The hotel does not have its own private beach, but rather is on a public beach that is shared with the other hotels that are nearby - including the hampton inn, the holiday inn, and the springhill suites.

Overall, this is a decent Hilton hotel that is located on the beach so if you are looking for a nice hotel (especially with small children) then this is a good hotel. If you are looking for a resort hotel, this is definitely not it.  Also, the beach access is shared by other hotels – some of which have lower prices than the Hilton – so I did not see the benefit of paying more to stay at the Hilton.