Florida mini-vacation

[barracudamagoo]

The wife and I are headed to Pensacola, FL for a mini-vacation. Anybody been there or live there, and can you recommend a hotel or condo? Or more importantly, any place I should not stay?! We looked at the Days Inn (located on the beach) and a condo, IIRC called the Sand Dollar. They looked okay, but what say you?!

 

[kanielb1]

I like the Hilton Garden Inn on the beach. You have to go to Flounders to eat. They also have a "Diesel Fuel" drink that you have to get. I stayed at the Days Inn downtown Pensacola one year and I was not pleased. Now I stay at the Hilton. The Hampton is next door to the Hilton. Enjoy your trip!!! Also look at going to Destin, FL. SanDestin Beach Resort is a sweet place to stay.

 

[barracudamagoo]

Thanks for the heads up. I was trying to stay on the cheaper side; however, the reviews have been 50/50 on the Days Inn. I'll take your advice and not stay there. The Hilton is only $20-30 more, and there won't be much guessing involved.

 

[CodeRage]

When I travel for work in that area I use a condo on Navarre beach. Not too far from Pensacola. The rates are cheap for what they offer and you are ON the beach/barrier island. If it is just you and the wife the studio would be perfect, it's huge compared to a hotel and nicely furnished.

There is a straight cleaning fee, which iirc is $75. May want to ask him about it.

It's Kilgore realty and the guy's name is Thad.
Here is his webpage
Navarre Beach Rentals | Navarre Beach Florida Vacation Rentals - Home

That and it puts you right between Destin and Pensacola.

In fact, the individua; ones you select do show the insides for that unit. I used 1-109 and was super happy.

 

[Turkeyfoot Jr.]

My mom is from Pensacola and we vacation there every two years as a family reunion. Instead of Sand Dollar could you mean Whitesands? We stayed at the version of those condos that existed prior to one of the more recent hurricanes and they were nice. Assuming they are still under the same management after the rebuild I think they would be a safe bet. Some recommendations from my end:

- Flounders is good but I prefer Hall's Seafood. It's on the mainland on Gregory Street. You can't miss it, as you're coming across the 3 mile bridge just stay to the right to stay on Gregory and it will be on your right.

- I don't know if you have Whataburger's in St. Louis but we don't have them up north and I ALWAYS make a point to eat there at least once while we're down there. Best fast food burgers I've ever had, hands down.

- If you like this sort of thing the Naval Air Museum is always a lot of fun. Plenty of cool stuff to see.

- Again, if you're into this sort of thing, Ft. Pickens is also a lot of fun. Head out Ft. Pickens road past all civilization and eventually you'll hit it. Like the museum, lots of cool stuff to see. It just reopened not to long ago having been closed since the last big hurricane.

- Ft. Barancas is also cool but I haven't been there in a while so I don't remember as much about it. It's on base as well so you can do Barancas and the museum easily enough on the same day.

That's all I can think of right now, I'll add more if I think of anything.

 

[barracudamagoo]

- I don't know if you have Whataburger's in St. Louis but we don't have them up north and I ALWAYS make a point to eat there at least once while we're down there. Best fast food burgers I've ever had, hands down

No we don't have them here in St. Louis; however, my wife is from Texas, so if we see a Whataburger we'll be stopping!

 

[Beerbeque]

I recommend that you try the tripadvisor.com forums. They even have a Pensacola specific forum where you can get very place specific advice.

 

[hukdizzle]

I actually live here so I can help you out a bit and if you wanna grab a beer let me know.

First of all the Days Inn isn't bad but as everyone has mentioned the Hilton on the beach is the place to stay if you can afford it. Our brew club holds a brewers party at the Days Inn Sept 12th every year and from what I hear it's a nice place although I myself have not stayed there yet.

For food I would highly recommend the following places.

1. Tre Fratellis - Little romantic italian joint on Alcaniz St with sicillian style dishes that are extremely good.

2. Peg Leg Petes - This is a seafood joint on the beach that I much prefer over anything that Flounders can put out. If you hit a seafood joint on the beach I would recommend this over any of the others.

3. McGuire's Irish Pub - This by far one of the top 3 places to eat in Pensacola and if you can only make it to one restaurant while you're here, this needs to be the place you go. First of all they have a brewery inside of the restaurant and they brew great beers. Second of all I have eaten there more times than I can remember and have never ever had a bad meal there, the food is outstanding. If you arrive there to eat during the day time on a weekday there is a good chance the head brewer Mike Helf will be there and you can meet and chat with him, he normally does not work weekends or nights though.

4. If you like Tapas cuisine I would recommend Global Grill, they have an extremely good wine selection as well.

5. Another seafood mention of mine is going to be Fish House down on S. Barracks St in Pensacola which is right on the bay, the seafood is outstanding the atmosphere is great.

As far as beer goes I would recommend McGuires for a restaurant/brewery and if you wanted to check out a beer bar with a good selection I would recommend a place called HopJacks on S. Palafox St, they have a great selection of beer if you don't mind putting up with some hit or miss service, their pizza is very good as well.

By the way, what dates are you coming down? Our brew club is putting on a huge brew festival here Sept 11th.

 

[aksea102]

Peg Leg Petes - This is a seafood joint on the beach that I much prefer over anything that Flounders can put out. If you hit a seafood joint on the beach I would recommend this over any of the others.

McGuire's Irish Pub - This by far one of the top 3 places to eat in Pensacola and if you can only make it to one restaurant while you're here, this needs to be the place you go. First of all they have a brewery inside of the restaurant and they brew great beers. Second of all I have eaten there more times than I can remember and have never ever had a bad meal there, the food is outstanding. If you arrive there to eat during the day time on a weekday there is a good chance the head brewer Mike Helf will be there and you can meet and chat with him, he normally does not work weekends or nights though.

Another seafood mention of mine is going to be Fish House down on S. Barracks St in Pensacola which is right on the bay, the seafood is outstanding the atmosphere is great.

I used to live in Gulf Breeze, the peninsula between P'Cola and P'Cola Beach.
+1 on McGuires food AND beer
+1 on Peg Leg Pete's...Oysters Rockafeller!!! Skip Flounders unless for a drink out at the beach bar (if there is a decent reggae band playing).
+1 on the Fish House

Oh how I miss those sugar white sands...

 

[barracudamagoo]

Thanks for all the recommendations, I will keep all of them in mind. We have decided to go to Orange Beach in Alabama. Not much closer, but we were able to get a great rate at one of the hotels there. Thanks again for the help!