A little more then two years ago after my father passed away, my mother and I decided that it was time that we needed to take a family vacation to the beach. Seeing the beach was the ultimate favorite destination of my father, we thought going to the beach would just be fitting to have his memory carried on. After setting the date, and clearing my husbands schedule and the rest of our families, we started looking for a good place to go. We picked Panama City Beach, Florida due to the white beaches, the peaceful Gulf of Mexico and it is only four hours away from where we lived. OK, destination was set, time of the vacation was put in for, now the search for the hotel.
This part can get very tricky because if you view hotels on-line it is really hard to get a good image of what the hotel is really like, but once we found Splash by Sterling Resorts in Panama City Beach, Florida, we feel in love with it right away! The hotel is very new, just built within the last four years, and the cleanness aspect of that just made us feel good about our choice. However, we did have other reasons why we picked Splash in Panama City Beach, Florida.
The Splash offered 1, 2, and 3 bedroom floor plans that were modernly, yet beach themed. Each room overlooked the Gulf of Mexico and that is the reason to go the beach right? The parking was another key point to look at. We worried about the salt air hitting our car, but the Splash has a covered parking deck across the street that is connected to the hotel by a enclosed sky bridge.
What really sealed the deal for us were the kid friendly activities and atmosphere. We have a 6 year old (he was 4 at the time of the trip) and we were looking for a nice pool and some great activities throughout the hotel for him to get involved in. Splash in Panama City Beach met and exceeded all my expectations of what a “nice” pool should be. They have 3 pool areas areas at this hotel. One is fully outdoors and one is half under the bottom of the hotel and then it opens up to the outdoors. The third one is completely covered. Now here is the fun part, Splash by Sterling Resorts has a water playground underneath the roof for the kids. It features at least 3 slides, a jumbo bucket that fills up with water and then dumps out over the whole playground when full, a mushroom water fountain that you can stand under and many other water guns and such. This hotel also has a lazy river too! To top that all off, during the in-season times they have a dive-in movie under the stars. The roof of where the pools lay has built in star lights that come on at night and during the dive-in movie you will watch from the pool. Also, if you are in need of a drink, just swim on up to the poolside bar and grill.
You aren’t sold on it just yet? Well let me tell you about the rest of the kid friendly things to do at Splash in Panama City Beach, Florida. Splash also has a fully equipped arcade with a mini bowling alley inside. Kids of all ages love this! Not to mention the unlimited free DVD rentals and high-speed Internet access. However this hotel is not just for kids. Adults can find comfort in the exercise room that over looks the Gulf of Mexico or the Ice Creme Shop and Cafe on site.
Once we arrived to the Splash hotel I was satisfied complete with all the amenities. The website depicted the hotel down to a tee and to this day I have not stayed at a better hotel! The best part about Splash is the wrist bands they put on you while you stay at their hotel. This allows you full access to the hotels amenities and also it helps in case your kids get lost, the wristband will tell them where they are staying and who they are with!
So, if you are planning your next vacation to the beach, I highly recommend the Splash hotel in Panama City Beach, Florida on the world’s most beautiful white beaches! I am sure you will enjoy it as much as we did! Head on over to http://www.sterlingresorts.com/Resort.aspx?ID=6 for the full details!
