Steamboat Landing

Visit: 6/5/09-6/12/09 Review: 6/19/09

This was our 2nd time at Steamboat Landing. Late check-in is very simple when no staff is on-site. Staff was very professional and courteous. Resort was in excellent shape: units, activity areas, grounds. All of the buildings and units were newly painted and comfortable furniture updated very recently; TV's in living room and bedroom. Unit had a very complete kitchen with full size, top shelf, relatively new appliances, including toaster oven, blender, etc. Only maintenance item corrected immediately (20 minutes). While there are no on-site restaurants or planned activities, this makes for a nice quiet and relaxing resort. As the resort is on the Intracoastal Waterway, which makes for interesting small craft watching, a car is necessary to go to a beach. There is only one oceanfront resort in the vicinity, so it is almost sure that exchanges will need to be into a resort that will require driving to the beach. This resort, while farther from the beach than most, has a huge redeeming factor. There are 2 pools, both very clean and maintained: outdoor pool temp 80°C; indoor pool temp 86°C, with more than adequate ventilation so that air is clean and fresh, very clean rest rooms poolside. Pool (or beach) towels are available. The 2 pools make this an excellent choice for the area. If weather is inappropriate for the outdoor pool (cold, rainy) you can ALWAYS use indoor pool. It's a hard combination to beat.

The good (and oceanfront) beaches are in Destin, Sandestin and all along the coast going east. Destin is only a quick 7 mile drive and is really the resort destination, as there are no oceanfront beaches in Fort Walton Beach (FWB) which is actually on the Intracoastal Waterway with barrier islands farther out. There are dozens of beaches, some with better parking than others, but most of them with no charge. These beaches are the finest in the world, rating from 1 to 8 on the list each year. The beaches are extremely wide and perfectly clean. The sand is pure quartz, the finest and whitest anywhere. You can walk on them without sandals even when the temp is at its maximum. The water is emerald green (The Emerald Coast is aptly named), very warm even by Florida standards, and is shallow for at least 50 feet out, so is safe fun for all ages.

While there are some restaurants in FWB, Destin has an incredible number and variety of cheap to expensive ones. There are several top shelf extensions of New Orleans restaurants: Commanders Palace (the BEST in NO) and a Pat O'briens, famous for the Hurricane drink and the food). Lousianna based menus are prevalent, and fresh seafood is obviously everywhere. There are buffets and chains of every type represented here, so one can choose their type and price easily.

DO NOT miss McGuire's restaurant, immediately on left over bridge into Destin! Some items are expensive, but more than worth it, like the prime steaks. Some items are very reasonable priced when you see what you get. The burgers are the best I have ever tried or seen, and come in more varieties than you can imagine. They are ¾ pound, come with a large side, hot bread, lettuce and tomato, and more, and are made from steak trimmings – they are the ONLY burgers I will eat, as I actually hate burgers – love these. Prime beef .

November 2008 We have just returned from a week at Steamboat Landing. Located directly on Santa Rosa Sound, we had beautiful views.There is a very large dock on the water.

Resort has three levels and 18 units.Elevator.A nice family friendly place.Our unit was clean and fresh

The resort staff was helpful and friendly.Our one bedroom unit was very large and could sleep 5.Besides the king bed, the living room area had a queen pullout and a twin pullout.I have to say the queen couch and the twin love seat were extremely comfortable for sitting.Many condo pullouts are so uncomfortable.A sturdy pull out wall room divider could seperate the living room(sleeping area) from the dining area and the galley kitchen.There was plenty of storage room for our clothing etc.Two TVs,VCR and DVD layer.Bath had a full tub with shower . Kitchen included a micro,stove and dishwasher,blender,mixer,toaster,coffee maker.The usual standard stuff.I appreciated the storage containers to use for leftovers.

The resort has a hottub, outdoor pool as well as an indoor pool.The indoor pool is located in a seperate building with a huge rec area.There are three levels to this building with plenty of tables and chairs for conversation, games and game tables.(vending machines too)Tastefully decorated.Glass windows and doors lead to a large outdoor area overlooking the Santa Rosa Sound.Relaxing and comfortable.What a wonderful place to keep the kids occupied in the down times. Cookouts and ice cream social are offered each week.No sales presentations. There is a shuttle that runs to the beaches if you wish.Beaches in Fort Walton are white sugar sand.Award winning too.Check out the schedule for the Blue Angels practice times at Pensacola.

The Publix grocery store,library,small shops,several restaurants are within a few short blocks away.

We can't say enough about this resort.It was great exchange and we will return. Resort is in process of upgrading the kitchens and adding new furniture this month

Submitted by

Tom and Ginny