Sandestin or So Ft Walton hotel in late Dec

[littleme2]

Hi, I was thinking of going to the Florida panhandle in late Dec with 7yo DD and 6yo DS. Trying to choose a place is really hard.

I was looking at Sandestin - is it just an expensive hotel? I can't figure if we should stay at Sandestin or pick a nice hotel in South Fort Walton, which would be cheaper.

Any recommendations or suggestions?

I know people like the seaside area but I really don't want to look at VRBO.

Thanks.

[GvilleGirl]

I'll start out by saying that I am probably partial to Sandestin as my parents have lived there and owned multiple rental units there. Like Seaside you can rent in Sandestin through VRBO. I believe you can rent through rental agencies for Seaside if you don't want to rent through VRBO, but want to try Seaside. Another option is to look at some of the hotels through resortquest. Most of Sandestin's units are individually owned. I personally like the feeling of Sandestin/Seaside more so than FWB. It is more of a resort feel and FWB more a city feel. If swimming is something that you will want to do I don't think they have any heated outdoor pools except for the beach club, which is a private club. So that might be a benefit to renting in FWB. The Hilton @ Sandestin, which is on the beach might be heated pool. I haven't had any personal experience with the kids clubs of Sandestin as we are always with family. Dec. is a great time to go as it is so quiet. Sorry this isn't very helpful. I think it really depends on what kind of activities you want to do while you are there.

[firsttimemama]

If I'm not mistaken you're going to save $ by booking the same Sandestin property through VRBO...

We usually stay in condos in the South Walton Beach area. I love, love, love Sowal.

[bluestarfish18]

When we lived in Alabama, we trekked down to Destin/FWB almost every other weekend. And we always stayed at Sheraton Four Points. Rooms were spacious, included breakfast was yummy, staff was friendly and the hotel was right on the water. It's also next door to Gulfarium. Plus it was only $75 during February. I'm sure you can find something similar if you look around.