The Island Resort at Fort Walton Beach…
The Island Resort at Fort Walton Beach was not what the website portrays, especially considering the price. While the property appears updated in photos and marketing materials, the reality felt quite different.
The rooms are also surprisingly small for the rates being charged, making the overall value even harder to justify.
Our biggest concern was a significant mold and mildew issue in our room. What initially appeared to be minor discoloration became much worse after a few days. By our third day, mold was visibly covering portions of the ceiling and was also present on the curtains. After insisting on assistance and requesting management involvement, we were eventually moved to another room. Unfortunately, the second room also showed signs of mildew and dust buildup on the ceiling but wasn’t as bad. It did have a cat urine odor at times though.
The response from management was equally frustrating. After reporting the issue, I waited more than three hours without hearing from a manager and had to repeatedly request assistance and even then only was able to speak to a manager after I demanded to. The seriousness of the mold concerns seemed minimized by the manager until I began pointing out additional maintenance issues, including:
• A broken lock on the balcony door
• A nicotine patch stuck to the ceiling near the entry door
• Dirt or stain marks on the bathroom wall
• A broken shampoo/soap dispenser
• An air conditioning unit that struggled to cool the room after the second night
• Poor and unreliable Wi-Fi
The manager stated she would speak with a regional manager and follow up with me. Days later I have not received any follow up from a manager. At no point did anyone offer a sincere apology or ask what could be done to make the situation right.
***update - we did receive compensation for 1 of our 5 nights stay there (3 of which were in the moldy room) and are appreciative of this. Management did not verbally reach out to us about this and we were not contacted in person or with a phone call at any time during this process.***
After returning home and reading other reviews, I discovered multiple guests have reported similar mold concerns in various rooms, which suggests this may be an ongoing maintenance issue rather than an isolated incident.
Additional frustrations included the laundry facilities repeatedly taking our money without starting the machines. Hotel staff advised us to contact the laundry company ourselves rather than assisting with the issue.
The food was good, which is the reason I’m giving one star instead of zero, but it was also very expensive and small portion size. Drinks were similarly overpriced.
I rarely leave negative reviews, but I felt compelled to share this experience because families deserve to know what they may encounter before booking—especially anyone with allergies, asthma, or mold sensitivities. For the rates being charged, I expected a much higher standard of cleanliness, maintenance, customer service, and accountability. Unfortunately, this resort felt more like an aging property with cosmetic updates than the premium beachfront experience its pricing and website suggests.