.jpg?ssl=1)
Once upon a time, the thought of taking our two small children to spend an entire day at the beach was daunting.
Believe it or not: we found it to be much easier to pack our little ones up to spend an entire day at an amusement park than to take them to the beach.
You might be labeling us as “crazy” based off of those two sentences, but trust me: there is NOTHING relaxing about taking babies to the beach. They are crying because they don’t like the sand, they’re running off up the beach or into the ocean, they’re eating the sand – it’s a whole new level of crazy.
HOWEVER (and this is the ACTUAL crazy part) – kids grow up. And while we used to dread (and straight up avoid) taking a 5 year old and 1 year old to the beach, now we’re in a season of taking a 10 year old and a 6 year old to the beach – and it turns out, that experience is MUCH more relaxing.
With that in mind, we decided to work some BEACH TIME into our most recent trip to Florida. Derrick did his research and found us what looked to be an incredible hotel.
And wow, did it turn out to be AMAZING.
This is a full, in depth review of our stay at the Embassy Suites by Hilton St. Augustine Beach Oceanfront Resort located at 300 A1A Beach Boulevard in St. Augustine, Florida. We stayed at this hotel for 2 nights in September 2024 and this was our experience.
OVERVIEW
If you’re looking for a mini-beach resort in beautiful St. Augustine, Florida – this is it.
Situated directly on the beach, the Embassy Suites at St. Augustine boasts a vibrant and relaxing beach atmosphere. This resort is stunning – from the courtyard to the pool area to the beach – the entire property is simply beautiful.
Other amenities on the property include a farm to table restaurant, a full Starbucks, complimentary made-to-order breakfast, a daily yoga class, and Embassy Suite’s signature “Evening Reception” (more on that when we talk about the food). There is a fitness center, a business center, meeting rooms, and we even saw a wedding reception taking place in one of the ballrooms on the Saturday that we were there.
The staff were incredibly friendly and helpful – especially the staff we interacted with around the pool. They were kind and sweet to our kids – making us feel right at home and solidifying our feeling that we had truly booked the right hotel for our stay.
THE ROOMS
Embassy Suites is known for it’s – well, you guessed it: suites. Even their “base” “one room studio” style room is larger than your traditional hotel room. For context – average hotel rooms are around 300 square feet, but Embassy Suite’s one room studio is 415 square feet. And trust me, you definitely feel that extra space!
We stayed in a 2 Queen Bed, 2 Room, Balcony Suite and after spending the previous 5 nights in one of those more “average” sized hotel rooms, this felt like walking into a palace. My husband, Derrick, handles booking all of our hotels (he’s in charge of orchestrating our travels in general) and he had promised us that he’d saved us the best for last. And wow was he right.
The suite felt HUGE and with the addition of the balcony (we had what they call a “partial” oceanview) – the room felt so relaxing and luxurious.
THE POOL AREA/RESORT
What truly sets this hotel apart from other Embassy Suites we have stayed at are the pool area, the food options, and of course: the beach.
Let’s start with the pool and “resort” aspect of the hotel:
The main building of the hotel is shaped like a U with a large courtyard in the center.
This is where you truly begin to feel that “resort” vibe of the hotel.
The courtyard is filled with palm trees and gardens and has tons of different seating areas – most anchored around elevated stone firepits that, weather dependent, get lit in the evenings for people to hang out around. A massive storm rolled through during our first night here, but we got to see this in action the second evening!
Further, the hotel had live music being performed in the courtyard both of the evenings that we were there. The poor musician that first night ended up getting moved inside due to the storm – but talk about setting an incredible atmosphere to hang out and relax.
Moving down from the courtyard, there were various game areas set up – we saw cornhole and yard chess set up in one grassy area and there were pool tables set up in another.
You’re probably starting to get the idea, but the Embassy Suites at St. Augustine has so many different amenities – there is truly something for everyone and zero reasons to ever be bored.
Just a short walk further and you’ll arrive at the pool.
All we could say over and over was: “WOW”.
This pool was stunning and absolutely massive. Even during our full day at the resort, when there were a lot of people hanging out around the pool – it still never felt overcrowded, simply because of how large it is. Oh, and there was a hot tub too – a lot of hotels seem to be removing their hot tubs – but there is still one at this Embassy Suites! It was large and just off to the side of the pool.
There is PLENTY (and I mean PLENTY) of lounge chairs lined up around the pool with umbrellas to keep you comfortably in the shade.
Additionally, there were lines of lounge chairs set up to look out at the ocean as well (just in case you wanted to relax by watching the waves instead of the people swimming in the pool).
Complimentary towels were available at one end of the pool – and that’s where there was listed any special events happening that day for the whole family to enjoy. During our particular stay, they did an afternoon session of games for the kids and all participants received these squishy turtles that our children still, to this day, treasure. They also advertised a snow-cone station that our kids were SUPER hyped for, but sadly, it got rained out.
Next to where you picked up and dropped off your towels, the hotel also featured a large deck box full of pool toys and floaties! Our children thought this was the best thing ever. We had brought the goggles and sinkies that we always bring to play in the pool, but having this new treasure trove of additional toys just made our kids experience that much more fun.
Last but not least, at the opposite end of the pool was the Castaway Cantina – the poolside bar. During the afternoon, an employee would circle the pool, handing out menus and taking orders – so you never even had to leave your lounge chair (if you wanted). The menu featured mostly Mexican inspired cuisine – think tacos and nachos – alongside more traditional poolside fare and of course, any drink you could imagine. We ordered lunch here and wow, the food was SO good. We got several different types of tacos and an order of nachos – we all shared and sampled it all – it was so delicious.
I’ll just leave this one quick warning: pay attention to what you order and approximately how much it should cost. Since it is a hotel poolside bar, the employees simply jot down your room number to charge your room the cost of your food and drinks. I’m sure 98% of the time, this process works perfectly – however, as we were checking out, Derrick requested an itemized bill of our charges. A quick glance through this list and he instantly realized that something was very wrong. It turns out: someone had jotted down the room number for a bill a little bit sloppily and someone else’s bar tab got put on our room. Derrick knew that we had simply ordered an order of tacos and nachos at the poolside bar for lunch – not the dozen alcoholic drinks and multiple appetizers that someone else had ordered.
Thankfully, since he got that itemized receipt before we checked out, he was able to bring this to the front desk’s attention, they were able to look up that tab that had gotten charged to our room, and they were able to decipher that the room number listed was in fact: not ours.
So, word to the wise: always get an itemized receipt at hotels – ESPECIALLY ones that are charging things to your room like food and drinks.
Since we’re talking about food – let’s continue down that path..
THE FOOD
If we lived in the St. Augustine area, the restaurant that’s inside of this Embassy Suites would be our new favorite “splurge” spot.
Harvest and Reel is the hotel’s signature restaurant – and it blew our socks off. We ate dinner there the first night simply out of convenience. We had just checked in and didn’t want to go through the hassle of getting our car out of valet parking to leave the hotel and find food elsewhere.
We loved our experience and the food SO MUCH that we didn’t even think twice about going back the second night of our stay.
As you would expect from a farm to table restaurant – prices were slightly elevated. We spent more money than usual on dinner those two nights, but when I say it was worth every penny, I mean it was worth every penny. The food was just incredible. So fresh. So flavorful. So delightful. My mouth is watering just thinking about it.
Between our family of four across our two dinners, we ate a variety of seafood, pasta, pork chops, burgers, chicken fingers, salads, and soups. Every single item we got was amazing – from the seafood down to the chicken fingers our son ordered.
If you book a stay at the Embassy Suites in St. Augustine – I cannot recommend eating dinner at Harvest and Reel enough. Trust me: it’s THAT good.
Pivoting away from talking about dinner – the Embassy Suites in St. Augustine offers a complimentary made-to-order-breakfast and buffet. Like every other Embassy Suites we’ve stayed at, they have an amazing selection of traditional breakfast food plus an omelet station where they make fresh omelets.
This is always my favorite part of any Embassy Suites stay. I LOVE the made-to-order fresh omelets! I always ask for them to load my omelet up with just about every veggie there is and smother it in cheese – talk about an epic way to start your day.
Having that complimentary breakfast right there in the hotel is an incredible benefit to booking a stay at the Embassy Suites in St. Augustine. Not only does this save you time and money, but it saves you the headache of having to figure out what is open and close by for breakfast. We LOVE booking hotels with complimentary breakfasts – especially for our kids! They can walk up and down the buffet and choose precisely what they’d like (and in what quantity) and then go back up for more. This just makes mornings a breeze!
Along with their complimentary breakfast, the hotel offers juices, milk, and coffee to drink, however if you find yourself craving something just a little bit more –
There is a full-service Starbucks located right off of the hotel’s lobby.
Out of all the hotels we have ever stayed in – I believe this is the FIRST we’ve ever seen a Starbucks store within the hotel itself. Talk about the ultimate convenience!
The Starbucks did have limited hours of operation – mainly centered around the morning hours – and just like every other Starbucks on the planet – the line did get very very long.
Since we’re talking about things situated off of the hotel’s lobby, opposite the Starbucks, they also have a small grab-and-go convenience store. They had a large variety of snacks, drinks, candy, dessert items, beer and wine, chips – it was quite extensive!
Back inside and adjacent to the Harvest and Reel is the Rhum Bar.
Now, you might not be familiar with this, but another one of the amazing perks to staying at an Embassy Suites is they have their “Evening Reception” every night.
Most of the time, when we are staying at a hotel – we are not around to take advantage of the “Evening Reception” – because we’re out and about riding roller coasters – the hotel is simply our place to sleep. But in this particular case, since we were at the Embassy Suites in St. Augustine specifically to relax and enjoy the resort and the beach – we were not leaving the hotel at all. In other words: we were there to take part in the “Evening Reception”!
Every night, for a short window of time, Embassy Suites treats their guests to light appetizers and 2 complimentary drinks – this includes sodas, beer, wine, and spirits.
Our kids LOVED the “Evening Reception” because they were able to get some trail mix, gold fish, nachos and salsa, and a soda – while Derrick and I were able to get ourselves an “adult” beverage as well – and it’s all FREE.
These snacks held us over until we were ready to get cleaned up for dinner and is just another reason we LOVE to stay at Embassy Suites.
THE BEACH
As amazing as everything about this hotel is – the rooms, the atmosphere, the food – there is one thing that truly takes this hotel up and over the top.
When we found this hotel – we were specifically looking for hotels with easy access to the beach. It wasn’t entirely clear just HOW accessible the beach was on the website, but after doing some digging and looking on Google Maps, we were able to determine that this hotel must have a walk-way down to the beach. (After all, this hotel is named the “Embassy Suites by Hilton St. Augustine Beach OCEANFRONT Resort.)
Upon arrival, we were THRILLED with just how accessible the beach was. You simply walk through the courtyard, down to the pool area, up over the sand dune, and you’re on the beach!
From what we understand, the beach at this portion of St. Augustine had actually just undergone an extensive expansion project (we could actually still see a lot of the equipment they’d been using off to the side). In other words: it is a nice, long, leisurely walk down to the water.
The beach was very clean and beautiful. I’m not sure if it was just the time of year or if it’s like this all the time, but the beach was also very empty. We felt like we had the entire beach to ourselves. I’m not sure if it’s actually considered a “private” beach for the Embassy Suites, but that’s definitely what it felt like. There were beautiful shells to be found (to my daughter’s delight) and the water was clean and refreshing.
As the whipped cream and cherry on top (because YES, it gets BETTER) – the Embassy Suites provides their guests with 2 complimentary beach chairs and they also offer an umbrella for a small fee.
WHAT?
This blew us away. We had no idea that this was even a thing until we walked down the beach that first night we arrived. We saw that there was a gentleman sitting next to a pile of chairs and umbrellas and just assumed it was a local business renting these things out – until we got closer and realized that the gentleman was wearing an Embassy Suites uniform and name tag. As we approached him, he offered us the chairs and explained that they were complementary and further asked if we were interested in renting an umbrella to go with the chairs.
He then walked the chairs down to where we planned to sit on the beach – and when we saw other guests come down and elect to rent an umbrella – he would drill a hole in the sand so the umbrella would sit safe and secure between the chairs.
Talk about an AMAZING perk of staying at this Embassy Suites!
This level of service was seen all over the property and TRULY made the Embassy Suites at St. Augustine feel more like a RESORT than just a hotel. It truly took things over the top for us.
Additionally, there was a hose set up on the walkway that went from the pool area to the beach – that way you could quickly and easily rinse the sand off after walking back up from the beach and before entering the pool and courtyard (just another little thoughtful touch).
The last thing I’ll mention about the beach is that the toys our kids found around the pool were not just meant for the pool area – but ALSO for the beach.
We had brought a few buckets and shovels for our kids to use to build sandcastles – but they opted instead to fill a bag with the sand toys provided by the hotel and bring them down to the beach instead. If we had known that these toys were available ahead of time – we wouldn’t have packed those buckets and shovels (even though I had gotten really cool silicone ones that smashed down flat – they still took up extra room in our trunk.)
LAST NOTES
I mentioned this briefly at the beginning, but this Embassy Suites offers valet parking and that’s it. There is no self-park option. At the time of this recording, valet parking is $39 a day – so be sure to factor that into your vacation budget.
Also as I quickly mentioned at the beginning of this video: we specifically booked this hotel for it’s resort vibes and beach proximity. I know that a lot of people seek out St. Augustine for it’s history – however, that wasn’t what we were looking for during our visit.
With that being said: I cannot speak to where this hotel is situated in relation to the rest of historical St. Augustine. If you are visiting the area and looking to tour the historic sites or visit the shops, I’m sorry, but I’m of no help in that department.
The hotel’s website does list a 2-hour bike rental as part of your stay (like the complementary beach chairs and towels), so I’d take that to mean that SOMETHING is within biking distance of the hotel. I’m not sure what that would be though, so you’d have to do your own research on that.
CONCLUSION
If you can’t tell, we LOVED our time at the Embassy Suites in St. Augustine. From the food, to the pool, to the beach – it exceeded our expectations.
In fact, we loved it so much that we’ve already booked a visit back during our upcoming trip down to Florida. We’re roller coaster enthusiasts and content creators, so we take an annual trip south to enjoy the parks and coasters every year – and 2025 will be no exception.
There aren’t many hotels that we actively seek to book a second time. After all: there are tens of thousands of hotels out there – and even when we return to the same area over and over again, we love trying new places!
However, our stay at the Embassy Suites in St. Augustine was just THAT great.
We looked around at other hotels in the area, but felt like: could they really be better than the Embassy Suites? Our expectations have now been set SO high! The pool toys, the events, the food, the accessibility to the beach – all we could think was: what if we book somewhere else, it isn’t as good, and all we can do is WISH we’d gone back to the Embassy Suites?
