This was our first stay at Waterscape, after staying many years at Destin West. We were attracted to the property mainly because of the numerous pools and water attractions that we thought our kids would enjoy. And they did enjoy the pools, splash pad, and lazy river - no doubt about that.
However, my wife and I were disappointed overall in our experience and plan to look elsewhere for our next trip.
The little things add up...
* Upon arrival, we quickly noticed that our clothes dryer was broken. Inconvenient, yes, but the hotel staff was super helpful and washed/dried/folded several loads of laundry for us.
* Beach chair/umbrella Thunderdome. What they tell you: the unit comes with a set of beach chairs and umbrella. What they don't tell you: you have to get yourself out of bed and down to the beach (EVERY MORNING) before the beach attendants begin putting out the chairs and umbrellas, keeping a close eye out for the beach-dude-in-chief to begin drilling holes in the sand for the umbrellas in a gigantic horseshoe shape, resulting in a total of 4 sets of chairs actually at the waters edge. Then you have to throw your towel or some other belonging down close to the hole to claim your spot before someone else does...and watch out because even if you're standing right next to the dude when he drills the hole, someone else might swoop in and throw their towel down first. GOOD LUCK!
* Minor, but annoying complaints about the unit: the back doors don't lock and are only secured with a wooden pole; there is virtual zero counter space in the bathrooms; the range eyes need some help; the range top light switch is dangling/broken; the dishwasher will not open fully because the warming drawer on the stove appears to be broken/not shut fully
* Even though the unit appears to be on ground level, it's actually on the 2nd floor. If you have a beach wagon or anything else that isn't compatible with stairs, you have to either go down the hallway and fight for an elevator (or, the ONE working elevator in our building), or lug that sucker down the stairs near the pool (I don't recommend it)
* The hotel is basically right across the street from the fire department - so if you love the sound of sirens going off every half hour, you're in luck!
All that being said, we still had fun and enjoyed our trip - we just expected more based on what we paid.