Shell Island Resort - All Oceanfront Suites

Amazing in Every Way! The views are amazing, the staff excellent (Thank you Trinity Lee for your kindness and generosity during our stay!), the beds comfortable, and the location superior to anywhere I have been in this area. I absolutely loved celebrating my 50th birthday here with my family…and given all this was in the midst of the effects of Hurricane Debby- true praise!

Don't fall for the pictures on the web! First things first - is this a resort of a condo? I don't think they even know what their business model is. We were in town for a wedding the last few days of June 2024 through July 4th. Upon arrival at the hotel, you are greeted by a lobby that hasn't been updated since 1942 (exaggeration, but you get the point). Receptionists who hate their jobs and probably their life. They were unpleasant, unhelpful, and on certain days, plain out rude. The rooms are just as dated, if not more. The pull out sofa bed is awful. it's like a bunch of metal rods with cardboard as a mattress. I am sure prison bunks are more comfortable than that. Water damage could be seen throughout the room in both bathrooms with rust stains and water rings galore. There is no room keeping, which OK i get, but they don't even provide you with the bare necessities like a broom. The rooms have a thermostat, but it appears as if they were locked to a certain temperature - around 72 degrees. So the room remained humid throughout the stay. Ice is only on every other floor (even floor numbers) but apparently only worked on floor 2. We asked if this would be fixed and the receptionist said that the didn't have any one to fix that. The restaurant on the main floor was only open for half of our stay. and when they were open, they were out of pretty much everything. hell, even one day they didn't have silverware. The pool is about the size of a normal residential pool. there is minimal sitting as well. The ONLY redeeming quality of this place was location and that fact that the beach was gorgeous. but not gorgeous enough that i would ever go back, even for a free stay.

AWFUL!! DO NOT STAY HERE. The rooms are very small and dated. The lobby isn’t much better. Our room has an old kitchen table that’s scratched up. And the room has an odd smell. The parking garage is tiny and there’s no elevator. If stairs aren’t your thing you’re out of luck.

Worst experience at the beach! Do not stay here. We have stayed at Shell Island Resort a few times in the past. It has probably been 5 or more years since our last stay. I was shocked to find the lobby and exterior of the hotel so unkept, and outdated. When we arrived in our room 320 immediately I could tell it has not been properly cleaned or updated in a very long time. The floors were visibly dirty. They turned our feet black. The windows leaked water and the balcony door did not properly lock. Which was both noisy and dangerous. It was not stocked with basics, toilet paper, towels, utensils, or plates, not even a sponge to wash the dirty leftover kitchen utensils, and dirty pots and pans. The coffee maker had an open bag of coffee. The tub was filled with sand and clogged. The mattress in both the bedroom and pull out sofa were old, and uncomfortable to sleep on. The lights in the bedroom did not work. I noticed when I opened the blinds to get some light in the bedroom there were dead bugs in the room. The bedding was white and stained. The blanket and pillows for the fold out couch were dirty and smelly. The safe was broken. Which made me uncomfortable leaving medication and my wallet in the room. No worries no one came to clean the room or take out the garbage. Housekeeping did not answer my calls and the front desk sent up toilet paper and some towels in a garbage bag! It is outrageous that they are charging 5 star rates for basically a run down cheap motel environment. The pool was filthy, chaise lounges were sandy and the concrete surrounding the pool has not been cleaned in years. The Tiki bar was out of most drink mixes and charging 13 dollars a drink from the limited list of available drinks. When I complained to the front desk, I was told the unit was a condo and they could not get in touch with the owner??? Please spend your money somewhere else!!!

Disappointing Vacation We went to Shell Island for a wedding. Upon arrival, we were greeted by a less than happy receptionist, going through the motions of her job. No big deal, everyone has an off day. Our room was not what we expected. I can get past the fact that it probably has not been upgraded in a very long time, but it was NOT CLEAN (and no cleaning products available). To drive this point home, when I pulled down the bed linens, there was dried BLOOD on both the sheets and the mattress cover. Talk about horrified! I’m am certain that if I saw that stain, the housekeeper who made the bed did as well and just didn’t care. If he/she let that slide, what in the world else was neglected? A call to the desk revealed that I have would have to return to the reception area to get clean sheets and that we would have to sleep on the pull-out as there were no other available rooms. No apology, no customer service attempts - just the fact that she was busy and other things to attend to. I spoke to the manager the next day. She was more amicable and apologetic but unable to do much more than give cafe vouchers for my trouble. Since the ordeal wasn’t about money, I insisted that they deep clean the room before we would return. That same day, the AC stopped working. They promptly attempted to repair it but was unable and they found us another room. Sadly, it was in as much disrepair as the first. After talking with friends/family there, they vocalized the same concerns as mine. Several other concerns arose and irritated the entire group that was there for the wedding. The cafe was sometimes open, sometimes not. No, we don’t have tortillas to make your order, or we are out of silverware, or we don’t have any TEA. The only positive thing about the experience was that the beach was beautiful. Yes, I know they have no control over that but it has to be said. There are beautiful hotels and condos in that area that can be rented. I assure you that I will not go back to Shell Island nor will anyone else from our group.