Hilton Cocoa Beach - The Crabs Are Awaiting Your Early Arrival!
Written: Jan 09 '03 (Updated Jan 10 '03)
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Product Rating:
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Pros: spacious rooms, service, lobby, beach, work-out room
Cons: no balcony, 20 minutes late check-in
The Bottom Line: A hotel located right on the ocean with more than acceptable service, spacious rooms, and crabs - but don't worry about them. Just enjoy it!
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| jetbluefan1's Full Review: Hilton Cocoa Beach |
The Hilton in Cocoa Beach features the highest quality in Cocoa Beach in my opinion. It is a part of Hilton Co., the major hotel chain running through various countries throughout the world. This Hilton isn’t just one of those typical Hiltons; it looks the same as others, but it is the most unique inside.
Why I Chose Hilton
There are a few reasons that I chose Hilton. I think all are considerable when making a decision on where to stay.
I was looking for a hotel on the ocean. Fortunately, when I searched for a hotel on Cocoa Beach near the ocean, the Hilton popped up. I didn’t want to end up at a hotel a few miles from the beach; I like to know that when I wake up, I can look outside my window and see water. It sounds weird when I say that I like to see water when I wake up, well, I do!
I also chose the Hilton because of its history. I know that the Hilton has been known for high-quality service. When I think of Hilton, I think of Marriott, and when I think of Marriott, I think of an exceptional stay. I also wanted to stay at a hotel owned by a chain that I have actually heard of. This is because it will be more noticed by tour companies and will give me more options on how to get to the hotel, and where I can get transportation to and from the hotel.
Price & Booking
Pricing in major tourists areas like Cocoa Beach in Florida means high prices. The hotels in the surrounding area seem to jack up prices as the years go by. Luckily, I found a decent price for $110 per night, not including taxes and fees which brought it up to about $130 a night. This was only a one night stay, so I felt more than free to go a little bit overboard with quality for the prices as the Hilton, Cocoa Beach is right on the Atlantic Ocean.
I booked the hotel through www.Hilton.com. It was an easy sight to navigate, and gave a lot of information about the hotel and directions.
Lobby & Check-In
We were scheduled to check-in at 4:00pm after a short drive from Orlando (about an hour to an hour and a half). Unfortunately, they didn’t have a room ready for about another 20 minutes, so we took a walk through the uniquely designed lobby. Right at the entrance was a gift shop. The gift shop had key chains, hats, shirts, and postcards. In the back, there were soda and beer refrigerators, and a candy bar rack.
The lobby had a unique architecture with fabric flags hanging from the ceiling to the ground in the sitting lounge. The flags were all white and were gigantic. They had color lights shining on them to make them noticed. In front of the flags were chairs and couches. There were also paintings of the ocean and sunsets.
We did not get to explore through the lobby that much as there was a wedding reception and they would not let us go past the sitting lounge. I do know that the wedding reception was in the ballroom and that there was a cocktail hour behind the sitting lounge. The restaurant was also closed for the wedding as it was being rented out by the newly weds.
20 minutes came and it was time to check-in. The check-in agent was very friendly and very helpful. She told us what we could do at the hotel, what we were near, and who we should call for room service, etc.
Room
The room was a fair size for a double. There was a peep-hole, and when first entering, there was a walk-in closet with hangers, an ironing board, and an iron. There was also a safe right next to the closet. There were two Queen sized beds with a night table in the middle. The night table had a lamp and a phone on it. Below the night table was a yellow-pages, white-pages, and a Bible.
There was also a desk with a Hilton pen and pad. Next to it was the television which was 28”. The television had all the standard cable channels in America, and a Hilton channel which showed all the activities going on at the hotel and pictures. There was also another chair with a leg-rest, and a small glass table.
We were on the fourth floor, so we didn’t get much of a view. However, we did get an ocean-side window which let us overlook the beach, but we couldn’t see much since the palm trees were so tall!
The bathroom was spacious and tidy. There was a shower/jacuzzi with bubble bath located in the cabinets. A hair-dryer and curling iron were hooked to the wall without taking up the outlet. Soap and shampoo came in small bottles which were inside a hand-made basket. Both the shampoo and soap were a Hilton brand. By the faucet, there was a cute setup of washcloths. There were also shower towels and hand towels neatly aligned on a silver rack.
Both the room and bathroom were very clean and spacious. Cleaning was free, but we didn’t have time to see how “special” it was since we left at 8:00 the next morning.
Work-Out Room
The work-out room was big and didn’t smell like sweat, fortunately. We took a short 20 minute work-out there. There were stairmasters, treadmills, ski machines, bicycles (the machine, not the real thing), and other machines that exercised your upper body and lower body. Children under 12 were not allowed in, and there are tv’s available to watch. Headphones for the tv’s were compliments of the hotel.
Beach
There was only time for us to enjoy one thing that we really wanted to do: go to the beach. There, we bought two buggy-boards for $10 to ride the waves. When the wave would come, we would put our backs to it and then it would come and scoop us up and drop us in the shallower part of the beach. Just make sure you don’t do this where the white-caps break on those windy days. Chairs and tanning beds were also compliments of the hotel. You could go to the nearby bar and order a drink or a small snack such as chips, a hot dog, or fries.
The next day came faster than we wanted it to, and it was time to leave the Hilton, Cocoa Beach. We woke up at 6:00 to go to the beach once again. While there, we stood still and saw some tiny crabs come out of their holes in the sand. They would come out, stand still and look around, then would run back into their holes. We had some good laughs watching them, and still have pictures for the memories.
My Thoughts
The Hilton in Cocoa Beach is an excellent hotel in my opinion. The lobby was magnificent though we didn’t get to explore around too much. I liked the way it was set up with the gigantic flags and the way the colored lights shined on them. I wish I could have gone to the restaurant, but since there was a wedding, we couldn’t. That was okay though, since the room was nice. It was clean, spacious, and had a good yet hard-to-see view of the ocean since the palm trees were in the way. A balcony would have been nice, however. I loved the beach and how well it was managed. The complimentary tanning beds were nice, and I liked that there was a small snack bar right next to where they sold us the buggy-boards. If it comes down to choosing between the Hilton Cocoa Beach or another hotel, choose the Hilton. You will be satisfied!
1550 North Atlantic Ave
Cocoa Beach, FL 32931
Hilton Cocoa Beach - The Crabs Are Awaiting Your Early Arrival!
Recommended:
Yes
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