Idle Awhile Resort

For more detail, see below, but the short story is that we had a 5-night reservation at the White House suite and were unhappy enough to ask to be moved to a different room. We were lucky to be moved to a wonderful room at Idle Awhile Cliffs, where we stayed for 4 nights. I'll leave a separate review on the Cliffs since it deserves a very different rating. When I made our reservations for Idle Awhile Beach last spring, the only room available was the lower level of the White House suite (109). I was a bit concerned that all but 2 of the pictures on the hotel's website were of the upper suite (for the lower level see: one has a shot of the space with blue ceilings and the other is the kitchen with a gas range), but I assumed that they could not be that different. I was also fine with being located across the street from the beach and that the design of the White House looked different from the that of the main hotel, which seems really beautiful. There were some great things about Idle Awhile Beach: the staff are wonderful and really work hard to make you feel welcome - can't say enough good things about the folks who work here; everything we ate and drank at the restaurant was delicious; the beach and the grounds of the main hotel are beautiful. The reason we moved to the Idle Awhile Cliffs location after 1 night is due to the condition of the room. When we arrived, we noted that the room had at least a dozen mosquitoes, which made me check the screens and I noticed that many were torn. Since the White House is set a few lots back from the road among lush vegetation (and not exposed to any ocean breezes), the screens are important to have in this location. (Conversely, our room at the Cliffs location had no screens at all and we had no issue with mosquitoes as we had the breeze off the ocean.) We tried fixing one of the larger holes but after realizing how many needed repair we asked for tape to cover the openings. The staff kindly apologized and tried taping over the holes, noting that the screens needed to be replaced. We also noticed that the general condition of the room was shabby and in need of an overall update - peeling paint, cobwebs, stained surfaces, filthy range, broken trash can, rusted and/or missing window shade handles, worn furniture, etc. (see the attached pictures). The place just feels like neglected and it's depressing. While I was sitting on the bed, a screw fell out of the ceiling fan, making one of the blades come loose. Finally, I asked if they had any available rooms and they had one at the Cliffs location and we gladly and gratefully took it, figuring that we could visit the beach via the daily shuttle between the 2 locations. Overall, I don't think it's fair to market the lower level room as part of the main hotel. It implies a similar level of quality that is just not there. So, I would avoid the lower level of the White House unless you're getting a heavily discounted rate, which we weren't - there are many

Not a big property, but quiet and on a great beach. Checking in was simple and easy, the restaurant had great food and service. The staff was very courteous and efficient with our needs. Very clean and well maintained property. Can walk anywhere from this location. I would highly recommend Idle Awhile to anyone. Need to plan in advance due to it's small amount of rooms/suites.

The perfect vacation for our family. We came with our 3 grown boys and their girlfriends and loved every minute. We had 3 between us. We wake up to a beautiful view of the beach and the ocean and have coffee and breakfast with the friendly helpful staff. There’s a beautiful swimming area where you can float or swim or take out the paddle boards or kayaks. We had use of the sports club up the road, and a few of the crew worked out almost every day. We did some great excursions, but one of our favorites was to the sister property Idle a While on the cliffs. It’s located almost in the center of the 7 mile beach so it’s fun to walk up and down the beach for dinner or Music or take a quick taxi ride to the cliffs to one of the amazing restaurants. This is our third time at Idle a While and we will be back again. It is very clean and safe and beautiful. Special thanks to beautiful Claudia, Anthony, Ilie and Hopeton for making us feel at home. And we loved yhe resident kitty.