This was our third time staying at the Lodge and we were celebrating our 25th anniversary. The staff is first class and the beach is awesome! We were there during the last weeks of August so there were not many other people there. All the staff seemed to quickly get to know us and our 11 year-old daughter.
We had an Ocean Suite and were very happy with the room: extra large space, large walk-in closet, fireplace, good size kitchen, large bathroom, and very comfortable bed. My daughter ended up sleeping on the large window seat rather than the sleeper-sofa, and the maid took care of making up the window seat with sheets and pillows. The only two things we did not like about this particular room was that it was not directly on the beach (it had an view and smallish balcony, but was tucked in over the courtyard) and that there are no hangers/hooks in the bathroom, save one (with wet clothes from the beach and bath towels, it makes sense to have lots of hooks to help dry the clothes).
The food, and room service, are all top notch. We went out just a few times to other places but ate most of our meals at the Lodge.
The staff is very pleasant and helpful. In fact, Susan (?), a hostess for the restaurant, offered up her personal bottle of aloe for our daughter when she noticed that her cheeks for a bit too pink from the sun.
The beach was spectacular. Great sand, warm water, just enough waves to have fun. We were there right after the hurricane came through Florida so there was one day where it was really rough. Being the off season (at least for a couple of weeks), there was hardly any one there, so it felt like a private beach to us.
We like to go to the spa wherever we travel and while at home, and this was the first place that just didn't even allow our daughter to walk in the front door of the spa. The Wentworth (our local resort ranked in the top-20 resorts of the US) knows us by first name, so taking her to the spa was not some kind of one-time thing. We even tried to book a private suite, but they refused.
One MAJOR flaw that is different from the last time we were there - they closed the family pool that was on the beach front and now made the families go across the street to the health club and use that pool. Unfortunately, because my daughter was under 13, she was barely allowed to walk around that facility. The woman who showed us around when we first went over there showed us the rooms for working out, steam rooms, etc, but was constantly saying 'but she can't go in there ...' We felt very unwanted there. The pool was large but half of it was used for lapping and it seemed that if any kids even went close to the lap lanes we would be kicked out. I would have to say that if we knew about this change, we would have opted not to stay at the Lodge, probably go stay at the Inn where they are more family-friendly.
We did go up to the Inn a few times for swimming as they have a much larger and family-friendly pool. It is 1.5 miles north so they had vans/cars that would take us back and forth, and the wait wasn't too bad, sometimes maybe 15 minutes at the longest.
Usually we would swim in the ocean and hang out on the beach for the morning and head up to the Inn in the early afternoon. The first time we did this we wanted to have lunch and drinks delivered to us at the pool, but apparently they don't do that. The only food available at the time was some over-cooked hotdogs at a tiny little bar. This was very disappointing, and the service was not up to the standards at the rest of the resorts - there were three staff at the bar, and two of them kept talking so loud to each other that it was impossible to talk to the other one, who was taking our order. We had to keep asking her to talk louder and louder, which just made the other two start talking even louder. Apparently they didn't want us there, or something.
The Inn is supposed to be a 5-Diamond award winner, but I would have to say that the little interaction I had there made me wonder what they actually look at when they decide a resort should get that kind of award.
Overall, it is a great place, but the little things keep it from being awesome (or rating it a 5). We just wanted to go there and be pampered, but without pool-side service, the lack of a family-friendly pool at the Lodge, and the inconvenience of having to be driven back-and-forth to the Inn, just slightly diminished our thoughts on the PV resorts.
We did ask to look at the suites at the Inn and were pleased with the room - it actually had a door and steps to the beach, which the rooms at the Lodge did not have. If we go back, we will probably stay at the Inn as the Lodge appears to be less family-friendly these days (not they are not family-friendly, it is just that the Inn appears to cater to families more).