Things have changed a lot since we visited Pensacola Beach in 2017. The hotel that we stayed at then is no longer in business, so we reserved a room at the Hampton. Our first surprise came at the end of the toll bridge on Santa Rosa Island. We expected to pay with cash, but the signs instructed us to drive through without stopping. A camera took a picture of our license plate as we went through. We thought we were in trouble because we had not purchased a pass, but the receptionist at the hotel assured us that there was no problem, but we will receive a bill in the mail (even though we are from out -of-state). I do not know what they would do if we drove a rental car. Our second surprise came when we pulled into the hotel parking lot. There was a sign saying there is a daily parking fee. Maybe I should have known that, but somehow I did not get the memo. The fee turned out to be $15 per day. I did get the memo (by email) about breakfast. It said that breakfast would be given in a sack as a covid prevention measure. That turned out not to be the case. It was breakfast as usual, which was a good surprise. (The biscuits were very good indeed.) We had to wear bracelets on our wrists to get breakfast, which was a...Things have changed a lot since we visited Pensacola Beach in 2017. The hotel that we stayed at then is no longer in business, so we reserved a room at the Hampton. Our first surprise came at the end of the toll bridge on Santa Rosa Island. We expected to pay with cash, but the signs instructed us to drive through without stopping. A camera took a picture of our license plate as we went through. We thought we were in trouble because we had not purchased a pass, but the receptionist at the hotel assured us that there was no problem, but we will receive a bill in the mail (even though we are from out -of-state). I do not know what they would do if we drove a rental car. Our second surprise came when we pulled into the hotel parking lot. There was a sign saying there is a daily parking fee. Maybe I should have known that, but somehow I did not get the memo. The fee turned out to be $15 per day. I did get the memo (by email) about breakfast. It said that breakfast would be given in a sack as a covid prevention measure. That turned out not to be the case. It was breakfast as usual, which was a good surprise. (The biscuits were very good indeed.) We had to wear bracelets on our wrists to get breakfast, which was a bad surprise. Our third-floor room on the cheap side of the hotel had a view of the bay on the other side of the highway and some lower buildings. That was probably less scenic than the Gulf side, but still surprisingly good. The room itself is quite good, even though there was one lamp that did not work and some noise filtered in from other rooms. The location is fabulous, and we enjoyed a walk on the beach in the wintry air. Altogether, we had a good stay.More
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