The sea oats motel is only one of two motels or inns located directly on the beach. I suppose all the other places are condominiums.

I enjoyed staying at the Sea Oats. It is an older place. I stayed in room 14 on the second floor which is reached by climbing an outside flight of stairs. The rooms have outside air conditioning units (worked well on 90+ degree days) which are beside the front door. When you enter, the bathroom is to your right with a vanity, tub, and toilet. This room contained a small LCD TV, a small refrigerator and microwave. Each room is private and I did not hear any noises from other rooms except for the occasional closing of the front door. The back of the room has a sliding glass door (no screen to keep open at night and hear the ocean) and a balcony with plastic chairs which has a beautiful view of the gulf shore. You are just steps away from a white quartz sand beach and emerald water.

Bed was an average king size bed, with decent pillows. This time I brought my own :) There is no housekeeping. When you arrive you get your towels from the front desk which you trade in each day. You dump your own trash with garbage bags provided. There are dishes for 2 people and a coffee maker that you supply a standard round filter. They have dishwashing liquid.

It is a no frills place. I liked it better than the Days Inn that I stayed in my other review. The beach was fantastic. Sugary with lots of wildlife in the water. We saw dolphins playing very close to the shore on a Sunday morning. I saw numerous fish while snorkeling inside the main sand bar. I also saw on two occasions a stinging jellyfish out past the main sandbar. There were warnings of sea creatures indicated by purple flags on the beach. One of the beach patrol people said they had 15 cases of stinging on a Friday. One was serious enough to call an ambulance. No worries, there were no cases that I saw in our area.

You are within 6 blocks of highway 98 with all the shopping and eateries you desire, if that is your thing. For the guys and gals there is a bass pro shop with all your dream equipment to be a beach survivor. I would recommend the Donut Hole west of the motel on 98; Good food, good people and good price.

If your idea of a vacation to the beach is to spend the majority of your time on the beach and in the water. This is a great place for the money for two people to a room. The beach is populated with people from all across the Eastern United States with heavy representations from Pennsylvania, Alabama, Tennessee and Kentucky.

I would rank this beach second to Miami in the continental United States. The sand is the best. The width of the beach is great. The beach does drop 2 to 3 feet abruptly at entering the water then up onto a wide shallow sandbar and then to depth of 8 feet (where the jellyfish were sighted while snorkeling). Miami's sand is not as soft or as clean, but the entrance is gradual and the shallow sandbar is much wider. I like the larger waves on the Atlantic. The gulf can almost be as calm as a lake after a storm. Destin is definitely a more family oriented.