Are you looking for a weekend getaway for the whole family that doesn’t take much planning? Check out Hammock Beach Golf Resort in Palm Coast, Florida!

For my husband’s birthday, we decided to look for a getaway that would include golf for him and activities that our daughter would enjoy. (Yes, I was also considered but I just love vacation so my needs were already met.) We landed on Hammock Beach Golf Resort and booked rooms with two other couples and their children.

Nestled on the each coast of Florida between St. Augustine and Daytona, this resort had it all. There were five restaurants, a poolside café, and multiple bars. The pool complex included a lower-level pool with a slide, a lazy river, an upper-level adult pool, and an upper-level zero-entry beach pool. Close by, an indoor pool with two hot tubs. Not up for the busy pools? Play a round of oceanfront golf (pricey option) or a round of putt-putt golf (free!). Enjoy the beach access, play tennis, rent a bike, or book a treatment at the spa and wellness center.

Now, all the details (good and bad).

We visited in July 2021 and the resort was definitely struggling with staffing levels. Check-in was “4:00 PM or when the room is ready”. For one set of friends, their room was ready right at 4:00 PM. For us, it wasn’t ready until 5:30 PM. This made things difficult since we were traveling with a child and needed somewhere to get ready for dinner. If friends wouldn’t have come with us and had an available room, we would have had to cancel our dinner reservations.

We went to dinner at Atlantic Grille that Thursday night. It was wonderful! The food was great, the staff was great, the views were great!

After dinner, we played on the beach for a bit and finally made our way to our room. When we walked in, it was very obvious that the air conditioning wasn’t working. We had to call for maintenance and wait for someone to be able to come fix it. We asked if we could switch rooms so that we could get our daughter to bed and the answer was no because they were booked solid that weekend. So we had to keep her up late and wait until they were able to get it fixed.

The next day (Friday) we started our morning with breakfast at Atlantic Grille. The dads went to play a round of golf while the moms and the kids went to the pools. The zero-entry pool was perfect for our 2 and 3 year olds! It was easy to supervise them, the deepest part was only 3 feet, they loved that they could just walk in, and there was a bathroom extremely close by.

We ordered lunch pool-side and then went back to the rooms for nap time. When I arrived at my room, my key didn’t work. I called the front desk and they had to send someone up to open the door and give me a new key. I’m typically pretty patient when traveling, but it was starting to wear thin (as you can imagine).

In the afternoon, the dads took the kids and the moms went to the adult pool for some quiet time and drinks! Then, to Delfino’s Italian Chophouse. Again, the food was great and the staff was great!

After dinner, we all reconvened to have s’mores! The resort set up firepits and offered $5 s’mores kits. The kids ate s’mores and ran in the open space. Everyone had a great day.

On Saturday, we started with breakfast at Atlantic Grille again. Then we all enjoyed a full day poolside together. We primarily hung out in the zero-entry pool but also floated around the lazy river a few times! When the kiddos needed to nap, we all alternated keeping an eye on them and hanging onto our poolside chairs.

When it was time to get ready for dinner at Loggerheads, we made our way back to the rooms. I got to the door and my key didn’t work AGAIN. I called the lobby (a little upset, I’ll admit) and they hung up on me. Then I was beyond my patience tolerance level and called again. Thankfully, someone a little more understanding answered and sent maintenance to help. They informed me that the keys are temperamental and very sensitive to deactivation if they are anywhere near a magnet. Well, my purse has a magnet closure! Had I known that on day 1, I wouldn’t have kept the key in my purse. Thankfully, dinner was great and made up for my frustration.

On Sunday, we had breakfast and then spent some time at the beach before we needed to check-out and head home.

Overall, I would give the resort 4 out of 5 stars.

Pros: The property was gorgeous, the restaurants were really great, and there were tons of amenities to make the weekend fun!

Cons: Late/inconsistent check-in, the AC being broken with no room alternatives (but its a fun place, so its popular!), the issues with our keys, and lack of sustainable processes (the trashcans on property and the beach were overflowing with plastic cups and straws everyday).