30A’s best amenities — sugar-white sand and blue-green Gulf waters — are easy enough to find no matter where you are, but if you’re wondering where to go to lounge poolside, workout, or enjoy drinks on a rooftop, this guide is for you. Below, we’ve rounded up some of the latest, greatest, and most unique resort amenities you can find all along 30A.
It’s hard to miss the black-and-white striped awnings of The Pearl, a boutique hotel in Rosemary Beach.
Amenities include Spa Pearl (which has four poolside treatment rooms), Havana Beach Bar & Grill (inspired by Hemingway’s favorite Havana haunt), and Havana Beach Rooftop, which offers shared plates and drinks plus prime views of the town and Gulf.
Since The Pearl is managed by St. Joe Hospitality, guests also have access to amenities like private golf and beach club access, complimentary bicycle use, and discounted stand-up paddleboard rentals.
Located in Seaside, The REP is a premier professional theatre company that hosts indoor performances in the intimate 75-seat Meeting Hall Theatre. Here, you can watch professional theater productions or live music concerts––Griffin House and My One And Only have upcoming performances.
ZUMA Courtyard. Photo courtesy of Alys Beach
A haven for inner and outer wellness, this Alys Beach amenity is exclusive to Alys Beach homeowners and vacation rental guests. ZUMA is described as “a place for fitness, restoration, and an elegant spirit of balance our town strives to provide.” The Wellness Center hosts unique fitness classes (including BogaFit, a fitness class featuring a floating yoga mat), offers private training sessions, and has quiet outdoor spaces and steam rooms for relaxing and recovering. They also have two Har-Tru tennis courts. In their treatment rooms, they offer massages, OSEA facials, and body treatments designed to revitalize the mind and body.
Images by Kurt Lischka, Moon Creek Studios, Courtesy of Alys Beach
Alys Beach homeowners get exclusive access to this new tri-level Beach Club. On the street level is the main entrance and beach access. On the second level (the main level) is an elegantly furnished deck flanking a pool, plus locker rooms, beach access to the dune crossover, and a casual dining venue. The aptly-named Sunset Bar sits on the third level and offers prime views of the Gulf. The private Beach Club was designed by Hart Howerton to reflect and embrace the surrounding town.
Camp Watercolor. Credit: St. Joe Hospitality
For family-friendly fun, Camp WaterColor has much to offer. Available to WaterColor Inn & Resort guests and WaterColor homeowners, this private amenity consists of the main pool with a slide, a zero-entry children’s pool, a lazy river, a playground, a basketball court, and a casual dining venue called The Canteen Restaurant & Bar.
Also in WaterColor, the recently expanded WaterColor Beach Club has three pool decks, including a new main pool with expanded seating and lounge areas.
The WaterColor Grill is bigger than before, and they’ve added a new sunset bar.
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Posted by 30A on Wednesday, 12 August 2020
Tennis fans flock to this award-winning resort in Miramar Beach. Here, you can play to your heart’s content on one of their 12 clay courts. Guests staying at the resort enjoy free use of the tennis courts during their stay. They have a dedicated tennis front desk for setting up lessons (private or group), tournaments, and more. Other tennis services include racquet stringing and racquet and ball machine rentals. There is also tennis equipment available for purchase. The Tops’l Tennis Center hosts weekly tennis events throughout the year, including round robins, drill sessions, and clinics.
One of three award-winning golf courses that are part of Watersound Club, Camp Creek Golf Club is a Tom Fazio-designed course that’s home to nearly 7,200 yards of fairways, greens, and bunkers. The manicured turf is accented with a mixture of native plants that give the course a more natural look.
A massive expansion of Watersound Camp Creek is currently underway, with plans to add a health and wellness center, kids club, casual cafe, multi-sport courts (including tennis and pickleball courts), leisure pools, a playground, and a 75-room boutique inn.
Shark’s Tooth Golf Course in Wild Heron is suitable for golfers of all skill levels and boasts a thoughtful design that lends a feeling of connectivity to the surrounding landscape. Origins Golf Club, which is open to the public, has a short course that’s perfect for families, beginners, and casual golfers.
Rooftop pool. Photos: Gary Bogdon
This new luxury property opened at the Sandestin Golf and Beach Resort in February ’21. Their rooftop pool boasts views of the resort, Choctawhatchee Bay, and the Gulf of Mexico. Other amenities include an upscale spa featuring 10 treatment rooms, and a fitness center with Peloton bikes and pop-up fitness classes. Hugh Acheson, a James Beard award-winning chef, heads up the culinary program, which includes Ovide (a fine dining restaurant highlighting Gulf Coast flavors), Ara ( the stylish rooftop lounge), a lobby bar, and a grab-and-go coffee bar.
