Hutchinson Shores Resort & Spa

We have stayed at Hutchinson Shores for years, often with family and friends, and have always recommended it to others visiting Florida. Unfortunately, our most recent stay was deeply disappointing and disturbing. We discovered bed bugs in our room, and my daughter was bitten hundreds times. The only solution offered was to move us to another room — no compensation, no genuine concern, and no immediate resolution. The general manager told us he was “looking into it” and had professionals addressing the problem, but based on our experience, we have serious doubts about the truth of that statement. What was once one of our favorite places to stay has now lost our trust entirely. We will not be returning, nor will we recommend Hutchinson Shores to anyone in the future.

The hotel itself was clean and well-kept, which we appreciated. However, a few service and value issues took away from the overall experience. Each room includes only two beach chairs, which seems impractical for families. As a group of four, we had to pay extra just to have enough seating — not ideal for a beach resort. Cocktails were overpriced and disappointingly weak. Additionally, we had to call twice for help with our luggage, and no one ever arrived. I eventually had to go downstairs myself to get assistance. I don’t mind paying for quality, but I expect the service and amenities to reflect that price point. With some improvements in hospitality and guest consideration, this property could deliver a much better experience.

Really don’t know where to start on this one. What should have been a perfect stay in a beautiful hotel was a DISASTER. 1- RATS We were sitting down to dinner and watched a huge rat go by our table. When we advised our waitress of the situation, she informed us that there were jetty rats on the property. The rat was huge. 2- BRATS We were unable to use either of the beautiful pools because they were full of unruly, undisciplined children running, diving, fighting and doing cannonballs in every inch of the water. They were also playing in the hot tub. Several of these teenaged boys spoke of sneaking into the hotel. One was carrying a suitcase with him. Aside from the obvious liability issues for the Opal hotel chain, simple rules of common decency did not apply. Why a hotel would not only allow this kind of behavior to occur, let alone support it by plying the adults responsible for these children with loads of alcohol is beyond our educated comprehension. Several other couples were aghast at what they were witnessing. When the staff was informed of the situation, their response was supportive of the hillbilly parenting safety issues. This went on for our entire three day stay. 3- WiFi The hotel WiFi is literally circa 1985. Bring a book. You won’t be able to use any of your technology. We so wanted to enjoy our stay. Our room was clean and beautiful. The property, minus the tacky sales displays that greet you when you enter an architecturally beautiful hotel, is gorgeous. It’s horribly sad that such a perfect property is being run like a low rate, low life motel. Shame on you Opal for allowing this hotel to ruin your stellar reputation.

This review is way overdo. We stayed here some time ago (NYE). I was alone with my then 3 yo. We were at the restaurant on NYE (it was around 6pm). I told the waiter I was allergic to peppers. I ordered spring roles as an appetizer- the 1st bite I realized I bit into a pepper (which wasn’t listed on the menu) so I immediately said something. I realized I didn’t have Benadryl on me so I asked if they had any. They said they did not have anything to help. They instructed me to get in my car and get some medicine myself. They said it’s NYE so they couldn’t help me. I was alone with my 3 yo. To say the least I broke out in hives and had a miserable evening. We left there at 7am as I was in no shape to drive in the evening. The manager mailed me a $50 gift card as compensation. I really loved this hotel and wished it was our go to staycation resort. I still can’t get over how lousy I was treated and how they gambled my health with no care in the world not only for me, but my child. Shame on them. Shame on the manager for telling me it’s my problem. I regret not saying something sooner.

Just stayed there for 4th of July weekend. First the positives, it’s a beautiful resort on the beach and the majority of people working there are friendly and helpful. The spa is also terrific! Now the negatives, the Drift restaurant and bar is run by incompetent people who simply lie and ignore you. We had three couples in our group staying at resort plus friends from outside joining us for drinks and dinner. Our reservation was high jacked by a waitress who wanted us in her section but it was full, tables didn’t clear and we’re waiting 45 minutes. After being told multiple times by hostess that it will be a few minutes, we were ultimately told that we didn’t have a reservation because we didn’t reconfirm which is an absolute lie since we added people to the reservation in person that same day while having lunch there. Had to leave resort for last minute dinner at Conchy Joe’s. Spoke to a manager about it and she never got back to me. Next issue is the swarms of bugs biting you in the morning and evening. We live in Florida on the water so get it but there are ways to control pests. Next is the pool situation. Lots of families with kids stay there and there’s a big pool that would logically be the “kids pool area”. A smaller pool is by the bar near the beach appears to be the adult pool area which it was for about 15 minutes until it was overrun by families with screaming kids. Needless to say the adults were driven off with drinks in hand. Then we rented beach chairs and umbrella for $45 only to have them pulled after an hour because the guys running it saw storm clouds on the horizon. The storms never came yet everyone was kicked off the beach. We checked out a day early and went home.