Travel - Perfect Beach Hotel in Ormond Beach, FL

                                                    

Looking for a quiet spot on the Atlantic?  Read more about Coral Sands in Ormond Beach!

So, it finally got cold here in Georgia, and I'm dreaming of the beach. Which reminds me of the fun we had on vacation back in September.   My son, Aunt & I went to Florida for a 9 day whirlwind trip to the beach, Disney and Kissimmee! I have so much to share with y'all.  Here in Georgia, a trip to Disney is only an eight hour drive away.  I grew up going to Disney & other Orlando-area theme parks fairly often, as my Grandparents lived in Orlando.  It still makes me so incredibly happy to visit the magical world that Walt Disney created.  This was our first trip in 8 years, so I wanted to enjoy it and make lots of memories!

I've mentioned before that my son David is homeschooled via k12.com.  That means we have a little more flexibility than most families, and can easily take vacations throughout the school year.  This trip was actually planned by another K12 mom and wow, did she ever do an amazing job!   It was a Disney YES (Youth Education Series) trip, and because it included a Disney class for our kids at the park, we were able to take advantage of some amazing ticket prices.  We each got the four-day park hopper pass, and the cost was what you would normally pay for two days at one park only - wow!! 

We drove over to Alabama early Tuesday morning to pick up my sweet Aunt Anne.  She was going with us to Florida, and at the last minute we decided to leave a day early so we could see the ocean. The beach is probably my favorite place in the world.  The sound of the waves, the smell of the salt air, the breeze - it's my happy place.  Being so close and not seeing the beach would have been SAD!
So we picked her up, then came back through Atlanta to take I-75 South to Florida.  We stopped for meals and breaks, so it was almost 11 pm when we pulled up to the motel I'd found on hotels.com.
(I am still using swagbucks and I like to use hotels.com for my reservations so I get cashback via gift cards from Swagbucks.)  This room was only $80 using a $5 off coupon I found online.  I wasn't expecting much for that price - just a view of the beach, and probably a long walk to get there.

Despite the late hour, we easily checked in to the Coral Sands Inn in Ormond Beach, Florida, and took our luggage up to the room, which was on the 5th floor.  As it was pitch black, and there were no lights (it was turtle hatching season), we couldn't see the beach, but we sure could hear the waves.

Night view from the balcony in front of the room.

The room was nice - nothing fancy, and honestly, a little dated, but perfectly fine. We even had a little fridge, microwave and sink, plus a little counter space for our cooler.  We all collapsed into our beds and slept very well!  In the morning, I opened the curtains and happily discovered this view:

Stunning view of the beach - totally worth $80, right?! 

We quickly got dressed and headed to the beach to let David play in the surf and collect a few shells.

I took this picture standing in the waves, looking back at the motel.  

Picking up shells...

After about 30 minutes on the beach, we headed out to get breakfast to bring back to the room.  Ormond Beach is a SMALL town, so we didn't have a lot of choices.  We ended up visiting House of Donuts, just down the street from the motel.  They have a wonderful breakfast menu: everything from donuts - fancy or regular, to breakfast sandwiches, juices, coffee and iced coffee.  David chose the oreo donut, I got a bavarian cream, and we picked a key lime pie donut for Aunt Anne.  Everything was fresh and delicious!

David really wanted to take a quick dip in the pool, so off we went....

Then it was time to grab a luggage cart and haul our stuff back down to the car.  Checking out was easy and fast, and it took just about 1 1/2 hours to get to our rental in Kissimmee once we left here.
Ormond Beach is lovely, and I really can't wait to get back down there and explore the area a little bit more! And of course we will plan to stay at Coral Sands!  I can't believe I'm sharing this hidden gem but it was such a great value that I had to tell y'all about it too!

FYI: I didn't receive any discount, incentives or anything from the hotel for writing about it, I just love it! :)  If you are heading to the Atlantic Coast or central Florida, I hope you'll make a stop at Coral Sands and enjoy the view, the pool and that amazing beach!  Such a relaxing place to stop and unwind for a night or two!  Then come here and let me know what you think about Coral Sands!

Leave a comment below with your favorite beach in Florida! I'm always looking for a new place to visit!