The infrastructure is dated, but the rooms were updated a few years ago and are awesome and the staff keeps them tip-top. The resort is so “dated” that the pool is a bow-tie shape and the deep end is 9 foot deep, which I love. The pool has two bins of communal pool toys and floats and noodles. They have umbrellas and other beach items that you can check out free of charge for the beach.
The resort is right next to a souvenir shop. 2 blocks from a liquor store. And a pedestrian crosswalk with immediate push button lights right in front of the hotel with a public beach access directly in front as well.
No smoking in the rooms, but smoking is allowed anywhere outside on property.
They have a tiki bar with a top of the line propane grill that is available for use for every guest, you just need to reserve a time for it to make sure you got dibs. They also have a flat top outdoor that can be used by any guest.
I visited a few years ago and loved it then. For this trip, I price compared and the Island House was $175 for Fri and the same for Sat. The DoubleTree immediately across the street, right on the beach, but 10 times as big with a pool half the size, was $310 per night. And I’m fussing DT charges for daily parking.
Oh, but the bad with Island House, I have two complaints. One is that the pool closes at 9:30pm. Not a big deal, but it’s a weird time since I’m used to 10.
The biggest complaint is the matresses are a lot too firm.