STYLETHREAD -- LET'S TALK SHOP!

scarlett · Marc Jacobs

anyone been to Destin or Sunnyside, FL?

FashionPrincess · Hermes

I've been to Destin but it's been awhile, it was back in high school. It was beautiful though! White sand and clear turquiose water!

Aurora · Marc Jacobs

I go to Destin every year. I am not familar with sunnyside at all but love destin. There are quite a few hotel choices in Destin but you have to watch it because some hotels are near the beach and some are on the bay. You don't want to stay at one on the bay as the water isn't as nice as the gulf.

With the way condos have taken over down there you pretty much have to go down the road to the public beach/state park. All of the condos started about 5 years ago to rope off "their" beach with chairs for their owners. It is completely riduculous and not exactly legal but you can't do anything about it. I think there is a small fee to get into the state park but I've never been so I don't know the cost.

There is a great outlet mall in sandestin which is about 5 miles from destin. San destin is really nice but its more residential than destin so I'm not really familar with the hotel options down there.

Navarre Beach was wiped out a few years ago with Hurricane Opal and Ivan. Not much has rebuilt there so I would skip over that area.

Ft. Walton is an older beach. It is worn out/down due to spring breakers. Same with Panama City. I would avoid both of those.

If you want any more info on places to eat/go/etc let me know. I'll be there the week before memorial day in may!

Aurora · Marc Jacobs

wanted to add that seaside is about 30-45 mins down the beach from destin. Its a really cool place to visit and spend the day. The beach is a tad dirtier due to algea that gets washed up on shore and the sand is usually a tad grayer than white but the tide and waves tend to be much calmer down there.

scarlett · Marc Jacobs

Thanks, FP and Aurora! I don't think we'll go until the end of May, but Aurora, I will definitely PM you later on as we plan to ask for advice.

It's possible we may not go at all because we want to get a puppy, and if we do that before the end of May, we'd probably not do any traveling for a while.

Jahni · Dooney & Bourke

I practically live in Destin. My family has a small condo there and I visit several times a year...I've never heard of Sunnyside though...maybe Seaside?

Let us know when you start looking for places to stay, the first of May isn't really busy and you can usually get really good deals. I'll give you the name of the rental company we use when the whole family goes. It's usually cheaper to wait until the very last minute to book a condo (which i would do instead of a hotel).

Who knows, maybe I'll see you down there!

And like Aurora said, Seaside is a must. From my experience Seaside is sometimes cleaner than Destin, sometimes dirtier (as far as the beach is concerned), but they're both always beautiful.

joy0302 · Kate Spade

We usually stay at the Sandestin Hilton when we go. It is a great hotel, right on the beach. The beaches there are beautiful. I live near the gulf of Mexico on the Texas side, and after seeing the gulf side of Florida I felt so cheated. You will love it.

I also second Aurora about the factory outlet. That is the only outlet I have ever been to where you can find things that are still in the malls, and alot cheaper.

laken1 · Hermes

I agree with everything everyone else said! I used to go 3 -4 times a year, lately it's been once a year or every other. We stayed at Watercolor the week between Christmas & NY which is right before Seaside - it was great. I'd be happy to give some restaurant suggestions as well. If you do go the "30A" side which is where Seaside is, we went to a great dive The Red Bar in Grayton Beach. Another favorite of mine in Seaside is the bar upstairs at Bud & Alley's. My fav "nicer" restaurant on that street is Criollas. Pricey but oh so yummy. - you must have some smoked tuna dip at one of these restaurants - that area is famous for it. Seaside is so fun - that is where The Truman Show with Jim Carrey was shot & it has that homey old time feeling. I absolutely love to spend time there.

We usually say at San Destin too & if you go in May, even if you dont' stay at San Destin, you have to go here The Village Door which is a spin off from The Famous Door which is my fav bar on Bourbon Street in New Orleans. There is also good shopping at San Destin, great shoe store called The Raspberry Rhino. And others have already spoken of the great outlet mall where you MUST get a Dave's Dog if you are fan of hot dogs.

Ok, can you tell why I'm not a skinny girl from that post or what??? Of course the past few years that we've been it has been cold so we spent more time in bars /restaurants / shops than on the beach - which is ALWAYS gorgeous no matter what time of year.

Oh, and I wanted to add that the first year that I went to the beach in Destin I had just been to Jamaica the month before. The beach & the water was so much more beautiful in Destin. I couldn't believe it.

-- Edited by laken1 at 09:58, 2007-01-18