Oceanside Inn and Suites Raises the Bar for Buget Jekyll Island Oceanfront Hotels

Way back when the Oceanside Inn and Suites was known as the Comfort Inn, Martha and I used to stay there with our young boys just about every time we visited Jekyll Island.

Why? 'Cause it was cheap! For a family of four, with Dad going to school and only working part time, it was a necessity to find hotels in Jekyll Island that we could afford on our skin-tight budget.

Then, the hotel had a free breakfast bar that featured everything from Continental breakfast items like bagels, donuts, and juice to hot scrambled eggs, grits, gravy, biscuits, bacon...yum, they had it all!

Those days are gone now, much to our belly's regret. A Denny's replaced the free bar, but it was still a good deal as this Jekyll Island hotel gave each guest a discount coupon for breakfast.

Now the Sand Bar and Grill stands where Denny's used to be. We ate there last time we were on the island, and the food was hot and fairly good and reasonably priced (not like that free bar, however, where we would all pig out to store energy before Martha would run us ragged doing Island stuff).

We've improved our lot since then, and so has the Oceanfront Inn and Suites.

The 2-story hotel sprawls beach-side at 711 North Beachview Drive, just across from Beachview's intersection with Capt. Wiley Road.

There's a lot to recommend. The hotel is perfectly sited for fantastic ocean views. The building is laid out like a hockey stick, with one long leg and one shorter leg. All the rooms have open, unobstructed views to the ocean (except maybe a few that overlook the pool, but I think you can still see the ocean from these - I may be mistaken, though).

The views are great because there are no large trees between the hotel and the water, and the dunes are low and slope towards the sea.

The huge open area between the Oceanside Inn and Suites and the Atlantic is planted in grass, and is an idyllic spot for playing with kids. We've thrown Frisbees there, put together impromptu touch football and baseball games, volleyed tennis balls back and forth, played guitar and sang songs, chased kids (and each other) around - just about any field game that could be played with kids, we've done it in the Oceanside Inn and Suites "back yard".

The lawn is also a perfect backdrop for a traditional outdoor wedding.

They also have the aforementioned swimming pool, which is raised a bit higher than the surroundings and is perfect for lounging, as well as a hot-tub spa and a sand volley ball court (where I once lost our room key and spent an hour trying to find it in the sand. This was when keys were keys, and not code-impregnated plastic cards).

Have younger kids? Turn them loose on the childrens' playground and let them run themselves ragged - they'll sleep like babies.

This Jekyll Island hotel has 178 rooms (including 26 suites) in two stories. Each lower story room opens to the sea and features a patio. Upper stories have balconies.

Although this is one of Jekyll Island's older hotels, it went through an overall renovation in November 2008, and the manager states that renovations on their rooms were completed in October 2009. We haven't stayed there in a long time, however, so can't really comment on room quality one way or another.

We'll try to visit on our next trip to Jekyll, and update our impressions in our Turtle-Gram blog.

Having a wedding or a corporate meeting? This is one of the best Jekyll Island oceanfront hotels for small gatherings, with 7,200 s.f. of meeting space, and also an ocean front pavilion.

The meeting space includes ten meeting rooms, which seat 500 in theater style, 350 for a banquet, and 300 in classroom mode.

Their Oceanfront Pavilion will seat up to 125 for a banquet, and it's perfect for an outdoor wedding or family gathering.

The Oceanside Inn and Suites also features a "suite" of special package reservations, from Golfer's Heaven to the Jekyll Experience to one called 4th Night Free and more.

Are you a "Greenie"? This is the only one of 3 purported "green" Jekyll Island Ga hotels that has completed the "I Stay Green" Audit. Oceanside Inn and Suites has been awarded a 1 Green Eco-Leaf Rating.

To qualify for the Green Eco-Leaf Rating Oceanside Inn and Suites completed an audit of their property's compliance with over 70 unique eco-initiatives.

It's great to see a company that wants to reduce their impact on the environment. I Stay Green reviewed several earth- friendly elements for qualification purposes include energy efficiency and water conservation parameters, recycling, environmentally safe cleaning methods, reducing waste, ongoing maintenance, purchasing habits (utilizing green materials) plus many other factors.

For information regarding eco-friendly measures currently instigated by Oceanside Inn and Suites you can contact the hotel, or email iStayGreen.org. (Source: I Stay Green website).

You can call Oceanside Inn and Suites at (912)635-2211 or 1-(866)553-5955 for more info on reservations, specials, or planning your wedding.

Have a great trip, and let us know what you think!

Return from Oceanside Inn and Suites to Jekyll Island Lodging