# Which Beachfront timeshares in Alabama/gulf shores/ pensacola area are the nicest?



## dixie (Jun 27, 2010)

Would like to know which timeshares are on a pretty beach with nice white sand (pre oil spill) clear turquiose water. Also, have at least 2 bedrooms and a pretty pool overlooking the ocean. Are there any timeshare in this area that sounds like this? We are not familiar with this area.

Thanks for any information!


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## tombo (Jun 27, 2010)

Very limited selection of ocean front timeshares in this area. Oceanfront in Gulf Shores is Shoreline towers. These are very large 2 be 2 bath oceanfront units with private balconies. The resort is older but well maintained.

In Orange Beach Alabama there are the 2 Escapes resorts. Escapes to the Shores is brand new and I have never been in it, but it looks spectacular. Escapes to the gulf was rebuilt from the ground up after a hurricane wiped it out in 2004, and is almost new. It is a very nice upscale resort, and these are 2 bed 2 and a half bath units with washer/dryer, stand up shower, jaccuzi tubs, private balcony, etc.

In Pensacola there is a resort called Holiday Beach resort, but it is on the bay, not on the gulf.

Destin has a resort on the beach which is another Holiday beach resort property, but the oceanfron units are almost all studios. 

Panama City has numerous oceanfront resorts with 2 bed rooms.

This whole area has the same white sand and pretty water. Don't let the oil bother you or anyone else. I was in Gulf Shores 3 weeks ago when a large patch of oil washed in. There was a lot on the beach and tar balls everywhere. I am typing this looking out over the beach in Gulf SHores right now and you can't find a speck of oil. My wife and myself walked the beach this morning looking for any sign of oil and couldn't find a single tar ball. There are BP paid crews every 100 yards or so on the beach under tents, and from dayligh to dark they look for oil, and if they find any it is collected placed in bags, and hauled off by 4 wheelers. In fact if I hadn't been here on another occassion when oil was present, I would think that having them hang around was a total waste of money because they mainly do nothing all day. The estuaries and bays are hard to clean and could be a problem for years, but the beaches can be cleaned easily and quickly as I can tell you from firsthand experience. 

I have been coming the the gulf for over 40 years and I couldn't tell any difference in the beach and ocean this morning than it has looked for  over 4 decades. I came for a long weekend and will be coming back at least 2 more times this summer (once a company trip and once a guy trip). I was hesitant a few weeks ago, but I no longer have any apprehensions about vacationing here even though some oil might wash in, because if it does appear, it will be cleand and gone very quickly.


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## rachel1998 (Jun 27, 2010)

A couple of things. We stayed at the Holiday Beach Resort in Destin this past March. It is a very nice resort. Your right, the units that face the water are studios. They are a nice size. The resort is great. The pool is right there facing the ocean. I would go back anytime.
I am hesitant to book anything on the Gulf for awhile. I want to go to Gulf Shores this coming October but we like to explore the Estuaries and so on and like you said it will be years or maybe not in my life time until it is cleaned up. It is horrible to watch what is happening to the wild life there.


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## Hophop4 (Jun 27, 2010)

We stayed at Holiday Beach Resort Soundside in Pensacola last year and it is my understanding this is the only timeshare on Pensacola Beach.  This resort was rebuilt after one of the hurricanes that hit it pretty bad.  The beach is just a walk across the street.  The unit was all new, spacious and even had a side-by-side frig, screened balcony, nice pool area.  The first level units were one flight up from the ground and there was parking area under the units also they had a locked storage area for each unit so you could put your beach chairs and supplies in there which was very convenient.  It really hurts me to see what this oil spill is doing to this area.

We are headed for Panama City Beach this coming weekend we own at Landmark.  We are on the 10th floor overlooking the gulf beach.  We usually watch the fireworks display from our balcony that the city shoots from the new Pier that opened last year and other displays over the water and we don't have to fight the crowds.  So far the beach is clear from oil so hoping it stays that way.


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## Carol C (Jun 29, 2010)

tombo said:


> Very limited selection of ocean front timeshares in this area. Oceanfront in Gulf Shores is Shoreline towers. These are very large 2 be 2 bath oceanfront units with private balconies. The resort is older but well maintained.
> 
> In Orange Beach Alabama there are the 2 Escapes resorts. Escapes to the Shores is brand new and I have never been in it, but it looks spectacular. Escapes to the gulf was rebuilt from the ground up after a hurricane wiped it out in 2004, and is almost new. It is a very nice upscale resort, and these are 2 bed 2 and a half bath units with washer/dryer, stand up shower, jaccuzi tubs, private balcony, etc.
> 
> ...



I'm sorry to say that I saw live video on Weather Channel with NBC's Brian Williams lifting oil-drenched seaweed up in his hand on a beach down there. He says it gets cleaned up & then oil washed right back in with the next high tide. I think you must be lucky from where you sit right now, but not many beaches down there are unaffected. Oh, dig down a bit deeper where you sit on your particular beach & see what's down farther. There's more to it than meets the eye of the casual observer.


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## rachel1998 (Jun 29, 2010)

Carol I saw that same video on the Weather Channel. Now with the Hurricane in the Gulf it will make the situation worse. I am going to give up on going to the Gulf Shores area this year. I feel bad for the businesses there I know they need the money with the tourist trade.


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## tombo (Jun 29, 2010)

Carol C said:


> I'm sorry to say that I saw live video on Weather Channel with NBC's Brian Williams lifting oil-drenched seaweed up in his hand on a beach down there. He says it gets cleaned up & then oil washed right back in with the next high tide. I think you must be lucky from where you sit right now, but not many beaches down there are unaffected. Oh, dig down a bit deeper where you sit on your particular beach & see what's down farther. There's more to it than meets the eye of the casual observer.



I never saw Brian Williams or oil on the beach last weekend. I walked on the beach at Gulf Shores, Orange Beach, NAS Pensacola, and at Perdido Key and I saw a few tar balls under the bridge at perdido pass and none anywhere else. I went many places looking for oil which was in many places when I was in Gulf Shores 3 weeks ago, but none could be found on Saturday and Sunday. Were there some places where oil washed in? Probably, but I never saw any, and I was drove around to numerous beaches and looked for oil to no avail.

So I have spent 5 days on the Gulf coast beaches in the last 3 weeks and yet you know more about the situation from watching Brian Williams than I do? I will be glad to meet you down at the coast if you would like to show me where the oil is covering large sections of beach and covering the seaweed, and if you somehow do find large patches of oil after a high tide or storm and it is not cleaned up within 2 days I will pay for both of our rooms. If you can't find the large patches of oil on the beach, or if you find it and it is not cleaned up within 2 days, you pay for your room and mine.  I have no problem with my sure bet because I have been there two times so far and know what i am talking about. In addition the situation you present is so dire and miserable that no one with any knowledge of the situation would go because everything is covered in oil. When oil does come in with the tide it settles on the small stretch where the ocean meets the sand leaving 99% of the beach oil free even when oil is present. If your scenario was even close to being true I wouldn't be going back to the Gulf Coast for 3 to 8 days in 2 weeks, and I would not be going back again for 5 days in August/September. I don't have any more vacation time available this year, but I would love to go for another long weekend with you paying for my accomodations if you want to take me up on my bet.


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## jamstew (Jun 29, 2010)

tombo said:


> So I have spent 5 days on the Gulf coast beaches in the last 3 weeks and yet you know more about the situation from watching Brian Williams than I do?



Pretty frustrating isn't it, that people will take what they see on the news as absolute fact rather than trust people who are actually there? Your experience mirrors that of friends who live in Pensacola and others who have been to Gulf Shores within the last week. I only wish I could be there.


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