Embassy Suites by Hilton St Augustine Beach Oceanfront Resort

If you want your vacation ruined and to be treated like dirt, stay here! Our room flooded due to the room above us and two staff members told us it was toilet water. Our belongings had been soaked, we ended up throwing things away due to bacteria and mold concerns, we kept telling the staff that we had damages and didn't think we could salvage things with toilet water on them, and, other than changing our room, we just kept being told "someone will reach out." No one did, so I sent an email about our stuff being covered in toilet water. Three days after the incident, after our stuff was already thrown out, Christopher Browning emails me back saying it wasn't toilet water after all, it was from a leaking water line (why would the staff holding a giant, metal plunger during the flooding lie to us though?), but he didn't want to address our damages, so I brought the subject up again and got ignored for a month and a half. When I finally heard back from the Assistsnt General Manager Matt Paula, he told me it was "shower" water that flooded our room, so he wanted proof of damages, including incident reports, pictures, the physical items in his hand, receipts, etc. I sent receipts, descriptions, a detailed accounting of events, but explained that we were never told to file a report, or asked for photos, or for the wet items to be turned over to the hotel. Paula said we had no proof and he wouldn't cover ANY of our damaged items. I asked Mr. Paula multiple questions about why the source of the flood water had changed three times now, why their staff who entered both rooms would lie and tell us it was toilet water the night flooding happened, why no one ever told us to make an incident report or to turn in our damaged items, why the staff seeing the damages wasn't enough proof, why my receipts weren't being accepted as valid, why did Paula only ask for picture evidence about ~45 days after we had put into writing that we threw the contaminated things away, why we were lied to about getting a refund for our room, and why would he expect us to keep items that we were told were soaked in toilet water when we still had five days of vacation left. Not to mention, how do I photographically prove that items are wet with toilet water? Wet things eventually dry, so how do you "inspect" that to assess the damages? There were no rips or tears to show, and I don't carry around a travel microscope to look for fecal matter from toilet water. We acted based on what the staff told us. With multiple staff members seeing our wet belongings and not telling us to get photos or to turn the items over, how would I guess what Paula would want from us a month and a half later? And why would we keep biohazard covered items or be able to drive 12 hours to the hotel to deliver ruined items for his inspection? That's an extremely unreasonable request when you know the flooding happened and we've been complaining about damages the entire time! I've never had property damage like this before, if the hotel had specific requirements for reimbursement, the hotel should have told us that the day of the crisis, not a month and a half later when they knew the items were long gone! The hotel has a Duty of Care that they severely neglected with us! Mr. Paula refused to answer any of my questions and said if I didn't have photos and couldn't give him the physical items to inspect then he wasn't bothering with us any further. So, this is the hotel to go to if you want your items and vacation destroyed while the management treats you like dirt, ignores you, and then blames you for their lack of action or direction. Seriously, stay ANYWHERE else, this hotel is a nightmare to deal with! Read less

Nice hotel on the beach. Required valet parking at $40/night and resort fee to get 2 beach chairs and wi-fi (I get wi-fi due to my Hilton status). Beach umbrella is additional $18/day (beach staff spends more time with head and arms inside their shirts than checking on guest. Pool bar is nice but drink prices include a significant tip. We were with extended family so was nice for that but not really a couples place for relaxation. Lots of kids and families who seemed to be enjoying it. Read less

Fabulous hotel, immaculately clean, situated on St Augustine beach. We stayed in a 2 queen, balcony suite with partial ocean views. Spacious, contemporary 2 room suite - with sofa bed, dining table, microwave & mini-fridge. Very effective air conditioning. Plentiful sun loungers & umbrellas - lovely pool area with 1/2 loungers overlooking pool and other 1/2 facing beach. Free breakfast included whole fruit, cereals, breads, bagels, muffins, yogurts, bacon, sausages, scrambled eggs, pancakes/ waffles and made to order omelettes. The evening reception - food included crackers, cheese, trail mix, nuts - drinks included soft drinks, beer, red/white wine, 2 premixed cocktail options, gin, vodka etc. - very popular with guests. Extremely clean self service laundry room with 2 washers ($1.75 for 30 min cycle) and 2 dryers ($1.50 for 45 min) - can change notes to quarters at reception. We absolutely loved this hotel and St Augustine - would love to return for a longer stay. Highly recommend! Read less

Nice location right on beach however this hotel charges outrageous prices especially on weekends - its an embassy suites yet we had to pay over $450 a night and our room was far from that price point justification even on holiday weekend - there was mold and paint peeling in bathroom, tiles were cracked and in need of renovation and deep cleaning. Housekeeping skipped us for 3 days and their nonsense text on app NO ONE answers for days! The front desk crew needs a class in hospitality for sure too! There are NO dressers or place to put your clothes and we were here for almost a full week - closet small and 5 hangers! Pillows are small. But worse was AC - it's Florida in summer heat and yet the owner controls your AC in your room - it won't go down a certain point and it was very warm in our room at night! Find this unacceptable with ES charging So much money for these rooms and then room is in need of cleaning, renovation and I should be able to control my own AC!!!!! Made for very uncomfortable sleep while paying top dollar for our room is horrendous, price gouging and unacceptable!! Now Embassy Suites had unlimited drinks for their happy hour now ONLY 2 very small drinks in tiny plastic cups but worse part is IM a 64 year old grandmother and the 21 yr old bartender would NOT give me drink cause I didn't have my license even though I showed my hotel room card!!! Im hanging at pool and go for drink at HH and have to wait almost 12 minutes as lines are long and after waiting now have to go up to my room which is huge hike cause hotel only has two elevators for entire complex and walk is very long!! So forget it not worth the hassle for tiny weak drink - HOWEVER BARTENDERS HAVE SOME COMMON SENSE and dont make it so hard for your paying guests who definitely dont look unde 20 years old or younger!!!!!! This was very frustrating and just stupidity from St Augustine Embassy Suites workers who need to be trained better!! Treat your guests with respect we deserve - NO customer service! As a rewards member we were never thanked or given any amenities either. This hotel allows two chairs on beach but you have to pay for umbrellas - come on ES dont be that cheap to your high paying guests - provide an umbrella they are all just laying there on beach! Pool is very nice, chairs are great, lots of towels, however read children activities at pool but they had none. MUSIC piped in was barely existent so low and not fun summer beach music at all- they need to have some better and music you can hear at the pool. Pool bar drinks were not very strong and daiquiris were premade koolaid tasting sweet mix in large vats - NOT freshly made in blender and for high prices for a small strawberry daiquiri it was NOT good so sweet makes you sick in the sun and melt in a second. Was there even alcohol in these??? RIP OFF DRINKS! Food was good but not alot of variety - No chicken fingers for kids, need more finger food, sandwiches, warm pretzels, snack food etc but shrimp tacos were very good. Nachos not so great. Burger was just ok. Breakfast was always very busy and they need more omelette cooks - two cooks but one took order and put out plate and so only ONE was cooking and line was very long forget it on weekends as you'll wait so long for your omelette by time you get it and side dishes its all cold. Lots of help to clear dishes but ONLY ONE EGG COOK is ridiculous cause thats what most people wants otherwise its same cold dry scrambled eggs daily. Pancakes had no taste. Bacon was good but needed to be cooked more. Nice fruit but pastries were minimum and dry and no donuts. Line for toaster was long. Lines everywhere on weekends be prepared to wait for your food.Breakfast ends early at 10 should go EVERYDAY till 11am as we r on relaxing beach vacation and with long lines needs to go longer - and boy starting minutes before end time they are ON top of closing everything down quickly - there was a line at 10:00 for juice and the woman goes and shuts off the juice machine leaving people on line no drinks for their breakfast - come on ES people are online let them get their OJ- Coffee is taken away immediately too so dont be a minute late for breakfast in fact dont come couple minutes before end or you'll get nothing. Elevators - only one bank of elevators for entire complex - our room was on other side of elevators and it was a VERY LONG WALK each time to our room it was pretty unbelievable how far our room was from elevators and the stairs at end of our hall does NOT go to lobby but goes outside to parking lot back of hotel! Seems dangerous too not to have more exit stairs or elevators for other side of the resort. Outdoor areas are very nice and lounge but the fire pits are automatically turned off by owner at 11pm nightly so I guess your not allowed to enjoy fire pit passed 11! Work out room is very minimum basically couple treadmills and free weights very disappointing when paying almost $500 night they can't have a decent work out space and they charge Resort fees too!!! Free yoga on lawn but its too early should at least be 10 am as if u go you may miss breakfast which is only till 10am!! This has potential to be great resort we visit all the time and dont mind paying such high prices for a Embassy Suites but do when there are so many issues that cause the price should be half of what they charge - dont forget the high gouging guest prices of $40 per night to park your car and u have no other choice - $40 should be for entire stay or $10 a day for guests NOT ridiculous rate of $40 for your paying Hilton guests just seems like robbery again. I guess the owner feels he can gouge his Hilton guests cause its pretty much only direct ocean front hotel in st Augustine and that just leaves a sour taste - paying such high prices deems for real customer service, clean updated rooms, better amenities, and overall better experience for guests paying these high rates for everything at this hotel. Probably won't return do to these issues - you dont get what you pay for at this ST. Augustine Embassy Suites. Read less

Disappointing Experience Despite High Expectations We recently stayed at this hotel, booking three rooms and spending over $15,000—not including additional expenses on food and drinks. Unfortunately, our experience fell far short of expectations. • Check-In Issues: Upon arrival, we were not given our rooms for over four hours, despite multiple pending charges on our credit card. The front desk staff, particularly Joe, was unprofessional and loud, repeatedly discussing our credit card issues in front of other guests, which was embarrassing and unnecessary. However, Matt at the front desk was phenomenal—professional, courteous, and went out of his way to assist us, which we truly appreciated. • Cleanliness Concerns: The rooms were not properly cleaned. Beds were either messy or not made at all, and the floors had clearly not been attended to. • Unwelcoming Atmosphere: While waiting for our rooms, we sat in the restaurant area to eat food we had brought with us. The area was empty, yet we were told to leave because outside food was not allowed. The bartender seemed more concerned about her manager’s reaction than guest comfort. • Restaurant Experience: When we tried to dine at the restaurant, Katie K (from Hungary, according to her badge) immediately asked if we had a reservation and warned us it would be busy due to the 4th of July. While her approach felt abrupt, Mario G was kind and helpful in getting us on the waitlist. • Positive Note: Maddox at the bar was the highlight of our stay—friendly, welcoming, and professional. He was the only staff member who made us feel valued as guests. Overall, we did not feel welcome and felt judged throughout our stay. For the price and reputation of this hotel, we expected much better service and hospitality. Read less