We visited for spring break with our 12- and 14-year-old daughters. We loved Fort Walton beach! It's a little off the beaten path, so we gladly missed out on the spring break madness of Destin while still taking advantage of dining and other attractions in Destin.
The El Matador is in a beautiful spot--at the end of a strip of condos/hotels with a long, long stretch of uninhabited beach. The common areas (lobby, laundry rooms) were pristine. Only one of the pools was heated (not sure if this is a seasonal thing), and the warmer pool was pretty crowded because temperatures were fairly low during our stay. The unheated ocean-facing pool is really gorgeous, as is the white sand beach. It's a little stretch of heaven--very clean, not at all crowded. On our last day, we saw a pod of dolphins in the morning and evening.
The unit is very convenient to the beach. It's in building one, so not ocean-front, but the walk to and from the unit is short and easy, even with chairs and beach bags in tow. The supply closet off the balcony had umbrellas and nice beach chairs, which was a great bonus. The unit has a beautiful ocean view from the balcony and from the master bedroom, which we enjoyed immensely.
As for the unit itself, I was very impressed with how impeccably clean it was. Hats off to the cleaning crew! The unit is fairly dated, but the only real downside of that is the bathroom, which is in need of some TLC, particularly the area with the toilet and shower. The bathroom is Jack-and-Jill style, which means there are two separate areas with sinks and mirrors but only one toilet. From the description I had assumed there were two toilets. It ended up being fine for the four of us--definitely not a deal breaker.
Overall, we enjoyed our stay here and would love to get back to Fort Walton in the near future. Lynn was a breeze to work with--she responded quickly when we were booking and also refunded our security deposit very quickly.
