This place used to be our go to place to spend a week. Over the course of the past 3 years we visited this resort from July 1-5 every year. Our friends and family also joined us and we booked 4 rooms including suites. The resort had a new owner when we initially visited in 2021 and several changes were to be made. The place could be really nice but it has taken its toll over the past 3 years. The owner has not done any upgrades as were promised. The furniture is falling apart and you can't even sit on it with having flakes left on your clothing. The floors and carpet in the main lobby are dirty and stained. The fish tank up front as well as the large koi pond are not cleaned and the poor fish inside struggle for air. There is black gunk and mold all over the glass, thick and hanging from the filters. You can't enjoy the pool because it is not cleaned and there are tons of bugs. It was so bad they even closed the pool several days. The mosquitoes and flying bugs outside are so abundant that you can't even enjoy the outdoors. So much for a relaxing water vacation! Trees were not trimmed and there were several overgrown areas which I feel contributed to the excess amount of bugs. If you walked around outside you were attacked by swarms of bugs. You literally had to hold your breath when walking thru them or you would swallow some. NASTY! The rooms were pretty clean overall but in poor condition. Furniture needed updating and there was no table or chairs in our suite. Just a bed and couch. The electrical outlets kept popping making it difficult to plug anything in. It is sad that this place is in a great location but nothing is being done to make it amenable. Upon leaving we were asked if we were booking for next year. When we said no and let them know why. They didn't seem to care. So we definitely will not be back. I suggest saving your money and possibly going to another nearby location. This could take a turn for the better. But it hasn't in 3 years. Not to mention the owner was not very friendly or concerned. A final note: The AC in the main lobby and several of the rooms didn't work well and the staff thought it best to turn it off. It was better outside on 104 heat than inside a supposedly cool resort with no pool access. read more

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Been staying at this place for a week or two at a time every other month while working down the road the past year and a half. I've stayed at other motels but liked this one the best and they gave me a discount since I stay there so much. I have to be at another job in the morning on the opposite side of the state so I got done at this job about 11:30 am and called in and told them that I'd be leaving and needed to check out after I get my stuff. The tweeker looking chick that's been up for days with dark ass circles around her eyes like a raccoon, proceeds to tell me I'm getting charged for tonight since check out is 11. So I hung up on her, left the job I was on, went and packed up my clothes and went to the office to ask wtf. On the way down I see the house cleaner and ask her if she had been to my room yet she said no I just got upstairs and cleaning the room on the total opposite end of the building right now I won't be to yours for another while. So I wasn't stopping her from doing her job obviously. So now it's time to go to the offfice and it's her and the mgr guy probably the owner who tf knows said that yes if I stay past 11 then I'll be charged for that night. This mf tries to tell me I don't have the right to talk to his house cleaners. lol this is America mf and I'll talk to whoever tf I want to thank you. I wasn't stopping her from doing her job of cleaning my room for the next customer and you want to charge me the extra hundred dollars for tonight????. He wants to argue so I give back my special discount card and room key and walked tf out telling them I won't ever stay here again after paying my bill from the night before that I owed like a decent human being. Moral of the story: don't piss off your customers over an hour of time especially if it doesn't affect anything that you have going on because now it just cost you thousands of dollars over the next few years!!!!!! I hope the owner or investors reads this and fires both these assholes over lost clientele. Remember WE are the ones that pay YOUR FUKING BILLS!!!!!!!!! read more

I came down to Florida for vacation. The night before I stayed at this hotel, we had a horrible experience at another hotel that we used Priceline to book. This time, we used Hotel Tonight and found this quaint hotel outside of St. Augustine called Crystal Cove Riverfront Resort. The address given to us kept taking us to the train tracks. However, we figured out that if we drove past the train tracks down that road, we eventually ran into the hotel. There was a large concrete entrance way that had the name of the hotel on it. Honestly, at night, that sign looked pretty creepy. I had to ask the front desk associate if this was a haunted hotel. He said no, thank goodness. We got our keys and headed to the room. There is a main building where the front desk person works, which also has guest rooms. We stayed on a separate wing. The hotel room key was kind of cool on how it unlocked the door just by waving the key card in front of the lock. We walk inside the room and are pleasantly surprised by how nice, clean, and spacious the hotel room was. It had a large bedroom area and a fairly large closet/kitchenette area. The bathroom was also very nice and very clean. It has those curved shower curtain rods so the shower curtain doesn't touch you while you're trying to clean yourself. The shower head was nice too. I do have to warn you, no smoking allowed in any of the rooms. However it is set up like a motel where the door to the room goes outside to an area you can smoke. It's very quiet and peaceful outside too, so it's not that bad. Overall, I would definitely recommend for anyone to stay at this hotel! It's clean, bug free, spacious, and comfortable! They also offer breakfast in the morning. It didn't cost us all that much, and was way nicer than any other hotel we stayed at on our trip to Florida. I would stay here again! read more

WARNING PLEASE READ BEFORE BOOKING!! I wouldn't recommend this hotel to my worst enemy. This hotel is disgusting. Also dangerous. The woman that is at the desk during gravetime hours is worthless. Our first night we got there, the room smelled clean and looked fine. But when we went to get in bed we noticed there was hair all over the pillows. Then also found crusty food on the pillows. It was disgusting. We took them upfront and the woman looked annoyed and surprised. She just put new pillow cases on them. They sucked though. I wish we brought our own. They were the flattest pillows I've ever seen. They couldn't have been more than 2 inches thick. Our wash cloth in the room had a round yellow stain the size of a hand. Like someone possibly used it to clean up a spill or pet urine. The next night was even worse. When we got in we asked for a late check out. It was the same woman. She said they don't do late check outs. Which was fine and not the biggest deal. Then after a couple hours when we were sleeping someone was banging on the door and yelling. I took my earplug out half asleep and tapped my husband. We then noticed he was yelling "Open up, I know y'all in there!" While frantically and agitated pounding on our door. My husband jumped up and looked out the peep hole. He had his finger on the hole so we could not see him. It was like 3:30am. After a couple minutes of doing it non stop he went to the door next to us and did the same. Then came to our door. We called the cops. He was persistent. It was traumatic and frightening. We were pretty sure we were about to get murdered and were in grave danger. We thought he was going to shoot or murder everyone. Once the cop showed up he saw a man outside but once questioned told the officer he was staying at the hotel. With a room number that did not match the appearance of the ID of the man actually staying in that room. (The woman at the desk showed him later on.) He came to our room and we explained everything and told him we wanted to leave and did not feel safe. He walked us to the front desk and outside. (Note our room is visible right in sight of the lobby desk. She saw everything.) When we went to the front desk the lady shocked we called the cops. After he questioned her about the man. She said he was there looking for a woman, the description, and what happened. She left out some details to him which she confided to us about when he walked away to go find the man again. The situation was anything but uncomfortable. She said we should not have called the cops. That she carries a gun and we should have used the phone in the room to call her. Like no. That is not a safe situation she is insane to think that was okay. She would not give us a refund and gave us her managers card. She also gave us info she didn't give to the cop. Like one thing being that the woman was there. But was alone. Like why are you telling us. That should have been told to the cop. We got out of there as fast as possible. read more

This place was horrible on many standards, the noise was ridiculously loud we were right outside the front desk they were vacuuming at 2am, peoples conversations outside the room were like they were standing at the end of my bed. The breakfast was a give or take but much better than McDonalds or Burger King. The bathroom tub turned on and brown water came out the faucet... Totally gross.. No shower on to the next place. The view was amazing out the back and that was the best I can say about the place sleep well. We won't be back. read more

Crystal Cove Resort - Resorts Near Me - Palatka, Florida

From the looks of the room Crystal Cove is in dire need of a maintenance person. There Was a big gap under the door, towel rack in the bathroom was busted off and missing, the wall was moldy and crumbling around the tub and the phone wasn't connected and broken.But the staff Is very nice and helpful. The marina has a nice tiki bar that you can walk over to. I've been staying in Paltka for years and the nicest hotels are the Hampton Inn and the Holiday Inn express read more

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Stayed here with a friend and I wasn't impressed. I truly hope she didn't pay much! Our room was in the main building, just down from the check-in. Layout of the building was really strange. Had a "dorm" type feel to the place. Our room smelled of mildew. The bathroom wasn't dirty, but just kinda messy. Things seemed half-assed from cleaning to the decor. The beds were comfortable. The entire place needs a major update. It's an okay place to stay the night on a budget. The place was full of construction workers with nearby jobs. Breakfast was a total joke. They have turned a small hallway into a breakfast area. A waffle machine, instant oatmeal and grit packets, yogurt, two cereal dispensers, bananas and oranges. All just kinda tossed on 2 foldout tables. It seemed to be owned and ran by Indian folks, just like most motels/hotels. Not to be rude, but cleanliness doesn't seem to be their forte. They also seemed to live in the first room. The man and woman would come in and out to get things off the maid's cart to clean their room. They also were taking their dirty clothes into the laundry room to be washed. To do so, they had to walk right through the small, crowded, "breakfast room." I didn't quit care for their nasty clothes to be that close to my food! The place is weird. The whole set up is strange. You should only stay here if you're broke or have absolutely no expectations! read more

Looking through hotels.com to find a hotel to spend the Easter weekend, this was one of the first to pull up, and the cheapest. My friend was on board with the price ($55 a night, versus $100+, which seemed to otherwise be the norm at other hotels), and based on the photos as well, we decided to book 2 nights. It seemed too good to be true. Unfortunately, hotels.com misled us, because although it claims to be in St. Augustine, it is not. It's actually in a remote hellish part of town called Palatka, 30 miles away. Because of this, we decided not to spend a second night, as driving back and forth was time-consuming and wasteful, so we got a refund for the second night. Palatka is a very obscure and economically depressed little town. Every house pretty much was falling apart (not just peeling paint, but literally, ceiling beams were caving in) and there were lots of mobile homes and acres of vacant land and cows. We immediately knew why the hotel prices were so low. In addition, pretty much every restaurant in town closes by 9 on the weekend, so that says it all. I cannot imagine what people in this town do, nor why anyone would want to visit. It's quite depressing, and my friend, who has driven through many parts of South Carolina, Florida, Alabama, and Georgia agreed, saying it was the poorest, saddest place he had ever seen, but I digress. We arrived at the hotel, which is tucked away on a winding path in a remote area full of forest. It was a rainy, grey day. We checked in and noticed lots of the people around were true Southerners, they had accents from the south, something I am not used to hearing, living in Miami, where every accent is internationally foreign. I'm not sure what attracted them to Palatka, perhaps it was more of a stop on their way home from another trip, a place just to spend the night. The hotel actually is on the Saint Johns river, which looks pretty, but in order to get one of those waterfront rooms, you have to pay an extra $20 a night, which my friend did not want to do. Our room was toward the middle of the hotel, on the 2nd floor, viewing the parking lot. Oh well, we were just planning to put our heads down and spend the rest of the day in St. Augustine, so that suited us just fine. Although the hotel has been remodeled and is under new management, I guess they did not see a need for an elevator, so carrying luggage upstairs on slippery steps was a bit annoying. Next to our room was a coin-operated washer and dryer, which although somewhat of an eyesore, was convenient, because not many hotels provide an on-site machine. Our room looked pretty decent, the carpet was not filthy or torn up, 2 queen beds were provided, which was perfect as we did not want to share a bed, and the decor was tasteful. There was a TV with lots of cable channels, a fridge, hangers, and a microwave. It would have been nice to get a kitchenette, for aesthetic reasons rather than having a table in the closet with a microwave and mini-fridge sitting on it, but we were not planning to eat there anyway. The bathroom was clean, and so was the vanity. Tissues had not been refilled, so none were provided. A hair dryer and coffee maker were also standard in the room. A hot breakfast was also provided -- it consisted of grits, scrambled eggs, cereal, sausage, and orange juice. There is a restaurant on site, but it closes at 9, it seems highly rated but then again, considering this is just one of a handful of restaurants, it may just be the best option in town. There is also a pool and marina on site, neither of which we could enjoy due to weather, and I was looking forward to walking on the pier. The beds were comfortable, as were the pillows. The bedside lamps did not work. They were unplugged, but there was no outlet to plug them in, so that was a big mystery, and seemed pointless. The sheets were clean, no bedbugs, and the towels were also clean. Breakfast could have used a bit more effort, but otherwise, it's not a bad hotel at all, it exceeded my expectations considering the price. Would I return? Probably not, but it's not the hotel's fault, rather, it's the remote location. I would never want to return to Palatka. This is a shame, because this hotel is otherwise a good value, and although I normally stay at more exclusive places, the room itself was comparable to La Quinta, a Holiday Inn or something mid-scale like that, but for a much lesser price. If you're looking for some destination type of resort with water slides, spas, etc., this is not your place. However, if you're looking to save money while having a decent, clean room to sleep at night because you plan to be out all day, yet maybe fitting in a small walk to the marina (and maybe a boat rental too?) then this fits the bill. read more

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WOW! What a gem! Found this online and took a chance. Upon arrival they were most congenial and when there were issues, they gracefully handled everything. The real surprise is the room. Spacious, clean and well maintained. The room had a refrigerator, microwave, and plenty of storage. This should be the standard for such places. Nice folks doing their jobs, providing a needed service. Everything in good condition. The associated marina makes for an enjoyable environment. If you want to "get away", this place is highly recommended! read more

Beautiful place for events! Wonderful on the river view! Small wedding receptions or parties would be awesome. The staff are wonderful and rly try to be accommodating. Love this place!!! read more

Do not stay in the west building. Utterly disgusting. The need to fire the cleaning crew, all of them. Food still in the tv cupboard, condom wrapper under the bed. And I had to kill a roach on the floor. read more

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My husband and I brought our kids down for a weekend trip to St. Augustine. The pricing was great and our view was beautiful! We all enjoyed it for a place to get away! We will definitely stay here again if we return to this area! The resort is located approximately 50 minutes from St. Augustine, but for a couple with two smaller children it was better (in my opinion). We didn't have the noise and chaos of the strip. Our room was also very clean and roomy! Our beds were VERY comfortable!!! Really my only complaint was the pool was closed for maintenance, though the weather has been rough so I feel like they took advantage of a perfectly good opportunity to do it! read more

Please, let me save you the trouble: DO. NOT. COME HERE. The only saving grace of this place back in its "hay day" was the Corky Bells restaurant and the Marina. Since Corky Bells moved into town, there's just the marina; which I can't comment on because I don't have a boat. The "resort" though? Let me break that down for you. This is a no tell motel. The other review that mentioned the "economically depressed" Palatka? Well some of the dregs just so happen to have been staying here the same time as my party came down to Florida for the weekend. If you are asking my opinion? These people LIVE here. They're far too comfortable and casual with how disrespectful and rude they are. Every morning was greeted with a gaggle of crones chain smoking on the stairs right outside the room. With each constant cough, I hoped it would be their last so we could get some f***ing sleep. Why were we tired? Because their "alpha male" men would be up in the evening, on fold out chairs, right in front of the room, taking down multiple six packs of Budweiser and then lazily attempting to lob these cans into the nearby garbage can as their rug rats ran between their multiple nearby open rooms. They would do this from ~7PM to midnight with complete disregard for the people on the other rooms; another telling sign of their permanent residence. Don't fucking come here. Spend the extra money and go to St Augustine. Being cheap will net you some LOVELY neighbors read more

Found bed bugs in bed and hotel was nasty.. Manager Craig refused to refund!

Stayed here for a wedding in October. Staff was awesome. Rooms are big with very comfortable beds. Right on the St. John's River with pontoon boat rentals. It's not a fancy place but very casual family oriented property. Restaurant & bar onsite with entertainment on the weekends. read more