Virginia Beach coverage: Virginia Beach Resort Hotel & Conference Center

By Jon Chattman

Located directly on the Chesapeake Bay, this hotel is an amazing place to stay when you’re in Virginia Beach. This all-suite beach resort is perfect for family getaways and offers a ton of amenities for the hard-to-please child or the easy-to-annoy adult. Did that make sense? Hope so.  In any event, the hotel offers 295 bayview suites with private balconies and two fine restaurants, a health cub with training equipment, a sauna, and there’s even massage service. Hey, there’s even jellyfish and seaweed awaiting your feet on the beach. I kid. I kid.

Personally, we found the stay top notch. The room was spacious, the AC worked just right (how many hotels have you gone to where the AC was either too hot or too cold?), and the decor was modern – it’s a lot nicer than the hotel Web site suggests. In addition, the room is equipped with a stainless steel fridge, microwave, and sink with lots of cabinet space, a vanity, and roomy sitting area. (Suggestion: shop across the street at Blooms and eat in a few days. It saves money and it’s very nice eating inside.)

Other perks of the hotel room: the bathroom was rather large with a whirlpool tub, and there was plenty of closet space to unpack. If there were any drawbacks in terms of the room it’s the bed linen, which wasn’t exactly stellar quality and the lack of a safe deposit box inside was a problem. Outside of the room, the pool (an indoor that spreads to a full outdoor) there’s no complaints. The workout room was surprisingly stacked with equipment and while the machines didn’t have heart monitors, it was a great place to get a workout.

Overall, the Virginia Beach Resort Hotel & Conference Center was a delight. Sure, it’s not on the boardwalk (if you like to walk to where you’re going, this isn’t the spot for you if you crave the boardwalk or like to be in the center of all the action), but it’s a very calming hotel just 10-15 minutes away from the boardwalk and Atlantic/Pacific Avenue action.