Adventures of Gus and Kim: Where to Stay in Sandestin, Florida - Fairways

As some of you already know, Gus and I have been vacationing in the Destin area for 20+ years. It's one of our favorite parts of Florida, and we always enjoy our time there.

When our kids were younger, we always stayed in the heart of Destin. But the past several years, we've drifted further east to the Sandestin/Miramar Beach area. The beaches in this area are fabulous and we love being closer to 30-A with all of its amazing eateries.


One of our favorite spots is the Sandestin Golf and Beach Resort. Whatever your preference is for vacation - beachfront, beachside, in the middle of all the nightlife, on the golf course, or in a quiet family neighborhood - Sandestin has it. We've stayed at both Le Jardin and Lasada in Baytowne Wharf, and our latest adventures brought us to the Fairways.


The Fairways is considered bayside, and while a few of the cottages do have a slight view of the bay, most are on the golf course (some with lake views), and some have a dock on a lagoon. These homes are nestled back in the pines and there are miles of bike/walking paths that wind all over the resort.

We've stayed in Fairways three times at two different cottages. Today I'm going to be talking about the one we stayed at twice. It is located on the golf course with a view of one of the lakes. We found it through VRBO/Home Away, contacted the owner, and then since there was such good feedback for her, we finished our transaction directly with her. We frequently use Home Away when planning a vacation.


This particular cottage is on the end, so we only had neighbors on one side. It has two floors, with the master bedroom, master bath, and a loft/second living room upstairs. The first floor has an open floor plan for the living room and dining area, with a large pass-through/bar to the kitchen, as well as another bedroom and bathroom.


One of the first things I noticed upon walking into the condo is that the back wall is virtually all glass - sliding doors in the living room and a huge window in the dining room - which gives you a wonderful view. The living room has a very comfortable couch as well as three chairs, an ottoman, and a large flatscreen TV.


One of the best features of this house is the amazing screened porch. It's very large, very comfortable, and I want one! The door in the above photo is to a storage room with two adult touring bicycles, a child's bicycle, and plenty of beach accessories.


There are so many outdoor dining options here! There is a table with four chairs at one end of the screened porch, and another table with four chairs on the patio just outside the porch! And you'll see another one in a minute!


Since it's on the end, there is a large side yard, which would be great for kids. You enter this gorgeous screened porch from the living room. Guys, this porch is life. If someone asked me what I wanted when we retire, I could just show them a picture of this porch. With the ceiling fans running, it was so nice and cool out here.


The dining room is part of the large open-concept living area. It has the best table ever! When we retire, I want a table just like this one. So yeah. I want a screened porch and this table! I sat at the far end every morning so that I could look out the huge window while I put on my makeup.


This is another patio that is just outside the dining room window. Yet another table with four chairs and a large gas grill.


As you can see above, there is a large pass-through/bar to the kitchen, which houses a stackable washer and dryer. The kitchen was so well stocked that we didn't need to buy anything other than food and drinks. Usually we end up buying trash bags, dishwasher detergent, toilet paper, paper towels, salt - but we didn't have to buy any of that and it was such a welcome change!


The first floor guest bedroom has two twin beds. Buddy was with us for one of our stays here, so this was his room. I think he would have preferred at least a double bed, but it's a very nice room with plenty of closet space.


The bathroom on the first floor is accessible from the main entry/foyer and also from the guest bedroom.


The stairs lead to the loft/second living room where there is a sleeper sofa, love seat, and a flatscreen TV with a DVD player. It's a great area either for adults staying in the master bedroom or for teens to set up their video games. (The furniture may be different now - the owner mentioned they were replacing it soon.)


Also upstairs is the master bedroom. It has a huge walk-in closet and plenty of dresser space as well. The bed is very comfortable. The temperature does tend to be a little warmer upstairs (as is true for most second floors), but with the ceiling fan and a small box fan, it was a good temperature for sleeping.


The master bathroom is accessible from both the master bedroom and the loft area. The toilet, tub/shower is separated from the double sink vanity by a door . I loved all of the counter space!

As I mentioned earlier, we have stayed twice in this cottage. We would've stayed in it a third time, but it was unavailable for our dates. So as you can see, we really enjoy staying here. As a matter of fact, Gus and I have agreed that it is just about perfect. It would be our dream retirement home - even the colors and furniture - if it was all on one level (or Gus could just get me one of those stair lift chairs!)


You could truly spend your entire vacation in the Sandestin Resort. Everything you need is right there. Restaurants, night life, jet ski, bike, and YOLO board rentals, pontoon boat rentals, fishing charters, dinner cruise, playgrounds, walking/bike trails, swimming pools, tennis courts, Adventure Zone, arcade, and laser maze in Baytowne Wharf, Spa Sandestin, and more. Another awesome feature is the tunnel that goes under Emerald Coast Parkway to connect the bayside of Sandestin to the ocean side! Easy access to the beach (and beachfront activities) for those staying on the bay side, and also easy access to Baytowne Wharf for those staying on the ocean side. Did I mention Grand Boulevard? It's just outside the gated access to Sandestin, and you can easily take a bike or golf cart there without going on the main parkway. There's a movie theater, shops, restaurants, a liquor store, grocery store, and more! Are you starting to see why we love staying here?


To read more about places in/near Sandestin, you can check out my posts on Breakfast in Destin - Sunset Bay Cafe, Breakfast in Destin - Another Broken Egg Cafe, Top 10 Places To Eat in Destin (2018), Sandestin 2012 - Baytowne Wharf, Sandestin 2012 - Le Jardin, Sandestin 2012 - out & about. I will warn you that the last three (Sandestin 2012) need to be updated. They're older posts that could use a little love! I'm hoping to get to them soon.

Where's your favorite place to stay on vacation?

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