Sleep Inn & Suites of Panama CIty Beach

The hotel is a large, beige, welcoming building set back from the main road, and has clusters of mature palm trees in the parking lot. The lobby has an ATM and a rack of brochures about area attractions. The space is bright, open, and modern, with chic coffee-colored stripy wallpaper and toffee-hued soft leather sofas clustered around a glass table. There's an Internet station with a printer next to the seating area and a huge ice machine stands in the hallway, right next to a vending machine with soft drinks. There's also a small movie room with beachy wooden tables with anchors on them where a kid-friendly film is played every evening. The vibe is always lively and friendly, and most guests are families and road-trippers who are looking for accommodation that doesn't break the bank.

The neighborhood surrounding the hotel is more tranquil than other parts of town right by the beach, but there are a few restaurants dotted along Front Beach Road. The hotel is not quite walking distance to the beach, but there's a taxi stand across from the hotel as well as frequent buses. Pirates Island Golf, Super Speed Fun Park, and Coconut Creek Family Fun Park are all within a 15-minute walk of the property, as are WonderWorks and Ripley's Believe It or Not. For adult-focused entertainment, Panama City Beach Winery is a two-minute drive away and has daily wine tastings and a gift shop, while Hombre's Golf Club is a five-minute drive from the hotel.

Most rooms at the Sleep Inn have parking lot views, but the fresh green accent walls add a zing to the rooms, and red bedspreads liven things up. The furniture is generic but closets are spacious and the beds are comfortable. Lamps dotted around the rooms provide soft lighting and there's good reading light around the bed. The bigger rooms have soft leather easy chairs and matching ottomans. All rooms have wall-mounted flat-screen TVs, and Suites have desks, microwaves, and fridges. Bathrooms exceed the budget-hotel standard and are large and bright, with black marble-topped surfaces and walk-in showers with glass doors. 

A free hot breakfast buffet of biscuits and gravy, eggs, bacon, and waffles is served each morning in the dining room, a pleasant space with wooden chairs and gold framed pictures of palm trees on the wall. The waffle machines are a big hit, and there's a huge juice machine as well as a coffeemaker, but some guests have complained that the buffet isn't refilled frequently enough. There's also a coin-operated laundry room on-site as well as a miniature movie theater that screens kid-friendly movies in the evenings. The fitness center is small, with only a treadmill, an elliptical, and a weight-resistance machine. There's also a computer and a printer and Wi-Fi is free throughout the hotel. The outdoor pool is heated in the cooler months, but it overlooks the parking lot. Pets are welcome for a fee, and parking is free.