WaterColor Inn & Resort Rooms

There are three basic accommodation choices: the resort's Inn, WaterColor Beach Homes and WaterSound Beach Vacation Rentals.

The Inn
The inn has the charm and intimacy of a B&B with 60 newly redesigned rooms, all of which face the beach and have beachfront porches or balconies. The rooms are quite large and have a really fabulously comfortable king-size bed and linens as well as a queen-size sleeper sofa. Wireless Internet, voicemail and data ports are complimentary. Delicious chocolate-chip cookies are delivered nightly with turndown service. Even though it is quite large, the room is easy to keep neat as it has several wicker baskets that are perfect for neatly stowing clothes as well as toys and -- our favorite feature -- a row of pegs that run in the hall and bedroom allowing for a quick pick-up of clothes.

Two things to note if you have children: None of the rooms at the hotel have a bathtub, so if that is a necessity, then you will have a problem. On the upside, we noticed that the rooms have a kid-size peephole so that security-conscious children can look to see who is knocking at the door before opening it. It's a very nice feature that more hotels should consider.

WaterColor Vacation Homes
WaterColor Vacation homes are 141 homes ranging from one-bedroom condos to six-bedroom homes all of which are located on the 499-acre resort and must be booked through the resort. During the summer there is a minimum stay of five or seven days (depending on the owner) although one- or two-day stays may be booked during down times. All have washers and dryers.

Water Color vacation-home guests have the same rights and amenities as the inn's guests, including 24-hour guest service and check-in center onsite, concierge service, bikes (one per bedroom), resort-charging privileges, kid activities at kids camp, WaterColor Workout Facility after 1 p.m., kayaking on Western Lake, private boat-ride on Western Lake, Family movie night (seasonal), beach bonfire (seasonal), YOLO boarding discounts, access to the exclusive Sharks Tooth Golf Club, deals at Camp Creek and Origins Golf Clubs, DVD's from the WaterColor Inn, access to Kids Night Out, a discount on beach set-ups daily, and discounts at Fish Out of Water Breakfast as well as at the WaterColor spa. Prices vary based on the size of the house and season.

The WaterSound Beach Vacation Homes
The WaterSound Beach Vacation homes is a community of condos and one- to seven-bedroom beach homes located about five miles down 30-A. The community has its own amenities including a pool, a daily beach service offering chairs and umbrellas, as well as a Puttering Park and yacht pond. Guests of WaterSound Beach Vacation Rentals get access to the members-only WaterSound Beach Club, which features a 7,000-square-foot, zero-entry pool with fluid lines mirroring the natural shapes of surrounding dune lakes. An adjacent full-service restaurant, featuring an exhibition kitchen and indoor/outdoor terrace dining, is also popular.