So let me start with the positive....walking distance to the beach but even so, the negatives far outweigh the one positive! On our drive to St. Augustine Beach House to register and get our keys (we found that out by a sign on the door at the Vilano) we had passed an abandoned motel where it was obvious that homeless folks reside. Broken out windows and doors. Awful!! There were homeless, drunk people hanging out as we drove by which alarmed us right away. If we hadn't already lost our first night deposit we would have turned have found another place to stay. The owner of the Vilano Beach Garden Inn also owns the St Augustine Beach House which is directly on the beach. Obviously he is an animal lover since both hotels/motels have a dog run. We tried to stay positive and got back to the Vilano Beach Gardens to drop off our luggage. The room was large and very clean but old and not thoughtfully furnished. No table or chairs for eating or having a cup of coffee. It could have been furnished as a suite because it is large enough. We decided to walk to see what the beach looked like even though it was foggy and cold and seemed like we were in a movie in a deserted beach town. Spooky! As we got close to the abandoned motel there was a lover's fight going on between a male and female homeless couple, obviously drunk. She was beating on him and throwing their possessions at him and cussing up a storm. We got cussed at as we walked past them!! I reported it to the folks at the registration desk and they looked alarmed. Could have gotten an Oscar for that! I am sure it was their neighborhood homeless folks. I have to admit that for the rest of our stay (2 nights) there was a cop car parked across from the abandoned building and no more sightings of the homeless. I was very surprised to see so many of them in and around St. Augustine! All in all we had a wonderful time. Christmas is certainly the best time to go to St. Augustine with the town decorated so beautifully! The Night of Lights ride was so much fun and the hop on and off trolley to the various sights helps you see all of the historical sights. We stayed on for the trip just to get an idea and the second time around we got off at the places we wanted to spend time. We couldn't do it all in the two days but we got the meat of it. Interesting history. Full of ghost stories. And with the fog rolling in and out off the ocean, it created a ghostly effect which added to our fun. I am happy we read about the paranormal activities when we got back home though!

Would never recommend this place. Never any staff on premises and not secure. Homeless wander in parking lot. Door didnt close completely do to being warped. Had fire alarms go off at 7am with police and fire respond but no staff respond. I had to call office 3 blocks away at other hotel for police officer who requested was told they would try to have someone respond. Air conditioner didnt work & smelled like mold when tried to check out days earlier because of conditions and refusal to move room or make repairs i was told we could leave but money for entire stay would be penalty. And we could have been moved to another room we were only people there for first 3 days. I travel all the time and worst place i have ever stayed. Only positive is short walk to beach and italian resturant next door was very good.

Very old and outdated. Terrazzo Floors were cold in the middle of the night! There was no space to put anything in the bathroom. We put new batteries in the remote, bought toilet tissue, it was just so disappointing compared to the beach house owned by the same people. On the bright side...it was clean.

Stayed here while moving house with my cat - they do charge for pets which is perfectly fine and understandable - they normally take dogs, but had the cat and they were perfectly hospitable regardless. The check in for the Garden inn is at another building/hotel on Vilano Beach proper, this might seem strange, but it means that the Garden Inn is SO QUIET and peaceful. The section of the main road of Vilano beach where the Inn is is very peaceful but still just a 5-minute walk from Beaches Restaurant (great for sunsets, but make a reservation) - and then a 7-minute walk the other way for Publix and the Beach. The room was clean and everything was in perfect working order - plenty of drawers and places to store things to the place felt like home for a few days. Definitely recommend if you like to have a peaceful and quiet place to stay even if you are going to party in St. Augustine or around the Island.

My wife and I loved this place. The room was cozy and clean. The bed was comfy and overall the room had a homey feel to it. Also the location is great. It is walking distance from the beach and only about 15 minutes from historic Saint Augustine. The only other comment I can make is that check in is not at that location. It is at the main hotel which is down the street. It is not far (only about a block) but that info is helpful so you don't walk around the building late at night looking for the receptionist (like we did). It is not really am issue, but just giving that heads up.