Eating and Beaching at the Lovely Henderson Park Inn

When I read online that the fridge in the Presidential Suite at the Henderson Park Inn  was going to be “fully stocked”, I was immediately intrigued. Fully stocked. Fully stocked. What exactly did that mean? I have had fully stocked fridges at all-inclusive resorts in Mexico and Punta Cana and fully stocked meant filled with a variety of drinks.

Oh, my friends.

“Fully stocked” in the Presidential Suite at the Henderson Park Inn means this.

Milky Way, Twix, Three Musketeers, Snickers - Oh, YEAH.

Stocked with not only bottled water and soda, but a variety of candy bars.

Forget the diet when you stay here.

Because seriously. Candy bars. An unlimited supply of chocolate. This might possibly meet my definition of heaven.

But don’t despair if you are not staying in the Presidential Suite (which was completely and totally fabulous in every way and I’ll be writing about it in detail soon) because this marvelous place also has a fully stocked community fridge in the main building.

Which is also packed with drinks and candy bars.

Any guest at any time can just saunter by and grab a candy bar and a Diet Coke. Any. Time.

Have you ever heard of anything that great?

Well, actually that is just one of the many amenities you are going to find at this beautiful place, hidden away at the end of Scenic Highway 98 in beautiful Destin,Florida. It has the best location in all of Destin because it is right beside Henderson Beach State Park, so it has an extra 6,000 square feet of sparkling white sand beach right beside it, in addition to the lovely beach that is steps away from all the rooms. This means that you can sit on your lovely, private wooden deck and watch the most incredibly gorgeous sunsets with just sand and green water between you and the red gold setting sun.

One fabulous sunset after another here in paradise.

A truly beautiful place, the Henderson Park Inn reminds you of a beautiful New England inn with its gray cedar shakes, lovely wooden floors, oriental carpets and luxurious furnishings. That makes sense because Bill and Steve Abbott, the original designers, grew up in Maine and were very fond of the New England hotels where breakfast and lunch were provided and no service was spared for the guests. I don’t think I ever ever stayed anyplace where I was pampered more than at the Henderson Park Inn.

Just to make the inn over-the-top fabulous, it’s also located only about a mile from one of the best shopping outlets anywhere. The Silver Sands Outlet has every store you can imagine and you can spend an entire day prowling from one end to the other.

Believe me.

We did it.

The first night, before we moved to the Presidential Suite, my SIL and I stayed in a completely gorgeous room at the Henderson Park Inn, beautifully decorated with dark wood furniture and a huge four-poster bed that was so incredibly comfortable, we slept so late that we almost missed breakfast.

Which  would have been a tragedy of epic proportion because the breakfast (which is included) is seriously wonderful. An omelet bar, freshly made waffles, beautiful fruit, some of the best scones I have ever eaten (and that includes some I had in Ireland) and icy juice tempts you to eat so much you don’t want to eat for the rest of the day. My advice is don’t get carried away and eat three scones. Not that I would ever do such a thing. Even though the raspberry and white chocolate scones might possibly be the best things you have ever eaten. Because a lovely box lunch is also included.

Just pick out what you want in your omelet.

Fabulous fresh fruit of all kinds.

My breakfast one morning. Fresh waffles. YUM.

That’s correct. A delicious box lunch is prepared for you every day. You just go pick it up and eat it. Wherever you want. And you can also get iced tea, lemonade, fresh fruit and freshly baked cookies. Have you ever stayed at a hotel where lunch is included? Me either. And it’s a great lunch too. You order the night before from a choice of delicious sandwiches and salads which come with a bag of chips and a pickle. You can eat in the dining room, in your room or on the beach as you relish the ocean breeze and the incredible turquoise and azure ocean. The first day I had the Roast Turkey Aioli – roast turkey served on toasted multigrain wheat bread with provolone cheese, tomato, lettuce and creamy aioli garlic sauce.

You. All.

I’m not even sure how to pronounce “Aioli” but it’s fabulous. Fabulous.

Honestly.

Why would you ever want to leave this place?

My only serious regret about our stay is that we didn’t get lunch on the day we left because you don’t get lunch on the day you arrive or depart. Makes sense but still. So sad.

Even though you may have scarfed down half a dozen scones and had a fabulous lunch, you are still going to want to make a reservation for dinner at The Beachwalk Cafe. Located in the beautiful, hardwood-floored dining room with huge windows overlooking the incredible ocean view, the food here is just unbelievably good.

Crab cake appetizer.

You can even choose to eat outside on the lovely verandah area and relish the warm ocean breeze. Make sure your reservation is at sunset because you are going to see some of the most gorgeous sunsets here. They are truly incredible.

Eat out here and enjoy the lovely breeze.

You can even arrange a candelit dinner at a table they set up right on the beach. Is that the most romantic dinner in the universe, or what?

The food is definitely one of the highlights here but you are going to find that all of your needs have been anticipated and provided for here at this luxurious and lovely place. Just up the beach a ways, they are charging a daily fee for chairs and umbrellas on the beach. The Henderson Park Inn provided them for every guest. Huge, fluffy beach towels? Just grab them from the beautiful, dark wood breakfront in the lobby. Ice, water, pop for your cooler? No problem. No charge. No effort required. Just relax and enjoy every single things about this place.

Honestly.

Make your reservation now.

One morning at the Henderson Park Inn beach.

Full disclosure: the Henderson Park Inn provided us with accommodations,  but as always, I will share my honest opinion about any travel experiences I have.

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