Visit to the Lovely Casa Marina Hotel and Restaurant in Jacksonville Beach, Florida

Posted by Jan Ross on May 9, 2018

After piling into our car, stuffing in our suitcases and other precious belongings for our long drive down to the opposite coast of Florida, we finally headed out early in the morning for our first visit to the other Florida coast. We had often spent time in Destin and the surrounding area but had never spent any amount of time on the other coast. Our visit would culminate at the Casa Marina Hotel and Restaurant in Jacksonville Beach across Florida from where we had been visiting for years. We had not been to this area before and didn’t know what to expect. We were used to the milky white sand and beautiful blue water of the other coast and wondered if this side of the Florida would be just as pretty. I had invited my sister-in-law along on this trip instead of Tom, who was more of a mountain lover than a beach lover and this was the best idea I had for this trip because she is as much of a beach lover as I am.

We honestly didn’t realize how close to the beach we were when we arrived the night before and were amazed at the beauty of this lovely hotel.

Beautiful night view of the hotel.

We unloaded the car, parked, and with the help of a friendly hotel employee, managed to get all our stuff inside to our beautiful little suite. There was a nice separate bedroom and the couch in the living room made into a full bed so we both had our own spaces. The bathroom was roomy and there was a nice sitting/dressing area between the bedroom and living room so it was like our own little apartment. We made ourselves comfortable and spread out into our lovely room, then realized we had to get some dinner as we were both starving.

Beautiful hotel suite

There is a great restaurant in the hotel but they were just closing so we headed out the front door to a pizza place we saw across the road. It was getting late at almost 8:00 but we were lucky that the restaurant was open a little longer. We stuffed ourselves with some delicious pizza and packed up the leftovers for lunch the next day. We had a very handy small fridge in our room and we loaded it up with the leftovers, then fell into bed for the night where we had a great night’s sleep. The next morning, we actually had time on our own since we had added a day to our trip to get there early and settle in. We grabbed a bite to eat and headed out in our car to see the surrounding area. Since we had arrived so late the night before, we didn’t realize how close to the beautiful beach our hotel was located. We could literally just stroll across the street to get there!

Our view of the beach right beside the hotel

We managed to kill the rest of the afternoon with a lot of relaxing and driving around, then our press group met in the downstairs lobby to get to know each other and to learn more about our hotel and the charming town in which it is located. Jacksonville is the most populous city in Florida. With an estimated population of a little over 907,529 as of 2017, Jacksonville is also the most populous city in the southeastern United States. The Casa Marina Hotel is small but beautifully decorated and has 23 beautifully decorated, comfortable rooms. Opened in 1925 and showcasing old Florida, the hotel has stayed popular for it’s entire existence and many families come back every year for their vacations.

Great breakfast view

A delicious Continental breakfast is included for all guests and is a wonderful amenity. There is a very nice restaurant in the hotel and they also serve delicious, hearty appetizers in the evenings – check on the times to see when this will be available. The climate in the area is enjoyable and it’s a great place to plan a getaway. The next morning, our group met again and spent some time driving around and visiting different area in Jacksonville.

Historic church

We relaxed in the afternoon, then get fancied up and headed out to have dinner and to watch “The Marvelous Wonderettes”. Dinner was wonderful and the show was amazingly good – we loved it! It was a wonderful, fun-filled day and just the tip of the iceberg of what is to see and do in Jacksonville. We could have easily settled in and stayed for a few more days, but we had plans for the rest of our trip, so we packed up and headed out the next day to see more of Florida.