Elizabeth Pointe Lodge

The Tradewinds Suite at Elizabeth Pointe, with its large private balcony, is the only way to go if you are aiming for the most romantic ocean-front beach getaway and resort-like experience in Fernandina Beach.

They will add a special touch to your special occasion if you request it when you book directly with them. You can literally watch and photograph the gorgeous sunrise while comfortably sitting inside your beautiful suite wearing the cozy robes provided, or enjoy a memorable bubble bath in its large jacuzzi. Be sure not to miss their unbeatable blueberry pancakes (per request) and variety of mimosas ($) with an unbeatable, top class, hot breakfast, or their daily afternoon wine/beer/hors d'oeuvres social (all included). Also, enjoy your free access to brownies, cookies, fruits, water bottles, blankets and towels when you decide to use your private beach umbrella and chairs on the sand. All comforts provided, including covered garage and elevator to lobby. The staff was the best. We had a truly amazing experience at Elizabeth Pointe, and heartedly recommend it, especially the Tradewinds suite. It's worth it!

The staff during our stay were friendly and attentive; however, the property itself is beyond its design life. The carpet and furnishings are worn. The whole place needs a complete refresh - don’t trust the website photos. The breakfast was fine, but not on par with a luxury inn - more like Hampton Inn.

This was a Girls Get-a-Way to celebrate our mom’s 80th birthday. What a beautiful lodge!! Breathtaking views, you’re right on the beach, perfect afternoon reception, hearty breakfast, and snacks available for you to take with you (cookies, brownies and fruit). The staff went above and beyond to make this a memorable weekend for us. Everyone was so friendly and helpful. I can’t wait to go back!

This is more than a lodge, it's a place I like to call home. Service was top notch from the time we entered the door. Everyone greeted us with welcoming smiles and was very knowledgeable on the area, dinner tips and recommendations. Special thanks to Morganne and Shelby for ensuring we felt like family. I will be adopting you both. Leelan, what a pleasure it was getting to know you as well. Eva, I will return for those pancakes thanks for recommending.

What a treat Fernandina and the Beautiful Elizabeth Pointe Lodge has been.

We'll be back and hope to see all the same faces.

I have been fortunate to experience in my lifetime a range of travel stays from high end to less sophisticated from tents to five star exclusive resorts. I am content in a broad range of accommodations so long as my reasonable expectations were fairly close to being met based upon information and photos provided online by the individuals or corporations providing the accommodations. Never have I been so misled by any frankly false marketing campaign as my recent very short experience with Elizabeth Pointe Lodge.

First of all, my travel companion and I had to reschedule from May 2023. My companion's elderly mother suddenly became very seriously ill a few weeks before travel with what appeared to be a life threatening illness. We had to abandon travel plans so that she could be with her to arrange her oncology evaluations, neurology consultation, laboratory visits for endless blood work, and imaging assessments. Fortunately a treatable problem was discovered. A month or two into the treatment she was doing great. We had contacted Elizabeth Pointe to tell them about the sudden seriously illness when it was clear travel was not possible. We were not allowed a refund but instead given a three to four month window to reschedule.

The email exchanges prior to arrival had seemed professional. Coupled with the online photos, we were excited for Elizabeth Pointe to be our base for exploring Amelia Island. We were aware it would not be an experience at the Ritz or Omni with anything we wanted at our fingertips without going off property, but we were reassured that all would be well and we were looking forward to exploring.

We arrived at Elizabeth Pointe on Monday, September 18, at around 1 p.m. We were very surprised when we drove up. We could tell the building was the one in the pictures, but this was NOTHING like the staging in the pictures. From the outside it looked like a run down building on the side of a grassy highway instead of the beachfront mansion appearance of the photos. The much hyped Adirondack chairs were literally sitting on a parking pad below the Inn itself facing a…dune. Not the ocean but literally a wall of sand.

Apprehensively we continued on into the lobby. We said “good afternoon we are just arriving for our stay and realize we are a little early.” We were met with two women who gave out little giggles. Did not introduce themselves. Did not ask for our names. Did not ask the name of our accommodation. They giggled again and shrugged and said “no early check ins.” No offer to store our luggage. No even checking about the room. There was literally not another soul in the lobby. We said “okay. Do you have any lunch suggestions while we wait?” “Oh yes,” one of them said. “We’ve got just the place for you.” And they handed us a coupon for $5 off of a chain restaurant down the road.

We went to said chain restaurant with sketchy service, awful drinks, and suboptimal food. We tried to be optimistic. We did a self-guided tour of downtown Fernandina Beach and headed back to Elizabeth Pointe past check in time just to be sure. This time we are greeted by only one of the ladies. She starts to take us out to our room. She leads off with “now when I personally book this room I make sure people understand there is no view of the ocean.” My companion and I exchange glances. We had been under the impression that the Breezes room in a building called Ocean House had an ocean view. We continued on, now very anxious and very intrigued that the agent is now admitting that this place is not as advertised.

The accommodation itself was incredibly disappointing. Nothing felt clean. The smell was odd. There were four closet doors. One was a functional closet. Two were locked. One contained a hot water heater. The pictures online had been altered beyond what even an unscrupulous real estate agent would even dream of doing. The place was unrecognizable from the online images. The tub was stained, contained a bug, and bathtub hardware rusted. The outdoor furniture was in terrible shape. The champagne which we had paid extra to enjoy upon arrival was not provided.

We inquired about switching accommodations. The woman became nervous. She had tried so hard to make it appear everything was “in demand” and they were just so busy they were never sure anything would last and you had to book right away and make decisions immediately. But somehow the majority of the Lodge seemed to have no occupancy. She showed us several frankly awful rooms in the Lodge which were incredibly small. Some did have an ocean view. But ALL smelled strongly of the mold which has likely infested the entire building. The smell was noxious. My companion almost fell over a dehumidifier literally in the middle of the upstairs hall which HAS to be against any kind of building code and lodging safety.

We came back downstairs. A registered guest already checked in was waiting. She whispered to us that she was disappointed. We smiled and told her to go ahead and deal with the agent as we thought our discussion would take awhile. She was clearly wanting to see what WE were going to be complaining about but finally went ahead of us. She was expressing concern that the minimal “hor d’oeuvres” being served for the afternoon had already run out basically less than an hour into the “happy hour” service. My companion checked out the “dining area” which was smaller than any budget low end chain hotel breakfast area and which would be frankly a miserable place to spend breakfast waking up with yourself or with your travel partners. The tables were about 1.5 feet separate from one another. The price the Lodge was charging for these accommodations and “amenities” was absolutely shocking.

We quickly read more reviews and realized we had been duped. The reviews were largely abysmal. But sprinkled in to offset all the one star reviews were five star reviews that seemed clearly “planted” by marketers. As the owners wife is by reporti in marketing, this is of course a basic trick to fix the reviews.

We simply could not stay. We were polite but told the agent that our accommodation and the whole Lodge were not as advertised. She said “Oh well yes some of the furniture is different now.” The phone began ringing and she kind of freaked out and said “I am sure that is my relief calling for the THIRD time to say she is running late and WHY can’t she just GET HERE?!?” We just smiled and she continued in her frazzled state. She gave us some kind of paperwork and then said “I cannot give you a refund.” We said “that’s fine.” And we left.

This vacation time was very precious to us and hard fought to get. The mold smell was nauseating. The dirty, old feel to everything disappointing at a minimum. And the anger over the duplicity of the marketing overwhelming. Real estate agents do sometimes take (less egregious) liberties with photos of residencies. BUT. The difference is the potential buyer can walk out and have shelter back at home. They have a choice to say no. Elizabeth Pointe Lodge is trapping travelers who may have zero choices to go anywhere else. They are keeping a LOT of money for insanely overpriced accommodations and hoping that demand for competitors will be such that people have no choice but to stay.

The alteration of the pictures is beyond the pale. We formally requested a refund. Not one of our phone calls or emails have been returned since our departure. The Better Business Bureau has an investigation pending at this time.

I will include photos the we captured as we quickly walked through. You may compare them to the website yourself to see the drastic difference (Ocean Breezes room online).