Abc31 and Elaine
I stayed at the Courtyard Isla Verde last weekend with my 3 children. We stayed in a corner oceanfront King suite. I believe the max occupancy of this unit is 3, but we squeezed one adult, a 12 y.o., a 9 y.o. and a 2 y.o. in the unit. The unit had a king bed and a double sofa bed. The sofa bed looked small, so I slept in the king with the 9 and 2 y.o.'s. We only stayed 1 night.
Although there is a full fridge and sink for the kitchen, there is no cutlery or plates. I guess it's OK if you just want to chill some drinks.
The unit was quite spacious, although showing a little age. The views were great! We were right on the ocean. It is very close to the airport - very close- so although it was convenient for us to arrive for just a one night stay, we were pretty much at the end of the runway and could hear the planes very loudly every time they took off. I'm usually sensitive to noise, but this noise didn't bother me. I didn't hear the planes from 10 p.m. to 6 a.m. The noise from the next room did bother me- I could hear my neighbors when they were on the phone, including their 4:30 a.m. wakeup call - uggh.
The lobby area was very nice. There is a casino and a small video arcade for the kids, neither of which we used. There are 3 or 4 places to eat. One which looks like an ice cream stand, but which serves pizza and hotdogs. We ate there for the one dinner we had. Another place, called Salsa, serves dinner and buffet breakfast. Kids eat free at the buffet breakfast. The breakfast had all the usual foods and had people to clear the tables. It was a pleasant place to eat. There is also an outdoor restaurant for dinner. This was the most upscale menu and was on the beach.
The hotel is on a very nice beach. The older kids loved to play in the waves. There were plenty of lounge chairs available and an employee who helped us late in the day to bring them to where we wanted. There are also hammocks and umbrellas. There is also a pool with a swimup bar. Both were very nice.
A couple of nice amenities were the free sandtoy package that they gave my 2 year old at checkin and free wireless internet - very fast.
Overall, I wouldn't hesitate to book here again. The staff was extremely accomodating. The 3 p.m. checkin and the 12p.m. checkout let us maximize our stay.
Overall: Pros: Great beach. Great staff. Nice places to eat. Casino and video arcade.
Cons: End of the runway. Slightly worn interior.
Let me know if you have any questions.
Cathy