A GUEST’S REFLECTION Trips

HILTON SANDESTIN BEACH

Our home by the sea for nearly four decades

BY THE BIRDSONG FAMILY

Shelly and Johnny Birdsong of Franklin, Tennessee, have both been traveling to the Hilton Sandestin Beach since its opening in 1984. Now with their three kids, Bo (age 18), Keeling (7) and Calhoun (2), staying here has become a family tradition. Shelly and Johnny both enjoyed staying here before they met and fell in love, and both have discovered that they still have a love affair with the Hilton Sandestin Beach.

Here’s what they say makes the Hilton Sandestin Beach so very special to them:

JOHNNY:

Just the thought of Hilton Sandestin Beach brings up 36 years of thoughts and memories of happiness, love and joy.

I have been vacationing there since the first year it was opened (1984), and I can’t recall a year when I was not there at least once. I have been with my mother, sister and cousins, then with friends during college, and for years after college with those same friends for golf trips. Now my trips there continue today with my wife and children. It has always been our family’s “happy place.”

When I first met my wife, we discovered things we had in common on one of our very first dates. We both had the same favorite local restaurant and favorite beach destination — the Hilton Sandestin Beach.

We visit as often as we can, usually more than once a year. And whether it’s just the two of us or with our children, we find that we don’t ever leave the resort — we have everything we need right there. From the pool, the beach, fabulous dining options and so much more, why would we leave? This is a treasured place. It has become a part of our lives and, without a doubt, will be for many years to come.

SHELLY:

I can still remember vividly the day my family pulled into the Hilton Sandestin Beach. Must have been in 198485, and with three small children in tow, my parents were thrilled when they saw that valet stand and lobby. And for us kids, my brother, sister and I, it was a magical place. Thus, began our love affair with the hotel and the resort. My entire childhood of summers from then on were spent at Sandestin. Now that I bring my own children to the hotel, the same wonders of an indoor pool, an outdoor pool, ice cream and bunk beds in the room, still apply. “And they still incite.”

As far as special places go, yes, it is where I grew up, it is where I have been coming with girlfriends since I was a teenager.

When I met my husband and we discovered our mutual love for the hotel and resort, and as we became our own family, our tradition of coming to the Hilton began in full. Every year now for a decade, we have visited multiple times and have countless memories made on each and every trip — from our children’s first steps in the sand, swimming in the pool, running down the long hotel halls, even taking my daughter for her “special dinner” at Seagar’s. We have spent Christmas, Easter, New Year’s, anniversaries, birthdays and almost every other reason to celebrate here.

Although we are fortunate in our life to be able to travel and experience many wonderful resorts and areas in our country, we always make sure we spend time at the Hilton Sandestin Beach and enjoy a stay there each and every year — sometimes more than once when we are really lucky. Our family’s memories start and end at this hotel. Thank you, Hilton Sandestin Beach, for nearly four decades of seaside reverie.

Visits to Hilton Sandestin Beach have become a generational touchstone for some families.