Hammock Beach Golf Resort & Spa

Character and identity

Set on a protected nature preserve in Palm Coast, between Jacksonville and Daytona, this is one of northeast Florida's few true beachfront resorts, fronting an Atlantic shore where coquina shells tint the sand pink. Accommodation runs to villas and condominiums with ocean views rather than traditional hotel rooms. The scale is sprawling: a 91,000-square-foot multi-level water park with lazy river, slides and a sand-lined pool; an adults-only pool above it; two championship golf courses (one by Jack Nicklaus, one by Tom Watson, with the Ocean Course offering the most oceanside holes on the state's east coast); pickleball at the Yacht Harbor Village tennis centre; and a full-service spa with sauna, steam and eucalyptus inhalation rooms.

Who's it for

Bottom line

What defines a stay here is the activity stack: two serious golf courses, a vast water park and a protected beach, all bundled into the rate so families can move between them without nickel-and-diming. Book an ocean-view villa if you're travelling as a group, and time a visit around a golf package if the Ocean Course is the reason you're coming.