The Shores Resort and Spa at Daytona Beach, Florida

Despite the upscale price, The Shores Resort and Spa left us wanting for more. Their website is glitzy and appealing. The room decor is shown as luxurious and exotic with all the amenities you would expect in a 4-5 star hotel. Sadly, in reality, this hotel falls far short of the picture they present on their website.

The room was clean, but nothing like it was portrayed in the website photos. No four posted bed, no tropical net canopies, and no bathtub! It was in fact, a hotel room.....nothing more. The color scheme, rather than the romantic, dark shades were loud and stark.

The walk-in shower was difficult to use without flooding the bathroom floor. The bathroom was inconvenient to use as well. The shower, toilet and sink / vanity were all in a common area, making it difficult for more than one person at a time to use. Also, no mirrors over the sink/vanity made putting on makeup a real chore.

There was an iron, but no ironing board, leaving one to have to use the pull out couch to press clothes.

The ice machine was out of service which left us searching from floor to floor for one that did. Also, no beverages or snacks are available other than to order room service, get take out from the bar, or eat in the single restaurant that is onsite.

Finally, if one chooses not to use valet service, the walk from self parking to the hotel is a long hike. You have to use an enclosed over the road tunnel that is not air conditioned, then climb up and down a long, long flight of stairs as the elevators were not working.

Considering this is one of the most expensive resorts we found in the Daytona Beach area, we expected a great deal more than what we got.