Hotels in Jacksonville

Because Jacksonville hasn’t yet made it onto the hip list, there are no boutique hotels—yet. Instead you get a mix of chains, B&B’s and Airbnbs.

The accommodations listed below are arranged geographically, in and around downtown first, followed by the beach scene. The suburbs have dozens more options, especially along I-95. Many are clustered south of downtown in the Southpoint (exit 101, Turner Butler Blvd./Fla. 202) and Baymeadows (exit 101, Baymeadows Rd./Fla. 152) areas. These locales have a multitude of chain restaurants, and you can hop on the highways and zoom to the beach or downtown.

Rates in the downtown hotels are higher midweek, when rooms are in demand by business travelers. Beach accommodations are somewhat less expensive in the colder months from December to March.

Note: Hotel taxes in the area tack on an additional 15%!

At the Beaches

A dozen modest hotels line Jacksonville Beach’s First Street, along the Atlantic. The Hampton Inn Jacksonville Beach/Oceanfront, 1515 N. First St., 2 blocks east of A1A (tel. 904/241-2311; $149-$188 double), is one of best. Its clean rooms have balconies or screened patios, and guests can enjoy a large, heated lagoon-style pool with four rock waterfalls and a palm-fringed deck, a secluded grotto whirlpool, pool bar, and fitness center.

If you’d like to rent an old-fashioned cottage or a luxurious condominium in the affluent enclave of Ponte Vedra, contact Ponte Vedra Club Realty (tel. 904/285-6927). The company has more than 100 properties in its rental inventory, about 75% of them on the ocean. Its renters get a discount on use of facilities at the Lodge & Club at Ponte Vedra Beach, and at the Ponte Vedra Inn & Club, and the agency’s service is quite good. You can also, of course, look at Airbnb and VRBO for these units and others in the vicinity.