It can be hard to find an affordable rental unit so close to the beach. Other guests we chatted with assumed our top-floor unit was a penthouse. :D It wasn't, but it was great for us. The photos are accurate.
I really loved staying so close to the beach, and enjoying spectacular beach views! We saw dolphins! We watched huge sea birds fly in front of our balcony and over the top of our building.
I am very afraid of heights, and was cautious of the balcony. I made myself sit out there for an hour, and I'm glad I did. The balcony railing is tall, and the furniture is comfortable without being tall, so that really helped me feel safe.
My kids loved the lazy river, the pool, and the water slide. This was our first time at Daytona beach, and the sand is fabulous.
Check in was easy. The first thing I noticed was that the bedroom was set up with a king bed AND a full sized bed for our children. What a pleasant surprise! The six of us were perfectly situated between the bedroom and the sleeper sofa. The sleeper sofa was okay for a kid. It had stains and was old. We had a set of bedding for the sleeper sofa, and several extra pillows, but no pillowcases for those pillows, and no extra blankets. We had enough, but nothing extra. The AC worked great and was easy to adjust.
The furniture was comfortable, though not new. The apartment was sparsely decorated, which for us was perfect, because I didn't have to worry about placing decorative items out of reach of our little children. The unit was cozy and functional. The kitchen was well stocked with dishes and pans and small appliances. We found a broom & a mop. There were plenty of towels. The washing machine and dryer worked great. We always had hot water for our showers. The bathroom was spacious.
Issues I noticed: 1) The floors were a little grimy (but not sandy!) and should be scrubbed. 2) Some of the bedroom lamps had broken knobs and could not be turned on. 3) The toilet constantly dripped, and the handle frequently came loose and had to be reinserted into the toilet tank. My kids struggled with this. A $20-$50 repair for the leaking seal and handle would fix this. I did not take the time to contact the property owners about these things, so I cannot speak to whether or not they would have addressed them. That said, their communication before we arrived was prompt and on point.
Other reviewers have noted delays with the elevator, and we arrived expecting delays. Happily, we never had an issue!