El Matador 437 - FREE TICKETS!! Your stay includes free tickets to many area attractions!

Let me start off by saying, I have never left a bad review because we live so far away from the beach that when we do book a place to stay, I tend to look over little minor things that don’t matter because we are so excited to finally be on vacation. The few things I liked about this place, the view was excellent!, the pool was excellent. The balcony had plenty of seating so our whole family was able to sit and eat together. The kitchen was fine, well stocked and clean. Now to the bad. The furniture is super outdated!! The couch absolutely filthy and stained. There was a big crack above the couch on the ceiling. The chairs were also stained. The curtains concerning the deck, OLD! The bedroom with the 2 twin beds was a nice size but it had no lighting other than lamps. There were extension cords going in two directions for the TV, WiFi box, and lamps to light the room. I didn’t like this at all considered the 10 and 11 year old slept in that room. The bedroom with the king bed felt like you were sleeping on a boulder. If you like an extra firm mattress then this is the place for you. It was absolutely horrible!! Also there were yellow stains on the wall right by the king bed. And again outdated furniture. The bathroom shower and toilets worked fine but there was mold beside the air vent in the bathroom connected to the king bedroom. I didn’t notice it until check out. It needs to feel like the beach when we stay somewhere and I felt like I was at my 75 year old grandmas house.

Wonderful property to stay at

Location is wonderful, beautiful view to enjoy of the Gulf and the Pool is great.

Everything about our trip was wonderful. The room has an amazing view! Me and husband drank our coffee and ate our breakfast together on the balcony every morning. The beach was clean and the water was perfect. I have never seen such clear water! The water is shallow for a ways out making water play with kids awesome. Beach service is not included with this unit but is easily purchased beachside for around $40/ day. They promptly set out our chairs and umbrella every morning. There were some extra beach toys in the balcony closet which were a plus. El Matador grounds were well manicured and pristine. The sunset was breathtaking. The room had everything we needed to make our stay very comfortable. There is a memory foam topper on the master bed which I found very comfy. The kitchen had all the cookware we needed. We came fully prepared even packing the salt and pepper shakers so we were set for meal prep. It was our first family trip to the beach and everything was even better than I ever imagined it could be. If you are debating this unit and this complex, go for it! On a side note....Stewby’s is handy to the complex and the BEST place we found for grabbing a great, fresh, meal out.

We have been coming to these condos for around 20 years ,and as always never one problem clean friendly ocean view is awesome.

If you don't care about sleep go for it. All the mattresses are TERRIBLE look at the king bed picture literally a hump in the middle. Wish we would have know we would have canceled. The most comfortable bed was the pull out couch and that speaks alot because those aren't comfortable. Now El Matador is a great location just don't get this unit until they do some updates.

The room is very outdated , broken furniture , no decorations , the beds was very uncomfortable, and it wasn’t very clean. The light on the balcony was busted so we couldn’t use it. The front door lock is in bad shape , it wouldn’t hardly lock. I would not recommend waisting your money on this room. We’ve stayed at this resort a couple of times , never had a problem until this room.

The location was great! The unit was horrible! First, the listing says it’s a 2 bath unit but it’s not. It’s a 1 1/2 bath jack and jill. The only tub/shower there was to use also didn’t hold water when trying to take a bath and the shower sliding doors would not slide without using both hands and muscling the door open. The shower door is also rusted all over and looks like the original door. Even the outdoor furniture was all rusted and looked like it was 50 years old. All the beds were horrible and the master bed, was literally like sleeping on the floor. We purchased and $100 plus mattress topper to try and make it decent but it didn’t work. And we now have an extra mattress topper that we don’t need. All the furniture looks, sounds and feels outdated and uncomfortable. The tv’s were also old and one was even an old computer monitor. The tv in the master was only about 18” wide! If you can’t provide a decent tv, then don’t provide one at all. We had to purchase several items just to stay in the unit. Trash bags, dish soap, dish cleaning brush, paper towels, and even a can opener. If I could include a picture on this review I would to show you how old the can opener was. The one in the unit looked to be from the 1930’s and all rusted up. There were not enough towels provided so we had to use the same ones over and over covered in sand. We even spent time washing what we had instead of playing at the beach. Besides not having everything provided “like home” as they mention in the listing, there were no extra amenity items like beach chairs, umbrellas, board games, etc……. We’ve never stayed at a condo where there were no items provided given the location of the condo and consideration for rain out days. Having to spend more money and time to provide items that should already be included is unexceptionable. Everything in the unit appears to be 40-50 years old and either not working or about to fall apart. The owners need to shut the unit down and do a full remodel with all new furnishings.

I love the location of this property! However, if I stay here again, I will choose a different unit. The beds are HORRIBLE! Not comfortable at all. One of the twin beds was so hard, you might as well sleep on the floor. Loves the property itself nm it not this unit.

We have stayed several times at condos located at El Matador and we LOVE this location. It is backed up to a protected area owned by the Air Force, so there is less public traffic. It is an older resort but we still enjoy the stay. Lots of amenities on site. This particular condo was located in the perfect location. You see the Gulf the moment you step into the condo and the moment you step back outside the entrance. The unit is surrounded by amazing views in a fantastic location! Some of the decor and fixtures are a little out of date. That doesn’t really bother me so much. The floors have been updated to a beautiful tile and are no longer carpeted as in the photos on the listing. The tub wouldn’t hold water, but is a great sized soaker tub. My husband went to plug a charger into the outlet on the left hand side of the sofa and noticed the outlet end on the cord on the lamp was burnt. We did leave that lamp unplugged for safety reasons. Unfortunately there was some heavy machinery work being done on the building we stayed in and it was very loud at times, but I also understand this has to happen to update the units. I do want to say that there were mentions in other reviews about the beds. I want to elaborate on this, because when I saw firm I thought “firmer than usual”. No this is much different than that. With respect to the owners, if you stay here often and love these mattresses, then obviously I understand why you keep them. If you haven’t slept on these beds, they badly need replaced. The king mattress is not only hard as a rock, but has a hump in the middle. The twins weren’t comfortable either. We did not get one single night of solid sleep our entire stay. We even searched for reasonable mattress toppers in the area to salvage the trip but they would have taken a chunk of our budget and we didn’t know how we would get them home. I called the front desk and begged for a comforter or something to help but they had nothing to offer. They did say they have gotten several complaints about the king mattress. It is the first time I have ever come to the beach and looked forward to going home simply for a good nights sleep. I would also suggest upgrading the comforter to something less worn. If it weren’t for the bed, I would stay in this unit every single time I come to Ft Walton. I have several friends that planned to come this summer in which I planned to suggest the unit. If you do upgrade