Krystin Dean
- Apr 28, 2023
- 6 min read

Pros & Cons of Staying at Beach Retreat in Legoland

Updated: Aug 3, 2023

Beach Retreat is definitely a different experience than staying at LEGOLAND Hotel or Pirate Island Hotel... but it's still totally awesome.

The “5 gazillion star” LEGOLAND Hotel is a massive part of the magic of the LEGOLAND experience. We've already shared our top tips as you plan your own awesome adventure there, and you can also check out our vlogs from our 2022 trip.

This year, we decided to venture across the street for a stay at Beach Retreat. We hope this list of pros and cons helps if you're trying to decide if the Beach Retreat bungalow experience is right for your family.

pro // the price

Once you start looking into booking a LEGOLAND package, one thing instantly becomes clear. Beach Retreat is the cheapest and Pirate Island is the most expensive. For instance, we searched Sept. 1-4, 2023 (buy 2 nights, get 3rd night free deal + 3 days for the price of 2 LEGOLAND Park + Water Park + Peppa Pig Theme Park tickets). Here's the difference:

Beach Retreat: from $1,253
LEGOLAND Florida Hotel: from $1,494
Pirate Island Hotel: from $1,534

The reason Beach Retreat is cheaper is primarily that it's located right across the street instead of steps from the theme parks like the others. There are also a few other cons we highlight below.

The “main” hotel and Pirate Island have the same entrance and are two wings of the same building—but Pirate Island is newer than the main hotel and the rooms are the "most" themed of the three.

Pro // awesome bungalow with front porch

Beach Retreat features a village-style layout with 83 beach-themed bungalows and 166 rooms, which include an outdoor patio area. The Beach Retreat bungalows are grouped into 13 sections, each named after a popular minifig like Shark Suit Guy and Ocean King, but the beachy theming is the same. Each grouping, or "cove," has a play area in the center along with lawn games. This contributes to a neighborhood vibe that our family loved... and having a patio to chill on while the kids played or built some LEGO in the room was super relaxing.

con // room differences

All of the LEGOLAND hotels truly take theming to another level. From the wall decor to the shower curtain to the shampoo, it’s all LEGO. The coolest thing is that the kids have their own sleeping area in the room with a bunk bed, pull-out trundle, and little kit of LEGO to play with. The adult sleeping area has a king bed. You get an Honest juice box per child and two small water bottles each day, in addition to the Keurig coffee and hot chocolate in the room.

LEGOLAND Hotel and Pirate Island Hotel rooms have a TV in the kids' sleeping area, while Beach Retreat does not, and more general theming to the room (bedspreads, carpet, etc.).

Each child gets LEGO freebies to the room each day at all hotels—a mini fig or a little set. However, at LEGOLAND Hotel and Pirate Island Hotel, the first one comes from an in-room scavenger hunt.

At Beach Retreat, housekeeping only changes towels and trash daily. If you would like bedding changed, daily mini figs, more shampoo or juice boxes, etc. there is a number you can text - so you just need to ask!

pro & con // the parking

When you stay at Beach Retreat, you can potentially park steps from your bungalow door which makes it easy to pop over to LEGOLAND or run out to grab dinner. Not all coves are located directly next to parking spots, but they are all close and there are wagons provided to easily take luggage right to your doorstep.

You can come and go as you please with free parking. BUT you do NOT get preferred parking at LEGOLAND when you stay at Beach Retreat. This basically means your car doesn't get the covered parking area closest to the hotels and theme park, which is a perk in the summer sun. However, we always parked in the very front of "regular" parking when we got there for park open, so the walk was ultimately a total of 20 more steps.

pro // Access to All Hotel Amenities

Programming like bingo, trivia, and storytime takes place at both the Pirate Island Play Area and the Castle Stage at LEGOLAND Hotel. While Beach Retreat doesn't have any special programming, guests have access to everything going on across the street. All programming typically kicks off around 4:30 p.m.

Families can make a reservation to tour Lake Eloise and Lake Summit on a 25-minute guided historical wildlife tour of the “Famous Chain of Lakes.” with a local tour guide. Your captain will cruise by the pirate ship, the Esther Williams Florida Pool, and the LEGOLAND Water Park while pointing out wildlife like alligators, turtles, great blue herons, and more. The 9-hole mini golf course located at the boardwalk by Lake Eloise features LEGO wildlife at each hole.

At all three hotels, you can purchase s’mores kits for $25 to prepare at the fire pits. We typically bring our own s’mores fixings and no one has ever said anything.

CON // no Access to creative workshops

Creative Workshops (also called “master builder classes”) are offered at LEGOLAND Hotel in which kids get to take a class with a Master Model Builder and make a small LEGO model together. There is a bulletin board in the hotel lobby that shows you what you’ll be building next. You sign up online two weeks out, and you can book for each day you are there including check in and check out.

However, the LEGOLAND website does specify that these classes are only for LEGOLAND Hotel and Pirate Island Hotel guests, not Beach Retreat. We were still able to book classes on our recent stay, but it's important to note that this is not a guarantee.

pro & con // Amazing breakfast... but no extras

The free breakfast is AWESOME. You can eat at Shipwreck at Pirate Island, Bricks at LEGOLAND Hotel, or Sandy’s Castle Restaurant at Beach Retreat. At all locations, you get a massive all-you-can-eat family style skillet with eggs, bacon, sausage, biscuits and gravy, and fresh fruit. You can get whatever you want to drink: coffee, soda, juice boxes, chocolate milk, etc. You can request the family skillet for 2 instead of 4 (we did this so we didn't waste as much food) and you can customize them however you like. Breakfast is first come, first served starting at 7 a.m.

Shipwreck and Bricks serve a rotation of LEGO waffles (which our kids love the most), pancakes, and French toast sticks. Beach Retreat only rotates between pancakes and French toast. Shipwreck also has a selection of awesome breakfast skillets, while Bricks has awesome omelets.

pro // the POOL AREA

There’s a pool at all three hotels, and they all have big soft LEGO bricks floating around so you never have to stop building. The main LEGOLAND Hotel pool is the biggest and busiest because it's centrally located, has a slide, and is open all day. The Pirate Island Hotel pool is the quietest.

In addition to the Beach Retreat's large pool, it's the only hotel with a large sand play area including beach toys and cornhole boards. There's also a large playground right next door. This setup allows families flexible options for play.

pro & con // the walkability

It's very easy to get around Beach Retreat, with paved sidewalk paths connecting all of the coves and leading to the shuttle stop, pool and playground, and Sandy's restaurant. The whole community is surrounded by a fence, and several of the coves have nice views of the surrounding lake.

However, a rainy day would make getting over to the theme park or to breakfast at Sandy's a not-so-awesome experience - whereas the LEGOLAND Hotel and Pirate Island Hotel are completely indoors.

con // proximity to legoland

Once you set foot inside LEGOLAND Hotel, you’re completely immersed in LEGO. The LEGOLAND theme park and Peppa Pig Theme Park entrances are just steps away. This means you literally never have to leave or take any transportation during your stay.

If you’re staying across the street at Beach Retreat, you have the option to take the free shuttle or drive your own car the ½ mile across the street to the theme parks or main hotel. So you're still close to everything.... just not as close as the other hotels.

PRo & con // shuttles

The white nondescript shuttles run very consistently between Beach Retreat and a shuttle stop midway between LEGOLAND and Peppa Pig Theme Park around every 15 minutes from 8:30 a.m. to 12 p.m. as well as 4 - 8 p.m.

The con to this is that the shuttles don't run all day long so if you eat breakfast early and want to head over to Shipwreck or Bricks, or if your child naps in the middle of the day and you want to head back to your room, or if you want to stay at LEGOLAND Hotel to enjoy the amenities, you may be better off just driving over.

While you technically can walk from Beach Retreat across the street, we don't recommend it because you're crossing a major highway, it's a decent amount of steps, and there's really no need thanks to the consistent shuttles.