What to expect: This golf resort and yacht club overlooks St. Andrews Bay, four miles from Panama City Beach's main strip and St. Andrews State Park. A 385-foot boardwalk over the Grand Lagoon connects the hotel with its own private beach. Leisure travelers enjoy the resort's recreation options, while business travelers appreciate the extensive meeting and event space.

Amenity highlights: The resort offers two top-notch 18-hole golf courses: the Club Meadows Course and the Nicklaus Course. Guests choose from three outdoor splash pools, an indoor splash pool, two spa tubs, and a 24-hour fitness center. A health spa provides massages, facials, and beauty services (surcharge). Complimentary wireless Internet access is available throughout the hotel. Event facilities include a ballroom for 1,080 guests, with audiovisual equipment and event catering available. There are also four restaurants on site, including a casual fine-dining restaurant and the award-winning 30 Degree Blue. The Kingfish Restaurant and Sushi Bar was also recently opened on site.

Insider tip: Shell Island, an uninhabited barrier island reef in the middle of St. Andrews Bay, is home to a high concentration of bottle-nosed dolphins. Daily boat excursions (surcharge) to the island depart from St. Andrews State Park, four miles from the resort.

What to expect: Located directly on the Gulf, this 22-story high-rise condo resort in Panama City Beach is within two miles of ZooWorld and Shipwreck Island Water Park. The resort houses a 20,000-square-foot convention center. A long boardwalk leads to a mammoth private beach—the size of 11 football fields. As the resort’s chief attraction, the beach is one of the largest in the area.

Amenity highlights: Boardwalk Beach Resort Condo offers waverunners, sailboats, and parasailing off its private beach (surcharges). Guests can swim in a freeform outdoor pool with cascading waterfall, or soak in two spa tubs. An activities center is available for planning local excursions, watching a plasma TV, gathering with friends for a game of cards, and more. The resort also offers a kids club with crafts, movies, and Splash Zone pool with interactive shooting fountains and water toys.

Insider tip: Located two miles from the resort, ZooWorld is located on 7.5 acres of botanical gardens, featuring 250 species of trees and plants from around the world. This zoo is home to more than 300 exotic and endangered animals, such as lions, tigers, snow leopards, bears, giraffes, and kangaroos. A children's petting zoo is also on site.