- Apr 1, 2015
- 2 min read

Holiday Inn’s Innisfree Fort Walton Beach, Florida

Holiday Inn – Innisfree, FL. Photo courtesy of Holiday Inn Resort Sales Coordinator, Kevin Christopher Price.

According to their website, the Holiday Inn Resort hotel in Fort Walton Beach, Florida, “is proud to host America’s military service members.

In gratitude to the men and women who bravely serve our country, we allocate 4000 room nights yearly at a 50 percent discounted per diem rate. We invite those who are serving our country to experience a first-class resort without paying a first-class price.

Please use booking form to check availability. If you cannot find availability, want to explore other dates, or have questions, please email our Assistant General Manager Jennifer Crook: jcrook@innisfree.com.

Just a few conditions: Reservations for discounted rooms may be made up to one year in advance for active duty military and up to 30 days in advance for retired military. Note that retired military discounts are not available in June and July. Black-out dates may apply. Guests

Holiday Inn Resort Innisfree Pool Area. Photo courtesy of Holiday Inn Resort Sales Coordinator, Kevin Christopher Price.

must provide military photo ID. Military discounted rooms cannot be used in conjunction with other special offers or packages. Maximum occupancy is four people per room. Each additional person is subject to a $20 per person fee. Offer applies to standard inland view rooms. Gulf Front rooms or suites may be made available subject to availability upon check-in.”

The hotel sits on 17 acres Innisfree leased from the Air Force. Eglin had used the property for years to monitor planes and equipment, but Brig. Gen. David Harris, installation commander for Eglin Air Force Base and commander of the 96th Test Wing, said the hotel was a much better use of the property.

Part of Eglin’s lease agreement with Innisfree included the construction of a large telemetry dish with state of the art tracking equipment on the roof. The dish has been painted to look like a giant beach ball.

Lazy river at the Resort. Photo courtesy of Holiday Inn Resort Sales Coordinator, Kevin Christopher Price.

“The beauty of this project was that it is a great enhancement to the local community,” Harris said. “We get elevation from five floors of hotel that we can sit our telemetry antennas on top of; that way we can get out over the curvature of the Earth, well out into the Gulf of Mexico, and be able to collect data off of test missions.

“(The hotel is) beautiful,” he added. “It’s a great project. It makes me proud to put that Air Force logo next to Innisfree Hotels and the Holiday Inn. We’re very excited.”