St. Augustine Boutique Hotel: Does The Good Outweigh The Bad

The Hotel Amalga, a Marriott Tribute Portfolio Hotel, is a relatively new addition to the St. Augustine, Florida vacation scene. The five-floor, 58-room, 4-star hotel sits along the San Sebastian River within one mile of Historic Downtown St. Augustine.

Donna and I took advantage of its close proximity to the downtown area of the oldest city in the United States and walked to the historic district. It was a fun walk, both there and back. The street’s atmosphere is casual, and the walk is as quick as advertised.  

Our room at the Hotel Amalga was pleasurable. We booked a guest room with a king bed and a water view. My only complaint is the shower. Figuring out the hot and cold water was a challenge. Plus, the shower door, like many of recent vintage, has a half-glass panel. This design invariably leads to water spilling out of the shower. The price for our one-night stay, $205.79 (including tax), is very good given the location.

A shot of the half-glass show door concept,

(I suggest minusing the GL from the "half-glass door concept" moniker.)

The Hotel Amalga half-glass shower door is a trend that started either in Japan or Europe. It was adopted by US boutique hotels approximately 10 years ago and has trickled into many standard US hotel designs; however, it isn't expected to reach budget hotels in the US.

For dinner, we ate at Hugo’s Bistro. It’s on the top floor of the hotel. The views of St. Augustine are great, as are the views from both of the hotel’s patios.

My dinner selection, a spinach salad with chicken, was served without the chicken. The waitress dutifully went back to the kitchen to make sure the chef would fast-track it for me. It wasn’t long before she came back with chicken in hand. The side of asparagus was good. Donna ordered the skirt steak. She thought she could handle that skirt steak is the diaphragm of the cow, but couldn’t, and didn’t finish her meal. The two entrees and two drinks came to a reasonable $94.68

The open space design between Hugo’s bar and its dining tables leaves the restaurant area a bit too noisy. In a smaller establishment such as the Hotel Amalga, which leans into chic motif, there should be a wall between the bar and restaurant to create a private, quiet dining experience.  It could even be retractable, so the area can be rented for large parties.

Hugo's rooftop patio-bar seating is fantastic.

Thoroughly enjoyable room.

The service, from the front desk to the bellhops and restaurant waitstaff, was flawless. Given that, our comfortable room and great location, we will be checking into the Hotel Amalga for our next St. Augustine adventure.

The Hotel Amalga is located at 5 Prawn Street St Augustine, Florida. Amenities not mentioned above include an outdoor pool, 24-hour fitness center, and valet parking.

Hotel Amalga lobby view of the San Sebastien River.

The lobby seating area is located just off the front desk

Charles I. Guarria is an author, reporter and host based in the state of Florida, USA, covering any topic, anywhere in the world. His career began in 2009. Mr. Guarria is a three-time winner of Emerald Group Publishing’s Highly Commended Award and host of The Opinion Guy Fun Friendly Informative. He is available for hire to write, research, or beta-read. 

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Photo Credit: Marriott and Me

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