Photo Courtesy: Savannah Vasquez
Walton and Okaloosa County Announce Beach Reopening, May 1
Okaloosa, Santa Rosa, and Walton Boards of County Commissioners both announced this week steps to reopen local Destin beaches, May 1st. Gulf-front public and private beaches in Okaloosa, Santa Rosa, and Destin have been closed since March to encourage social distancing and flatten the curve of the COVID-19 outbreak.
Both Okaloosa and Walton counties reached their decision to reopen unanimously. And both counties will resume normal beach hours with some restrictions, remaining open from dawn until dusk. Santa Rosa County beaches will be open from 2:30 p.m. to 7:30 p.m.
Additional ordinances are in the works in accordance with federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention guidelines. Social distancing protocols will remain in place and people will need to maintain six feet of separation and not gather in groups of more than 10. Beach chairs and sunbathing are permitted.
The statewide ban on short-term vacation rentals was extended indefinitely as of April 29th. Governor Ron DeSantis has yet to announce when the extension will expire. In an abundance of preparation, Five Star Properties and Bliss Rentals are prepared to welcome guests when the time comes. It is very important that our guests and owners know about the precautions we as a company are taking as we move into a new normal.
Five Star and Bliss Rentals Housekeeping Policies
Our housekeeping department is very thorough in how we maintain our properties. We continue housekeeping and sanitation procedures to give you, the guest, peace of mind when traveling this season:
• Beds – All of our linens are washed and dried in-house. Upon every departure, linens are stripped from all beds, professionally laundered, and beds are re-made with fresh linens. A bed-band is then placed around the freshly-made bed for quality assurance.
• Towels – Our towels are also professionally laundered in-house, separated and sealed into individual packages for each individual guest.
• New Cleaning Products – Our housekeeping team leverages high-quality cleaning chemicals to properly sanitize and disinfect all surfaces.
• Black Lights – Our housekeeping team implements black lights to use when cleaning each house to look over all surfaces and ensure that everything has been properly disinfected.
We're all in this together and look forward to welcoming you for your next getaway. We'll continue to provide updates as the status changes locally.
For additional information from our local officials, please visit the following sites: