What do you do when you’d rather dance to the right and skip the casinos when visiting a town like Biloxi, Mississippi that’s filled with high rollers? For the ultimate in changes in attitudes without slots, shots and red hot betting in Biloxi, Mississippi, head to Margaritaville Resort Biloxi for some good clean jolly mon. Located waterfront, Margaritaville Resort Biloxi is one of the only resorts in Biloxi that’s not associated with a casino. Yes, it’s filled with neon lights and the sounds of machines ringing, but instead of craps and black jack, your kids will be hedging their bets on bowling, basketball, simulated skiing and football machines in the 55,000-square foot arcade and family entertainment center, complete with a climbing wall that doubles as an erupting volcano.

What was once home to the old Casino Magic in the pre-Katrina days is now the Margaritaville Resort with 373 hotel rooms and suites, a 55,000 square foot arcade – the largest on the Gulf Coast - and a roof top water playground complete with water slides, a 450-foot Lazy River, and the obligatory swim-up bar. It’s all about Island life here at Margaritaville Resort Biloxi, inspired by the lyrics and lifestyle of singer, songwriter and author, Jimmy Buffett, whose famed license to chill is the driving force behind this resort. 

From the moment guests enter and spy the colorful painted VW Bus, hear the Caribbean tunes, and catch a waft of coconut suntan lotion (yes, it’s subtly piped throughout the hotel), they’re transported to the island paradise made famous by the original Parrothead himself. The Margaritaville Resort Biloxi is one part waterside paradise, one part luxury resort and one part traveler’s playground, ideal for families, groups and couples. 

Upon arrival, leave your car with the valet (yup, your valet parking is included in the resort fees you’ll pay daily) and head to the tenth floor for check in. You’ll get your first clue on the island immersion when you enter the elevator lined on four sides with murals of colorful fish, sharks and the deep blue sea. It’s the closest thing to snorkeling with the fish you can get on land in an elevator! 

Elevator Mural

Your next reminder on how they haven’t skimped on the details here is the “room key” you’ll get when you check in. Each person in the party is given a colorful elastic bracelet band with a micro-chip programed for your stay. Wave it in front of the door, and voila, it’ll unlock. This solves the problem of lost keys, and offers each guest a souvenir bracelet from their stay. Best part – the chip bobble has a shark fin on it. Look closely, and you’ll see fins to the left, in pure Buffet style!

When you check in, keep a keen eye out for Kay Kelly, the ultimate concierge. We promise even just a single interaction with Kay will make your day. Ever helpful, Kay goes above and beyond the simple reservations and printing of boarding passes. She hula dances, she smiles, and she always goes the extra mile for guests to help them find their lost shaker of salt. Spend five minutes with this “Little Miss Magic,” and you’re sure to have a change in attitude. 

Kay, the cool concierge

The guest rooms are new, modern, and filled with artwork depicting parrots, Caribbean beauties, and Buffett concerts. Choose an ocean-view balcony room on the tenth floor, and your balcony may open to a party deck filled with tables overlooking the marinas and islands beyond in the Mississippi Sound. If you can’t get a room on to the tenth floor, you can still use the public party decks with tables for enjoying boat drinks and cheeseburgers in paradise. There are King Corner Suites for larger families and traveling parties, complete with kitchens, living rooms and king-sized and king bedded rooms, and of course, that fabulous balcony and view of the water too. For couples, the king executive or king or queen standard rooms are spacious and welcoming. 

Balcony Queen Room

bath amenities

Queen Room Bath

party deck & balcony

If you’ve got kids in tow, it’s a tough choice between heading right to the Escape Family Entertainment Center and arcade and the Water Playground. Reserve the Water Playground for sunlight hours and then head in for hours of entertainment at the hundreds of state-of-the-art video games, bowling alleys, climbing wall, ropes course and yes, an erupting volcano (which is actually a 48-foot climbing wall). 

Basketball game

Escape Arcade

Skiing

In fact, when it comes to drinking and dining, Margaritaville Resort Biloxi has something for every taste and you won’t have to venture far. Start with the namesake restaurant, Margaritaville, and watch kids top-out on the climbing wall volcano. The 5 o’clock Somewhere Bar is located poolside in the Water Playground and offers handcrafted alcoholic and non-alcoholic drinks. Try the bar’s namesake drink – the 5 o’clock somewhere – at least once while you’re enjoying a dip in the pools here.

Water Playground

If fine dining is more in line, Doe’s Eat Place, a James Beard awarded steakhouse, rivals the Ruth’s Chris, Wolfgang, Morton’s, and other famed steakhouses of the world. Grilled options, like the 2lb Cowboy Rib Eye or Porterhouse, complete with fresh cut fries will fuel another day of play and end one with a perfectly grilled meal paired with a favorite wine or one of the restaurants specialty cocktails.

And when it comes to Cheeseburgers in Paradise, you can bet you’ll find them at the Landshark Bar & Grill, where you might also find live entertainment performing on the outside deck from time to time, and TVs offering up the game of the day. This restaurant also doubles as breakfast-central offering up a great buffet to start the day, too. 

Enter the men’s room on the tenth floor and you’ll find the “second best use for a keg,” according to my husband. Even the urinals are unique here at Margaritaville Resort Biloxi, created from hollowed out kegs. It’s all in an effort to keep the attitude light and the smiles endless. 

While the hotel bears Buffet’s Margaritaville name and concept, and he reportedly visits occasionally, the hotel is independently owned by the Stewarts, a husband-wife couple, along with sister property, the White House Hotel, located just down Beach Blvd. The Stewarts subscribe to Buffet’s philosophy and offer up licenses to chill in large doses. In fact you won’t find a “Do Not Disturb” placard for your door. If you wish privacy, hang the “License to Chill” sign on the door handle and then proceed to do so. It’s easy here without ever having to leave the resort.

Ten things all wandering educators simply must do at Margaritaville Resort Biloxi

1.    Visit Kay the cool concierge 
2.    Enjoy a 5 o’clock somewhere cocktail at the 5 o’clock Somewhere Bar
3.    Grab and jumbo ring and float the day away in the Lazy River
4.     Make it across the floating flip flops in the Water Playground without touching the ropes above
5.    Spend some time on your balcony watching the dolphins play in the Mississippi Sound
6.    Have a Cheeseburger in Paradise while humming the song
7.    Take a virtual motorcycle or snowmobile ride on the course of a lifetime.
8.    Top out on the volcano climbing wall
9.    Venture out to the nearby Ohr-O’Keefe Museum of Art
10.     Set the attitude on relaxation and chill.

Flip Flops - no hands

Flip Flops - using hands

When You Go

Margaritaville Resort Biloxi, 195 Beach Blvd, Biloxi, MS 39530. 228-271-6377 or 800-794-1582, email: Info[at]m-ville.com and website: margaritavilleresortbiloxi.com/

Room rates for a King Room (no balcony) start at $129 per night (+ tax and resort fees). Upgrade to a balcony room for just $10 per day. A resort fee of $14.99 + tax ($1.05) is charged daily on each room. 

Fly into the closest airport in Gulfport, MS or add a day of Southern Comfort and fly into New Orleans then rent a car and drive 1.5 hours. 

Marti Mayne has taken nearly 30 years of marketing experience and dedicated it to providing marketing and public relations services for the tourism, and bed and breakfast industry with her company Maynely Marketing. She has been the publicist for BedandBreakfast.com, offering information about the B&B industry to TV, radio, newspaper, magazines and Internet media and also helped to manage the Better Way to Stay campaign for the Professional Association of Innkeepers International and the B&Bs for Vets program for the Association of Independent. Marti has recently added travel writing to her repertoire, providing stories for the Birds Eye View, the inflight magazine for Cape Air, Geico Magazine, Classic Country Life Magazine, and NHtoDo Magazine and Inns Magazine. She was the B&B Examiner for Boston's Examiner.com guide and a contributor to many blogs, plus a regular contributor on family adventure to EasternSlopes.com.

All photos courtesy and copyright Marti Mayne, except word photo, courtesy and copyright Margaritaville Resort Biloxi and adapted by Wandering Educators