Opal Sands Resort

We had an amazing experience with Opal Sands for our 150 person wedding in January. I fell in love with the outdoor event lawn overlooking the water at sunset for our ceremony and cocktail hour and the venue team executed our wedding vision perfectly. We loved working with Alexis who was so responsive, thoughtful, and helpful in the months leading up to our wedding and on wedding day! The food got amazing reviews from all of our guests and the team was super accommodating to any special restrictions and requests. Would relive our wedding weekend at Opal Sands over and over again if I could - cannot wait to go back!

I recently stayed at the Opal Sands Resort in Clearwater Beach for my son's wedding and I have mixed feelings about my experience. The resort itself was beautiful and we had a great wedding planner, Barb. Our event manager, Jenna, was also wonderful, and we couldn't have been more pleased with the ceremony vendors. The ceremony on the Gulf lawn was dreamy and idyllic, and the cocktail hour was incredible. We do unfortunately feel that Opal Sands lacked attention to detail and customer service for being a 4-star resort. It started with delivering the welcome bags. They were the only hotel that charged to deliver the bags and there was no option to hand them to guests at check-in. We had noted on our reservation that we were the parents of the bride and groom for a Saturday night wedding on May 6th. They booked our room on the 3rd floor directly above a wedding that took place on the Friday night before. Needless to say, we didn't get much sleep because of the music after midnight the day before. We really thought they would have more consideration for the parents of the bride and groom. The day following the wedding was the most disappointing. When my son and his bride checked into the hotel, they were given 10 green pool passes for friends and family. They purposely waited until Sunday, so they could invite any remaining guests. After our guests were already at the pool, they were told the passes change color everyday and they would now only allow 3 guests, but our guests were already at the pool at this point. With a tab open and everyone enjoying drinks and food with no issues, two men came over and rudely told my son that his friends needed to leave. You can imagine the shock and embarrassment in front of our family and friends. It was completely unacceptable for a hotel of this caliber to treat us in such a classless and disgusting manner, especially after just having had the wedding there the night before, the open pool tab, and still active hotel guests. We had really expected more decency and respect from the hotel, but the response of "That's not what was in your contract" that we received was a slap in the face. Overall, the wedding was beautiful, but the Opal Sands has some improvements to make. Customer service should be top-notch. As of now, I won’t be able to recommend them. It’s hard to imagine my son and his wife ever feeling comfortable to go back to the place they were married.

Where to even start! Jenna and the whole staff at Opal Sands made the entire wedding planning process SO easy and straightforward. It’s easy to become overwhelmed with everything on the never ending wedding planning to do list, but Jenna was so responsive and so so helpful. We absolutely LOVED how gorgeous Opal Sands is and it truly felt so magical the entire wedding weekend. The bridal suite was absolutely unreal, and the most beautiful and perfect setting for getting ready and then waking up for the first time as husband and wife. The views were incredible, and every single room was so lovely and nice. Our guests raved about the food and how amazing the bartenders were. The venue was also perfect for the dance floor to be busy all night!! Our wedding at Opal Sands felt like being in the most beautiful beach paradise and was the perfect level of elegance. It was truly everything we could have asked for and more!

We had such an amazing experience by partnering with Jenna Arnal and Opal Sands Resort to do our wedding there. The hotel and our wedding suite is so breathtaking beautiful. We had about 130 people attend our wedding and it was so much better than I imagined. We had our rehearsal lunch, wedding ceremony, cocktail hour and reception there. We added an additional hour to our reception which made it perfect. The level of service was phenomenal and our wedding day was incredible! I recall thinking back at how everything turned out so perfect! Chef Paul McMcorris cooked an impressive dinner for us and the entire Opal team made everything so memorable. We feel so blessed to have found this venue for our wedding and highly recommend it. There is nothing I would change and we are left with gorgeous pictures and a spectacular wedding video to relive that day over and over again!

Opal Sands was AMAZING!!! From the moment we met Jenna during our tour, I knew she would be great to work with. She worked with us to create a perfect package, was always there to help me answer any questions and treated us like we were the only wedding she was working with. I wanted to be by the water, but not on the beach and you cannot get better than the event lawn! It was perfect for our ceremony and cocktail hour. Jenna and her team along with my awesome vendors turned the Opal Ballroom into my dream, it was stunning. The food was so good and all our guests said they finished all of it. The hotel is absolutely beautiful and you can’t beat the fact that every room has an ocean view. There are many hotels to get married in Clearwater Beach- but Opal Sands takes the cake!

I cannot say enough about this venue!!! Our day was even more special because of not only the venue but the staff. Jenna and her team went above and beyond to cater our every need from working with the menu selection, the wine, the room, the setup, you name it!! We truly felt as if we were their only client, not with hundred of other events each weekend. I would absolutely recommend the Opal Sands!!

Having our wedding at Opal Sands was truly a dream come true. My husband and I are avid boaters and we wanted to have our wedding on the water. Opal Sands is such a beautiful resort and the minute we had our tour with Jenna … it was a given that this is where we would get married. It was such a pleasure to work with Jenna through the whole wedding process. We had the best communication with her and every single one of our questions was answered quickly and thoroughly, and if there were any issues, Jenna and her team were there to fix them immediately. We could not have imagined a more perfect weekend at the Opal! The service was spectacular from the moment we got to the resort and throughout the wedding weekend. A great bonus was that the Opal is dog friendly and we were so happy to have our dog stay with us all weekend! Our guests could not stop raving about all the amazing food and the wonderful time they had. It truly was the best day we could have ever imagined, and we wish we could relive this day all over again!

We worked with Jenna Arnal and the Opal Sands team on our December 2020 wedding and had a fantastic experience! We first booked the venue in in fall of 2019 (before the start of the pandemic) and were expecting ~ 150 guests. Once things started to change in 2020, we were in a bit of a panic over the unknown. As soon as we circled back with Jenna to discuss our concerns we were put at ease – the hotel was EXTREMELY accommodating and let us know that rescheduling or significant changes to guest count were all options on the table if needed. From the beginning Jenna was extremely thorough and just great to work with – she is a true professional, always responded promptly to calls & emails, we never had to chase her down for anything. She helped keep us on track and reached out with friendly reminders but was never pushy. In fact, she was FUN to work with! I enjoyed getting her emails and she kept me excited. The venue was flexible to our needs & any special requests that we made were all accommodated with no problem. Our guest count fluctuated up until the day of– Jenna was easygoing with the last minute changes to seating chart and layout which allowed us to still keep the reception in the large ballroom that we wanted & adjust it so that the room did not feel like it was too big for the number of guests. The weekend of our wedding was absolutely perfect – We have stayed at Opal several times before and while they always have great service, they stepped it up even further for our wedding weekend. Every request was accommodated quickly from the bellmen, valet, front desk, housekeeping, and catering teams. We were given a fabulous Honeymoon Suite which included one night comped as part of our wedding package. Our family also booked the Presidential Suite which we used as the bridal suite the day of. The room is beyond SPECTACULAR. The terrace balcony has unbeatable wraparound views and plenty of space & seating for a large group. We ordered a wedding day lunch for the bridal party which was delivered on a huge wooden cart that we moved out onto the terrace – the presentation was displayed beautifully & professionally. As for the wedding & reception itself, the ceremony lawn overlooking the Gulf cannot be beat. We opted for plated meal service with a Filet, Grouper, and Vegan option, all dishes were cooked to perfection & guests were raving about it. We upgraded our beverage package to include the top shelf wine options which had a great selection. We are wine lovers and they even allowed us to switch out a couple of varietals to better suit our preferences, many venues will not allow this type of flexibility, another huge plus! It is important to note that the hotel was spotless and has taken their Covid protocols very seriously – all staff wearing masks, sanitizer stations were placed around and they offered extra precautions if we asked. There were little adjustments made to make everything “safe”, but they did it in a tasteful way that did not inhibit the vibe or décor of the wedding. In summary I would HIGHLY recommend Jenna & the Opal Sands team – they truly went above and beyond with extra effort to make our day perfect and exceeded our expectations in every way. You can have a beautiful venue, but it is the unexpected extra touches & people that go the extra mile that can really make it a QUALITY venue. Opal Sands without a doubt has all that and then some! 😊

Review From a Wedding Photographer/Videographer I love when I get booked at this venue! The scenery is amazing and it is a very small walk to the beach for photos and video! The staff is very friendly and helped so much on the wedding day which makes my job as a vendor much easier to perform stress free! Here is a link to a recent film: https://youtu.be/UuQ7RjCnJNY Website link: https://lensculturephotography.com/

Abosolutley would recommend this venue to anyone that wants to have a beach wedding. The views are breathtaking, that staff is wonderful and so accommodating. Jenna, the event coordinator for the resort is super sweet and always willing to help find a solution to any issue that may arise. She’s very well organized and detail oriented. She will have all the answers to any questions you might have, because we all know how stressful and overwhelming but so exciting wedding planning can be. I think about the Opal Sands almost every day! We miss it so much and we hope to be back very soon. Our wedding was truly a dream! Thank you Opal Sands!

Amazing venue! Jenna was such a pleasure to work with. She handled every detail beautifully. Highly recommend this location and Jenna and her team!

Wow is all I can say! Opal sands wasn’t my original venue. My other one cancelled on me about 5 months before my wedding. I frantically looked for a new one and opal was available. My now husband and I toured it and fell in love. Diana Cardenas is such a gem! We quickly booked! Diana was also in sync with my planner to make it the best night ever and let me tell you it was. The hotel speaks for itself on how beautiful it is. But our guest were amazed by the food and the staff! Everything was wonderful! We hope to come back for a long weekend for our first anniversary. This isn’t a big deal and I’m still rating it a 5 but they do cut the booking date to 2 months prior to wedding so make sure guests stay on top of that! Other than that it was great.

We got married at the Opal Sands on 9/2/17 we had a fantastic experience from the minute we met with Diana. Since this was a 2nd marriage we didn't want all of the traditional things. Diana was able to accommodate the exact feel of what we wanted for our ceremony and reception. Unfortunately, it rained the day of the wedding so we had to move the ceremony inside. Actually, I believe that worked out for the best. We wanted a "party" feel versus a reception and a "party" it was. We could not have asked for a better experience with the venue and staff. I would highly recommend this location and I already have! (smile) Thank you! Lisa & Chris Choate

I hosted a bridal shower at Opal Sands this past weekend and it was amazing! The venue is gorgeous to begin with. The food was fantastic and all of the servers were great. Diana Cardenas was so helpful and attentive during this whole process including the day of the event. Diana helped me choose vendors and is truly talented in this field. She helped so much and was a pleasure to work with. I definitely would recommend this venue. All of my guests were very impressed with the venue and food. You won't be disappointed if you choose Opal Sands to host an event.

This review is to write that this place is beautiful, but the management there needs to be revamped. Our emails were not responded to at first, but after multiple tries we finally got a tour time and date. So, we decided to give them the benefit of the doubt. The tour was wonderful and we quickly put the Opal on top of our list. We were promised a proposal to be delivered in a few days, as well as available dates for our upcoming wedding. Nothing. A few days later, I wrote a follow-up email. Nothing. Then another. Nothing. Then, we decided that if the management there was so difficult to speak with, we didn’t want them to be a part of our wedding. I actually even wrote yet another email explaining that we were very disappointed, but we needed a venue that would answer our emails so we were moving on—STILL no response. I would say that this place seems to be a wonderful place to have an event, but I would be very weary until something changes there.

If there were one thousand stars, I would give them to Opal Sands. Our wedding (12/3/17) could not have been better! The hotel is so beautiful, all of our guests stayed on the property and were blown away by the service and THAT VIEW; my new husband and I even extended our own stay by four days because we couldn’t bear to leave! Our wedding was originally scheduled for September 10th of this year, but Hurricane Irma put an end to that plan. What could have been a complete disaster was saved by the lovely and talented Diana Cardenas – she helped us to not only get all the vendors canceled for September 10th while we were all evacuating the area, but to find a new date that worked for everyone and prevented us from losing a small fortune. On the Big Day, she made sure that every detail was attended to, even though I am certain that we were pretty small potatoes for the Opal Sands. That kind of attention is so hard to find, and so appreciated. The food was delicious, the event ran like clockwork (huge shout-out to the Banquet Captain Alana and the wonderful server Magda, both of whom made all of us feel so special and pampered), and every single person there from the pool attendants to room service to valet and bellmen bent over backwards to ensure our wedding was perfect. THAK YOU Opal Sands - we can’t wait to go back over and over again.

We are so happy that our wedding planner encouraged us to visit and consider the Opal Sands Resort as a potential wedding venue. It does not disappoint and the other venues we viewed simply could not compare. The majority of them were dated and tired looking so it was very refreshing to view such a beautiful, stylish and contemporary resort. After our first meeting with Diana Cardenas we booked Opal Sands and have not regretted our decision for a second. Our wedding day at Opal Sands truly surpassed our expectations. The ceremony and cocktail hour took place on the pool lawn with its stunning water outlook and we then moved inside for the dinner and dancing. It was particularly wonderful that the banqueting room had a full length balcony and water view so our guests were still able to enjoy the sunset even during the dinner service and get some fresh air without straying too far from the party. The service and attention to detail throughout the event was exceptional and our guests are still raving about the quality of the food. We have frequently been told that it was by far the best meal our guests have ever had at a wedding and some guests even stated that it was the best meal they had during their two week stay in Florida; and they are five star all the way! As a destination wedding, our priority was making sure our guests had the best experience possible so we are thrilled that Opal Sands made this a reality. There is truly nothing better than hearing your guests say how much they enjoyed the day and how impressed they were by the venue. A lot of the credit for the success of our day goes to Diana and her team. She was an absolute pleasure to work with throughout the planning process and was always warm, professional and approachable. Diana was quick to respond to any queries and I thought she was very flexible and went above and beyond to make sure our vision came to life. We cannot wait to go back and visit this gorgeous place again soon!

We had our wedding last week and it was ABSOLUTELY AMAZING...the resort is gorgeous, staff from valet to room service all exceptional. And who doesn't like a little fun on the beach mid-January when you're living in Maryland. We utilized their lawn for our ceremony and conference rooms (which we transformed with our decor team) for our 50-party wedding reception. But a large part of this success was due to Diana Cardenas, the resort's wedding coordinator. She's a dedicated hard-working individual that goes above and beyond her role with the hotel. Since our first visit April of last year she has been there every step of the way for us providing information and advice in a timely manner. This was especially helpful to us as we did not have a wedding planner and had moved to Maryland in July. Her attention to detail (i.e- lavender sendoff roses for our lavender themed wedding) was second to none throughout the planning process. Perhaps what we enjoyed most about Diana was her personality. The day of a wedding can definitely be stressful but she always found a way to reassure us with her calm warm demeanor. She was never flustered, angry, or frustrated in any of our interactions with her. Employees can go through the motions but genuine charisma is an x-factor and something very difficulty to find. All in all, my wife and I highly recommend Opal Sands Resort for any wedding party. We couldn't have asked for anything more =) Ps- The food is also tremendous here...ask for the lobster, sea-bass, coconut shrimp, and/or PINA COLADAS.