Exactly! We have stayed up and down the panhandle from Panama City beach all the way west to Perdido key. Some areas are way too commercialized and busy, too far removed from the gulf, or run down and dated . We are going during the late summer but the fall rates are even better. A similar place we stayed in last October which wasn’t available for our dates had a small private heated pool right off the deck, in addition to the 2 community pools in the development. The owner turned on the heat and the dancing colored lights for us every night. Beach and riding bikes during the day, private heated pool at night, great restaurants in Rosemary Beach and further east. We had a ball.
Nearby Grayton beach area boasts one of the top beaches in the country. Better than Destin/Sandestin, it’s next to a protected state area.