Built by an ‘Irresponsible Screw-Ball’ in a Classy Beach Town: The Driftwood Resort, Vero Beach Florida

Last Updated on February 28, 2024 by Marybeth

My youngest daughter looks around Vero Beach and says “Mom. Where are the hotties?” Okay, yes, Vero Beach has a certain concentration of oldies. (Average age being 50.9: way better than Venice, at 69!)

“The hotties are your bartender, your server, and the guy driving the ATV beach thing.”

Right in the staid, chronicled downtown of Vero Beach sits a historical oddity that may make some blue-haired residents cringe. Waldo Sexton built The Driftwood Inn in 1935 mostly just from – yes, driftwood! And a ton of weird and anomalous objects he found on his travels all over the world. He’d visit a place, see a really cool something, haul it back and helter-skelter cement it onto a wall.

Screw-ball perhaps in some people’s minds, but we prefer to think of him as imaginative. The fact that he’s also been called “one of the most colorful persons that Florida has ever known”  makes us wish he was still around to hang out with. And with all that he accomplished, whoever called him a screw-ball was probably just jealous anyway.

Could those name-callers have:

• Become independent citrus farmers in 1917 setting out 10,000 orange trees in their first year
• Operated Indian River Products Company, a grove maintenance service
• Become president of the Oslo Citrus Growers Association
• Developed three varieties of avocados
• Established the first dairy in Indian River County
• Cross bred two kinds of cows producing an animal that required less feed and withstood Florida’s heat
• Belonged to an organization that made short-term loans to farmers during the Depression
• Established the Vero Beach Real Estate Board
• Partnered in and served as the “idea man” for “McKee’s Jungle Garden,” an early 1930’s tourist attraction

All the while fathering four children and traveling all over the world to bring back stuff? We think not.

The Driftwood Inn began as Waldo’s family residence, called “The Breezeway” because of the structure with an open-air hallway down the middle. Mrs. Sexton started operating a small resort hotel, cooking breakfast for her guests in her own kitchen. Her breakfast success led to Waldo’s restaurant being built in 1947. Can you imagine turning your home into a resort, cooking meals in your kitchen for strangers? Or more to the point, your husband being okay with that??

Waldo’s original residence, “The Breezeway”

Over time when Waldo would return from his world travels, antiques, cannons, mosaics, paintings, furniture, and especially bells (he was very fond of bells, and would ring them when a guest would arrive, and depart; not sure the hubbie would love that, either) were incorporated into the ever-expanding, not quite ramshackle but kind of, Driftwood Inn. Not only did he ferry in tchotchkes, truck in remains of barns blown down by hurricanes, he also transported old fishing shacks that became guest cottages. I wanted to stay in one of THOSE! But they were all booked.

One of the best rooms in the house, in our opinion:  direct oceanfront, above the pool and the bar. Talk about people watching!

For travelers who wish to just “park it” and swim, play and stay without needing your car until it’s time to go, the Driftood Resort is perfect. And Vero Beach is a beautiful, walkable old-Florida town with shops and restaurants to explore when you’re not lazing in the sun, lounging at the bar, or snoozing in your room.

THE BEACH

Lovely blue and white beach umbrellas provided by a more swishy resort up the way 

THE BAR

Waldo’s at the Driftwood

3150 Ocean Dr.

A vibrant, fun atmosphere where the view is the star,  sitting outside is always the best choice but there is indoor seating as well.

Try The Traveler’s Shrimp, World Famous Chicken Wings, or fresh local catch of the day. The menu is full and varied with munchies to wraps, tacos, salads, quesadillas, burgers and full dinners. The Sea Bucklers menu is “for our Swabbies 12 and under.”

Open 11 am-11 pm, Happy Hour is every day 4 – 7 p.m. Live music most days, check their Event Calendar for updates.

THE BUNGALOW

The Driftwood Resort

3150 Ocean Drive

Stay at The Driftwood Resort: eclectic, with rich history, and you can walk out your door to the beach, the bar, and the cute downtown. Some units have wood paneling that look like pecky cypress, which is very cool. Literally; the darkness is welcome after the bright sunshine. A mixture of antiques, some basic furniture, and typical beach art. Check out the virtual tours on their website. Some units have full kitchens, some have partial kitchens (which include refrigerator, microwave, coffee maker, toaster, electric skillet and all utensils.) The Driftwood was added to the U.S. National Register of Historic Places in 1994.

The early Driftwood with the more modern Driftwood behind

Time for a confession:  We didn’t do much walking around the town taking photos for you, because it was hotter than hen sh*t on a pump handle.  (Thank you crotchety old great Uncle Ray for that beauty.) We keep telling our non-Floridian friends “Oh, you get used to the heat!” You do, to an extent. So it’s not a total lie. But you do not “get used to” walking around in 97 degree weather, 150% humidity, with sweat pouring down your face and pooling in your shoes. So we just parked it at The Driftwood Resort and were happy as a newborn in a topless bar! (Once again, the illustrious Great Uncle Ray to thank.)

A few cool places for you to check out when you visit (hopefully when it’s cooler):

Casey’s Place for breakfast, lunch and dinner

Mulligan’s Beach House Bar and Grill

Mulligan’s 

The Ocean Grill, built by that busy guy, Waldo Sexton!

The very end of Beachland Blvd., Mulligan’s is on the left, The Ocean Grill is behind us. Prime, gorgeous locations!

Do you get it, now, why we spent most of our visit settled in at The Driftwood Resort? When you go, maybe choose a month that isn’t August!

Vero Beach is on Florida’s Atlantic coast, approximately 65 miles south of Cocoa Beach, and 80 miles north of West Palm Beach