As summer 2021 was approaching, my husband and I knew we wanted to plan a short weekend getaway just the two of us. After searching for the familiar Gulf Coast beach trip we always take, a friend told us about a tiny hotel, The Beatnik, located in Ocean Springs, MS.

Neither of us had been to Ocean Springs, and after looking at the photos we were sold and booked our stay for June.

One of our favorite things to do is explore a new city together. We enjoyed every minute of learning all that Ocean Springs and The Beatnik had to offer.

DAY ONE

When we arrived in Ocean Springs, our room wasn’t ready yet, giving us plenty of time to explore before we settled in.

We drove in around lunchtime, so after some shopping at Sugar and Spice, a sweet children’s store, we were ready to eat! We decided on a restaurant called Glory Bound Gyro Co. with a line wrapped around the building–and we knew why after our first bite! It was refreshing and delicious and a great start to our trip!

Our room was ready after lunch, so we headed to settle in at The Beatnik. (Most everything is a short drive away, or is easy to bike/walk to depending on what it is.)

I fell in love with our tiny hotel right away. The Beatnik is a set of four individual, private cabins, each with their own screened-in porch overlooking the shared pool space. Its features were so modern and unique–beautiful high ceilings, plenty of natural light, indoor and outdoor shower, cozy reading nook, stocked coffee bar–it was dreamy and just what we needed!

After unpacking and laying by the pool, we headed to Mosaic for dinner and Quakes for some rainy-day milkshakes.

We were exhausted and spent our first evening resting and watching movies in our cozy little cabin for two.

Highlights:

Glory Bound Gyro Co. (highly recommend the classic gyro)
Snapping photos of our precious, tiny hotel
Yummy Quakes milkshakes

DAY TWO

There is a tiny shop called The Greenhouse on Porter located right behind The Beatnik cabins. It takes 30 seconds to walk there, so we woke up and had to pop by to order some to-go biscuits, which were absolutely delicious. (Bonus: If you love to read, there is a Little Free Library right outside the greenhouse for you to browse through!)

We hopped in the car and drove to Bright-Eyed Brewery for some coffee and waffles. Savory biscuits, sweet waffles, local coffee–the perfect way to start the day.

After a rainstorm the previous night, we decided to take advantage of the nice weather and have some pool time. The atmosphere was so perfect for reading and sunbathing, and the pool was the perfect temperature for cannonballs!

After getting ready, we wanted to grab a bite and shop. So, we headed to Eat Drink Love for lunch. It was incredible. I think we could have eaten every meal there if we wanted to. It’s charming and quaint and everything on their menu looked divine!

After our bellies were full, it was time to see all the shops that Ocean Springs had to offer. There are two popular streets for shopping: Government Street and Main Street.

My favorite spots were:

Tribe (clothing boutique)
Buff City Soap (handmade soaps, lotions, etc.)
The Candy Cottage (tiny local candy store)
French Kiss Pastries (great place to grab a coffee and quick dessert)
Miner’s Toy Shop (adorable children’s toy store)

We definitely shopped til we dropped and wanted some time to rest before dinner, so we went back to The Beatnik for a much-needed nap.

A restaurant called Rooftop Tacos and Tequila caught our eye earlier in the day, so we knew we wanted to go there for dinner. It had two stories and the second story had a balcony with live music. The queso was absolutely incredible and it was a fun place to eat and people-watch.

For dessert, we grabbed popsicles from Pop Brothers, a cute popsicle cart in the street, and headed back to our tiny hotel for another night of movie watching!

Highlights:

Our sweet and savory, local breakfast
Enjoying The Beatnik pool
Stocking up on soaps, candy and trinkets and the local stores
Queso at Rooftops
Lavender Honey popsicle

DAY THREE

I woke up and read Harry Potter on the porch while my husband brought back coffee from District Coffee and biscuits from The Greenhouse on Porter. (The biscuits were so good, I had to have them twice. AND they make new flavors every day.)

Sadly, this was our last day since we were just coming for a short weekend trip. We spent the morning packing up and getting ready. Before we headed out of town, we had heard nothing but good things about the TatoNut Shop–fresh, local donuts. Judging by the line wrapped down the block, we knew they would probably be worth the wait. And, they were.

After hopping back into a few stores, we grabbed lunch at Lil’ Market Bagels before heading out of town. We are big bagel fans.

Highlights:

Reading on the porch
Biscuits and coffee
TatoNut glazed donut and milk

Our biggest realization was that this is probably not the place to come for a white-sand, blue-water beach vacation. We were glad our hotel had a pool because we were able to enjoy the summer weather and cool off in the water without needing to go to the beach.

Having said that, we will definitely return one day! Ocean Springs is a quaint little city with lots to offer, and we absolutely loved our stay at The Beatnik–highly recommend!

BOOK A STAY AT THE BEATNIK