This article written by Dominick A. Miserandino is hilarious. In a quick three pages he describes a whirlwind trip to Gulf Shores where he discovers many of the joys unknown to anyone who hasn't been there. In fact the genesis of his article is a look at why Gulf Shores is so unknown.
If you've never been to Gulf Shores, go. Simple as that. This article describes it to a tee, but until you actually experience all the Alabama Gulf Coast has to offer first hand you simply can't imagine how truly amazing it is.
The beach is literally right there. It seems that this is the big thing that everybody loves about Gulf Shores. I mentioned that the condos are like monoliths on the beach and this is mostly because of that visual discrepancy between the beach and the hotel. What needs to be emphasized is that when we say we’re on the beach, we really mean it. Okay, picture this yourself. You take a 15-story condominium and you’re going to put it near the beach. How close do you put it?
Now picture my little old Italian mother-in-law, La Madre, screaming at you while you place the building on the ground, "Oh stop it’a, that is’a too close’a. The wind’a will make’a fall. Too close’a to the water’a." Then, like a frustrated son-in-law you move it a few dozen yards closer just to piss her off. That is how close these are to the beach.