Costco — Jacksonville

This low cost retail membership club is one of the many commercial anchors and retail attractions to the leading shopping mecca here in JAX – St. Johns Town Center – which is a very well-heeled outdoor shopping complex with top name stores like Apple, Tesla and Tiffany’s. Sitting clear on the SW corner of the complex is where you’ll find Costco, which has the most convenient access point to the entire shopping complex, although with 3 turning lanes, this place is usually always jam-packed, particularly on the weekends, which would lead me to my first bit of advice: don’t come here on the weekends! This Costco is one of the very first for the country’s largest city and is just a medium-sized version, but the parking lot is larger than expected, which is a good thing, given all of the traffic coming in and out of here. If you are looking for parking, your best bet would be to stay as far north and east as you can, otherwise you will be swallowed up all of the other traffic. The parking slots are ample in space offering pavement that is fairly level and seemingly almost like new. While I wouldn’t describe Costco as upscale (because the rest of this shopping mecca is) that should make you feel comfortable, especially with excellent parking lot lighting and patrolling security throughout all hours. Should you want to grab a bite to eat, in St. Johns Town Center there’s an endless array of dining options, of which I recommend most Cheesecake Factory, Maggiano’s Little Italy, M Shack, Coopers Hawk Winery and P.F. Chang’s and should you need to load up on supplies there’s obviously this Costco, plus Publix, REI, Sprouts Farmers Market, Dollar Tree, Target and Dick’s Sporting Goods.

While scoring criteria may vary from one person to the next, here are the 5 most important criteria that informed my rating of this overnight location: convenience (EZ on- and off-access), safety & security, quality (of facilities), peace & quiet and amenities (either on-site or nearby). Here’s how I ranked this particular overnight spot:

Convenience: 3 

Safety & Security: 4 

Quality: 3 

Peace & Quiet: 2 

Amenities: 4 

Overall, I scored this location a 3. 

Happy Overnighting!