Clearwater Beach is Beautiful Today

[NinaBella]

Here now and it’s such a beautiful warm day. There are more people than I expected For February. We just came for a couple hours to check out a couple hotels before booking for Spring Break. After looking and deciding on a hotel, We ate lunch then headed back home. We usually stay in St Pete, but this is a birthday stay for DD and she wanted to be closer to Pier60. The hotel we picked is a very short walk from the pier. The water is still too cold for me to swim but the weather is beautiful today.

 

[nkereina]

We were there last Tuesday and had a gorgeous day as well! Everyone we talked to said the week prior was in the 60s, but last week and this week was going to be in the 80s. We did something similar to you - just drove in for the day, had lunch, and scoped out the area for a future stay.

Where did you end up deciding you will stay? I'm debating if I want to shell out the money for a hotel or book a condo through VRBO. The Pier House 60 Marina Hotel seemed to be the most affordable option, so I've been researching that one.

 

[NinaBella]

We were there last Tuesday and had a gorgeous day as well! Everyone we talked to said the week prior was in the 60s, but last week and this week was going to be in the 80s. We did something similar to you - just drove in for the day, had lunch, and scoped out the area for a future stay.

Where did you end up deciding you will stay? I'm debating if I want to shell out the money for a hotel or book a condo through VRBO. The Pier House 60 Marina Hotel seemed to be the most affordable option, so I've been researching that one.

We went into the Beachview Inn Lobby and they showed us several of their rooms and were very friendly. We booked there. I will look at Pier House 60 Marina as well as I didn't have that one on my list. I was trying to note different hotels to research prices.

We are booking for DD 15th birthday and she is inviting school friends so we need 2 rooms. Her birthday is the first day of Spring Break, so yay--spring break prices. We typically can find good Military or Florida Resident discounts but not during spring break. I am just lucky none I have checked so far have a minimum night stay requirement.

My family typically loves staying at Postcard Inn in St. Pete (near Tradewinds) as it is a small hotel with a large pool and right on the beach. They have new owners and have raised prices and sometimes have a minimum night stay. This is where we stayed last year with her friends. I think it's a bit quieter so translate that to teen speak as more boring. She wants Pier 60 area this year, which is a lot busier, like much much more busy. But they are also a good group of girls who can walk to/from the beach and around the shops unsupervised. DH and I will be there, but will not be right on top of them following them around. A few girls that drive will come up for the day to hang out, but three will be sleeping at the hotel with DD.

Beachview pool is on the 2nd floor with a couple firepits, so I like that the pool is not on the street level. It is another smaller hotel. In fact, they already gave us our room assignments. We have a suite that is oceanview and a cottage (because they were out of rooms and DD went kookoo over the cottage with a very tiny kitchen (less expensive than the room actually.))

 

[nkereina]

Good luck with your research! We were researching February pricing and found it to be pricey everywhere. My parents are considering a long term stay so I checked condo rentals on VRBO and Air BnB and there were actually some affordable options which may be good for you too if you need two rooms.

 

[pattyw]

Sounds wonderful- sitting here in Buffalo, NY with 26 degree temps! Thanks for the hotel suggestions. We'd like to add a beach trip onto an Orlando vacation this year and the Clearwater area is so nice. We've done day trips before.

 

[a742246]

Was the pier opened, two weeks ago it was closed.

 

[NinaBella]

Was the pier opened, two weeks ago it was closed.

We didn't go that close to the pier. I found an article saying the rennovations should be completed by March 14, just in time for Spring Break season.
http://www.83degreesmedia.com/devnews/Clearwater-pier-undergoes-major-renovation-013018.aspx

 

[nkereina]

Sounds wonderful- sitting here in Buffalo, NY with 26 degree temps! Thanks for the hotel suggestions. We'd like to add a beach trip onto an Orlando vacation this year and the Clearwater area is so nice. We've done day trips before.

We are from Buffalo too! It was very difficult to come home from Tampa/Clearwater to this weather last weekend!

Was the pier opened, two weeks ago it was closed.

We were there last Tuesday and it was open, however I just read that its been opening after 3:30pm and we were there around 4pm. So I'm not sure if it was open earlier in the day. But we did walk the full length of it around 4pm and it was relatively crowded. They were doing work on it still around the store area, but there was a walkway to get through.