Clearwater or St Pete's

[Donna T]

I'm going to Florida next summer (first time) and hope to do two weeks in Orlando and one week on the Gulf coast but don't know whether to go for Clearwater or St Pete's. Are there any main differences? And can anyone recommend any good hotels which are on the beach?

Thanks.

Donna

 

[FLeisure]

Why not do both ?
You can easily spend 2 or 3 days at one hotel and 2 or 3 at another. The whole area is nice and we always go down on spec. as there is always somewhere to stay.

 

[msdis]

We stayed at Osiris on St Pete beach about 6 years ago. They have little apt. like units and it was about 30.00 per night in Nov. They were fine for our stay. The owner is really nice and takes a personal interest in his guests. It is w/i walking distance to the beach without crossing a major road. For the price and location it was a bargain. The place only has a few units, maybe 6-12 so it may be hard to book. Happy planning!

 

[sln88]

How big were the units in the Osiris? Was there a separate bedroom? Do you have any contact info(preferably email or 800 number)?

 

[Claire L]

Donna,
I would personally stay at St Pete Beach. Having been there twice it is very nice. In St Pete you have a variety of hotels all on the beach such as the three Tradewinds resorts -Island Grand, Sirtt Beach and Sandpiper along with Holiday Inn, Howard Johnson and Dolphin Beach resort to name but a few used by UK tour operators. Who are you thinking of booking with?? Over on the UK boards you can get alot of information about travellig to Florida and wha to do once there.
Happy planning and feel free to ask any questions that come into your head.
Claire

 

[Mrs Dazzle]

I'll second what Claire has already said, Donna. We love St Pete's it's a great location with loads of restaurants within walking distance of most of the larger hotels/resorts. The beach is great and if you want to travel around there's loads to do nearby, or even a couple of hours drive away.

We stayed only once (near) Clearwater on Sand Key. This area was lovely, one of the best beaches in the US, but we prefer St Pete's to Clearwater.

We've stayed at the Holiday Inn & Suites and The Sirata (part of the Tradewinds resort). Both are right on the main beach, eateries and Publix supermarket a small walk down the road.

Busch Gardens is only 1.5 hours away, 3 hours down to Sanibel/Captiva for a beautiful day out.

One must if you're into boats/dolphins is to pick up one of the dolphin cruises - snorkelling and shelling thrown in too.

Shout if you need any further info

 

[FLeisure]

Personally, I prefer Indian Rocks beach which is middway between the two.